It's got a world you believe in, a cast you care about and a script stuffed with brilliant moments... Utterly stunning in every resepct. [May 2008, p.79]

Amazingly written and beautifully constructed, it's a complete emotional rollercoaster which we can't drawn any parallels with...You'll be playing this game for months to come, exchanging story elements to build up the bigger picture, and arguing about what it all means. [Sept 2007, p.88]

The presentation, the career game, the online stuff, the load times...everything's better. And with streets packed with spectators, signs and flags, it's a much more vibrant lace than Gotham's sterile cities of old. We simply have no alternative but to crown Gotham 4 the best racing game on Xbox 360. [Nov 2007, p.102]

Simple, elegant and hopelessly addictive. [Feb 2008, p.103]

It's mature: not because of profanity or nudey bits, but because it tackles complicated themes without telling you what to think. Having already sunk a distressing number of hours into ME2, the second this sentence is finished we're firing it up and exploring the rest of the universe.

This is a textbook example to other developers of the love, care, attention, polish and guile needed when crafting a sequel. An essential purchase for all FPS fans. [Ryan King]

The FPS epic comes full circle. Pure quality.

This may well be the best tenner you ever spend.

While it's worth replaying to catch the dialogue you missed the first time round - a spectacular rarity in any game - and to hunt out the hidden Rat Man rooms, there isn't enough variety in the way you solve puzzles to sustain repeat runthroughs. We're going to need DLC, and plenty of it, to keep our co-op partnership going.

Human Revolution stands proudly alongside the best in cyberpunk fiction, in any medium let alone just games... So few games allow you to carve a subtly unique path through every single encounter and, while major plot points remain the same, you'll feel like your journey was your own. [Sept 2011, p.80]

Skyrim may frustrate you at times, but it will work its way inside your skin and replace the marrow of your bones. It never gives you an opportunity to neatly stop playing. Even if you manage to tear yourself away, the locations and the people will rattle around in your head. It'll give you stories to tell your friends, (although you should remember that many people simply won't be interested), and it'll give you an entire region to bend, beautifully slowly, to your will.

Brilliantly charming and consistently entertaining, it's a true XBLA classic.

Mass Effect 3 is brave enough to threaten to destroy its very own legacy. Everything you've worked for is genuinely at risk, and horrifying things are going to happen because of some of the choices you've made. If you've spent as long as we have with these characters, the impact of this final journey will be one you don't forget for years. Brave, thrilling, and incredibly emotional, Mass Effect 3 is a sci-fi masterpiece.

There's absolutely no doubt that Fez is essential. As a fan of games in general, you should consider it required reading - it's one of the smartest, most charming games you'll ever play, let alone just this year or this console generation. Somehow Polytron has constructed something that tweaks our nostalgia for the 16-bit era and yet presents fresh, imaginative challenges.

4J has turned in an accomplished port, boasting crisp, high-resolution visuals and a reorganised inventory...In terms of console sims, nothing touches it. Minecraft's world is one that everybody should experience.

Even when we're note marvelling at this marriage of plastic blocks and Death Stars, there's something incredible going on in this game, and it's all in the little details. [Oct 2006, p.68]

This is a true classic, and a beautifully made one at that. Rediscover Splinter Cell all over again, and we promise you, there's no way this cracker will stab you in the back.

If you think you can handle the pressure, deal with the pain and put in the hours, then you'll find this one of the most frenetic, tactical and rewarding squad-based shooters ever made (despite a few annoying foibles and glitches), one that will grip and enthrall you for weeks on end - and justify the outlay for your Xbox 360 setup. [Apr 2006, p.15]

Gears of War is absolutely rammed with excitement, innovation and atmosphere. This is a next-generation game in every respect, trampling convention and really rewriting the shooter genre with flourish and pace.

Burnout: Revenge is so achingly pretty that this is one of the few occasions where it's actually worth buying all over again. Seeing it in action makes you proud of your Xbox 360 and what it's proving capable of.

