Compared to the big budget, 3D, slow-motion CGI movies, there is no comparison. The graphics, gameplay, and voice acting is serviceable, but hardly ‘amazing’ as the title would suggest.

If I had children I would be playing this game with them (probably in co-op mode). It felt like Labyrinth and The Neverending Story were distilled down into a wonderfully simple adventure game. There’s nothing too heavy and the fairytale-ness of the game is handled so damn well.

PS4 power and updates have made a great game, even better.

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.

A challenging platformer disguised as a racer.

Still the best sports simulation out there, until the PS4 version.

Cutesy and colourful, Life Goes On takes a core concept from most games, flips it, and embeds it in an environment with reciprocating elements. The result is an engaging puzzle platformer that delights more than it frustrates. The ending credits sequence is also one of the most charming things I’ve seen this year.

Captures the brilliance of the movie, with a few extras.

A bit repetitive, but the later games make this worthwhile.

It’s a breath of fresh air in an incredibly stagnant genre, and even though I’m not exactly a big fan of shooters, I’m enjoying this one. That said, the Xbox 360 port does feel a bit wanting - not due to graphical reductions, which are to be expected, but due to the overall lack of polish.

Comes up a little short (pun intended).

This could be Telltale’s best single episode - of any game.

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.

Dynasty Warriors fits perfectly on the console and I personally feel that’s where it should stay.

Someone needs to make the arcade machine version of this.

It’s a game that not only takes practice, but also takes patience to play. While you bowl bouncers, hit sixes, and get to ask for the DRS if you've been given out - the game's biggest thrills are a tidy over of good line and length, and the crack of the ball coming out of the fat of the bat.

Kind of fun in short bursts.

It’s not a bad game and the general combat can have moments of fun. But as I said at the start, most of the time when I was playing this title, I just kept thinking to myself “I am not enjoying this and would rather be doing something else right now”. Take that for what you will.

Goat Simulator may be raw, unpolished and one-dimensional at the moment - and this may be enough for many people - but I can’t help but wonder “is this only the beginning for the little goat that could?”.

A solid, meaty title. It has hours of gameplay, satisfying character trees, and a wealth of online role playing experiences to churn through. It’s safe and secure. It serves up the classic habitual MMORPG experience, albeit with a “Tamriel Twist”. And for many gamers, this will be fine. But Bethesda have created an example - not an evolution - of the genre.

Hearthstone is a well-executed and fun card game, one which lives the “easy to learn, hard to master” mantra to the utmost.

Minor flaws aside, FEZ is a great game that's hard not to recommend. At least, it'll offer a few hours of fun puzzle platforming; at most, it'll give you a fresh outlook on our three dimensional world and open your mind to what more there could be.

It’ll make a great rental for when you have friends over, but it’s hard to recommend for anything beyond that.

A mess. And not just all the blood and body parts.

This is Diablo 3’s best shot at a fun end-game that can last.

Whether you’re a Final Fantasy veteran, or someone who wasn’t even born yet when FFX first came out, you should waste no time in picking these up.

The benchmark-setting graphics aren’t the only impressive aspect of the game, either. It’s also one of those ultra-rare titles that, once I finished it, I immediately wanted to jump back in and play again.

Yoshi’s New Island places almost all of its eggs in the nostalgia basket. It's a bold decision, but one that ultimately holds back the game by bringing with it some retro-inspired design best left to the 90s.

The tweaks made to the formula perhaps hold Dark Souls II from being quite as good its precursor (and it’s for this reason I’d suggest serious newcomers to give Dark Souls a try first), but it’s still an excellent game that will keep Souls series fans hooked for months to come.

The first episode of The Walking Dead: Season Two was undoubtedly great, but definitely had its flaws - partially due to being a pilot episode, and partially due to the writing being, though damn good, not quite up to the par of sheer excellence that Telltale have set themselves. The same can’t be said of Episode Two: A House Divided - this is some of the studio’s finest work.

A great, simple shooter for all ages.

Titanfall is just so full of things. The world is beautiful and detailed, the maps are detailed and confusing, the giant robots have plenty of places to hide. Take your time to drink it all in as the bullets zing around and into you.

Whatever you do, don’t just play the first 10 minutes of it. You’ll be utterly disappointed and will immediately wish you purchased another game. The biggest issue many will face is that there is no clear objective, and not a lot else to do other than walk around. But if you do play this, you’re going to need to stay committed - otherwise you’ll end up throwing your Vita against the wall.

This is a good game on mobile devices where retro games seem to have a solid following. I am not convinced though this is a good game for the PC. Sure the Leap Motion system is a point of difference, but it’s not enough to raise it above being an average game.

It looks fantastic, bold and bright, just like the television show. The voice acting is perfect.

