Despite the questionable long term appeal, Gitaroo Man Lives! is one of those games that you'll cherish while it lasts, but only truly get the most out of if you're lucky enough to be able to engage in multiplayer. [JPN Import]

The game is a gradual reconnaissance into your capabilities as a leader. The smaller battles hone your self-awareness and prepare you for those glorious life-or-death crucibles – there's at least one per stage – where the screen bursts into a Technicolor fog of war, with glowing power-ups layered on top of energy bars on top of exploding missiles.

Ultimately you're watching a performance as much as giving one, and for a game this sly and playful, I can live with that. This is a rush, a conceit, a virtuoso doodle. It's a gas. It's a lark. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Where Brotherhood enhanced the thrill of being Ezio Auditore, Revelations distracts from it. Ezio may look old, but it's the series itself that really shows its age.

If nothing else, Age of Empires DS provides a title that will appeal to those Discovery Channel Dads who picked up the stylus for Brain Training, and proves that Nintendo's flip-top toy can supply grown-up depth as well as giddy frivolity.

As always, all you're paying for here are some minor updates, a couple of simplistic new modes, and that new season / franchise data. Unless you're an absolute addict, there's no need for this game. If you are an absolute addict, there are better games out there.

It's a little insubstantial, and rather too limp as a solo endeavour, but there's real heart to its raucous, collaborative core. If Switch's underlying ethos inspires more games like this, then there'll be no complaints here.

The Banner Saga offers a refreshing take on the tactical RPG with a story every bit as engaging as its combat.

The increased writing quality, cunning puzzles and Telltale's self-referential ability to know when the game is slipping into self-parody makes Moai Better Blues a marked improvement on the last one.

With a convincing story and some innovation in the fight system FFTA2 could have been so much more, but it still stands as the best example of the genre currently available for the handheld.

Tarsier returns to horror with a rich, meaningful evolution of its familiar Little Nightmares formula. And while it could perhaps be a little more radical, Reanimal remains utterly compelling; bleak, nasty, and full of menace.

Crucially, however, the game itself remains almost completely unchanged, the creative inertia all the more noticeable given the radical overhaul the series enjoyed over the course of its 2008 and 2009 incarnations.

It hangs together well enough, and more exists as an excuse to create the set-pieces which provide Dungeon Siege with its most memorable moments.

The sheen that Alpha 3 gains by being thrown onto a handheld is just a fresh coat and it didn't take long for us to remember why we put down the hadokens after its original 1998 release.

Abe Lincoln Must Die is by no means a 'bad' episode, but it feels like the series is stuck in something of a rut already. I just hope it's not too late for the talented people at the studio to get it firmly back on track for the last two episodes and end this bold episodic experiment in style.

Kri's got a lovely story though, and otherwise it is very compelling, thanks to thoughtful level design and so on, but we just don't want San Diego throwing different styles of combat into the periphery if they're going to screw up the main one.

The end results may be somewhat shallow for most serious gamers' liking, but it's a quirky, fun, amusing, and heart-warming addition to the PS2.

While the absence of multiplayer means it won't last you as long as previous instalments, new control options have allowed the developers to line the seams of Drake's adventure with flashy tassels and detailing that make for a varied and entertaining outing - perhaps even more so than its big brothers.

An entertaining but slightly unbalanced remake whose biggest draw is a regular distraction from one of the series' best stories.

Condemned 2 deserves hearty praise for improving on everything it did first time around. The melee combat is brutally intense, the investigations play a bigger part, the visuals are top-notch, and the whole thing's wrapped up with engaging narrative.

Blood Dragon wears its idiocy like a shield. With its mechanisms borrowed from a bona fide blockbuster and its cornball retro swagger rendering any artistic criticism surplus to requirements, all that's left is to have fun, and that's in plentiful supply. Blood Dragon condenses all the best bits of Far Cry 3, sprinkles them with cheesy nonsense and blazes its way through to a finale that will leave you grinning like a loon.

Football Manager is still the best sim of its kind, but FM23's serious lack of major improvements shows an annual release schedule taking its toll.

If you haven't played the other Lego SW titles, and you fancy a bit of straightforward, enjoyable platform action, this is an essential purchase. It's also great for younger gamers, especially if you like to play co-operatively. And the sharp, shiny, varied visuals make it one of the best-looking games on the Wii.

