Tether the plethora of modes here together and you get a Power Rangers-style mega-force that 's much more than the sum of its parts, and only the overly familiar template and a lack of soul keep it from nabbing a higher score. Although it's technically brilliant, running at a constant 60fps, it lacks the esoteric charm, ideas and personality to rank as a true classic.

This is a fantastic package - a dark, witty tale of death and retribution that can be whatever you want it to. It captures the ebb and flow of tension that stealth games forgot about years ago, but presents it in a way that feels utterly contemporary. [Dec 2012, p.88]

It won't keep you amused for great stretches at once – it feels a bit more like a really great app than a fully fledged game – but for enjoyable chunks of puzzle-centric play to dip in and out of, this hits the mark.

What it might lack in terms of raw driving appeal, LBP Karting compensates for with a charmingly unhinged single-player, chaotic multiplayer and all the customisable bells and whistles you could ask for.

While the game's temple design is never quite as consistently expansive or ambitious as a Legend Of Zelda, Okami's art, sturdy combat and inventive noodle-teasers have aged as gracefully as Jeff Bridges distinguished chin fur.

Worth checking out both as a PlayStation, and gaming, fan if you want to see an evolutionary step on the way to where we are today.

Part of me wanted to give WWE 13 an even higher score. Namely, the 14-year-old part that would love to dust off his '98 King Of The Ring VHS and watch it on repeat until it disintegrated. Although my inner Attitude-loving teen doesn't quite win out, this is still the most authentically detailed, lovingly crafted grappler ever committed to disc.

It's achieved a vicious racing experience that thrills so much more than it frustrates, and it's pushed vehicular multiplayer forward significantly, setting the bar so high it's hard to imagine who can better it.

So much was promised, and so little that's new has been delivered. Certain fundamentals are woefully sub-par (the horse riding is absolutely shameful), and it's either laziness or a troubling lack of creativity that's led to such a generic and repetitive selection of story missions. And yet the game is saved somewhat by the wealth of content it includes (and the well-integrated, largely compelling nature of these side-dishes), and the moments that remind you just why this series remains such a big draw.

It's the repetition that grinds you down. Boss battles provide brief breaks in the monotony, but they're just the seeping gizzard of consolation inside a disappointing, fleshy haystack.

Assuming you can patch it and it works, what you've got here is a basic shooter that, when it remembers what it is, can be fun, and when it forgets, goes mad.

Not just another fumbled tie-in but a painfully wasted opportunity.

Doom 3: BFG Edition has its darkly atmospheric highlights. But a generous amount of content can't salvage a package that's decidedly dated. If you want a cracking Id shooter, buy Rage on PS3 for about a tenner, because this is one mission to Mars you're better off skipping.

The Unfinished Swan deserves high praise for being inventive, unique and absolutely beautiful. But this shouldn't obscure the fact that these things apply more to the look and the core mechanic than the gameplay and how said mechanic meaningfully develops. The engagement with the narrative and characters isn't on a par with that of the top titles in a similar vein, and there's a lingering sense of what might have been.

Joe Danger's return is as thoroughly enjoyable as his debut – a combination of predictable physics, challenging level design and varied tasks make it more than a "play once, discard" downloadable. Perhaps it doesn't quite leave the safety of the original's blueprint enough, or capitalise on the excellent concept of making a stunt-heavy movie, but it remains a chirpy, robust platformer with surprising depth.

A game as dead in the water as its protagonist's bullet-ridden backside. [Nov 2012, p.119]

When a game brands itself "bizarre", I expect something a little more off-the-wall than a 2D fighter. [Nov 2012, p.119]

It's easy to get sucked in. [Nov 2012, p.119]

A probably-ought-to-be-illegal level of compulsiveness that belies its simplicity. [Nov 2012, p.117]

The never-ending waves of vigilante violence appeal to my stubborn side. [Nov 2012, p.117]

Somewhat dull resource management. [Nov 2012, p.117]

Probably better from a nostalgic point of view. [Nov 2012, p.117]

If it stops condescending to gamers, Harada and Ono might have some pressure at the top. [Nov 2012, p.117]

The problem - and the reason Maddden doesn't creep into 9/10 territory - is the (Connected Careers) mode feels like a bets. [Nov 2012, p.113]

Essentially an account simulator (woo!) punctuated by the odd cannon-on-cannon scuffle. [Nov 2012, p.105]

In the harsh light of modernity, this just [whisper it] doesn't seem that great any more. [Nov 2012, p.105]

There's too much trial and error, but this is still a refreshing spin on a stale genre. [Nov 2012, p.97]

Tells an entirely forgettable story. [Nov 2012, p.97]

Buy this to guarantee a ruck...with your own sanity. [Nov 2012, p.97]

With every element of Xcom's complex yet utterly accessible systems – from meaningful combat tactics, to budget balancing, to life-or-death diplomatic decisions – feeding directly into every other aspect of the game, this is as compelling a world as any in recent memory.

