Only a minor evolution of Rome II, and with many of the same bugbears, but the stunning visuals and deep strategy bring a fascinating period of history fully to life.

A great idea in theory, but in practise the novelty wears out extremely quickly, with a serious lack of variety in game modes, maps, and tactics.

Some of the best 2D sprite work ever seen in a video game, and all used to support an impressively varied and imaginative Metroidvania.

The action may not be up to quite the same standards as the writing, but the bizarre world of the Underzee is more interesting to explore than almost any other recent game world.

More accessible and more immediate than ever before, whether it’s a hit or not Monster Hunter 4 is definitely the best of the series so far.

A wonderful throwback to ’80s style British gaming, that has much to teach modern titles in terms of player freedom and open world design.

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.

Another uninspiring episode of nothing but filler and hopes for the future, although that’s as much a criticism of episodic content as it is the game itself.

Clever and consistently inventive platformer, with a disarmingly powerful storyline… plus some of the strangest visuals this side of Katamari Damacy.

One of the best Metroidvania games around, with some inspired visuals and great use of its Ancient Greek setting – despite some minor issues with the gameplay mechanics.

Always a jewel in the Zelda crown, and this remake successfully smooths out some of its rough edges – without losing the edgy appeal of Link’s most unique adventure.

A small improvement on Dead Island, but there’s still barely anything that either works as well as advertised or is isn’t just stolen wholesale from other, better, games.

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.

It offers no surprises or innovation, least of all in the new Exo Zombies mode, but most of the new maps are great and this first download is surprisingly good value.

More a reissue than an actual remaster, but the game itself is still as wonderfully unique and entertaining as ever – with some of the most memorable characters in all gaming.

One of the best real-time strategies for some time, although it’s a shame that despite a few new ideas it’s not really interested in pushing the genre forward.

A moderately interesting idea in theory, but the flawed execution makes this horrendously overpriced piece of DLC a waste of both time and money.

Despite the outrageous plot and bizarre weapons this is a disappointingly mundane expansion beneath all the silliness, and one that addresses none of the parent game’s failings.

It looks like EarthBound, and to a degree it plays like EarthBound, but this has none of the charm or character of the SNES classic – and considerably worse combat.

While its fun to see how absurd those distractions get that only makes it harder and harder to pretend you’re playing a real game, with consequences and genuine danger. Despite all that we’re curious to see what Violation will do for their first next gen-only sequel, but for now this second expansion is probably best left to burn.

The remake is no longer the technical marvel it once was, but Capcom has done their best to reissue it in a way that maintains all the splendour, scares, and laughs of the original.

It makes the stealth more interesting and there’s a successful tonal shift from the main game, but free or not this expansion fails to improve on any of Unity’s major problems.

A successful halfway house between a Command & Conquer style button-masher and a thoroughbred strategy game, with tense, fast-paced, but pleasingly tactical battles.

The Duke himself is an outdated embarrassment, but his best game was always ahead of its time – and still has much to teach modern shooters.

No fun at all on your own, but together on the same couch this is one of the most entertaining co-op puzzles for many months.

The weapon-crafting is great but given the manipulative microtransactions this free-to-play shooter is not worth your time, let alone your money.

One of the best looking fighting games ever and the most successful attempt yet to make an interactive anime, even if it is a little lacking in content and new ideas.

A welcome return for the pioneering space adventure, but despite a solid start it will need a steady supply of new content and tweaks to reach elite status.

There’s a fair number of new features and missions here but none justify the price, and the experience will pass from your memory almost as soon as it’s over.

Beautiful to look at but the story and gameplay prove far less fascinating than the real world model-making skills of the developer.

The concept may sound absurd but the experience of playing Papers, Please shines a light not on the game’s hapless victims but on the player’s own sense of decency.

The sheer age of the games are beginning to count against them but Ace Attorney still remains exhibit A in how to make story-based games fun and engaging.

An odd mix of Test Drive Unlimited, Assassin’s Creed, and Destiny. And while the combination is tastier than it sounds it also has an awful lot of lumps in it.

