This is arcade racing in its purest form: Controls and rules are as simple as anything. But still you need finesse to get around the bends and turns in style. Unfortunately it is rather short.

The good: The weak storytelling aside, Sacred Citadel doesn’t do anything wrong and ticks off every box in the fantasy-beat’em up manual that was written by Segas Golden Axe. Then again, it doesn’t do anything particularly right, either.

That Slitherine opted to release the strategy previously released on PSP, is not a bad choice. Unfortunately the conversion is below par and technically not up to date – not at all.

Colorful, charming, challenging and full of humor: Guacamelee celebrates classic exploration, fighting and jump&run on the highest level.

Average tower defense with a wide range of multiplayer options and unique visuals.

While the humour is back to its sarcastic bite and the visuals are improved, Neptunia still suffers from old problems: incredibly boring quest and level design.

The well-told campaign is a little short, but this is compensated for by a plethora of things you can do offline. Unfortunately none of the extra battle modes are available in versus mode, while the online battles suffer from balancing issues. Nonetheless: If you’re tired of Street Fighter or Tekken it’s time to let the superheroes take care of business.

Once you dive into the campaign, you can’t take your hands off this turn-based tactic gem, despite some downfalls in the story department with its’ sometimes corny dialogues.

Shootmania Storm proves everybody wrong who thought that there are no innovations possible in multiplayer shooters. But with the focus on competition, the potent editor as well as gameplay, the visuals suffer tremendously.

The mechanics will keep you hooked with a fresh mix of strategic planning and real time action. Unfortunately the presentation can’t keep up.

If you like mysterious games like The Room this is definitely worth a look: great art design, great music and great puzzle variation.

Simple action, a boring story: This tie-in to the TV show is mostly irrelevant, although the approach sometimes is interesting. But even without bugs and with better visuals Defiance would have problems in giving other online action games a run for their money.

The learning curve is steep and if you’re easily frustrated you might consider going back to the predecessor. But if you’re willing to invest time and a lot of trial&error in this mass transit simulator, behind all the glitches and the useless tutorial you’ll find a motivating diamond in the rough that shows a lot of potential and keeps you awake longer than you’d like to admit.

Crazy Golf and Augmented Reality don’t mix well.

The steampunk approach in track and vehicle design is charming, but mechanics lack variety and most of all tight controls, regardless if you enter the course with a gamepad, keyboard or mouse at your disposal.

You think you can ride with Age of Empires 2 into the high definition era? Think again. Instead of offering full social penetration with “like us”, “subscribe”, “watch” and “follow” the visuals should have gotten the attention this classic deserves. If you can live without online battles and the pseudo HD, here’s some advice: The gold edition from 2001 is a bargain…

Chaotic, frenzied platform action with loads of entertaining online modes: This is a dream come true for sociable jump&run fans.

Razor’s Edge delivers more content and more gore compared to the original, but nonetheless the fearless Ryu Hayabusa is still miles away from his former self.

A lot of games tried to copy Minecraft – or at least participate from its' success. But this two-dimensional take on the well known formula is the only game that is able to step out of the shadow of the indie phenomenon that inspired it. It leads you into a unique world full of creative magic and translates well onto consoles thanks to the very good pad controls.

Yes, engine and presentation are old-fashioned. But the mixture of exploration, hunting, gathering and fighting still works. The turn based battle system was tweaked here and there and is more attractive than ever.

Switch Galaxy isn’t a beauty to look at, but the simple mechanics keep you motivated. Too bad that the experience is very short-lived.

While solid as a brawler in the tradition of Guardian Heroes with added roleplaying elements Code of Princess shines when it comes to the absurd, funny and sometimes plain silly characters and story.

The small challenges are entertaining, the confused concept is not. The hidden shortcuts that need to be discovered and the lack of clues make it hard for me to appreciate this charming puzzler.

While it lasted (unfortunately not too long) it kept me entertained, since the combination of jump&run and rhythm game works surprisingly well.

