The characters and plot are great. The dialogue, not so much.

While it's true that the market is currently experiencing a bit of a glut in the Zombie genre, in our view the modern take of most of these games is not a patch on the old B-Movie style. So, Melon Farmers, if you want a game filled with blood and tatties, get your artichoke down to the store and grab this one.

What instead stays with the player is the fantastic setting, awesome quests, cool customisation that develops as the player progresses, and unusual gameplay.

Thankfully the game is a lot of fun!

Same lovable formula, but not much else.

A bit squidgy, but still fun.

While Zone of the Enders sometimes feels like a retro grind, The 2nd Runner is stylish and engrossing.

It's the perfect start to what I can only hope is a series, with all of the fundamental components executed very well indeed. With a few additions (most importantly, some way to share your work) this could even become a tool for teachers to leverage or the basis of a new online community.

A pretty solid product, but it would have made a better impression had it been a little less punishing.

Mafia 2 is a fun game, with a stellar environment.

So, Cry Wolf has its moments. But for the most part, it’s a slog, an underwhelming and forgettable end to a series that showed so, so, so much promise.

With highly polished graphics and music which is unlikely but suits the game to a tea, The Maw certainly is a lot more polished than your average Live title. The levels themselves are a little plain, but some of the animations and scenarios you come across keep you wondering what’s around the next corner.

Phenomic Studios and Electronic Arts have done a fantastic job in presenting a game that is both original and fun to play.

While it lacks in a few areas, Smackdown vs Raw 2011 has raised the bar with the unpredictable WWE Universe mode, Road to WrestleMania and Match Creation system. This is like a sandbox wrestling title; the WWE is your playground, do with it what you will.

The Evil Within becomes less of a game and more of a haunted house ride, where you just roll with the changes and wait for the scares.

The Elder Scrolls Online is set around 1000 years before Skyrim, and Morrowind is also stuck in the past. In terms of setting and story, this is a good and comfortable thing. In other ways it makes the game feel unoriginal. Especially when summoning a bear, and playing a capture-the-flag multiplayer match are among the main selling points. But, if you want to build a spell casting tank and dominate multiplayer matches, or wander around Tamriel crafting armour and mixing potions, The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind offers many hours of both.

It’s definitely better than the sum of its parts, yet it’s hard to state exactly why it’s fun and refreshing to play. Consequently, it makes it rather hard to review it and to recommend it, as it’s definitely going to be a love-hate affair for many.

Graphically the game is great, aside from the multiplayer, and the storyline is one of the most gripping and enthralling we've seen. If you were thinking of buying it for the single-player alone, you could easily give it a rent, but the multiplayer makes it worth the buy.

Could be one of the most under-rated games of the year.

Between the outrageous story and visuals that ooze 8-bit charm, this is a great game to scratch that retro itch - if a little steep price wise. If you like indie pixel-art games, you’ll probably enjoy this.

The game isn’t designed to be a videogame masterpiece, but it succeeds in doing what it attempted to – entertain.

The game is also limited by what is missing. There is no Wimbledon, no Williams sisters and no Ana Ivanovic, and although Roddick and Murray might draw some interest from the US and UK, they don’t have the same effect at this end of the world. And there is also the fact that it’s a sport sim.

DiRT Showdown does a great job of bringing an action packed racing experience to the living room - but it won't appeal to gamers looking for that rallying sim. Additionally it isn't focused on a racing career, such as the previous titles have been. But if that still sounds appealing, you won't be disappointed....give it a try.

An incredibly fun (albeit seriously depraved) experience. If you're a fan of side-scrolling games and aren't easily offended, grab the demo at least - just be sure and play it long after the kids have gone to bed.

In Sheep's Clothing was something of a letdown, especially compared to the calibre of the previous episode. It's an exposition-heavy hour and a half that does little to move the plot or develop the characters, and would have better as a concise, 15 minute introduction at the start of the final part.

If you're a big fan, of course, you can stop reading now and go buy this thing.

Chains of Satinav isn't the cheapest game on the market, but with a good twelve or so hours of beautiful scenery and some great story and gameplay, I'd still recommend this one to adventure game fans.

If you enjoyed Dead Nation and are the kind of player who wants that high score challenge, then Road of Devastation could be the perfect expansion to scratch that twin-shooter itch for you.

Ironically, one of the most meaningful games you’ll play.

The stunning production values in the cut-scenes are worth the price of admission and it is all wrapped up with a comprehensive multiplayer component too. Just be prepared for some brutally tough single-player gameplay.

Symphony is a good game, however the longevity of the title will really come down to the depth of your playlist.

It's the tracks themselves that are the star.

This is a well thought out game with a huge amount of complexity. Unfortunately the steep learning curve means the ladder to the top looks almost impossible to climb when you first begin.

A series of short episodes make for one good game.

Overall, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is the definitive version of a last gen game. Visually, it still looks great; however, it's still based on a last gen game. A new DoA running on current gen consoles with higher resolution textures can't come too soon, but for now, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is satisfactory.

