Hereditary sins aside, the core experience of Assassin's Creed IV is one hell of a thirty-cannon salute that has so many tantalising distractions that we honestly can't wait to sail back into its world again. [December 2013, p70]

All-in-all the features add up to a game that is one of the best replications of the real thing thus far, especially with some top notch presentation. Just watch out for those damn ghosts. [November 2013, p85]

If you’re a fan of the franchise you’ll be getting this for new challengers Jacky Bryant, Rachel, Momiji, Leon and Ein. The Power Launcher move is about the only new mechanic addition. It looks hilarious, won’t rock worlds. [November 2013, p85]

In almost all other respects Castle of Illusion pales in comparison to the Rayman Legends of the world. We’d also recommend Duck Tales Remastered over this in a heartbeat, too. But if you prefer your platformers easy and protagonists in pants, Castle of Illusion is still worth the price. [November 2013, p85]

While the narrative is bonkers, Killer Is Dead iterates on tired gameplay to make a gorgeous game playable. [November 2013, p84]

It’s still far from perfect – main menu freezes abound and the EU and NA servers will frequently fail to even show up, so you’ll probs find yourself on a JP one – but when it works, it really works. Finally. [November 2013, p84]

A solid update to this apex icecapade. Feels like EA's holding back for the next-gen though. [November 2013, p83]

Combining the depth and difficulty of a rogue-like with the thrill of a platformer, it's an elegant and endlessly replayable gem of a game that is perfectly suited to a portable format. Co-op multiplayer over WAN (no netplay – boo!) is especially rewarding.[November 2013, p83]

All you really need to know is that this is a very capable port of one of the most celebrated games of 2012. Prepare to be drawn into a superbly written apocalyptic tale that will hook you in completely and aim for your feels. [November 2013, p83]

All-in-all the features add up to a game that is one of the best replications of the real thing thus far, especially with some top notch presentation. Just watch out for those damn ghosts. [November 2013, p83]

Visually astounding and addictive, few videogame worlds are as fleshed out as Puppeteer’s. [November 2013, p82]

The lead’s voice actor is completely miscast with all of the depth and nuance of an English dubbed 1980s Jackie Chan movie, the story doesn’t engage you at all and its telling is plodding and laboured. Let this experience slip from your mind and… Fade to Black. [November 2013, p82]

Mercenary is a big budget FPS on a handheld, done as right as it can be, but it’s still not quite good enough. [November 2013, p80]

Another fine refinement of one the best games of football on the market. [November 2013, p79]

PES still isn’t ‘better’ than FIFA, but by the golden boot of Beckham it’s the best one yet. [November 2013, p78]

This year isn’t over yet – let alone the generation – so it’d be foolish and premature for us to throw acronyms like ‘GOTY’ or ‘GOTG’ at you just yet. Even still, we simply cannot see anything out on that horizon which looks like it’s up to the task of toppling this titan – and we don’t say such things lightly. Acquire this game at all costs. Thieve it in a heist if you have to. [November 2013, p74]

You’re looking at an insanely simplistic sidescrolling platformer with a handful of power-ups and ‘special skilled’ Smurfs to swap through. Doing our due diligence, we road-tested this with a six and a nine-year-old. After 30 minutes, they wanted to go play outside. Says it all, really. [October 2013, p83]

God knows why you’d want to invest in this crap, however. A match consists of mashing triangle to overcome an uninspired selection of bland nobodies. Thumbs down, we say. [October 2013, p83]

What starts out as a delicious parody of The A-Team soon becomes a mess of cramped level design, mediocre graphics and ridiculous difficulty spikes. Couple that with framerate issues and more screen tearing and this is more miss than hit. [October 2013, p83]

A HD remake created with TLC, but it’s still brutally difficult. Argh! [October 2013, p83]

Fun and frustrating in equal measure, Cloudberry Kingdom is both as delicious and ugly as a Picnic bar. [October 2013, p82]

Coupled with a stronger focus on the sound and feel of gunplay, gamers are granted the chance to pull off memorable robberies worthy of Ocean’s Eleven, with shoot-outs as intense as Three Kings, unfortunately minus the Clooney. [October 2013, p82]

There’s a wealth of new content here, and it’s all been given the love and care this beloved franchise deserves. Whether you’re a veteran, or somebody who doesn’t know the business end of a keyblade, give this a shot. [October 2013, p81]

Absorbing, personable, and a lot cleverer than it initially lets on. The wildcard Tales series continues to impress. [October 2013, p81]

Starts slow then builds into a time sink, and each victory feels like a monumental win. Tacticians and action fans finally have something in common to obsess over. [October 2013, p80]

If you don’t have others to play with, that doesn’t mean you should miss out on the fun, though, because have no doubt about it, Rayman Legends is one of the best platformers we’ve played in years. [October 2013, p79]

Thank the gods Blizzard not only ported its baby over, but refined it, tweaked it and spiked it specifically for console. We feel all warm and gooey inside. [October 2013, p78]

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a mindless beat ‘em up obsessed with treasure chests (and pleasure ones): it’s so much more than that. Dragon’s Crown is the renaissance of the genre and it’s well worth your gold, soon-to-behardened adventurer. [October 2013, p77]