From the moment you pick up that new guitar and play your first chord, Guitar Hero Live is exciting and innovative, and feels like a natural evolution of a genre we've been missing for all these years.
The Force is most definitely strong with Disney Infinity 3.0, which feels like a much more complete experience, successfully marrying its two halves - Toy Box and Play Sets - into a cohesive and entertaining whole.
The Pro Evolution Soccer series has been steadily improving over the past few years, and with PES 2016 it seems the dev team has finally cracked that winning football formula, despite some rough edges.
Yes, it's out too early and needs beefing up, but once you unleash that first fireball and connect with your first spinning kick, you'll be whisked back to the arcades faster than you can say Hadouken.
A bright, colourful and tasty blend of all your favourite multiplayer shooters, it will leave you with a big smile on your face and feeling good inside.
Burn the keyboards and smash those 102-button guitars, because Rock Band 4 has axed all the fiddly bits - and plays like a dream once more.
If you've got the time and patience to overcome its seemingly impenetrable exterior, then Dirt Rally is a thrilling racing game that's best in its class. This is a game where satisfaction can be had with a podium finish and one where you'll feel a true sense of pride and joy for every hard-earned victory... as rare as they may be.
It's an essential purchase if you're new to the series and love role-playing games, but a harder sell if you've already explored every nook and cranny of the vast and beautiful game world on a bigger and more capable screen.
This year's games have plucked the best functions and features from Pokemon games past and present, blending them into a package that ticks the right boxes, but doesn't think outside of them.
When you aren't bogged down by text, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney's crossover gameplay is perfectly complementary, providing an experience we wouldn't object to one day revisiting.
Like a faint Pikachu attempting to escape a rare Poke Ball, Pokemon X shouldn't fail to draw you in and hold on tight, even though it's not quite the mega evolution we were expecting.
As it stands, it's a game that could really benefit from some additional content if it's to evolve into the next must-have multiplayer shooter.
With Dying Light, Techland has most certainly improved on Dead Island's melee-focused, open-world formula, but it still hasn't perfected it. Improved enemies and better navigation mean that while the journey from A to B and back again is more exciting this time around, it's a trip you'll be making far too frequently.
While Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris fails to sparkle in single-player, it really comes alive when two or more players join the mix. Working together to solve puzzles and navigate tombs is good, but selfishly screwing over your friends in pursuit of the best treasure is great.
Ubisoft may want us to form crews and connect with fellow racing fans, but as it stands, we'd rather just get behind the wheel, turn up the radio and explore this staggering country by ourselves.
WWE 2K15 is the equivalent of an upper mid-card wrestler attempting to crack the glass ceiling of the WWE. It's close to achieving its potential, but just comes up short in a few key areas.
Though not as experimental or revolutionary as we would have liked, Peggle 2 is as bright, bouncy and brilliant as ever, delivering the same addictive action as its predecessor.
While fundamental gameplay problems make it difficult to create a truly exceptional gaming experience, Disney Infinity 2.0's real strength lies in the creation aspect itself, something which makes it ideal for a younger audience.
CounterSpy is a stylish game with wonderful art direction and a humorous tone - it's just let down by a few sneaking flaws.
Worms Battlegrounds continues to impress in multiplayer, offering more of the same team-based battles and outrageous weapons. But i's not the most unique or exciting Worms release, and you'd be hard pressed to pick it out of a lineup.