Artistically it's a bit gaudy. [Feb 2014, p.87]

Eufloria’s humble indie roots can be seen in the crude visual design.

Involving if arthritic, boring yet fleetingly brilliant, Carnivores’ cerebral shooting is genuinely unique in spite of its miserly unlocks.

An unrefined Portal-lite it may be, but this first-person puzzler occasionally weaves sharply spun noggin teasers to provide some proper ‘Eureka!’ moments.

With plans for naval and ground vehicle combat, War Thunder has the potential to become one of PS4’s darkest horses. It’s punishing, sure – but guiding a precious bird to victory causes your chest to swell with imaginary medals every time.

In its defence, Retribution is free to play – so while it can’t compete with Killzone Shadow Fall, that’s an unfair expectation to begin with. But it’s still a PS4 release, and in this regard feels like a grubby stowaway that’s snuck aboard a glitzy cruise liner bound for the golden shores of next-gen.

With a stupidly generous variety of modes, challenges and room for player expression, OlliOlli is one of PS Vita’s most fun and alluring games to date.

Sadly, Liberation can’t escape its limited gameplay, technical unevenness and poorly told story. While Black Flag kicked the series on, the past holds no glory for Aveline.

If you can live with the pervading sense of confusion, there’s a lot of game here for no money. Whether it convinces you to part with some cash or not, you’ll still keep coming back.

Broken Sword 5 is clearly a real labour of love on Cecil and co’s part, but their desire to recapture the spirit of the beloved early games has left this one feeling more than a little dated.

If you ally yourself with the ‘I don’t get it brigade’ you’re missing out on some of the best storytelling in gaming.

Learning is half the fun and even the smallest victory makes you feel like you’re winning with a capital FU.

The game that changed games arrives on PlayStation in fine form with an improved crafting system, tarnished only slightly by a cramped map size. Until the full-fat PS4 Edition arrives, this’ll do nicely.

The game feels a lot like it was designed for PS Vita's touchscreen and found its way onto PSN, where it's a bit lost. [Jan 2014, p.95]

A browser game on a disc. [Jan 2014, p.95]

If I stopped to process the notion that I'll never get the time back I spent wrestling with A-Men 2's spongy, imprecise jumping and clunky puzzles, I might never stop trembling with impotent rage. [Jan 2014, p.95]

There's only so long you can spend looking at this piss-poor running animation before you start seriously wondering "What if I just looked out of the window for a few minutes instead?" [Jan 2014, p.95]

Offers a decent afternoon's leisure at best. [Jan 2014, p.94]

Although the game can look a little rough around the edges, it's still a thoroughly worthy addition to the blood-soaked legacy of Castlevania. [Jan 2014, p.94]

An effortlessly explosive adventure on your PS3. [Jan 2014, p.89]

There's simply nothing here to justify you buying it ahead of 2K's b-ball champ. [Jan 2014, p.84]

Embrace it like a comfortable pair of shoes. [Jan 2014, p.84]

If you don't own a Vita, Velocity Ultra for PS3 is still a must-play - just keep in mind that you're getting a less-than-flattering upscaling of a modern handheld classic. [Jan 2014, p.84]

While I’ve got my steel toecap in the puppy’s ribcage, I might as well say that the galaxy-trotting do-good gig gets repetitive quickly.

An unmistakably devilish puzzler with a truly hellacious price tag, that it’s so flippin’ brilliant only gives Angry Birds: Star Wars’ exclusive-to-PS4 cost extra sting. C3P-no.

In its single-minded effort to deliver the best console racer handling the world’s seen, Polyphony lets a number of technical issues drive on by for yet another game.

Even if you just own the Starter Pack models there’s still hours of fun to be had levelling up in the returning Arena modes.

A heartfelt story and unique take on platforming combine to make this an engaging, yet sadly short-lived, adventure.