Need for Speed more or less returns to its roots with the cops in a leading role. Two careers - you play either a cop or a street racer - will keep you very busy and the AllDrive feature is highly enjoyable. Visually, Need for Speed: Rivals also delivers. It's a bit of a shame that the game doesn't have as many cars as one would expect from an NFS game. The title is perhaps also a bit too easy. Don't let that hold you back, though; Need for Speed: Rivals is an excellent racing game.

Every year the WRC franchise gets better. WRC 4: FIA's licenses are perfectly in order, the career mode is a lot of fun and the tracks are varied. On the other hand, the game lacks challenge, has an overabundance of loading times and disappoints audiovisually.

Ratchet & Clank return to their roots, though their "comeback" isn't exactly a homerun. You'll have a lot of fun with Nexus, to be sure, but certain aspects - some weapons are useless, there isn't any innovation to speak off and Clank's moments in the spotlight are more frustrating than enjoyable - could have been done better. In the end, fans will definitely want to get this, though newcomers should think twice.

This game's a lot of fun, with the 30 Years of Wrestlemania mode as the indisputable highlight. However, the controls aren't very precise, the camera can get quite frustrating and the visuals won't win any awards nowadays. It's good, but it could (and should) have been a lot better.

It fills up the gap between both Lords of Shadow games quite nicely and the HD-transition is well-done. Nevertheless, the game's a bit easy, the gameplay lacks depth and the story could have been a lot more engaging. It will keep Castlevania fans busy until Lords of Shadow 2 is released, which is the only reason we could come up with to recommend this.

Proteus is a game without a clear goal. In fact, we're not sure whether there is a purpose to it at all. You're just wandering around a deserted island, that is generated at random for every new playthrough. Still, in a strange way, Proteus is very satisfying and not just because there are Trophies to earn. It's a bizarre, relaxed experience, though it definitely isn't for everyone.

The augmented reality made the Invizimals franchise a lot of fun. If you take that away, you get a platforming experience that is mediocre at best and on top of that highly forgettable. Children might get a bit of mileage out of it; everyone else shouldn't come within a mile of this disappointing product.

It's good, not great. Knack is the icon of the PlayStation 4, but makes an uncertain impression in his first adventure. As a platformer, Knack is a lot of fun, but also very basic. It's addicting, to be sure, but an uninteresting story and a lack of both variation and innovation keep the game from earning a truly high mark.

A game that uses the PlayStation Vita very creatively, Tearaway is a lengthy, highly original and visually beautiful experience. The combat gets a bit repetitive after a while, but that shouldn't stop Vita owners from getting their hands on this title.

It's all there - fun and intuitive combat, challenging stealth gameplay and an engaging story - but Warner Bros. Montréal never truly hits Rocksteady's mark. At times the game feels rushed, empty and frankly, uninspired. It's an enjoyable title, to be sure, but it's nowhere near as good as its predecessors.

We didn't like going out of the animus, the mission structure gets repetitive real fast and the framerate isn't always as solid as it should be. Nevertheless, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag offers a great and varied experience, mostly thanks to the expertly designed world you get to explore.

A tower defense game that challenges your intellect and convinces with a unique visual style. The castle editor extends the experience, though overall CastleStorm lacks the content to be anything more than a quickie while waiting for the next big title to hit the shelves.

The singleplayer is spectacular, but rather short. The online multiplayer is huge and highly addictive. No surprises there. New additions to the franchise either manage to deliver a surprisingly fun experience (Extinction) or a slightly disappointing spin on the known multiplayer formula (Squads).

A fantastic online multiplayer mode and a disappointing singleplayer? Sounds like Battlefield, all right. Don't expect any huge graphical leaps either, just a fabulous and highly destructive - Levolution is a blast! - online experience.

Developer Vicarious Visions doesn't change the winning team, but adds a rather interesting swap mechanic to the already interesting gameplay elements from its predecessors. The challenge is at times perhaps a bit too steep, but other than that this is once again a fine entry in the Skylanders franchise.

While still being a great racing game, we were not too convinced by F1 2013. Yes, the career mode is properly fleshed-out (though we've seen it all before) and the classic mode is a nice addition to the franchise, though we could do without the weird paywall construction that demands players to pay extra for all the content. The visuals are also rather boring and the game's intro aims perhaps a bit too much at franchise rookies, which might annoy experienced players.

It's not spectacularly innovating and the graphics are in dire need of improvement, but other than that NBK 2K14 manages to tweak its gameplay enough to justify the new installment in the franchise. We could do without the clumsy menus and stupid dialogue, though.

Let's face it, if you're not into stories, you shouldn't buy Beyond: Two Souls. After all, player input is kept to a bare minimum and even then it manages to take you out of the experience, as it needlessly slows down the action. However, those who love a good and well-told story can't go wrong with Beyond: Two Souls. Both Ellen Page's and Willem Dafoe's acting is highly convincing and the visuals are appropriately jaw-dropping. Co-op is also a feature very much worth exploring, as it succeeds in turning this "interactive movie" into an effective two-player experience.

NHL 14 doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but then again... it doesn't need to. Deep controls that are both challenging and accessible make for an excellent hockey simulation, strengthened by a large variety of game modes, state-of-the-art visuals and top-notch commentary tracks. If you're into hockey, you owe it to yourself to give NHL 14 a shot.

Lone Survivor might just be the purest survival horror game of this generation, leaving the player to desperately fend for himself, without offering him any clear information whatsoever on what's going on. One-man developer Jasper Byrne manages to use what are essentially GameBoy Color graphics to his advantage, suggesting horrors rather than flatout confronting the player with them, and expertly using creepy sound design to strengthen the experience. The map mechanics suck and it's a shame the game doesn't last very long, but horror fans can't go wrong with Lone Survivor.

A unique and highly atmospheric game you just can't help but finish in one sitting... though that leads us towards its biggest shortcoming: it's too short and perhaps a bit too easy as well.

Kickbeat is quite addicting, with it's beat'm-up-with-guitar-hero-influences gameplay and its wonderful soundtrack. Watch out for certain level of frustration though, as it's rather hard to make up for earlier mistakes and the boss fights are at times terribly unclear.

Square Enix has learned from the failed release of Final Fantasy XIV and delivers an update worth playing. A Realm Reborn is an extremely enjoyable, if a bit repetitive MMO, the score of which is brought down by an unhealthy amount of framedrops, mediocre voice-acting and the lack of PvP.

The absence of Birth by Sleep is both remarkable and disappointing, and it's definitely a shame we can't play Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Other than that, however, this is pretty much the ultimate collection for Kingdom Hearts fans, seeing as it enables them to finally follow up on the story appropriately.

Some minor visual issues aside, EA came, saw and emerged victorious: FIFA 14 improves on a number of key features and establishes itself again as the best soccer game out there.

Kojima's Fox Engine makes PES 2014 look pretty, but won't keep FIFA from crowning itself "footie of the year". The main culprits? An unhealthy amount of framedrops and once again a sore lack of licenses.

The long-awaited fifth episode in Rockstar's extremely popular franchise delivers on all fronts. It's one of those rare games that does everything absolutely right and therefore a purchase is definitely in order. What are you waiting for?

Part three of the Lost Planet series is good, but a bit disappointing as well. The story's interesting and the characters surprisingly engaging, as they wander around an atmospheric world that's definitely worth exploring. The action, however, is quite repetitive and the pacing's more than a little awkward. Audiovisually, the game is mediocre at best. Lost Planet 3 could (and should) have been a lot better.