In booting out such a shamelessly phoned-in product it shows a flagrant lack of faith in Vita as a format. If you own FIFA Football, there's no way you should buy this… unless you really can't bear to see the Arse line up minus Santi Carzola. Naughty FIFA.

The buzz Dishonored will give you is unrivalled, and the spontaneous moments of brilliance you'll experience will be unique. It's a wake-up call for first-person gaming, resurrecting long-lost values and casually plunging a knife into the neck of the generic sequel.

The frustrating thing is that with a bit of judicious trimming, this could have been a smaller, tighter and significantly better game.

A brilliantly inventive, beautiful and tender experience. Just don't let its looks blind you to its issues, like that smack-peddling glamour model you pursued at uni.

There are thousands of programs, YouTube tutorials and teachers that do a more effective job of teaching, and an army of clicky peripheral-based games that nail the fun element better.

Higbrow exploration of revenge and the afterlife it ain't, but if you want to wring the most blood, pound for pint, out of your PS3, then Ash is your lop-eared new god of gore.

FIFA is still the best football game your money can buy. It's not streets ahead of PES but there's daylight, and this is the most convincing representation of the sport – incorporating both the on- and off-field aspects – that we've seen.

Despite some irritating moments, Legasista does possess some cool play concepts. [Nov 2012, p.87]

Though the fun eventually wore thin, finding the ultimate combo of score-smashing power-ups kept us hooked for hours. [Nov 2012, p.82]

Sadly the repetitiveness of the gameplay, despite team attacks and unlockable special moves, gets tiring long before the charms of the world. And so, ironically, Luffy just doesn't quite have the legs

Borderlands 2 is a top-class FPS that perfectly captures that 'shooting things is fun' rush into an endless cycle. The game it most reminds me of is Doom: it recreates that lost-in-the-moment, circle-strafing intensity perfectly, so that you never get bored of it...If you're tired of brown military shooters and crying out for something different, then get involved – this is one of the most imaginative and rewarding blasters of the year.

Judge Dread would be more accurate. [Oct 2012, p.117]

F1 2012 feels like the perfect counterpart to the real sport. It's immaculately presented, varied and engaging in ways the previous games struggled to hit on.

While familiar faults persist, PES 2013 marks the biggest step forward for the series on PS3. FIFA 13's liquid animations and peerless physics system still give it the trophy-hoisting edge, but now PES' unique strengths are refined enough to make it a genuinely worthwhile alternative.

Throw in spectacular crashes and the ability to rewind time to avoid them and even us Brits have something to enjoy. [Oct 2012, p.119]

The graphics and gameplay are so simplistic that this could probably be run on a high-end calculator. [Oct 2012, p.119]

The platforming gameplay itself is simple, but in conjunction with the lovely art style and excellent soundtrack, there are times when Sound Shapes becomes a genuine joy. [Oct 2012, p.119]

A reskinned arcade game with tacked-on multiplayer. [Oct 2012, p.117]

The quests are grinding, the dialogue linear, and the loot at lower levels decidedly 'meh.' [Oct 2012, p.117]

There's just not enough improvement upon last year for me to recommend this. [Oct 2012, p.114]

It is a great story. [Oct 2012, p.113]

Combat, while smooth, does get repetitive at times. [Oct 2012, p.111]

It's ambitious, but everything in it suffers from some hideous defect, like a garden centre in the middle of Chernobyl. [Oct 2012, p.110]

The initial selection of Pomeranian and deer does offer a nice contrast of aggressive carnivore and stealthy grazer, but you're grinding challenges for a while before you branch out to the cool stuff. And in a game in which you can fight a cow with a dinosaur, that's a crime.

It's a slice of gleefully inventive oddness that's certainly sated our appetite for sackboy on handheld – and it's very nearly perfect.

NHL 13's a hockey fan's dream in many ways, pursuing realism and depth at the expense of newcomer accessibility. It's still a few good ideas away from the elite sports franchises, but I'll be tweaking tactics, refining rosters and racing against icing calls right up until 14 laces its skates.

For successfully melding the best of its recent ideas with the time-honoured core combat and introducing the best tutorial mode we've seen in fighters to date, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 brings renewed vigour to the fighter war. It's so much fun, we can almost look past its creepy girl-fascination, and can just about forgive it for occasionally confusing presentation.

This is more interactive adventure than traditional 'game', and a brilliant example of the benefits of narrative-driven gaming experiences. With a cast we're becoming more and more invested in, and scenarios of increasing moral complexity, the end of the world is fast becoming one of our favourite places to be.

This is big and dumb where Bats was sleek and considered. But this is still a triumph – especially on a fan-service level – and absolutely deserving of a titanic culmination to the trilogy. These Robot Wars are more than worth your time.

