Unfortunately, this ‘puzzle’ system doesn’t have as much depth as you’d want – especially during later levels, with things finishing before they’ve really gotten started. There’s a good idea here, presented in a way that is silly enough to be charming, but not dim-witted.

If you are willing to put a lot of time and effort in with The Nightmare Princess in order to unlock the more elaborate traps and levels, then you’ll find a game which will perfectly scratch that sadistic itch. Otherwise, the game’s shortcomings continue to botch a series we would otherwise love.

It should have been a cause for celebration that an EA Sports game review has forced us to abandon the well-worn ‘It’s like last year but slightly better!’ template, yet Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is like two years ago but significantly worse. Not nearly good enough, especially for a game whose slogan is ‘golf without limits’.

Very young and very undemanding fans of shōnen manga may get a fleeting kick out of J-Stars Victory VS+, but there’s too much cheaper (and superior) competition currently available across all platforms to warrant a half-hearted recommendation.

This sense of discovery is enhanced dramatically via a graph system, too, a means by which you are scored on the total number of blocks you’ve used, the footprint or size of the factory itself and the number of cycles you have to run through to create ten of your required object.

So another tremendously well-made blockbuster from the LEGO factory, once again proving that there is no room for second-rate movie tie-ins any more and that no-one understands how to get the most out of classic movie franchises like Traveller’s Tales. But like the dinosaurs, it’s only so much time before they’ll have to evolve.

If you’re looking for a new experience then there are few multiplayer games as well balanced and enthralling as Rocket League. This could well be a contender for one of the best games of the year.

Each takes some getting used to, but we recommend that you finish the Dante/Nero campaign before tackling the others in order to properly understand how the core combat was originally designed to operate. All are worth playing, giving this package more replay value than most of its peers.

If you’ve never played a God Of War game before, this is arguably the perfect place to start.

It’s a genuinely interesting story to try and wrap your head around, and a perfect game for the Vita, to boot.

A couple of lines of dialogue can often be all you’re given before being plunged into whatever mundane task is expected of you; rare are the significant characters and even rarer are the ones you care about. It just doesn’t maintain the same depth of exploration or profundity that the series is known for, leading to a much quicker-paced Elder Scrolls experience.

What we’re getting at is there’s not much space for classic simulation sadism here. It’s all happiness and accumulation, which is fine and pleasant, but not gripping.

Nobody is shooting for the moon here, just aiming to give the fans more of what they enjoyed. [Issue#163, p.110]

It becomes an overbearing checklist of simplistic social commentary. [Issue#163, p.109]

Cheesy titillation aside, this is very possibly Tamsoft's best game. [Issue#163, p.108]

Great game when it works like it should – but is that a disclaimer we should really tolerate?

It is without a point. It fires its Uzi rounds aimlessly and manages to hit nothing. It’s not bad, it’s not horrific, it’s not reprehensible and it’s not memorable either.

Sometimes, such fondly remembered franchises can be revived to stand alongside contemporary greats, simultaneously satisfying our younger selves and our more demanding modern expectations. Sadly, despite Stainless Games’ best efforts to recapture the wacky allure of the 1997 original, Carmageddon: Reincarnation is not one of those games.

It’s an acquired taste, and if its appeal lies solely with those of you yearning for a title that allows you to get behind the wheel of wondrously modelled tractors and farming machinery, then this is absolutely the game for you. For the rest of us, it will continue to remain a mystery.

It’s jarring mechanics are a little too unnecessarily complex, but those who often find themselves drawn to the subtle puzzles of similar strategy and simulation games will have plenty to chew on here.

The only thing we could criticise? Put in the hours, and you’ll quickly begin to understand how the level tiles work – think Carcassonne: you know what’s drawn from the bag, and how to counter each piece. That’s the only thing that dilutes it, if it bothers you, bump up the difficulty and it’ll feel like a new game.

What Woolly World instead offers is one of the most visually charming and inventive games you’ll see this generation: one that will put a smile on your face, if not sweat on your brow.

It offers all the right elements that the genre needs, but fails to utilise them in any particularly original, entertaining or - indeed - working state. [Issue#162, p.112]

For the money it's a very interesting take on the genre with a captivating style. [Issue#162, p.111]

A complete transformation of a genre. [Issue#162, p.110]

IT does offer a great time, as well as a chuckle now and again. [Issue#162, p.109]

The underlying controls are fun and fluid, but the lack of variety leaves the game - and therefore its player - wanting. [Issue#162, p.106]

Despite its clever purpose it's lacking in execution and duration. [Issue#162, p.105]