Reader Review of the Month

Gallons of mulled wine later, we're back – and so are you! December's haul of reader reviews is as strong as ever and our finalists for Reader Review of the Month take in three of gaming's oldest and besterest themes: driving, shooting and jumping.

Eurogamer's daring, elaborate community manager Tom Champion has read them all, of course, and shortlisted three. Bobby_P takes a run at Mirror's Edge, while Sealofmadness gets behind Vanquish and ForestRed circles Gran Turismo 5.

There can only be one winner, however, and this month it's...

Bobby_P's review of Mirror's Edge!

Here's a snippet, but make sure to read the full thing.

"The moments when it clicks are something else. Racing down a corridor, sound of gunfire behind - to the left - s***, guards - to the right - smash through a door, dazzle of sunlight and empty rooftop - wall-run over the gap, vault the pipe, up, up - guards still behind - duck, jump, roll - a ledge, sacking waaay below, get some momentum, and - a leap of Faith... The rush is intense, the vicarious thrill exactly what games are about."

As increasingly ever, Eurogamer editor Tom Bramwell picked our winner and had this to say about his decision: "I was leaning towards Sealofmadness initially, because I also like games that know they're games in the way Vanquish unashamedly does, and ForestRed picks out the things I liked about GT5 in his write-up – but Bobby_P's part-review, part-defence of Mirror's Edge ended up my favourite. He makes some great observations and draws useful and relevant comparisons with other games, and even evokes Aldous Huxley, which is pretty hardcore. It's a good day when we can ram some Brave New World onto Eurogamer. Let's have Voltaire next month."

Well done to Bobby_P, who will very soon be furnished with some sort of prize to recognise his achievement.

Should you wish to receive similar treatment, submit a reader review and hopefully we'll see you this time next month.