Combat is simple but fun, and once the game brings a tameable animal companion in then Primal becomes entertaining enough to last you many hours. Unfortunately stealth gameplay is more problematic as enemies blend into the environment and Hunter Vision is useless, but worse is that the constant need to hunt and gather resources takes up the majority of Primal’s play-time and isn’t fun at all.

The fact that, at the time of writing, Magicka had surpassed 150,000 sales, is just a testament to how fun and addictive the core game really is. Now that most of the major hiccups out of the way, this is definitely a must-buy game, but it really needs to be experienced to get how much fun it is.

The Turing Test offers some engaging puzzle gameplay that will keep you entertained for roughly 12 hours. It lacks polish in some areas but as a package is a solid addition to the library of those interested in first person puzzle games.

For everything that Altelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland does right though, it fails to deliver on another key element of the genre. I never felt fully connected to the world.

Crookz is a very enjoyable crime caper, and one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.

Despite lacking multiplayer and having an insane distaste for newcomers King's Bounty: Warriors of the North is a fun, compelling game with good value for money. On the other hand, veteran fans of the series will feel like they're merely getting a Viking-inspired expansion pack to The Legend, and so really have to ask themselves if that's what they want.

Gatling Gears offers several hours of enjoyable carnage and it's doubly fun with a friend, but it settles into a routine early on and sticks to it.

Street Fighter V is mechanically one of the best titles in the genre and possibly the best in this storied series, but it’s also lacking in single-player content to the extent that in places it feels unfinished. Multiplayer battling has practically endless scope on or offline in a game of this tactical depth, but I still can’t help but feel that doesn’t excuse the lack of solo activities or how key training features such as trials are missing for the first month after launch.

After the massive improvement of last year, we're glad to see the WWE brand is back on track.

There is a ton of fun to be had with Zombie Army 4. But that fun, like most vices, is best in moderation. Its skinner box sensibilities alongside gameplay that turns stale fast makes for a game you cannot binge. It’s a simple pleasure to kill zombies, and you’ll get that if you want it with some solid mechanics. It’s a weekend game, something to play once in awhile when you and a friend can find an opening in your respective schedules. But if you don’t find splatter engaging, you won’t miss much.

If you have young children, Kinectimals is a must - it will keep them entertained, and you'll secretly enjoy it too.

A mixture of classic and new levels is a perfect introduction for newcomers, but perhaps only the ardent roll ‘em up fan will truly love this Katamari.

If we view Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure in the most “objective” terms, it technically gets things right. It looks stylish, it runs smoothly, and it doesn’t come with the bugs you’d expect from modern gaming. However, the details that make a game a hearty recommendation aren’t there. It’s got heart, the amount of care put into its art proves that. But an average story, simple puzzles and shaky voice acting makes for a game pleasant to view but not amazing to play. It can be an alright introduction to the genre for people who haven’t experienced old school adventure games and don’t want to use walkthroughs. Anyone else will find a title that’s pretty, fluid, and underwhelming.

The majority of those tracks, of which I've kept a list somewhere in this mess of a music hall (thanks to the hordes of music-specific game controllers), still remains undigitised.

FEAR 3 would just be considered an okay shooter with a terrible story and poor attempts at horror, if it wasn't for the wealth of unique side-options it brings to the FPS table.

There’s a lot of great game here, with some fantastic ideas, but a lot of major problems are stifling the fun. If those issues are fixed, then Phantom Doctrine might be worthwhile. If you see a patch with the note “combat isn’t broken anymore”, then you may pick it up. Until then, hold off.

Much of F.E.A.R 3 is commendable then, but ultimately a lack of polish and genuine investment in the campaign sees it fall a distance short of full potential.

I enjoyed exploring and the missions were always entertaining. You'll probably need at least one friend to buy the game and play some missions with you, but as superbly Funcom allow players to move their characters between servers at will (YES!) and join forces with players of a different faction (hooray!) this becomes very easy.

The 40th Day is just far too inexcusably frustrating to heartily recommend, but if what you're looking for is a hefty serving of disposable, bombastic fare, then this will be right up your street.

Darktide’s incomplete crafting system doesn’t allow you to efficiently refine gear. Its rewards are scarce and unsatisfying, especially going into the endgame. Optimization is not great, while its cash shop holds hostage any remotely worthwhile cosmetic upgrades so far. It’s a real shame, because all of these missteps cast a dark shadow on its excellent, visceral combat – that evolves Fatshark’s addictive co-op action formula – alongside what’s quite possibly the best depiction of the grimdark universe to grace video games to date.

In plundering Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag practically wholesale, Rogue proves to be a double-edged sword. As much as Rogue succeeds in servicing those who were disappointed that Unity eschewed Black Flag’s naval shenanigans, the game also serves as a timely reminder just how little the franchise has evolved in recent years, in spite of its relatively novel take on the series’ narrative.

There's just so little to do, and if you don't like commenting on videos you won't see anything here but a bunch of crazy confusing videos. Lovely idea, not for me or people like me, but a community of people already love it so feel free to ignore me and give it a go.

There will be few fans of Naruto that will find much to gripe about in this game. Its story is huge and detailed, the epic battles with the incredible quick time events will dazzle gamers regardless of their opinion of Naruto and anime in general, and the online fights have hidden depth, but those irritating load screens and the mundane aspects of Story Mode put a large pinch on the glories found within each battle.

Armed Assaults comes with all the bells and whistles any gamer would love in a combat simulator, despite some really poor choice of menus, texts and questionable briefing presentations.

It's horrible to say, horrible to trash something that's been lovingly put together by a dedicated group of developers, but Comic Jumper: Adventures Of Captain Smiley is, sadly, a case of style over substance.

If you have any prejudices about mobile games, look past them and get stuck in – Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch Enhanced Edition is the real deal.

You’ve got to work for hours upon hours to reach anything approaching competence, and it’s tough to recommend that investment to any but the most hardcore of space strategy tactical RPG simulation enthusiasts.

A much needed expansion which still doesn’t deliver some pretty important facets.