Final Exam is undoubtedly an attractive game with a lot of fun in store, particularly with a friend, but the chaotic brawling is unfortunately countered by frustrating drawbacks in many areas.

Infinity Ward could quite easily have rested on their laurels, stayed in their comfort zone to release Modern Warfare 4 this year with little negative critical reception. Instead, they’ve done something bold with the franchise they gave life to, and as a result have created the best Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare 2. Big, brash and absolutely stunning.

Battlefield 4′s multiplayer is as bombastic as ever, featuring that exceptional mix of infantry tactics, vehicular warfare and big-budget destruction, and the tweaks to the class system and character progression are welcome (but yet to be fully field-tested). The flipside of the coin is that the campaign is soulless and uninspired, the graphics take a knock in fidelity for the sake of prettiness and the overall package comes out as slightly imbalanced.

The awkwardness of waving a large GamePad around and unresponsive controls make this one of the less enjoyable party offerings available on the system.

The story is the best in the series but, when it comes to gameplay, Warner Bros. Montreal seem to have taken the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra and done the exact opposite.

It’s a shame that such an interesting possibility falls so flat. Perhaps a little more development time could have yielded more positive results, but as it is we end up with a running time of around 5-6 hours that feels like it outstays its welcome ever so slightly, purely because the longer you play it, the more it falls apart and the more it becomes frustrating.

The best Pac-Man game ever. The formula may be an old one, but sometimes the old ones are the best – or at least they would be if they didn’t have Facebook integration.

They may have hit minor issues in the beginning, but they should be applauded for tackling these head on for the subsequent releases. With complaints over the length of some chapters, the translation issues and the long wait for this last chapter, the trilogy is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

Swing Swing Submarine should be very proud of what they have achieved here, an excellent and fairly unique puzzler that is addictive, fun and rewarding.

With so many Tower Defence games out there, Steampunk Tower starts with a great idea that works well for the most part, and it’s hard to fault the basic gameplay. It’s well-presented and nicely polished, with nothing intrusive when it comes to in-app purchases...Sadly, variety is the main aspect that stops it from being a great game instead of simply a better-than-average one.

Echo Prime has a nice idea at its core, but it is let down almost every step of the way by run-of-the-mill, uninspired execution.

The real Paradox, then, is what exactly this game wants to be: visual novel or hardcore dungeon crawler. What’s here is entertaining enough, no need to worry about that, but you’ll enjoy it more once you accept that you’ve got a slightly sleazy schizophrenic on your hands.

It’s yet another example of what the 360 and PS3 are capable of – a genuinely stunning creation that packs 40 to 50 hours of content into a beautiful, compelling world that begs to be explored.

WWE 2K14 lacks the kind of measured, patient gameplay that made classic wrestling games so great to play, and sticks to its arcade guns and goes for fun, rather than simulation.

For those that are completists, who want to eke every drop out of their Layton, there is a staggering amount of depth here, not just from the multiple puzzles,but from the way all of the mini-games are directly tied into the main adventure, and the Treasure Hunt mode can actually provide a beneficial reason to keep your idling 3DS in your pocket, lest you have a cheeky StreetPass encounter that will unlock a juicy reward.

A top game and the best of its kind. It suits all comers, and is the most complete management sim yet.

Mega Dead Pixel fails to bring any great ideas to the table, and is not particularly fun to play.

Forced is an enjoyable experience, more or less. The combat is fluid but feels a little too loose and unsatisfying, as though you’re not quite connecting that large axe with that demon’s face. The mark system is a brave attempt but kind of unnecessary at times, while Balfus is useful in single-player but potentially all over the place in co-op mode.

On the 360 the uses of Smartglass are minimal, but pretty cool nonetheless, allowing you to use your phone or tablet to perform the Hacking minigame or manage your skills and inventory. It’s very cool, and certainly feels very “digital age”, but it’s not much quicker or easier than using the controller.

More of the Ace Attorney you know and love. With five full cases (plus an extra DLC case to purchase and download), each lasting tons of hours, there’s a full game here for a relatively cheap price.

How to Survive is more fun than it has a right to be. Schlocky voice-acting and ropey, ugly aesthetics can’t get in the way of what is a very addictive little Action-RPG with elements of Dead Island’s crafting system and State of Decay’s resource management.

Unfortunately the core game underneath the gloss and stacks of features is no better than the first Wii Party – and in many ways is actually worse. 80 minigames had better have a good strike-rate or they become a procession of annoying interludes; there are only so many ways you can throw a dice and move around a track.

Whether you’re looking to learn guitar, brush up on your existing skills or looking for something to practising your current skills with, Rocksmith 2014 scratches all of the guitar-based itches you could possibly hope for.

Pocket Titans really grows on you, and will keep you coming back to the battlefield for one last quest.

Give in to that inner-child and enjoy what is a terrific, entertaining game that absolutely anyone will love, because this is easily the best Skylanders game to date.

The gaming equivalent of a knock-off Rolex, Girl Fight takes all the concepts and themes of Dead or Alive, imitates its combat’s mechanics with no idea how to make them enjoyable, plays up its more repulsive features, and pretends to be the real deal when it’s nothing more than a cheap, tacky, disposable imitation.

There are faults, however, such as a few terrible design decisions that can make things incredibly frustrating on occasion. However, if you can get past those issues, you’ll see a game that picks some of the best elements of modern and classic Sonic games and combines them with new elements to make the Blue Blur feel fresh again.

Even though the hedgehog’s deceleration is a resounding success, that precision in gameplay is hindered by a temperamental homing attack and subsequent cheap deaths. That aside, though, Sonic Lost World is unquestionably a return to form and a reason to care again – thankfully without the rose-tinted specs.