Forza Horizon 2 is a sequel by the books: the same concept, but with much more content and a more refined end product. The off-road racing injects the game with some variety, but it also ruins the fun for people who prefer to take the roads, as going off-road is almost always the fastest way to your destination.

Keepers have improved greatly and you can alter your tactics more. This ensures FIFA 15 is a better product than last year’s entry. The presentation falls flat on its face thanks to the look of the players themselves and the shoddy animation. This is still the best football game out there.

Hack ’n Slash offers a way out for anyone who’s ever been stuck in games like The Legend of Zelda. Double Fine puts you in the seat of a hacker, which turns out to be a unique and pleasant take on the genre. Hacking may feel like a gimmick at first, but intelligent and refreshing puzzles quickly kill that sentiment.

Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition doesn’t differ much from the Xbox One version released last year, but it hasn’t lost any of its fun factor since then. A higher frame-rate and slightly better graphics offer some advantages, but the real value is in playing Dead Rising 3 cooperatively.

Endless Legend has taken a good look at its competitors while introducing some ideas of its own. On top of that, those ideas actually work. The game is beautiful and plays very smoothly, but a few serious bugs tend to ruin the fun.

It’s been a long time since Team 17 made anything other than Worms, but Flockers can hardly be called fresh. It’s essentially the same as Lemmings, a 23 year old game, without adding much. The concept still stands, but that’s about it.

Train Fever is one of the best train simulators to date and that is saying something. It doesn’t get everything right and the amount of content can be a bit lacking, but the end product is so well made that it deserves plenty of praise.

Hyrule Warriors provides plenty of entertainment value and enough familiarity for fans of The Legend of Zelda. Bland environments and a lack of depth in terms of gameplay keep it from rising to the level of quality that Zelda usually brings to the table.

Driveclub tries to differentiate itself from the competition with a lot of elements built around racing. Ironically, the racing itself is the high point of the game, next to the occasionally beautiful graphics and lighting effects. Thanks to weird online restrictions, the club system loses a lot of its charm.

The Sims 4 has taken a rigorous approach in redefining the gameplay experience of the series. In some cases this has worked extremely well, in others the complete opposite. The fantastic Build-and-create-a-Sim mode is overshadowed by gameplay and content with just doesn’t live up to the standards set by its predecessor.

No Going Back is a worthy ending to a strong season. In the final episode you’ll leave a few memorable characters behind. Since you’ve made a lot of choices along the way, that’ll be a lot of personal goodbye’s. The narrative is of high quality, the interactive part not so much. Luckily, The Walking Dead continues to impress, even without having to press any buttons.

80 Days depends solely on its story, a travel log that described your personal journey in great detail. Even though its an interactive novel, there is greater consequence to your actions than in any TellTale-game. Every playthrough of 80 Days is different and completely personal, making this a unique experience.

CounterSpy primarily relies on its looks. The use of propaganda in the dialogue, an overly communist style and countless references to spy tactics depict a Cold War atmosphere not unlike in the Bond movies with Sean Connery. The cartoony art style helps to distinguish the game from other similar titles, but its not enough to cover up a lack of complex gameplay.

Hohokum is a spiritual journey without a destination. It starts as an interactive screensaver, but slowly unfolds into a puzzle game. There are no hints, which is refreshing but ends up being feeling a a bit frustrating. It requires backtracking through a world in which navigation is cumbersome. That repetition detracts from the phenomenal design and soundtrack.

Metro Redux is more than just a polished version of Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light. The terrifying and sinister games have improved on every level, which makes Redux the best way to play both titles.

Destiny seldom blows you away with unexpected narrative gameplay and delivers less content than expected. There’s no point in lingering on those shortcomings though. It’s likely you won’t play a better shooter this year. The action is of such high quality and the cooperative and competitive play is interwoven seamlessly. This is still the game by Bungie we’ve been wanting to play.

Hohokum is a spherical adventure without direction. What sets out as an interactive screensaver turns into a puzzle game without a manual. The lack of instructions feels refreshing at first, but it becomes a little frustrating when backtracking and difficult navigation become more prominent. This repetition distracts you from the phenomenal design and soundtrack.

The Ultimate Evil Edition is wonderful package for newcomers to the series that will bring them much joy. For existing Diablo fans the asking price might be a little high for something that in essence is little more than a expansion pack with nicer looking graphics.

The season finale of The Wolf Among Us is well written and exciting from beginning to end. It’s a nice closure, but there’s a little nasty catch on Telltale’s part: put down the controller and the big bad wolf continues to run, punch and puff without you.

