Batman: Arkham City

"Consider this the second act, the better half, the conclusion after the cliffhanger - Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (without the weak bits) rolled into one."

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

"No long-range strikes, not even air-to-air missiles. Instead, we've got the dogfighting version of melee attacks, up close and very personal."

Rochard

"If you're looking for something a bit different, polished and light-hearted in tone - Rochard fits the bill."

Dark Souls

"Expect to die a lot, but also expect to be richly rewarded once you master the obstacles put in front of you."

God of War Collection: Volume II

"There should remain no doubts that Ready at Dawn are true wizards when it comes to pushing the PSP hardware"

Rage

"id has learnt some new tricks that embellish the experience; but it still kills the old way. In today's world, that's almost a unique proposition."

Pro Evolution Soccer 2012

"We are talking about the latest edition of former giant in the genre, and the amount of improvements is not impressive."

Burnout Crash

"Criterion have taken the popular crash mode from their Burnout series, turned it on its head and added all sorts of crazy ideas."

FIFA 12

"FIFA 12 feels more heavy-handed than its predecessor, but remains very capable of portraying the beautiful game."

Renegade Ops

"You're travelling from A to B unloading whatever guns, bombs and destruction you can on the way. Contra on wheels? From the explosion count, it could well be."

F1 2011

"It's a game that captures the racing spirit, and gives the right amount of feedback. Rarely has it felt so rewarding to master a corner or pull off an overtake."

NHL 12

"If there is one thing that successful developers of sports games struggle with, it's innovation."

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection

"While neither game can claim to be as unique and spectacular as when they were first published there's a magic to both that is still seldom seen today."

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

"If you think that El Shaddai is shock full of angel choirs, long white beards and the likes you are very wrong."

Dead Island

"Later escort missions are troublesome, as it feels as though Techland has equipped the NPCs with the same artificial intelligence as the zombies by mistake."

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

"That unrelenting action, that sees you pinball between rucks, is gratifyingly fun due to the emphasis on melee over gunplay."

The Baconing

Crispy, tasty and made out of pigs. The Baconing comes to us offering up wonderful humour and lots of loot!

Resistance 3

Resistance 3 isn't perfect: but its faults are few enough that we'd recommend this death-ridden jaunt across America to anyone clutching a PS3 controller this autumn."

Bodycount

"So, weapons great, destruction, lovely. The fundamentals are all there; pure arcade action. Sadly the rest isn't up to par."

Driver: San Francisco

"Even if Shift initially raises doubts, the mechanics works much better than we had expected - and about a million times better than the unfortunate on-foot sections of Driver 3."

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

"Initially cold, distant, disconnected, Deus Ex gradually proves a sublime experience of player freedom and choice, negating any lingering negativity."

From Dust

"Haunting, captivating, stunning...play God, build towering mountains, write profanities in sand two miles wide, but whatever you do: play this game."

Call of Juarez: The Cartel

"All hints of a serious story are thrown out the window as some Rambo-inspired warfare against drugs, complete with cheesy dialogue, begins."

Cars 2

"It's still odd seeing such extravagant violence in a Pixar title. Like Woody drawing a gun and capping Mr.Potato Head."

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2

"A couple of small improvements doesn't help hide the fact that this is a shooter that lacks ideas with the Harry Potter brand tacked on."

F.E.A.R. 3

"A labyrinth of blinking flat-screens, old storage rooms where pigs are hanging side-by-side with human corpses. At those times F.E.A.R. 3 seems like everything we hoped for."

Shadows of the Damned

"It's a meeting of minds every bit as intriguing as the Tarantino and Rodriguez Grindhouse double-bill, yet with one key difference: it delivers."

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

"There's likely plenty of gaps in the story ripe for action-aided filler between the second and third movies (what happened to Megan Fox not being one of them)."

Red Faction: Armageddon

"...we tend to judge games like Red Faction: Armageddon way more harshly than they deserve. It's popcorn-entertainment, a good game to spend a couple of hours with, and it performs that job splendidly."

Dungeon Siege III

"As a whole Dungeon Siege III offers some grand ideas, and the illusion of fantasy epic, but falls just before greatness due to its shortcomings."

Child of Eden

"You're charged to dive in, wipe the network clear of the virus like a Norton version of Mr.Muscle...the net may be vast and infinite, but it's still 'Save the Princess' time."

Alice: Madness Returns

"Alice: Madness Returns is a nice platform game. It's not without its problems, but the mechanics are good enough that fans of the genre should give it a try."

Infamous 2

"But the biggest problem with Infamous 2 isn't technical. Where the first game had a tight story, that focused on Cole and his powers, it's all over the place in the second game."

Dirt 3

"It's quite obvious that Codemasters have wanted to make a game that on all accounts beats the rest of the genre, and that's something that they've partially succeeded with..."

Sega Rally Online Arcade

This is a conversion - with tweaks - of Sega Rally's arcade fraternity. That means the type of Championship that was built to swallow pound coins, not time.

Outland

"Outland has the craftmanship that sets it alongside Super Meat Boy and Symphony of the Night. Difficult yet captivating."

L.A. Noire

The morning sun seeps in through the blinds at the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters. War veteran-turned cop Cole Phelps fix his holster, pulls on his police hat and walks out the door into one of the most ambitiously designed game worlds ever.

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean

"None are impervious to Lego's charms. We went in with cynical size nines strapped on, ready to stomp hard. We came away sandalled and smiling."

Brink

"Only when you've a leaderboard billing that's reassuringly full of misspelt gamertags, is the experience every bit exciting and tense as the digital gods intended."

Thor: God of Thunder

"Frustration, some ill conceived boss fights and a rather unsatisfying combat system sends this God of Thunder fast on his way to the bargain bin."

Virtua Tennis 4

"Short matches, quirky mini-games, and gameplay that focuses more on reflexes and timing than on proper tactics."

Operation Flashpoint: Red River

"Despite the fact that Operation Flashpoint: Red River tops its predecessor in many areas there are just too many flaws."

Mortal Kombat

"Mortal Kombat throws me 20 years back in time and offers up wonderful retro- and nostalgia-laden memories from the wonderful 16-bit era."

Portal 2

"Portal 2 managed to surpass my very high expectations of it and it's the perfect sequel to the classic Portal. It does everything right and doesn't take a single wrong step."

Socom 4: Special Forces

"A lukewarm campaign with some annoying flaws and a good (but currently somewhat bug infested) multiplayer mode is what we're getting."

Rush'n Attack Ex-Patriot

"Stay well clear of Rush'n Attack Ex-Patriot. It's an awful game. Completely free of charm, nostalgia or entertainment."

Dead Space 2: Severed

"While it's a proven way of creating an expansion, it does feel a bit cheap to have to revisit the same areas over and over again."

Mass Effect 2: Arrival

"The end is explosive, and qualifies as one of the best the series has had to offer so far...and Arrival forms a complete bridge to the plot of Mass Effect 3."

Shift 2: Unleashed

"Shift 2: Unleashed is a high quality racing game...but it lacks the improvements I would have hoped for."