Unlike most other shooters, Left 4 Dead hinges on cooperative multiplayer. You and three friends must shoot, tear and slash through an unrelenting mass of raging zombies. From the moment you leave the safe house to the final rescue chopper, you are completely dependent on each other and constantly hunted by special boss zombies that behave with their own aggressive, strategizing intelligence ...

Hello, and welcome to the Automated Game Tie-In Development Program. Please obey the following instructions to the letter and your game will be produced within the hour. If you would like to make a 3D platform game with hundreds of collectible fruit, please press ‘1’ now. If you would like to make a kart-based racing title, please press ‘2’ now. ...

We honestly presumed, when embarking on this third outing for perhaps the most charmless Pixar franchise of them all, that it wasn’t THQ’s fault. There is, insane though it sounds, a new Cars movie in production, and of course a tie-in videogame is a must (even if we were already charmed quite enough by the first one, thank you very much). ...

Case file no. 06100986. Upon arriving at the scene we checked the victim’s vitals. A thready pulse was found, proving this job was not, repeat not, a massacre as expected. Evidence has been lifted from the area but no witnesses are forthcoming – it seems nobody wants to touch this case with a bargepole. First impressions suggest a sloppy execution by an amateur. ...

It’s been said that nobody makes wacky games quite like the Japanese. By the same standard, nobody comes close to Eastern Europe either. In weirdness stakes Eastern Europe runs a close second: Eerie, Indiana to Japan’s Twin Peaks. ...

Sorry Dragon Ball Z. These titles are a unique presence on the fighting calendar; an imposter of sorts. Squint and it almost looks like a beat-‘em-up: meaty roster, health bars, combos and counters; people could fall for it. Boot it up and the facade thuds to the ground. Throw a punch, sure, but only if Dragon Ball lore foretells it.

You see, Raging Blast is less a brawler than a historical re-creation simulation. ...

Five minutes in and I find myself in a scenario unusual for Modern Warfare - no-one is shooting at me. ...

Dwarves. We already know what dwarves are. Dwarves are short, but strong. They make for good warriors and live underground. We already know all about dwarves, elves, mages, and dragons. So we thought we already knew all about everything Dragon Age: Origins could possibly throw at us while browsing through the unsurprisingly wide selection of beards for our upcoming dwarf warrior in the character creator. ...

Wow, this is a strange one. Tornado Outbreak is a completely new IP from Konami – home of Silent Hill and MGS – but it looks and feels like a Saturday morning cartoon tie-in. It’s hard to believe that this saccharine sweet title was once thought to be MGS creator, Hideo Kojima’s next project after Guns of the Patriots. ...

SAW is a happy game with bunnies and flowers and cakes. Arch villain Jigsaw’s had a change of heart and is dishing out presents because… no, not really. It’s bloody miserable. It’s also hugely dark, crudely animated, has ropey combat, and the scenarios – despite getting more and more gruesome as the game goes on – start to drag after a few hours. Not much to like then? ...