Put up with its farcical levels of misogyny and you'll find an approachable, satisfying fighting game that feels smoother and looks sharper than it ever has before. [Issue#160, p.100]

Overshadowed by the games that inspired it. [Issue#160, p.99]

Obsidian has finally made the RPG we all knew they were capable of making and it's damned glorious. [Issue#160, p.98]

All three groups will merely be content, not delighted. [Issue#160, p.96]

Hard to recommend over the far more accomplished "Beyond Earth." [Issue#160, p.94]

In the end, the fact that Battlefield: Hardline could easily have been Medal Of Honor: Hardline or Need For Speed: Hardline is entirely moot. Visceral has played an ace, and it’s a bona fide thriller.

It’s a smart game that’s essential for anyone who thinks they can see through the mechanics of other episodic, choice-based games. We thought we could, and Life Is Strange slapped us in the face.

Sure, Chapters might be technically temperamental and occasionally get itself tangled in the threads of the series’ narrative, but it is also intelligent, crafts its world skilfully and has an admirable commitment to themes and design principles that make it stand out. We’re left eager to see where it goes next.

This is still something very special, a work of rare craft and beauty, and almost certainly the best exclusive on Xbox One. Essential.

Bloodborne is an incredible game; tight in its mechanics, logical in its systems, rewarding, intense, gloriously frustrating and exciting in equal measure. The PS4 has its first absolutely essential game. As if there was ever any doubt.

Breath of Life will have its fervent champions, but it won't go supernova. [Issue#159, p.113]

The positives do make it stand out. [Issue#159, p.112]

Baboon! ticks a whole lot of our boxes. [Issue#159, p.111]

Just be sure not to play before bed time. [Issue#159, p.111]

Nice enough, but not exactly groundbreaking. [Issue#159, p.110]

What would otherwise be a pretty bog standard platform game is elevated by the workshop option. [Issue#159, p.109]

Yet another canny elaboration of what continues to be a deeply beloved series of videogames. [Issue#159, p.108]

The Deer God attempts to give meaning to death but fails to deliver. [Issue#159, p.106]

It'd be right to call Castle in the Darkness difficult, perhaps even cruel, but so finely tuned it is that it never borders into anger territory. [Issue#159, p.105]

There's just not much of a game here. [Issue#159, p.104]

Well-made, enjoyable, and completely forgettable. Kind of like a rollercoaster. [Issue#159, p.102]

This is not merely a sequel worth playing, it’s one worth consuming again and again until its every secret has been revealed.

Underwater combat, despised by many, has thankfully been removed from this latest entry. [Issue#159, p.96]

Grow Home isn't the masterpiece you'll hang on the wall, it's the vase of tulips on the coffee table - appreciated at the time, but forgotten once they wither. [Issue#159, p.90]

If you are willing to look past its issues, then Type-0 is definitely worth your time, and it is far better than some of the other games in the Crystallis series. If we had to choose any Final Fantasy game that acts as the harbinger for the messiah that is Final Fantasy XV, then it would be this one, purely thanks to its markedly similar and stellar combat system.

It looks fantastic and boasts a story worth telling, but perhaps the most satisfying thing about this update is that it offers both long-term fans and new recruits the same thing: a solid, rewarding and relevant space RTS that belies its significant age.

OlliOlli 2 is polished and thrilling in ways that its predecessor was not.

The Order clearly sees itself as some sort of bridge between the world of games and cinema, but it fails miserably to create the essence, tones or rewards offered by either medium.

Merely a pretty decent game. Which, to be fair, is better than some might have expected.

This relatively minor annoyance aside, everything else about Xenoblade Chronicles 3D remains as incredible as when it originally came to the Wii.

The touch controls start off feeling a little detached, but it will grow on you. [Issue#158, p.109]

There's no great depth or immersion to it as an experience. [Issue#158, p.109]

It’s stringent, stripped back and sometimes a chore, but when things click for The Escapists it can be a delightful challenge to overcome.

Evolve stands as a champion of forward-thinking game design that embraces risk and originality. For that alone, whether you end up enjoying it or not (but play with friends of a similar skill level and you surely will), Turtle Rock deserves respect.

For some, Citizens Of Earth will be worth playing through on the strength of its humour alone, but the myriad of technical and design flaws that make the experience more frustrating than it needs to be are certainly no joke.

Even if you could play Funk Of Titans on your phone, for free, it is so ludicrously sketchy and tedious that it would still be impossible to recommend. So on Xbox One, for the positively gaudy introductory asking price? No way, José.

It’s a decent change of pace and allows you to wreak vengeance on maps whose obstacles left you seething with rage. Blackguards 2 has a lot to keep turn-based strategy enthusiasts occupied, though it fails to outshine the more complex games in the genre.

Voice control just isn’t an improved method of input over just pointing at something and making it happen, but the effort is a worthy one.

