When I started playing I was fascinated by the landscape beneath. I wanted to hear more about the abandoned, crumbling temples and foundries, the different forms of government and social relations you're told about when you visit each city. I craved an extended mission or two to dig into the origins of the Prophecy. I wondered about the possibility of an antagonist. But towards the end, I felt only indifference, which is a more rarefied, civilised kind of cruelty than the urge to pillage. It feels like this game drifts in the shadow of another game in which the Airborne Kingdom is exactly what it looks like: a ponderous, uncaring monster that eats the world in order to set itself free.

A tough but lovely recreation of two of the greatest orthodox shoot-'em-ups ever made.

It's a genuinely peaceful and relaxing experience, with a wonderfully becalmed atmosphere, subdued beauty, and an earnest, innocent attitude - all of them rare properties in games.

Many won't appreciate the simplicity, or the fact that there doesn't appear to be enough of a substantial challenge to grab your attention for very long. Not for everyone, then, but well worth further investigation if puzzling's your thing.

All told, you're getting an absurd amount of content for your 800 Points, but such is the incessant repetition at the core, you may question whether you really need it. If the answer is yes, then this is unquestionably an instant purchase, but over the long haul its infectious opening gambit doesn't quite sustain.

A deceptively goofy asymmetrical tactics game that feels as grand as any monster movie. [Eurogamer Recommended]

You might not think that we need another first person shooter in our collections, but when such a simple game can be fun, exhilarating, affecting, tense and stressful all at once, you begin to wonder why you ever needed more.

Lacks the polish of Mikami's Capcom work, showing a rough edge that its creators no doubt hope communicates their punk attitude to game development, but really just comes across as a bit shoddy. But at a time when few publishers of EA's stature are willing to take genuine risks, its uniqueness is welcome and interesting. And as a celebration of the puerile, it leaves Duke Nukem Forever standing, staring longingly at its tit bridge.

With songs catering for multiple generations and all manner of tastes, and a disc packed with excellent tracks and none of the filler which has polluted previous Singstar releases, Legends is perfect family Christmas fare.

What Tales of Kenzera lacks in creative game design it makes up for in vital, passionate storytelling.

Plain Sight sits simmering on the hob like a pot of genius soup that's lacking something, and I don't think even the developers could figure out what.

If you've got the stomach for repetition, this is well worth a look, but otherwise approach with caution.

Shift: Extended also has one of those insidious background tunes that probably provide a soundtrack to your dreams for the next 17 years. Just don't play it on the train without headphones - you don't want innocent bystanders suffering the same fate.

It's the weakest of the series by a long way, and an ill-judged attempt to drag a narrative driven adventure game into the realms of sub hackandslash by removing much of the actual thinking and forcing the player to engage in less than challenging puzzles while foisting repetitive and unengaging combat upon them.

This ruminative travel game is beautiful, poised, and a little predictable.

A joyous and rugged display of rally racing, with exquisite handling, lightly flecked by technical issues.

Few games from the early '90s stand up this well today and although there are obviously better fighters out there, an enhanced classic for less than the price of a cinema ticket is a bargain in anyone's book.

Band Hero does not add anything to what we already saw in Guitar Hero 5, so in the end buying it just depends on your opinion about its track list.

It's still splendid - it's just infuriating that so much of what makes it such a delight has been lost in translation.

It does lots, and it does things reasonably well. It's just, well, it's doing the wrong things reasonably well.

The systems run as deep as ever in Paradox's latest effort, though the personality isn't quite there.

This is a largely enjoyable journey for series fans - a dilution of what has gone before, but one that suits the handheld and serves its audience well. As a result, Suikoden Tierkreis offers a blueprint for how developers of modest JRPG series can continue their lineage into the future.

Intricate and ingenious, Hob is a true spiritual successor to A Link to the Past. [Recommended]

For all that the game may have promised, it isn't such a big step forward for the series. It's Total War done a bit bigger, a bit better and a bit different. Its borders hold firm.

It feels familiar, but it's unlike anything else - and even on DS, where good RPGs are plentiful, this is in the top tier. It should have been called Awesome Robot-Riding Dog Adventures, of course. But you can't have everything.

As with "Out From Boneville," The Great Cow Race is an entertaining enough diversion, but one that doesn't provide much in the way of lasting thrills.

It's a competent, workable game that draws inspiration from the right places, but which is rarely anything more than a cover version of the greats.

Get to the end of the short campaign and you realise it isn't short at all, with time attacks and plus levels and expert levels unrolling before you It's a lovely package, and another pleasant stop on the Switch's protracted farewell. The more I played, the more I found myself collecting fragments of memories of the GBA original which I thought I had lost. Familiarity, then, and forgotten pleasures: isn't that what a Vegas residency should be all about?