Guns and gangsters make for a silly delight in this PSVR caper. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Shadow's campaign provides some of the best 3D levels of the series, but it's coupled with a dated and unnecessary remaster. If only Sega went all-in on the future.

It has managed to genuinely take the series forward in technology terms, offering up much more engaging firefights than ever before, which are far less forgiving and require a hell of a lot more thought and skill than simply charging in like you're immortal.

The whole package is smoother and shinier than Nuno Bettencourt's hair. It's not a bargain, and it's not the best game you'll play this year, but it's probably the best game you'll ever play with the word "Extreme" in the title.

Hob's Barrow is a game that refuses to leave your brain until the whole thing is untangled. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Charming and delightful, faithful to the source yet cheekily irreverent, and packed with features that feed into each other in satisfying ways, The Lord of the Rings marks yet another highpoint in the Lego series.

With two or more players, the sequel is, once again, a compulsive riot. Played alone, however, some of its pieces seem sweet, but a little empty.

Tetris Effect gets the multiplayer of its dreams with four delightful modes. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Stop and peer too long into Outlast's gloom and you'll see the zips on the monster costumes. Take it at at speed and you'll find a haunted house worth visiting.

From Dust is a crescendo - of ideas, but mostly of the glorious and fearful drama of nature - that will leave you feeling both humbled and thrilled...But it still feels like a beginning, and not just because it tells the tale of one. It's a big idea in a small package, and it's begging to be expanded, as Ubisoft has hinted it might be. Pray that it is.

Verdict for Churchills? If you already own HoI2 then think long and hard before coughing-up for Doomsday's jumble of minor enhancements and questionable alterations.

Punchy and immaculately produced, NBA Street Homecourt is a great jumping-on point for a simple, entertaining and really well-designed series.

But there were times within Disgaea 4, more than ever before, when the grind seemed more prominent than the obsession. Disgaea always does unexpected things with numbers, and 4 feels like its most polished and feature-packed entry yet - and it also feels like the point of diminishing returns.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is enjoyable enough at times, but weighed down by a deluge of unnecessary systems and bullet-sponge combat.

Mutant Mudds doesn't quite have the brash, devil-may-care attitude of Super Meat Boy or the charming personality of VVVVVV, but its refined obstacle courses are a distillation of what made us fall in love with 2D platformers in the first place.

Still, nitpicky design and technical limitations aside, the 12 hours or so that you'll be playing the single-player game are almost always enjoyable, challenging, and entertaining.

Thankfully, while some of its design decisions are more than a little frustrating, it remains a brilliantly entertaining first-person shooter and probably deserves more credit for helping to shape the genre than it has been given. It's a shame the online modes aren't more compelling, but having spent two blissfully nostalgic days battling through the single player campaign, I'm happy to consider it 800 points well spent.

It's competent, it's fun, it's certainly good - but unless the PS2 to PSP transfer stuff tugs your whistle, it's not easy to justify the upgrade.

While the story and characters are unfortunately very weak, Baten Kaitos is easy to recommend to anyone looking for an RPG that focuses strongly on gameplay rather than storytelling.

Warm-hearted, funny, and never less than sincere, Wanderstop is a pleasant place to while away the time, though less successful as a vehicle for mindfulness in itself.

Innovative, unique and utterly charming in its self-contained universe, it comes highly recommended to open-minded 360 owners.

Ultimately, it's this unique style that makes The Darkness 2 worth your time. After years of chest-beating military domination, the FPS genre is starting to show signs of life in more eccentric ways. Everything old is new again, so by concentrating on character, story and giddy comic-book excess, The Darkness 2 is a more compelling offering in 2012 than it would have been in 2008.

It's not too hard, it has a certain charm, it lets you take things on in your own way (as a commander or a commando), and it isn't afraid of pushing the old-fashioned arcade challenge of getting through a level without hitting F6 every ten seconds.

The heart of AI War is in its asymmetrical nature, but that uniqueness permeates the entire game, from the way each fight works to your overarching strategy.

It simply feels more natural to select attacks, items and suchlike on the smaller GBA screen, and actually do the combat and exploration on the main TV screen - while there's even an added element of gameplay from the fact that each player gets a different map on their GBA.

Pokémon Sword and Shield add some brilliant new creatures, but like their gargantuan Dynamax forms, the games feel like a hollow projection.

Infinity Ward rekindles the Modern Warfare magic with a more tactical first-person shooter - for better and for worse.

