Had this been four times longer it would have been one of our favourite games. [March 2013, p.92]

Zen Pinball remains top of the tables in this most recent iteration - it's just a shame that it's such an effort to get into playing the thing.

Expanded and miniaturised, Ultimate finds its natural home on 3DS. Only the lack of online and faffy controls prevent must-buy status.

Delivers a deafening roar of an RPG adventure, but its bark is louder than its bite. The beast might've learned a few new tricks, but it can't hide its age.

A massively entertaining racer that grabs and runs with the power of the WiiU. It's tough, but we're Nintendo gamers. We eat tough for breakfast. [Apr 2013, p.80]

The game is undeniably lovingly made, but it's also disappointing brief. It's - yep - the fastest fun in the west.

It's a compromise between action and exploration, between the series' history and contemporary trends, between traditional presentation and modern technology. It's the best Castlevania game we've played in years and it might be the best action game we've ever played on a handheld console.

Look, we won't beat about the bush here. It's a game about tanks blowing up other tanks. What more do you want?

An interesting and stylish game that unfortunately lacks the charm necessary to cover the problems of the port.

A conflicted idea. [Feb 2014, p.82]

RPG fans will find lots to enjoy. [Feb 2013, p.85]

This flawed gem could have been a classic to rival the games that inspired it. Like its characters, it's well intentioned, but ultimately commits too many sins.

Among the toughest games on the console and none the worse for it. Want to hear what your own screams sound like? You won't find better on the 3DS.

We applaud Battle For Earth's unique approach to simplistic fighting, but its lack of content and depth won't impress anyone but the most junior gamers.

A fantastically well put-together game hamstrung only by the inherent limitations of the sport itself. No other Wii U title offers such great value for money.

A fun farming sim that suffers at the hands of ridiculous pricing. Only lunatics will hand over 30 notes for this.

QubicGames has made an average game and ruined thousands of GCSE English essays. Cheers, guys.

Professional, fully featured and a tad bodacious, this undoubtedly sets a high bar for fitness games on Wii U.

A prime example of how to disrespect the fans of something as big as Transformers: a £50 game that can be finished on a single GamePad charge. Yuck.

Look past the tilting troubles and Spin Cycle purifies Curve's original idea with its condensed puzzling. Plenty of plop for your buck, too.

ONM Coroner's Report: Patient suffered a psychotic breakdown while playing this game. No treatment possible.

A classic Saito number that is interesting, compelling and inevitably, just a little too odd to recommend to everyone.

Sega fans will enjoy this solid port but it's far from a smooth ride. If you can stomach the rough edges this has enough individual character to stand alone.

As it is, it's just an average port of a game that's just about hanging onto the legacy of some great game design from a few years ago. A little bit more love next time, please.

Years of slow innovation have resulted in a game worthy of the LOTR name. Probably not a classic, but the journey there and back again is a treat.

The other Rabbids mini-game compilations may have been light on longevity, but at least they provided a laugh. Rabbids Land doesn't even manage this.

Unless you like hammering the A button for eight minutes at a time while getting a headache, stay well away. Even young kids will get bored.

Fans of the films will find plenty to love about the production, but thanks to bog-standard gameplay, this is definitely more of an experience than a game.

A potentially great title let down by a terrible camera and one of the most bewildering controller decisions we can remember. Get the Wii version instead.

The attention to detail, the personality, the tiny touches; this feels like a game that someone loved making, and you'll love playing it as a result.

A sporadic, fragmented mess of Bond history spliced with brainless shooting that feels like a rushed Call Of Duty copycat. Get Black Ops 2. Don't get this.

Sing Party shows off the huge potential the Wii U has for games of this genre. A few fixes could make it definitive but right now it remains simply solid.