Rupturing quality and oozing tension, this is stealth gaming of the highest calibre, full of imagination and augmented by an excellent two-way Trust system that leaves you pondering every choice you make and then having to deal with the consequences. [Nov 2006, p.8]

But if you want a staggering multiplayer fight game that looks better than anything else on Xbox 360, get this.

Bungie has delivered an excellent Campaign mode, arguably the best multi-player experience on any platform and almost endless replay value. But Halo 3 scores most highly for artistic vision, capitalising on all of the series' greatest visual motifs.

As good as we were expecting and hoping, it delivers on its promise to make an 'always on' Xbox Live race world, plus the car handling, sheer size of its island and the way you're left to make your own fun in your own way makes it a breath of pine-scented air in this world full of bland race games. [Oct 2006, p.108]

If you've a nostalgic bone in your body that needs breaking, this is the game.

Though the single-player provides some feasible outcomes to the what-if scenarios posed by the desperate fiscal, military and political interests of the superpowers in Kazakh oil, the multiplayer provides a more realistic answer to what might happen - endless, bloody, war.

Ultimately the game proves how powerful a storytelling medium gaming has become. Like the best cinema, the feeling of being privy to this dark world lingers long past putting down the controller. Its memory festers inside you - of a deeply disturbing experience, and an unforgettable one at that.

The only problem with VT3 is also its greatest asset - it really does play and feel identical to the Dreamcast game we played every day for six months back in 2000 and for large chunks of most years since. [Apr 2007, p.84]

It's this kind of smooth, easy perfection that floods the game. [Nov 2007, p.92]

The greatest triumph is that it'll make you laugh and go 'wow' for the entire seven hours and then some. [Oct 2006, p.8]

While the [single-player] combat is still brilliant and it looks a lot better, the unskippable cutscenes, unvaried locations, irritating characters and mini-games all really grate. However, adding in the much improved multiplayer with a variety of cool vehicles, Treyarch has really rounded off Infinity Ward's vision. [Dec 2006, p.90]

Star Wars fans, LEGO fanatics or lovers of the first game will be in ecstasy. A must-buy. [Oct 2006, p.94]

The astounding vistas of each planet combined with swelling synth chords and the cheesy sci-fi plots of Babylon 5, make this a game for lovers of sci-fi and RPG everywhere. Roll on the sequels!

It plays brilliantly and is astonishingly easy to get into...For outrageousness and pure entertainment value, Crackdown is the most fun sandbox game to date...It's all-out action. Crackdown is an absolute riot. [Feb 2007, p.8]

The car handling is incredibly complex and varied, and the superb modding Garage lets you tweak handling beyond belief - but only if you want. [July 2007, p.88]

Still brilliant, even by today's standards. [Dec 2006, p.99]

Perhaps the most impressive thing, though, is that it's managed to feel like a totally authentic Halo experience, rather than just a cynical spin-off. We've no doubt a strategy game will be a hard sell to a lot of people, but if this introduces even just a small proportion of die-hard Halo fans to a rewarding new genre of game, or indeed just a small proportion of strategy fans to the brilliance of Bungie's rich sci-fi universe, then it can be deemed a success that the now defunct Ensemble Studios can be proud of.

The beauty of Guitar Hero II is it's just as playable and addictive in single-player, with a career mode taking you and your band out of the sticks and onto the road of rock stardom. [Apr 2007, p.80]

Enormous, intelligent, wily - a true dragon. [Sept 2007, p.98]

Quite simply, GRAW2 is the game the original Advanced Warfighter should have been. It’s GRAW with a proper running time, GRAW without feeling penned in by invisible walls and the endless and constraining "You’re leaving the battlefield!" warnings. GRAW2 promised to be bigger, better and more – and it’s delivered all three.

Is the most ballanced, prettiest, deepest fighting game ever made perfection? No, but being the most balanced, prettiest and deepest fighting game is more than enough. [Nov 2007, p.94]

It’s definitely a worthwhile Live Arcade download for Oblivion fans, rejuvenating it and giving your character some wonderful new tricks. Frankly, you’d have to be mad to miss it.

With Half-life you've got a remarkable, near-perfect single-player experience, while Team Fortress 2 provides endless replay value and Portal provides a unique innovative sideways look at the physics of video games. And don't think it ends here, because Valve is a past master of the art of Downloadable Content. An essential purchase.

