A whiff of expansion packishness aside, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is another breath of fresh air in an oppressively and perhaps misguidedly 'mature' gaming climate, a chubby, blue-eyed God among chest-bumping, photorealism-brown, cover-seeking insects. Whether you own a Wii or not, there are, quite frankly, no excuses.

Lacklustre finale aside, this is everything you could ask of a headline third-person shooter and more.

Mass Effect 2 succeeds ultimately on the strength of its world and BioWare have created one of the most beautiful, fantastical, consistent, comprehensive and coherent universes seen in science fiction, let alone video games.

A quantum leap in concept and design, and one which falls inches - nay, millimetres - short of a perfect score. There's no better reason to own a PlayStation 3.

In Redemption, Rockstar have succeeded in taking an over-subscribed genre and realizing it with such atmosphere and boundless possibility that it fluently captures the thrill of the Wild West, and with that they’ve taken the Red Dead franchise into the big league, proud to stand alongside the best work they’ve ever produced.

Mass Effect 2 succeeds ultimately on the strength of its world and BioWare have created one of the most beautiful, fantastical, consistent, comprehensive and coherent universes seen in science fiction, let alone video games.

This isn't just a prettier SFII - it's the absolute king of fighting games.

With another memorable single player mode to look back on, in addition to the excellent Special Ops mode and more multiplayer goodness to look forward to, Infinity Ward has once again come up with a cinematic masterpiece.

It's stupid, it's nonsensical, it's over the top, it's full of awful dialogue, it demands long sittings and it hasn't changed much from the first game ten years ago. But then, it's Metal Gear Solid, so who cares? It's undeniably brilliant, captivating, exciting and downright fantastic, definitely worthy of at least a few furrowed brows throughout the experience.

It's certainly a game that can kill a bit of time between a group of friends, and it's not like there'll be many negative memories associated with the game afterwards, but I just don't feel it's that good.

Another worthy addition the GTA cannon, Chinatown takes all the best the previous games had to offer and adds plenty of own ideas into the mix.

This isn't just a prettier SFII - it's the absolute king of fighting games.

From the hollow wind blowing down through subway tunnels, to the radioactive dust clouds swirling throughout the wasteland, up to the buzzards circling the encampment where the bodies of 30 slave traders lie; Fallout 3 is as much a game as it is a training sim for the coming apocalypse.

Something of an anathema unto itself, Gears 2 offers more gore, more cursing and more of the stereotypical Space Marine swagger only a compulsive gamer can tolerate.

The highlights of this iteration are all in the technology; as potent and polished a hack-and-slasher as God of War 3 can be, the myth of its continuing relevance in design circles has worn thin. Series fans should and will invest, as there's fundamentally nothing broken here that wasn't broken before, but don't come expecting a bold rebirth, and don't come expecting the game of the year. Kratos is a frequent visitor to the Underworld; perhaps it's time he stayed there.

Super is the perfectly refined poster child for an entire genre, and is once again one of the best games this generation.

There’s no doubting Forza 3’s status as the finest racing simulation on the 360, though it is still trailing in Gran Turismo 5’s slipstream for the title of finest racing simulation ever.

Arkham Asylum is the kind of eventual coming-to-form which renders years of half-arsed franchise transplantation not just forgivable, but worthwhile.

A significant enough step up from the original to warrant your renewed attention this year.

Super is the perfectly refined poster child for an entire genre, and is once again one of the best games this generation.

LittleBigPlanet 2 makes no bones of being part of an on-going project, reaching back into the still-blossoming folds of its predecessor not to paint over or recompose, but to straighten out, to rearticulate, to clarify.

So for your money you’re getting one of the best games of the last generation, a dark and difficult sequel, and that most uncommon of beasts, a “hardcore” Wii game.

However tighter its act, however convincingly it integrates player-imposed logic with a pulsing, subversively organic 15th century milieu, Assassin’s Creed 2 feels a little vacant. The second game in the series is palpably its best, but it trades too heavily on prior successes and introduces comparatively little of actual worth.