For those who couldn’t wait to play the best PlayStation 3 game on Sony’s newest console, we’ve got some good news: The Last of Us Remastered is beautifully crafted and polished. Remastered is a complete package with touched up graphics, while the game’s core remains as brilliant as ever.

Gods Will Be Watching could’ve been one of the best indie games of 2014. A challenging adventure about making deadly choices. A game we would’ve loved to mention in a single breath together with The Banner Saga, Papers Please and The Walking Dead. Unfortunately, the developers focused too much on a risk management game mechanic, which is more irritating than emotionally moving.

The Walking Dead: Season 2 isn’t on par with the first season, but every episode is still fun. Every episode was entertaining in its own right, but the synergy between episodes is lacking.

With puzzle games there’s the all-important line between just ‘fiddling about’ and ‘feeling smart’. Metrico is on the right side of that line. The game can feel a bit pretentious at times, but it’s still an excellent puzzle experience.

Sacred 3 is a very mediocre role-playing game. It’s not the looks and even the gameplay has its moments. It’s the fact that there’s little content, and the content that is present feels bland. The porting to pc is handled poorly as well. Furthermore, Sacred 3 tries to be funny, but unfortunately isn’t.

Two years ago we could give Piranha Bytes the benefit of the doubt, but this time around we can’t give the developer a pass. The third installment is practically a copy of its predecessor. Entire areas, enemies and weapons make their reappearance. This wouldn’t be a problem if everything was already perfect, but Risen 2 was littered with bugs and clunky mechanics. These are still present. Actually charging people for this game, shows the little respect the developer has for its gamers.

Metro Redux is more than just a polished version of Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light. The bone chilling and haunting game is improved in every way. Thanks to these changes, Redux is the best Metro game you could play at the moment.

SXPD is a special, yet extremely short blend between comic book and arcade racer. The beautiful art and smooth controls disguise the somewhat simplistic gameplay that hopefully will be expanded in the next episode.

War, the Game is as simple as the title suggests it is: a virtual imagination of RISK. Yet, anyone who looks beyond the simple presentation and rules can see a strategy game in its purest form. Tactics are everything, and if you lose you only have yourself to blame.

Battleheart Legacy is a wonderful RPG with a unique style. The game offers hours of fun and blends several classes into one playable character. This simply works great: it makes Battleheart Legacy one of a kind.

There is plenty to philosophize about regarding Tomodachi Life. It’s an alienating product of its own time: we’re dealing with a game where the player is forced, passive-aggressively, to take the role of voyeur. But as a game, Tomodachi Life is never really fun. Tomodachi Life is no more than a stiff repetition exercise that is intriguing, yet kind of boring.

For several hours, Angry Birds Epic presents to you the basic mechanics of a turn-based RPG. Just when it starts to get more interesting and mature, the player is questioned to pay or quit. Rovio took a good look at Final Fantasy and recent mobile RPG’s, but cannot make a deep turn-based rpf out of Angry Birds Epic. The in-app purchases flying around and the flashy, colorful character of the levels will even make everyone who is older than 12 crazy.

WildStar is made for the players. Any decision in the design is created with the question in mind: “Is this fun to do?” The answer is almost always: yes! The fact that we saw a lot of elements elsewhere earlier does not affect the ubiquitous qualities, humor and sheer fun that we experienced in each session. This is one of those rare subscription-based MMO’s that is worth its subscription.

The classic RPG is making a comeback. After Shadowrun and Wasteland 2, this time it’s Divinity: Original Sin’s turn. This Kickstarter project from Belgium shows how fantasy elements can be used to their fullest extent. These developers understand what’s so great about magic and discovering a world. This is a tribute to the best Bioware, Obsidian, and D&D games that were produced with pen and paper over the last thirty years, had to offer.

Better late than never: the third Grid game is the best one yet, especially when it comes to variety of racing classes, highly developed driving and artificial intelligence. The rough visual edges do not affect the strength of the experience that is reminiscent of the TOCA and DTM heyday of Codemasters.

Sniper Elite 3: Afrika has minor defects and because of these it does not leave a lasting impression, but otherwise the game is almost the perfect sniper game. The criticism of the previous sections has clearly been taken to heart; the game plays much better and provides more satisfaction than any installment of the franchise before.

The heartbreaking First World War is a perfect setting for games and as expected with Valiant Hearts, Ubisoft delivers a beautiful, intimate tearjerker. It certainly does not excel in terms of gameplay, but this is compensated, by strong, impressive artwork. The world is so attractive that they could have skipped the puzzles to make an animated film instead.