As a tech demo of Xbox 360's power and a showcase of how fast, skilful and enjoyable simple online battling can be when it's taken back to basics, there's nothing better around right now.

It was, and still is, a gaming masterpiece. The term ‘Must Buy’ was created for games like this.

The best music game in the world...ever! [Jan 2008, p.79]

Fluid and uniquely told. A classic reborn. [Aug 2007, p.102]

The smoothest, best looking and prettiest Hawk game of the lot. It really has been tweaked to perfection. It's going to be impossible to improve on this one next year. [Dec 2007, p.84]

COD4 is cutting-edge entertainment, but the downside to this dense and gripping delivery is that it's over far too quickly: five to six hours on Normal difficulty...COD4 is short but immensely satisfying and we can't wait for a post-modern revival. [Dec 2007, p.73]

Exploding with multiplayer fun! [Oct 2007, p.98]

The proof is in the songs, better balanced and offering enough range to please everybody. Here's to another six months of hard rock heaven.

One of the most addictive games we've enjoyed in recent years. [Christmas 2007, p.106]

The best sports game on Xbox Live Arcade. [Feb 2008, p.103]

Like all things immoral, this is tremendous fun. Buy it now...No better way of spending 400MP. [Dec 2007, p.109]

Still fresh 15 years on - and just as much fun. [Christmas 2007, p.107]

It might not be adding much to the Resi formula, but it's hugely enjoyable despite this. Roll on the inevitable and much-deserved sequel.

The best puzzler on Xbox Live Arcade. [Jan 2008, p.98]

Ubisoft has taken a huge gamble by not making wholesale changes to Rainbow Six Vegas 2, but it's come up smelling liike roses. It's still one of the very best-value, high-quality FPS packages available on the 360. [Apr 2008, p.72]

If you missed the cult the first time round, now is the time to jump on board. If you are already part of the cult, we know you'll be playing this right now.

There are very few ways that Gears of War 2 could be improved on. Only the story and the final boss in particular are a slight disappointment. Fanboys will love the fact that only one of a multitude of story arcs is concluded; everyone else will feel slightly unfulfilled. But aside from this, Gears 2 is not just the most exhilarating game you'll play this year, but possibly the most heady and downright shocking piece of entertainment full stop. Hollywood, your days are numbered. [Dec 2008, p.61]

An amazing sight to behold. [Apr 2008, p.99]

It's online that Madden 09 really comes into its own. [Oct 2008, p.88]

Ironically, Fight Night Round 4 may be the best argument for banning boxing yet. After all, when a game can get this close to the fluid, organic technicality of the real thing, why does anyone need to get hit in the face?... Solid, satisfying and totally revolutionary. [July 2009, p.81]

It's simple what Bethesda's done here - it's taken Oblivion's engine and design ethos, and applied it to a fresh franchise. The results are truly impressive, and we've no hesitation in slapping on a Must Buy badge, but you can't help but notice that for every problem it's fixed from Oblivion, a new leak's sprung.

There's a massive amount to say about GHWT, from the factoid videos teaching you the real guitar, and the vastly improved backdrop for gigs, to the superb way you can play as a band. This is a vastly entertaining package and a must buy for music lovers and GH fans.

Those worried that World War II has been done to death, fear not. Treyarch's willingness to push the boundaries has uncovered a side to the war few developers even knew existed, and we'll be damned if it doesn't make for one hell of a game to boot.

Under seven quid for one of the best one-on-one fighters since "Street Fighter II"? Bargain!

At its worst, Rock Band 2 feels like a massive expansion pack that just fills in all the missing gaps from the original game. [Christmas 2008, p.92]

As wonderfully addictive as ever. [Oct 2008, p.94]

Unique, charming, frustrating, innovative. [Oct 2008, p.94]

The best game in the franchise to date. It's genuinely good enough that it might even convert diehard PES fans if Konami's update this year ends up being as lacklustre as last year's.

