A truly spectacular game. Of all of the possible results that may have sprung from the circumstances that now surround the development of the Halo franchise, Halo 4 is the most welcome (and surprising) imaginable.

Tomb Raider earns its score for daring to go big and then executing on that goal with considerable aplomb in every important area. It looks great, plays well, and is fun from beginning to end. Even more than that, it does all of those things with more skill and finesse than almost any other game before it.

Halo 3 is essential. An Xbox 360 without a copy of the game is like a human without a heart.

It's not perfect, but given the equipment available today, it's as close as anyone is likely to get. Grand Theft Auto IV is Rockstar North's magnum opus and it is absolutely essential. That’s all one needs to know.

Galaxy really is as good as you have been hearing; if you are a Nintendo fan, this is simply essential.

Graphically Uncharted is almost entirely phenomenal. Not just good, great or awesome but truly and utterly incredible. The metallic surfaces and the jungle stand out as being more amazing looking that actual, real things.

Bang for buck? Check. Killer gameplay? Check. Loads of options? Check. Story, sound, presentation? All awesome. It even has a "casual" difficulty level. What's not to like? Screw 2010 - StarCraft II is the best RTS game released in YEARS and one of the best games on PC full stop. If you like gaming at all, you owe it to yourself to check this out. The ultimate RTS has arrived.

Bravo, Blizzard, Bravo.

It's the best game on the 3DS and it justifies the purchase of the system all by itself.

Even Catwoman's playable missions, which I initially considered to be a cheap selling gimmick, add a lot of value to this game. Her titillating character plays in a completely different manner to the Caped Crusader's and the change in tempo works well.

It's a bit on the short side, sure, and the visuals have a tiny hiccup here and there. Everything else about the game is perfect. Seriously, it's exactly right. If you like your action to be intense, dramatic, and totally ridiculous, this could very well be your game of the year.

Its incredible controls and even gameplay really elevate the franchise to new levels.

Forza 3 may have 'something for everyone', but for me the heart of the game is how damn satisfying a good lap feels in the hot lap mode. And I guess at the end of the day, the most important thing in a DRIVING game is how much fun you have kissing the apex.

Jaw-droppingly beautiful...If you are into hotting up rice-rockets, drag racing supercharged yank-tanks, or delicately carving through the twists in a finely tuned Italian thoroughbred, you'll find Forza 4 to be the best console racing title around.

An excellent game with an almost Grindhouse film aesthetic to it.

Tomb Raider is a mature experience featuring a young, strong woman who - armed with grit, determination, and intelligence - rescues not only her friends but herself as well. Surely there’s a lesson in that for the rest of us.

The pride in the Nintendo legacy is apparent in every single aspect of this title; the attention to detail, and sheen of professionalism is everywhere. It’s a triumph - visually one of the best handheld titles ever seen, and in terms of capturing your emotions, Luigi has you on board from the first sequence. You want to guide him to victory (and safety!) because he is just so darn sweet.

The graphics are amazing; the audio is possibly even more stunning; the sheer cohesiveness of the world of Rapture is absurdly impressive; the gameplay is very tight, polished, frantic, and fun; and all of these elements combine to create an experience that is even greater than the sum of its (already remarkable) parts. This is simply a game that everyone needs to play.

The game looks better than ever on the PC and plays like a dream too. However if you already have the game you wont find anything totally new other than the odd side-mission.

The engaging atmosphere, excellent gameplay and replay value make this one of the best titles to hit the PSP in not only recent times, but in the entire PSP catalogue.

Indeed we have waited a long time for Rock Band, but it’s now here, and it’s fun. Really fun. Sell-your-grandmother-to-afford-the-$320-price-tag fun. This is the party game for all of those who have thrashed Guitar Hero and SingStar to their death.

LittleBigPlanet is just one of those instances where a brilliant idea - a product of the times - combines with smart, polished game design to create something that should be a marker for things to come.