The capabilities of next-generation gaming and Ignite Engine can't be seen in EA Sports UFC. This has not only to do with poor qualities, but also with the lack of options and modes. This painful conclusion is only more painful because of the fact that the game is therefore a much lesser game than the nearly three-year-old UFC Undisputed 3.

While XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012) is a modern twist on the game UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994), Xenonauts is an exact copy of the classic that was released in 1994 – and that, we're happy about! Although the game looks much simpler than XCOM in terms of graphics, by remaining faithful to the original it is a lot more challenging and profound than the XCOM reboot. Unfortunately, faithful also means that it contains few original features. Nevertheless, it is a strong turn-based strategy title that mainly evokes a lot of nostalgic feelings.

If Ghost would be directed by an As The World Turns-director you'd probably get something like Murdered: Suspect Soul, a game with useless gameplay mechanics that are trying to hide the fact that you have always done the same uninteresting actions. The somewhat amusing story could have saved the game, were it not for Murdered to not take you seriously as a player.

In Sheep's Clothing ties together loose ends and answers a lot of questions. This episode is more a movie than it is game, but entertained us nonetheless. However, there are so many things obvious now - story-wise - that you wonder what else is coming up in the series.

Always Sometimes Monsters is an intellectual RPG-like variant in the Choose Your Own Adventure genre. Unfortunately, the game is not as clever as it wants to be. The ethical choices seem to have a big impact, but afterwards you find out you have only chosen from a limited number of flavors. Moreover, the annoying RPG Maker engine causes the real potential of the game to be absent.

Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is exactly what you expect from a game in a series known for its extreme hardcore, unforgiving and frustrating strategy titles. Of course there is nothing wrong with that, but because of that is it fun for only a very limited group of players. With better control and some tutorials for beginners, it would be more accessible without losing out on difficulty. The new multiplayer mode where you play 8 versus 8 is a nice addition that makes the game even more chaotic and complex. That is where the game shines, because the singleplayer adds nothing to what the series already did before.

A Story About My Uncle is a first-person platformer with some good ideas and beautiful environments. The indie game uses a Portal-/BioShock Infinite-like layout and seems to become a fantastic experience, but then suddenly is out of levels. Because of the strongly varying difficulty and a story focuses on kids, we wonder what age the game is actually meant for.

It is unfortunate that, with exception of the constitution and the present ages, the other innovations seem to bother Tropico 5. The dynasty mechanism is useless and is devoid of any personality. The multiplayer works when players work together peacefully, but falls apart once the game is approached as a competitive strategy game. Despite these setbacks, Tropico 5 does convince us. The core of the game was already strong and eras form a logical and organic progression in complexity. It is not the revolution that was promised, but Haemimont Games also get our vote of approval with part five of the series.

Transistor has every element necessary in it to steal your heart. The combination of an inventive combat system, beautiful surroundings and an intriguing narration results in an elegant symbiosis which you will often enjoy. It's just a shame that Transistor never becomes the memorable masterpiece that would expect. Therefore, the story turns to anticlimax and fighting never exploits its potential.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All Star Battle is a remarkable game. Not because of its generic combat system, but because of the noticeable passion developer CyberConnect 2 has for the manga in which the game is based. It's a must-have for any JoJo fan; any layman who's interested should start reading the manga before playing the game.

Watch Dogs is a slick action game that's very relevant today. The urgent theme opens the door for gameplay mechanics and situations that actually touch reality. However, the game lacks a strong protagonist and a focused story. That's a shame, because the foundation of the game - despite the somewhat tight pattern of the missions - is fine to say the least.

It's surprisingly exciting to find words in a collection of letters. Ruzzle Adventure builds a linear story around that, which it doesn't need. Simply creating words is fun enough.

The New Order is not only your typical shooter with a fine story, it's also the result of poor and old-fashioned design choices. Therefore, it can be quite the task to complete the ten-hour single-player. It's a shame the game never breaks with the conventions of the genre. MachineGames could have offered the series a new perspective, but they didn't succeed.

After a quiet first and exciting second episode, Telltale goes all the way in Episode 3 - In Harm's Way . Despite the lack of puzzles and minimal interaction, this episode will leave you amazed and overwhelmed. Telltale still knows how to captivate with sheer narrative power, yet the question arises: are we still playing a game?

Super Time Force reminds us of side-scrolling shooters from the past, but don't let this fool you: it is a completely unique game on itself. Its combination of shooting and tactical thinking can be quite frustrating at times, but it's entertaining enough to keep you playing for hours. Just don't forget the time.

