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.