Bigby Wolf is a dangerous man who will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of what’s tearing his community apart. A Crooked Mile brings out the best in his supporting cast, though.

If you’re looking for a no-frills multiplayer experience without the overblown pomp of something like Call of Duty or Battlefield, World of Tanks offers a drop-in, instant access alternative that may not be revolutionary, but is purposefully angled towards a very particular market.

A solid space shooter that offers a well-crafted balance between arcade blasting and tactical challenge. Unless you’re a fan of dog-fights and sci-fi, you’re unlikely to give Born Ready’s console port a second glance, but if you’re after a user-friendly blaster with a decent lifespan and enough variety to stave off the tedium often inherent in the genre, then this comes heartily recommended.

Like any good game in the Metal Slug-style, Mercenary Kings is by turns maddeningly frustrating and wonderfully cathartic.

Yes, party games can be a bit grating, but Kinect Sports always managed a good mix where you could play seriously or play for laughs. Rivals does not have this same variety and, while it controls well, there is a definite loss of personality.

Monument Valley is the kind of game that reminds us why diversity is so important: colourful and magical in its presentation, and just exactly as long as it needs to be without outstaying its welcome.

As far as hack and slash titles go, The Witch and the Hundred Knight makes a horrible first impression – the story presentation is vulgar and the gameplay is initially lacking. But it’s a game that truly builds and builds into a freakishly beautiful abomination, should you give it enough time.

Even a younger gamer may crave a little more depth than what’s available here, especially with so many other free games out there.

It’s just another example of a decent game shackled by the need for in-app purchasing.

Small niggles aside, MXGP is a fun, well-presented simulation of an exciting sport, which does for the mud-splattered 500cc bikes what Milestone have already accomplished with their fine MotoGP efforts.

The concept is admittedly a pretty great one (who doesn’t want to be a flying squirrel?) but sadly the game design and mechanics just aren’t strong enough to make the experience enjoyable.

If you’re buying it to play alone, you’re not going to get the benefit of the full experience, but if you have friends and a few controllers, you’ll be hard pushed to find a better multiplayer experience around at the moment.

You can’t knock the simple charm of Tappingo too much – it is still a cheerful and breezy little number, and some of the pictures will genuinely make you smile (one of them depicts a much-loved Ninty console of yore). Just don’t expect oodles of options, and be prepared for the controls to cause you some degree of annoyance.

Unearthing the story at your own pace is wonderful. However, Ether One goes too far in that direction and puzzles become tedious exercises in trying combinations of different items you acquired in a completely different area.

Although it is essentially a big chunk of downloadable content, with no major aesthetic improvements on the original game, there is plenty of worthwhile action in Xtreme Legends – another mightily fun carve-up from Omega Force.

More creative or, dare I say, gorier death animations would have been welcome, but on the whole Deception IV: Blood Ties is something different. Fans of the franchise will know what to expect, but newcomers might find themselves pleasantly surprised by the mix of strategy, sadism and dark humour.

It’s become cool to hate on Infinite in recent times, but bandwagons be damned, this is a fantastic piece of content, if a little pricey. You already know you’re going to play this if you grabbed Part One, but I’m here to tell you that you won’t be disappointed with Part Two.

By no means as bad as people make out, X-2 is a strange but worthy inclusion, but it is likely to be the story of young Tidus that leaves a lasting impression.

A grand finale this definitely is not, and whilst The Untold Stories of Los Perdidos gave players a welcome reason to re-enter the city, they have short-changed loyal fans at almost every turn.

The city is the true star of Second Son, and for that alone it is worth playing. However, you need to go in knowing that this is a refinement of the series, and not a revolution in terms of gameplay. The fact that Delsin can absorb other people’s powers means that you’re always getting new toys to play with, and Sucker Punch smartly avoid trying to be ultra serious.

It’s worth a go if you’re a fan of either series, and you won’t be disappointed by the story – just be prepared to invest plenty of time to see it through.

The near-perfect controls combined with the great soundtrack and visuals mean it’s difficult not to like Luftrausers, and its simplicity makes it accessible to everyone.

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is putrid, crass and brash. It makes no apologies for this, and if you’re in tune with the kamikaze ninja protagonist then the game’s style will carry you much of the way. Unfortunately, though, Yaiba’s chaotic nature has led to a combat system that throws away the usual finesse of its father franchise for something so anarchic it frequently borders on unplayable. At times this direction is inspired, but it’s often just frustrating to the point where you have to wonder if it’s deliberate.

If you can overlook the price tag and the fact that there’s DLC out there for other games that provides more bang for your buck, then this is absolutely worth picking up.