Chains of Olympus ticks all the checkboxes a God of War fan could want and constantly manages to surprise you.

If it isn't the War To End All Wars some have prophesised, Killzone 2 is definitely the exclusive FPS your PS3 has been waiting for. While the intensity of the spotlight Guerrilla brings to bear on how you go about shooting stuff occasionally leaves its scenarios in the dark, those intimidating good looks, chiselled hide-and-seek engagements and savage online modes are plentiful compensation. After almost five years of infamy, the franchise has taken revenge on its critics

In an age of endless bald space marines, colour pallets that know nothing beyond brown and grey, and gritty urban sandboxes, Bayonetta is a breath of fresh air.

It's without a doubt one of the best downloadable game expansions ever made, and a truly worthy addition to one of (if not the) defining title of this generation to date.

However, the PSP’s traditional but less constricted control setup and higher storage threshold lead to a more playable, content-rich experience than either the DS or (in all probability) the App Store release.

Patently unterrifying, Dead Space 2 is nonetheless a feat of paradigm-splicing worthy of Frankenstein himself. The scars of creation are visible on its flanks, repurposed muscles and organs bulging through the skin, but somehow everything works in harmony. All told, Isaac Clarke can do without his day job.

Geometry Wars 2 is a better game, not just because of the new modes but the emphasis on fun and novel ways to enjoy an otherwise linear experience.

Highly refined and just a little faded, Civilization remains the classiest act in the "4X" marketplace.

Demon's Souls is undoubtedly a tough nut to crack, but if you're prepared to dig beneath its hard shell, you'll find a game that is compelling and deeply rewarding in equal measure.

It is deceptively simple but is bursting with life and will have you addicted for weeks.

In the Left 4 Dead series, the perennially over-performing Valve has put together yet another classic franchise, and while the absence of fundamental overhaul obliges me to be sparing in my praise of the sequel, it should serve you long after Modern Warfare 2’s charms have faded.

It's a game built round a single mode, in effect, but with its hefty community presence, asymmetrical flex and raw kinesis, it offers more entertainment value than racers many times its size on paper.

What The Lost and Damned did with grime and grittiness, Gay Tony does with glitz and glamour, and I love the colourful, Algonquin-led carnage in this series finale.

"Resident Evil 4 in space" doesn't cut it - Dead Space is neither as ambitious nor as engrossing as the Gamecube Goliath. But it's still an expertly realised, slickly implemented survival horror experience.

Patently unterrifying, Dead Space 2 is nonetheless a feat of paradigm-splicing worthy of Frankenstein himself. The scars of creation are visible on its flanks, repurposed muscles and organs bulging through the skin, but somehow everything works in harmony. All told, Isaac Clarke can do without his day job.

It's not just an incredible PSP Metal Gear – it's an incredible Metal Gear and an unexpected leap forward for the series.

It’s unlikely the idea could survive another sequel without stretching the universe too far, but for now BioShock 2 is an unmissable journey back into a suffocating, intoxicating world.

DICE has essentially repeated one of 2008’s better party tricks, rolling out a hearty, well-defined shooter that offsets limited solo enjoyment value with immense online replayability. If we must dwell on the profundities of blowing stuff up, this is the way to do it."

Still, an opportunity has been missed. EA has the resources, and DICE has the talent, to put together a fantastic Vietnam game, one that delves rather deeper into the setting than weapon rosters and track lists. Instead, the pair have treated Vietnam as a Flavour of the Month.

It's a game built round a single mode, in effect, but with its hefty community presence, asymmetrical flex and raw kinesis, it offers more entertainment value than racers many times its size on paper.

Heavy Rain isn’t a film, or even a game trying to be a film. It’s proof of just how compellingly a game can use film, of how gripping a warmed-over scenario or humdrum script can become in the hands of a skilled design team. It filches ideas from cinema, doubtless – what big budget character-driven release doesn’t? – but it’s because it’s a game, in the final analysis, that it’s marvelous.

NSMBW bends over backwards to be inclusive and somehow manages to succeed.

In a generation where Nintendo seem ever-more preoccupied with hardware innovation and its expanded audience, Retro's dependable high-quality output bodes well for the future.

