What also makes Brink interesting is that it provides players different options for approaching the game, with four different roles available: soldier, operative, engineer and medic.

Overall, if you want to get the full experience you will need the season pass. That is your shortcut to unlocking everything, and any future DLC. Commentary is just a bad as ever, Michael Cole doesn’t sound right in NXT. The new additions were ambitious, if poorly executed.

If you're after something short term – maybe a rental – then Pure is great: it's an adrenaline shot administered by a supermodel. But after a few days, you will very likely realise just how vacuous that supermodel is (how little Pure offers in terms of longterm gaming).

My biggest gripe with Tales of Vesperia is cosmetic, so let me say that while it bugs the hell out of me, it doesn't detract from the overall playability of the title. The writing, and the voice acting, is pretty effing terrible.

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

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.

Overall play-time to complete the expansion is around 4-5 hours, which does not sound like a lot; however this needs to be matched against its price of USD 9.99, which we believe is more than fair given its quality.

You don't need to know anything about the characters or the story to enjoy this iteration, and fans of the series will be able to learn a little more about the Professor's past. Those looking for the series to evolve, however, might want to leave this one alone in favour of the upcoming Level 5 / Capcom crossover Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney.

Despite being a few early hiccups and almost being put off by the controls, I pushed through like a good reviewer. And the game did start to charm me.

Add to this one touch dekes, black eyes after losing fights, sticks getting tangled up with arms and skates, a wonderful bogun soundtrack that includes bands like Airbourne and Wolfmother, and you get a deep, great looking, and surprisingly accessible sports game.

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

The AI can be a bit dense in the team games, though, which end up feeling rather shallow and pointless as a result. Again, the hollow disappointment of finding so few random games to play will rear it's ugly head here and this, as a result, is likely to be the point at which you stop playing it.

The first Batman relationship simulator.

Overall, it's a superior game to War for Cybertron - from fixing the ammo situation to having a more variety in gameplay. The fact that you aren't playing through two campaigns which are virtually the same helps. It still offers up more for the aging Transformers fan, than the younger shooter fanatic.

Overall, and like other recent remasters, it would be hard to recommend this to those who have already played God of War 3. But for those who haven’t - this is certainly God of War at its best, and it’s a chance to experience one of the best beat-em up platformers the last generation console had to offer.

The game's many levels and wide variety of zombie-crushing activities represent good value for money. It's simple to play, highly addictive, and entertaining... and best of all, it's portable.

Veterans will jump in, take a ride, blow up the opponents and unlock pretty much everything in a couple of days and spend hours more just being addicted enough to neglect sleep and forget to eat.

And while I found the avatars to be quite hideous looking (I opted for a red-afroed freak in grey boots and a red mini skirt), they have little actual bearing on the rest of the game, which looks and feels excellent.

Masquerada has decent combat, painfully linear level design, and an amazing story with equally amazing characters. Come for the colourful art style, stay for the fantastic world building and plot twists.

If puzzle and sim games spin your wheels, you'll get plenty of mileage out of this one.

It’s a bit of a shame that the Arkham-inspired side of this game doesn’t quite live up to what came before, but the Metroidvania aspect certainly does. And this is something for which a lot of genre fans will be grateful.

What IS different, and what makes the game worth its purchase price, is the addition of the Singstore.

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.

The game is addictive and a lot of fun. What the Wii U offers over and above the others is that you can play it both on the TV or solely on the gamepad.

A fantastic contrast to the other slow-paced, open-world launch game you’re playing.

Battlefield Academy is not going to win awards for its graphics (although it has a unique style) and equally, you will not be aghast at its realism. It is very simplistic, but it is also very addictive. It is one of those games that gets the balance or formula just right, and it combines its parts into a whole that is a lot of fun to play. Highly recommended.

Beautifully simple but challenging, addictive, and guaranteed to work those cranial muscles thanks to the logic and scientific themes in every level.

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.