The glory days of Mario Golf and Tennis seem very far away, in this lazy and patronisingly simplistic sports compendium.

Regardless of what it may or may not do to your brain age, this is a disappointingly low effort remaster with serious technical issues and a lack of interesting content.

One Piece fans will enjoy the novelty but only Dynasty Warriors groupies will be able to bear the typically mindless gameplay.

A tiresome and unforgiving survival game that purposefully makes things as difficult and repetitive as possible, while offering very little in the way of entertainment.

The imaginative puzzles occasionally come close to replicating the genius of Portal but the bad jokes and repetitive gameplay make this a poor substitute for the real thing.

It’s a genuinely revolting vision of the future, of a games industry that treats its players as enemies to be bullied and manipulated – not customers to be entertained and attended to. If SimCity really was a city we’d realise we weren’t welcome and move out immediately.

A bigger, more ambitious stealth sequel which revamps the original’s mechanics and personality but most of the changes are to the game’s detriment.

A complex, vampire-centric role-playing game where conversations replace violence, but whose boring puzzles and undercooked script suggest its budget didn’t stretch nearly as far as its ambitions.

The official World Rally Championship game is looking tired on just its second outing, with very few improvements to the first game and far too many flaws.

Fast-paced and accessible are not words commonly used to describe turn-based strategy games, but Sid Meier’s latest is a fun, breezy strategic time killer.

A near future third person sci-fi adventure whose believable characters, expressive animation, and glorious icy backdrops are undermined by a linear story with too little variety in its interactions.

Simplistic to a fault but still one of the most addictive, and fairly original, puzzlers of the year.

Vin Diesel proves not to have the magic touch after all, with this technically inept Driver wannabe.

Tackling such a difficult subject matter is laudable, but as a video game documentary this only really succeeds in terms of its good intentions.

A joyless and confused mix of BioShock, Fallout, and Rust that wastes its intriguing setting on repetitive action and tedious survival mechanics.

The most peculiar HD remaster so far, that offers no obvious reason for its existence or why the original was though worthy of resurrection.

An unexpectedly daring attempt to reinvent the series but one mired in technical and design flaws.

A good start to free-to-play games on the PlayStation 4, with a fun co-op shooter that doesn’t feel like it’s solely out to gouge its player’s wallets.

A flawed attempt to adapt the show, that struggles when it comes to storytelling but has the makings of a great heist game.

A flawed mix of shooter and Tower Defense, but a far great failure as an anniversary celebration – since it seems certain to decrease the chances of there ever being another.

An amusing enough side story but the novelty of pitting serious criminals against Resident Evil monsters don't last nearly as long as the running time.

A great advert for Oculus Rift and VR in general, and yet even with the novelty of zero-G it proves a disappointingly bland gameplay experience. [Oculus Tested]

Bland, boring, and badly made – returning to the bad old days of low rent mascot platformers is not a good way to demonstrate the power of the Xbox One X.

A litany of missed opportunities results in one of the most aggravating action role-players of recent years, with irritating characters, dull combat, and a frustrating movement system.

It commits no cardinal sins but this belated return to the world of Darksiders comes across as shallow, frustrating, and disappointingly dull.

A brief and slightly dull detective mystery set in the colourful and conversation-heavy universe of The Outer Worlds, that lacks its parent’s variety, character, and joie de vivre.

The graphics are great and the course design often inspired but in terms of depth and longevity all this nails is its own finger.

Shallow, sexist, and largely nonsensical. The action is amongst Suda51’s best but it’s not leveraged in any way that justifies the failings of the rest of the game.

Gorgeous 2D art still can't forgive the needless repetition, but while the novelty lasts this is a great little brain dead brawler.

A flawed but enjoyable co-op spin-off that’s unfocused and scrappy but still manages to find lots of entertainingly imaginative ways to kill Nazis.

A surprisingly clever use of the licence, that maintains the charming whimsy of the books and marries it to one of the best 2D platformers of the year.

