Good to see that Firaxis Games is following its tradition in optimizing core-game-features, that could have been worked out in a better way. So Beyond Earth’s diplomacy is much more entertaining now, the aquatic gameplay and the hybrid-affinities now offers much more strategical depth. The new artifact-system is a lot of fun to experiment with and there are many improvements in feature-details. But still it’s not the same overall fantastic game experience, that Civilization stands for. Even with the add-on improvements, Beyond Earth appears like a little sci-fi-brother to Civ 5.

While not quite on par with Wings of Liberty, the Heart of the Swarm campaign still comes as a fine package with varied missions and great production values. Multiplayer is as absorbing and challenging as ever, while offering newcomers a good place to get their feet wet.

This year's F1-Game is much more than an update. With its improved gameplay and graphics and the many Formula-1-contents F1 2012 is one of the best racing games available – although the rules-system and the AI aren't perfect yet.

Part two of this epic fantasy trilogy shares a lot of DNA with its predecessor, but improves upon combat variety and caravan management. The result is a more well-rounded experience in between the terrific plot twists, which are sure to take your breath away again.

With being too close to its predecessor Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed Revelations is not daring enough to forge its own path. Nevertheless, the game concludes the saga of Ezio in a satisfying manner and tells an interesting story in an even more interesting setting.

With Dirt 3 Codemasters finally re-focuses on what the Colin-Mc-Rae-series once stood for: real rally races, that make up about 60 percent of the game. The rest is a well-balanced mixture of evenly enjoyable race-types, inkluding the tricky Gymkhana events. The awesome car selection features a lot of classics from the 60's all the way to modern WRC cars - driving them is a ton of fun. Just don't expect a true simulation here.

The story is well written, full of difficult choices, sharp dialogue and memorable characters. Quest design is diverse and often surprising, plus there is a decent amount of new items, treasures and bossfights. It's a well-rounded package for a reasonable price and an easy choice for every fan of The Witcher.

When it comes to adult, nonlinear storytelling, The Witcher 2 is in a class of its own. Accompanied by outstanding visuals, carefully written characters and one of the most iconic heroes in the genre, the game exceeds many of our expectations. Unfortunately the ending is a little unsatisfying, there are some noticeable bugs and both controls and combat system leave quite a lot to be desired. The Witcher 2 is not perfect by any means, but it's a huge accomplishment nonetheless and ranks easily among the best RPGs of this year.

Rise and Fall takes the already feature packed main game and adds a lot of substantial new elements to it. Loyality, Gouvernours and Ages provide new layers of strategic depth. Sadly the old problems with the AI still remain.

Just Cause 3 is a delightfully straightforward game. It gives players a whole lot of explosive tools and then just leans back, waiting to see what you are going to blow up next. While light on true innovations apart from the fantastic wingsuit, Just Cause 3 is an infinitely more finely-tuned version of the silly action blockbuster we've all come to expect from the series.

Feels like a "best-of" MMORPG. Trion Worlds uses well known content, combining PvE, PvP, crafting, collecting, public questing. The class-system is great, though still unbalanced and the rift-events guarantee lots of entertaining battles.

An almost overwhelmingly deep experience for newcomers, but the profound and vast number of features keep the game interesting for a long time. Different modes take care of variety, while almost every aspect of “real” football management is part of this excellent game.

AC Origins is a strong signal for the continued existence of superb single-player games. Huge scope, great setting, exciting battles and motivating RPG-elements: Assassin's Creed is back again.

While lacking the ultimate sense for sober realism and clinical perfection that propelled Forza 3 and Gran Turismo 5 to the racing-genres pole-positions, Shift 2 Unleashed scores with its fast presentation and brilliant helmet-cam that boast of speed and adrenaline. Despite the sloppy and cumbersome menus and some problems in terms of balancing and over-aggressive AI, Shift 2 Unleashed closes the gap on these two masterpieces due to its intensive and enthralling performance on the track.

If you have any imagination at all, The Banner Saga’s terrific writing will take you on a splendid tour in one of the most interesting worlds computer game developers have created since the original Mass Effect. It’s a love letter to fantasy books and features an epic story with fascinating characters, that will sweep you away and not let you go until its end, which sadly comes all too soon.

The title is a milestone.

A perfect remake of a true strategy classic. The few things Firaxis changed are sensible and functional. A must-have for every strategy nerd.

Total War: Warhammer cuts out many features that fans of both franchises have come to expect. Personally, it doesn’t really bother me that sea-battles are now decided by the roll of a dice and sieges don’t include the entire city anymore, because the developers of Creative Assembly rather focused on more important elements. The enemy-AI behaves a lot more clever and battles have overall become way smoother. Obviously Total War: Warhammer never comes close to the complexity of a Civilization-game, but Warhammer’s real time battles definitely make up for that fact. What appears to be a bit of a weird decision by the developers though, is that you’re no longer able to paint your troops and cannot upgrade standard-units in any way or form.

Relic has used feedback and criticism to improve on mistakes from the past games, delivering fresh missions and a great presented campaign. A new level cap keeps motivation for longer and nostalgia burns hot, when meeting familiar faces such as Thaddeus and Avitus. The corruption feature is a great addition and feels thought out.

Although technically once again inferior compared to the next-gen-console-versions, PES 2016 is one of, if not THE best football game we’ve played in the last six or seven years, mainly due to its completely overhauled tackling system and smoother animations.

I actually expected standard lap strategy and, to my great surprise, got a strategy role-playing game with top-notch tactical depth. And that makes up for any existing quirks quite easily.

Excellent graphics, brilliantly designed levels and a chaotic but funny coop-mode: Rayman Origins is a triumphant comeback for Ubisofts limbless hero!

As a big fan of games like Castlevania and Metroid, this genre is right up my alleyway. Sadly, nowadays I lack the time and patience to take on new games of this genre in an adequate manner. Thus, Guacamelee! was a welcomed exception. The classic gameplay, stylish comic-design and excellent humor were exactly what I needed. The fact that Guacamelee! got such a good PC-port was only the cherry on top. So if enjoy metroidvania-games in the slightest, has to check out Guacamelee!.

Thanks to gunpowder and cannons, battles at land and sea are much more engaging than in the original. Add the well thought-out changes on the strategy map and it's purse-friendly price tag and you have one great addition to the Total War-series.

Before the Storm is a great prequel that manages to capture the essence of what Life is Strange is. With great characters, a beautiful story, the typical atmosphere and fantastic music this installment sometimes even surpasses the first game.

While the additions don't change the game in any fundamental way, the overall experience is still as amazing as it was last year. If you haven't played Ori before, this Definitive Edition is a must buy.

Dirt 2 is a fast paced racing game that is appealing to all fans of this genre. However the series is more and more losing its simulation character and becoming an arcade franchise. Is that a good or bad thing? Decide for yourself. Nonetheless the game is looking great especially in DirectX 11.

Mario Kart for grown-ups! With cool power-ups! And real cars! In this fast and action-packed racing game you battle your rivals with power-ups but you need driving skills as well. The online multiplayer keeps you motivated for weeks.