One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 includes plenty of content, a lot of similar content where enjoyment is based on how well people gel with the mindlessly over the top, flashy, fun, combo system that is enhanced through the vast unique character move sets, skill selection and Power Rush mechanics. There are some genuine nice additions to the Warriors combat that gets to shine when characters are levelled up, and I hope these get carried to other entries and built upon. As it stands, this is the best Pirate Warriors to date, once it gets going, but it suffers from the repetitive issues and performance that this series is known for, while taking small, incremental steps to improve with each release.

Taking on Mario Kart is a daunting challenge but Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is a faster alternative that stands up well. A decent kart game on PS3 and Xbox 360 has been long overdue so it’s easy to recommend this.

Hero Academy is a fun title with some good ideas that fit to a casual mindset but also allow more serious gamers to enjoy as well. My main problem has to do with waiting for moves, and the fact that I can't play against bots while waiting for turns to finish.

You can see glimpses of what could have been, but it is spoilt by some bad choices and a sloppy ending.

Despite its shortcomings, though, Infinite Space is a thoughtful and addictive space-based romp, with an incredible amount of depth waiting for those who are prepared to put the hours in.

Though it may require a bit of patience to get to the sweet stuff, Atelier Ryza is a wholesome and addicting experience that RPG fans will gleefully gulp down, even if they’ve never dabbled with the Atelier franchise before. Thanks to the strong visuals and countless gameplay features, now is the best time to jump in on this niche series, which may end up becoming much more recognizable thanks to this latest solid entry.

It’s another game of discovering magical creatures that do battle for you, but it feels modern and up to date, with decent graphics and has more mechanics than a broken down Bugatti.

Fans of Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia will doubtlessly find the occasional thrill in I Am Alive's platforming elements, but its shortcomings are nevertheless increasingly glaring. A myriad of baffling design decisions result in a game that can't seem to get out of its own way. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making a punishing game and rewarding the player for mastering its unforgiving gameplay systems. But you're not wrestling with systems here – you're wrestling with their integrity.

Bulletstorm is a nice little 8-hour time-sink where the player has to never think and can just go about blowing people to bits. Sure, it hasn’t aged well but the combat side works fine and there’s a bit of replayability if one wants to attempt to get every Skillshot, or try to see how far you can get with a couple of friends in the wave-based multiplayer mode. However, it is certainly a shame to see such little effort put into this new release even though it is perfectly OK. I mean, as long as you can get past the cringe-worthy dialog of having the only female character telling you she will ‘kill your dick’ and the throwaway plot, you might just find a good chunk of fun in there. It’s right next to the drill launcher.

WWE All Stars fills a niche as a few evenings worth of entertainment. It is sort of like a Super Smash Bros. for those who know their Rick Martel's from their Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin's. It is a simple, fun brawler that is best enjoyed with a room full of lifelong wrestling fans. Whether it is worth forty pounds of your money, however, is completely down to how often you find yourself in that situation.

Someone once told me to not buy things for what you want them to be, but buy them for what they currently are. Based on that sound reasoning, I would recommend holding off on Life is Strange for a while, but keep an eye on how well future episodes are received.

Fans of bullet hell games are going to enjoy the gameplay mechanics of Akai Katana. It's a great solid shoot-em-up that once you master its in-depth mechanics you'll become captivated by its addictive gameplay. It doesn't do anything to push the genre, but then that was never its intended aim. It also won't do anything for people who don't like these games, but for people who love putting their sharp dodging and shooting skills to the test then Akai Katana will be a welcoming pleasure for you as Cave once again shows why they are the rulers of the genre.

Airscape: The Fall of gravity is an action platformer that delivers on all that it promises.

Son of Scoregasm has the mechanics in place for some addictive high score attack gameplay. It’s such a simple twist on the twin-stick shooter formula, but having multipliers tied to the pulse bomb gives itself some originality, but more so, an addictive and tense scoring mechanic that benefits risk/reward and skill for anyone good enough to make it through all the levels. Don’t let its visual simplicity mislead you, while this game is simple to pick up, it turns into a challenging game, fast, but also an entertaining one, which pretty much sums it up. Son of Scoregasm should supply a few days of fun for anyone looking for something to play on the Vita in quick bursts while on the go.

