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.

A fun mix of influences and career paths, but the game doesn’t make being a mercenary or magician entertaining enough – let alone a tailor or woodcutter.

A fantastically bold idea that Double Fine exploit to its fullest, in one of the most original puzzle adventures of the year – and the most educational.

A genuine improvement on the original and so stuffed with content that you’ll need several new Final Fantasy games before another sequel is necessary.

It’s not short of spectacle but in terms of innovation and variety this is nowhere near as forward-thinking as Bungie would like to pretend.

Relatively generous in size and scope, but being Second Son in miniature only helps to highlight what a hollow spectacle the game is.

Almost a great sequel, but the improvements to the sims are overshadowed by the shopping list of peculiarly random missing features.

The name and anime aesthetic may seem off-putting, but combined with the original this is some of the most engaging interactive storytelling of the modern era.

An impressive mix of game styles, and some of the most rewarding speed runs in recent memory, but that only increases the speed at which levels start to blur into each other.

Still the funniest and best-looking entry in the series, even if it’s the least innovative. And despite a few graphical flaws the PS Version is the definitive edition.

One of the best remasters so far makes surviving the Russian apocalypse more horrifying than ever, although none of the changes address the games’ more fundamental issues.

The first Telltale finale where your choices carry true weight, but the inconsistent and contrived characterisation means it comes at considerable cost.

Another uninspired expansion that features some enjoyable new enemies and encounters but fails to excite in the same way as the parent game.

A disappointing and unnecessary sequel that squanders the potential of its story and is saved only by the series’ customarily excellent combat.

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

By ironing out the last few wrinkles from the original console versions, and adding in a few extra features, Diablo finally feels at home with a gamepad.

The presentation is excellent but by trying to use every trick in the PS Vita’s book the game does far more harm than good to the portable’s reputation.

One of the best action puzzlers for several years, made all the better by some surprisingly distinctive storytelling and visuals.

An inspired mix of roguelike and platformer that dares to be fair with its rewards and its penalties for death – although not necessary its random medical conditions.

There’s a kernel of an interesting idea here but it’s so grossly underdeveloped that not even the involvement of Neil Gaiman, and a respected developer, can save it.

Still a stunning achievement in both storytelling and third person adventure, and although this is the definitive version the differences are still minor.

One of the best remakes ever, but also a puzzle platformer that defies its age to offer an enjoyable challenge to gamers both young and old.

A competent but unsurprising slice of downloadable content that features a solid challenge and plenty of content, but too little in the way of new ideas.

Some great ideas and fantastic graphics, but as fun as it is to see so many genres mixed together Abyss Odyssey doesn’t do any of them any real justice.

A surprisingly satisfying end to a highly uneven season of adventures, which manages to show off both the best and worst of Telltale’s storytelling craft.

Civilization on a smartphone (or tablet) is still an enticing prospect but this so-called sequel shows very little improvement over the original and is now missing a major play mode.

A longer running time helps address one of the few flaws with the original game, and single-handedly makes up for the lack of official new Metroid and Castlevania games.

A bafflingly dull extension of a franchise that barely deserved one sequel, let alone three; with tedious mini-games and laughably bad use of the 3DS camera.

A nice idea in theory but the super shallow gameplay and micro-budget presentation make this portable strategy game only marginally better than its home console namesake.

One of the most impressive indie titles of the year and arguably the most cinematic and accessible 2D shooter of the modern era.

An always welcome celebration of one of the 16-bit era’s most innovative and cinematic arcade adventures, even if its gameplay irritations are even more obvious in today’s world.

A terrible backwards step for Transformers games, and a movie tie-in so cynical it tries to cut corners by ripping off its own predecessors.

A small improvement on the last game but until the issues with the artificial intelligence and other bugs are fixed Sniper Elite will always be off target.

A heavy-handed but impressively sincere attempt to tackle a subject most other games would never dare, with the end resulting being both affecting and entertaining.

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.

A surprisingly hesitant start to EA’s new sports series, in terms of both the amount of content and the disjointed action.

An amusing novelty on a good day but a tedious non-game for the rest of the week, Nintendo’s life simulator proves voyeurism is not all it’s cracked up to be.

The retail version will offer better value for money, but for existing fans this is a determined effort to drag Street Fighter IV even closer to perfection.

The premise of a ghostly investigator attempting to save himself and his town from demonic forces shouldn’t be this tedious. Unfortunately though making the fantastical seem mundane is one of the game’s few real achievements.

Inconsequential and frustratingly restrictive, this is by far the worst episode of the season – and you can only hope the finale will be good enough to make up for it.

A highly enjoyable GTA clone but one that doesn’t quite have the panache of Rockstar’s best or the inspiration to make the most of its otherwise enjoyable gameplay concepts.

It’s obviously been made on the cheap, but that’s no excuse for the legion of technical problems and the embarrassingly unsophisticated script of this obnoxious action game.

Not all of the game’s bold ideas are entirely successful but in terms of the visuals, music, and storytelling ambition this is one of the most absorbing indie adventures of the year.

The best Wolfenstein game ever made and one of the best single-player shooters for years, with a brave attempt to tackle serious issues and still have fun at the same time.

