PixelJunk has become a synonym for great PSN-games, but this time round it's better to check out the demo first. Visually this is a stunner, but when it comes to gameplay this is a lot simpler than we are used from previous PixelJunk-games. Just fly and shoot. [December 2011, p.101]

Summarized the battle system in Hybrid revolves around tags. Get your second character in the fight at the exact right time to complete a combo and you'll be sure to win most fights. Combinations of certain fighters give access to unique attacks or powerful throws. [January 2012, p.76]

Despite its lengthy intro, it isn't quite clear who the Saints are, what they can do and why there is fighting to be done. Only those who know the original stories will be able to fully grasp what is going on. Luckily you do get a decent tutorial. [April 2012, p.90]

Anarchy Reigns is not a complex fighter like Bayonetta or the Devil May Cry-games. Dodging is pretty basic, the number of combos is limited and the ability to cancel an incoming attack and counter it with one of your own is absent. [January 2013, p.76]

The game feels right at home on the PlayStation Vita, with its short levels that only last a few minutes and intuitive combination of the classic controls and the touchpad which you use to expand or shrink your rolling ball of mayhem. [March 2012, p.62]

First you are confronted by regular police agents, then SWAT-teams and in the end even the FBI gets involved. To survive the constant stream of enemies teamwork is key. Even more so because you have a long list of objectives to fulfill. [December 2011, p.104]

Ryder White is enjoyable company, bringing along more explosives than we're used to on Dead Island. There are still a lot of technical mistakes, just like there have always been. But hey, we're sure Techland will fix that with Dead Island 2, right? [March 2012, p.98]

Doesn't matter which persona you choose, enemies are defenseless. Never before in the history of Assassin's Creed were fights this easy. Countering is optional, not a necessity. Still, we had some fun. Aveline's armory is varied and fun to use. [December 2012, p.86]

In this puzzle/platformer you step into the shoes of Kurt, a small boy stranded on an alien planet with just one desire: getting home. Easier said than done, because Pid can be a very tough nut to crack at times. [December 2012, p.93]

After Ninja Gaiden came Black, which had better camera controls. After Black came Sigma, in which you had the blonde queen Rachel as company. And now there is Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, with just as much blood and giant breasts as its PS3 counterpart, but with touch controls. [April 2012, p.92]

This is war in its most brutal form and as fans on the series know this translates into a merciless game with a complex control scheme, complicated menus and a shitload of different parts for your mechs. [April 2012, p.98]

For a small price you can get more of the minigames featured in the new Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. A collection of all-new levels with some all-new challenges. Nothing more, but definitely nothing less too. It's well done content for a small price. [March 2013, p.88]

Dead or Alive's biggest fault is its lack of innovation. If you turn off the Danger Zones (because a stupid (un)lucky hit can cause a hell of a lot of damage) you realize not much has changed since Dead or Alive 2. [November 2012, p.62]

Wei Shen returns once more to once more return order to the streets of Hong Kong, which (you guessed it) have once more been made unsafe by the Triads. This time around The Cult of the Snake, led by Master Chu, have placed deadly bombs throughout the city.[May 2013, p.97]

Fans will never get enough of Mass Effect 3, but the Leviathan DLC leaves us behind with some mixed feelings. Sure it's nice to once again step into the space shoes of commander Shepard, but since we know how it's going end, it all doesn't seem to matter as much. [October 2012, p.79]

Not the best map pack for BLOPS II by a long shot, but still a lot of explosive fun. Out of the four new competitive maps, Detour is our favourite. Buried, the new zombie map this time around, however is a whole lot less interesting than Mob of the Dead from the Uprising DLC. [September p.90]

In Marvel Super Hero Squad: Comic Combat you control your superhero by drawing lines en symbols unto the uDraw-tablet. It's surprising to see the developer making such great use of the uDraw this early in its lifespan. [February 2012, p.99]

Look past the blurry graphics and what remains is the incredibly solid gameplay that defines the series. Every level, from the first one in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin until the last one in Hitman: Blood Money, is an amusement park filled with possibilities. [March 2013, p.82]

If you have ever played a Dynasty Warriors game, you know what to expect from Pirate Warriors 2. You start out with Luffy, but as you battle your way through hordes of enemies, you will unlock up to 26 more fighters. [October 2013 p.82]

Japan Studio succeeded in making the best Augmented Reality game for the PlayStation Vita, even though that is not much of an accomplishment seeing how little most games use this feature. [October 2013 p.90]

