If you are new to the series you should think hard, if you really need the whole package. Even though I'd recommend the first Kingdom Hearts to anyone, this particular edition is one for the fans, really.

It's almost tragic, really. Because, awful loading times and some smaller technical quibbles aside, on the field, this PES looks and feels just plain excellent.

On paper, the changes might sound subtle, on the pitch though, they really influence your way of play. FIFA 14 wants you to play clever, and the AI, refined controls, better ball physics and richer animation all work in support of that.

Its fresh looks and swashbuckling attitude ultimately don't change the fact that this is a game better enjoyed in small dosages. I love endless combo series as much as the next guy, but Foul Play's fighting engine and general run of play are a tad bit too simple to merit longer sessions. That said, this is one hell of a likeable game, if this sort of brawler floats your boat.

If you own the original, this is not an essential buy, let alone a reason to get a Wii U. It is basically the same fantastic game that crowned one of the best years of the GameCube's run. If you're new to this particular iteration, though, by all means, get this. I kind of envy you, because I will never be able to experience it with that set of fresh eyes again. Don't let this chance pass you by.

That's FFXIV in a nutshell: a technically very stable, functionally well thought-out and at times even brave MMO. It's just a shame that so much of your time is wasted on bread-and-butter adventuring. Still, this world is not only new, but also enticing enough that you don't always have to follow a higher calling to enjoy yourself.

In terms of playability, then, The Puppeteer is a disappointment, too much in love with its own design. Had it not strangled the experience with an unbearably high number of cut-scenes, Sony might have actually had the chance to develop the core gameplay in a way to make this adventure worthwhile. It's a game with skewed priorities. It looks great, has loads of personality, but this close to Rayman Legends, which married its elements so perfectly, I cannot recommend Kutaro's tale wholeheartedly.

The fifth game in the series combines the delusions of grandeur facilitated by the most detailed open world to date to super-solid shooting and driving mechanics. Previous lengths have been traded in for a consistently captivating narrative which not only holds everything together, but really makes this game seem more than the sum of its parts. The only remaining question is: Where will – or can –the series go from here? I am looking forward to finding out.

A Machine for Pigs is like a fully automated haunted house ride suffering a power outage. The carnies sure do their best to keep the tension up, banging against the girders from the outside and shooing some freak show attraction through the corridors every once in a while. The ride's boss even throws sinister letters over the paper mâché wall for you to read. Well-written as they are, you even like the story that they were going to tell you. But you just can't help but hope that somebody would finally find the god damned breaker box to get this whole thing going for real.

Some troubles aside, in the here and now, I'll leave this one with the most glowing of compliments. Outlast's not particularly original, but its extremely effective brand of horror makes for a haunted mansion experience that's all too easy to recommend. It's almost as if this one was shoving the finger into all of the horror has-beens' faces: "Look, if you dare, what only ten people can do!" I for one can't imagine they'd like what they'd see.

This impressive console port is a great fit for those who are new to the series and to co-op fans alike.

It's a short and very solid piece of jump and run entertainment, combining a pretty homage to the genre and its own forebear with loving nods to later games in platform history.

Even though Rome 2 really put my PC to the test, the newest Total War game managed to convince me thoroughly. Its battlefields are as tactically deep as they are going to get, prettier than I would have dared to dream about and the new tactical options by land and sea are a welcome twist to this superb and quite welcoming strategy title.

The Wii U version reaches hitherto unknown heights which I would never have expected from a direct sequel, let alone in this genre. Which is why I might as well just say it: Rayman Legends is the best 2D platformer of all time. Take that and stick it on the wall Ubisoft Montpellier, you earned it.

If you have been waiting for a good honest FPS on the Vita, this is it. In fact, there aren't many ways in which Killzone's debut on Sony's starving handheld could have been much better.

There are times when I felt I was putting more time into planning my endeavors than into the killing of monsters. And that's by no means a bad thing, quite the contrary. Dragon's Crown is bursting with means to tinker with and develop your characters and each of them is quite exciting and well executed.

It's competent enough, efficient as a means to fill the day and not totally devoid of fun, but you'll never be in it with all your heart. It's time to quit and leave EDN III. This time, maybe once and for all.

It is not the most cutting edge conversion, but the lavish art manages to shine even more in this sharper, prettier and more fluid version of Lords of Shadow. So, in our book, the game still holds the same appeal as the console versions back in fall 2010, especially seeing that PC users don't get this brand of bombastic brawler all too often. This game won't get any better, at least not until Lords of Shadow 2 rolls around.

All in all, it's just the shadow of a bigger, more ambitious game and proof that it's not always sensible to listen to that angry mob on the internet. Sometimes you just have to stay the course, weather the storm and trust that your vision was right all along. Otherwise you end with something that – solid as it may be – is missing consistency, direction and identity. It's just a shame that it had to happen to this one.

If you liked Dishonored, but always thought it could have done with a more interesting protagonist and a dash more mystery, you're not only right, but also in luck: The Brigmore Witches delivers just that!

As soon as this gets a map editor, I'll happily bump up the score [twenty] whole points. Until then, this extremely authentic and well done representation of the beloved board game is frankly just missing one of its most important features.

The camera does its part in making some sequences a tad bit annoying, but that's just a small irritation in a game where everything else is so absolutely spot on. The whole game world feels like a gigantic box of toys come to life, bustling with charm and lovable characters.

In the end, its faults are only minor, really. This is by far the most engrossing co-operative arcade experience I have had in a while, probably the best since Left 4 Dead 2 came around. Pulling the trigger of a Uzi in close proximity of an enemy is like shoving a rabid Tasmanian devil into someone's face. The guns really feel that exciting and dangerous - one of the key differences between a good shooter and a great one. I have a feeling this one will stay with us for a while.

It's just a joy to play, even though Saints Rows biggest accomplishment is leaving its troubled – and troubling – early phase behind to become gaming's one true enfant terrible, fleet-footedly hopping back and forth between infantility and pure genius.

Blacklist doesn't do all too much to bring the series forward, let alone reinvent it. But it still is a good looking, supremely solid crafted and well-balanced stealth game that knows exactly what it needs to accomplish. I know a lot of people who will find quite a lot of beauty in that.

Guacamelee does a brilliant job in blending the highlights of the genre's corner stone titles such as Metroid and Castlevania, while still retaining it's own brand of charm.

Between the clever level design, the game's gentle way of teaching you the mechanics and the simple, heart-felt story with it's phenomenal finale, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons should be played by pretty much everyone.

Thing is, my considerable enjoyment of this remake would probably still be the same if they had put much less of an effort into this. So, should I commend them for putting everything they had into this love letter to a really, really good, if imperfect platformer, or complain that they didn't use the budget to port 20 different Capcom classics in a more humble, functional manner? Maybe both, but probably a bit more of the former.