A thoroughly enjoyable, deep and challenging experience (particularly because of the online instant challenges against other XBL opponents), with more cars than a, well, car yard ... Test Drive Unlimited is one of the best examples of true online integration and a fantastic car game to boot.

The fun of Blur is unparalleled in any other recent driving game. It could have been simply Mario Kart in real looking cars, but Bizarre Creations have looked hard at what is fun about racing games, what is fun about competitive play, what is fun about online gaming, and worked out how to get all of that in one game and more importantly, get it to work well and remain fun.

It's not quite a perfect game but I found it to be of extremely high quality. Any gamer who loves the satisfaction of a meticulous plan gone right will get a bang out of it.

If you don't like heavy metal music or Jack Black's humour, chances are this one isn't for you. But if you do, then Brutal Legend will be like you've died and gone to the hallowed halls of Valhalla while a dude with long hair plays a power-solo and a valkyrie in a chain-mail bikini slays a dragon with an axe.

It manages to provide not only an extremely satisfying hack'n'slash experience, but also a solid story and non-combat component that adds a little depth to the usual shallow, button-mashing gameplay.

Hardcore fans will be shattered to learn they are limited to using normal and easy modes due to the glitch with the A.I. although it isn't a complete loss.

Neither revolutionary nor even remarkable when viewed as part of its franchise, but for fans of WW2 action or first-person shooters, there's a lot to love here, particularly in multiplayer.

If arcade racers are your bag, I can highly recommend Split/Second and with its split-screen multiplayer it would be a great one to keep the kids entertained. Longevity will vary based on your personal tastes and attention span but Split/Second will be a blast while it lasts.

If it wasn't for the stupid Kinect features and lack of the original multiplayer, Halo CE: Anniversary would be perfect. Even considering this, I loved every second with Halo CE: Anniversary and just know that I will be going back to it time and time again. For an aging Halo fan, it does not get much better than this.

The presentation is smooth, the enemies are fun and varied to take on (and the dismemberment feature adds some dynamicity to the battles) and the boss battles are absolutely superb. This is a ridiculously fun ride, even if it does delve into the ridiculous at times. But it wouldn't be a Japanese action game without that.

As it is, FIFA 08 is a football title that has plenty going for it, but also plenty of annoyances and offers a realistic experience that further breaks the mold of FIFA's past poorer efforts from the last few years.

Halo Wars is such a good RTS because it does so many things right. It nails the Halo look and feel through its cut scenes, environments, units and even that distinctively saturated Halo colour pallet.

Condemned: Criminal Origins is one of the finest horror games to date, managing to mix the traditional scares with action-packed, enjoyable combat. The atmosphere is palpable, the audio downright chilling, and the storyline is compelling and well executed.

Truth be told, I became bored with the game rather quickly, and being the fan of the series I am, this rather disappointed me.

Put all the flaws aside though, and you've got a very competent dungeon crawler that has been almost perfectly optimised for a console – and that's something I have to admire the developers for. Just don't expect to be playing this one with your friends.

It puts its mark on the ‘next-gen' in a way that will finally have Rockstar's venerable series being measured against something else as opposed to itself.

It's tough to recommend the Xbox 360 version over the much cheaper Xbox incarnation despite the enhanced graphics and performance, but Jedi Gamerscore-whores will no doubt pick it up for the fairly easy 1000 points it offers.

And while the graphics may not be the best around and the game may be a little rough around the edges, when you factor in the great cooperative play and the ridiculously frantic multiplayer, Saint's Row 2 is a criminally good game.

Unlike many other movie based tie-ins Jk2 does capitalise extremely well on the Star Wars franchise and has been well executed.

While there aren't necessarily any revolutionary additions, this is a finely polished game that will please golf fanatics and casual gamers alike.

If you're looking for another post-apocalyptic shooter that offers an interesting take on both the racing and shooter genre, RAGE is the place to look. Though I understand why some may be disappointed after such a long wait with no real revolution here but instead a continuation of what id Software are known for.

The game is as intense as it is addictive.

Lovers of intense strategy should go out and pick up a copy of KuFTC for this is a true gem of the gaming world. Word of warning though: once you are hooked it's just so hard to put down.

The total package that it offers by returning to 'its roots' and bringing back things such as Stage Fatalities as well as introducing new features such as Death Traps, Puzzle Kombat and Chess Kombat make it too good for MK fans to miss out on.

Midnight Club Los Angeles is a decent game in all respects apart from the insane difficulty.

Catan is an odd choice to lead the board-game charge onto the Xbox Live Arcade, but Big Huge Games have done a phenomenal job of recreating the experience on the console.

The environments look gorgeous (both single player campaign and multiplayer) and those yet to experience the game or Xbox 360 for that matter should enjoy this title as a solid first encounter.

Fans of the original will probably love it, newcomers will probably divided, but either way it's a faithful sequel to one of the Xbox's favourite sons.