They Are Billions' crucible of experimentation and failure molds players into rugged survivalists. The RTS-style resource management and tower defense test the ability to aptly devote time to the bare necessities that will fend off countless hordes of undead. Harder to master console controls may add an extra layer of tension but living another day remains the sweetest of rewards.

Compromised on a technical level, Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus is not as polished of a port as it deserved to be (and probably could have been if the publisher was not so adamant about shipping the game in time for the Vita's launch). Some solace is taken in the fact that, at the very least, we finally have a workable version of a 3D Ninja Gaiden game running in the palm of our hands, but it still leaves you feeling let down by the whole sloppy affair.

If you've not played the Wii game then this is worth a rental at least, or maybe wait until its price drops to about £20, then it would be worth it. If you have played the Wii game though, just don't bother, there is nothing new here, and the slightly shinier visuals don't disguise the fact you are playing a slightly worse version of the same game.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls might not be as polished as the previous mainline games, but within this handheld adventure is still the fabulous, quality story and tone fans expect from something slapped with Danganronpa on the case.

The bizarre music and strange noises and beats do take away from the experience somewhat, but it’s still an enjoyable game.

The Last Tinker: City of Colors certainly has charm and a wonderful colour pallet that smothers the player in a warm and loving world. The issue is that many people won’t be engaged by the stripped down controls and limiting gameplay.

This is another strong narrative release for Dontnot Entertainment, it’s just a shame that it is in a genre that has to be more than that, so Vampyr, while I can recommend, just don’t expect it to hit the superb heights of action RPG classics of the last few years.

This is a review of the PC version, but in reality, Dirt 5 makes a good buy for people with shiny new consoles, having those people see the visual tease of what could be possible with the new hardware. Yet somehow, Dirt 5 finds its gameplay feeling at home in a 90s arcade machine, thanks to the flat handling. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but a change that fans will need to adjust to. Just please, don’t let me have to do any more Sprint events in the downloadable content that is planned in the future.

A basic platformer with the same old clichéd mobility tools and a pretty underwhelming world to be a part of just isn’t enough to make its mark these days, making Shu feel a little played out. It’s by no means a bad game, but hardly a good one either; it falls quite neatly into the comfortable, average middle-ground.

It’s excellent to see an action platformer on the Wii that is an original concept, and doesn’t fall prey to many of the routine mistakes of the innumerable other shoddy efforts that have been pushed out onto store shelves. However, I fear that Mushroom Men will fail to find its target audience and be overlooked, as the fact that it failed to make it into the Wii’s top 40 games in its first two weeks on sale appears to prove.

The short nature of this title may actually be its best aspect. It’s the perfect length for this type of comforting game – best played in a single sitting, with a quick break to grab a soothing hot drink and perhaps wrapped in a blanket. Carto exudes this nice, warm feeling through its simple, enjoyable nature and dainty design. It’s certainly not for everyone and the gameplay isn’t considerably fantastic in a vacuum but it’s something a little different and I’m happy I got to experience it.

There are so many of these 90s-inspired shooters that anyone who is a fan is having a field day with all the options available. Dread Templar becomes another solid entry in this subgenre. It offers a nice mixture of retro gameplay along with some more modern ideas with its skill tree and weapon modification concept. Dread Templar is a fast, fun, twitchy shooter that enjoys promoting the old through great-level design, hectic gameplay, pixellated visuals, and its groovy metal soundtrack. Dread Templar is a competent first-person shooter offering made for a certain audience, and I think the developer is happy with delivering a good retro-feeling shooter for those people to add to their video game collection.

As a game by itself it kind of feels empty and soulless. Get a mate to join with you and that is forgotten as the fun level rises considerably. It’s not a bad game in single player, but you feel as if it really was meant for humans and not COMs to play with you.

The game has a solid concept that it sticks to and evolves with new ways to play with its ageing mechanics that some players will be genuinely surprised at how smart the puzzles become. But, I cannot help but feel the game is missing that final polish, that spark that puts it on the same pedestal as Celeste and a few others. There are some irritating issues with the controls, which spoil what would otherwise be a quality puzzle platformer. I can say that fans of the genre will entertain with what Ageless delivers, and anyone who enjoys a challenging game, if sometimes frustrating, will find something to like here.