Evolve is a great, but sadly unreliable, experience.

There is little doubt that many fans have been calling for this kind of Sonic the Hedgehog game for a long time. If you are one of them, it'll leave you happily wallowing in nostalgic bliss. Or, if you're like me, the frustrations and the annoying bloody music may just be enough to convince you to give up on the whole retro gaming thing for good.

Despite the sad excuse for a sandbox mode, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja is the best Naruto game on PlayStation 2; this installment refines the series further with flashier visuals and mini-games.

800 points seems pretty steep for such a tiny amount of content but then again, what is there is a heck of a lot of fun to play. You'll need to make your own mind up as to what value that represents.

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is an enjoyable action-puzzler. It effortlessly presents combat and puzzle encounters to the player, without inundating or starving them of one or the other. Just make sure you bring some friends along for the ride.

Maybe the most enjoyable typing game ever, but it’s clichéd story elements hold it back.

Droplitz doesn't have any multiplayer modes, which is a slight shame. Luckily, then, the single player is fantastic.

Arkham VR is an amazing, adrenaline filled first person experience for anyone who’s wanted to be the Caped Crusader. It would be a discredit to pass this off as a tech demo, but it’s not exactly a game as such either. It’s an experience. And despite it being a short-lived one, it’s certainly one you won’t forget in a hurry.

As a zombie twin-stick shooter it gets the job done, but its qualities are lessened by lost potential. Nothing jumps out at you, and everything seems to have been done better in other games.

It may sound like a bit of a mish-mash, but in many ways Late Night feels more 'together' than Ambitions (though not as all-encompassingly new as World Adventures), with the expansion gently prodding us back to more open-ended gameplay.

The graphics are really lovely, the greens are green, the blues are blue, and my elephantitis-afflicted hero is a sort of mottled grey. Career mode is a pretty good simulation of what actual golfers must go through, and is one of the best career modes in a sports game I’ve played in a long time.

Technically the title is extremely impressive too, so if you're looking for a title to sell PSPs to your friends, this might do it.

Slightly watered down version from PC, but still a good game to enjoy both with friends or alone.

While it hasn’t lit my world on fire, Reflex is solid fun.

For someone under time constraints and with little patience for having to repeat a long, slow, tough, scenario multiple times, I have to confess that although I wanted to like it, Blackguards 2 hasn't been one of my top gaming experiences.

If you enjoyed the Monkey Island series you will probably feel right at home dumpster diving on Deponia.

The Escapists is a wonderfully deep and complex puzzle game that reels you in further and further as you make progress from one prison to the next.

Arkham Origins has a lot to live up to. I think it gets close but sadly not close enough. You still feel like Batman, but it’s missing... something. Perhaps Batman isn’t just a man with a bunch of extraordinary gadgets, maybe he needs that creepy weirdness as well.

As a driving game, it actually handles pretty nicely.

Def Jam does include a token Career mode but it offers very little difference in the gameplay.

The multiplayer likewise suffers a bit from a lack of variety.

It's not hugely long, offering only a couple of hours or so worth of unique content, but that's really not the point.

I've been playing Supernatural for the better part of a week now, and it's still surprising and delighting me with its cheery take on magic, horror and gothic. It's an expansion in the very best sense, and now up at the top of my list of Sims 3 must-haves.

A worthy successor to the main Borderlands series, if a bit rough around the edges. Enemies and boss fights are bland, but this is more than made up for by excellent level design, hilarious dialogue, loveable characters, and an expertly realised, brilliantly Australian world.

Although not long by Dark Souls’ standards, The Surge’s sci-fi setting is a refreshing change from its contemporaries, and the developers have made their mark on the genre. The combat system is unique, and very rewarding. It might fly below most people's radar due to the slew of quality games in 2017, but don't overlook The Surge. It will surprise a lot of people.

It melts my brain to think how much money people could throw at this game. So this is a caution to anyone who obsessively collects things. Disney Infinity is a good game, and one that caresses your cranium in a creative and imaginative way. But you will need to throw money at it. Lots of money.

For those who’ve already played Capsized on PC, the console version comes with four extra levels, but I don’t know if that’s enough to justify buying the whole game again unless you really liked it and are desperate for more content. If you haven’t played it yet, and are on the hunt for a cheap and charming, if at times frustrating, indie platformer, then a journey with Capsized’s crew is a good way to go.

A game so twitchy, it may just ruin your controller.

Gatling Gears is most definitely an entertaining arcade title. It's polished, action-packed and fun. But it is a limited experience, one unfortunately let down by a lack of narrative and variety.

Still – there is a lot to be said for the ability to sling on a proton pack and stand shoulder to shoulder with the four members of the Ghostbusters, to catch a ghost in your beam and drag it down towards a trap.

It was a good adventure while it lasted but once I was out of Arkham City, I had no desire to go back there and this DLC does not change that.