A brilliant experience. No other license-shackled developer has understood their subject quite as well as Rocksteady, and this is without a doubt the definitive representation of the Dark Knight.

Far Cry 2 is this year's equivalent of Assassin's Creed... when it comes to enveloping the player in exotic sights and sounds, Ubisoft has absolutely nailed it. [Issue # 40]

Who knew agony could be so much fun? [Dec 2008, p.100]

From giant pandas to Streets of Rage-inspired brawling, this is the most complete fighting game available to-date.

The only major disappointment is final boss Seth. Given how imaginative the rest of the crew are, going toe-to-toe with a bald, blue baddie that bears more than a passing resemblance to Bioshock's Fontaine feels like something of an anticlimax.

For the price, it's unmissable, and it proves that Liberty City can support far more than the two pieces of DLC Rockstar has committed to.

This is pure videogame from start to finish - escapism at its finest. It reminds you of a time you didn't question why, you just went along for the ride. There's only one question: how the hell do you top it? [Jan 2009, p.92]

Red Dead Redemption is a truly epic resuscitation of the Western theme in games. It's also easily the best gunslinging game we've ever played.

Still one of Sega's best racers. [Apr 2009, p.92]

It's hugely addictive, enormously satisfying and will only set you back 800 points. What are you waiting for? [May 2009, p.96]

The first Assassin's Creed's charm was in the sumptuous graphics and straightforward action - that incredible climbing and free-running, and the visceral thrill of stapling evil people to the dirt with a wristblade. With AC2 the rest of the game has caught up with the brilliance of those central ideas to create a complete and coherent experience. We can think of plenty of words that could describe Assassin's Creed 2 - involving, exciting, cinematic - but there's only one word that sums it up beautifully. Killer. [Dec 2009, p.74]

It's indisputably an excellent shooter: intelligent, satisfying, and a tiny bit thought-provoking, with big ideas and big fights that are never as clunky, irritating or unfair as BioShock. You should play it. But you should also know that - and here we'll borrow the game's own central theme of parenthood - it's a prodigy that never quite leaves the shadow of its father.

The best ice hockey game yet. [Nov 2009, p.96]

The game's brilliance is distilled in those heroic moments where you shunt the person in first, whip past and then execute a perfect drift between two mines on the final corner of the final lap. This is the Xbox 360's slick, stylish answer to Mario Kart and we absolutely love it.

This is the old-school, full-bore ultra-violence that many people felt was missing from Niko's adventures. It's less a brooding crime epic and more a particularly ludicrous episode of Prison Break.

IL-2 feels like two separate games: one a solid, fun arcade flyer, the other a testing simulation of true aerial combat circa Hitler-times. It's inevitable then, that if you're at all interested in planes, or just want to embarrass yourself at a different altitude, IL-2 can hardly come more recommended.

Once again Turn 10 has produced the biggest and deepest racer on the Xbox 360.

Shadow Complex is a stunning demonstration of what you can squeeze onto the service. Play it, marvel at it, and hope that it's the future of downloadable games.

Those who've already purchased the DLC might look at that £40 price tag with concern, but - make sure you're seated - we reckon its quality, not quantity that matters most here. And ODST has bundles of in both it's superb single-player and sublime online modes.

And that's L4D2 all over: in every game, the world ends a slightly different way. You'll find a different route to take, you'll hear another dud story from Ellis, you'll try a different weapon combination, or a different tactic in the finale.

The best in the series by some distance.

Still awesome online. [Aug 2009, p.94]

The best DLC for Fallout 3 so far. [Sept 2009, p.84]

With such layered and near-endless challenges, not to mention the addition of a remarkably powerful level creator, you'll be firing this up for a quick blast for years to come. We don't say this often, deeply cynical as we are, but if for some ludicrous self-abusing reason you only buy one XBLA game this year, make it Trials HD. [R. King]

Exceptional racing with brilliant atmosphere.

Improves on the original in almost every way. [July 2010, p.90]

Earthworm Jim HD is a brilliant example of how games should be remade and remixed on XBLA.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane is absolutely what we hoped it would be - a colourful, anarchic arcade racer. Your mileage will vary depending on how gripped you are by score chasing, but the multiplayer should keep you busy - not least because you can bring three split-screen friends online with you. For a measly tenner, Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a steal.