Last Inua combines the atmospheric images with an interesting story. The platform action doesn't work as well because the levels are simple and repetitive, despite its ambitious game elements.

Bound by Flame is such a cliché when it comes to setting, characters and story, which is why the game never surprises. A decent combat system and crafting might keep your attention for a short while, but not long enough to really surrender yourselves to the characters and their battle against the Ice Lords.

The stealth gameplay has been improved in certain spots, but backtracking and obvious puzzles keep Episode 2 from greatness. A step ahead, but no metamorphosis.

The cheerful appearance and adult racism-metaphor suggest that The Last Tinker: City of Colors could be an intelligent piece of art. Nothing could be farther from the truth; they remain charming shells for a decent platformer.

With a somewhat manic presentation Bezircle seems to be aimed at children. Still, it has a big demographic, but you'll only find fun here with others.

Leo's Fortune is a custom made platformer for iOS, that plays wonderfully and entertains from beginning to end. Once you get going you'll find borrowed gameplay with an original twist and incredibly high production values.

FarmVille 2: Country Escape does what you'd expect a social farming simulator to do. Developer Zynga has given the competition the space to introduce strong alternatives, like Hay Day. And righly so, because in the end, that's the better farming game.

Warface isn't very well-balanced: players who've been playing for very long or are paying money for their items have a noticeable advantage. The structure gets on your nerves and is very de-motivating for new players.

Child of Light is a beautiful, fantastic fairy tale that'll tug at your heart strings with ease. The typical RPG-gameplay and the present puzzles do the production values justice, although it could've used some more depth. What remains is a game we can recommend to anyone; exactly what we hoped for when we were first introduced to the enchanting imagery.

Wargame: Red Dragon had the ungrateful task of following up Airland Battle. It is just as good as its predecessor, but not better, which might make owners of Airland Battle a bit disappointed. Red Dragon is still an RTS of unknown heights that makes you work for your victories though.

War of the Vikings is the typical example of the type of game that Paradox publishes from the assembly line. The idea is kind of cool, but due to too many mistakes and bugs it isn't distinctive enough.

Daylight is what happens when you mix standard cheap scare videos with Slenderman games and standard horror tropes. The game will scare you time after time, thanks to its randomness. Besides those moments, Daylight has nothing else to offer.

One target, sneaking, disguising, killing and getting out: all of it is in the stylish and strategic board game Hitman GO, but in a totally different way. A little bit weird, but it fits very well in the Hitman universe. The puzzles are fun and varied, but could've been a bit more challenging.

Kirby's first outing on the 3DS is entertaining, nicely polished and has a few nice extra modes. Still, it isn't worth the price of a full 3DS game - a problem that Nintendo keeps running into with their games.

There's so much to do and discover in Mario Golf: World Tour. Because of all the variety it doesn't matter that all the systems are very traditional. The clumsy menu system doesn't hurt the relaxing, challenging games of golf.

Trials Fusion shows that the Trials formula is a foundation that can be built on. Despite it having a few lesser parts, it's still a challenge of unknown heights.

The potential interesting story of Moebius: Empire Rising is mostly buried underneath the messy engine. Who perseveres sees parts of a literary thriller. The rest is an embarrassment.

Nintendo Pocket Football Club gives the player a clear set of tools to create his own heroic story in a simple soccer management game. It gives the sensation that you're changing a group of nincompoops into a dream team.

This is the moment to buy a Wii U, if Mario Kart means anything to you. The game is gorgeous and very fun to play thanks to a high degree of polish. The lack of Battle-Arena's is a shame, just like the lack of support for the gamepad, but that doesn't keep it from deserving a high score.

Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff doesn't come near the quality of the show. It's a shameless rip-off of The Simpsons: Tapped Out!, but doesn't compensate for its lack of originality.

A Crooked Mile bring backs a great pace, hard action and the powers of the big bad wolf are once again in your hands. It lets go of puzzles though, which Telltale seems to have completely written off.

Bright samba-colors, an enthused audience and Van Persie holding up the cup; along with the patched up gameplay it makes 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil the ideal platform for every WC-dream.

The hellish micro transactions, unfriendly interface, the lack of any challenge whatsoever, let alone freedom and the horrendous techniques make Rollercoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile a sum of disappointments.

Joe Dever's Lone Wolf - Act 2: Forest Hunt is an interactive story with beautiful imagery fights that literally shoot out of the pages. The complex RPG-elements will have you lost in the world of Magnamund before long.

The Witch and the Hundred Knight saves its fun elements until long after the opening. By then you'll probably be long done with this game, which tells a semi-acceptable story extremely badly and regularly frustrates with its gameplay.