New players will struggle at first but for those willing to invest the time, Total War: Attila’s deep pockets repay that investment with a varied and deep campaign and a plethora of additional content.

Enigmatic in parts, frustrating in others, Dontnod demonstrates it can fuse the domestic with the supernatural with a deft hand, and succeeds in creating a pastel world brimming with intrigue in about three hours.

While #IDARB has an undeniable spark of ingenuity and humour to it, it doesn’t quite have the depth and variety of games of its kind like Super Smash Bros. It’s #IDARB’s simplicity that holds it back, but it is also this quality that makes it so refreshing to pick up and play.

Ultimately, though, its age has only given it a new layer of context that seems to enhance its fun and intrigue. Grim Fandango remains one of the best of its class and a wonderfully witty noir adventure.

The game is actually better suited to handhelds than consoles nowadays, and the team at Nintendo has kept this at the forefront of its design philosophy throughout – this is a more accessible, more fluid experience than before, and that was all we could have asked for from this remaster.

It feels as though Techland has always had this game inside of it, like it’s been waiting to bust out this technically proficient outpouring of destructive fun. Dying Light is a class apart from its typical output, and a class apart from most zombie games too. A shining beacon in a sea of grisly rotting death.

The narrated "found footage" was a novel idea, but the developers should have held onto it until they had something interesting to say. [Issue#157, p.126]

If it's meant to be played for laughs, the joke falls flat with repetition. [Issue#157, p.125]

A gripping first episode. [Issue#157, p.123]

A fantastic proof of concept... it's just not as engaging or game-changing as the other cinematic episodes Telltale has been putting out over the last three years. [Issue#157, p.122]

It's still hard to shake the feeling that this is DLC; it is padded-out content and it is, ultimately, a bit of a grind. [Issue#157, p.112]

Resident Evil is still a survival horror classic - this just isn't a classic re-REmake. [Issue#157, p.110]

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker may not be Nintendo Japan’s best work, then. But it’s testament to the consistently high bar that their platform developer’s internal teams have set over the past few years.

With completion of each level winning you a new totem for your pole, undecorated logs for a low score and gold totems for maximum, there’s a quantifiable excuse to go back and learn the perfect pathways through each. In this case, however, the journey itself is its own reward.

The game has set a bar for visual excellence as far as anime-inspired games go, and is liable to have the same kind of impact Tekken Tag Tournament did on PS2 thanks to its careful place as a launch title.

While its an advancement on Hearthstone mechanically, if Hearthstone is the standard for the genre these days, then invariably Scrolls becomes one for CCG veterans only.

The narrative endgame of The Talos Principle is a total cop-out – it eschews complex philosophical querying in favour of trite observations on the nature of gaming. Still, it’s more sophisticated than most titles on Steam, and the puzzles have been refined by a team of true craftsmen.

To experience it at its best requires an investment of time that some will be unwilling to commit but for those that are, there are months if not years of entertainment scattered throughout its star systems and the opportunity to make good on those childhood dreams of being a space cowboy.

Meta-gamers might be frustrated as the tiresome task of getting from one section to the next becomes increasingly irritating, but the puzzles will have you thinking and the art style will have you hooked. Sometimes, that’s all it needs.

For a free title, there's plenty of fun to be had here. [Issue#156, p.126]

Not fixing the irritating failures of past games, however, is inexcusable at this point and indicates a game produced only to sell a few units in the Christmas rush. [Issue#156, p.124]

An incredibly in-depth RPG that should result in no two players having a similar run-through. [Issue#156, p.122]

Its silly approach to fitness is amusing, but there isn't enough here to hold attention for an extended period of time, let alone train you up for a marathon. [Issue#156, p.121]

In a world of cynical indie games and pretentious mainstream shooters, that kind of levity is appreciable. [Issue#156, p.120]

There's something infectious about Tropico 5's breezy attitude to tyranny and dictatorship. [Issue#156, p.118]

Play it with a friend for a few yours and then forget about it; it's so simple to learn that you'll have [it] mastered in that time anyway. [Issue#156, p.117]

Creation options also feel somewhat limited, particularly as you can't create a female wrestler. [Issue#156, p.116]

Compulsive. [Issue#156, p.114]

Nothing if not affable. This is highly polished, confident and competent stuff. It may not be as expansive as recent iterations, but Traveller’s Tales does not make bad videogames, and this is absolutely no exception.

The Crew is defined by its unmitigated lack of character. It’s an Ubisoft game first and a driving game second, and has arrived at a point at which it’s facing off against Forza Horizon 2 and DriveClub for most people’s affections. With the former’s more clearly defined vision and mechanics, and even with the latter’s terrible teething problems, it is absolutely no contest in both cases. Personality continues to go a very, very long way.