The introduction outstays its welcome, but Puddle flows into a more interesting game than you might expect. [Jan 2013, p.111]

Nano Assault isn't awful but flying around the beautiful Nano cosmos is nowhere near as thrilling as it should be. [Jan 2013, p.111]

A fun puzzler, but why should fans spend more money on a game they already played? Stingy stuff. [Jan 2013, p.111]

Feels archaic compared to the likes of Face Raiders. Shame. [Jan 2013, p.110]

Feels archaic compared to the likes of Face Raiders. Shame. [Jan 2013, p.110]

A potential cult hit betrayed by framerate issues and sluggish controls. [Jan 2013, p.110]

Another disappointing case of a developer running a feather duster along last year's game and releasing it as new. [Jan 2013, p.110]

The eShop couldn't have hoped for a more unique interesting title on day one. [Jan 2013, p.106]

The porting process has made for a disappointing mess. Pray for a patch. [Jan 2013, p.104]

Not for everyone, but younger gamers and arcade fans will love it. The multiplayer mode adds a surreal slice of joy, too. [Jan 2013, p.103]

A dull game that makes no use of the Wii U functionality. [Jan 2013, p.102]

As welcome as an ingrown toenail and twice as ugly. [Jan 2013, p.100]

This is easily the best version of Ninja Gaiden 3, but it's not quite the action masterpiece that fans have come to expect from the series.

Absolute dross: a joyless, inept, tedious, ugly, lazy, messy waste of your time and money. We hoped games this bad might die out with the Wii.

More physics toybox than game, Little Inferno manages to be both enjoyably mad and annoyingly maddening. Wait to snap it up in an eShop fire sale.

Probably the best superhero game ever made. If you're willing to fight innovations to see the game at its best, this is a huge slab of muscular adventuring.

Undoubtedly the best-playing Mass Effect game so far, but you can't possibly get the full feel of the Mass Effect universe from it. One to weigh up carefully.

A fantastic start to the Wii U's more mature library, this is grim, gritty and, most importantly, hugely enjoyable to play, especially if you're a Zelda fan.

Brilliant physics puzzles that force you to think on your feet, fun co-op and a huge, gorgeous quest for just over £10. Trine 2 is eShop gold.

Placed in the greater CODverse and BLOPS2 is too inconsistent to rank among the classics. Nice ideas rub shoulders with absolute howlers, and smart additions are hampered by a complacent disregard for beginners. In the Nintendoverse, however, this COD is a big fish in a small pond.

The mixture of Sega and Sumo should have made for a game that was as accomplished as it was nostalgic. Instead, it's just a bit flat.

Nostalgia-seekers need not apply: this is easily outdone by the 13-year-old game from which it is derived. A shame. [Christmas 2012, p.111]

Hastily constructed, poorly thought out and deeply unsatisfying: an endless runner you'll want to end. [Christmas 2012, p.111]

Will scratch an itch for a new strategy RPG, but expect the dull ache of disappointment as a side-effect. [Christmas 2012, p.111]

It's a dire shooter with an unwieldy new controls system. [Christmas 2012, p.110]

Not bad, but you could get the same thing for 69p elsewhere. [Christmas 2012, p.110]

The gotta buy 'em all mentality is as ferociously addictive as ever, but the delightful characters deserve a more imaginative, better made game. [Christmas 2012, p.108]

Ultimately scuppered by its lack of variety. [Christmas 2012, p.106]

Crams in as much as possible and pushes the Wii to its limits. A fitting swansong for Wii wrestling. [Christmas 2012, p.104]

A beautiful shooter hampered only by its being too small for the grand scale it implies. [Christmas 2012, p.96]

A massive, lovingly crafted game that's stuffed with things to do, but the limited GamePad functionality and linear mission design are disappointing.

Like a pack of footy stickers, you'll find bits you want and bits you don't. Perhaps not the shiny Nintendo gem we'd hoped for, but a fun return to form.

This will impress you if the best FIFA you've played is the Wii or 3DS version, but veterans will note that it's a hollow shell of this year's 360 and PS3 releases.

