If fans come in expecting something more like Castlevania IV than Symphony of the Night, they're in for a good experience. More than anything though, Mirror of Fate has me excited for Lords of Shadow 2.

If the servers worked all the time and we could play offline then this game would easily score 9.5, but that elephant is huge and a problem.

True to the franchise, this is unadulterated God of War. While the insight and motivation of the character is highly enjoyable, the game doesn't do enough new things to make it as impressive as the huge creatures and levels it portrays.

This game is Tomb Raider through and through, while not being the Tomb Raider you grew up with. The franchise that defined a genre has stopped being schooled and moved from the back seat to the fore.

Forget the cheesy story, the occasional bad camera and the fact that MGR:R is about as stealthy as a snowflake in a coal mine. The game knows that it’s a winner on the action front, and it takes steps to make certain that that is what gamers come back for. Sure, it may be over quickly, but with VR missions, secrets, easter eggs and upgrades, it’s worth replaying a few times.

In trying to find a suitable middle-ground between the design philosophies of Crysis and Crysis 2, Crysis 3 falters somewhat in never matching the highlights of either of its predecessors. As its own beast, its a tightly-paced, eyeball-meltingly gorgeous shooter that remains fun for the entirety of its 7+ hour campaign. It’s a good game, but one lacking the narrative muscle ore revolutionary gameplay to elevate it beyond.

This new alternate history DLC for Assassin's Creed 3 is actually a breath of fresh air for the franchise. Unfortunately, it's a very short inhalation of gameplay and ideas.

An enjoyable romp, a ludicrous explosion of colour, fun and ideas wrapped up in some tight visuals and acting. If you’re stupid enough to dismiss this as a bad DMC game because it’s too shallow for your tastes or not Japanese enough, then you’re also being ignorant and too dismissive to appreciate a damn good action game at least.

Despite the inconsistent difficulty and the terrible camera, it’s still a vastly superior game to the original release – by a long, long way. It’s infinitely more fun to play, looks and runs better and features buckets upon buckets more blood and gore.

It has been a long time since I finished a game and felt goosebumps and had to wipe away a singular tear that escaped before I noticed.

Anarchy Reigns is one of the cheesiest games in recent years. It’s limburger, gouda, mozzarella and various other assorted dairy products rolled up into one package of lactating violence and rap songs that will leave your head spinning and your thumbs broken. But if you happen to take a bite of that cheddar, you might just fall in love with it.

If you’re looking for a tactical, turn-based strategy title that’s oozing charm, humour and playability without sacrificing depth, Skull of the Shogun is worth the investment, and a shining example of the genre on consoles.

Aliens: Colonial Marines stings of bitter disappointment; fans of the franchise will dually be delighted by the fan service, but appalled at the misappropriation of the license and the liberties taken with the new Xenomorphs; while those just looking for a suspenseful horror title will find little more than a run-of-the-mill corridor shooter. It’s Duke Nukem Forever all over again.