For every moment where the game deviates from predictable platform tropes, there are dozens more when it's really nothing more than a very nicely assembled and presented riff on what other games were pioneering. Banjo-Tooie, then. Not one of the all-time greats, but when you take off the rose-tinted glasses the result is still enough to make it a standout on Live Arcade.

It is, in other words, a really beautifully made video game. It knows what it is - the kind of game with launchers, the kind of game where the protagonist has lines like, "Never thought I'd be blowing up my own house!" And it delivers on its simple pleasures with beauty and variety. There's online co-op for two players, which I haven't been able to test, and I gather the consoles may stutter a bit, although I've had no problems on PC. But otherwise Evil West is wonderfully brutal and charming and luminously old fashioned. It's Bulletstorm. It's Painkiller. It's werewolves up the wazoo. And I had a brilliant time. [Eurogamer Recommended]

It's really, really good gaming, assuming you don't let the game push you around like a playful big brother with little a superiority complex. God Hand just wants to have fun. And so do we.

For a game so rich in character and brimming with originality, there's simply not enough strength or depth here to compete with the likes of Disgaea or Makai Kingdom.

It's an adventure for kids, but it's also a museum, a diorama, and a weird kind of historical document - and that's a combination that only video games could have given us.

First Light is an adequate diversion for fans but unlikely to dazzle anybody else.

I love it - the challenge, the atmosphere, the blood.

For drinking fun with people who are in their twenties and know who Parker Posey is, pick Scene It. For family fun with people who are either too young or too old to drive and think Truffaut is a special kind of Ferrero Rocher, pick Buzz! Hollywood.

While it occasionally feels lumbering, and is starting to show its age now – especially when set alongside the flexibility of PES and FIFA on home consoles – the thrill of netting a vital goal is as great as ever because you know you've earned it.

No matter how good it is - and in Skirmish mode, it really is pretty good - it's a bit saddening. The future never seemed so far away.

There is depth here, especially for patient or committed fans, but the mercenary way that the game dangles this potentially richer gameplay as bait for overpriced DLC purchases sticks in the throat.

Dante's Inferno is worth considering if you're a diehard hack-and-slasher fan who loves blood, gore, fire, brimstone, layered but simplistic combat systems and tits. This is more than one big lava level and it's not a terrible game. It's just not an original one, and it's arrived a little too late.

But as much as we wanted to hail EA's proactive progressive approach to FIFA as the great slayer of Konami's complacency, the fact remains that "PES6" is marginally the better game in ways that matter.

Battle League is, arguably, a more focused game - and ultimately likely the better representation of small-team football. Aside from the occaisonal frame-rate wobble, it is also slicker in presentation, and certainly hosts the most visual customisation seen in the series to date. But I don't really play Mario Strikers for football, in the same way I don't really play Rocket League for football either. I play Strikers - or I did, back on Wii - because it was a weird and very Mario version of football. To Battle League's detriment, it feels like there's less of that this time around.

But as a lively, funny, polished and varied genre title that will slap a smile on the face of the most jaded cynic, Kinect Sports does its job admirably.

A rank combat system, quirky camera and a lack of inspiration at the game's exploration/puzzle core make playing the game hard work.

For a story about breaking the chains of your fellow men, this add-on's gameplay mechanics remain resolutely locked up to the Assassin's Creed framework. Its strong, self-contained narrative is Freedom Cry's greatest asset, but the tale struggles under the weight of its over-familiar gameplay.

Pop Hits, by comparison, feels like a loosely thrown together collection of what the charts say is cool, with little regard for what will make for a fun karaoke party.

Lack of coherency, imagination and self-awareness.

An engaging presentation and some cool ideas can't help elevate No Straight Road's hollow loop.

Unfortunately, the worthwhile drawing concept is let down by some rather ropey platforming action. Levels are somewhat uninspired, reminding us of the doldrums of the Amiga era. Jumping feels too floaty, and shooting imprecise. More irritating, you can't save mid-way through the longish levels.

But despite sounding infuriatingly complicated, Link 'n' Launch very quickly gets under your skin. The only problem is it's a bit lightweight. With just 10 missions and 100 pretty simple puzzles to barrel through, you're soon left wanting more.

Warp is a pleasant enough diversion, but with patchwork design that remixes gameplay ideas and stylistic elements from sources as diverse as Splosion Man, Metal Gear Solid and Portal, it never gels into anything particularly memorable.

The 2nd Runner also helps make up for a regrettable lack of extras in this set with the EX modes and additional content created for its special edition release.

War of the Roses is modest and pared-down, then - but it offers a challenging, chaotic and sometimes comic take on multiplayer. It's an innovative game and I'd like to see it succeed, I'd like to see it grow and, quite honestly, I'd like to see it turn into an eSport.

It's just about worthwhile as a chance to test yourself against some long-forgotten mechanics, but you can't shake the feeling that Just Add Water is just joining the dots.

Solid fundamentals, a good selection of modes and a huge cast will no doubt make this top of the must-have list for followers of the series but unless you're ga-ga for Goku, there are definitely better, flashier and more rewarding fighting games out there.

What we've ended up with is a game loaded with promise that sells itself short in the execution. There's no doubt it'll entertain the kids, but it won't challenge them.