8 - Minecraft (XBOX 360, PC)

Alright, so Minecraft was released ages ago as a beta, and quite a while ago as a fully-fledged game. But such are the nature of its updates – both large and small – it remains fresh even now. A physical release this year just served to remind us of how powerful this sandbox, make-your-own-adventure game has been for gaming and the gaming industry.

MinecraftA team of Minecrafters get to work...

Dubbed as Lego for videogamers, Minecraft lets you carve your own journey, and is best played with friends, in this writer’s humble opinion. You can build a community together, delve in to the rich dungeons, or simply co-exist on the same server; it’s up to you, which is something Mojang will live and die by for this game. It can’t be game of the year, as it came out years ago, but while it's being updated, it deserves a mention without a doubt.

7 - Pokemon X & Y ( Nintendo 3DS)

It’s difficult to understand just how Nintendo have kept the Pokemon games franchise fresh. Thinking back to Red & Blue on the Gameboy, easily one of the best games of all time, you’d be hard-pressed to find many integral differences to the marrow of the game: explore, catch Pokemon, be the best trainer of them all.

Pokemon X & YPokemon X & Y

And while the first 151 will never be trumped by the subsequent creature creations, X & Y is still a beautiful accomplishment. Perhaps I’m being too fair to a franchise I grew up with, and, manifestly, love. It was criticised by some for being too similar to previous games, but in the most competitive market in the world, it could be considered brave to keep giving your core fans exactly what they want. And Pokemon fans want Pokemon.