Title: Splinter Cell: Conviction

From: Ubisoft

For: Xbox 360

I love stealth based shooters, but as a contradiction, I’ve never been a fan of the Splinter Cell series. Chaos Theory was the last one I managed to put any time into.

Thankfully, for me at least, Splinter Cell: Conviction is virtually a whole new game altogether. It’s still requires constant stealth tactics, but the way in which you perform them combined with the combat and flow of the storyline has been totally revamped.

Our old stalwart Sam Fisher is back again and he’s angry, and the game is better off for it. As new information comes to hand on the murder of his daughter, Sam is determined to avenge her death.

Hiding in the shadows plays a big part in the game – and when you are successfully hidden the game is in black and white. As you emerge into the light, the colours come back to the screen. There’s just so many ways to go about playing the game and all of them are very intuitive, so much so that the tutorials are minimal. It all comes naturally.

With a thrilling single player campaign and an even better co-op mode, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a must own for any shooter fan.

Score 90%

Title: Dragon Age: Origins Awakening

From: BioWare

For: Xbox 360

One of the biggest RPG games of 2009 has now got a new expansion pack which doesn’t bring much in the way of new features, but gives fans more of the same immersive role-playing action that earned the franchise so many devotees.

Awakening takes place after the events of Dragon Age: Origins and puts players into the role of a Grey Warden Commmander entrusted with rebuilding the order of Grey Wardens. In addition to rebuilding the ranks of the Grey Wardens, you will be tasked with uncovering the mystery of how the darkspawn survive after the slaying of the Archdemon. How you choose to rebuild their order, resolve the conflict with the mysterious “Architect,” and determine the fate of the darkspawn are just some of the many intriguing moral choices that will shape your heroic journey.

You are able to import your character from Dragon Age: Origins or start out as a new Grey Warden from the neighbouring land of Orlais.

If Dragon Age: Origins engrossed you then the Awakening expansion is a must own.

Score 80%

Title: Dark Void

From: Capcom

For: Xbox 360

It would seem that third-person shooters these days need to have a ‘hook’ or point of difference to make them stand out in the crowd. Unfortunately this can mean that so much effort has been put into making it different that the basics get forgotten about. Such is the case with Dark Void.

You play as Will, an ex-military pilot who is now running courier missions after being dishonourably discharged from the service. Will gets hired by a woman with whom he has a history and they disappear into the Bermuda Triangle only to appear in another dimension filled with crazy tribesmen and robots.

Sounds weird? It is, and unfortunately it gets worse because you don’t actually get told much of what’s going on.

Dark Void’s ‘hook’ is that you can fly with a jetpack and battle in the air or take to the ground. There is also ‘vertical fighting’ which is just disorientating and difficult to explain.

The game is glitchy, clichéd and the sound is awful in places. Some of the combat is fun, but soon gets monotonous in a game that can be summed up in one word – forgettable. Worth an overnight hire, but not the retail price.

Score 50%

Title: Metro 2033

From: THQ

For: Xbox 360

Set in a nuclear ravaged, post apocalyptic Moscow, Metro 2033 is based on a novel by Dmitry Glukhovsly. It’s a first-person shooter that has you roaming the underground Metro system, sewers and desolate surface whilst avoiding and combating supernatural happenings and all manner of hideous mutant being.

The game creates a terrific atmosphere of survival horror and is aided by the fact that you are at the mercy of the environment you find yourself in.

If you venture up to the surface then you must wear a gas mask to breathe. But the gas mask filter soon becomes contaminated and needs replacing. It’s something you need to be constantly aware of and if the mask becomes damaged during combat then you’d better find another one quickly.

You also have a universal charger which needs to be cranked to power your headlamp and nightvision goggles. You need to keep on top of these extra elements because you really don’t want the lights to go out at the wrong time – it’s scary enough with the lights on!

Metro 2033 has a few glitches and some of the stealth elements just don’t work well, but overall the game is well worth a look for survival horror fans.

Score 75%

Title: Guitar Hero: Van Halen

From: Activision

For: Xbox 360

I don’t claim to be any expert on Van Halen, but I thought I knew their music and was expecting to take a rocking trip down memory lane. But I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It’s a reflection of my now apparent limited knowledge of their music, but it’s also an indication that only true fans of Van Halen will get a kick out of playing it. Herein lies the problem – just how many huge Van Halen fans are still playing video games?

I recognised probably 4 tracks in the 25 track Van Halen playlist. I just don’t think they deserved to have their own game.

The saving grace for the game is the inclusion of 19 tracks from guest artists such as Billy Idol, The Clash, Foo Fighters, Judas Priest, Tenacious D and The Offspring.

The Foo Fighters – now there’s a band who could fill up a 25 track Guitar Hero game with hits that everyone knows! But Van Halen?

“Jump” is the biggest track and many will recognise “Hot for Teacher” and “So is This Love”, but the rest of the Van Halen songs just tend to merge into one.