A lovingly crafted, full-bodied shooter. [Sept 2010]

Simply a must-have puzzle game. [Sept 2010, p.101]

Guardian of Light crackles with energy, and Crystal Dynamics has clearly relished adding a different dynamic to the franchise. By marrying top-down shooter mechanics with a tidy co-op mode, it adds something the series was long thought to have lost: a sense of fun.

Co-op is the highlight, adding mechanics like floating sun energy that's reaped by both players hovering their cursor over it, and dividing the job of dropping plants by giving each player four seed packets. It's well-balanced strategy that isn't hardcore, but is fertilised by adorable comedy.

But these disappointments are dwarfed by the game's vast imagination, ambitious scope, entertaining combat, boss battles, Titan battles, puzzles and power-ups. Lords of Shadow is an epic and slightly unexpected triumph.

It's tough, but also bloody funny.

Fallout: New Vegas does betray the age of its engine every now and then, but it also shows why it has aged so well, powering the same tasty mix of great gameplay, endless side-quests and a world to get lost in.

The main reason you'll keep returning to DJ Hero 2 is for a love of the music. Simply playing along with any of the tunes in the game is a thoroughly entertaining experience - particularly when you get the chance to commandeer the crossfader or perform some freestyle scratching and sampling.

It's aspirational, inspirational, educational, and eminently valuable. It's not only an achievement within its own genre, but a landmark for the entire medium as well.

If you want your Christmas to be characterised by tears of laughter, this is an essential purchase.

When all is said and done, this is the 'proper' Call of Duty fans have been waiting for. [Issue#67, p.84]

It's not perfect, but Hot Pursuit is still the kind of collision between Criterion and Need For Speed you'd hope for. It pays respect to the classic NFS games, borrows the best bits from Burnout and is a technical masterpiece. The chase to reclaim NFS's once legendary chart topping form is well and truly on.

Of the five there's only one genuine dud. Phu Bai Valley is an indistinct, formless and aesthetically muddy mess, made even worse if you play it in Rush mode with its arbitrary barriers. The other four, however, are some of the best Battlefield maps we've seen.

Madden 11 is without a doubt the best American football game on the Xbox 360. [Issue#65, p.85]

The best fitness title on the Xbox 360.

Unnecessary multiplayer aside, Dead Space 2 is a corker. It's an unpredictable powder-keg of [a] game; even when you get mulched by the Necromorphs it's great to see just how many chunks your corpse has been blown into. [Feb 2011, p.88]

Red Dead's outstanding DLC in a box. Simple as.

Wildly chaotic but obscenely enjoyable. [Mar 2011, p.91]

Strong, simple concept, executed beautifully. [Mar 2011, p.102]

Original, beautiful, and one of a kind.

An early contender for game of the year. It really is that spectacular. While the hand of Epic is evident, as the team that did the bulk of the work this catapults People Can Fly onto our list of the most exciting shooter devs on the Xbox 360. Brilliant writing, unparalleled production values and thunderous action: this deserves to be number one with a bullet.

The passion that BG&E inspires makes it too easy to gloss over the flaws - it'll take you a while to get used to the hyper-sensitive camera, the acting is choppy, and Jade's fighting style is uninspired. But this is a game in which killing comes second to the story, puzzles, the world, and the characters - it's 10-15 hours of genuinely compelling pleasure.

Crysis 2 skates on the thin ice of its own excellence. There are weaknesses, that might - if the mode-swapping suitplay hadn't been so strong - have dragged the game down. But the story and combat [are] strong enough to carry you through, and if you've got the stomach for competitive multiplayer, the Nanosuit will bring a new world of sneaky, high-jumping tactics to your online game. [Apr 2011, p.84 MC]

Champion Mode's story makes you care more about the fights. [Apr 2011, p.102]

Commandos Strike Force achieves the impossible - it's a wargame that's innovative and interesting to play. Switching characters in the middle of a battle keeps the pace high, while the solo chapters use each fighter and their skills to their fullest.