Not as compelling as its predecessor, but as a four-player alternative to the Lego games this an enjoyable enough attempt at a Tomb Raider lite.

A hugely disappointing follow-up for To The Moon, whose trite and overly sentimental story feels long at just 60 minutes.

A competent clone of Zelda and a pretty poor adaptation of Adventure Time, this amiable but frustrating tie-in doesn’t really satisfy on either level.

An uninspiring start to the season, that even fans of the show will find stilted and tedious. Although they can still foster high hopes for later episodes.

Another unspeakably bad platformer that beyond its more general faults seems to purposefully misunderstand the appeal of the entire Sonic franchise.

A fantastic crossover that despite a few necessary simplifications manages to do some things better than either of its parent games, especially in terms of accessibility.

Utterly charming on (literally) every level, it may not offer much in terms of fast action but this is just as imaginative and engrossing as any Super Mario game.

Definitely not the worst multiformat port a Nintendo console has had to endure, but the low frame rate and lack of new features makes it almost entirely pointless.

A laudable attempt to make a video game that is both entertaining and educational, but despite the interest it builds up for its subject matter the weak gameplay is hard to ignore.

A very promising start to what is mechanically just another Telltale adventure, but where the comedy and characterisation feels very different to their more recent games.

Possibly the worst Sonic the Hedgehog game ever made, which considering some of his previous lows is one of the harshest insults in gaming.

The search for the perfect offline mode continues, but even without it this is the best Smash Bros. so far and one of the best fighting games of all-time.

Offensively terrible in every way, and yet it seems not through some calculating cynicism on the part of the game makers – but just good old fashioned incompetence.

Being a Persona spin-off is almost incidental to what remains one of the best new one-on-one fighters of the outgoing generation.

A relatively promising next gen debut, but it’s still missing lots of older features. And even with a few new ones it’s hard to think of this as anything but a work in progress.

LittleBigPlanet is once again its own worst enemy, as it fails to make the best use of its own fun new characters. Although the creation tools are the most accessible they’ve ever been.

A perfectly good 3D remake of Ruby and Sapphire, the only problem being that Ruby and Sapphire were never that great – and this is still not as good as the recent X and Y.

A perfectly good 3D remake of Ruby and Sapphire, the only problem being that Ruby and Sapphire were never that great – and this is still not as good as the recent X and Y.

A relatively competent rehash of Black Flag, but with a lack of new ideas and a considerably less exciting setting it’s one that struggles to justify its existence.

An incredibly ambitious upgrade that not only improves the visuals and gameplay but, through the new first person view, offers a new way to play the best GTA ever.

Poor pacing and the worst celebrity voiceovers of the year mar what could have been the definitive Lego game, but in the end is just another fun but shallow co-op game amongst many.

It may not bring many new ideas to the table but this is a hugely enjoyable open world shooter, with the best co-op options in the genre.

Not the bold new reinvention that Assassin’s Creed needed but instead a rushed, patently unfinished mess whose improvements are minor and failings more obvious than ever.

One of the best ever examples of how to do DLC right, being both good value for money and introducing several new features to the parent game.

As bizarre a mix of genres, art style, and subject matter as you could ever hope to see, especially on the PC. But it all works and absolutely deserves this second shake of the die.

One of the great champions of offline multiplayer returns, and although it brings nothing new to the table at least it lets you race along it once again.

An excellent return to form for the Dragon Age series, and the biggest and most ambitious Western role-player since the new generation began.

A significant improvement on the last generation of Pro Evo games, and for the first time in years PES is more entertaining than the new FIFA.

A no expense spared celebration of the most enduring shooter series of all time, with everything a Halo fan could wish for and more than enough to entertain everyone else.

A far less ambitious sequel than the last two years and most of the headline changes are negative, especially changing your manager into a role-playing character.

Maybe the next gen versions will be better, but on the 360 and PS3 this is a deeply cynical release that’s inferior to last year’s entry in almost every way.

Despite a few pulled punches this is the best Call Of Duty has been in years, and the multiplayer in particular is the most innovative since Modern Warfare began.

A disappointing sequel that only compounds the failures of the original, while also featuring Double Fine’s least amusing script so far.