Horribly disappointing spin-off that replicates the formula but not the soul of the low budget rentakill shooter.

As good a remaster as Dead Island fans could hope for, since nothing but a complete remake could solve the game’s deep-rooted gameplay and structural issues.

There are no bugs and the art department has clearly been working overtime creating a huge library of colourful creatures to unlock and upgrade, but this is not so much a game as digital pan-handling, whose sole aim is separating you from your cash. As the movie WarGames taught us, the only winning move is not to play.

It has extremely high production values, but the lack of skill needed and the emphasis on waiting for absolutely everything limit its appeal.

Wastelanders transforms Fallout 76 from a technical and conceptual disaster to a merely flawed online experience, which has a far better online community than it deserves.

A brave mix of RPG, action game and spy thriller, brought down by too many design and technical faults.

Visually interesting and competently made for the most part, but the novelty of a 2D Assassin’s Creed is already beginning to wear off.

It might not be the Elite sequel of your dreams but this space trader is in a field of its own on 360.

An interesting test of your VR mettle, but also a reminder that once the novelty wears off VR titles need compelling gameplay as much as any other game.

Almost exactly the same features as Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires, and although it’s still more entertaining than the main game the lack of effort put in is downright insulting.

The limitations of the PSP and a wrong-headed emphasis on combat ruin an otherwise promising spin-off.

Ludicrously expensive given both the format and the age of the game, but a loving adaptation of one of the best ever 2D shooters.

An unasked for remaster of a tedious, badly written survival horror that is even less effective now than it was seven years ago.

Experienced players will find it patronising, but it’s a non-intimidating start for beginners.

It looks and sounds the part, and it's definitely a better game than The Power Of 2, but this disappointing 2D platformer isn't half the game Castle Of Illusion was.

A frustrating ending to what has become an increasingly disappointing download series, even though the premise remains one of the most imaginative for years.

A flawed remake of one of the Sega Saturn’s most recognisable classics, that fumbles the controls and visual upgrade and yet remains a relatively enjoyable homage.

It might all seem amusingly camp watching it on YouTube but playing this outdated and clumsy action game is nowhere near as entertaining as it looks.

Rock Band's first band specific release is the epitome of dirty deeds done (but not sold) cheap.

Not an encouraging start for the first Harvest Moon on the 3DS, with a game that struggles to justify not only its own existence but that of the franchise as a whole.

It looks great but LucasArts' arthouse styled platform puzzler simply isn't much fun to play.

What could have been a competent third person take on Metroid Prime is brought low by needless technical and design mistakes.

There's lots of space for a more serious, realistic rally game but this doesn't fit the bill – with a distinct lack of excitement and innovation.

The fake game hero stars in another fake parody, which hits neither its comedy or gameplay targets.

A seemingly random collection of Konami arcade games that’s so incoherent and bare bones it won’t please retro fans or newcomers.

A perfunctory kart racing spin-off that has a few unique charms but falls well short of its far superior competition.

SOCOM suddenly feels very old, with a shabby, low content sequel that can't compete with modern shooters.

There are a few points of interest here but the greatest accomplishment of this lacklustre role-player is making Dragon Quest IX seem even better by comparison.

Despite a few interesting ideas this never manages to relive the glory days of top-down racing.

Not the full fat sequel that fans will have been waiting for but an enjoyable, if extremely shallow, four-player Diablo clone.

It's not the visual jaw-dropper that was promised but a virtual safari is better than none.

A fun, attractive 2D platformer of the sort that can nowadays only exist on services like Xbox Live Arcade. Although it's not quite as distinctive as the art style suggests.

The original SNES classic deserves better than this overpriced and undercooked remake, which fails to recreate the original’s ‘90s charm.

Lords Of Shadow 2 waddles on for 20-odd hours and would’ve been twice the game if it was half the length, with the all the unwanted padding and repetition taken out. It’s such a shame because the first game, and MercurySteam, showed such promise. But this is a huge backwards step and we fear the undead charms of Castlevania may finally have been killed off once and for all.