Conquer, travel from comet to comet and rule the universe while destroying viruses. Quite original, but not enough depth to keep you entertained for days on end. [Nov 2011, p.98]

Despite the game's age and thanks to the graphical update, the colorful environments still look beautiful, just don't expect any miracles from a game that's almost ten years old. The only thing that gets in the way of the fun you're having is the sometimes jittery camera. [May 2012, p.86]

The return of Sly Cooper not only signals the return of a classic franchise, but also the return of a classic, almost forgotten genre: the 3D-platformer. Fans can rejoice, because it feels like Sly never truly left the building. [April 2013, p.71]

A puzzle game whose gameplay is very reminiscent of that of Bust-A-Move, except that instead of shooting small pellets upwards, you have to shoot them downwards, trying to clear the screen of various germs. Pretty fun. [April 2013, p.88]

A fun game which makes great use of the PlayStation Vita's touch screen to slice zombies in half. Logical, since the game made its debut on mobile devices. Less logical is the price of the game. Which is three times of what you would pay for the mobile version. [June 2013, p.90]

Creating your own track has never been easier or faster. Use your index finger on the front touch screen to draw the track. Then add some details and an impressive mountain range using the back touchpad and you are set to race. [March 2012, p.53]

Everybody's Golf is the premier example of a pick-up-and-play game perfectly suited for a handheld console. Despite its initial appeal we got bored pretty quickly due to a lack of variation and innovation over the previous installments. [March 2012, p.54]

Part two has miner Dingo Egret (best name ever!) stumbling upon Jehuty, the mobile suit of his predecessor, Leo. Everything is better this time around: better story, better graphics and most of all: better gameplay. [January 2013, p.84]

There are small mistakes everywhere. The occasional glitchy corpse is to be expected (and even entertaining). Less funny are the times when you are stuck trying to solve a simple puzzle because it's impossible to see which objects are interactive. [March 2012, p.80]

Just like its predecessor Epic Mickey 2 combines platforming and puzzles in a world divided into hubs between which you can travel by jumping into movie screens. With the brush you can repair or destroy structures, which sounds kind of goofy, but offers a ton of choices.[December 2012, p.62]

Deadly Premonition's saving grace is its main character York, who obviously has more than one screw loose and grants the game its unique and confusing sense of humour. He talks to an invisible friend, reads mysterious signs in his morning coffee and talks about people as if they aren't standing right next to him. [May 2013, p.84]

Underneath all the unforced errors there's some entertaining gameplay to discover. We battled out numerous exciting sets filled with well placed slices and top spins. It doesn't take much effort to dish out some impressive and varied moves. [March 2012, p.96]

Unlike its predecessor, which could be described as a brawler that focuses on brutal melee attacks, Dead Souls is a true third person shooter. Pistols, shotguns, machine guns: anything that smells like lead and gunpowder is used to blow those brain munchers back to Yomi. (You'll have to look that one up). [April 2012, p.86]

Despite Capcom's bandaging these games do show their age. Luckily the gameplay is truly timeless. These rail shooters are inspired by The House of the Dead, an arcade classic which was also remade recently for the PlayStation Move. [September 2012, p.84]

If you played Dead Space: Extraction, you know what to expect here. Just add some Hilbilly music and women with ridiculously big breasts and you've got the picture. A nice tribute to B movies that ends up being a B game. [Nov 2011, p.76]

This typical arcade racer will never truly surprise you, but offers a lot of racing fun. It's a pity that the AI will always keep up with you, to the point where they almost seem glued to your car and it's a shame there's no online multiplayer. [July 2012, p.93]

The game's uninspired vibe and execution are not the only things that Techland and Deep Silver forgot to improve upon. The graphics are sub par to say the least. The game can have you staring in awe at a stranded battle cruiser, but the immersion quickly falls apart when you notice your gun sticking trough a solid brick wall. [May 2013, p.76]

Just like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons Arcade Game is only for the most hardcore fans and nostalgic players who used to spent as much money on playing this game in the arcade as Homer does on donuts. [March 2012, p.99]

A giraffe is hungry and it's up to you to do something about it. By stuffing yourself with food your neck will grow and move toward the top of the screen. A simple, but fun mechanism that has already proven itself on tablets and smartphones. [March 2012, p.99]