Black Ops reveals a franchise travelling in two directions at once, simultaneously more relevant than ever and among the most redundant of shooters.

Faster, tighter, better balanced and - astonishingly - even glossier than its older brother. The career mode still needs work, the AI could be sharper and offline punch-spammers have it a little too easy, but otherwise this game is every inch the champ.

Spirit Tracks is still such a polished and wonderful game that its faults are only relative to other entries in the series and is therefore still better than 99% of all handheld games out there.

Sony has taken an unforgivably long time restoring WipEout to our living rooms, so it's just as well the results hold up under scrutiny - and then some.

A slightly conflicted, sometimes lacklustre but generally star-struck and - above all - massive first person shooter with a plump online underbelly.

Shooting the PSP’s anaemic line-up full of proven material may seem sound commercial sense on the face of it, but for my money the last thing the increasingly sidelined machine needs at this point in its life is more leftovers – even leftovers as delicious and nutritious as LittleBigPlanet.

In an age of endless bald space marines, colour pallets that know nothing beyond brown and grey, and gritty urban sandboxes, Bayonetta is a breath of fresh air.

Ratchet and Clank might be living on borrowed time, but between the gags and the glitz we’re happy to forgo collecting a little longer.

A wonderful game, full of happy happy joy joy from start to finish. If you don't smile at it then you're an idiot, frankly.

But it's The Sims to near-perfection, crafted with love, calculated to give the most enjoyment to a player and as involving, as simple to get into and as downright fun as it has always been.

One of the best series in handheld history is back for more, a refined and updated experience with the fantastic addition of online play.

At worst, this is one of the best rental options this year. It doesn't have the depth or longevity of the big simulation racers but for sheer hair-raising off road action, a new franchise is born.

Whether you're watching them hurtle along in the embrace of a rainbow wind, or guiding them through the intestines of a giant penguin, the squishy, smiling LocoRoco are as charming as they've ever been.

A good title, but not great.

With its karma-driven electric fisticuffs, open-ended parkour antics and stylishly broody ambiance, InFamous is a game worthy of Sucker Punch's slick PS2 releases, and a great addition to the PS3's increasingly formidable exclusive line-up. Shame about the story, but there's plenty to do by the wayside.

A rough diamond. Ubisoft succeeds in making Far Cry relevant again, a few nagging design flaws notwithstanding.

It's nothing revolutionary, but you can't fail to enjoy World at War and it ticks every box rather convincingly.

With its fixed inventories, imposing but predictable level and boss design, and occasionally wooden controls, this tweaked, tropical, co-operative remix of Resident Evil 4 is a game you'll either love or hate. We choose the former.

A merciless, intimidatingly featured, almost grotesquely involved role-playing timesink, perched balefully atop a platform whose users take to higher difficulty settings about as readily as pigeons take to cactus plants.

Spore was meant to be everything to everyone; casual, hardcore, old, young, fat, thin, ugly, uglier. But it isn't.

It’s an exemplary product, really, but also a very expensive one – that’s the only thing to keep in mind before settling in for a weekend alone with an awesome new peripheral, incredibly loud music and beautiful new patterns to master.

The world is huge and meticulously detailed, the mechanics are captivating, and for all the bugs the rewards of persistence are considerable.

What PD have delivered is unquestionably a phenomenal achievement and will represent countless lost hours for petrolheads the world over, but the GT series is no longer the gold standard for driving games. If it takes Yamauchi and his team another five years (or more) to better GT5, the brand runs the risk of being left in the past.

Halo 3: ODST is by no means a flawless game. It provides little in the way of surprises with only minor changes to enemies and arsenals.

Slightly Mad has thrown away the novelty numberplate, lowered the chassis and tightened the wheel nuts, among other such intelligent-sounding automotive expressions. Forza and GRID still have the edge in terms of raw playability, but EA’s old roadster is closing the distance.

Darksiders is a fine example of giving gamers what they want and doing it well.

Even though there are flaws in the game and there could be more variety in its offerings, I enjoyed the online play so much that I only grudgingly played through the singleplayer mode.

