The doodads don't even make a noise, for pity's sake. [Dec 2013, p.88]

Lumpy in places, thumpy in others, this is generally good fun. [Dec 2013, p.86]

It would take a flinty heart not to be moved when iconic characters come into play. [Dec 2013, p.82]

The game you loved, primarily unchanged. [Dec 2013, p.81]

It gets the gold medal for pig-headedness, at least. [Dec 2013, p.80]

A 2D platformer with a heavy focus on swearing fairies and religious themes should not be this good. That's the game's last contradiction: it really is.

Like some work of over-stimulated fanfiction with a Tony Stark-size budget, this plays out with all the excess, in-jokes and idiocy that entails. Wonderful.

Human Revolution respects how you like to play games and is good at all the things it attempts, from the stealth to the shooting to the RPG systems.

A huge, almost constantly entertaining game. Brash, soulful and clever, it's astonishing that a title on a yearly schedule came out this meaty.

This is the road the Final Fantasy series should have taken; a refreshing new take on JRPG that will have fans of the genre giddy with excitement.

It's a bit dull. [Christmas 2013, p.89]

The alarming thing is that this was ever made. [Christmas 2013, p.88]

Wii U exposes the series' ancient systems more than ever, but sometimes old dogs don't need new tricks. [Christmas 2013, p.88]

This feels two decades old and we're not complaining. [Christmas 2013, p.88]

Attempts to be all games to all parties, but never decides what it wants to be. [Christmas 2013, p.86]

The use of cover versions will instantly turn off most songbirds. [Christmas 2013, p.84]

Classic Zelda fare riddled with veins of audio-visual mastery and an inspired gameplay twist. The greatest Legend Of Zelda title of recent years.

Not so much a baby step into HD 3D platforming as a triple backflip onto a Goomba's dome. A constant source of joy, surprise and ideas, ideas, ideas.

Wait for Shin Megami Tensei 4. [Nov 2013, p.88]

A dreamy platformer. [Nov 2013, p.81]

A slight, but serviceable spin-off that has bags of energy, if little else. [Nov 2013, p.80]

Goodbye, old friend: it's been one hell of a ride, albeit a very familiar one. Azran Legacy represents a rock-solid end to a Nintendo handheld champion.

Capcom's lawyer sim continues to carve its idiosyncratic niche with sharp storytelling and impressively polished production values.

Despite its potential, the Starter Pack feels a little limited. That said, four solid games is not to be sniffed at and we imagine there's far more to come.

A worthy companion to the Wii U version, it's a very good game and an interesting take on handheld 3D platforming, something still in short supply on 3DS.

It won't be giving Mario any restless nights, but this is a far better balanced proposition than the 'hog's Wii output and is solid fun throughout.

It's still one of the most accessible yet deep role-playing games around. It's still going to capture the hearts and imaginations of kids and adults alike. And, yes, you'll still want to catch 'em all.

Don't expect a revolution, but with dozens of thoughtful changes and the best Pokemon battles ever, X and Y cap an incredible year for 3DS.

Mixes trademark difficulty and accessibility with surprising finesse. Not just a brilliant entry in the series, but a benchmark for other games of its type.

We expected a voyage down memory lane, but were instead treated to an adventure that is as fresh as it was when it first appeared in 2002. Splendid stuff.

Inazuma Eleven, then, retains its charm, quirks and problems. There are a few new facets, to be sure, but this is fan service at its most serviceable.

IE3's mantra seems to be 'more is less'. Less: work for devs, learning for fans and interest for the uninitiated. It works, but is it really what an exciting series needs?

The seeds of discontent yield one of the fullest Harvest Moon crops in recent years. Be sure to stick with it through the slow bits: you'll thank us for it.

Never steps outside of its comfort zone. [Oct 2013, p.89]

At least this knows its market. [Oct 2013, p.89]

Zen's finally come over to the Light Side. [Oct 2013, p.89]

Equal parts tough and rough: a rescue mission never felt quite so much like the suicide equivalent. [Oct 2013, p.88]

There's a subtlety of theme and a sense of personality here that is matched by almost nothing else on 3DS. [Oct 2013, p.83]

Tolerably mundane. [Oct 2013, p.81]

Tight, breathless platforming challenge. [Oct 2013, p.80]

Well, this is a real adventure. Few other eShop games are as ambitious or as intelligent about how to achieve their goals on the required smaller scale.

Played with patience and a willingness to learn, this isn't just the most surprising game on Wii U - it's the best.

A game rendered so easy by the needs of its target market, that it's dead on arrival. Consider this a Surf eulogy. [Sept 2013, p.89]

Does exactly what it sets out to do. We're just not entirely sure if that qualifies as a success. [Sept 2013, p.89]

Like the world's darkest buffet, Blacklist offers a lot to choose from, but all of it seems a tad undercooked. This is almost always good, but very rarely great.

Barmy, brilliant and the best GamePad advert to date: consider us excited about Wii U again.

So it's a slow dance; a gentle sway of steps with the occasional flourish. That can be far more enjoyable than the most energetic experience - but if you're getting things wrong, the wait to get it over with can be excruciating.

Hazards are sometimes more Urban Trial and Error, but this is a fun, if slightly shameless, physics-based platformer for £5. Shame it only lasts two hours.

While far from being a bad game, Duck Tales Remastered is a huge missed opportunity and a sad day for fans who were expecting so much more.

More of the same, a little bit tougher and a little more lame. It's a fiendish, addictive, intelligent game, but if you find yourself cursing, you know who to blame.

