Less a prequel and more a rerun, but this remains one of the most fully-featured and best presented Japanese role-players on the App Store.

An ambitious and morally complex role-player, but one still limited by a poor script and half-broken game mechanics.

A near perfect combination of rallying old and new, that gives precedence to neither and remains accessible to all.

A typical Fallout download that buries a few interesting new ideas and locations beneath a patchwork of overfamiliar, and increasingly outdated, content.

Technically inept in many ways but there's an earnest charm to the action that proves far more entertaining than higher budget rivals.

A great version of an okay fighting game might not seem the best of recommendations, but this a surprisingly worthwhile alternative to Street Fighter.

Highbrow parody or the best lightsabre game never made? Suda51's deconstructionist classic manages to be both.

The video game equivalent of a concept album, and a hugely successful mix of visual, music and gameplay influences.

A stunning technical achievement but also an evolutionarily leap in adult storytelling and intelligent action gameplay.

Simple but enjoyable co-operative fun, but despite its looks this 2D shooter lacks the pace and ingenuity to trouble the best in the genre.

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

Whether it's more or less value for money than usual is up for debate but in purely game terms this is the best MX Vs. ATV yet.

There are some innovative ideas here but poor balancing, restrictive matchmaking and too little content overwhelm the positives.

Not the greatest, or best value for money, version of the game but a surprisingly decent port that still has all the same undead charm.

The weakest Lego game so far suffers from both a lack of variety and a movie license that fails to build on previous successes.

Borrowing so obviously, from so many classic games, was always a risk but this stylish platformer pulls off its theft with some élan.

An almost blasphemous waste of the thunder god's potential, in this predictably cheap and cheerless movie tie-in.

A superb action puzzle hybrid that works much better on the Xbox 360 than it did on the DS, making it one of Treasure's best ever games.

Neither rip-off nor bargain, but Treyarch and Activision are clearly playing things safe - despite the excesses of Call Of The Dead.

For a brand new Nintendo franchise this is short not just on content, but also compelling gameplay and a sense of fun.

It might be a 'proper' game this time, but this lacklustre Spore spin-off hasn't got anything like the same sense of fun or ambition.

Top Spin 4 wins this year's tennis trophy but this more arcade style alternative is still a valid alternative with some great gimmicks.

It doesn't lack for ambition, but in terms of finesse, innovation and execution this remains a poor advert for HD style shooters on the Wii.

Still one of the series' most influential and enduring entries, but this latest repackaging offers very little that is new to celebrate it.

Not as perfectly formed as the original, but close enough - with some of the best story-telling and voiceover work in all gaming.

A remake more than a reinvention, but one that retains all the simple gameplay and outrageous gore that made the original games fun.

Offensive both in terms of language and diluted potential, although saved to a degree by its strong team-based action.

Despite the return of Zipper this repeats all the same mistakes of the last game and seems even more old-fashioned and generic as a result.

Superb mix of role-playing, puzzle and strategy action, with gorgeous new HD graphics and an addictive online mode.

A poor man's Panzer Dragoon is still a relatively rich meal for anyone, even if this has little real connection to the original.

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

A low tech portable monstrosity that manages to make the worst of both the DS's abilities and the Duke's legacy.

Micro Machines meets Geometry Wars, but so phenomenally less interesting than that sounds it's almost painful.

The once inspired mix of rhythm action and real-time strategy becomes further diluted by obscure rules and needlessly high difficulty.

Still virtually the same game as released on the PlayStation 2 in 2000, with only the most minor changes to the hatefully shallow gameplay.

The only Monster Hunter clone to try and break the mould, but it still suffers from all the old problems of repetition and poor controls.

Appallingly uninteresting platformer whose bland visuals are almost as dull as its uninspired level designs.

Absolutely not a next generation Strider, but it is an unusual and fun co-operative platformer if you have the friends to hand.

Few PSP games look as good, but this is still a hugely disappointing return for Parasite Eve and the ruination of a once intriguing heroine.

A good value compilation and three of the best Tomb Raiders ever - even if none of them quite deserve classification as a classic.

A surprisingly daring mix of interactive narrative, role-playing game and life simulator - and nothing like the lazy cash-in you'd expect.

It's a clever idea but being in charge of a swarm of moronic blue midgets proves a fairly fleeting and frustrating pleasure.

Shockingly exploitative downloadable content overshadows an excellent new career mode and effective use of The Masters tournament.

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.

Neither nerdish simulator nor abstract arcade game, Shift 2 proves that compromises don't have to be boring - as long as they have autolog.

Incomprehensibly poor crossover that completely ignores the history of three best-selling franchises in favour of a motion-controlled mini-game collection.

It's preaching only to the converted but if you can stomach both the story and learning curve this remains a rewarding and innovative fighter.

The best Lego game so far and one that defies both its simplicity and familiarity for an almost effortlessly entertaining co-op experience.

Probably the least surprising game on the 3DS, but even if you do like Dynasty Warriors games this is still one of the lesser spin-offs.

Arguably gaming's most authentic crime story, as well as an excellent roaming beat 'em-up and (thug) life simulator.

The 3DS did not need two Ridge Racer style arcade racers for its launch, least of all one as badly made as this tiresome wannabe.