The dungeon crawl aspect of it can be a little repetitive at times, but for the most part it’s a fun, engaging game with plenty of humour, action, and randomly inserted titty jokes.

Zen Pinball and their latest Star Wars offering is a fascinating blend of old-school gaming with the level of interactivity that can be obtained on a console. Despite the repetitive nature of only needing to hit two buttons, there is definitely room to hone your skills and maximise your high scores as you understand the table layout and improve your reflexes. If you remember the good old days of tilting and yelling at an old pinball table in an arcade parlour, Zen are definitely keeping the spirit alive here.

In the end, though, Kinectimals gets more things right than wrong.

Maybe Omega Force should make RPGs their main focus.

As it currently plays, Resident Evil Revelations on the PS3 plays like an upscaled HD version of a 3DS title. Which it is. For some games, that might be a great thing; for this survival horror experience, it most certainly is not.

Definitely worth the time to play it, but probably only once.

As good as this game is, it just feels slightly numb on the small screen.

Bad storytelling and mission design that brings mechanical flaws to the forefront, however, and dampens whatever momentum the experience has. If the best time you can have with Dying Light is through avoiding the main content, maybe that says a lot about how you shouldn’t be structuring an open world game.

Sheer awesomeness - for Queen fans, at least.

The Warriors series has a special place in my heart, and is easily something you could judge by face value for being too much of the same thing, or just another musou. It’s not completely different from its predecessors, but there are definitely no two alike, especially with the emotional story locked up in each. Go get the game and give yourself a weekend with it, especially if you’re now the one wheezing.

If you’re stuck playing PayDay 2 in singleplayer, or if connection problems and waiting for players to join drives you crazy, you’ll want to do the same.

It's not an MMO as we currently define them; rather, we like to think of this as the next step in the Adventure game genre. It is pay per play, with in game shopping, but - to be frank - it's worth every penny.

The presentation of the game is probably its strongest point – it simply looks really good.

There is little doubt that The 40th Day packs in a barrel load of action and is an ideal way to bond with a male friend over a couple of beers and some beef jerky.

Socom is a solid package; it looks good, has loads of options with a detailed single player and extensive multiplayer. It moves at a good speed, never gets boring, has boatloads of content and the core gameplay is not just well executed it's also a hell of a lot of fun to play as well.

Poor online play doesn't stop you from getting a few mates around for an old fashioned side-by-side slugfest, and this is where Accent Core (and the franchise in general) delivers in spades.

I wanted more. I expected more.

If you're looking for something with an edge that's able to say "look at me, I'm different" and pull it off, look no further. Zeno clash is a winner and comes with a shiny NZGamer.com recommendation.

Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom is a valiant attempt to capture the feel of AoT that is unfortunately encumbered by some underwhelming elements.

Ion Assault is a well presented package that is a blast for short plays. It doesn't have as much meat as some other XBLA games, but I do see myself firing it up every now and again to kill some precious minutes (and asteroids).

The first Batman relationship simulator.

If you take away all the things that Fire Emblem Warriors does wrong, you end up with a hack and slash game where you wipe out hundreds of bad guys every few minutes. There are impressive special moves, and seeing your favourite Fire Emblem characters come to life on the battlefield is impressive. The thing is, it’s just not doing anything you haven’t seen before. Fire Emblem Warriors could’ve kept the current look and feel, and trusted itself to tell a whole new story while introducing a slew of lovable new characters. Instead it ends up relying on retelling stories from previous titles, with none of the love and care they were originally given.

Still, for $10 US on Steam, Fortix 2 is a good 'un, definitely worth adding to the collection.

This is still football at it's finest for Xbox 360 or PS3 owners. It's difficult to justify it for owners of FIFA '14, but these titles always do well with a non-footballing audience. It’s ideal for gamers who enjoy the sport and want to get immersed in World Cup fever when June rolls around.

Tokyo Jungle is something unique that has a lot of potential but manages to fall short in a lot of areas. Replacing the looping music with a decent ambient track would've helped sell the setting and variation in gameplay for different animals would have given you a reason to pick one over another.

A fun little game that will give you hours of "just one more fight then so I can get even" entertainment.

Massively enjoyable and massively frustrating.

There is no doubt that Arma III is realistic. In fact, it is the best combat simulator on the market. Is it fun though? For me, I found it an exercise in frustration at times. Games need to entertain me, not frustrate me.

In the end Galaga Legions provides the fast, intense and unforgiving gameplay modern shooters tend to go easy on.

FreeTime is so rich with content and gameplay features that I rate it right up there with Seasons as one of my must-have expansion pack titles.

Tumble certainly has its flaws but for under $20, it isn't going to break the bank either. Those hoping for the fun times had with Boom Blox will be disappointed, but Tumble is definitely for more serious puzzle gamers.

It would be an understatement to describe the free-to-play MMORPG market as saturated right now, but Cryptic have tried to boldly move in and change the game, designing Neverwinter with the free model in mind from the outset.