The charm of this pixel adventure won me over fast. While it is a brilliant idea to stage it like a theatre with the party sitting at the table with the dungeon master, the role-playing reminds of the good ole days.

The simple ideas sometimes are the best ones. The team headed by Colin and Sarah Northway presents a simple but astonishingly clever puzzle mix.

It looks good and delivers short-term fun – but controls and dynamics need improvement.

On the surface all the elements that made the former Army of Two games such interesting experiences are still there. But the deeper you look the more superficial they get. Resident Evil 6 might have failed because the vision couldn’t be executed. But here you’ll miss the vision in the first place. This is a run-of-the-mill shooter with big explosions and little depth.

Yes, the swinging system was tuned, the online mechanics were enhanced. But still there is no real progress, neither in terms of content nor visually.

The Arrival pushed me to the edge of sanity. With its clever combination of unsettling pictures and disturbing sounds this is one of the most intense horror experiences available today.

This mobile racer definitely shows some potential, but with the concept of pay-to-win in-app-purchases and some rough edges in the design motivation grinds to a stop.

A charming, wacky 2D adventure that keeps you motivated even though the tasks you’ll encounter could be more varied.

This is a trip down memory lane into the era of classic 3D platform action – even the sometimes clunky scenery is reminiscent of PS2 games. You’ll find charming characters, loads of jumping, fighting, the occasional stealth element and a lot to collect – what you won’t find, though, are fresh ideas.

Ken Levine manages to combine difficult topics like guilt, atonement and racism while creating truly remarkable characters, best of all the equally charming and dangerous Elizabeth. Add to this the breathtaking visuals and tactical action (at least on the more difficult levels) and you get an extraordinary action experience.

You’ll encounter fascinating puzzles in “impossible” labyrinths. Unfortunately most of the time trial-and-error will win over logic.

For the first time since Bionicle Heroes Traveller’s Tales didn’t have to stick to an external license, but could let their fantasy run wild in an open world. The result is a little shallow in terms of mechanics, but makes up for it with bucket loads of humor in the tradition of the early Zucker/Abrahams spoofs.

The extraterrestrial arachnid follows the tradition of easy to pick up, but difficult to master games like Angry Birds or The Splatters. With more accurate controls it would even be able to give them a serious run for their money.

The PC version emphasizes why the once strong franchise failed to impress and rather disappoints in so many areas. Terror, Horror and suspense are gone, while the shooter parts that remain are way behind Crysis 3 or Gears of War Judgment.

Even though the sisters show some technical shortcomings compared to the PC counterpart, this still is a charming jump & run.

This is an excellent action adventure game design. At its best, it is full of surprises, dynamic battles and logic puzzles. Once you enter the haunted house you don’t want to check out until the last ghost is caught.

In terms of content this is definitely the ultimate Monster Hunter experience. The visuals can’t hide their age, though. The world still is harmonious and confronts you with truly impressive enemies, but a lot of animations and effects date back to the PS2 era. That doesn’t take away anything from the still motivating hunting and gathering that is easier to control than ever before.

This is a charming puzzler with a unique setting and varied tasks. But is also rather short and a little too easy, while the iPad controls could be more accurate.

Don’t expect anything fancy. This is a run-of-the-mill arcade style action with no frills and a cool soundtrack.

Judgment is a step back for the series, even though the fight against the Locust is still enjoyable. But the most fun you’ll find in multiplayer: The campaign gains momentum in co-op and the versus modes will keep you glued to the pad for hours.

Finally you’ll get a decent racer on Wii U. Criterion made an exemplary port, proving that Nintendo's new system is able to dish out beautiful visuals and break-neck speed.

It’s better and more focused in the sniping core mechanics than its predecessor. If you can ignore the irrelevant story and the minimalistic multiplayer you might discover a decent shooting experience.

I don’t care who dies or survives. In the beginning my curiosity was sparked by stealth mechanics as well as team and resource management. But in the end this is an outdated, very generic, very boring and often very ugly zombie action that certainly fails to live up to the big name it carries.

It as a solid Trials Evolution clone through and through – minus the editor and the excellent level design.