WWE All Stars fills a niche as a few evenings worth of entertainment. It is sort of like a Super Smash Bros. for those who know their Rick Martel's from their Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin's. It is a simple, fun brawler that is best enjoyed with a room full of lifelong wrestling fans. Whether it is worth forty pounds of your money, however, is completely down to how often you find yourself in that situation.

Project Wingman is not scared of being the indie Ace Combat copy, and it is that brave approach by the developers to replicate something they enjoy that makes it a recommendation for anyone who loves taking to the skies.

The Medium is an interesting title to play through, but I think it is fair to say that while the split-screen, dual world element is a fascinating idea, it never truly excels at pushing the idea to its maximum potential. There are teases of what could be done here, but this is no new revolutionary way to play. Taking The Medium as an horror game, it brings a brilliant soundtrack that gives life to its locations with eerie atmosphere, an engrossing story that I wanted to see until its conclusion; the main element people will remember once the dust has settled in. Expect The Medium to be a mixture of uncomplicated investigatory item solving and walking through its striking environment art, a captivating and well presented world that is visually pleasing (or disgusting depending how you look at it), but one world where the scares are scripted to certain parts of the story, which stop any potential for this game to have a truly frightening experience.

In an era deprived of 2D mascots and platformers, it’s refreshing to see something like Shantae continue to persist and impress, and strengthens the anticipation for the kickstarter-funded sequel.

Whether it’s the cute aliens, the bright and impressive visuals, or the moments of humour, it’s hard to criticise the game too much.

The Evil Within is a dark and grim place that completely succeeds in bringing its hellish world to your TV screen with squeamish sound effects to boot.

Existing fans might be wishing for more content or a cheaper price because while the add-ons are a welcomed inclusion, they might not feel like they are worth a full release. For newcomers, this is a very worthwhile package, so if you enjoy a fighting game that is easy to get into, thanks to the rock-paper-scissors mechanics and counter system, then Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is the best place to start with the franchise.

It might have a rather generic name for a video game title and a mediocre story, but Victor Vran makes for a solid option from other action RPGs to blast on for a few afternoons with friends, thanks to its focus on fast paced, fun action and neat ideas with the destiny cards to add a distinct flavour on top of the otherwise well-known formula of isometric action role-playing games.

The gameplay is functional, carrying over much of the mechanics introduced in RE4 while adding enough restrictions that players don’t feel invincible, and the extra Raid Mode does away with the traditional time-trial focused Mercenaries and introduces a more interesting mission-based mode that features RPG-like skills and weapons unlocked through exp and currency.

While we shouldn’t ignore its problems with the flow of the story and illogical puzzles, this shouldn’t stop anyone who is a follower of the genre from jumping into this world of magic and talking animals to enjoy one kid’s dream of a delightful summer adventure.

Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg will not be winning any awards for best Atelier entry, but its aim was never to achieve this. The whole point of this release is to bring the title to the non-Japanese market to celebrate the origins of the Atelier games for its 25th Anniversary, and that is exactly what Gust and Koei Tecmo have done. The bonus is that they decided to throw quality of life and visual improvements while keeping most of the mechanics intact to let fans discover how much the series has evolved over time from its infant beginnings on the PlayStation. Fans will enjoy seeing how it all began, the fascinating idea of hiring teammates and the implementation of the Atelier mechanics that fans have come to know over the years broken down into a much simpler form. I cannot fault the developers for putting in the effort to offer fans a piece of history that was once locked away in Japan. For that, Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg does it the right way and somehow manages to put a smile on fans’ faces.

The Revolution DLC pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is the first major downloadable content that Treyarch have released for the widely popular game. Probably the most anticipated additions to the game are a Zombies map and a new Zombies game mode to go along with it.

Hitman has refined its gameplay, while having options that help newcomers, but should not upset existing fans, and as such, is a solid start that hopefully keeps getting better and upping the variety with each mission added.

AYIM is a great distraction for any fan of casual puzzles who doesn’t want to blow a lot of cash.