Moving to an open-world concept is a brilliant step forward for the Pokémon series, but currently, this release lacks the Nintendo quality that we expect from their published titles. In terms of mechanics, vision and gameplay elements of Pokémon, this is a shift in the right direction, and it only makes me get excited to see what future games do on new Nintendo hardware, whenever that arrives. I still recommend Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to fans of these wonderful little critters or to people who grew tired of the original formula, as the shift to an open world makes for a more exciting experience. Just be prepared to suffer from something that is very un-Nintendo like with this game’s inconsistent frame rates and the occasional glitch, which will put a dent in what should have been a wonderful new direction for the extremely popular creature collecting series.

The only thing I would have liked to have seen is more of it, although it does well with what little is already there. I mean, using bombs grown from special plants and strings of portals in conjunction with one another to map explosives down specific routes to destroy blockades is brilliant, and more so when used to fight crazed mutated forest animals, but it’s over all too soon when there’s so much space to expand. What’s worse is that as the story progresses and we learn more about the world and the origins of the living produce, a lot of darker questions begin to surface but none of them are really answered. The whole thing feels more like the showcasing of an idea, even though it does come full circle by the end. All I’m saying is that if we got to see more adventures of Turnip Boy in the future, it would be totally cherry.

The Glaive works well and is rather satisfying to use but this is offset by the old school use of ammo crates and parts of levels being sealing off, making it as linear as they come.

I have no qualms in recommending this game to fans of the Tower Defence genre and new-comers alike.

Having to drone through shallow plots and mysteries that the player figures out ages before Katrielle does just left me wanting to skip directly to the next puzzle or go back and play a much better Layton game. As mentioned, the puzzles and world are as marvelous as ever but I just can’t see myself recommending it to anyone who hasn’t already exhausted every other Professor Layton game first, especially when the physical copy is releasing at twice the price of the mobile version. I hate that I didn’t properly enjoy this entry and will just continue to hope that more Layton games (and movies please!) will come in the future. After all – a true gentleman leaves no puzzle unsolved.

In the end, Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed is a decent button-masher built around the polarizing Neptunia brand, with an overabundance of pointless banter that even the most hardcore fans may grow weary of.

The big question here: Is Off The Record different enough from the original Dead Rising 2 to warrant a purchase? For fans of the franchise the answer has got to be yes. There may not be loads added, but considering the budget price it is worth picking up, if only just to play as Frank West again.

If the prospect of playing an online fighting game that strikes a satisfying balance between old-school brawlers and modern action games appeals to you, I honestly can’t imagine that Anarchy Reigns will disappoint.

Despite the tedious missions, wonky controls and piss-poor visuals, it can cast a strange spell over you.

The Typing of the Dead: Overkill is similar to those outlandish B-movie films that people deep down enjoyed simply for the fact that they are stupid. This game takes a basic premise and runs with it. As it turns out, it’s still a lot of fun, even after experiencing the first The Typing of the Dead.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 takes the foundations that were built by the original Pirate Warriors, strips away the gameplay that it wasn’t confident about and sticks with what Warriors games know best – frantic action against waves upon waves of enemies while looking stylishly true to source material to please fans of the show.

In the end, Megadimension Neptunia VII can certainly be classified as the biggest and most competent Neptunia game to date, which may or may not sound as impressive depending how much of a fan you are.

In the end, Mantis Burn Racing manages to bring effortless controls and a superb handling model, while being an enjoyable skill-focused racer that gets by just fine with its lack of funky weaponry that often features in these top-down racers. Mantis Burn Racing inhabits an area of gaming that is rather mundane in its selection, and while it’s not the greatest racing game to come out this year, and its online suffers from a lack of players, it’s a solidly made top-down racer with a lengthy career mode and fun multiplayer that I can recommend it for for people who enjoy this now currently niche part of the genre.

Cookie Cutter stays true to the tried and tested metroidvania recipe. It does not try to do anything different in that respect, meaning fans of the genre know exactly what to be expecting with the game’s level design and progression. Where Cookie Cutter does stand out is more with its eccentric and loud visual design and fluid animation. Combat is a lot of fun due to how smooth it is. There have been a few melee-focused metroidvanias in the past and Cookie Cutter is a welcome addition to that group, bringing with it a violent and bloody adventure that is full of hi-octane encounters and great platforming controls that make up for the lack of innovation, varied environments and slight frustrations it brings to the genre.