It’s often said that co-op makes any game better but in this case, co-op is the only way to glean any enjoyment from the game at all. Played alone, Temple Of Osiris struggles to evade box-ticking tedium and it’s only when confusion and banter come into play that it’s even worth considering.

The slow pace can make it less tempting to try again right away with a different tactic, but perhaps that’s for the best.

For the price point at which Never Alone is currently offered, we can’t argue it’s amazing value for money. However, we do believe it’s a new experience in gaming, and a stellar proof of concept for what the developer/publisher combo wants to do. If you’re after a biographical and socially relevant gaming experience, invest in Never Alone and you won’t regret it.

This is a decent stealth game, held back by missed opportunities.

It’s not perfect; online multiplayer still harbours some niggling issues, and it still has no answer to Melee’s brilliant Adventure mode. But if you love Super Smash Bros., fighting games or even just Nintendo as a whole, you should snap up this game without a second thought.

Warlords is the ultimate celebration of the Warcraft franchise’s 20-year legacy and World Of Warcraft’s seemingly unending potential. Some of its mechanics are starting to creak under a decade-old design, but it shows no signs of withering against the tides of time.

Its simplicity counts against it in the long term. [Issue#155, p.131]

At least it provides some hope for the franchise's future. [Issue#155, p.130]

It finally feels like the studio has taken the first step to delivering something truly genre-defining. [Issue#155, p.128]

Don't rush out and purchase the camera if you don't already have one in your cupboard. [Issue#155, p.127]

Community Remix is the only really new feature that Just Dance 2005 adds. [Issue#155, p.126]

I never falls too far from chaotic fun. [Issue#155, p.122]

It might not be the greatest example of the current generation’s power, nor is it an exercise in reinvention and uniqueness – but when you’ve sunk 50 hours into Inquisition and hardly realised, and you still want to play it for another 50 hours, then you know you’re onto something good. This time the fans get what they want – and apparently what they wanted was very good indeed.

If Black Flag was a self-contained explosion of quick-witted brilliance, Assassin's Creed: Unity is nowt but wreckage. Stand aside. [Issue@155, p.99]

Somewhere beneath the threadbare cloak Rogue is wearing, last year’s far superior title exists and as such it’s not a disaster, but a missed opportunity seemingly not given enough time.

Once you’ve unlocked everything in single-player, this will end up the kind of game you switch on every now and then when you’ve got people over and you remember you have it, a relatively cheap distraction that’s old-fashioned fun but ultimately fails to stand out.

Football Manager 2015 is the best version in a series that has been peerless for many years. It’s not the kind of overhaul that suggests players of last year’s game desperately need to upgrade, but the hardcore will not be dissatisfied. And if you’re a lapsed fan, then we’ll see you in your suit come cup final day.

It’s one thing to put out a punishing game, but quite another to punish players for no good reason.

We’ve seen enough to know that LBP3 will have tons of inventive experiences in the coming months – but as a core game outside of its ‘Share’ functionality, well that’s just not different enough to make it truly stand out as did its brethren.

While more could be done to make the world feel believable – thereby making you feel more responsible for the choices you make – Ubisoft is just trying to play it safe with its latest in the series, and at this point more of the same is just enough to make Far Cry 4 a valid purchase.

If you play Call Of Duty online all year round then Christmas has officially come early. But if you’re a sucker for the ludicrous, globe-trotting, re-skinned James Bond adventures that constitute these games in single player, you’ve picked the perfect year in which to take a twelve-month break.

These were already among some of the best multiplayer maps ever made and these tweaked, rebalanced and remade versions have maintained their verve. The same can be said for the collection as a whole, if not the online connectivity.

It seems like it was made for an audience of gamers over a decade ago, brimming with try-hard references and cringe-worthy jokes. Penetrate the skin, and you’ve got a serviceable game at the core. But a ten-hour journey to the centre of what makes Sunset Overdrive good feels more like a voyage to the centre of the earth.

Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire is an almost perfect game, held back only by the selection of creatures available during the 20-hour long main quest and some post-game elements that didn’t make it through since X/Y.

Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire is an almost perfect game, held back only by the selection of creatures available during the 20-hour long main quest and some post-game elements that didn’t make it through since X/Y.

Most of the game's levels end up feeling like never-ending drudgery. [Issue#154, p.129]

This sounds like Batman, but it's more like a knock-off of Punch Out. Competent middle-tier filler, and little more. [Issue#154, p.128]

For or five mindless hours stretched to more than double that. [Issue#154, p.127]

It's a shame that the game is occasionally let down by its control scheme because it is anything but derivative and its visuals, excellent sound design, and mechanics can coalesce to create moments of real impact. [Issue#154, p.126]

Roundabout's story is ridiculous, funny, occasionally moving, even when it's over you'll want to keep going. [Issue#154, p.125]