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.