Whilst the title does sadly feel a bit too simple, Secret Paths possesses a lot of charm and tries to offer a range of challenges for all levels of skill. In the end it skews a little young overall, but that age group will also probably be more forgiving of the repetitive nature of the puzzles throughout the game.

Pokémon Link Battle! has a surprising amount of charm with the cute character sprites and animations, but while the gameplay is somewhat addictive to start with, it quickly becomes repetitive. Taken in tandem with the other issues, it makes Pokémon Link Battle difficult to recommend.

Nintendo are famous for reinventing the wheel with their games, and throwing new ideas into old series that should have long become tired and repetitive but, sadly, Yoshi’s New Island just isn’t one of these titles.

When you’re in the thick of the action, Titanfall is like no other shooter. It succeeds in making you feel like a superhero, piloting a giant mech to destroy your enemies with ferocious aggression. The fact there’s no option for private matches is an odd one, and there’s not a huge amount of guns on offer, really, but it’s arguably unfair to come down too hard on a developer choosing to focus on gameplay innovation over peripheral issues.

It is strange to find an adventure game that you actually want to play through a second time right after completing it just to see what you could have done differently.

Dark Souls II is a true hardcore challenge, and the weak of will and spine have no place in its cruel and unusual world.

Aeterno Blade is Castlevania on a budget. Messy visuals, whiffy animation, endlessly recycled enemies, middling bosses.

Symphonia is a great reminder of how Tales has hit such impressive highs in the past, and although the decision to port the technically inferior PS2 version leads to framerate gripes, this is perhaps the best version of Lloyd Irving and co that you are going to get without dragging your Gamecube out of the loft.

The Walking Dead Season Two may not have moved into top gear yet, but Telltale have already shown that they are more than capable of producing more gut-wrenching moments and difficult choices.

The platforming can be tough at times and the camera only makes thing worse. The poor story and voice acting, straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon, will alienate the older audience, too, which really leaves Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures with no real market – which is a shame, as some of the ideas and platforming sections made for some of the best fun I’ve had in years.

You cannot help but think that a more fitting tribute to the little yellow fella would have been a standalone version of the top-drawer Battle Royale, with the inclusion of online play that they have bafflingly ignored.

The story and design may not be unique enough to allow the game to stand out and be a hugely memorable experience, but the gameplay itself is very satisfying and not purely a nostalgia trip.

The utter antithesis of The Last of Us, a top-down Left 4 Dead-alike that ignores pansy ideas like human emotion or common sense in favour of stuff that explodes and makes other stuff explode. It’s colourful and loud and a ton of fun either alone or with friends, and is probably one of the best zombie blasters released in recent years.

Don’t be a conformist, grab this one and indulge in the stupid toilet humour and dick jokes that it possesses. One of the best games of 2014 so far.

Everything isn’t always awesome, but in small doses it can be.

An enjoyable romp through a pretty enough world, but one that may struggle to resonate with Western audiences. Fans of the series and established canon will find much to love, though, from the whimsical characters to the competent battle and crafting systems.

Instant gratification combined with those stellar mechanics mean you’ve got a hardcore platformer with the hooks to keep you coming back for more.

Retrobooster is a very difficult game, but is still highly enjoyable. Once you master the controls the game becomes a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable. The levels are intelligently designed and the variety makes each one feel like a totally new experience. The art, soundtrack and story may not be the best, but the gameplay and incredibly fun multiplayer make up for it.

Senran Kagura Burst is silly. Its presentation is silly, its combat is silly, and its whole reason for being is silly. Yet somehow, it’s compelling. Alongside the gratuitous boob and panty shots there’s a nice pair of intertwining stories here with amicably fleshed-out characters.

Play it in short bursts, however, and you could find yourself spending many an intriguing hour in Blackguard’s universe.

As with any good Zombie film, in Chaos Rising it is the other survivors you should fear more than the undead themselves. But Chaos Rising does seem to relegate the Zombies almost entirely to the backdrop. This content could have almost been in any game, and doesn’t fit the Dead Rising world all that well.

A strange beast. It gives us the narrative conclusion we wanted, but in a sequel we arguably didn’t need. It’s fun enough, but never feels essential, and the fact that it’s let down by its combat – which plays such a huge and vital role – means you may reach the final stretch with little emotional investment to spare.

Against all odds, somehow the team at PopCap have managed to craft a fun shooter that remains true to the series. More commendably, they’ve created a shooter that takes you by surprise and makes you laugh.

