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]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Simply put, Oblivion is a game where the story never ends. The story of your exploits in any other game would have natural gaps, but here you can just keep telling it, with every yarn feeding logically into the next.

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]

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.

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]

Pac-Man made better. [Feb 2011, p.103]

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

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.

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.

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 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]

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.

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.

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]

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

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

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.

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]

More of the same, which is fine for now. [May 2010, p.96]

The FPS epic comes full circle. Pure quality.

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!

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 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.

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.

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]

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]

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]

It adds visual punch, improved multiplayer, a better sense of progression (as new licenses must now be acquired to unlock further tracks) and an intimidatingly powerful editor with the potential to punt the game's longevity into the stratosphere. For 1,200 MP this is as unmissable an XBLA title as its predecessor and, while it's not quite an evolution, it's certainly an example of intelligent design.

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.

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.

The best in the series by some distance.

None of this package is new, which is why we've deducted a point. Still Alive is a pricey luxury for Portal fans. But hey, if you've never played it before, feel free to slap that point back on and enjoy one of gaming's tastiest treats from the last few years.

A beautiful game, if just a bit too simple. [Sept 2010, p.92]

This ninja is marked for greatness.

This may well be the best tenner you ever spend.

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]

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

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.

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]

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Just like the original Fable, this is a game that's hugely likeable, but only if you put the effort in. Make no mistake, it's genuinely charming, but everything from unclear storytelling to rubbish mini-games to glitchy graphics to sluggish menus makes an appearance, and you've got to take it all with a smile.

We couldn't help but be slightly disappointed with the main plot - it feels flimsy compared to the huge journey the previous instalment treated us to, and the only truly impactful storytelling occurs when you leave Ezio behind. In spite of this, the sandbox is more complex and there's easily as much to do here as in the previous titles.

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.

This is gaming's equivalent of a B-movie. It might not last long, but with no plot, no fuss and no gimmicks, it's a guilty thrill that will live on in pub conversations, impromptu blasts with mates and the knowledge that if you ever want to sit down and enjoy some carnage, all you have to do is reach for this brilliant twist on survival horror.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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]

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.

Vocally and visually brilliant, but lacks story.

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.

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

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.

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]

This isn't 'the perfect Burnout' - but it comes damn close. [Feb 2008, p.86]

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.

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

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.

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

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.

A great continuation of one of the greatest sports games on 360.

While the 'tough as nails' shoot-outs won’t see this on everyone’s must buy list, Ubisoft's run of creating stunning showcases for the Xbox 360 remains unbroken.

Finer than a hundred pieces of eight. [Sept 2009, p.90]

So while Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has improved in single-player, it's the leap in multiplayer that makes it worth the reinvestment.

NHL 11 carries on all the good work of last year's game, but its overall gloss...doesn't quite hide some quirky AI decision making and shonky goal tending. [Issue#66, p.94]

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.

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.

The changes, especially exploit fixes, will please most but annoy those who feel FIFA 10 didn't need to be messed with - but there's a simple solution there: don't buy it. To everyone else, this is a mighty refined football game, just not quite the Earth-mover FIFA 10 was.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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]

Temporary frustrations aside, Runner2 is a simple, lovely jog to the right that slowly builds into a manageably hectic rightward run. The easy difficulty might speed your passage through the world, but it's less fun. So don't rob yourself of a new and entirely needless motor skill. Put it on Rather Hard, and stick at it until the skills lodge in your fingers. It's worth it.

Exceptional racing with brilliant atmosphere.

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.

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.

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