It's an essential purchase for any PSP owner and represents an unmatched value on the system.

inFamous is amazing. The feeling of "ability" engendered by the game's openness and the soft-lock system that allows you to go exactly where you want to and land precisely where you intended is genre-defining.

The deepest fighting game ever released. It's combat engine is incredibly in depth, with even the hardest of the hardcore likely to be discovering new possibilities years from now. Even if you're new to Street Fighter, you can get up to speed with the training system and there's plenty of challenges to keep you entertained offline, with the best online implementation ever seen for those that like to spar over the internet.

Basically this is Mass Effect but with the next chapter of the epic story and every gameplay mechanic refined or tuned in one way or another.

The game constantly adds something new to the mix without straying too far from the traditional first-person shooter formula and is sure to be worth the wait for fans everywhere.

Here's a quote that sums up the entire review - "I forgot I was playing this on a PSP!"

This is the very best fighting game ever made, literally bursting with content and even more hinted to be on the way through DLC. You cannot pass this up and still claim to be a fighting game fan.

I don't know how this game will do in the sales charts, but personally it's turned me from a music-game-weary cynic into a fresh-faced jammer once again. I'm not sure how long that will last, but for now I'm loving it.

I can honestly say I haven't been this captivated by an RPG since The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and have joined the legion of fans eagerly awaiting the third instalment.

Far more than just a fun novelty. It's backed by a pure, serious fighting game engine and it manages to deliver on all levels. It's fun, approachable by the novice, works with any number of players from solo through online to a local party environment and has incredible depth.

Far more than just a fun novelty. It's backed by a pure, serious fighting game engine and it manages to deliver on all levels. It's fun, approachable by the novice, works with any number of players from solo through online to a local party environment and has incredible depth.

If you've got a 3DS and like good games, this one is a no-brainer. Get it. Love it. Fight me. Go on, I dare ya.

Glitches aside, Skyrim is a big, beautiful game, that will overwhelm with its physical and emotional depths. And after thirty-five hours of playing I feel like I've only experienced a hint of what the Skyrim world has to offer. I love the way it manages to combine sandbox-style gameplay without sacrificing story progression or big political moments that lend credence to the experience of a real culture.

Rayman Origins is so obviously a labour of love for its developers, and it shows in the artistry, in the care and attention to every detail, and in the feeling of uplifting whimsy that permeates the game.

If you like the over-the-top, extreme nature of this series (and it's not for everyone; the pocket-protector variant of the fighting fan will probably not like it as much as the rest of us), you are going to love every ultra intense moment.

Blizzard haven't set out to reinvent the wheel with Diablo III, opting instead to release the ultimate version of a wheel that's already beloved by its niche audience.

If you've played last year's version, the new decks make it exciting enough to warrant the purchase, and if you have generally held off but enjoy Magic: The Gathering, it's a no brainer.

Much like Angry Birds Space, Flight Control Rocket is a great new version of the original game that will keep you addicted and eat up a lot of your spare time, and you'll be humming the theme tune throughout (and beyond).

F1 2012 is by far the most satisfying, all-encompassing F1 experience yet. From the immersive graphics to the full-on career mode and the brilliant Season Challenge, it's as though Codemasters have thought of everything. Highly recommended.

If you were left wanting in RE5 there's a good chance RE6 will satisfy you. There's a reason you're being fired at, there are plenty of tense moments and stress, the storytelling is superb, and "zombies" make a return.

It's amazing and you should definitely check it out.

I feel The Walking Dead is so special that five to ten years from now people are still going to be talking about it and referencing its importance. I imagine this series will be the first to make many gamers cry, it is that emotionally powerful.

The moment you step through the doorway and into Columbia, something magical happens. You’re introduced to what is easily the most "alive" city found in a game so far.

A fantastic setting, realistic controls, and insane graphics make EA Skate a definite must-have.

For all its guts and glory, for all its taxing, gritty fortitude, Killzone 2 adheres too strictly to the rules of its genre to send itself into the stratosphere. What will stand the test of time is its pitch perfect grasp of said genre, its wonderfully taxing, take-no-prisoners assault on your senses and your trigger finger. It is the ultimate conservative First-Person-Shooter, whether it wants to be or not. And this is why it’s worth your bucks.

