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.