Though it doesn't do anything particularly revolutionary, the level of artistry is so far beyond anything we've played recently that it almost doesn't need to. Standing uniquely in the busy Christmas schedule and indeed within 2008 as a whole, Fallout 3 is an experience to savour.

Little King's Story is a game of stunning breadth, imagination and slickly implemented design, and filled with an envious degree of heart and soul.

Never mind videogaming, Chrono Trigger is one of the great recent examples of storytelling in any medium. In short, it's everything role-playing games are meant to be, sucking you into a unique world until your identification with the game is inseparable from the characters and their goals.

It's this blissful sense of nostalgia that makes Street Fighter IV the runaway success that it undoubtedly is. Street Fighter hasn't changed per se – at heart, it's still the very same game you played all those years ago - but it's been tweaked and enhanced to within an inch of perfection.

Left me wishing I had enough time and luxury to jump straight back in and take the entire journey again. It's destined to enter the annals of gaming's classics in years to come.

Everything about the game – plots, combat, progression, characters – comes together in a tidy, satisfying package.

It definitely treads a very thin line, balancing interactivity and spectacle, but it is a balancing act that it gets absolutely right.

But for now there're very few games that can match God of War 3's cinematic sensibility, its dynamics, its carnage.

Limbo is a game about death that manages to invest the act of dying, at least in the context of gaming, with a rare impact – quite an achievement considering how often it happens.

Once it sinks its claws in, you'll find it nigh on impossible to escape until the Kingdom of Boletaria is free from the horror of The Old One. In short then – Demon's Souls is a modern classic.

Still nobody does this better than Harmonix, and with Rock Band 3 they are at the top of their game.

Still nobody does this better than Harmonix, and with Rock Band 3 they are at the top of their game.

The level of polish that has been applied to LittleBigPlanet 2 is as apparent as we've come expect from the series, with no stone left unturned in upgrading each facet of the game's design.

This is not COD with an afterthought of a campaign, nor is it Far Cry 2 with its open expanses and sand-box gameplay. It's not a corridor shooter like Doom and it isn't Battlefield or Killzone 3. This is Crysis 2 – a magnificent first-person experience in its own right that stands out from the crowd by focusing on a campaign that is wholly engaging, at times highly challenging and often truly memorable.

If we were being super critical, L.A. Noire can feel a little repetitive – and slightly linear – at times.

If we were being super critical, L.A. Noire can feel a little repetitive – and slightly linear – at times.

The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection does an excellent job of re-mastering the original games, but its greatest success is that it does so without the tweaks ever taking centre stage; it is the original games that make the package so essential.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is so immense and chock-full of content that we could conceivably rant about it for pages, but to do so would only detract from the time you should spend physically playing it.

Pure Nintendo magic.

Pullblox is one of the finest titles currently available for the 3DS and even in a world where iPhone games can cost under a pound there's no questioning the value for money that Pullblox provides; it's really is a massive game with near-endless customisability.

The aesthetics, the way it plays, the satisfaction of discovery – all are aspects that are missing in too many modern releases. Should you have found your interest in gaming to be waning of late, then this may have the power to restore your faith in the industry's ability to surprise and innovate. For that alone, Fez deserves your undivided attention.

The way it plays is a measure of beautiful precision and patience, and when you couple the community aspect to the near perfect gameplay, it makes for a package which is one of the strongest of 2012 so far, and we have a feeling that in terms of Evolution, the best is yet to come.

As a game, it is perfect; it does nothing wrong in itself and the only criticism that can be levelled at it is the lack of online capabilities – although the games which it hearkens back to so closely had no such thing.

Whether you're a seasoned veteran or new to the franchise, you have every reason to dive into these games in all their HD glory.

An endearing tale of courage and responsibility, and one of the most delightful titles you'll find on Xbox 360.

Left 4 Dead transcends the black and white of 'single player' or 'multiplayer' – suddenly there's a realisation that four players have amalgamated into a single, unified body during play. It's an incredibly exhilarating feeling, and other games offering co-op modes that amount to little more than running and gunning together suddenly appear a little juvenile. Left 4 Dead has indefinitely raised the bar for true co-operative play.

Splinter Cell Conviction may still demand patient planning but when a well-conceived scenario pays off and the air fills with the cries of frightened soldiers, the sense of empowerment becomes palpable – indeed outright addictive.

Countless lauded exclusives have spectacularly flopped since the PS3's launch and the console's market share is still less than glowing; there's a sense that for history to repeat itself twice with another Killzone debacle, given the expectations, the jaw-dropping preview footage and the hordes of illiterate fanboys chomping at the bit, would have been catastrophic. Instead, the end result is nothing short of triumphant.