If you like your 2D-beat-em-up with a big helping of retro pixel charm, then Darkstalkers Resurrection is for you, even though you don’t get the complete package, but just the highlights in the form of Night Warriors and Darkstalkers 3.

This is a very good expansion, but be aware that the focus on improvements is to be found in multiplayer, while Kerrigan’s revenge campaign delivers rather solid entertainment.

After the weak ‘Generations’ Naruto returns to top form. It has its share of flaws, but nonetheless this is the best Naruto adventure yet.

This is not as fascinating as the last bullet hell shmups like Sine Mora or Akai Katana, but nonetheless with the HD remake of one of the final games of the late Dreamcast you’ll get an intense, but rather short arcade shooter.

If you want a suspenseful crime story with sci-fi flair, dramatic conflicts and puzzles that are as varied as they are challenging, look no further. This is a grand adventure.

In its best moments, the concept could give Bomberman a run for his money. But the fun is short lived and gets too hectic too soon for its own good.

Kratos still delivers. But after all those years and especially the grand experience that was God of War 3 you slowly get the feeling that you’ve seen it all.

Pendulo is on the right track. The conspiracy thriller with its’ complex story keeps you on your edge, while the puzzles are mostly conservative, but are nicely tailored to the narrative.

A strong narrative clashes with superficial gameplay mechanics.

The dynamic battles are well executed, the 3D-effects strike you with immense feeling of depth. But Mercury Steam can’t get a grip on the spirit of past mobile Castlevanias. This plays more like a two-dimensional God of War than a modern variation of the cult vampire saga.

This homage to Micro Machines works surprisingly well – until you hit the in-app-purchases wall.

Simogo takes you on a special, sometimes scary melancholic journey that looks like a Swedish winter wonderland at first, but leading you step by step in a dark world hiding behind its pretty façade.

This is a beautiful monster of a game. It is as sad as it is remarkable that this PS2-classic might be the best thing happening to Vita users for the whole year.

The mechanics are as mediocre as they were on the other systems, but additionally the Wii U version suffers from a stuttering framerate and superficial usage of the Wii U gamepad.

The visuals are nice and while you are plotting your metropolis you can feel the potential of SimCity. But even though EA and Maxis are hard at work to fix everything in this state this game is rather disappointing.

This is a decent space flight simulation that keeps you coming back, but could have done much better with more depth and more comfort functions.

Lara matured from sex symbol to a person with character and feels more authentic as an archaeologist. But unfortunately Crystal Dynamics wasn’t courageous enough to incorporate real survival with hunger, lack of ammunition and desperation. They let you dive into a colorful, varied adventure filled with action, though. In the end with this Lara Croft not another “Survivor” is born, but rather another “Soldier”.

The characters are lovable and the soundtrack is simply phenomenal. Even with bugs and errors not to be found in the console versions you can’t help but fall in love when Tim Schafer pays homage to the gods of heavy metal.

If you thought that on Nintendo’s handheld you’ll get a decent funracer that shows the quality of its’ 360 or PS3 siblings, go look somewhere else.

I love war games and historic strategy of all kinds. But regardless of the curiosity and high motivation during the first hours, in the long run I lost interest, mainly thanks the superficial game system which doesn’t offer any efficient tactics and focuses on unnecessary micro management.

This is still a solid puzzle game, but 5th cell smoothed out too many edges that made the other Scribblenauts so special.

With little more than 5 hours playtime Revengeance is rather short. But I prefer a short but intense experience to a boring one that last 50+ hours. The story is surprisingly deep, the action is fast and furious.

Even though it carries a venerable name and promotes hardcore mechanics Wizardry Online is just a very ordinary frumpy roleplaying game.

Crysis 3 gives you incredibly detailed, beautiful locations. But the core design is not as modern or progressive as the engine and the AI is far away from standards set by Crytek with their first Far Cry.

The 2D-action is crazy, there are lots of secrets to be discovered and Sam's humour is back to its old glory.