The second part of the King Washington DLC is somewhat better than the first, but also does not reach any new heights. Which is kind of ironic, since Connor gains the ability to fly this time around. [May 2013, p.96]

There is not much to be found here in terms of upgrades, story, character development or even new enemies or environments. Jetstream was made for hardcore fans who really just want more of the same. [May 2013, p.97]

A simple but engrossing puzzle game in which allergic little monsters trapped in soap bubbles sneeze their way to freedom. The aim of the game is to cause a chain reaction of sneezies by strategically releasing some pollen amongst the little critters. [January 2012, p.84]

We would be surprised if you told us you've never heard of Brain Training on the Nintendo DS. Just like Brain Training, Smart As challenges the mind with clever puzzles and – judging by the title – puns. You could say it makes you more PUNctual. Muhahahahahahaha. [December 2012, p.92]

Just around the turn of the century Jojo's Bizarre Adventure HD took the stage as an excellent 2D fighter based on the excellent manga by the same name. An HD upgrade may sound spectacular, but there are very few extras to be found here. [October 2012, p.79]

Elizabeth in Rapture! No, wait. That is what coming up in the next batch of DLC. Clash in the Clouds is just a traditional, arena based, wave after wave, kinda boring but still fun and challenging sort of a DLC which will sort of entertain you. Just not for very long. [September p.90]

Twenty years after the Amiga classic our fourth favourite super frog (just behind Frog from Chrono Trigger and the Battletoads) returns with fancy new visuals. And, guess what? Besides some control issues, the game is not that bad. [September p.91]

Drawing with the uDraw-tablet is not that easy and can lead to some less than stellar results, making us wish we were playing the real deal. On the other hand, watching a drawing on your television is a lot easier than having everyone gather around a small piece of paper. [February 2012, p.98]

Orgarhythm mix of strategy and rhythm-based gameplay is very reminiscent of that of Patapon. Using the touch controls you command your troops to the sound of some wicked, hypnotic beats. Too bad the game becomes a bit bland real fast.[February 2013, p.90]

Tales of Graces F stands out from the crowd with its signature combat mechanic, called the Linear Motion Battle System, which has been around since the first game from 1995, but continues to evolve with each new chapter in the series. [September 2012, p.80]

It's like FIFA meets Buzz, fortunately without quizmaster Buzz. Anyone who thinks that a successful combination of these two genres is as unlikely as Fernando Torres scoring a goal, is sorely mistaken because Quizball is actually quite enjoyable. [April 2012, p.100]

In this very challenging twin-stick shooter levels are randomly generated, meaning you'll never be served the same stuff twice. It looks tight and has controls to match its look, but could have benefited from a bit more variation. [February 2013, p.91]

Aliens: Colonial Marines may not be what it should have been, but maybe you can still get some fun out of this 1991 Amiga-classic. Not that Alien Breed has anything to do with the Alien films or franchise. [March 2013, p.88]

With a whopping 31 missions we expected Zombie Driver HD to contain a little bit more variation. As you probably have guessed already, Zombie Driver HD is all about running over zombies with a slew of different auto mobiles. Which is a lot of fun, but not ten bucks worth of fun. [March 2013, p.89]

Roll your way through hundreds of levels on your own just like in the good old days, or compete against your friends online. Super Monkey Ball is a pleasant break for anyone who likes bananas or just likes to go apesh.t. [November 2012, p.93]

Not only do the recognizable levels make a return, the evenly recognizable difficulty makes a comeback. This artificially lengthens an already short game, which makes it very difficult to recommend it to a modern audience. [October 2013 p.95]

A fighting game with subpar graphics and just one attack (the rotating helicopter screwdriver kick... no just kidding, it is the dive kick) should not get more than 10/100, but it actually is pretty fun. When playing multiplayer. [October 2013 p.90]

The three main protagonists have a friend list that is almost as extensive as that of a 15 year old girl on facebook wearing a push up bra. Meaning you have to be a pretty determined collector to unlock them all. [May 2012, p.84]

The quests aren't as exciting as you might think. Especially since the world is about to end and all that. So cleaning the house of professor Slughorn for example isn't the kind of task we would bestow upon the chosen one. [May 2012, p.86]

Q-Games proves it still likes to experiment. Pixeljunk 4AM is not a game, but a music generator controlled by the PlayStation Move. It will definitely cheer up any fan of electronic music, but we doubt if it will keep you up until four in the morning. [July 2012, p.92]