There’s plenty of potential here, to make a Monster Hunter clone Western gamers can really get behind, but all its best ideas are sacrificed to endless grinding and repetition.

As blatant a clone as has ever been seen, but although it does nothing better than Dark Souls it does do some things almost as well – and is certainly more accessible.

Shallow, simplistic, and never quite as funny as it thinks it is, but there’s still more energy and imagination at work here than most other new next gen franchises.

The worst game Platinum has ever made, and thanks to its sheer incompetence and banality almost the Bizarro World opposite of Bayonetta.

An excellent spin-off that uses the science fiction setting to focus and expand the gameplay in interesting new ways, and yet remains as accessible and thoughtful as ever.

For a game obsessed with OTT violence and knob gags this is a surprisingly charming and likeable shooter, if an unavoidably shallow and repetitive one.

The most powerful game creation tool ever released for a console, but it’s less accessible than it could be and the endless microtransactions leave a predictably sour taste.

Offline multiplayer may be increasingly a thing of the past, but In Space We Brawl isn’t anywhere near interesting enough to reverse that trend.

Moving beyond a mere homage to Dungeon Master this is one of the best dungeon crawlers of recent years, even if the puzzle balance still isn’t quite right.

Even as downloadable content this would seem exploitative, but trying to pass it off as a new game is only a formula for disappointment and resentment.

The greatest offence here is not sexism but simply tedium at the game’s shallow action, although while the one note joke lasts it is a funny one.

Rather than the future of survival horror this is merely a retread of its defining moments, and even then it rarely manages to equal what has gone before – let alone exceed it.

Not necessarily an essential experience, but despite the repetitive elements the game’s co-op thrills and winning humour ensure entertainment for both new fans and old.

A fantastic sequel, whose improvements may be relatively subtle but are more than enough to confirm Bayonetta 2 as one of the greatest action games ever made.

A fantastic little action puzzlers that is one of the best surprises of the year, and a welcome escape from would-be epics and over-hyped blockbusters.

In terms of pure gameplay this is perhaps the best serious detective game so far, but the issues with the script and characters remain more than a one pipe problem.

A game that should probably have been cancelled rather than delayed, with its complete absence of personality or new ideas.

The gimmick is great, and playing as a villain works extremely well, but as a game this doesn’t play as fair or as fun as previous instalments.

Pacing problems and a lack of variety take their toll, but in its best most moments this is the most successful big budget survival horror in a decade.

Still not quite essential, but the best of the three downloads and an effective final chapter for the most successfully difficult video game of the modern era.

There are some inherent limitations with playing a four-player fighting game on a 3DS but this overcomes almost all of them, to become one of the portable’s definitive multiplayer games.

A far better game than many would’ve imagined, not just in terms of its action and Lord of the Rings authenticity – but in bringing a genuinely new idea to gaming.

One of the best story driven games of the year, and one of the prettiest, although you do sometimes wonder if it’s focusing on the most interesting aspect of its plot.

It’s certainly not the worst Gauntlet revamp there’s ever been, but there’s too little substance or variety to satisfy either new fans or old.

There are still a few rough edges to be driven over, but as mild as the improvements are this still makes Forza Horizon 2 one of the best racers of recent years.

It’s a little too zealous in its old school approach, but this is still a great computer role-playing game and a welcome, if unofficial, part of the Fallout family.

The most shamefully obvious clone of recent years, but although this copies most of Lemmings’ tricks it falls short in terms of both personality and addictiveness.

Different but certainly not better, despite the amazing next gen visuals FIFA has never seemed so indecisive and lacking in direction.

A worthy follow-up to Deadly Premonition, although whether it earns the same classic status will depend largely on the subsequent episodes.

A game of two halves: the new Marvel adventure is awful but the improved Toy Box is good enough to inspire kids to make something much better themselves.

Still one of the best third person actioners of all-time, and although the Wii U version changes very little the classic gameplay still shines through.

It always sounded like a bad idea, but although Zelda has inspired one of the best Dynasty Warriors games to date the end result is still well below average by any other standard.