F1 2012, PC, PS3 & Xbox 360
Winning races in Ridge Racer involves sequences of ludicrous, screaming power slides, while in Burnout you're actively encouraged to crash into and destroy other vehicles.
Buy it from 
- PS3
- PC
- XBox 360
- F1 2012
- Codemasters Limited
In F1 2012, these activities would be respectively foolhardy and grounds for instant disqualification. In videogame terms, this is racing for pencil-necks, emphasising braking distances and knowledge of the sport's myriad rules over nitrous-fuelled abandon. But it's still a sport about driving savagely fast cars and F1 2012 is the first game to convey an impression of their horrifying speed and dangerousness. After a perfectly pitched tutorial, you start a career that pits you against the familiar axis of Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton in championships that become increasingly tense. The ability to rewind time several times per race alleviates frustration; it looks great throughout, and the sense of accomplishment on winning is palpable. Best F1 game ever.
Codemasters, £24.99–£39.99
Borderlands 2, PC, PS3 & Xbox 360
Borderlands 2 welcomes you back to the mutant-infested desolation of planet Pandora with a big, goofy sense of humour. "Don't have too much fun," say weapons vending machines as you leave and an early mission temporarily changes the name of one of the game's beasts from "bullymong" to "bonerfart". That lack of sophistication is about right for a game with 2m guns and a lunatic cornucopia of lethal accessories before you've even got started on the vehicles. Your choice among four character classes heavily influences how you approach the game's chaotic gunfights, which are at their most potent in a group of four human players; fighting solo against waves of brutal robots and freaks can be a tense and lonely experience. Its cel-shaded looks complement a cartoon-style plot but action is marred by the need to stop and squint at every gun you encounter to see if it's a tiny bit better than yours.
2K Games, £39.99–£49.99
Games news
Nintendo's new console, Wii U will be released on 30 November in time to occupy the painfully expensive top spot in Christmas lists. Its HD graphics, touchscreen controller and compatibility with the current crop of Wii peripherals, along with fascinating-looking London-based undead game, ZombiU, make that demand on Father Christmas highly likely …
Meanwhile, games out this week include footy paragon PES 2013 (3DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii) that brings better AI, goalkeeping and passing to formats both living and near-dead; wacky, contraption-loving farm simulator, Funky Barn (3DS); One Piece: Pirate Warriors (PS3); and World Of Warcraft: Mists Of Pandaria (PC, Mac) which adds new character classes, the ability to get characters up to level 90, and the Pandaren, who – as the name suggests – look like bipedal, jacket-wearing pandas.
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