Square Enix finally gets the Crystal Chronicles formula right with this great multiplayer action RPG.

It perfectly fulfils its brief of being a new Banjo-Kazooie game in all but name, but Yooka-Laylee’s reliance on nostalgia may struggle to find new fans.

A great alternative to Candy Crush and its clones, that’s just a few tweaks – and a visual makeover – away from being a classic puzzler.

WiiWare's most consistent series of downloads returns with a unique take on the 2D shooter and the most literal on-the-rails action ever.

Half the price it originally was, but now twice as good – this third person take on Metroid Prime has been remastered into the game it always should have been.

An infinitely better game than you'd expect, but one that falls just short of true greatness.

A walking simulator that’s also a love letter to The Thing, transplanting its blend of naturalistic realism and abject horror into an immaculately recreated 1970s North Sea oil rig.

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

A fun, if slightly limited, retro reboot, that works very well as an arcade shooter even without the novelty of VR.

Putting all the best content behind a pay wall seems a very unwise decision but the breezy insanity of Trackmania still shines through and the potential of the track designer is immense.

It has its flaws but this is still one of the most interesting and original multiplayer games of the year.

A genuine improvement on the first game, although not without some obvious flaws - and the growing sensation that it's all shlock and no substance.

It spends too much time recreating the genius of Metroid rather than adding to it, but this is still one of the best examples of the genre in recent years.

There's a lot to admire in this role-playing classic, but still just as much to infuriate and bore.

It’s a battery annihilator, especially with the graphics settings turned up, and it needs some balance tweaks – casual mode offers no challenge, while hard and expert are possibly a little too slow burn – but this is the nearest we’ve ever been to a proper touchscreen city builder.

An utterly bizarre mix of influences that tries to squeeze in far more elements than would ever be deemed sensible, but somehow manages to work despite it all.

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

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.

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

Clever, unique, and often pretty puzzling, Sixit is another title with no enforced microtransactions, although you can choose to support its developer to the tune of £1.99.

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

An innovative and cleverly nuanced mix of race game and puzzler - albeit a rather pretentious one.

Gorgeous pixel art graphics and one of the best turn-based combat systems of recent years can’t quite make up for an obnoxious script and frustrating role-playing elements.

At times it feels like a reanimated corpse itself, but as mindless and predictable as it may be Dead Rising 4 is as much fun as the series has 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.

An odd mixture of the classic and the inessential, but there's no arguing over the quality of at least three of the maps in this relatively content rich download.

An unexpectedly daring mix of Jet Set Radio and de Blob, that may lack in realism or plausibility but certainly not in imagination and fun.

As hardcore as first person shooters get but fascinatingly distinctive as a result - if you have the resolve to endure its rougher edges.