Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward is nothing short of a masterpiece. Riveting from beginning to end, it sets a new standard for interactive storytelling, and demands an emotional investment from the player that ultimately pays off with one of the most satisfying endings in recent video gaming memory. Unless you have yet to experience its prequel 999, there is simply no excuse for you not to play this game.

With all due respect to the developer, it's not easy to see two and a half years' worth of effort in Spirit Hunters Inc. While it has good intentions and clearly wants players to engage with each other and share their experiences, it feels unfinished and is far too repetitive for its own good. We like what the game tried to achieve but it didn't quite get there, and that's a big disappointment. This is one occasion on which we will advise you to give up the ghost.

With all due respect to the developer, it's not easy to see two and a half years' worth of effort in Spirit Hunters Inc. While it has good intentions and clearly wants players to engage with each other and share their experiences, it feels unfinished and is far too repetitive for its own good. We like what the game tried to achieve but it didn't quite get there, and that's a big disappointment. This is one occasion on which we will advise you to give up the ghost.

Working Dawgs: A-maze-ing Pipes is one of those games that - silly name aside - really does nothing wrong. The problem is that it also fails to do anything impressive enough to make it stand out among other games of its kind. This is by no means a bad game, and it's a good option if you're looking to kill some time with relaxing puzzles that won't put too much of a strain on your mind or wallet, but its relative mediocrity is what stands out the most.

As a game that aims to let players experience the wonder of flight, Chasing Aurora succeeds brilliantly. Arcing through the air feels sublime thanks to the smooth controls and satisfying physics, and the atmosphere crafted by the sound and art style is positively dreamlike. Wonder aside, Aurora is perhaps not for everyone; while the multiplayer modes have universal appeal, the single-player experience is best enjoyed by players with an affinity for simplicity who will enjoy, rather than tolerate, replaying stages. But anyone with access to a few feathered friends for multiplayer and/or the score-chasing sensibilities needed to get the most out of the game's solo flights will have a wonderful time in the world of Chasing Aurora. A joyous game.

Skylanders Giants is, at its core, a child-friendly dungeon crawler with simplistic smash-everything gameplay, but what elevates it is its understanding of its market. There's plenty of variety to keep kids entertained and loads of things to collect, all wrapped in an appealing package – and the toy aspect is still a stroke of genius, an undeniably cool idea that speaks directly to kids and big kids alike. If you or a younger member of your family is a fan of the series, this could be another expensive Christmas.

Jump Trials is a simple game. It distills platforming down to its essential mechanics, and prioritizes rapid-fire tests of thumb dexterity over all else. It lacks polish, and its 10-second fits of running and jumping suffer from a palpable lack of charm - aesthetes absolutely need not apply. That said, those core mechanics are solid, and players who know what they're getting into will find some seriously challenging fun packed into these quick bursts of precision platforming.

Casual dabblers would be better served by the lower price point and downloadable convenience of Puzzler World XL on DSiWare, but Puzzler World 2012 3D is still a great little package in its own right, and well worth picking up for paper-and-pencil puzzle fans.

Mallo's second outing is another massive success; Fallblox constantly surprises, impresses and challenges in equal measures. Even in its difficult moments – and there are plenty – it encourages players to have fun and never significantly punishes errors. Fallblox boasts level design and creativity that many games can only dream of; developer Intelligent Systems' name has never seemed more appropriate.

Adults, or any gamers over the age of 10, will needless to say find very little here to keep them interested.

As it stands, there's definitely still enjoyment to be found here, though it's only in the latter half of that combination: the simple fun of the flying sequences could be enough to carry the game for some players, but the severely limited dress-up side of the experience will leave fashion-conscious enchantresses disappointed.

There's simply not enough content in The Trash Pack to justify its price, but we will say that the mini-games - forgettable as they are - control well and serve their modest purposes. It's a release that suffers not because it does anything particularly wrong, but because there's almost no reason to recommend it. Die-hard fans of the toy line may enjoy adding this to their collections, but we doubt anybody else will be impressed.

This one belongs in the litterbox.

Ultimately it tries to mould action defence play with RPG levelling but optimises neither, leaving a passable but uninspiring end result.

Johnny Hotshot is more than just a bad game; it's a bad game that demands perfection, so that even those adventurous players who are willing to give this a shot are unlikely to see most of it. With a terrible control scheme, absurdly plentiful loading screens and an interface that seemingly keeps trying to shrug you off and discourage you from playing it, this is definitely a download you'll want to let ride into the sunset without you.