If you look at Dear Esther as a dark audio book Proteus is like looking at an interactive painting. Taking in every detail in this 8-bit world you realize the emotional power with which visuals and audio can create a poetic artwork.

A typical run-of-the-mill online shooter that doesn’t offer anything special with the exception of the fresh map voting.

This is a solid shooter reliving in the tradition of Descent or Forsaken that lacks variety in the long run.

Even though the nameless hero can’t keep up with Rayman this is an entertaining straight forward arcade parcours experience.

On the surface Impire shows some promising ideas. But the deeper you dig the more you realize that almost everything stays superficial and offers hardly any challenge.

Full of surprises and tactically challenging to the very last map. Unfortunately the focus on in-app-purchases takes away from an otherwise great strategy game.

This is a wasted chance. While Rebellion's Aliens vs. Predator remake at least occasionally managed to deliver horror atmosphere and suspense, Colonial Marines mutates to a rather dull run-and-gun-experience, while the visuals seem older than the movie this is based on.

Koei is Koei is Koei. Kenshiro’s second fight for vengeance is rich with content, but he just can’t step out of the poor base mechanics that make all that content so repetitive.

Specialization of your own species, expanding your territory and fighting for victory points: This is an entertaining and true to original conversion of the board game.

It could have been a modern version of Hothouse Creations’ Gangsters 2 mixed with XCOM. But what you get is rather superficial in every aspect. The turn based battles suffer from an inconsequent and sometimes broken cover system, while the business aspects don’t offer any challenge at all.

This is a nifty little arcade shooter that obviously took the classic Paradroid as an inspiration. It lacks variety though.

Antichamber reminds me, why I love games: Because they can still surprise me. This surreal labyrinth doesn’t bend to convention, it questions it with every move. The puzzles ooze creativity and variety.

Dead Space 3 is a roller coaster ride. In Space you’ll find interesting missions, a nightmarish atmosphere and a brilliant sound design. But as soon as you land on the ice planet, not only do the temperatures drop, but also the motivation. The further you progress the more irrelevant and run-of-the-mill the game design gets.

Razor’s Edge delivers more content and more gore compared to the original, but nonetheless the fearless Ryu Hayabusa is still miles away from his former self.

The battlefields in this turn-based tactics gem are as numerous as they are varied. This is tactical entertainment at its best.

In theory this theme park could be the source of never-ending fun. But in the end it is rather never-ending grind. Nonetheless you can experience some entertaining half hours or so if you have friends on standby for your support.

The War Z might use the same elements that make DayZ an enthralling experience. But it puts them together so halfheartedly that you have to turn away in disbelief.

Phoenix Online manages to produce another entertaining adventure thriller with the same mystical puzzle atmosphere as the predecessor.

The presentation is minimal, there are no hires visuals nor multitouch. There is no tutorial and no campaign. There are no scenarios, but instead you get a cheating AI. But if you play online against human opponents the magic you associate with the board game, is almost there.

What a charming adventure. The beautiful backdrops bear the inimitable hand writing of Studio Ghibli's artists. The wonderful story carries big emotions without pathos. And the role-playing game opens the doors to a wide land full of fantasy and danger.

At its core Assault Horizon offers insane aerial combat action. But too often I get distracted by rail-gun sequences or helicopter missions that don't fit in well. On top of that the PC version suffers from technical problems not evident for console pilots.

If you played games like Alien Breed or Dead Nation you know what to expect. But be aware that even though the lighting and sound effects are nice, virtually everything else is below par.

You won't find any innovation here – somewhere between Bust-A-Move and Zuma this is just another "Match-3"-variation. But the idea of throwing people around is so ridiculously wacky that you have to play it to believe it.

Retro City Rampage is not really a good game. It is nice and entertaining, but also very shallow. But it is an darn good compilation of reminders what was cool and hip in the 80s and 90, it is a declaration of love to the era of big pixels and plastic pop.

The stupid battles, in which you strike over the touchpad like a lobotomized baboon until you are forced to a break, serve only one purpose: To make as much money over in-app-purchases as possible.