For all its frustrations, you'll spend much longer in the sweet spot than you spend getting there. Elite: Dangerous demands much, but repays your devotion many times over.

Acclaimed point-and-click studio Wadjet Eye's gently paced, time-travelling genre-hopper blends elegant puzzling and intricate, affecting storytelling to beautiful effect.

Taken as a rousing aerial shooter, it's easy to recommend - and sadly rather too easy to complete. There's a ton of content, at least, and it's all presented in a whiz-bang style that draws you in with heart-pounding action without belittling the history behind the explosions. It's just a shame that for such a venerable simulator series, it's the more serious game modes where Birds of Prey feels most compromised by its hardware.

Team Ninja evolves Nioh's formula in a Three Kingdoms-era action RPG where allies, flags, and stealth make its brutal challenges more manageable than ever. [Eurogamer Recommended]

The single-player campaign is uneven and, at its best, fails to match the zenith of what's gone before - a myth growing weaker with each retelling. But the punchy multiplayer broadens the game's aspirations and its appeal in a welcome way, offering a refined competitive arena.

Woods games have often done volume, but this one does fidelity - and while the next-gen golfing genre isn't exactly broad, we suspect being the best in a field of one will do them fine, especially since, in this case, it feels like it is mostly as good as it could be.

In terms of creating a stable online environment where you can adjust the GGPO delay and see your opponent's ping rating before a match begins, Resurrection is hard to fault.

Best to think of this release as planting a seed, rather than an end in itself, with potential to grow into something quite wonderful with some canny updates from Relentless and a dash of imagination from the players. For now, it's nothing more, or less, than the most polished and entertaining quiz experience on this generation of consoles.

This minimalist, warm-hearted, puzzle game is a surprisingly tricky yet satisfying experience. [Eurogamer Recommended]

I stand by my assertions that inconsistent physics and poor level design make for a game which is frustrating. And having to start all over again, all of the time, is boring. But PixelJunk Eden still manages to be addictive. The more you experience and experiment with the control system, the more you realise how innovative it is.

Even for those people who hated the previous generations of the strategic break and enter, I suspect you'll come away loving this.

This isn't SmackDown! vs. Raw. It's last year's SmackDown! with a few mini-games, an updated (and therefore poorer) rota and embarrassingly duff online play.

Some subtle improvements to the grind and flexible turn-based tactics mean Honkai: Star Rail's off to a fine start. [Eurogamer Recommended]

We missed some of the more intricate aspects of the original, and the ability to carry veteran troops forward between missions is a glaring omission, but despite a few niggling faults, it's still one of the best single-player RTS titles we've ever played, and is well worth the price of entry for that alone.

A game filled with wonderful new ideas in the margins, but dependable, predictable gameplay in the middle. A game that honours the past but never seeks to stray too far from it. A game that elicits absolute unguarded delight and devotion from its young fans, even as they dream of what might be possible in the future.

Pokémon Sword and Shield add some brilliant new creatures, but like their gargantuan Dynamax forms, the games feel like a hollow projection.

In many ways it feels like an adult-themed Pokemon, complete with a cast of demons that, though not as adorable as Pikachu and company, nonetheless have their own dark charms. So, atrocious US boxart aside, this is one import worth the extra shipping.

The true narrative of this game is the journey of slow, dogged, satisfying improvement that you'll travel as you work the ineffable rhythms of the board into your fingers.

It comes frustratingly close to delivering something special. But despite multiple gameplay avenues bursting with potential, it leaves them largely unexplored, showing more interest in wowing you with surface sizzle.

It's fairly obvious that Legend game wasn't designed for the 360, but even against the best action adventures of recent times (like "God of War" or the "Prince of Persia" trilogy) it falls some way short of matching the standard we've become accustomed to in recent years - both on a gameplay and on a technical level.

But while laudable in many senses, ultimately King Kong is as Carl Denham - fascinatingly single-minded and full of wonder, but ultimately shallow, and too caught up in its initial achievement to really think the rest of it through.

There's something gripping about the constant surge of beast-slaughter, and who am I to deny such primal urges?

It's worth taking the time to raise a glass to this unlikely hero, and what might well be his best game to date. To Infinity, and beyond!

We need more experiences like Metro Exodus that know how to resist empty bloodshed and kindle such closeness, finding the warmth in the wasteland. [Eurogamer Recommended]

And tackling the huge amount of diverse RPG quests, picking up and evaluating items, advancing your character's skills to match your tactics is a thoroughly engrossing mix. SpellForce 2 is that rare beast - a thoroughly well executed hybrid game.