Drop-in local multiplayer, though a decent laugh on higher difficulty settings, can’t quite save Dead Space: Extraction from solid rental status.

It may not stray far from its roots, but thanks to a cornucopia of on and offline treats Rare's one-of-a-kind garden sim gets our recommendation once again.

Yes, Blur has borrowed ideas, but it has assembled them with great care, expanding and improving on them in many cases.

Jack Black and Tim Curry hold the wonderfully delivered if slightly predictable story together until its conclusion, though at only eight hours or so it’s left to the unexpectedly interesting multiplayer to add longevity rather than the repetitive side-missions and fetch-quests.

The world is huge and meticulously detailed, the mechanics are captivating, and for all the bugs the rewards of persistence are considerable.

An elegant, lustrous RTS which channels the Bungie spirit to great effect, but takes only a few, baby steps beyond the principles laid down in the developer's Age titles.

Broader, lusher and better defined than its predecessor, but in reality more of an expansion pack than a sequel - as the subtitle implies.

Immensely playable both on- and offline.

Saints Row 2 is to GTA IV what egg and chips is to a Michelin-starred meal - no substitute, but still a salivating prospect. Worth your time and money.

It's damn good, and not just in a "good for the Wii" kind of way. Of course it doesn't match the likes of Modern Warfare 2 and Halo Reach shot for shot, but it provides a thrilling eight hours worth campaign that offers a worthy diversion from any current HD alternative.

Brash, loud, funny and ultra, ultra violent, MadWorld is something of a shock that it was released on the Wii. Thing is, it probably wouldn't be the same on a standard controller. As it stands, this is a great game, highly recommended and with only a few problems to its name.

But MCLA does everything right, and has plenty of longevity packed in.

Ninja Gaiden II is not perfect but it's one of the best action games since the original and an absolute joy to play.

As quick on its feet as you'd expect and glorious to behold, but not quite the earth-shaking return to form we were hoping for after the disappointments of Warrior Within and Two Thrones.

Bloodshot is a very solid title with excellent visuals, engrossing sound, engaging forensics, and intense hand to hand combat.

Red Steel 2 is complex without being incoherent, innovative without being off-putting, and one of the finest brawlers we've played full stop.

As an exercise in giving shape to the ego of the person playing it, it's second to none; as an attempt to realise the conflicts and compromises of high statehood, it falls short.

Dead Rising 2 is a serviceable follow-up, and another unique addition to the ranks of zombie bashers. Its uniqueness is of the rough-and-ready variety, however, sparked by colliding clichés, and for all Fortune City's lashings of sugar, glitter and grey matter, many will find that unevenness hard to bear. Recommended, but watch your step.

Never bring a chainsaw bayonet to a game of cloaks and daggers. The new maps are great, but that stealth sequence should have stayed dead.

A gleeful, gaudy soup of physics sandbox, vehicle creator and action adventure.

EA Sports MMA is a deep, well-rounded, well-structured sim, chewy enough to keep a veteran of the genre occupied but not so chewy that laymen will bounce off.

If you are the kind of beat ‘em up fanatic that has regular access to like-minded individuals for local bouts, Tekken 6’s deeply rewarding gameplay and overflowing character roster will provide endless hours of entertainment, in the same way previous iterations have – This is after all what competitive fighting games are all about and Tekken 6 is one of the best.

Dead Rising 2 is a serviceable follow-up, and another unique addition to the ranks of zombie bashers. Its uniqueness is of the rough-and-ready variety, however, sparked by colliding clichés, and for all Fortune City's lashings of sugar, glitter and grey matter, many will find that unevenness hard to bear. Recommended, but watch your step.

Mirror's Edge commits a fair few of videogaming's original sins - trial-and-error level design, a perfectionist attitude to the simplest of platforming mechanics - but buried beneath them is an intensely rewarding experience.

My biggest objection to Arctic Edge is also what I most like about the game: it’s the same old Motorstorm in pocket-sized form, a solid “diet” reissue of a sensationally stupid racer.