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.

What starts as a classic point-and-click adventure soon becomes a surreal reading-trip for friends of the paradox.

It is astonishing what impact small ideas can have on a genre that you thought had nothing left to offer. A little character development here, a real-time component there and all of a sudden this match-3-variation keeps you glued to the screen with the infamous "one more run"-symptom. Unfortunately the closer you get to the goal, the less surprises you will encounter.

This is exactly how a conversion from consoles to touch pad should look: You won't find any virtual buttons or triggers, the controls are fine-tuned and custom made for gestures, while the content is as huge as on its console brethren. The mobile Joe delivers on a large scale.

Characters, puzzles, humor: The Cave bears the distinctive handwriting of its creator Ron Gilbert. But while this creative beauty was awakened after a 20-year-long slumber, it shows some facets that are not as pretty. The puzzles could be more elaborate, the level design more varied and the engine more fluent.

As far as Karaoke games go, at its core SiNG Party is as good as any: The recognition works well, the tracklist is as big as varied. Unfortunately you won't see any original videos and the lyrics of some songs have been edited to become family friendly. On top of that I miss the community features that the competition on other platforms introduced.

There is no doubt: On Wii U 2K13 celebrates the same magnificent basketball as on 360 or PlayStation 3. But be aware that the engine is not as fluent as on other systems and that the new features for the Wii U GamePad are either unnecessary or well conceived but implemented halfheartedly.

Ninja Theory had big boots to fill. But they mastered the reboot of the iconic stylish action series. The fighting system manages the balance between traditional dynamics and contemporary combo madness. The art design is close to perfect. The narrative though is sometimes losing focus and refuses to give the characters room to grow for most of the time. Nonetheless this is the first big action highlight of the year.

The relentless difficulty level hides some potential for frustration. But nonetheless the handling is surprisingly simple, the level design is interesting.

Rejoice, hobby generals: Battle of the Bulge is the first strategy highlight of the year. Alongside Ravenmark this is the best you can get in turn based strategy for your iPad.

The story is as confusing as the characters are interesting. But then, who needs a story, when you can have well executed old-school brawling fun? The multiplayer keeps things interesting, but be warned: Your frustration threshold will be put to the test before you start to enjoy the hectic, sometimes chaotic but always entertaining mayhem.

Under the goo-goo eyes and the rather clumsily animated characters hides a challenging old school role-playing experience that punishes every little mistake you might make in your battle strategy. But more importantly: The magic of an era long forgotten is still there.

The concept with its mix of well-proven action and exploration on one side and tower defense on the other is interesting. But especially when it comes to everything associated with the latter the QForce leaves much to be desired.

The tactical implications of saving people while keeping an eye on the fuel gauge are interesting. But you'll lose interest sooner rather than later, thanks to the frustrating design.

When it comes to two-stick action this is as good (or bad) as any. But with its comic style and the sheer amount of enemies it reminds me positively of an isometric Serious Sam.

Mike Bithell fills the most simple geometrical figures with tremendous life. While the storytelling is absolutely charming the mechanics in this puzzler stay too simple most of the time.

The difficulty level goes way beyond what you usually describe as "challenging, but fair" – this is do-or-die-retro-feeling. This illegitimate spawn of Ghosts'n Goblins and the humour of Monty Python doesn't disappoint when it comes to the audiovisual design. Unfortunately the mechanics are not near as creative.

The curse of the license strikes again. The action reminds me of Gauntlet and actually the Guardians stay as shallow and monotonous as the retro classic. No challenge and no variety make it difficult to appreciate the colorful art design.

This jump & puzzle-adventure doesn't deliver the variety or charm of Fly'n or Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams, but in its own (quite small) microcosm the puzzles work well.

This is an interesting arena brawler with lots of action and a Sony celebrity cast. It can get quite chaotic though. Thanks to the tighter controls on the dual-shock controller the PlayStation 3 version trumps the Vita counterpart.

Vice City is a magical place that is home to my most memorable videogame experiences. And everything is there, or at least it seems: Crusin' through the city is fun, the soundtrack is as good as ever, so is the dialogue. But as soon as you really have to play, the systems' limitations spoil the fun.

Gateways is imaginative, no doubt. But to become a '2D-Portal' it needs more challenge and more diversity.

For a few half hours here and then it might be okay, but it doesn't offer the social element of FarmVille nor the amount of content or diversity of Harvest Moon.