Score 65%

Title: Mass Effect 2

From: BioWare

For: Xbox 360

How do you follow up one of the best RPG games ever seen on a gaming console? By making the sequel quite possibly the best RPG ever seen – full stop.

I’m ashamed to admit that I got bored in the original Mass Effect after only a couple of hours of play and have since sold the game. But I have since learned that not far past where I stopped, the game opened up into an amazing universe of action and exploration.

Therefore I was determined to play through the 30-40 odd hours that it takes to play Mass Effect 2 in a somewhat linear fashion.

I’m not even going to touch on the storyline here – there’s not enough room on this page, let alone this column. Suffice to say that the beauty of Mass Effect 2 lies in the depth of its characters, races and their interactions. Sure, there is a base story, but everything surrounding the plot seems to evolve and grow as a living, breathing entity.

Mass Effect 2 simply has to be experienced from start to finish – twice even. It’s a sublime piece of scriptwriting and a masterful piece of game design. It might only be March but watch for this title on the Game of the Year lists.

Score 98%

Title: Army of Two: The 40^th Day

From: Electronic Arts

For: Xbox 360

The original Army of Two game had its problems but was great fun, especially if you joined up with a human counterpart. It’s sequel, The 40^th Day takes the original and improves on almost everything while keeping the core gameplay much the same.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference is the customisation options available. Firstly, you can visit the game’s official website and design your own mask for your character to wear during the game – which is great if you want a team mask for online play. The weapons too can be customised with interchangeable bits and pieces found or bought within the game. You can even gold-plate your weapons if you are so inclined

The AI of your partner and the enemies has been given a major lift too. Enemies will use similar tactics to you and even heal each other. While your partner is smarter and more independent-thinking, nothing really compares to playing split-screen or online co-op with a friend – it’s essentially what the game was designed for. There are several online multiplayer modes that put the focus on co-operative tactics.

It’s a great sequel which has some brilliant dialogue to compliment the explosive action.

Score 92%

Title: Bayonetta

From: Sega

For: Xbox 360 (R18)

Games which have strong female lead characters are few and far between. I’d be struggling to think of a notable one since Lara Croft. Sure, there are plenty of female playable characters but games where they’re the star of the show are a rarity indeed.

Enter Bayonetta – she’s strong, powerful, stylish, deadly, beautiful, intelligent and oozes sexuality mixed with a killer attitude. It’s a theme that flows throughout the game which makes Bayonetta a breath of fresh air for an already bloated hack ‘n’ slash adventure genre.

Bayonetta is the last survivor of an ancient witch clan keeping the balance between light, dark and chaos. The action is fast and constant as you travel from area to area dispatching all manner and all sizes and shapes of horrific demon creatures.

The combat system is almost perfectly fluid as Bayonetta strings together multiple combo moves including spectacular specials and finishing moves. There’s plenty of puzzle elements thrown in to break up the combat a-la God of War.

Graphically the game is stunning and considering the amount of action on screen, it just doesn’t skip a beat. Amazing game.

Score 90%

Title: Divinity II: Ego Draconis

From: Larian Studios

For: Xbox 360

My cynical spidey-sense was tingling from the moment I received this game. A virtually unknown RPG with a random name, generic cover and absolutely no fanfare whatsoever… sounds like a game that even the developers might be “accidentally” leaving off their CVs.

And my senses were right. Divinity II: Ego Draconis has very little going for it in terms of, well, anything really. It’s about as generic an RPG as they come and a poorly executed one at that. The menu systems are convoluted and a nightmare to navigate, the combat targeting is an embarrassment at times and countless enemies get caught up on rogue pixels that it’s almost comical. Objects appear and disappear from in front of your eyes and save games have been known to corrupt.

Word has it that the PC version fares much better, especially with the control method. But the 360 port is almost unplayable and proves that you really need to totally rethink menu systems and rebuild them from the ground up when porting RPGs from the PC to consoles.

Score 45%

Title: Assassin’s Creed 2

From: Ubisoft

For: Xbox 360

One of the best games of 2007 returns to our screens and improves on the original in almost every way. Gone are the frustrating little glitches and often repetitive missions. In Assassin’s Creed 2, Ubisoft have delivered an engrossing storyline within a living, breathing Renaissance Italy and a huge array of activities and missions to keep the gameplay fresh and interesting

While the graphics themselves aren’t a huge step up from the original game (let’s face it, Assassin’s Creed was/is stunning), there’s so much more going on in the game world. People aren’t just walking around or sitting and talking, instead they’re going about their daily lives, working, interacting and taking care of business.

The basic premise of gameplay remains much the same, as does the story at a base level, but Assassin’s Creed 2 offers so much more and keep you coming back for more to unfurl the next piece of the plot. There’s more assassin’s skills, more vehicles and gadgets (including Da Vinci inventions) and true open-world gameplay.

If you want to show off your 360 or PS3 to any non-gaming visitors then this beautiful game is the one to do it with. Easily one of the best of the year.

Score 96%