Pokédex 3D Pro pulls tons of data and some fun asides together in a stylishly presented, smooth application, and the brand-new 3D Pokémon models are just delightful. However, the price point is far beyond what we'd expect to pay for such a package - especially when so much of the information is freely available online - and so, despite its quality, comes difficult to recommend to all but the most enthusiastic of Pokémon masters.

Monster Shooter presents a couple of decent ideas, a campaign of good length and generally plays well - overcompensating aim-assist aside - but it's really let down by a lack of variety. With a few exceptions, were it not for a couple of different enemy and environment types you could be easily fooled into thinking that you were playing the same level over and over again. It's solid enough to be worth a look, but its repetitious nature means it's a game to play in chunks rather than in one monstrous session.

Often funny, thoroughly charming and a joy to play, but it is also just as often a touch too familiar, seemingly unwilling to really go out on a limb and do something crazy even if the potential to do so is immense.

Every bit as disappointing as the first game, Cake Ninja 2 opts to pile on additional modes in favour of correcting any deeper problems with its gameplay and approach. The result is simply a larger mess, and pretty conclusive evidence that bigger is not always better.

Don't let the lawn gnome theme or silly title scare you away - 2 Fast 4 Gnomz is a great little eShop effort. It's fast, fun, and challenging, with a charming art style and a sense of humour running through the entire experience. It won't win any points for originality, but what's here is done well, and fans of tough endless runners will have a great time with these little guys.

Spot It! Mean Machines falls into the "hidden object" genre of puzzles games, a category that isn't especially lacking on the DSiWare shop. It isn't an overly-ambitious title, and it's not the prettiest looking game out there, but it still manages to be an entertaining way to spend some time. At the low price-point of just 200 points, any fans of hidden object games would be remiss to let this one go unspotted.

Like the magazine compendiums of puzzles it's based on, Puzzler World XL makes a perfect companion for long train trips, a daily commute, or rainy afternoons. The fact that it's a 500 point DSiWare release makes this doubly true; it's both affordable and lives on your system at all times. It doesn't try to innovate, and the presentation is lacking in some areas, but that's fine - Puzzler World XL is a solid package of puzzle classics, and incredible value for players who enjoy even half of the included puzzle types.

Style Savvy: Trendsetters is a beautiful game which offers an incredible variety of content, boasts addictive gameplay, and makes excellent use of the 3DS' features. Like its up-and-coming fashionista protagonist, Style Savvy is confident, fun and charming. If fashion games are your style, you'll be absolutely thrilled with everything on offer here, and even if it's not the sort of game you'd normally consider picking up, it's well worth a second look.

There's so much potential packed into the idea of a fishing game for the Wii, But Reel Fishing Ocean Challenge doesn't take advantage of any of this. Faulty motion controls, uninspired gameplay, and unattractive visuals do nothing but hinder this game, and the fact that you have to pay more for "extra" content just to unlock levels that are already visible in the full game is offensive. If you're looking for a satisfying fishing experience on the Wii, you'd be better off sticking with the original Reel Fishing Challenge instead.

Nintendo fans have been waiting a long time for NightSky, and they won't be disappointed. The finished product is gorgeous, flawlessly designed and bracingly atmospheric, with perfect controls, clever puzzles, and an endlessly evolving play style that will never see you solving the same puzzle the same way twice. Hidden stars, a locked world and an advanced difficulty lend the experience significant replayability, but even if it offered only a single playthrough, it's not an experience that could soon be forgotten. At last, the 3DS eShop has its masterpiece.

Inazuma Eleven Strikers has some undeniable strengths, specifically when two or more players gather with the express intention of enjoying some mindless fun. Kids and big kids alike will get a kick from the cheerful visuals and bombastic special moves, making it a game of football as imagined by hyperactive five-year-olds. The charm struggles to last, however, with older gamers likely to become more irritated than excited as the hours drift by. Younger gamers may have more patience and enjoy it for longer; it really depends how much you like tornado shots and giant god-like goalkeeping hands, over and over again.

This is the rare kind of game that seamlessly blends classic brawler gameplay with RPG elements while still managing to remain simple and fun, and is one of the most appealing games we've seen on the 3DS so far.

Nurikabe is one of the more intensely challenging Nikoli eShop releases and as such offers a mental workout that some may find very rewarding, others cruel. A stubbornly absent hint feature would help ease accessibility, but as it stands Nurikabe can really only be recommended as a new challenge for advanced puzzlers.