Quake Arena Arcade is Quake III: Arena again, except this time around there is no-one to play against. If you've already played Quake to death, there is no need to pick this edition up, even for the exclusive maps. The lack of players online is a clear sign that Quake fans would really like something new for a change.

While it is too short an experience it’s a great, unique one and I urge anyone who likes fun games to give it a go.

Not a bad game then by any stretch, but hopefully the last small iteration before Sega's inaugural next-next-gen outing.

Without online multiplayer, all the stages and possessing visuals that are inferior to the console versions, Dead or Alive 5 Last Round manages that rare and horrible thing of making PC players feel like second-class citizens to their console brethren and in doing so, succeeds in heavily tarnishing what is actually a pretty incredible fighting game in the process.

Finally the game that many 2K Sports fans have been waiting for, and at the very least, the gameplay and presentation is exciting and engaging.

So that's basically it. If you enjoy your puzzle games and like to work your brain on challenges ranging from simple to break-the-desk frustrating, then Safecracker might just be for you.

As a tower defence shooter hybrid, Excubitor has the potential to be an adrenaline-charged, strategic masterpiece. However, a number of aspects have let the game down and this left me feeling disappointed.

ShadowHand takes an old game with a reputation for dullness, and dresses it up in an elegant Victorian English RPG coat. Somehow miraculously, it works really well. It isn’t a reinvention of the wheel, but the sense of personality the game pack in addition to being simply fun definitely makes it worth the time and money.

The story's fairly competent and ties into the film well, but the lack of Andrew Garfield or even a remote sound-alike ruins its chances of feeling like the movie it's supposed to tie in to.

Despite my lacking interest for the Cossacks game titles, I was surprisingly impressed by the game play (not that I can remain patient for long with turn-based games), though slightly disappointed at the immense strain the game causes to lower end systems.

It is best not to come into Sonic & Knuckles looking for redrawn sprites or HD graphics – this is a faithful port that doesn’t try to crush anyone’s memories of how the game performed in the ‘90’s.

On the one hand, it’s a fun, addictive little game that’s a good homage to a classic genre. On the other hand, as of publication there are still quite a few bugs and entire features that just haven’t been implemented yet. Coupled with the lack of a truly competitive element this game will probably only entertain hardcore fans of the genre.

On its own merits, the PC version of Insect Armageddon is a strong port of the most modern and proficient Earth Defense Force yet. The downloadable version is even cheaper than its console counterparts too, currently "e-tailing" for £14.99 on Steam.

We can’t remember the last time a game disappointed us so much. Petroglyph are a gifted RTS developer filled with industry veterans, and their last title Grey Goo was superb. 8-Bit Armies though is not.

Shadowgate is a faithful update then, but Zojoi have squandered the opportunity to actually update the gameplay too.

The ability to drive everything and anything combined with the detailed levels and highly flexible units makes it a very realistic experience for an RTS and it's not far off being the modern-warfare version of "Company of Heroes."

Enjoyable but highly flawed.

LEGO The Hobbit has plenty of charm and plenty of content, but it's hard not to feel like the series is lacking some of the verve that it once had.

In the end, Empires Apart is a very capable game, but it looks surprisingly like an Early Access title. It does feel a bit like Age of Empires, but its focus on multiplayer and lack of content may put a lot of people off. If you liked the gameplay provided by Age of Empires, you should definitely take a look at Empires Apart.

If you’re looking for an interactive board game with role-playing elements, a ton of stats and moderately interesting writing you could do a lot worse than Blackguards.

Night Call is interesting in ways most games aren’t. It’s a game that humanizes people that usually get mockery. It’s so good at this that it overshadows the serial killer stuff. It can lose its steam thanks to some repetitive gameplay, but its shorter length prevents it from dragging on. Its design choices will turn away action-oriented players, but it’s a pleasant surprise if you want more compassion in your crime fiction.

White Night’s biggest achievement though is clearly the terrifying atmosphere that pervades throughout its duration. Though certainly not absolving the game of its other flaws, the sense of dread and fear is palpable and in a genre which has largely neglected the finer aspects of its craft, White Night stands out as an exceptional, yet mechanically imperfect proposition.

As an action-RPG, perhaps there is a better option available if you've yet to play through Darksiders, but Nier still manages to stand on its own accomplishments – as varied in mechanics and quality as they may be. For that reason alone, I'd suggest giving it a try.

Strange Brigade is enormous amounts of fun whether you’re playing in co-op or single-player, and you’ll more than get your money’s worth from it.

Brink is an extremely confused piece of software, that isn't quite sure exactly what it is, or what it's meant to be doing. When it gets into its stride and the gameplay flows, there are moments of beauty to behold. For the most part, however, it's all a bit irksome, as you battle with server issues, single player modes that aren't really single player at all, and a severe lack of direction.

Overall Vanguard isn't a bad game, but it doesn't really bring anything new to the table of the MMO industry.

Nova-111 is a clever, albeit brief puzzle adventure romp, featuring an intelligent fusion of setting and gameplay elements. The phase-shift and time manipulation have been done before, but Nova-111 wraps it all together in a charming and humorous package that should provide you with an evening or two of decent entertainment.

In all, Kill It With Fire is shockingly fun for its simplicity. A game that wields excessive violence against the spider menace as many have wanted to do for so long, or perhaps at least joked about doing. The environments are very quaint and nice, which makes the surprising amount of destruction gamers can pull off all the more entertaining and appreciated, and the spiders that fill them are smart and sneaky little buggers since they can and will hide behind objects… including debris if gamers are a bit too eager to blow everything sky high. Definitely a worthwhile title if you want to kill some spiders.