It’s balls-out hard pretty much from the get go, demanding pixel-perfect (snarf) jumps and committing entire levels to memory. There’s a point where it goes from being cute to very annoying, though. [March 2013, p80]

More than seven years on and Stranger’s Wrath is still fresh. Apart from some annoying pop-up tutorial boxes on PS Vita and some niggling issues when retrieving ammo, it’s still unabashedly brilliant. A must buy for sure. [March 2013, p80]

Sadly, not a lot of love has gone into cleaning up these remakes. The time capsule is rusty, but there’s enough old school challenge and timeless dark humour to justify a buy. [March 2013, p79]

Everything about EDF 2017 is a slog. Graphically atrocious and sonically awful, low-res buildings comically disappear after being grazed by heavy weaponry. While the bugs and bots twitch and spasm around their own character models, the bipedal robots are the worst offenders here, often getting caught up in their own limbs. [March 2013, p79]

It’s a pity the backtracking mars an otherwise clever title. [March 2013, p78]

It might look simple but prepare to have your brain tickled and tested. [March 2013, p78]

Persona 4 Golden is a Tardis of a game. Initially, it seems cute and friendly and it hooks you with its murder mystery and time management focus. Once you get inside, it opens up exponentially, awing you with its scope. [March 2013, p76]

Do yourself a favour and play DS3 like a raving masochist, straight off the bat. It’s a slick, AAA sequel that’s worthy of its place in the franchise. but only if you take the initiative and crank the difficulty. We didn’t think it possible, but Visceral has engineered a sequel that will appease old fans and entice new ones, too. [March 2013, p72]

Poorly presented and boring. Little difference between each mode.[April 2013, p78]

A tidy PS Mobile title who’s only crime is repetition. Loads of fun. [April 2013, p78]

Fact is, when Revengeance is firing on all cylinders it’s a great, albeit short (six hours, tops) action game. [April 2013, p78]

Unfortunately Ninja Storm 3 doesn’t really do anything to distinguish itself from its predecessors utilising the ‘bigger is better’ formula, and while novel in the short term, the huge character list isn’t enough to hide the glaring simplicity of its combat. [April 2013, p77]

Mindless, shallow fun if you’ve never played one before but it really is the same as 6 and 5 and 4. [April 2013, p77]

Fans concerned about this being the first Sly game not made by Sucker Punch should worry no more. Developer Sanzaru Games ‘gets it’ and has brought a lot of great ideas to the table that show, without a doubt, that action platformers are still a massively entertaining genre. [April 2013, p76]

Less of everything that marred Atelier Meruru. One of the best JRPGs of the year so far. [April 2013, p75]

If you’re a fan of the manga, maybe that’s enough to lure you towards Ken’s Rage 2. With a whole bunch of episodes (both based on the classic tale and new stories) to work through, you’ll certainly get a bang for your buck. The question is whether you’ll want to spend it in the first place. [April 2013, p75]

Combine some rock-solid fighting with a strategic Persona System (think: the ability to manifest a second, ghost buddy for 2 vs 1 beat downs) and Persona 4 Arena feels like a breath of fresh air. Round all that off with faultless versus and online modes, and you’re looking at a truly unique fighter that deserves to be noticed by mainstream gamers everywhere. [April 2013, p74]

As a shooter, you’ve been here a hundred times before. As an Aliens game it suffers the pressure of the legacy on which it’s built, and the story is diabolically woeful. Game over, man. [April 2013, p72]

There’s no denying Tomb Raider is a heavily influenced work, both mechanically and aesthetically (its nods to Neil Marshall’s The Descent are so happy to be there at one point Lara even re-enacts the “girlrising-out-of-sea-of-blood” scene). While it offers nothing wholly original, its salvaged parts combine to produce an experience that is consistently better than anything its own heroes have produced. [April 2013, p70]

Despite the flaws, Crysis 3 is a triumph that shows a willingness by Crytek to push itself to new heights, achieving a beautiful three-way union of graphical fidelity, compelling storytelling and a honed gameplay experience.[April 2013, p68]

Like a crack dealer in council flats the first hit is free, then the really good stuff is gonna cost you depending on what you want. However, it’s a thrill you’ve had before, and unless you’re really pining for the past (and don’t have all these old titles on your myriad other handheld and home devices) you can leave these alone as they’re presented as arcade perfect with no upgrades. [May 2013, p77]

Keep an eye on Thomas Hopper, he’s the digital devil. His latest platformer will put a serious dent in your free time and leave your scalp with pockets of bald patches. [May 2013, p77]

Simple at first but your twitch skills will get a solid workout in the later stages. Bite-sized fun and quite fetching. [May 2013, p77]

2013’s The Show is the complete package: amazing visuals with the capacity to fool unsuspecting relatives that you’ve temporarily forgot what country you woke up in and are watching televised baseball, and incredibly nuanced gameplay that’ll sprout a Louisville Slugger in the trousers of ardent fans of what’s allegedly America’s favourite pastime. [May 2013, p76]

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory is a compromise between two extremes, which is frustrating because there are so many meaningless textual back-and-forths in between the much improved adventuring that, every now and again, main charrie Neptune will even break the fourth wall and complain about it. It’s kind of like Hideo Kojima stopped by while this game was being made. [May 2013, p76]

Sigma 2 Plus might still satisfy die-hard fans, but its best moments come at a price. The game’s uneven combat, frustrating camera and shoddy performance make it a task of perseverance over entertainment. [May 2013, p75]

Let’s not pull any punches. This PS Vita version features the exact same pugilism, panty-service and pendulous paired appendages of Dead or Alive 5 on PS3, just in the palm of your questionably-callused hands. [May 2013, p75]

Think of every single sniping mission in Call of Duty all crammed together into four hours of nonsense terrorist stuff, but not nearly as good and you have Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2. It’s a beautiful display of third world foliage, but you won’t be exploring it in any detail, great or not. [May 2013, p74]