A fantastic new 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.

Considering the one complaint about Titanfall was the lack of content this new DLC makes no effort to fill the gaps in the original package, although at least two of the maps are very good.

An imaginative spin on retro 2D shooters, whose unconventional gameplay and visuals are a prime example of what makes indie gaming so exciting – despite some notable rough edges.

The best Mario Kart has ever been, with a near perfect blend of features and frequently astonishing visuals – despite some unnecessary repetition in track settings.

A so-so episode, which relies too much on cliché and Clementine’s increasingly rapid transformation into a child superhero. But there’s still some effective drama despite it all.

It looks like Metal Slug but it certainly doesn’t play like it, which would be fine if only the strategy gameplay had any real depth – or the microtransactions were less obnoxious.

A very British sense of humour and a compelling mix of Metal Gear and DayZ, but the randomised maps and dispiriting endgame does it no favours.

A Frankenstein’s monster of other people’s ideas, that if not for the sleazy script would be laughable in its desperation to include every fantasy cliché imaginable.

A superb mini-game compilation that’s as addictive and raucously entertaining as it is ugly, with Johann Sebastian Joust blurring the lines between video and parlour game.

It can be a little inconsistent in terms of both actions and puzzles but late entry or not this is one of the funniest and best-presented adventures of the year.

An unlikely mix of the bland, the predictable, and the surprisingly excellent – which only makes the mediocre end result all the more frustrating.

A carefully considered sequel that avoids upsetting existing fans and offers an olive branch to newcomers – but although the PC version is the best it’s by a slimmer margin than many would’ve hoped.

An excellent remake that makes the game vastly more accessible for newcomers, while still providing plenty of new features, and updated visuals, for existing fans.

Perhaps the closest there’ll ever be to a portable version of Dark Souls, but the unreliable controls make the punishing difficulty harder to bare.

The least hand-crafted horror game ever, whose legion of design missteps and tepid scares make the worst of an already clichéd set-up.

Suitably outrageous and undeniably fun, but even fans of the source material will be disappointed at a fighting game that values spectacle over substance.

A mostly successful experiment at turning one of the world’s biggest studios into an indie developer, with the end result being a charming love letter to the best of Japanese role-playing.

One of the best Kirby games so far, although it still suffers from all the series’ usual faults – including the nagging concern that the whole concept could be so much more.

A well-crafted and occasionally imaginative dungeon crawler that is let down only by its questionable presentation and sky high difficulty.

The best Nintendo sports title for several years and although it offers little in terms of innovation it’s certainly not short of content or addictive fun.

The anime films may be critically acclaimed but their video game counterpart is nowhere near as interesting – although there is a couple of hours of mindless fun to be had.

A surprisingly worthwhile slice of downloadable content, that is better paced and has a more interesting storyline than the main game.

The component games are better than the first time round but less well suited to the mini-game format, resulting in two unsatisfying halves of what could have been the perfect retro compilation.

A surprisingly successful mobile spin-off that uses the key elements of Hitman to good effect but remains perfectly playable to those new to the franchise.

Not an evolution like the last game, and certainly not a revolution – there’s a great deal of fun still to be had in Trials Fusion but unfortunately not much in the way of new ideas.

Business as usual with a mediocre single-player campaign and one of the best multiplayer experiences in all gaming – and at last one that works just as well on consoles as on PC.

Compromise should not have been a dirty word given the interface and control issues that seriously spoil what could have been a perfect portable Football Manager.

Less than the sum of its many and varied parts, Mercenary Kings never gets the mix of modern and retro influences right – apart from with the amazing visuals.

A promotional tie-in more than a fully-featured video game, but as long as you know what you’re getting into this at least conjurers an enjoyably colourful footballing atmosphere.

Not quite premiere league but Nintendo’s unexpected foray into football management dares to do things differently, and in some cases better, than its rivals.

One of the weakest Lego games of recent times, and not just because the formula is getting old but because The Hobbit isn’t a particularly good fit for it.

A hugely impressive use of last gen tech that is only slightly inferior to the Xbox One version, and as such one of the best online shooters of the last several years.

An improvement on the last episode and although some of the storytelling tricks are a bit of a cheat they’re all in the service of an increasingly intriguing plot.

The next gen space combat simulator now plays almost as good as it looks, even if there are still many more improvements needed.

Kinect is still a solution in search of a problem, and while this is an impressive tech demo it’s a largely uninteresting video game experience.

Minimalist gaming at its finest, with graphics and presentation out of the Stone Age but evocative sci-fi action that’s tense, tactical and instantly addictive.

An improvement on the first map pack and not just because of the Predator, but Call Of Duty in general could really do with a change of scenery.

Macabrely original murder ‘em-up that defies categorisation, and its numerous rough edges, to make being evil more fun than in almost any other game.

A vastly better game than Lords Of Shadow 2, that smooths the rough edges from the 3DS original and proves that Castlevania need not revert back to a niche retro franchise.

It won’t win over Diablo III haters but this is a competent expansion that will renew the addiction for fans and help to earn new ones.