This is the perfect example of what we expect from multi-format Wii U games, with everything seen in other versions and more Nintendo-only stuff on top.

ZombiU will send shivers of fear and excitement up and down your spine in equal measure: it's the perfect showcase for what the Wii U is all about.

Matching experimentation with (almost) consistently brilliant gameplay, this is as much a marker for what's to come as it is a truly excellent launch game.

Struggles to capture the creative spark of its NES/SNES ancestors, but this is rock solid platforming elevated through a renewed focus on skilled play.

Feels like more bitter pill than it should. [Dec 2012, p.109]

If you peer past the disastrous surface, though, you'll find a game that is of a very high standard indeed. [Dec 2012, p.109]

Rare Pokemon fail to mask the tedium in this fleetingly entertaining aside. [Dec 2012, p.106]

It's 30 pounds. THIRTY! The equivalent package is under 2 quid on a phone. Need we say more? [Dec 2012, p.102]

In an industry embarrassed by brains, this is a shining beacon of measured character work, deep-rooted ideas and whip-smart dialogue.

Mechanics get tired quickly, the extra content feels tacked-on and even the best element - its presentation - is short-lived. A disappointment.

Boasting more Mickey, mileage and morals, this is a big improvement on the first game. Not getting a Wii U this Christmas? This'll fill your Wii slot in style.

Builds slightly messier puzzles on the Pullblox's simple foundations, but still manages to deliver hours of outstanding spatial conundrums. Easily one of eShop's best.

It's not the smartest Layton ever, but it's a huge improvement on Spectre's Call.

An action game in the sense that everything depends on your actions, Hana Samurai is hamstrung only by its length. If it were a bit more fleshed out, this would be among the very best of the 3DS eShop.

A true classic gone horribly to seed. It'd be funny if it wasn't heartbreakingly sad. [Nov 2012, p.99]

The original's good ideas are distorted in an apparent attempt to justify a price tag. [Nov 2012, p.98]

So familiar it's basically an old friend by now. If you've liked it before, you'll like it now.

Better than Black and White, but lacking their freshness. A cracking swansong.

Better than Black and White, but lacking their freshness. A cracking swansong.

Cheery and great fun with two players, but the solo experience is all rather limited.

A shamefully cynical 'update' that brings absolutely nothing new to the table and asks £30 for it. Stick with FIFA 12, it's only a tenner these days. Or save your money for FIFA 13 Wii U.

It's only got two game modes but thankfully they'll last you a while. Great, but there's still room for improvement.

The Wii's answer to Dark Souls or Spelunky. Harder than your average Metroid-a-like, but with a greater sense of accomplishment. Dauntingly good.

Honestly, if you buy this game, you are harming the industry. A truly horrible title. [Oct 2012, p.99]

A licensed game that manages to work on its own terms, but only just pulls it off. [Oct 2012, p.97]

The 3D completely nullifies the point of having an option for motion control. [Oct 2012, p.96]

Rank puddle of bilgewater. [Oct 2012, p.95]

The game's 60 levels and randomly-generated daily missions promise some meaty longevity. Nice. [Oct 2012, p.94]

Picross DS is still the best version of the game, but for those new to Picross this is a brilliant introduction.

There are glimmers of promise in the 3DS version, but the execution is so bad and the graphics engine so lacklustre, that you'll find it hard to squeeze more than a few drops of genuine pleasure out of this cold, grey stone. [Sept 2012, p.107]

The relatively high price is a bit of a turn-off. [Sept 2012, p.107]

Too many gimmicks spoil the broth; only the dedicated will reap any rewards. [Sept 2012, p.103]

The very definition of bitter-sweet, giving with one hand and then taking away with the other. By default it's the best side-scrolling platformer on the 3DS and yes, it's even better than the original New Super Mario Bros. But that came out six years ago now, and in that time we'd really expected the series to have progressed a little further than just a 3D effect and Coin Rush mode.