Juggling impossibly huge gaming areas with varied, consistent, imaginative gameplay, it has managed to create a slice of Southern American comic violence that begs to be played. [Oct 2006, p.64]

GRAW is brimming with atmosphere, has brilliant, open levels and challenging AI that will put your shooting skills to the test. [April 2006, p.74]

FIFA 07 is fantastic. The reworked gameplay feels so right and its Xbox Live support is amazing. [Nov 2006, p.66]

If you know anything about good games, you'll love it as much as we do. [April 2006, p.70]

Vampire Smile is the product of just one man. Everything, from the slick lo-fi graphics layered with intense lighting effects, to the urgent, industrial music, is by James Silva....Don't be too quick to be jealous.

A faithful upgrade of a handheld classic.

Kinect aside, it's genuinely smashing.

DiRT 3 is one of those rare games that delivers both quality and quantity. Everything is laser-engineered to improve on the brilliant previous game. The only misstep is the anodyne Career mode interface - lots of people will be baffled by the decision to replace the bustling 3D service area with something stylish yet hollow.

The ending lets it down. The most intriguing story arc ends midway through, leaving a grander but less interesting twist to play out in an endgame that ties off the story in a clumsy and unsatisfying fashion. It's an ignoble end to a game that works so hard to keep you involved, but it doesn't stop the journey being a fascinating one, and something that manages to feel like an entirely fresh experience.

An ambient platforming essential. [July 2011, p.102]

Beneath the visuals and the voice-over, Bastion is actually a fairly standard action RPG, but the abundance of different challenges and puzzles, combined with that beguiling narration, makes it something rather special.

Street Fighter nuts will already have bought this without a second thought; if you remember the good old days of 2D fighters, this is the pinnacle.

The best bit of Fallout DLC so far.

Don't be fooled by the identikit visuals: Crimson Alliance is frantic, fresh, and utterly brilliant.

The story isn't amazing, but it takes a cheerful back seat to spending time with the characters we've all grown to love over the last five years. And, best of all, nearly all of the loose ends are tied up. In single-player it's easily the best game of the series - and online the Horde, Deathmatch and Beast modes stand a good chance of making you forget about Battlefield and Call of Duty. Bravo, Epic.

While it's never going to be as surprising or novel as Codies' first stab at Formula One, for a seasonal update there's a remarkable number of tweaks and changes, all of which are for the better. What's more, the game has become one of the most substantial and compelling multiplayer racing offerings around and, with the addition of co-op at whatever diffi culty you choose, is more inclusive for all skill levels than the majority of online racers.

When you consider the revised physics engine and fine-tuned player AI, this year's FIFA steps up as one of the best updates in a long time. A goal machine of a game and a compulsive purchase that not even Arsene Wenger could resist.

For a game that's sometimes frighteningly unfair, it's shocking just how compelling Dark Souls is. While the first game was merely ruthless, its successor feels like full-on psychological warfare - we've played difficult games before, but this is the first we've seen that actively seems to be conspiring against you.

Forza Motorsport 4 is a racing game that tries to be all things to all people, and you know what? It actually pulls it off.

The game doesn't benefit from the novelty of Rocksteady's first, pitch-perfect effort, but based on the quality and beauty of Gotham's pair of correctional institutes, we're perfectly happy to be incarcerated again.

Our favourite addition is the brilliantly insane Karaoke mode, which enables you to sing along to instrumental versions of the famous theme music. Less hilariously, but more usefully, there's support for eight players over Xbox Live to replicate the legendary showdowns that occurred at amusement arcades around the world in the mid-'90s.

A clear improvement on its already-excellent predecessor and is now absolutely the dance game that Kinect deserves. Those who can't stomach the more narrow selection of musical genres will be upset, but this is still the slickest, sexiest dance game around.

For a renewed sense of wonder about Kinect, simply play this game. In exactly the same fashion as last year, Rare is at the cutting edge of what the device is capable of and as a result Kinect Sports Season 2 is, yet again, an essential sports game.

Without question a better game than the previous three CoD games and easily the most spectacular in the series.