Nintendo keeps promising us new ways to play on Wii U and we can't help but feel KnapNok might have got there first. There's nothing else quite like this.

With its limited tower strategies, bland stretches of desert to navigate and repetitive fight mechanics, this is more a case of chide 'em, cowboy.

Never has a game veered so aggressively from 80 per cent-rated fun to 30 per cent-rated horror, but the same could be said of the 360/PS3 original. Wii U comes with the added sting of having all the multiplayer and co-op options hacked out, leaving only a samey survival mode (fight waves of Nazis in repurposed levels) to pad out a brisk campaign.

Like dormant seeds, this is slow to germinate but, given time, it blossoms, an explosion of scintillating strategy and pheromone-laced fruitiness.

Genius Sonority has looked beyond the waves this time around and what it has found has helped strengthen the good signals we got last time.

So it is that 3DS's incredible first-party run continues. In the year that has given us the definitive Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing it only makes sense that AlphaDream should step up and deliver the best Mario & Luigi game yet.

The platforming equivalent of rubbing your tummy and patting your head while your childhood enemies tickle your armpits with a dead pigeon. Luigi U is cute, but scattershot in its approach. Mario remains the 2D king... for now.

This is an ensemble piece built purely for the ensemble and if you're happy to accept that there's no pretence of there being anything beyond that, you won't just enjoy Project X Zone, you'll love it.

There are two games here: the one you've been led to hope for and the one you play. It's not so much a valiant effort as a nice idea that never got used.

Despite sometimes feeling like a dry run for LEGO City: Undercover, this is rescued (aptly) by some brilliant heroes and top DC affection.

Pick it up if you need a platforming fix. [July 2013, p.87]

Worthwhile if you haven't ever played Picdun, just don't expect to feel comfortable with the company. [July 2013, p.87]

Certain sorts of gamer will dig this retro Metroidvania game, but make sure you're one of them before taking a bite. [July 2013, p.87]

An idea's nice, but this one's been left to decay. [July 2013, p.86]

This could be the most accurate simulation ever made. By no means should that be taken as a compliment. [July 2013, p.86]

It might be a faithful enough recreation of the world's most popular murder-sport, but it's absolutely nothing more. [July 2013, p.86]

The very definition of a mixed bag, Game & Wario is innovative, but stingy with it; silly, but a bit of a slog. Beware the bad eggs, cherish the prize ones. [July 2013, p.82]

How does NST keep Mario/DK feeling so fresh? Yet another clever and expansive puzzle game, if not exactly the most relaxing example of the genre.

Simple and unashamedly one-note. [June 2013, p.85]

The graphics are some of the worst seen on WiiU...[and] many of the controls are flawed and unresponsive. [June 2013, p.84]

A very unpleasant experience. [June 2013, p.84]

Less chaotic than real cleaning, but that's actually a good thing for once. [June 2013, p.84]

A disaster. [June 2013, p.84]

This might be the brightest of 2013's 3DS stars. A beautiful, generous, warm-hearted game in every way and a worthy successor to Wild World's crown.

Toki Tori 2 features puzzling of the highest order in a world that could afford to be a little more user-friendly. Be brave and give it a go.

Like Lady Zozo, its heart is in the right place, but its arms and legs are on backwards and inside out. Too monotonous to be entertaining.

It's amazing that it's so far from finished. We're not sure if it's the developer, the publisher or both, but someone should be ashamed of themselves. Awful.

As with any rehash of a great, it's the problems that stand out, but the uninitiated will find a huge amount to love. DK's still playing his second fiddle very nicely.

What had the potential to be the best Resi of recent years ends up being merely a solid port. The overall experience still plays best on 3DS.

Accessible beat-'em-up that puts on a dazzling display. Comic fans will love its use of DC, but shallow gameplay puts this in the 'luxury purchase' bracket.

Perfect for some and hellish for others. You know the phrase "know your audience"? Make sure you know you're that audience before getting this.

It's technically impressive(ish), but not as fun or funny as the Wii U game. Younger gamers who haven't played GTA will still enjoy it, though.

Simply garbage. [May 2013, p.87]

A load of old (tennis) balls. [May 2013, p.87]

Fun while it lasts, which isn't very long. [May 2013, p.86]

Better than the Wii U version... It's beautiful and slightly boring. [May 2013, p.86]

Perhaps a trifle too authentic, but it's slick, fun and so full of 8-bit memories that it feels like watching someone flick through an old game magazine. [May 2013, p.84]

Forget the license behind it, this is a lovely little 2D brawler. [May 2013, p.79]

One for the game-starved only. [May 2013, p.78]

An amazing amount of thought has gone into this; in an industry dominated by scattershot excess, this is a perfect exercise in honing a single strength.

You play as Spider-Man, but never feel like him. [May 2013, p.74]

Lovely art design and catchy tunes make this a pleasure to play, but it lacks the precision of, say, Elite Beat Agents or Maestro! Jump In Music.

A great title for genre fans and a well-paced intro for newbies, this also manages to be the best distillation of the Fire Emblem series we've ever seen.

There are elements we can't defend, such as the dated visuals, or the limited soundtrack, but taken as a whole, Devil Survivor Overclocked is a huge, ambitious game that works perfectly on its own terms.

Everything is thrown at you, ramping up the already shocking difficulty level. [Apr 2013, p.90]

Horrible stuff. [Apr 2013, p.85]

A lovingly crafted, laugh-a-minute, gem-packed open world LEGO game, the likes of which we've never seen before, but have always wanted. [Apr 2013, p.74]

It has more heart than any game in recent memory. [Apr 2013, p.68]