Some players may be put off by the patience Vessel can require, but it offers massive rewards for your time. Solving its puzzles feels like a 1,000 watt light bulb flicking on in your brain.

Mario Kart 8 is a slick and gorgeous-looking kart racer that's perfectly solid but not always as exciting or addictive as we've come to expect from the series.

Meltdown's plethora of content offers more than enough gooey puzzling fun to keep a gamer busy for quite a while. There should be even more arriving in the form of downloadable content. The cel-shaded cartoon graphics (new to this sequel) look fantastic.

It might not have the bells and whistles of the console versions or its PC predecessors, but this smaller colony is quite at home on the DS.

With a handmade look, and a different approach to platforming, Rainbow Curse is one of Kirby’s strongest spin-offs, and one of the best uses of the Gamepad to date.

Dark Moon weighs in at about 14 hours long, though it’ll feel longer thanks to skillful pacing. And the game has a number of tools to keep sucking players back in. Each mansion has a ton of collectibles that in turn unlock new time attack modes for each stage. Then there’s the fairly basic multiplayer, which is worth a try if you can get up to four 3DS owners in the same room, but it’s a mostly forgettable.

A Plague Tale: Requiem doesn't drastically alter the foundation set by Innocence, but by iterating on its strengths as a character-driven fable within an oft-ignored historical setting, tells yet another tale to remember.

Massively-multiplayer online games are always a work-in-progress, so it's not surprising that Star Wars: The Old Republic's launch wasn't flawless. What matters is that it's an extremely satisfying experience that sets the stage for a bright future, so long as BioWare continues to support the game for the coming years with constant updates.

Its impressive Adventure mode stays true to the anime and creates an experience typically not found in a fighting game. Its enhanced combat system, coupled with its large roster of characters, makes for fun offline and online matches that will keep you exploring the ins and outs of each character.

Even if you've already played the 3DS version, Mighty Switch Force: Hyper Drive Edition is a fantastic title that all Wii U owners should check out.

Although it remains a simple - and for the most part unchanged - concept, the Mario vs. Donkey Kong formula has been honed to near-perfection over the years. Tipping Stars is far from revolutionary, but for quick bursts of action-puzzling, there’s little better. While the cast of robotic minis might be brainless, the game they star in is anything but.

The game's short-burst quests and small-scale exploration are perfectly suited to a handheld game, and while it's easy to get into, it gets more fun and involving the more you play.

Mario Golf: World Tour may lack innovation, but it provides easy-to-grasp golfing fun and a slew of unique stages. It's a solid game that will keep you coming back for more.

But Lock’s Quest is just too damn fast-paced for the fussy controls to get annoying enough to really kill the fun.

It manages to provide an incredibly compelling experience by consistently setting an intense mood, forgiving player errors and providing numerous options for accomplishing your fiendish goals.

It isn't the prettiest game nor the easiest, but for the hardcore fans keeping the PS2 afloat and for those that want to join the effort, Devil Summoner 2 is worth the time.

It admirably bridges the gap between deep simulation and enjoyable "just one more turn" gameplay and would be a worthy addition to any strategy fan's game collection.

Universe at War takes a lot of chances, and most of them pay off in the form of a unique real-time strategy experience. Just grin and bear the campy story and you'll find plenty to love here.

Borderlands is a very entertaining shooter and a rather bland RPG. It rewards dedication with new guns and new things to shoot at, which is all kinds of fun for players who enjoy MMO-style progression. But if its charm and depth hadn’t been abandoned so quickly, it may have been absolutely brilliant.

Though it's not perfect, Dead Nation reminds us how much fun it can be sending legions of the dead back to hell.

Helldivers 2 is a fiercely challenging and visually breathtaking cooperative shooter where failure is funny and success feels magnificent. However, bugs and server issues hindered the initial experience, while there's a sense the game's full potential is yet to be realized.

Many will dismiss its satire as meaningless vulgarity, and fail to appreciate the intricate and satisfying ass-kicking. But for those able to dig it, God Hand is an excellent old-school game in a bizarre, new-school shell.

Very impressive - it is, after all, a portable version of a great PS2 game with some of the usual compromises developers make when porting to the PSP. Sure, it has its flaws, but the sheer breadth of stuff helps make up for that.

Flock is a warm, wooly hug of a game, mixing vibrant views with moreish creature collection action to create an adventure that's as light as the clouds you glide over. While its structure can end up feeling repetitive, this doesn't dull its charm.

Of course, the real star of PAA isn’t the gameplay, but the humor. It’s a lot like playing a comic strip, and should be approached as such.

One thing about that online mode: it features a nasty bug that can completely ruin the experience, but is incredibly easy to fix.

While we've obviously got reservations about the exhumation of a decade-old game, the fact that Resi can still provide tension and enjoyment in equal measure is testament to its quality.

These speed bumps aside, MotoGP '06 delivers exceptional bi-pedal racing action for anyone who likes to roll at high speed and who understands the difference between driving a car and riding a bike. A really fast bike.