It's hard not to like Tropico 4, because it's based on a solid foundation that is naturally engaging. It was and remains an enjoyable if slight take on a dry genre. Its tragedy is that it hasn't bothered to build anything worthwhile on top of that foundation, preferring instead to coast on jaunty music that makes you feel like you're playing in Nando's and broad satire that fails to sustain the game beyond the first few days of play.

Lumiose City could do with work, but Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a much more tightly focused - and delightfully goofy - return to better form. At least by modern Pokémon's standards.

For the cheaper-than-usual price it's going for it's definitely well worth a look, but once again bear in mind that it's never going to be one of those games with the greatest of lifespans. Burns brightly, but briefly.

A brilliant central mechanic and a game of real craft and character. [Eurogamer Recommended]

PES 2010's team management options are a warning sign that the Japanese developer still has some tricks up its sleeve, and people for whom the transition to another football game is simply too much to countenance will buy and enjoy this, and discover it still plays a good, grass-roots game. For everyone else though, up is still down, because FIFA wins again.

So, here's to another FIFA 22, much like the last one, and the one before that, and the one before that - a game that would be so much better for the soul were it not dragged down by the clawing hand of capitalism. Much like real football, I suppose.

Mega Man 10 doesn't quite perhaps have the sparkling feel of reinvention that its predecessor enjoyed, but if you were one of the many who considered MM9 a welcome return to form, then this is another must-buy. Everyone else is perfectly entitled to look confused.

Yes, the often exhausting depth might prove to be off-putting for those who prefer the more intuitive Virtua Tennis, but that's precisely part of Top Spin 3's more simulation-minded appeal. With fantastic online play and an obsessive career mode to dive into, it's the thinking man's tennis title.

It's bursting with happiness. And so am I when I play it.

It's a stunning little game to play for a while after the pub or while waiting for a taxi to turn up, and a complete contrast to the involved multiplayer experience you'd get with FF:CC. If a copy lands on your lap, you'll probably love it - you just wouldn't pay thirty quid for it.

Where ilomilo felt like it was created by rosy-cheeked elves beckoning you to snuggle up to it with a warm blanket and hot cup of cocoa, English Country Tune is more akin to Futurama's smarmy Professor Wernstrom. Rather than being off-putting, its priggish demeanor motivates you to rise to the occasion and show it up. As creative as it is maddening, English Country Tune is an acquired taste.

A vibrant interpretation of golf that expands on the series' distinguished lineage without compromising, or distracting from, its strengths. [Recommended]

I'm glad the launch version has tweaked the balance slightly in favour of the player, giving you a bit more health and replenishing it more readily, because I was banging my head against Atomicrops a bit in the version before. And it was only really that which made me hesitate in recommending it to you. But now, upon release and with some fine tuning, it sings. And a very jaunty song it is too. [Eurogamer Recommended]

It's a great concept, and it's perfectly enjoyable, but it lacks the excitement and flourishes it needs to really come alive.

Although pleasingly wrapped in all the right legends, there's nothing here that fully chains us to the PC. It's too repetitious, too derivative and too fiddly to exult, especially when there's so much more artful PC RPG fodder that I haven't yet defeated.

Ghost Recon is undoubtedly a chunky, enjoyable addition to the 3DS line-up, and a slick if unspectacular strategy blast.

The bosses, too, are consistently inventive.

FromSoftware's multiplayer spin-off is an exhilarating rush and a celebration of the studio's prior achievements Souls veterans will devour.

The gameplay is solid, the visuals are pretty and there's just something brilliantly enjoyable about making the Prince skip gracefully around well-designed levels, just like in the old days.

All round, Mutant Storm Reloaded is the kind of sympathetic update that reminds us exactly why gamers gets so foamed up about supposedly outdated concepts. Sometimes things just work, and always will.

It's not just half a dozen great diversions and a few more besides; it's sweet fan service that celebrates Nintendo's catalogue with more heart and less calculation than we've seen of late. Better yet, it reclaims the used and abused mini-game compilation from the hollow hinterlands of the casual cash-in, lovingly restores it and puts it back where it belongs - amid the hustle, the buzz, the urgent appeal of the arcade.

It just about passes muster as a stopgap release to tide fans over until the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3, but those looking to rekindle fond memories may find nostalgia's bubble all too easily pricked.

Beautifully animated, wonderfully voiced and witty to boot, Loco Motive ticks a lot of right boxes for point and click likers. If only its underlying mystery wasn't quite so sidelined and predictable.

What impressed in 2007 is no longer enough, and while Starhawk is a perfectly fine entry in the third-person multiplayer shooter genre, it's unlikely to inspire much long-term passion in its current state.

Those savvy enough to see beyond Yakuza 2's slightly dated visuals will enjoy a richly rewarding openworld brawler - one that's every bit as immersive and entertaining as the original.

Some of DMC HD's content is far from classic, and there are undeniably rough edges. But as a package it offers two fighting games of exceptional quality, with Devil May Cry slick and stylish enough to overshadow its creaky camera, and Devil May Cry 3 still one of the genre's highpoints.

A wondrous dreamlike world to explore in or out of VR, but a story that doesn't always hit as hard as you might want.

Sega Rally is easily the freshest arcade driving experiences to have emerged in years, providing more wide-eyed excitement in five minutes than most games manage in five hours. Not since "Burnout 2" has a driving game stood out as so completely different to everything else, and provided so much instant, moreish entertainment to such a high technical standard.