It’s depressing that the one modern game that shows the most effort is also the least satisfying to play, but if Sonic is ever to work in three-dimensions Lost World gives no clue as to how it might work.

Despite graphical sparkle, the lack of depth and vapid gacha mechanics rob the game of both charm and longevity, leaving the long slog only to those obsessed with completing their trainer roster despite the crushing tedium.

Beneath the technical wonder this is just a dull, aimless Gears Of War clone – where the attempts at storytelling are just as boring and lifeless as the action.

A spirited attempt to revive the former glories of gaming’s original survival horror but a lack of scares and sub-par action can’t defeat the ghosts of the past.

It’s very much showing its age, but this remaster does just enough to prove that Racer would’ve been a good game with or without the Star Wars licence.

It still looks and sounds amazing but this sabotages and dumbs down almost everything the original game got right.

Portraying existential quandaries as gameplay puzzles is a daring idea, but ultimately this is a more enjoyable game to watch and listen to than it is to play.

Strangely self-defeating downloadable expansion that strips out everything that made the original fun.

An odd, but admirably experimental AAA game, which offers plenty of epic scale action at launch but whose true worth will probably only be revealed in the months to come.

A staggeringly ambitious, gun-free immersive reality detective game set in an alternate 1980s Britain, whose admirable intentions are undermined by technical problems.

The creature editor is still fun, but this is no more a video game than the first version and considerably less value for money.

Another poorly constructed portable spin-off that brings us no closer to a real Battlefront III.

A predictably inessential expansion that adds nothing anybody ever asked for and completely fails to address the points fans have been complaining about for months.

The faults are a shame because the basic gameplay works perfectly well and if the technical issues can be ironed out, and the musical horizons broadened, a follow-up could be the real evolution needed.

In gameplay terms it has little to do with the original Bloodlines, and it’s not really a role-playing game either, but this is an enjoyable and atmospheric action adventure that stands on its merits.

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 chirpy spin on the skateboarding sim genre, undermined by poor level design and frustrating gameplay.

Staggeringly beautiful at times, with some wonderfully imaginative art design, but this sci-fi oddity is a lot more entertaining to watch than it is to play.

A stale series stuck in its own Groundhog Day almost redeems itself with The Yard and will entertain casual football fans, but mediocrity seeps into almost every mode in another backwards step for the franchise.

A spirited attempt to adapt Lovecraft’s mythos, but while it overcomes the low budget when it comes to atmosphere the overly simplistic gameplay drags it down.

An improvement over the Wii version, but this still seems like the bare minimum that could be done with a Michael Jackson music game.

The laidback atmosphere and gentle flower tending hide a game that is far too predictable and frustrating to offer any lasting entertainment.

Another amusing look behind the veil of role-playing conventions, although it’s a shame the experience feels so slight and insubstantial.

The low budget is obvious throughout but the game is clearly trying its best, with a great gameplay experience and an impressive array of options and licences.

ModNation Racers was never top draw but this drags a previously competent franchise into the bowls of low budget cash-in hell.

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.

A polished and charmingly drawn action role-player, whose straightforward battles, simple puzzles, and elementary but prolific dialogue will appeal to children more than it will seasoned players.

With a script that’s got its moments, and some good, solid sarcasm from your protagonist, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son tells an engaging story of cynicism lost and superficiality seen through. Some of its mini-games are best forgotten, and the problem of repeating dialogue is never completely sorted out, but as sequel to a film that seemingly defied follow-ups, this is a brave and at times entertaining result.

The least scary, least imaginative Resident Evil returns in a very slightly inferior Wii edition.

A dull and frustrating co-op puzzle game, that has little chance of entertaining a younger audience and is too simplistic and repetitive for adult gamers.

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.

An obnoxious and repetitive open world game that does its best to hide the fact that it’s a surprisingly decent third person shooter.

Bomberman itself is still a classic, and works very well on the Switch, but the insanely high price makes this impossible to recommend.