There's no downside, save an easily-forgiven sense of familiarity and the absence of online co-op. You can't even resort to the usual retro-gaming caveat of high difficulty - the learning curve is perfectly judged, the checkpoints agreeably spaced. This is the year's best platformer without the faintest shadow of a doubt.

The love that's gone into this HD remake makes it more than worth its budget price. If you've never checked out this series, don't get bogged down by details: Halo is about a big bloke shooting cool guns at cool aliens in cool places. Ten years later, that's still enough.

A glorious example of how much fun there is to be had when you let rip with both barrels. Screw reality - ridiculous overblown madness like this is exactly why video games are so great. Thanks for justifying our pastime, Volition.

While the years haven't been too kind to their spruced-up SD assets, the chance to fully experience the MGS saga is one Xbox 360 owners definitely shouldn't pass up.

Trine 2 is a vivid and stunning game that spins the colour wheel on nature. It's completely absorbing as a single-player experience and bawdy puzzle fun with company. Just remember to turn on the unlimited mode and get stuck in.

It's one of the best shooter-stories we've seen in years - justifying its own ludicrous nature in interesting and unexpected ways. If the ending didn't feel like such a cop-out, The Darkness II could have been on par with BioShock. As it is, the gripping narrative and wonderfully empowering combat mean you'll be talking about it for months after completing it.

As a series reboot this is perfectly acceptable, but it's the new and innovative online aspects that make SSX feel absolutely superb. Packed to the brim with clever ideas, SSX is a truly unmissable surprise. While most other online modes feel like painting-by-numbers, SSX shrugs and tries something refreshingly different. This isn't just brave - it's brilliant.

A fantastically substantial fighting game. If Marvel vs Capcom 3 was too wacky for your tastes, this sits comfortably between it and Street Fighter IV on the lunacy spectrum. The tag mechanic is brilliantly robust, there are loads of new moves to master and the Tekken characters slot in more comfortably than a bum in a favourite armchair. Welcome to your new favourite fighting game.

At 800 MP, Forces of Nature is hard to resist. Epic's final and most dramatic dose of Season Pass content turns out to be its most conciliatory, a club sandwich of new and warmed-over jollies that belongs on every menu.

Sine Mora is a brilliant shooter that doesn't burst immediately into life. But once you pick up the ways in which it tests you, dicks you around, and emasculates you, it'll be one of the best abusive relationships you've ever been in.

A huge, complex and expertly written RPG that has the capacity to consume weeks, maybe even months of your life. While its roots are on the PC, it's translated effortlessly to the Xbox 360 with no compromises and stacks up well against the prettiest games on the system. It's more hardcore than Skyrim but by no means inaccessible.

Relentlessly clever and deviously charming. [May 2012, p.85]

The brilliant thing is how carefully stage-managed this madness is... A bizarre but brilliant online brawler. [May 2012, p.98]

Trimming off dead-weight as often as it adds something new, this is the strongest LEGO game yet. We've had seven years' worth of iterations, but these cheeky blocks of plastic are still fantastic.

Despite the blatantly rushed execution, it's impossible not to love The Walking Dead Episode 2. This is thought-provoking, clever, and genuinely grown-up entertainment. Heart-rending decisions and spectacular pacing make this one of the most intense gaming experiences we've ever had.

Even if you're confined to single player, Spelunky is yet another small but perfectly formed nugget of joy to be unearthed on the Games Marketplace. Like Fez, Joe Danger and Super Meat Boy before it, the charm simply oozes out of the screen and leaves a saccharine sticky patch at the base of your TV. That initial infuriation crystallises into solid determination and 1200MP buys you an endless supply of levels against which to test your wits and skills.

A game of rich variety and strong personality that never gets boring over its ten essential hours - many more if you stop to check out the full and entertaining world... It's shorter than GTA IV, for sure, but it's also much sweeter. [Sept 2012, p.82]

It's Virtua Fighter 5, only tarted up. [Sept 2012, p.105]

Lee is the best protagonist we've seen in years, and his relationship with the group continues to fascinate. Delicate, thoughtful, and unreservedly brutal - The Walking Dead is one of the most mature gaming experiences that money can buy. This is the most exciting game of 2012, and you won't even find it sitting on shelves. Hop onto Xbox Live and buy it immediately, before we're forced to destroy your head and/or brains.

