Heavy Rain, PS3

Will you have a shower this morning? Will you make your child tea? Will you sit with them while they do their homework?

Will you cut off your own finger if it might help you find your son? Will you sleep with a stranger? Will you kill someone?

Heavy Rain is all about the choices you make. The serial killer story is told from four perspectives – the father of the latest victim, his beautiful insomniac neighbour, a drug-addicted FBI agent and a private detective with a heart and a hip flask – and you determine the direction of the narrative by triggering their physical actions or emotional responses.

This is not like other games. It requires a commitment from the player. If you can look past its limitations, ignore the frustration when it doesn't act as you'd expect or hope and instead immerse yourself in its world rather than always looking for the 'little man behind the curtain', then you can feel as awestruck as Dorothy in Oz.

Gripping and grown-up, this may not be the future of gaming but it could be the start of something else entirely and you owe it to yourself to experience it.

★★★★★

Final Fantasy XIII, PS3

As the first proper Final Fantasy game in four years, fans of the epic RPG series have had quite a wait. Launching simultaneously on both the PS3 and 360, times have certainly changed.

XIII takes a step back towards the traditions of the series, replacing XII's innovative MMO style battles and free exploration with turn-based combat and linear story telling.

Essentially, this is classic Final Fantasy stuff, mixing an epic tale of science and magic with jaw dropping visuals, and a reworked battle system.

Square Enix have redefined their turn-based formula through a gauge that allows you to stack attack commands (which trigger over time), and an emphasis on combos. With item usage no longer using up a turn, and random battles thankfully a thing of the past, it feels breezier than the usual JRPG fare.

Unfortunately this streamlining means exploration is stripped back to side quests in the latter half of the game, while the combat system can take hours of devotion to reap rewards.

To the average fan though, these things are tertiary, with extravagant visuals, melodramatic storytelling and the thrill of the battle more than placating their inner chocobo.

★★★★