Beautiful art style, well rounded characters, familiar humour, and heart. At first glance, Broken Age is a visually stunning, polished homage to the adventure games of the past. But it’s over all too quickly, without enough challenges to satisfy, or enough innovations to drive the genre forward.

The focus on action for the first half of the episode takes away from what makes this series great, but the exceptional tone, and excellent storytelling still deliver. Clementine promises to be a unique and compelling protagonist, and Telltale has the potential here to make the most important game in the zombie sub-genre.

PowerStar Golf doesn’t reinvent the golf-game wheel, but it’s a pleasant, laid-back diversion with a fun design sense and great camera controls that outweigh its relatively inoffensive microtransaction system.

NBA Live 14 delivers an unambitious, sporadically exciting basketball simulation held back by its slavish adherence to replicating the televised game.

While its arcade-style gameplay is enjoyable, LocoCycle is wrapped in racist, lowest-common-denominator presentation that doesn’t succeed at being funny or scandalous.

Some pop in and loading issues aside, Gran Turismo 6 represents a return to form for Polyphony Digital.

A superb and detailed imitation of TV football, an occasionally exciting gameplay experience, and what can feel like an exercise in monetisation from EA.

A Link Between Worlds boasts excellent characterisation and spacial design. Even a too-shallow difficulty curve can't hold this long awaited entry back.

Compulsion Games' Contrast hints numerous excellent ideas but in its hasty execution, fails to deliver almost any of them.

Killer Instinct is shaping up well and that's the problem – this isn't a full game by any stretch of the imagination. Still, what is here shows that Double Helix will likely do the series proud with an update that is at once reverential and forward-thinking.

Despite some quality visual design, Crimson Dragon is a rough-shod, clumsy experience that yields little gameplay depth or variety and frequently threatens to nickel-and-dime players.

The good ideas in Zoo Tycoon aren't developed far enough to warrant top marks, but Frontier Developments have delivered a capable game that will delight gamers of all ages.

Super Mario World 3D pares back some of the complexity seen in recent Mario games in favour of multiplayer gaming, and it works wonderfully.

There is no doubt that the driving mechanics of Rivals are fantastic, and most of the game's systems are a success. However, it's a multiplayer-oriented game that fails to bring players together, and the content elsewhere is merely good.

Knack is not at all indicative of the PlayStation 4's potential. The gameplay and the storytelling are banal even by last-gen standards.

With a batch of fresh weapons, one or two fun new gadgets, the introduction of a bit of 2D puzzle platforming, and a slew of references for old hands to recognise, the game works as the perfect closer to the series as we know it.

Forza Motorsport 5 is a great game hindered by a lack of content – the offering of cars and tracks here is simply too skimpy. The Drivatar system impresses though, and is a rare game feature worthy of its own silly portmanteau.

One of the best RPGs of all time returns. This new edition succeeds not because of any enhancements added by Beamdog, but because the game BioWare created is still as strong as it ever was with only dated design and mechanics holding it back.

Ryse definitely looks the part, but the gameplay simply isn't up to scratch. It feels unfinished, or like a hardcore title whose mechanics have been dramatically simplified for the Xbox One TV crowd. Thumb down.

A great-looking game let down by poor storytelling, repetitive gameplay and cheap, frustrating puzzles and traps.

Media Molecule's shift to the third-person has resulted in a mixed bag - the eye-popping visual style and the story's characteristic earnestness are tempered by clumsy platforming and thematic overcomplication. Tearaway is a very good platformer, but greatness is just out of reach.

Shadow Fall opens capably but quickly deteriorates into a series of boring firefights against thick enemies, interspersed with the genre's hoariest touchstones and some ill-conceived non-combat sections and mechanics.

Despite some stunning art direction and a rich story complete with interesting and complex characters, Enslaved fails to provide a compelling game play experience to complement its artistic and narrative strengths.

Dead Rising 3 is an ambitious and frequently giddy open world brawler that allows players to indulge their silly side while creatively dispatching the undead. The story is a let-down and the missions become tedious, but the sandbox play here is magnificent, despite some technical overreaching.

By adding more content, more depth, and more choice, Enemy Within enhances rather than alters the core XCOM experience, and in doing so makes a great game even greater. A must-have.

While it looks and sounds fantastic, Sonic Lost World is hobbled somewhat by poor level design and an immediately oppressive difficulty. It still retains some appeal, but oh, what could have been...

Bland and unpolished, The Dark Eye: Demonicon is a generic and mediocre action role playing game that fails to fully embrace its source material, and therefore will ultimately leave the player unengaged and unfulfilled.

Ghosts will disappoint those only in it for the singleplayer, although – Extinction aside – the multiplayer feels like just more of the same. Those who play online will still get their money’s worth, but a proper evolution of the series’ mechanics is now desperately needed.