A highly playable version of Metal Slug on the DS, and regardless of the steps back to suit the hardware, the end result is not all that bad. You can’t help but wish for more, although for any game to be truly special on its eight iteration is a very big ask.

It’s still by no means a masterpiece. (As soon as you include imagery of people defecating on each other for pleasure the word ‘masterpiece’ must, of course, be immediately discarded), but it is a vastly improved experience over the original. Not only have there been significant upgrades made to the gameplay, it also delves much deeper into every aspect of the story: from the land of ecstasy, ‘Lusst’ghaa, its inhabitants, history, and eventual downfall; to the different cults, their leaders, beliefs and motivations.

RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business is more of the brutal, authentic RoboCop power fantasy fans loved when it comes to its intense combat. Gunplay is as meaty and over-the-top as before for the series, with the iconic Auto 9 still stealing the show. However, the expansion comes with some uneven pacing and technical issues that weren’t present in the original. It’s one for fans of the first game’s action but be prepared for a few rough edges in its current state.

The only real “achievement” of EndWar is its voice command system.

Trash Goblin has the basics of a cosy experience, offering a casual, low-stakes loop with charming characters and accessible mechanics. It’s pleasant, undemanding, and occasionally fun, but it rarely stretches beyond those foundations. The lack of failing mechanics keeps things relaxing but also dulls any sense of progression or challenge. As the systems begin to fade and repetition sets in, even the new patch content struggles to reignite that initial enthusiasm, it begins to lose its appeal. There’s enjoyment here, for sure, especially in short bursts, but it’s the kind of game you put down once the novelty wears off or the story wraps up. A fun little distraction, but not a noteworthy one.

Harking back to Elika for a second, I have to admit she is a fantastic addition to the series, and as gimmicks go she is significantly better than The Sands of Time.

If you’re not bothered about kicking a thirty-plus minute run to the curb because you didn’t quite manage to piece together anything strong enough, or about dawdling around a bit in an attempt to grind for whatever may be needed to build a dream weapon, you might really enjoy Noita. It’s not exactly my cup of tea but I think I may have been taking it a little too seriously – sometimes it’s just fun to embrace the madness and see how far you can take it.

It’s overly simple and lacks the diversity for extended play.

The end result is, that not through lack of effort, Forza 5 turns out to be the first true regression the series has seen since its inception.

Apart from some shiny new graphics, and a some multiplayer game modes it is exactly the same game as all those years ago.

It won’t blow your socks off mechanically, but people looking to just pick a car and drive in an exotic location without any complications will find fun here, it’s just a huge shame that Driveclub could have done with more work before being released in its the current state.

All in all, Hyperdevotion Noire is a decent sidetrack from the standard Neptunia games, but it could have used a bit more streamlining and quality-of-life mechanics to bring it up to current SRPG titles.

An acceptable update in terms of presentation, but regretfully somewhat lacking in the new gameplay features the move to a new generation should demand. Regretfully, it is far from the spectacular game many hoped it would be when it was first announced. It grasps on too tightly to what came before, refusing to give gamers the freedom other games in this generation have offered.

Rock ‘N Racing Off Road is best suited to an enthusiast of the sport who is more likely to have the determination and patience required to complete the game.

It's not good enough, frankly. The fun zombie-bashing can't sustain itself, and the plot, characters and setting aren't good or memorable enough to justify wading through the 20 odd hours it'll take to finish.

It’s a real shame that the two halves of gameplay, the action and the puzzling/exploration, differ so greatly in quality or this would be an easy recommendation to any 90s nostalgia-hunters. Instead there’s a clear divide and the fun often comes crashing to a halt, constraining the player to slowly back up and work a row of dawdling dummies with a pipe for five minutes to conserve resources. To make it worse there are actually two extra modes, a classic wave-based survival challenge with a shop between each round and a procedurally generated labyrinth, that both rely on this exact approach to play: aggro the mass of dopes and painstakingly beat them to death with a melee weapon in order to save any important armaments for the real problems. I still say it’s worth giving a shot if you’re into this style of retro horror, more so because of how exceptionally cheap it is, as long as you’re aware of the few clumsy design choices that all too often get in the way of the experience.

Even though it was developed with the benefit of over twenty years of hindsight, it's a game that ignores fundamental lessons of the brawler genre. Excellent presentation doesn't change the fact that Double Dragon Neon just isn't very satisfying to play.

Crucially, if you stand back and think of what the series could be evolving into with current hardware then you can’t help but look at DW6 as a disappointment.

Cris Tales claims to be a “love letter to classic JRGs” and it has all the elements that make up a great JRPG by bringing back things we’ve missed about the older classics but it hasn’t quite executed them as well as I’d hoped. The combat was easily the best part of Cris Tales but this was unfortunately ruined by loading screens/times; I hope they can get this fixed ASAP so the game can receive more credit. This is one of the few, maybe only, games I’ve played where my experience was ruined by a mix of technical issues.

Like many of the other VR experiences in this launch, Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live is an impressive technical showcase that opens the imagination for future VR games, but is currently bereft of meaningful content or replay value.

With the lack of tight controls, an honest challenge and the addition of a generic plot and characters we’re left with a totally average action platforming game that promised the world.

I would still recommend Yomawari: Night Alone to any horror fans simply on the basis of it being unique, but if that’s not what you’re looking for and nothing short of a terror-inducing masterpiece will do, I’m afraid it’s back to Silent Hill 2. Until we do get that next genre-defining horror gem, Yomawari is a nice distraction that will hopefully be worked on to bring us something even more sinister and satisfying in the future.

The Lost Shapes is a simple concept that is hampered by poor execution. Whilst the Survival Mode makes for both a relaxing and tactical experience, Shape Mode is let down by poorly implemented scoring and design choices. Sadly, Magic Chess isn't the bewitching experience it could have been.

Unless you are a die-hard on-rails shooter fan it's quite hard to recommend Yar's Revenge over some of the much more loved classics on Xbox Live, like the brilliant REZ. Yar's Revenge is the exact opposite of Mizugichi's masterpiece as it lacks the memorable moments and set pieces. This re-imagining of a classic isn't what it could have been.

Its potential is crushed by the frustrating match ups with ghost AI and it’s back track laden puzzles through a roughly 5 hour long campaign consisting of only a handful of environments that, through the fault of only it’s spectacular art style, all look identical.

Maneater starts as an enjoyable, silly concept, making it fun for a couple of hours. It is a title that reminds me of the show, the Deadliest Catch, but as the game goes on, the missions start to become repetitive, and the underwater colour palette makes me wish I had shark vision. One thing for sure, though, is Maneater could have had potential to be bloody great time if given the change to expand on its potential to be the Jaws of the gaming world, but sadly, it falls short of that. Still, one thing it does good is that it puts a top to my desire to go swimming in the sea for a while.

Ultimately, Krater is a somewhat enjoyable action-RPG with some neat ideas and great personality. Sadly, personality doesn't mean it's a great game and some of the design choices make it hard for me to easily recommend this title to anyone who has yet to play any of the other brilliant action-RPGs on the market.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is cast away into the depths of the eclipse as a gory average Warriors game with a captivating mature theme, but lacking substance to keep people motivated to playing past a single completion of the story.