As impossibly complex as it is deep, but running your own empire proves to be hugely engrossing for those that put in the man hours.

The worlds of hairdressing and vegetable fancying combine in the best, and only, topiary simulator.

This doesn't solve any of the original's problems with storytelling and variety, it just makes them worse.

As fascinatingly unique as it always was but this former PlayStation 2 game is showing its age and while it’s still one of the best JRPGs of its era, it pales when compared to more modern titles.

A clever and hugely enjoyable online team game, even at this early stage in its career -although it feels more like a rival to Rocket League than EA Sports FC.

A very half-hearted sort of reboot for the series with flawed new graphics and little real personality.

It’s more an unofficial Castlevania game than a movie tie-in, but if you can handle the high difficultly level this is an effective substitute for the real thing.

It may not be fair to compare it to Angry Birds, but it is fair to say this is a slick but slightly listless clone of The Incredible Machine.

An open-ended puzzler whose only real restrictions are how imaginative you're willing to be in wielding its wonderfully bizarre gadgets.

A competent Metroidvania but although Shantae and her friends are as charming as ever the franchise is beginning to seem aimless and overly repetitive.

An understandable attempt to create a more accessible Total War experience, but it’s been streamlined so much it offers only a small taste of the series’ full potential.

The slickest, smoothest and most technologically advanced not-FIFA game ever made, that makes an encouragingly positive start to a new era of football video games.

The change of publisher has not yet ensured a change in quality for WWE games, although the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode is definitely of interest for long term fans.

A mild disappointment compared to the first Modern Warfare reboot, that relies too much on nostalgia and old ideas, but the core action and multiplayer modes are as irresistible as ever. [Review in Progress; Provisional score = 70]

It’s only a small step forward from the last game but this is the most successful attempt so far to modernise Tomb Raider, even if the storytelling still has problems.

In an ideal world it all would’ve been included in the main game, but if you can get past that this is a great set of DLC extras.

Life Is Strange gets a major upgrade in terms of visuals and dialogue, but even with all-new characters the same charm and emotional heart shines through.

Not the PlayStation VR killer app you might have hoped for, but still a clever and imaginative mix of shooter and puzzle game.

A disappointing sequel that offers few new ideas as either a Dark Souls clone or a follow-up to the original, with a less interesting setting and story.

The future of MultiVersus remains to be seen, but if it is aspiring to become a go-to fighting game for both offline and online gatherings, nothing spoils the party more than the free-to-play shell it’s encased in. This model might make it more accessible to players in the short term, but when it’s weighing down the overall experience like this, it’s hard not to see history repeating itself sooner or later – even if you can butcher Shaggy with a machete. [Review in Progress]

A wonderfully inventive attempt to bring Mario Kart into the real world, whose mere premise is enough to amuse and delight, despite some unavoidable practical limitations.

It looks and sounds as amazing as it ever did, but even if the control issues are a little more obvious now this is still a fantastically energetic and imaginative arcade game.

A disappointing sequel that is arguably inferior to the original, despite more amusing minion antics.

The least brown shooter ever made, with the colourful graphics and accessible controls supported by an imaginative and surprisingly well-crafted online experience.

A fantastic arcade game in the best traditions of Treasure, that takes plenty of inspiration from older classics but has just as many new ideas of its own.

The fact that we can still be surprised by such a long-running series is one of the best things we can say about the game and its DLC.

It features some of the best moments from this generation of Pokémon but this final slice of DLC still suffers from a lack of substance and ambition.

An uneven blend of turn-based RPG battles, cooking, and skateboarding elevated by its excellent narrative and memorable cast of characters.

Probably the best Mario Tennis game since the N64 era, but the trick shots can still frustrate and the story campaign is a disappointment.

A good script and fun characters can't save an otherwise workmanlike Japanese role-player, in this unconvincing 3D remake.

Despite borrowing so much from so many different games Capcom's new Western style role-player is very much its own game - with plenty of interesting ideas of its own.

A horrible disappointment that not only fails to capture the magic of its predecessors but seems oblivious to what made them popular in the first place.

A charmingly illustrated, perspective-shifting puzzle game about paper folding, that has just enough intricacy to keep you engaged without ever making you feel stumped.

The problem with the latest Kingdom Hearts is not a lack of new ideas but that almost all of them are awful, and that's before you even consider the script.

A highly successful reboot of one of SNK’s most unfairly forgotten franchise, that takes its rightful place as one of the generation’s best fighters.