With sharper AI and more considered NPC behaviour, Thief could have been a masterpiece. There are true flashes of brilliance, and they’re not rare, but they’re almost always offset by something that breaks the immersion or otherwise shakes the foundations of the game world.

Fans of the genre are better off downloading the (admittedly) pricier iOS ports of Cave’s excellent shooters like DeathSmiles and DoDonPachi Resurrection, or Dotemu’s R-Type ports, for a look at how this type of game should be done.

99 Levels to Hell is a fine, if slightly trashy Spelunky-alike. If Spelunky is Indiana Jones, then 99 Levels to Hell is its Grindhouse equivalent, focusing more on fast, expendable entertainment than its more thoughtful cousin.

The most pressing issue is the lack of community, with most servers empty at the time of this review. But if the dev can keep the content coming and work out the kinks, this game could really take-off.

When taking in the world around you, NaissanceE is a thing of beauty. The scenery is so bare bones that it walks a fine line between being soothing and unnerving in one fell swoop. It starts with such a care and precision, but quickly becomes less memorable once you are asked to be more precise in your own movements.

There’s no getting around the fact that on-rails shooters just feel restrictive, and Rambo is a score-attack game that’s gotten a bit lost in time.

It isn’t hugely original and certainly doesn’t push the envelope in terms of aesthetics or gameplay, but somehow all the small elements come together and simply click.

Whereas Broken Eagle at least changed the way you play the game, Fallen Angel makes no real attempts to differentiate play style at all. Angel is a one-dimensional protagonist and is unlikely to resonate with players greatly, and the DLC is again woefully short and lacking in content to justify its existence.

Things such as the long load times between the rather small sections of the map, and the clunky animations and difficult aiming system detract from the many refinements that have been added.

Sandlot have crafted another ludicrously entertaining, utterly bonkers sci-fi romp. There are more enemies, more guns, more nutty speech, and more missions. It does have limitations. It isn’t going to trouble the best that your PS3 has got to offer in the aesthetic stakes, but I dare anyone – even the most staunch graphics-fan or gaming snob – not to get a kick out of EDF.

Strider doesn’t do anything exceptionally well, but we get so few good Metroid-Vania style games these days that it’s still definitely worth a play. On higher difficulties it will require skill, but otherwise Strider is a brainless exercise in platforming, exploration, and (button mashing) ninja combat.

Put simply, it’s old school platforming done right, a wonderful alternative to Mario that is definitely worth adding to any Wii U owners’ collection.

Around every corner, there’s a crab that’s fluent in Spanish, or a Pizza Box that laughs at you maniacally. Sure, there are a few duds and it doesn’t always hit the mark, but developer Necrophone Games bang out the gags at a rate befitting of a Python.

Truly wonderful sections of youthful exuberance give way to bleak moments of horror and desperation. Two hours may not seem all that long, but the impact Left Behind has will be with you for hours afterwards.

The story may be a bit too much, and the gameplay beats can be a touch clumsy to begin with, but Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks is a mighty entertaining sports RPG that – just like its lead Mark Evans – has a big heart, and an infectious enthusiasm for what it is.

Tree Wars is a great looking strategy game with enough depth to keep you playing for hours. While the difficulty does rise considerably, it never feels unfair and actually gives a cause for replayability. If you’re a strategy fan and want a fix on the move, you can’t do much better.

The great level design, accompanied by charming 8-bit style artwork, an incredible soundtrack and the fact that you need to be very quick-thinking and account for every centimetre of space, really make this a special game in its genre.

The entire package is put together with humour, warmth and class – it straddles the geeky retro chic that is so popular with indies right now, but also manages to drag an elderly game firmly into the present day with trophies, leaderboards, and intuitive choice of hardware. Immediately you know you are playing a Llamasoft title.

Rekoil is a banal title with poorly implemented features, confusing UI and ugly aesthetics. I can appreciate what Plastic Piranha tried to do, but sadly they have failed to deliver on promises of balanced, competitive gameplay – and even on some of the basic core mechanics of a competent FPS.

The pricepoint may not be as generous as the iOS and Android original, yet Gunslugs still feels like a generous package.

On the one hand it’s very well-made and it shows: the visuals are great and the familiar hallmarks are all present and correct. But on the other hand, there’s something undeniably missing from the formula, an element of fun that remains absent despite the unique battle system and the returning cast.

Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a rare beast, then, because it made me laugh out loud the first moment that I ambled down the aisle to meet my doting bride-to-be.

If you don’t go in expecting something groundbreaking, there’s a lot to like here, the simple elegance of the button-mashy combat and the broad range of skills and weapons offering enough variety to keep things fresh throughout an impressively-sized campaign.

