In the end Earthfall is unfortunately the exception to that age-old rule, originally spoken and then sung by Mary Poppins – ‘a spoonful of co-op makes even the most mediocre of shooters go down’.

The Technomancer isn’t a great RPG, but it’s close. There are issues with the combat that pop up from time to time, and the whole setup of the side-quest system quickly devolves into a matter of running back and forth between places you’ve been to over and over.

If the developers had stuck to just sailing and ship-combat, Pirates would be a charming game. Unfortunately, it's only half of one.

In the case of Jettomero: Hero of the Universe, either the presentation strikes a chord hidden deep inside you or it doesn’t. If it’s the former then of course it’s an experience worth checking out. If it’s the latter then, well, it might feel as empty as the space between all the different planets Jettomero travels to.

Redfall is disappointing. A moderately enjoyable co-op game set in a stylish and inviting game world marred by repetitive and bland design and a long list of technical shortcomings.

There are a few extremely brief moments of promise in Warfighter – clearing a village from the side of a little bird with a sniper rifle and a high speed chase through Dubai are two areas that almost managed to be exciting. Unfortunately they're surrounded by too many moments of bog-standard room clearing to matter, and the entire package is let down by one of the clunkiest online modes in recent memory.

A low point for the franchise. The best way I can put it is that the soul of the series has left the building. It has action aplenty but it feels more like a slog.

Korra lacks the heart and extravagance of Platinum’s best work, but it is, at the very least, a step above the absolute dross Activision often releases for licensed properties.

Almost all of the improvements are simply native benefits of the PC platform and CryEngine 3 -- from the frame rate, to the textures and netcode. With a lack of an open dedicated-server model, community of players, or any tweaks to the pre-existing gameplay conventions, I still can't recommend Nexuiz to anyone but the most dedicated FPS diehard.

A fun game for cover shooter fans who don't mind linear progression and a decent amount of cut-scenes.

Even the visuals seem disinterested with everything looking lifeless and devoid of any real colour or identifiable landmarks, outside of a few fan service cameos. Bland is probably the only word to describe how the game looks.

Unfortunately the gameplay is riddled with weird and detrimental quirks, like your ranged characters standing right next to your melee characters (making them easy fodder for foes) with no way to change their formation, maps that get confusing when you change the rotation of your viewpoint, clicking on obvious targets not registering as you hit the wrong pixel - all wrapped up in a difficulty curve that forces grinding the same boring maps over and over.

Even die-hard Resi fans (of which I am actually one), ought to steer clear. None of the game's promises are met, and while you might have thought a Resi co-op experience was a dream come true, you're better off waiting until someone internally pitches it at Capcom in Japan and it's handled by the series' parents, and not their snot-nosed, annoying neighbour's kids (sorry Slant Six, but this effort is inexcusable).

This Holiday season you honestly couldn’t get a better family-fun game to play, and there’s a lot to sink into here. There’s no flash-in-the-pan design around this; it’s full of longevity, replayability and life -- everything you want in a game for everyone. Highly recommended.

So Game of Thrones features an engrossing story underneath all its decidedly average layers and it's the mechanics and gameplay that hold back the overall experience from being one worth recommending outside of the series' most stalwart fans.

Fun though it is, NeverDead is several good ideas short of fulfilling its conceptual promise.

Babel Rising is an unfortunate mix of interesting mechanics and poor design. It's fun in fits and starts, but finishing a level yields a sense of relief rather than achievement. Count us among the non-believers.

The concept and setting here were ripe for out-of-left-field explosiveness, but due to a lack of direction and capitalisation, and likely a small budget, all we’re left with is a lifeless game that fails to live up to its potential.

NeverDead is the kind of game you want to like more than you actually do. The gimmick is a smart one, it's quite funny when it wants to be, it's peppered with cool moments, and it's a big improvement from the developer's other recent efforts (Rogue Warrior, anyone?). Alas, fun though it is, NeverDead is several good ideas short of fulfilling its conceptual promise.

Fallout 76 is fun to play; the simple loop of scavenging and exploration and crafting and progression works well when you’re in a group. Alone, it gets pretty old pretty fast - especially when dealing with bugs and glitches and performance woes. Ultimately it’s disappointing that the size and scope of the multiplayer doesn’t match the impressive West Virginia you get to explore.

What many had hoped would be a glorious trip down memory lane, is a muddled affair that lacks spit and polish across the board. Hail to the king, baby? No. Sadly, it's more akin to, 'Fail to the king, baby.' And I'm genuinely disappointed that I couldn't love the game more.

In essence if Colonial Marines were chocolate it would be Cadbury's; it's chocolate, has all the ingredients of chocolate, but the only real attraction is the name, the quality leaving you somewhat hollow and unfulfilled.

If you scare easily, the low asking price may entice you into a purchase but, for everyone else, Daylight represents a dull and missed opportunity for effective horror.

Sure, there are some minor kicks to be had in three player co-op, but they're very short-lived and fraught with frustration. Call of Juarez should have stuck to its guns and remained an Old Wild Western. Avoid this like you would the real po-lice.

Le Tour is the sort of monotony that shouldn't come near a videogame, but the developers have banged together a decent, if not flawed title that I did enjoy.

