An underwhelming experience. Whilst there are plenty of bonus features (medals, emblems, online leaderboards, etc.) designed to keep you coming back, the events/mini-games themselves just aren’t up to the challenge.

While the combative elements leave much to be desired, Mage's Initiation to pay tribute to the old Sierra titles of yore without failing to craft an identity of its own alongside the homage. D'arc's initiation is almost too simple for its own good, serving as a prologue of sorts to a grander adventure, yet so much focus placed solely on a single story beat is exactly what allows the narrative to lend impact to any given moment. The plot itself may never get too exciting, but active world building, endearing visuals, and focused puzzles ensure that in Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements there is seldom a dull moment in D'arc's journey.

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered is far from a definitive remaster. It was always a subpar FPS on Nintendo 64, and try as it might, Nightdive Studios could only polish an average shooter so far. The developer's efforts were also questionable since the multiplayer mode was cut, and some of the new visuals look horribly out of place. At the very least, Turok 3 is (mostly) preserved along with its predecessors, and fans can rest easy knowing that they have the entire trilogy at their fingertips.

Despite the additions of the other systems, Warstone TD at its root is a tower defence. The systems are actually a great addition to the usual formula, but it is not deep enough to entertain players of other genres. The levels eventually become so long that unless someone is a die-hard TD fan, they will start to lose interest, which is one of the only major complaints.

It may have taken a long time coming, but Nintendo has put together a fine collection of classic books to keep everyone happy, packaging them in a superbly user-friendly format and offering up plenty of extras to ensure that true value for money is provided. If you are a book lover and have a Nintendo DS, then this little bargain should be right up your alley.

It's really sad that the learning curve is so massive that it acts like a wall that keeps most players from enjoying this. It's sad, because those who'll persevere, and manage to reach that 'Zen' level of razor-sharp precision, are the only ones who can really understand how exciting Absolute Drift can be. That being said, when a game is all about drifting, the fun factor won't last for long.

There's not a thing out there like it, the spread of genres it employs complement each other well, and it's the sort of game that could be played anywhere from a children's party to a post-pub gathering.

Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis follows on from the solid foundation set by the first game, Tunguska, and brings with it an impressive story that keeps gamers gripped until the final credits.

A distinct lack of game modes, no means of playing offline, and even the inability to make a private game with friends overshadows all of Rumble's innovations. Faster paced gameplay centred around a single worm is a breath of fresh air - and implemented quite well - but it's held back by a stripping away of Worms' most identifiable qualities: turn-based gameplay that emphasised strategy, destructible environments that continually redefined stages, and a never-ending stream of charm that kept matches as entertaining as they were engaging. Worms Rumble resembles its predecessors superficially, while failing to carve out a clear identity by recycling what little content there is in-game ad nauseum. Rumble will almost certainly be updated with new modes over time, but franchise veterans are bound to be disappointed and newcomers are better off waiting until then.

Zombie Army Trilogy on the Nintendo Switch is a good fit ultimately. No, this is not the most complex or revolutionary one on the market. At its core, in fact, it is very much a linear action title that wears its heart on its sleeve. There is plenty of bombastic action and very little substance. That is not a criticism, however. This is a game that knows what it is, and does it well. It is definitely a downgrade graphically, and it takes until the third chapter to really hit its stride in terms of complexity. However, the experience comes into its own as a co-op adventure with friends, and there is certainly an awfully lot of fun to be had here.

MXGP 2020 is an improvement over the previous title - however, don't expect a leaps-and-bounds, next-generational jump. While this is hardly a spectacular next-gen overhaul, the building blocks are all lined up for an even more impressive iteration in the years to come. Career Mode still seems quite lacking, as bike customisations and sponsor benefits are minimal, and the experience points earned to rank up don't amount to anything. On the other hand, Playground Mode and Track Editor open up avenues for much more excitement and enjoyment, especially as the online community continues to produce more advanced and elaborate tracks.

All in all, Hyrule Warrriors Legends is the definitive version of the game, wrapping up some of the issues and storyline features from the original with additional content, refined controls and even more playable characters.

Ultimately, the final product is just dull, too simple to appeal to the hardcore, and too dense to appeal to the casual. It's hard to see who could enjoy this outside of hardcore J-History buffs and, even then, a textbook would be more entertaining.

