Condemned – PC

Continuing the developer Monolith's penchant for the darker side of things (cf F.E.A.R. and No-One Lives Forever) Condemned puts you in the well-polished brogues of FBI Agent Thomas, whose chosen field is the study, pursuit and capture of serial killers. Track these death-obsessed misfits like the animals they are through their preferred habitat - mazes of broken windows, crumbling brickwork and dilapidated tenements. Your deeply-developed skills as a detective and a range of precision forensic tools will help you, but you'll have to rely just as much on split-second reactions and brawling skills if you are to get through your mission in one piece. The first person viewpoint that Monolith favours is used, but this is still an adventure game where you execute melee moves on your quarries, as well as pick up and throw a variety of inanimate objects. Full compatibility with 5:1 surround sound allows full immersion in the dank dark corners of the game, and sophisticated and reactive enemy AI complete the package, making Condemned a suitable night in front of the monitor after one too many episodes of whatever the latest doomy, gloomy medical/forensic/investigative TV show is popular in your gaff.