Batman returned this year, bigger, badder and broodier than ever. Batman: Arkham City, the follow-up to the smash hit Arkham Asylum, brings more bad guys, more locations... more everything. Arkham City is a visually-stunning third person adventure where, as Batman, you keep the streets of Arkham City clean from Gotham's criminal scum. You see, Batman's not trapped in there with them - they're trapped with him...

This sequel did not disappoint, building and improving upon everything that made the award-winning Arkham Asylum so great. The intuitive fighting system now includes new special moves like the Knockdown Smash. The gadgets are also back and can now be used in combat as well.

Add to this a dramatic storyline, numerous side missions and downloadable content, and the inclusion of Catwoman as a playable character with her own adventures, the possibilities for gameplay are as limitless as Batman's quest for justice.

Lauded as not only the best comic book video game, but among the best comic book adaptations in any media, Batman: Arkham City is as close to actually being Batman as you are ever likely to get!

The big names in first-person shooters went head-to-head this year. Battlefield 3 came out first with all the gusto you'd expect from US Marines taking down terrorists, and it did not disappoint.

The multiplayer mode is where Battlefield has always shined brightest, and boy did Battlefield 3 shine. Thanks to the large, expansive maps, online battles can be fought on a massive scale. This means each player can have their own story to tell and moment of glory, but teamwork is still the aim of the game - rewards aren't just given for how well you take out your enemies, but for how well you work with your comrades.

The new Frostbite 2 engine promised better graphics, animation, lighting and effects, and delivered just that. DICE's new engine also boasts destructible environments, immersing players in combat like never before. The chance to jump into jeeps, tanks and jets added another way to experience - and enjoy - the carnage.

Battlefield 3 is all about playing together and succeeding together... and blowing stuff up together!

It's not really a surprise to see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on this shortlist. The COD series has won this category an unprecedented 3 times before - can they do it again this year?

This year it's the turn of Infinity Ward and once again, the single player campaign is the heartbeat of the game. Modern Warfare 3 picks up where MW2 left off - crazed Russian Markarov running wild and you have to stop him. The battles take place in cool locations like New York, London and Paris, all rendered with the same explosive flair we've come to expect from Call of Duty.

Modern Warfare 3 also steps up a pace in the co-op and multiplayer modes. There are more games like Spec Ops and Survival, new rules (capture and keep the flag for as long as possible), new weapons and, with the Killstreak replaced by Pointstreak, new ways to win - all in all, enough to keep you going for hours, weeks... even months.

Modern Warfare 3 gives you the chance to finish the story told in the last chapter, and the opportunity to keep playing multiplayer until the next one arrives. You can't really ask for more, can you?

FIFA 11 was good. Well, better than good. Well received, enjoyed by gamers and nominated for last year's Game of the Year award. But when it comes to EA and FIFA, there's always something more that can be done, and FIFA 12 promised even more realistic gameplay than ever before.

There were three major changes with this year's game. Precision Dribbling increased control of the ball. Tactical Defending increased precision and importance on the positions and actions of your defender. But the biggest change was the Impact Engine, which introduced realism to player collisions and stumbles based on where you're hit, and how hard. A game changer in every sense of the word.

FIFA 12 also upped the online side of the game, increasing interactivity - and competition - with Head to Head Seasons, and launching the EA Sports Football Club where the XP of you, your friends and fellow supporters can affect the online league positions of your chosen teams.

FIFA 12 was the fastest selling sports game ever. Well, when you push the boundaries of what's expected in a football game and everyone loves you for it, it's easy to see why.

Rockstar Games are here again. After doing urban action with the GTA series, and rejuvenating the western with last year's nominee Red Dead Redemption, they've turned their hands to the moody crime thriller with L.A. Noire.

As before, Rockstar have taken everything you expect from a genre movie - in this instance, mobsters, murder, corruption, jazz music and a hard-boiled detective - and put them into a thoroughly addictive game. But this time they've swapped action and firefights for a crime-solving approach that requires a keen eye, attention to detail, and no second chances.

Key to this is the revolutionary motion capture technology that reads even the smallest detail of the actor's performance. Every wink, wince and swallow is there in stunning detail, and could be the clue that makes or breaks your case.

L.A. Noire blurs the lines between a game and a movie, potentially redefining what gaming can be.