The cutscenes consist of 2D-animations, a sign that Ninja Theory didn't put everything they had into this DLC. But to be fair: playing with Vergil feels like a completely new experience. [April 2013, p.88]

Poker is a lot of fun when played amongst good company, which is definitely the case in Poker Night 2. Claptrap from Borderlands and GlaDOS from Portal steal the show with their goofy remarks. But once you have collected all the goodies, you just want to seat yourself at a real poker table. [June 2013, p.90]

This three hour long conclusion to the King Washington-DLC does not manage to enthrall us as we would like it to do. But we do have to admit we had a great time transforming into a mighty bear, destroying all who were foolish enough to stand in our way. [June 2013, p.91]

Despite being a kids game, F1 Race Stars uses its license to the bone. Cars are properly branded and colored with the right sponsors and every driver of the 2012 season showed up, plus four imaginary drivers, including three women. [January 2013, p.74]

Escape Plan's visual style is so well done, you will probably fall in love with it at first sight, just as we did. The game's opening has you waking up Lil by tapping the touch screen as he tries to push your finger away. He is absolutely adorable. [March 2012, p.56]

Aside from the flawed touch controls, there are a few forgettable minigames using the motion sensor. Virtua Tennis 4 may be a fun tennis game, but it is definitely not a great showcase for the PlayStation Vita's capabilities. [March 2012, p.61]

You'll have to think every step through, something we gladly encourage, but it makes the game also boring sometimes. Those who own a copy of Golden Abyss get extra cards if they collected enough treasures, which we think is a bit unfair. [January 2013, p.95]

The exercises offer a lot of variety, but sometimes they are too alike. Jumping away from a ball or catching it for example may seem different, but boils down to the same thing. The exercises are also very intense for people who aren't used to working out regularly. [December 2011, p.87]

Zombies. Twin-stick shooters. Shooting. That's a good description of the gameplay you can expect in this slaughter fest. Not a bad game, but if you want to kill off zombies, you are better off with the comparable, but much better Dead Nation. [December 2011, p.100]

Switching to a different character named Ayane from time to time does not mend the game's repetitive nature. Ninja Gaiden3: Razor's Edge is about slaughtering hordes of different coloured ninja and very, very little else. [May 2013, p.86]

Two shoulder buttons to tilt the screen left and right are all you need to play Puddle. It looks neat, but Puddle is a little bit too much like a really hard alchemy exam. Too much trial and error for our taste. [March 2012, p.98]

The more you explore Silent Hill, the more it becomes clear that Vatra, despite its good intentions, simply lacks the necessary talent. The fighting system, for example, sucks monkey balls. In previous games you could opt to run, but Downpour forces you to a confrontation. [April 2012, p.99]

Anyone who has already played this tower defense game on the iPad will agree that it's one the most addicting downloadable games ever. The setup is simple: protect your home from vast hordes of zombies using all different kinds of veggies, plants and weeds plucked straight from your garden. [April 2012, p.101]

Yet another SNK classic which has found its way to the Minis collection. A typical beat'em up straight from the eighties starring a certain Jackie who looks an awful lot like a certain other famous Jackie. A short game for a small price tag. [September 2012, p.87]

The meter onscreen tells us that our car is a tiny bump away from the scrapheap, but it still drives like it just rolled out of the factory. A serious handicap in a game where carnage and damage is almost everything. [June 2012, p.88]

Every time we solved a puzzle we found ourselves in a totally different locale. Behind the wheel of a car, on a barren surface of ice or right in the middle of an ongoing war. Are they memories? Fantasies? Or is the forest a dream world? And who is that guy with the shotgun?. [June 2012, p.104]

When Code Veronica was released on the Dreamcast in 2000, it was an amazing game. Today it feels outdated, especially after the changes Resident Evil 4 brought to the series. [Nov 2011, p.97]

The downside of this more deliberate pacing is that the lack of variation. Every mission goes as follows: take out a few guys or sneak past them if there are too many, get to a high vantage point, rain death from above. Not the worst design in the world, but pretty predictable. [April 2013, p.86]

A zombie game that lets you control your own Zombies in the way of a classic RTS? Sounds cool. Looks cool, too. Plays … decent. But it gets boring real fast and some mechanics simply are not all that well executed. [June 2013, p.91]

Birds of Steel might be a little dull, but developer Gaijin Entertainment does deliver on the technical side of the game. Not that we are experienced pilots, but the rumbling engines sound believable and the cockpit view is incredibly immersive. [April 2012, p.80]