Pokemon games are getting deeper, more complex and ever more exciting with each iteration. The only thing to do is keep catching em all. It would be rude not to.

There is enough here to keep you busy for ages, and the game is remarkably imaginative and fun. It was just never going to be as earth shattering as Mario 64 or the first Super Mario Galaxy.

If your creative heartstrings are tugging and heavenly ballet of the Wonderplane is calling, go grab LittleBigPlanet 2. Your inner child will be endlessly thankful for it.

Killzone 3 is one spectacular game - sure, it's really only doing the basics in terms of gameplay, but it does it in the balls-to-the-walls, damn-the-expense, ultra-intensity manner that only a top-shelf, big-budget, mega-spectacular can.

Star Fox 64 was a phenomenal game and it's even better the second time around. This is the definitive version of one of the most important games of a generation. You absolutely need this game if you have a 3DS, and if you don't have one, this game is genuinely good enough to justify looking into rectifying that. Get it. Immediately.

Trade and economic growth are explored in a simple and deeply engaging way.

Trials Evolution is so good that the award for downloadable game of the year may already be locked up.

The stupid grins on our faces, the uncontrollable laughs and the humming of the music long after the race was over, show that his game is fun right through to its adorable little core.

With its beautiful graphics, excellent voice acting, inspiring music, fantastic story and script, and amazing gameplay, Uncharted is nothing short of a winner – it’s Game of the Year material.

Even by the standards of the series, Empire: Total War is epic. It takes the combined real-time and turn-based strategy, and pushes it out into the eighteenth century in style. It's bigger, and it has a hell of a lot more bang.

The graphics are an amazing painterly mixture of abstract and cartoonish styles – it actually looks like a living painting you’re waltzing through. The music is of an equally high quality, switching between string compositions and folk music.

It feels strange playing such an adult and violent game on the Nintendo DS, but at the same time, Grand Theft Auto feels right at home here. If future titles are announced for the DS then Chinatown Wars is proof enough that skepticism of Rockstar's ability to deliver on the platform is completely unjustified.

If you like survival horror games and you have a Wii, buy this immediately. Buy a second copy in case the first one wears out. If you don't have a Wii, hire one to play this. It's that good. Just don't play it alone - it's that good.

BioShock 2 is a game developed for all those square-eyed shooter fiends who wanted to explore the ocean floor, shoot-em-up with others online, and never play one of those annoying pipe-puzzlers again so long as they lived.

The cannon may be the final argument of kings. But the Total War series is undoubtedly the king of the real time strategy genre - and Napoleon: Total War could very well be Creative Assembly’s crowning jewel.

For the most hardcore Civ addicts out there, some of the changes may be a little unfamiliar. But Civilization V retains the ethos of this iconic series, while modernising, simplifying and improving both its look and its feel.

This is the real deal and the whole package folks. A must have for all Wii owners.

Skyward Sword is not only a fitting tribute to the long running series, but also a milestone in the life of the Nintendo Wii itself, as it finally delivers a game that shows the true power of the control system. Besides, it is fun and challenging to play in its own right. Very highly recommended.

This is a must buy for anyone interested in fantasy RPGs.

Its refreshing take on platform-based gaming, humour, variety, challenge and polish are instantly - and enduringly - impressive. Not only is this one of the best games on the Vita, it's one of the best games of the year - period.

If you like this kind of thing, buy it, love it, and trade me your teams - there's battlin' to be done.

Final Fantasy XIII is a fantastical foray into a magical imagination. Ably supported by gorgeous visuals, the gameplay ramps up at a rate than can only be described as perfection as you fall in love with the characters in your party and the environment in which they adventure. It's not perfect in every way but the imperfections that are to be found are like dust on a diamond - there, certainly, but utterly irrelevant.