A thoroughly enjoyable experience on the whole, despite a couple of flaws.

Elderand is the definition of disappointing. There's no big flaw to point at, apart from the fact that this is extremely afraid to do… well, anything apart from the basics. The result is something that looks good, sounds good, and feels good, but never really manages to be more than 'ok.' It's a well-crafted 'ok,' with nothing to show for that could separate it from the rest of its competitors, old or new.

Adding yet another top game to their resume, Shin'en has crafted a serious treat for the eyes and fingers with Jett Rocket's amazing visuals and intuitive controls.

The beauty in Legend Of Kage 2 is that it can be conquered and the game lets you know this and teases you with it - you've just got to be good enough to do it.

Beyond a Steel Sky brings old school point-and-click adventure into the 21st century, with an action, and humour-packed plot, and a compelling sense of character. Puzzle-solving strikes that nice balance between satisfying, but not too complicated as to force the player to be bogged down at the expense of the story. The story itself at around 10-hours long or so, is a classic science-fiction adventure, and it hits all the right notes of action and emotion, despite Robert Foster not being exactly the most compelling character out there. While there are a few bugs and little niggles as far as movement animation being a bit stiff, these are cancelled out by what the game does well, which is in its high octane cinematic narrative quality.

V5 Play has delivered a superb mix of differing puzzle styles, drawing from logic conundrums, rhythm-based efforts and even hidden object games to add a heap of variety, whilst also crafting a story that is laced with intrigue and dark humour at times, keeping the player's attention until the closing credits.

It still manages to provide a lot of fun, but perhaps not as much as it would have done had it stuck more closely to what truly made the appeal of the original franchise: challenge, speed and fiendishly clever level-design that made the most of the physics engine.

Whilst this 3DS release is nothing more than a port of a DS game from Japan, its charm and addictive gameplay cannot be argued against, with the intriguing storyline and smart Touch Screen tactical football battles making this RPG-with-a-twist one to definitely check out.

Ultimately, Sumico can be summarised quite simply as being decent and fun, and yet never actually evolving and certainly not for people who aren't into mathematics in any form.

Mercenaries Saga 2 is designed with fans of turn-based strategy games in mind. It doesn't push the genre to its limits or even offer anything particularly new, but it's a solid addition nonetheless.

Level 22: Gary's Misadventures is an enjoyable new perspective of the stealth genre, with goofy personality and sense of humour, amusing and well-designed gameplay, and surprisingly great boss battles. Just the lack of a better closure leaves a few drops of bitterness in the mouth.

Yo-kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls isn't a game that's going to change any pre-existing opinions on the series. At its core, Yo-kai Watch as a series is more about the adventure than any specific goals, and that's evident in every part of the game.

A slow episode that shows that many of the game's characters don't have a long shelf life. Hopefully episode four can right the ship. Characters feel like they're running, but gaining almost no ground as they do so. This could also be said for the story itself, which feels like it only moves an inch or two upwards during this episode. However, the direction of giving the player more choice in the physical confrontations is one Telltale needs to explore further, because with the earlier episodes' writing and this fully fleshed out combat, the final two episodes could be truly astounding.

Witty, charming, and full of personality, Chaos on Deponia is an incredibly endearing point and click adventure that will make audiences forget they have been playing with a controller the entire time. Moving with the analogue stick is incredibly fluid and cycling through hotspots with either the shoulder buttons or the right analogue is an inspired decision that completely negates the need for a mouse. Puzzle solving still feels natural and the new control scheme never gets in the way of the action. With a hilarious script, beautiful animation, and fantastic voice direction, Chaos on Deponia is as enjoyable in 2017 as it was in 2012.

Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two - Episode 3: Jailhouse Block throws the gang into its mid-season low point, as the group embark on a prison-breakout with the help of the mysterious inmate, Prisoner X. While Prisoner X adds a great new complexity to the overall adventure, and drops important exposition, she is a welcome addition to the gang. Unfortunately, most of the good stuff does not occur until beyond the midpoint of this episode, as the beginning stages suffer due to a warden and prison hierarchy that makes no sense.