The basics of Choplifter haven't changed one bit since its debut in 1982. You still control a helicopter on a 2D plane, rescuing people. Unfortunately you don't always feel in control of the chopper you're flying, which can lead to some unnecessary deaths. [February 2012, p.100]

As much as the developer values Spider-Man as a superhero, they seem to be an even bigger fan of a certain billionaire by day/vigilante at night called the Batman. It would certainly explain why this game is an almost exact copy of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. [September 2012, p.78]

Even though Tecmo Koei didn't make any technical sacrifices compared to previous outings in the series, they shun any form of innovation. The result is a very traditional hack & slash game in which the touch controls are only used in annoying mini games. [April 2012, p.100]

Believe it or not, but Tony Hawk used to be hip. Recent failures in the franchise have forced the king of skating to step down, so Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD takes you down memory lane to seven stages from a better time. [September 2012, p.86]

Anyone remember Marc Ecko's Getting Up or the ridiculous dance game B-Boy? Sideway: New York shares the same urban lifestyle-roots, and combines it with fairly original platforming action. [Nov 2011, p.98]

Although you kill loads of evil penguins along the way, the gameplay is mainly centered around rather basic environment puzzles that get boring quite quickly. [Nov 2011, p.98]

Episode II is certainly not a bad game, just a little bit uninspired. It also doesn't help that Team Sonic consistently breaks up the (fast) pacing of the game, resulting in quite some frustration. Less frustrating and even fun are the bonus levels who look like they've been hauled over from Sonic 2.[July 2012, p.92]

Sometimes the touch controls work magnificently, like in a game of Wac-A-Mole. At other times, though, they drive you crazy because the creators tried to cram every single feature the Vita has to offer into their collection of minigames. [March 2012, p.52]

Every once in a while Danger Close breaks the endless mould of duck & cover gameplay by letting you mark a building for an air strike, chase down an informant or provide sniper support. But even these sequences repeat themselves multiple times throughout the game. [December 2012, p.68]

The weapon selection is varied, but only has a few standouts, like an explosive catapult or an tranquilizing boomerang. Most of the rifles seem to have been lifted straight from some generic shooter and feel a bit soulless. [March 2012, p.102]

Technical errors and slow inputs drag the game's best moments down with them. The slow controls really become a problem when you are fighting more nimble enemies in a small, confined space. Sci-fi fans will get a kick out of Lost Planet. Everybody else will pick it up from the bargain bin. [September p.60]

Anyone who has watched more than one episode of Naruto, Bleach or any of the Dragon Balls, knows that the pre-fight exposition/tea party can drag on for quite a while. So prepare to sit through some pretty lengthy and non-interactive cutscenes. [April 2013, p.84]

Psycho Soldier is a straight forward port of 1986 SNK-classic and is still an entertaining side-scroller, but only for those who have embraced their inner nostalgic self. You do have to face the fact that this the exact same game you played all those years ago, without any improvements. [December 2012, p.101]

The biggest strength of The Testament of Sherlock Holmes is its atypical, riveting story and the adult themes and settings it explores. Dark dungeons and maimed corpses accentuate the mental decay of the once great detective. [November 2012, p.72]

In a lot of the minigames a second player can use the regular controller to hinder the main player in various ways. It's a nice way to keep everyone entertained, but actually it is a lot more fun to shove or distract your friends in real life to get them to fail. [December 2011, p.86]

One thing that won't drive you crazy any more is your flash light. In the original Doom 3 you had to choose. Do you want to shoot your gun? Or do you want to see where you are shooting. Sure, it added to the suspense, but in terms of gameplay it wasn't very practical. [December 2012, p.85]

Sexy Kitten Yamgasm has you spinning a ball of yarn (Katamari-style!) through town leaving a trail of destruction. Sad Panda Skyblazing has you floating through the air chasing mascots with a chainsaw. Just a regular day in Steelport. [March 2012, p.98]

The brighter ones among you probably know that Angry Birds was already released once as a PlayStation Mini, but that Mini was just a subpar port of the smartphone version. This time around Rovio did its best when it comes to graphics. [December 2012, p.89]

With this price tag attached to it, we didn't expect to be through the entire DLC in under one hour and a half. The Abyssal Forge introduces nothing but new dungeons and even though the story is actually quite good, is still not worth the price of entry. [December 2012, p.92]