Blizzard's first Free to Play-game offers depth without becoming complex. It takes players seriously and is very playable without spending (a lot of) money. Atmosphere, speed and great sound effects make for fast yet satisfying games, where luck and tactics go hand in hand.

Smite brings change to the young, but little innovating MOBA-genre by giving the player direct control. Instead of viewing the game from above, you're given a first person perspective and the game has you aiming your attacks yourself. This feels very refreshing and makes for a very active and intense experience. Aside from that, Smite stays true to the genre and a good balance, variety in skills and countless items to use, which make a good MOBA.

Towerfall Ascension uses many known game formula's and molds it into a hectic and entertaining whole. It's just a shame that you're forced to play offline.

FTL: Faster Than Light for iPad is optimized for touch screens and plays like a dream. The Advanced Edition is a good addition and this, more expansive version of the game even plays better than its PC, Mac and Linux counterparts.

MXGP is over excessive in its no-nonsense approach. It's a decent, even clinical racing game. It could've been way more exciting and outspoken; now it's a motocross-game without any spunk.

The Elder Scrolls Online makes the fundamental mistake that most quests have been written as single player adventures. Other players disturb the illusion, instead of being the reason you'd want to keep playing. Good combat, very fun PvP and deep character development can't hide that ESO makes one too many compromises and estranges RPG- and MMO-lovers in the process.

Reaper of Souls is actually the patch that fans have been waiting for since they first finished Diablo 3. Despite it only has one new chapter, it's been filled to the brim with cool new elements. Its trump card is Adventure Mode: a well executed remix of the existing content that makes replaying the levels feel fresh and useful.

Burial at Sea Episode 2 is much better than Episode 1. The underdeveloped sneaking function now is a fully featured gameplay element. And where Episode 1 mostly addressed the Infinite-fans, Episode 2 turns out to be a hoot for lovers of the original BioShock.

Boom Beach is a time management app with funny pictures and a light atmosphere. You can't call it a game though, because it lacks any fun, whatsoever. There are numerous good free-to-play games. Boom Beach isn't one of them.

Monument Valley lures in all kinds of players with beautiful, artsy levels with a great game world. In that world M.C. Escher's laws of nature reign: floors are ceilings and walls are doors. Monument' Valley is a fairytale with perspective.

The Collectables is a funny, light and free strategy game. You decide whether your want to cool down after a game, or want to spend a tack of gold to keep playing. With replayable missions Crytek rewards you with enough currency to just keep on going.

Soda Drinker Pro! Is the best and most realistic simulation of drinking a soda. Ever. Do with that what you want.

The game never dares to let you build bridges with any form of creativity. The way too fast introduction of all mechanics and little variety in level design, make this nothing more than an hour or two of standard puzzles.

Car Mechanic Simulator 2014 lacks the variety to entertain for very long, or the depth to succeed as a simulator. It’s nothing more than a series of one note puzzles.

Planting tomatoes. Be fastest! The makers of Farm Machines Championships 2014 know how to enthuse gamers. Because who wouldn’t want to plough their land as fast as possible, or slalom with their tractors? It misses the point completely unfortunately. So much so, that the ridiculous gameplay actually becomes kind of fun.

Corporate Lifestyle Simulator is a funny little game for wage slaves who want to abreact after a boring day of work. The game is simple yet effective, but not very uplifting.

We’ve had a good time with this goat and its bizarre physics and a longing for destruction, despite the countless bugs and scanty content. Lovers of goat simulators definitely should play Goat Simulator, because it’s the best one over made, without a doubt.

Mercenary Kings is a decent game that approaches the action shooter genre in an original way. Some parts haven’t been executed on all that well though, which makes the game feel slow and boring at times.

Age of wonders 3 perfectly simulates that one-more-click feeling. As an action packed turn based RPG it easily keeps you on the edge of your seat. This sensation is strengthened by a beautiful fantasy world and enormous battles. We’ve been struck with a case of national pride.

The one solves puzzles, the other crimes. One is a civilized British gentleman, the other a somewhat dumb attorney. Both love pointing, getting proven right and justice. Not an obvious match, but a fun one.

Second Son really provides that next-gen sensation with graphics, acting and action. A somewhat lackluster story and a lack of variety don't make Second Son less fun to play in any respect.

Luftrausers is as much style as it is substance. The retro-appearance and spectacular action complement each other greatly in a hectic arcade shooter with a unique style. The tactical addictions make this a fully fledged game you'll want to keep playing.