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.