It looks and controls like the originals, but this lacks anything of the challenge, design flair or variety of a really super Monkey Ball.

An ill-conceived port of a game that seems to make little sense on the 3DS, especially given the compromises in controls and graphics.

Not only one of the 3DS's best launch games but also one of the most accessible and entertaining turn-based strategies of recent years.

Possibly the most impressive use of 3D amongst all the launch games, and despite some obvious gripes a good solid football sim to boot.

As a quick and dirty port this is no disgrace but it doesn't make any meaningful use of the 3DS's functions or the concept's potential.

The technical achievements don't come without a cost, and the game world still lacks personality, but this is still a first person shooter of impressive talents.

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

It might not gain anything from being on the 3DS, but the mere fact that Capcom's fighter also loses nothing is a hugely impressive achievement.

The world's most realistic puppy and kitten owning simulator – with all that implies for potential owners.

The world's most realistic puppy and kitten owning simulator – with all that implies for potential owners.

The world's most realistic puppy and kitten owning simulator – with all that implies for potential owners.

A great technical showcase for the 3DS but also one of the least substantial launch games ever seen for a new console.

If not the best tennis sim ever then certainly the most realistic, and with a training tool that should be the envy of any other game.

Faithful almost to a fault to the classic original, but still a stunning achievement for the DS and a thoroughly engrossing adventure in its own right.

The improbable plot ends up being almost the only point of interest in this vapid and hopelessly unoriginal first person shooter.

A promising rhythm action game is reduced to a curiosity for dubstep fans only - and all thanks to an unnecessarily high difficultly level.

Easily the best of the series so far, but the actual driving is still nowhere near as much fun as the tracks and the stunning 3D visuals.

An extra hour of combat and so much less, with a download that manages to undermine much of the impressive storytelling of the main game.

A brilliant reinvention of the series that maintains the epic of scale of battles and yet increases the accessibility and focus.

The pace of innovation is only fractionally slower in the second expansion to Relic's superb action strategy, with plenty to entertain new fans and old.

In many ways more entertaining than the main game, this enjoyable romp through Albion shows Fable III at its best, but gives little clue as to its future.

It's no Angry Birds - because it's not trying to be. Instead, it's a cheerful and attractive twist on an always-popular gameplay mechanic that's already a deserved hit with casual gaming fans. It's more Placid Bird Suffused With A Sense Of Innocent Child-Like Wonder.

An expertly crafted clone that finally shows consoles owners what Diablo is all about. As long as you don't mind playing alone anyway.

The frustrating thing is we have a feeling Dragon Age II is going to be criticised most for its gameplay changes than its storytelling failings. You might not like the new direction but it works as BioWare intended. But the story you carve with your new combat skills doesn't always seem worthy of such risky innovation.

A monument to not only everything that is wrong with escort missions but with bad action game design in general.

An excellent update of the classic old beat 'em-up that maintains the iconic two-player mode and adds some welcome new enhancements.

An allegory of the video games industry featuring consoles as characters should've been comedy gold, but if this were a games machine it'd be the Atari Jaguar.

uDraw Studio comes off second best, not so much because it has less options but because, unlike Art Academy, it doesn't make as much of an effort to explain either itself or any of the art techniques that might be useful.

A slightly disappointing sequel that abandons much of the mellow charm of the original in favour of more action and a lot more aggravation.

An ambitious slice of interactive fiction but not really a very good video game, with unsatisfying and often perfunctory puzzles.

A great remake of an overlooked classic, and one of the few games that can survive close comparison with The Legend Of Zelda and retain a style all of its own.

A satisfying ending to one of WiiWare's few success stories and an inspired mix of retro and modern presentation and gameplay.

Still the best boxing sim around but the justification for this new sequel is pretty thin, despite a number of minor improvements.

The best portable real-time strategy game ever made - even if most of the credit belongs to Blizzard not Gameloft.

It's not a real overhaul for the series, but it is the best version so far - and so by extension one of the best portable video games ever made.

It's not a real overhaul for the series, but it is the best version so far - and so by extension one of the best portable video games ever made.

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

In summary we don't think we've ever seen so many good ideas in such a bad game. The spell and crafting system really is amongst the best the genre can offer, but everything else is amongst the very worst.

Watching paint dry really can be entertaining, in this relentlessly cheerful mix of platformer and interactive colouring book.

It's not going to change the world, but at least it manages to change first person shooters back into something more irreverent and fun.

The overwrought storytelling is not the sort of taste many will want to acquire, but that doesn't stop this being one of the best tactical role-players ever.

A few steps forward and a few steps back leave this technically accomplished shooter exactly where it was: still searching for a heart and identity of its own.

Street Fighter with bullets or a one-on-one 2D shooter, whichever way you look at it this hombrew download is an intriguing oddity.

Contra gets a gorgeous new coat of paint, and even an innovative new game mode, but it's still the same old 2D shooter underneath.

More interesting than most official Dynasty Warriors spin-offs, but still deeply repetitive and suffering from both a lack of originality and budget.

WayForward's best work yet and more than just a love letter to 2D art and gameplay, but a hint of how it can continue in the future.

It may not be the deepest of fighters but it is one of the most entertaining and imaginative, not to mention bug-eyed crazy.