This isn't an offensively bad game, merely a game with no purpose. [Sept 2012, p.115]

Ice Age 4 isn't all bad. [Sept 2012, p.113]

It all becomes weirdly addictive. [Sept 2012, p.109]

We'd still prefer an actual game of Twister. [Sept 2012, p.105]

This is simply a hilarious misunderstanding of what a game should be. [Sept 2012, p.104]

A surprisingly thoughtful narrative accompanies each scenario from 1947 to present. [Sept 2012, p.102]

There are some great puzzles in here, but they're presented with more of a spit-shine than actual polish, lacking the precision of larger studios' games and suffering clipping woes. But as a curio, a breath of fresh creative intent and a piece of leftfield storytelling, Papo & Yo beats games with ten times the budget and manpower.

It could easily be tedious, and it's certainly templated. But the diversions are good enough, the hero personalised enough, and the ability to move around the world quick enough via your immediately available horse and map-skipping fast travel, that it feels like an adventure all the same. Plus, leaning down to slice enemies with a scythe from a horse makes it feel like you're playing demon polo, which is awesome.

While Sleeping Dogs doesn't innovate enough to be considered on a par with Rockstar's finest, the fact that it comes so very close [and even improves up those games in a couple of ways] deserves massive credit. This is the game Saints Row has spent a decade desperate to be... It's unquestionably 2012's most brilliantly brutal surprise. [Sept 2012, p.95]

Tedious enemies. [Aug 2012, p.117]

A one-trick pony. [Aug 2012, p.117]

The turn-based combat is swift and (overly) simple. [Aug 2012, p.117]

Misjudged difficulty and cumbersome controls. [Aug 2012, p.115]

Surprisingly enjoyable. [Aug 2012, p.115]

Best left on the bargain bin's seabed. [Aug 2012, p.113]

Dull, ineffectual combat. [Aug 2012, p.111]

Brain-munchingly dull. [Aug 2012, p.111]

This courts motion sickness with a bottle of wine and a mixtape. [Aug 2012, p.107]

4am's unique interaction style and possibilities deserve that extra bit of polish to match their innovation. [Aug 2012, p.105]

It's also more predictable, with fewer affecting decisions than the first part, but that's not to say that you won't umm and ahh over what to do on multiple occasions. This is still an excellent piece of narrative-driven gaming, where you grow attached to the cast and enjoy/endure the consequences of your actions. It's where Heavy Rain meets the zombie apocalypse, and that should be enough to sell anybody.

The learning curve is spot on, with each new dimension properly introduced and then quickly integrated with the others, so that you're always making progress and never feel patronised.

A compulsive bite-sized gaming chunk.

As a whole, this is a step back for the series and an insult to those who know that Vita and Gotham deserve more. This is not the Batman game that you need.

The increased frequency of kills, assists, neutrals and captures certainly act like metabolic steroids for your rank, feeding you XP like it's going out of fashion, and for some players that'll be enough to warrant Close Quarters' existence.

Gameplay is enjoyable but in a brief and shallow way. The longer you spend with it the less you get. There's a lack of imagination where this feels more about keeping you occupied than creating an interesting world filled with atmosphere. It lacks the variety and texture you really need keep things exciting.

It's as satisfyingly competitive as you'd hope. London 2012 is the best athletics game we've seen in a while, even if the fact we can't guide the actual Team GB to glory puts a slight tarnish on its medal.

These remain absolute must-play games, no matter what format they're on.

Unfortunately the system chokes as things get more frantic. Manoeuvring often means accidentally popping off cover, and performing tasks like reviving downed teammates whips the camera around wildly – minor complaints, but ones that are frustratingly at odds with the fragility of your character. Later stages see you downed by two or three hits, and it's impossible to keep a lock on foes or stay tucked safely away from bullety harm.

So much has been improved, and with a tightly scripted plot where a gun known as the Destructor makes a perfect weapon for a Lego Joker, cinematic camera shots and a clear love for the series, TT Games has surpassed its previous titles. This is a huge game, with a world fans won't want to leave.

Lollipop Chainsaw's core gameplay is distinctly second-tier, and for every endearing exchange between characters or LOL-worthy line, there's a crude sexual innuendo or lingering shot of Juliet's jiggling breasts. Maybe we haven't come a long way, baby.

When you've got a series that lets you transform foes into sheep and demands you save tourists from feral intergalactic squirrels, whinging over resolutions seems smaller than its dinky droid sidekick.

The same relatively deep two-wheel sim as ever, but with each passing year the geriatric graphics engine kills even more appeal. [July 2012, p.117]

At heart this is still Bejeweled doing what it's done for more than a decade. [July 2012, p.117]

If it didn't suffocate you with screens of sub-par writing [a clumsy nod to Fate's visual novel roots] it could almost look the Persona series in the eye. Almost. [July 2012, p.117]

You'll have had enough of the quirky humour in roughly 90 seconds. [July 2012, p.115]

Go for last year's Overkill for your undead shooting needs. [July 2012, p.115]

It's not bad. [July 2012, p.115]

Really, it's your enthusiasm for the game and some repeated battling that makes Disgaea's system actually sink in. [July 2012, p.111]

A crackling little puzzle game with a very slow learning curve. [July 2012, p.109]