The game itself may have a slower approach, but Rockstar clealry show no signs of slowing down and look to have struck gold again.

Proving that there is a place on this list for games that defy the hype and fanfare of the big-name publishers and blockbuster sequels, Minecraft has generated a cult following hooked on its blocky, 8-bit style fun.

Minecraft is a truly independent game, created by Swede Markus "Notch" Persson. Essentially a sandbox-building game, the world of Minecraft is made up of 3D cubes representing everything from snow and trees to sheep and other creatures, almost all of which can be collected and used for constructions.

There are two playing modes - Survival, where you must build constructs, acquire food and fight off creatures every night to survive, and Creative, where you have no concept of health or hunger and unlimited resources to just create. That's not to say these resources are easy to get, but the satisfaction you get from having excavated enough minerals to finally build your highway (or palace. Or spaceship) far outweighs any sense that this is actually hard work!

Bizarrely repetitive and perilously addictive, Minecraft offers very unique gameplay, challenging players in ways that no other game does, or possibly would ever consider trying!

Portal 2 is the eagerly-anticipated follow-up to 2007's Portal. Continuing the original's unique blend of story, characters and music with innovative puzzles, Portal 2 has been winning nothing but praise and awards since its release in April.

The single-player campaign picks up where its predecessor left off as you guide Chell through another series of puzzles that can only be solved by using the Portal Gun to create the way through. Any fears of "more of the same" are quickly brushed aside with the introduction of new characters and an engrossing plot. Tractor beams, bridges made of light and special gels that affect whatever they touch all add to the methods you use to solve the puzzles, and the bigger puzzle at the centre of it all.

On top of this, a new and original second campaign was included for a co-operative multiplayer mode, with its own story, characters and gameplay that challenges everything you thought you knew about portals.

Applauded by players, honoured by critics and testing you in ways that most mainstream games don't, Portal 2 is the game that dared to be different.

It's been 5 years since The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. That's a long time to wait, and a lot of time to build anticipation for a new game. Could The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim possibly live up to that kind of pressure?

In a word - yes. It would appear that Bethesda have spent the bulk of the last 5 years creating an entire world for the characters of Skyrim to populate. There are no painted backdrops, snow acts like snow, animals mull around like they live there. This is as close to real-world as open-world gaming can get.

Everything in the game seems to follow this real-world ethos. The choices you make and the skills your character has will grow and improve as the game goes on. Fighting gets a step-up too, as you wield a weapon in each hand, can cast all kinds of spells. And get the chance to fight dragons.

Skyrim has re-set the bar on what a role-playing game can and should be - an engrossing and engaging world that has the magical ability to make hours and hours disappear!

The Legend of Zelda celebrated its 25th Anniversary with Skyward Sword. Billed as Link's greatest adventure, Nintendo clearly planned to celebrate Zelda's birthday in style.

Link once again embarked on a quest to find his beloved in a brand new adventure that was fresh and familiar at the same time. The world of Zelda has been richly realised with epic scenery, dank dungeons and all manner of puzzles and challenges to face. And, of course, enemies to fight.

The Wii Motion Plus added a new dimension to this familiar tale, with gamers up and down the land swinging, slashing and rolling their controller as they wielded Link's weapons. For a certain generation this was the role-playing they'd always dreamed of. The chance to fly on the mighty Loftwing was very much the icing on the (25th Birthday) cake.

Skyward Sword truly had something to offer gamers of all ages, a game that could be enjoyed by the die-hard fans and new players alike. After 25 years, Zelda showed that she is still the queen of RPGs.

Nathan Drake was back for a new chapter in the much-loved adventure series, seen by many as the jewel in the crown of SONY's exclusive PlayStation-only titles. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception took players on a cinematic rollercoaster ride through the Arabian deserts to discover the lost city of Ubar.

Boasting stunning sequences that range from hanging out of a plane, to escaping a sinking ship, to fist-fights in a deserted desert village, it's clear that Uncharted 3 has much in common with a Hollywood action movie. The game features some of the best graphics seen on the PS3 (and that's saying something!), and plenty of challenges for you to think or fight your way out of, with a multiplayer mode that offers the chance to really explore. Ongoing downloadable content further opens up the world of the game and the treasures it hides.

Universally praised by fans and critics alike for its combination of cinematic style and engrossing gameplay, Uncharted 3 is arguably more than just a video game, but a complete entertainment package.