It looks gorgeous, controls like a dream, and when it’s putting its ideas to the fore in a sensible manner then it has some genuinely delightful ideas, but when you really start to analyse things and think about it with a harsh critical light, it effectively turns out to be all bust and no brains.

Divekick is brilliant, you’ve just got to play it. You might not understand the humour, but nestled under that layer of in-jokes is an exquisite competitive game, and you might just understand fighting games a little bit more for playing it.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is a good shooter occasionally elevated beyond that by its subject matter. Unfortunately, every time it has a really good idea, someone else has already done it.

Pokémon Rumble U is a very simplistic game, but a very fun one.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition showed us that you can completely re-tread an old classic, provided that you update it with some real care and affection. Unfortunately Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded just doesn’t feel like it has had this same care applied to it.

It’s not always user-friendly, but it is incredibly unique and often very funny, which makes its difficulty all the more incongruous. The biggest problem is that it just doesn’t feel tight enough, and the input system is far too haphazard for precision. And yet, it’s hugely likeable and playable throughout.

It’s certainly a game you’ll get more enjoyment from with the maximum number of allowed players, and if you and your friends are extroverted and feel incredibly comfortable around each other (or have a stash of strong alcohol nearby), then for the price of entry (£5.99) this is an absolutely great party game that gives a shining glimpse of what can be done with the Wii U if a bit of thought is put into it.

The Brigmore Witches is a mostly satisfactory end to one of 2012′s best-loved games, but it could have and should have concluded with more pizazz.

Worms: Clan Wars is a fine game and, aside from the odd physics bugs here and there, it puts the series back on track after some unfortunate deviations. But it’s essentially the same game from circa 1999, with a moderate graphical overall and a few new weapons.

Bringing back classic Spies Vs. Mercs is a smart move that will please many, whereas offering a decent length single player adventure that is open enough for all play-styles and all-comers, whilst offering an optional challenge for the veterans, pays off. Blacklist really is a game all about options, and as such, is one not to miss.

It’s fast, fun and engaging and what it lacks in length it makes up for in playability. The puzzles are well thought-out, the core mechanics are honed and the difficulty curve is very even over the course of the game.

Saints Row IV is one of the most enjoyable games you’ll likely ever play, and while the story makes little to no sense, it’s not really supposed to. You’re playing games to have fun, and Saints Row IV does everything it can to make you remember that.

Ultimately, how much you like Narco Terror will be down to a few key factors: how sophisticated your taste in games really is, what decade you grew up in, and whether you would rather sit down in front of a Dolph Lundgren movie or a highbrow talkie indie movie fresh off the critics’ hot-list at the Sundance Festival.

A hugely enjoyable game, and it’s obvious that the developers have thought long and hard about every single aspect of the gameplay, keeping everything that worked from the previous game and doing away with, or improving, all of the other aspects.

The controls are great and the setting, graphics and sound are unique, but this is also an example of what’s wrong with the IAP model: developers need to ensure that the player feels like their time investment is worthwhile. Only then will that player feel like they want to spend a little of their real money on in-app purchases.

With all of the positives, then, its just a shame that infuriating checkpoints and shoddy bosses hold back what is otherwise a really enjoyable trip down memory lane. Charlie Murder never breaks new ground in terms of gameplay, but with a couple of fellow safety-pin pariahs by your side, there’s no doubting that this can be a hell of a ride.

Issues with game length and difficulty aside, this is a brilliant and respectful update of one of the best platformers ever made, and one that gamers of all ages will enjoy, whether you’ve played the original or not.

Games like Pivvot make absolute fools of people who think iOS isn’t a legitimate gaming platform. It’s hugely addictive, and brings out the competitive side in everyone but, best of all, it gets people talking, which is worth celebrating.

The controls are spot on and the levels are short enough for quick bursts of play. I would have liked to see a bit more variety in the levels and some actual challenge, but there’s a foundation here that BeaverTap Games can easily work on for future Mikey games.

The presentation won’t wow you, the story won’t thrill you and the characterisation is paper-thin. But if you enjoy juggling your resources, plotting and organising your army, and have a slight lean towards obsessive compulsiveness, you may find that Dragons of Atlantis provides a long-term gameplay experience.

Happy Dinos is just about endless repetition with no sense of reward or purpose other than to make you part with your money through IAPs.

From a hopeful beginning to a heart-wrenching conclusion, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is an endearing and emotional adventure that will resonate strongly with anyone who has a younger or older sibling.

It is the quintessential “bog standard” JRPG, a sad showing considering it’s part of a recognised and long-running franchise that has certainly hit some impressive highs in the past. It manages to make a killer combat engine redundant and boring, and comes across as a lazy, poorly-engineered mess in all other areas.

It’s not a bad game as such, it’s just uninspired, unrewarding and unremarkable.

The four challenge maps will get a little tiresome for all but the most competitive players after a couple of hours, and unless you have friends on the leaderboard that you’re trying to beat it’s a small distraction at best.

It’s solidly built, with slick controls and a mean learning curve but it’s not the kind of game you would sit with for hours on end.

Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep is the pick of a series of top-notch add-ons, and the best Borderlands expansion since The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned. If you own Borderlands 2, this is totally, utterly essential.

Everything that we knew about the console version has been brought over with love, affection and a true knowledge of how to use the touch-screen, as well as the sheer power of the iPad, to its absolute potential...XCOM: Enemy Unknown isn’t just one of the best iPad games available, it’s one of the best games available, full stop.