Frozen Hearth is the Dark Souls of the RTS genre: damn challenging, at times infuriating, but rewarding to the persistent multi-tasking player. It's a shame there wasn't a bit more spit and polish before final release, because when Frozen Hearth isn't distracting you with oddities or omissions, it's actually a rewarding experience.

007 Legends absolutely reeks of a rush job. It may have the look (loosely) but carries with it none of the heart, soul or charm of the world's greatest secret agent.

This is not going to set the gaming world on fire by any means but if you're a sucker for movie tie-ins, have reasonable to low FPS expectations and don't mind some light RTS antics, Battleship is a decent enough distraction for a handful of hours or so.

Floaty imprecise controls, a lack of depth, random spikes in difficulty due to bad design, random frustration, a mini-game for the sake of a mini-game, and a protagonist with the all the charisma of a shiny blue block.

This sort of baffling design is not a new thing but as game narratives improve these dated examples can’t help but feel just that – dated.

It’s a shame that Explore the Dungeon, despite its adherence to maintaining the characters’ personalities and its clear admiration of the source material, misses the point of what makes Adventure Time work. It’s a lazy piece of design, one that has no business carrying a $60 price tag when it feels like it could have been ripped straight from a browser.

Disjointed, numbing, vexing, joyless, and dull, Thor: God of Thunder is the quintessential action movie video game adaptation.

It’s simply not worth exploring, even if you own shrink-wrapped copies of every TV season plus a signed, framed first edition of the graphic novel.

Sadly the story of Sergeant Powers will be seen as a failure, which it is, but certainly only of execution.

Could it be a hilarious addition to a boozy Friday night gaming session with mates? You betcha. Would I want to rip my hair out in frustration more than half the time? Sure would. It is still seriously flawed and bound to infuriate a lot of gamers out there. For those who are more of a glass half full kind of guy (or gal), can let niggling flaws slide, and like minimum exposition, this will be right up your alley. Just know exactly what you're in for.

AMY is just bad, full stop. At 800 Microsoft points, it may look like a bargain. But all you get for the money is grief.

It's about a gazillion times better than Rugby World Cup 2015, but it's just not able to compete in the big leagues against well made, polished titles like FIFA 16, NBA 2K16 and Madden 16.

A train of thought born from the fact that Asemblance isn’t an experience built on scares or thrilling moments. It’s more interested in posing mostly subtle and open-ended questions about the nature of memory, mood, and what is real.

The Enemy Within lets you shape and navigate your way through not only an entire relationship, that being the one with John Doe, but also in the direction and creation of The Joker. When you factor in that the Joker is perhaps almost as iconic as Batman, that Telltale was able to execute this progression at all, let alone imbue it with emotional weight – makes The Enemy Within essential for fans of the caped crusader.

Construction Simulator 2 is so unrelentingly strict in its stringent adherence to following set tasks, there is absolutely no chance for imagination or creative outlet. Put simply, failure to follow the precise steps laid out for any particular task results in a breakdown that negates the contract or job, resulting in lost time, revenue, and any potential for enjoyment.

In the end Elsweyr unfortunately errs on the side of more of the same. Even with dragons, a fun new class in the Necromancer, and some great writing found in the side quests and the strange cat-people that make up the land. The main story is mostly a let-down, until it finally kicks into gear as you storm a castle. As a whole there’s not much surprise to be found, and in terms of what makes up a new place to explore in The Elder Scrolls Online it’s mostly cat and paste.

Whether you're a wild mustang wanderer in free roam or a hardcore PvPer, RDO delivers pretty amazing fun. I'd be remiss, however, if I didn't mention that it's still a “mostly what you make of it” online experience. New content comes in dribs and drabs. And when you look over yonder at GTA V (where players are getting casinos and all sorts of cool things) it's clear that RDO needs better and more frequent support. Hopefully Rockstar can be spurred into that action, because what's already here is well worth saddling up for.

Whether you’re in it for the story, the world, the resources, the crafting or all of the above, Subnautica: Below Zero is a rich vein of fun and engagement you won’t want to escape from anytime soon.

Hades is a rare breed of game. Supergiant’s design confidence is almost reflected in the cavalier attitude of the game’s protagonist, Zagreus; capable and arrogant, young and vibrant. But evermore charming as a result. I’ve used the phrase before, but this is absolutely a franchise-in-waiting, and more, if the studio and Private Division were so inclined. But know this, at the very least: those accolades? The ones that kept coming? We’re adding to them -- a year on, and now with a new audience and new homes, Hades is still near-perfect and an absolute must-play. Don’t miss the bus again.

The Siege of Paris is better than Wrath of the Druids, but fails to wholly expand upon the base game. It’s introduced elements feel like feelers, rather than complete implementation of new systems, and it actually could have been longer. Moreover, neither of the game’s key expansions feel like they impact Ravensthorpe or indeed, even England, enough given how much effort and investment is involved in them. It might be wishful think, but in all we’re looking at a series that still relies too heavily on repetitive gameplay loops and lacks dynamism and game-world feedback on your conquest of it. Still, after having spoken to the team at Ubisoft Montreal in-depth about all things Valhalla, we’re optimistic about the extended future of Valhalla and potential new content, and if not here, then what everything will mean in Infinity.