Aside from the updated controls, Blizzard has also adapted the inventory to be less like a puzzle and more like a traditional list of items. This might be less “RPG-like”, but it does make everything a whole lot smoother and easier to navigate. [October 2013 p.68]

Not Escape Plan, but Tales From Space is the indie hit on the PlayStation Vita we've all been waiting for. A strange concoction of Katamari and Loco Roco that could have used a little bit more time and money for its visuals, but still shines because of its magnificent and pure gameplay. [April 2012, p.101]

The AI of your fellow teammates has been ramped up considerably, making them wide open for a pass much more often. Exciting duels, where the ball changes owner multiple times are not just an exception anymore, they are to be expected. [October 2013 p.74]

“Every song ends but that's no reason not to enjoy the music” is probably the best way to describe this final DLC for one the biggest shooters in history. Just like every extra content before, we enjoyed End Game a lot. [April 2013, p.88]

Fans of the series will rejoice, but newcomers who never tuned in unto the Midnight Channel may be overwhelmed by the walls of text developer Arc Systems throws at the player. Luckily for them, there is still an arcade mode to enjoy. [June 2013, p.78]

Whereas characters in western RPG's tend to nag more than the average math teacher, the inhabitants of the beautiful world that is Ni no Kuni tend to have an intelligent sense of humour, rarely seen in games. [January 2013, p.62]

The nine multiplayer maps seem to be designed specifically to let players come up with their own creative strategies. Compared to COD, this gives the player a real sense of freedom. There is no such thing as a perfect strategy or a trotten path. [December 2011, p.74]

After opening thousands of treasure chests in Borderlands 2, you'd think Gearbox would have figured out by now that we are really good at it. But who are we to complain, just look at all that new loot. It's so beautiful. It's so precious. It's ours! [December 2012, p.93]

Naval combat is an exciting cat-and-mouse game in which you constantly have to manage not just the ever changing wind, but your opponents as well. Have a ship in your sights, but the cannons are still being reloaded? Better brace for impact. [November 2012, p.50]

If the big blockbusters like Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty seem a bit lacklustre to you on the Vita (and you would be right), there is still Sine Mora. Sure, this shoot-'em-up might be a bit short, but boasts excellent gameplay and a surprisingly riveting story. [January 2013, p.95]

Some games stay etched in your memory because of the emotional journey you experienced, like The Walking Dead, The Last of Us or Ico. Brother: A Tale of Two Sons does not quite belong on that list, but it does come very close. [October 2013 p.94]

The game's appearance remains unaltered, which sounds good, but unfortunately it isn't. The game doesn't look bad, but it certainly looks dated. From a cinematic standpoint everything's fine, but the numerous lip-sync errors bothered us immensely. [February 2013, p.80]

The characters support a little less detail, but when the body parts start flying you'll hardly have time to notice. The game runs smoothly at sixty frames per second and everyone who has already spilled gallons of blood on the PS3 will feel right at home. [June 2012, p.98]

Ninja Theory deserves credit for not only delivering smooth combat and telling an entertaining story, but also for crafting detailed character models without lip-synch errors, who show real emotion and wear clothing that moves along with them. This is what a 2013-game should look like. [February 2013, p.72]

Trine 2 still is a very beautiful game with some very entertaining gameplay even though there aren't any significant improvements over the original. The newly added online co-op sort of ruins the game as puzzles become very easy to solve when playing with one or two friends. [February 2012, p.102]

Street Fighter X Tekken is much more than just a fun party game. Even better, based on the number of unique mechanics, we would say this is Capcom's best fighter in a long time. Whereas Street Fighter IV and MvC 3 only had one unique feature, SFXT has dozens. [April 2012, p.74]

Some games are brilliant because of their simplicity. Take Sound Shapes for example, a game in which you roll a ball through colourful, minimalistic environments that vary from grey office buildings to beautiful sceneries of nature. [October 2012, p.78]

Switching between different dimensions does more than changing up the visuals. You can be attacked by enemies from both worlds, meaning you will have to constantly (and sometimes frantically) switch between dimensions to survive. [May 2013, p.94]

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is everything but a simulation racer, but it still feels a lot less arcadey than Ridge Racer or the classic Burnout games. It makes takedowns a bit more risky, since you risk losing control over your car, but also more satisfying. [November 2012, p.86]

During the very well written conversation we're often subtly reminded of the choices we made in the past. During the action scenes, the gameplay is simple, but effective. No half circles need to be made with the analog stick, it's all about mashing the X-button. [June 2012, p.100]

In terms of gameplay you can still expect the same simple running around, talking to people and mashing buttons when you get attacked by a zombie. Story-wise however, this episode does what it needs to do. [September 2012, p.86]

Old hats like us don't need convenient tips & tricks when faced with a seemingly unbeatable boss. Figuring out how to beat one of these gigantic culprits is half the fun and luckily Vigil Games understands this. [September p.66]

Explaining what makes this great is no easy matter. There simply hasn't been a game like this in our region before. Even though these games are immensely popular in Japan. The genre is called visual novel, or an interactive book if you will. [December 2012, p.84]

Once the game gets going, the recipe seems to have remained unaltered. There is no one who moves through the shadows and hugs the walls like Sam Fisher. But the levels in Blacklist are more varied than the empty office spaces and busy army bases you have come to expect from the franchise. [September p.54]

Build Your AI is an ever so important feature for any couch strategist wanting to lead his favourite team to the Stanley Cup. You can adjust your team's approach line by line. If you have a couple of fast wingers, it might be a good idea to dump the puck from the back. [October 2012, p.76]

In this DLC, a certain Mr. Torgue hosts an explosive tournament, trying to find Pandora's biggest bad-ass. Sounds like an excuse for a boring chain of arena battles, but thanks some cool quests and a terrific sense of humour, this is not the case. [January 2013, p.94]

Not changing a damn thing about your initial game formula in over seven year means you are either an extremely lazy designer or that the formula is so genius it doesn't need to be changed. Luckily designer Mizuguchi is anything but lazy and Lumines is still a winner. [March 2012, p.58]

It's clear that Insomniac was light years ahead of its peers. The combination of jumping, strafing and shooting incredibly fun guns is as addictive as ever. The graphics have also been beautifully upgraded. It's one of the best looking HD collections we've seen so far. [July 2012, p.78]