It will take casual players around seven hours to complete, but there is little reason to come back to the game after the climactic finish, which makes this title difficult to recommend to everyone.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc may have the occasional flaw, but its utterly engrossing murder mystery plot, excellent characterisation, and clever use of age-old game mechanics make it a game that nobody should miss.

Thief isn’t terrible, it’s just not as good as other games, so in a way I want to say leave Thief for a while; come back to it when it’s on sale, wait for it to be a steal.

While Tropical Freeze is a great addition to the series, and having some new variation in singleplayer is much needed, the game really isn’t as fun without someone else playing alongside you.

If you like the sound of a retro-inspired shooter, want a massive nostalgia hit, or just want to have a lot of fun with your Vita, TxK is a no-brainer purchase.

Ultimately, though, the game’s flaws more than outweigh its strengths, making it hard to recommend to all but the most diehard Final Fantasy XIII fans.

If you can overcome the technical shortcomings, impenetrable plot, and the game overstaying its welcome (the last couple of hours drag on), you’ll find a well-crafted game.

I suppose the biggest kick in the nuts from this game was that it took 4GB off my data cap.

With repetitive combat, an item system that doesn’t accommodate the player’s intelligence, A.I. that can be as dumb as a bag of hammers, and small design decisions that feel like they exist to make bullet-points on the back of a box, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z is a mechanically tame game that expects little from the player, and respects them just as much.

Smoke and Mirrors still suffers from the mechanical flaws of the first game, and particularly struggles with frame rate drops around scene changes, but these are minor annoyances in an otherwise top-notch episode that ups the ante for a game that had already gotten off to a great start.

If you want to relive the experience you loved ten years ago, get this game, but prepare to feel that crushing weight of nostalgia.

The game mechanics remain faithful to its tabletop roots.

It’s the same brilliant game that came out last year, all polished up and looking its finest. For returning adventurers, on the other hand, there’s so little in the way of new content that there’s not much point buying the new version unless you had an urge to replay it anyway.

Don't get me wrong; Island Tour's not particularly bad in any way; it's really not, but… unless you're hankering for a pretend board game and know a bunch of people who'll be keen for regular sessions, it's hard to imagine this being one of those purchases you'll look back on and think "that was the right decision."

As long as you know the basics, you’re set to build whatever you can think up, be it a castle with a moat, or a roller-coaster, although at the moment, you might have to shrink it down a size.

OlliOlli is addictive and challenging. While face-plants and missed jumps are common, the accessible gameplay and gentle learning curve will keep players coming back for more.

Unless you desperately need a decent storyline to enjoy a game, this is a must-buy for any JRPG fan, especially for $24.95. I’ve put 95 hours into the game so far, and I’m still going strong - that should tell you all you need to know.

This is the best version of the game, without a doubt, but it’s the best version of a game that is still, at it’s core, good without ever crossing the threshold into great.

It’s important to remember that this is the first episode of a new story arc, and as such, its main purpose is to introduce the new characters and set the scene for what’s to come. And it does a fantastic job with that - especially with one hell of a cliffhanger at the end.

Mario and Sonic need to stop meeting up like this.

Patches may stop the glitches, but I think this space sim is far beyond repair.

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

A broken game with a repetitive mechanic.

It's by no means a terrible game, but the plot's lack of cohesion, the frustration factor of some of the puzzles, and the inappropriate content has tarnished what could've been a triumphant jewel in the DE crew’s crown.

I reviewed this on the Xbox One and, in hindsight, LocoCycle would probably be a better Xbox 360 title. It certainly doesn’t show off any next-gen prowess, so don’t buy this game to show off your new hardware.

Most of the game is absolutely brilliant, looking back at classic RPGs while also pushing the genre forward. But sadly, the final hours of the game, those that should be the most memorable and climactic, are tedious beyond words, and undermine everything great that came before. And this is something that’s hard to forgive.

If you’re a One Piece noob, it’s a 6/10. It plays fine but suffers from a ‘this is for the fans’ attitude. This of course could also be a positive thing, and if you’re a huge fan of the series it’s probably going to be closer to a 7 or even an 8/10.

I found Deus Ex to be very entertaining overall, but the lack of consistency with the first and third person camera angles, and the poorly conceived controls, do take their toll.

If you LOVE golf games, feel free to bump that number up as high as you like, but for me it sits in the middle of our score band, nothing bad about it, but nothing great either.

A fantastic app for anyone who wants get a bit more active.

The extra content on offer in The Teleporter Chambers is, overall, a fantastic addition to the game.

There is something to be said for the thrill of thinking you could feasibly put hundreds of hours into this game and still have new cars to unlock. Replay value here is through the roof, but if you didn’t get that into playing it the first time, it might not be for you.