Trine is simply an unpretentious and effortlessly lovely adventure, if never quite special enough to nudge into the echelons of 9/10 and above. Immediately likeable, hugely enjoyable and brimming with charming detail every step of the way, your enjoyment may depend on how many friends you can share the journey with, but few would regret time spent in the company of this trio.

Sleeping Dogs certainly doesn't deserve to take all the blame for this situation, and Rockstar has some serious game-raising of its own to do with GTA5. But when a game is so clearly intent on being a follower of trends rather than setting them, it's hard to feel much passion for Sleeping Dogs' vanilla retread of established ideas. When compared to his open-world peers, Wei Shen's stoic promise to do "what I always do" ultimately feels more like an apology for low ambition than a rallying cry.

Although the new toys fail to entirely justify themselves - and if you can forgive the absence of online options, and look past what many perceive as the heresy of playing the game on anything other than a handheld - Lumines Supernova is probably the fullest incarnation of the game yet available.

As it stands, FIFA once again offers a huge amount of entertainment - but you'll be left covering your face after you've witness EA miss a hatful of chances to go top of the table.

Remnant 2 is an ambitious sequel stuffed with delightful - and deadly - surprises.

The lesser spotted aerial combat genre makes a glorious return in this heart-pumpingly exciting game. [Eurogamer Recommended]

A grab bag of everything that made the purely portable iterations shine, Ultimate Generations is arcane but absolutely brilliant. [Recommended]

While Company of Heroes 2 sometimes makes you feel like you're fighting the game as well as the enemy, if you take time to understand the systems at work beneath the carnage and pick and choose your battles wisely, you will ultimately be rewarded by a deep and enjoyable RTS.

Rime doesn't rely on a twist ending anyway. Rather, this is the twist ending's older and more appealing sibling: the sense of dawning realisation. This game has it all, really. It has a sense of wonder, of poise and, over time, a true sense of emerging character. And it has something to say. Something that is worth hearing. [Recommended]

Outrageously pretty and newly refined, Frozenbyte's series finally strikes gold. [Eurogamer Recommended]

In the end, you'll likely forgive Ubisoft's game its shortcomings on the strength of its energy, obvious good will, and deep sense of craft.

Ultimately though, while it's not quite perfect, Vicarious has a beautifully crafted remake let down only by its 30fps target. If you've been looking to revisit Crash, it's difficult to go wrong with this package. It's clear that the developers have poured a lot of love into re-creating these games, and if the aim has been to re-introduce this neglected mascot to modern audiences, it's a job well done. Our hope is that this paves the way for an all-new Crash title - one that pairs the beautiful visuals of the N.Sane Trilogy with a fresh batch of gameplay ideas. [Digital Foundry]

At PixelJunk Monsters' price-point, Ninjatown would be an essential purchase, but as a full-price DS release it stops slightly short. That said, it's still a likeable, accessible and deceptively complex little strategy game, worth 20-odd quid of any pocket strategist's money, and it keeps on giving, feeding you something new and fun to play with right up until the fist-eatingly difficult last few levels.

It seems all those evenings spent in containers sampling engine revs were time well spent, then - indulgence is a glorious thing when it's put to such good use.

Wii Fit Plus is indeed an enhanced version of the original, as Miyamoto said. It's just a shame those enhancements aren't expansive or extensive enough to guarantee long-term value, or to justify the higher SRP.

It's tricky and exacting, but in all the right ways.

At this early stage, there's only 10 levels to battle through, but with more to be added in Surveillant's upcoming free update, this is a keeper.

By the time you're done with it, you'll be shot to pieces. A weary wreck, surrounded by hastily sketched maps, wondering how a 59p iPhone App could do this to you.

Capcom's iconic action hero returns in an adventure that maintains the trademark brutal challenge while finding a way in for newcomers. [Eurogamer Recommended]

An overdue but much appreciated remaster of one of the GameCube's - and the early 00s - very best. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Kinetic action, beautiful, horrible pixel-art and a sense of place that stays with you - this is a dark treat. [Eurogamer Recommended]

Golf is reduced to its rich essence here, but there's still room for plenty of secrets. [Eurogamer Recommended]

A brilliant musical puzzler that sends you out into the world enriched and filled with curiosity. [Eurogamer Essential]