The jump-in, jump-out aspect of multiplayer mode is great for people who like to play both solo and multiplayer. And while FPS/multiplayer extremists may find the questing a bit grindy (as one confided to me after a few days of playing), there really is a je ne sais quoi about this game that totally rules.

NBA 2K8 is superior to last year's game in almost every way, which is no mean feat.

It was one of the best, if not the gold standard for sports genre video games last year, and it looks set to re-claim that title yet again this year.

Resistance 2 is gutsier, it’s gorier, and it’s much, much bigger.

God of War III is polished from (severed) head to (bloodied) toe, and is an enjoyable, ridiculous experience perfect for the moments where you just want to switch your brain off.

Demon's Soul is it. It will kill you, cap your health, break your sword, make you replay the same half hour ten times over and then kill you some more. But, because of this its rewards are infinitely more exhilarating and satisfying. However, the game isn't completely heartless.

The Association shows great statistical depth and nice opposing management AI, and My Player provides a long and in-depth journey from proving yourself in the combines, to the draft, and eventually to press conferences, playoffs and stardom.

The Association shows great statistical depth and nice opposing management AI, and My Player provides a long and in-depth journey from proving yourself in the combines, to the draft, and eventually to press conferences, playoffs and stardom.

This is the definitive Zelda game, don't just buy it - put it on display. Zelda transcends the quirks that time has revealed in her and shines just as bright in the light of a new millennium.

It's fun, looks and sounds great, has loads of content, and integrates very well with your friends lists and the leaderboard system...It is, in a word, awesome.

Although the campaign mode is flatter than an anorexic stingray, the multiplayer is easily worth the price of admission alone. It's also one of the most phenomenal looking games you'll have the pleasure of playing this year.

If you have a 3DS, and can handle the idea of a cartoon-like racing game, you absolutely must get this game. Believe it or not, Mario Kart 7 is the very best version of the formula yet.

Not only is it highly recommended among its app store peers, it stands well alongside much more expensive console games as well.

LBP for Vita is truly incredible, and arguably the definitive version of the experience.

By and large FIFA 13 is chock-full of content. The online aspects are so in depth now there is no doubt you could play FIFA 13 for all eternity if you so chose, which really represents excellent value for gamers.

If you’ve been thinking about dipping your toes into the JRPG scene, you absolutely must put this at the top of your list.

One of the modes that baseball fans will love is the ability to play any match-up from the season with live updated player stats and rosters.

All of the narrative and story-driven dialogue is beautifully pitched throughout, making the plot meld seamlessly with the gameplay.

The most accurate description of American Football on a videogame console that I’ve ever seen.

Resident Evil 5 offers some great level designs as well.

Resident Evil 5 offers some great level designs as well.

This game has taken the best points from the first three titles, and improved upon them yet again. It comes highly recommended: it looks great, it sounds great, it plays great. It's great.

Wipeout 2048 isn't just one of the best launch games (an achievement in itself, as the standard is very high), it's also one of the best games in an excellent series.

A phenomenally clever game polished to a new level of perfection by the masters at Q Entertainment.

What separates the truly stupendous from the merely amazing is that often elusive je ne sais quoi. Mass Effect 3 burns brightly. But that extra spark would have transformed it from a shining star, into a blazing supernova.

If you've got a Vita and like fighting games, buying Mortal Kombat is an absolute no-brainer. There's so much content here, and it's loads of fun, with lots of depth and plenty of challenge to keep you going long into the upcoming cold winter nights.

But the truth is, Rockstar know their onions. They understand the importance of a gritty story, concise controls, cinematic visuals, balls-out action, and genuinely fun (albeit not 100% balanced) multiplayer. But above all, they carry with them a sense of style across all of their presentation. Max Payne 3 is yet another fine example of their prowess.

This is a whole new, uber-improved racer that will change your view on the Need for Speed franchise for the better. Best enjoyed with eye-drops as you won't want to blink.

With the new (improved) control system and slight increase in visual quality, it would be safe to say that Wii U owners are getting the best experience out of Most Wanted - even if it is six months behind.