There’s no difficulty curve, there’s no personality to the characters, and it’s all over a little too quickly - but I'm damned if I didn’t enjoy every minute of it nonetheless.

The game is breathtakingly simple, polished to perfection, and tonnes of fun - by yourself or with friends. The only reason it’s not getting a perfect 10 is because I miss the story elements, and some of the bosses were just far too easy to overcome.

The game crashes. I mean, it crashes a lot. Oh, you finished a level? Let’s return you to the Xbox home screen. You’re loading a new level? There you go, back looking at your pins. Oh, you’re on the last shot of an extremely difficult level that you’ve been trying to conquer for more than an hour? LOL, SEEYA.

Given Knack’s format the online options aren’t deep, but they are pretty cool.

A great game, but one held back by some disappointing, avoidable flaws. The multiplayer mode is well intentioned, but poorly implemented, and I should never have my right to pause during singleplayer stripped from me. Then there’s the story, if you can call it that; a juvenile, “f*** the police” mess that is a good reminder that not every game needs a narrative.

It's disappointing and hard to fathom that, given how much was riding on the game, EA could have dropped the ball so completely.

Fundamentally there are improvements, but the game doesn’t feel completely balanced as a whole and the pace of matches is sometimes uneven. It happens often between console generations and while FIFA 14 on Xbox One is certainly no cheap port of the current-gen edition - I can’t help but think that the next rendition will truly take the franchise to the next level.

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.

Its gameplay is tedious and lacks imagination. Its narrative experience is immature and poorly executed. When it comes to good adventure titles, gamers are spoilt for choice. Deadfall Adventures is just spoilt.

If you’ve got a next-gen console and you’re into racing simulators, it’s your only choice - and it’s far from a bad one. Just don’t expect it to be the “next step” or any kind of evolution of the genre.

Playing right through will take you about five or five-and-a-half hours, so it’s not a long game - but you know what else is repetitive and takes less time than that? Call of Duty. Do a value-for-money comparison on that.

For the average fan, Madden 25 on Xbox One offers little in the way of upgrades, making it hard to justify dropping another $120 for the game. On the other hand, for the hardcore Madden player (and I know there are a lot of you in New Zealand), the improved realism offered by some of the mechanical changes under the hood make this a hard game to pass up.

The small player cap is disappointing in this day and age, but AllDrive shows real potential. The frame-rate issues I encountered were a downer on an otherwise impressive arcade racing game.

While the gameplay was OK, there were just too many things in the campaign mode that bugged me. Multiplayer is much better, however, with a solid mission-based experience and smooth interaction.

As long as you go in not expecting a life changing experience, there’s an afternoon or two of enjoyment to be had here.

it’s an action-packed, casual, and thoroughly fun experience.

A simulation game fan looking for a hardcore micromanaging experience might want to look elsewhere, but for anyone else, Zoo Tycoon offers a whole lot of fun - with an important and oft neglected side dish of education and awareness raising.

This content takes the game to whole new level of interest and challenge. I thought the game was great as it was, but these additions add so much more and further extend my enjoyment of what is a classic game.

Beautiful, next-gen visuals can’t redeem lacklustre gameplay.

Could have been so much better, but it's not garbage.

Like any good platformer, Tearaway is full to the brim with secrets and collectibles

Its gameplay style and combat mechanic were clearly designed with the console player in mind. When transferred to the PC, the entire experience is undercut.

Nexus will delight new players and veterans alike with its humour, enjoyable gameplay, and captivating story.

For now, our recommendation would be that if you're looking for a fighting game that skimps on story and has just a handful of options, but still delivers tournament-ready credentials, look no further. Killer Instinct is making a brash play at the top table and, as far as we can tell, it's got the goods.

DR3 is a fun game with awesome amounts of zombie smashing but it also has a bunch of annoying things which distract from the aforementioned smashing.

This game pleasantly surprised me: simple in concept, but with an incredible amount of depth to it.

Telltale have proved yet again that they’re the big dog when it comes to licensed adventure games and emotionally-charged, gripping, character-driven narratives.

Overall, Girl Fight feels like a cheap, less fluid (motion-wise), knock off of Dead or Alive. The arcade mode demands you play through at least seven times, which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if this were a better game.

WWE 2K14 isn’t a huge improvement over WWE ’13. It does a great job of representing the events of past WrestleManias, however, packing a roster that has almost as many legends as modern superstars - it might even rely too much on nostalgic appeal.

The fresh look and new faces, matched with the familiar game style, make it a must-buy for fans of the original trilogy.

A forgettable - but still entertaining - singleplayer campaign, and a whole host of multiplayer content to keep people satisfied for the next 12 months until Black Ops III (or whatever Treyarch has planned) hits the shelves.