It doesn’t really do a lot more than what Elite achieved over 30 years ago, but this is a fun and accessible, if rather repetitive, space trading game.

With the spider crawling all over 3D objects there are moments where you’re not sure which way to drag the 2D joystick to get it to go where you want, and occasions when it’s unreasonably finicky about standing in the right spot to attach a web to an object, but in general this is a fun, gently puzzling game of eight-legged espionage.

It definitely looks the part, and the striking is excellent, but stodgy controls and a weak ground game makes this far from the ultimate MMA game.

It's not quite as fully-featured as its Wii equivalent but this is still an excellent compilation of some of the best indie games of this generation.

Low on innovation but high on spectacle, as the cumulation of the last several years of Need For Speed games the first entry on the next gen is already one of the best.

An impressive blend of old school cyberpunk and modern survival horror, that manages to overcome a bad celebrity voiceover and some distracting technical issues.

A very compelling mix of roguelike and first person shooter, with highly distinctive visuals and pleasingly difficult tactical choices.

The best Mana game in a long while but how it managed to leave out the one feature that should have come as standard is a complete mystery.

A very worthwhile upgrade of the portable original, that stands up well in terms of visuals and easily exceeds Resident Evil 6 in terms of atmosphere and intrigue.

There’s a disappointing lack of museum features, but you can’t really argue with 50 classic Mega Drive games, online play, and a surprisingly generous price tag.

A shameless clone of role-playing puzzle hybrid Puzzle Quest, but a slick and addictive one all the same.

Fans of co-op shooters (and zombies) will love it, but the lack of modes and options does limit the appeal.

The best console version yet of the PC hit - and accessible enough to suit even real-time strategy haters.

A fun nostalgia ride for fans but not a patch on the similarly pitched Dead Space: Extraction.

A flawed sequel, that undermines some of the original games’ greatest pleasures, but this is still a uniquely enjoyable real-time strategy, with plenty of interesting new ideas.

Despite some notable missteps, this peculiar mix of macabre storytelling and 2D puzzle-solving still has an interesting story to tell.

An effective homage to Clock Tower that manages to create a similar sense of helplessness even if it doesn’t improve on the formula in any notable way.

A brief but entertaining prologue that is marred by the question of value for money and an empty story that has no resolution unless you buy the next game.

A mix of influences this random shouldn't work but the willingness to blend genres and experiment with multiplayer pays off despite the flaws.

The original PC version is still justifiably popular but touchscreen controls only turn a difficult game into an unreasonably frustrating one.

Not quite as good as the previous two maps, with the more serious atmosphere lessening the fun, but still a more than welcome addition to the episodic series.

A no-brainer for fans of the series, but although superior to its predecessor this is still too repetitive and shallow to convince newcomers.

The fact that it's free-to-play is almost the only point of interest in this derivative shooter - and even that is far less appealing once you get into the details.

A brightly coloured, cel-shaded zombie shooting gallery, that feels a more solid package than the Oculus Quest original and successfully channels the simplistic fun of 90s lightgun games.

Sega's legacy deserves a better celebration than this competent but unremarkable Mario Kart clone.

Another slow-paced and only intermittently interesting episode, that underlines the fact that the story and characters are never going to be as engaging as the first episode suggested.

This starship sim never reaches escape velocity from the cloying traditions of Japanese RPGs.

From the creator of Katamari Damacy comes something even stranger that redefines the idea of gameplay.

A beguiling mix of open world exploration, mild criminality, and Star Wars flavour that, while it has its flaws, is one of the most enjoyable space adventures of recent years.

The price is no doubt Atari’s doing but it makes recommending the game a lot harder than it used to be. And yet when the bad guys are falling like skittles, as you skid past one and quickly jump back to explode him and his cohorts, any qualifications about the game being too retro, too familiar, or too expensive fall away. But it is frustrating that the game’s most important talking point has become how much it costs and not how it plays.

Not quite Scary Movie but certainly not the video game equivalent of Airplane, although the fact that it even tries to be is almost recommendation enough.

A disappointing sequel to The Dark Descent, but while the horror elements can seem mundane at times the storytelling and characterisation remain impressive.

A pleasingly complex and realistic survival simulator, accompanied by a story mode that so far fails to be anywhere near as compelling.

Arguably the best Gran Turismo ever in terms of the driving, and definitely in terms of the graphics, but a lack of content keeps it from getting up to top speed.