This ninja is marked for greatness.

Codemasters has tweaked the driving physics to work surprisingly well with a stock Xbox 360 controller.

The words "awesome" and "badass" are used a lot in this game, but Gearbox has earned the right. When you gunzerk into a crowd of bandits, get killed, and your shield's nova kicks in, wiping everyone out and bringing you back to life, you'll think so too.

Dribbling's expanded, players are fallible, and online modes complement the real world unlike any sports title before it.

Dishonored is an evocative game. Even without knowing the pedigree of its key developers, you won't fail to spot similarities to the angular black steel of City 17 in Dunwall's quarantine barriers. The European twist on old London is true to the concept art, and what the textures lack in up-close resolution, the world makes up for in grand complexity and generous options.

Sophisticated, unnerving and reliably unforgiving, XCOM: Enemy Unknown isn't just Xbox 360's finest strategy experience - it's also a strategy game which changes how you think about strategy games. Go into it expecting a deadening flow of unlocks and build queues, and you'll get a nasty surprise. Approach the game as you would an odd noise in the basement, and the Earth might just have a fighting chance.

As a street-legal version of a purebred racer, Horizon is something that anybody with an interest in cars can pick up quickly and play for ages. And if you don't like cars already, well, it might just persuade you.

Artorias of the Abyss successfully revitalizes your initial wonder through Dark Souls' world, and for that it's worth every Microsoft Point.

343's attempts at endowing this carefully constructed husk of a protagonist with psychological depth are predictably timid.

Everything about the world revolves around entertaining you, whether it's the wide scope of murder-options or the amazing dialogue in between. Whatever kind of killer you decide you want to be, Absolution is an unmissable hit. [Dec 2012, p.68]

Indie fun that jumps through all our hoops. [Dec 2012, p.79]

More time-travel sci-fi needs heel kicks. [Dec 2012, p.87]

The Walking Dead offers a level of narrative quality that outshines anything else currently available in gaming. It makes the TV series of the same name look dull, poorly paced, and insignificant. These are the most important games released this year, and we simply can't recommend them enough.

Far Cry 3 isn't too much of a departure, once you actually get to grips with the landscape that stretches behind that fidgety, histrionic exterior. It is, however, handily the best game in the series so far, and deserves to hold its head high among this winter's noisy crowd of sandbox offerings. If madness is repetition, this is one reworking of a formula I don't mind losing my mind to.

If you never played RAGE, buy it. Then buy this. Play it, love it, and when the "Insert Disc 2" prompt pops up, simply walk away, smiling.

The combat system is deep, satisfying, and just welcoming enough to let you in, before losing the smile, slapping your face and making you pay attention. Ninja Theory has bottled Danté's soul, and given him an excellent new life.

One of the finest console strategy games ever. [Jan 2013, p.96]

The combat is gripping, taking a successful formula and bulking it out in ways that make it more demanding, tactical and entertaining...You're expecting a 'but', and we've got one. The only place where Infinite falls any distance short of brilliance is in its own audacious plot.

Generous almost to excess, Battleblock Theater is one of Xbox Live Arcade's masterworks, and a reminder that genuine, bona fide imagination is possible even in the twilight of a console generation.

Deficits notwithstanding, this is a superb port of what may be the best survival-horror game on Xbox since Dead Space first lurched onto the scene.

This is solidly built, quality gaming, made by a team that's put a lot of care into adapting the license. [June 2006, p.62]

The big word this year is 'depth', and with 217 new and classic teams (yes, we counted), tons of new gameplay features and both an in-depth Franchise Mode and an all-new Superstar Mode, there's plenty here to keep fans happy until 08 inevitably rears its helmet-wearing head. [Oct 2006, p.74]

It's amazingly easy to play, user-friendly, good fun and looks great throughout, but you may still find yourself completing it in a couple of sittings... A classy game that's a joy from start to finish. [Apr 2006, p.54]