Loadout is the type of game that you honestly can’t believe you’re getting for free. The amount of fun you’ll have, the amount of customisable options and features on offer, will leave you with an experience that most wouldn’t mind paying for at all.

Games of this ilk are rarely for everyone, but this is a unique experience that really stands out – even in the Vita’s burgeoning library.

While definitely not for everyone, Dustforce is an ambitious and charming game that shows touches of brillance as frequently as it punishes and annoys.

Where episode one faltered with pacing, episode two is an almost relentless barrage of action, barely giving you time to breathe. The only real problem with this is that Smoke & Mirrors flies by and is over before you know it, making you desperate for episode three.

It’s hard to recommend this game to anyone but die-hard Spellforce fans who no doubt have already picked it up and are more than likely enjoying a return to Eo. Fresh eyes to the series will notice the obvious flaws and signs of ageing much more, so it may be best for the uninitiated to skip this concluding chapter and wait for the next full release.

My cranium is red raw from tearing strands of hair from my scalp in frustration and I’m sure plenty of others will be bald within an hour of playing The Castle Doctrine.

Bright and beautiful, frenetic and challenging – it’s a wonderful puzzle game that works brilliantly on the PS Vita. There’s not a lot of content, though, and once you get bored of trying to climb the leaderboards you’re unlikely to go back for a blast of the puzzle mode more than once or twice.

Those who take the time to play it properly, plan out their strategy for each level and truly think about what they are doing will find it impossible not to like, while those who try random lines or try to find ways of completing a level that is not the intended way won’t have such a great time.

Those not familiar with Dragonball Z will find the story invisible, but those with a soft spot for the classic series, and a few mates with which to team up and reminisce will find something far more creative and exciting than most recent games based on the franchise.

Hardcore fans of old school western RPG’s may have a good time, but the majority will find it confusing and uninspired.

It can be quite frustratingly difficult at times, and the constant geeky references to everything from Star Wars to the worlds of Gary Gygax may not sit well with everyone – one particular misfiring side quest involving bureaucrats may be enough to turn off some gamers – but for those who enjoy old school platform action, this generously sized Spanish-crafted effort will be manna from heaven.

There’s no doubt that Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition is a product of its time, but there’s also no doubt that it’s an absolute classic of the RPG genre.

While the design is excellent, with a creepiness that’ll make you hear noises in the night, only buy this to play on an iPad unless you have tiny fingers.

Unfortunately there is just too little content and not enough character or story development to recommend Operation Broken Eagle wholeheartedly.

The minimalist approach may not work for every game, but here we have a truly successful, consuming experience that you just can’t put down.

More of an expansion than a brand new entry in the series.

Ring Runner is fun, different and challenging – but unfortunately it lacks a little accessibility.

While it lasts, this set of clever puzzles is a pleasant little time-waster. Sometimes it is better for a game to be over too early rather than too late, but that is only partly the case here.

The simple controls allow for an easy entry and the game does a great job of introducing the systems at a slow and manageable pace. Once it gets going it offers a real challenge, which results in an amazing sense of achievement when a level is finally beaten.

Ultimately, Halfbrick’s latest isn’t bad for a few quid, but it’s hardly a triumph for the ages.

This really IS the Definitive Edition of Tomb Raider, but only because of the graphical overhaul. If you had issues before with the direction in which Crystal Dynamics have taken the character, or with the occasional intrusion of gameplay elements like levelling up and Lara’s ability to carry six weapons in invisible holsters, you won’t find anything here to change your opinions.

The lack of a coherent story will also limit the appeal of Urp! but if you stick with it, it is a simple, enjoyable puzzle game.

Other than the new Operation L and Virus Buster modes, there is little in the way of new content that makes this a better deal than the previous (and cheaper) versions.

The Banner Saga is one of the most original games you’ll play this year. That such a small team has managed to create a story that will be unique to every player is astonishing, and that the story actually makes you care even more so.

As the years go by, opportunities to shout expletives into the face of someone you call your “friend” become less and less frequent. Nidhogg brings that joy back into your life.

With a fair learning curve that will ease in all-comers, and RAD mode (every landing must be a perfect one) for the people who want a challenge, this is an absolute must own game.

Broken Age does a fine job of creating an outlandish world populated by interesting characters, but is let-down somewhat by its core gameplay.

Young Justice: Legacy exists as a video game accompaniment to the TV series, and in this regard it’s a repetitive, unsatisfying, and unimpressive failure. There are better scrolling beat-em up’s out there, and there’s more than enough Superhero media around to help you avoid playing this.