The best and worst of Fallout in one giant-sized new expansion, with better storytelling than the main game but even worse graphics.

An ambitiously odd game that has an innovative take on Pokémon style gameplay and features some of the most intriguing characters of the year - but is rarely as much fun as it should be.

The price alone will put most people off, but underneath that, and the obnoxious dialogue, is one of the most original first person shooters of the last gen.

A wonderfully assured first episode, in what has the potential to outdo both Telltale Games and Quantic Dream in terms of successful video game storytelling.

One of the best-looking video games ever made and although relatively shallow the spectacle and excitement of the Star Wars universe comes across superbly well.

If indie gaming is just a state of mind then Ubisoft is getting increasingly good at encouraging it in their developers, especially in this novel plant-based platformer.

Still one of the best lightgun games never to see the inside of an arcade, but it's still no classic and the new additions are of questionable worth.

A vast improvement on the previous console port and a sequel that seems less disappointing on the 360.

Another inspired descent into bullet hell from the masters at Cave, and one that has both an unusual amount of tactical depth and yet remains surprisingly accessible.

It’s still far from perfect but the improvements here are enough to help fans forget GRID 2, and hope that GRID 3 will be the game they really want.

Probably the best Final Fantasy game on mobile and a good example of how to play fair with both nostalgia and free-to-play microtransactions.

Wonderfully surreal and revelling in its Germanic roots, Lichtspeer starts with the god of light replacing your puny human fists with a light spear to hurl at the faces of a relentless onslaught of winged horses, penguins, giants, zombies and, in the case of the first boss, an insane biker Viking. You’ll earn plenty of LSD, which apparently stands for Licht Standard Denomination, to spend in the shop in order to expand your ‘uber fantastisch Lichtpowers’. Despite never taking itself seriously, the action quickly gets hectic, your accuracy with the lichtspeer and its various upgrades is strenuously tested, revealing some limitations in the touchscreen controls.

It’s tense and interesting and while it lacks the polish of some board game conversions – Ticket To Ride or Antihero for example – and is a bit too easy in solo mode, it plays a fine card game.

A fantastically original racer that goes out of its way to offer unique play modes without alienating anyone that just wants a fun arcade experience.

By perfecting the Dungeon Keeper formula, the best James Bond game since GoldenEye proves that playing the bad guy really can be more fun.

If you’re not too bothered about seeking constant action, but prefer your games to possess a discernible intelligence, overlying a message which is delivered in a subtle yet insistent manner, then you’ll love Road 96. The illusion of generating your own road movie works perfectly, and whether you view it as simple escapism or something deeper it manages to entertain either way.

A mostly successful update of the scrolling beat ‘em-up concept, with excellent combat and an impressive range of moves, weapons, and enjoyably dangerous enemies.

One of the best Aliens games ever made and a clever and innovative real-time strategy all of its own, that needs just a bit more polish and a lot less bugs.

A sprawling, story-based epic whose ponderous cinematic cut scenes give way to swathes of arcade style mech action, that is amongst the most fun you can have in a giant robot.

A trip down wrestling's memory lane that ends up being a lot more fun than any of the more serious sims of recent years.

No launch game benefits more from the 3DS's stereoscopic 3D than this almost illicitly addictive return to Ridge City.

It might not be a game, but this is as entertaining a slice of edutainment as you'll ever find. Even if it's not quite the bargain it first appears.

There is such a thing as being too hard and the original version of Below proved that, but there’s also such a thing as second chances and Explore mode has managed to turn Below into a game everyone can enjoy, and without compromising its original vision.

The core gameplay is as excitingly well-crafted as usual but some strange design decisions, and odd omissions, make this an underwhelming sequel.

As loving a recreation of the Mega Drive original as fans could ever hope for, but without any major evolution of the concept it has far less to offer anyone else.

One of the best WarioWare games ever, as long as you’re playing with other people, with some of the most interesting use of motion controls since the Wii era.

£35 for half a Kombat Pack and a three-hour epilogue is terrible value for money, especially as only two of the new characters are any good.

At its best it’s like being in control of a pixellated Final Destination, the deaths coming thick and fast with amusingly inventive variety. At its worst it’s a fiddly load of trial and error, where you can still be tripped up by pesky police angels even once you’ve figured out what to do.

Rarely has such a big budget game been based on such a thin gameplay premise, with this bafflingly dull first person action adventure that begins to run out of steam by the end of the tutorial level.