Fantastic for kids. [Christmas 2013, p.86]

Expect an open world Hot Pursuit and you’ll be enthralled in the maniac violence of weapon-fuelled cop chases and beautifully rendered exotics. View it as an ambassador for next-gen racing, and it falls a little flat.

I awarded the PS3 version 8/10 and while this is a marginally better game, the final product has to be considered a disappointment when weighted against its lofty expectations – and sphere-kicking stablemate, which has already set the bar high for PS4 sports sims.

Mastering hard games can be supremely rewarding, but overcoming a punishing encounter in Knack more often draws a sigh of relief rather than a loud whoop and fist pumps.

From the first bounce, it feels like a genuinely new generation of sports game has arrived. All the depth, drama and longevity you take for granted by now, and even some new ideas to match its next-gen looks.

This has its moments but it’s barely worth the patience needed to find them. Or anything else. If you want a Metroidvania experience on Vita then get the excellent Guacamelee instead.

In a game bursting with invention, Tearaway’s head-jumping kills feel uninspired and unsatisfying, and a predictable array of foes does little to alleviate that. Good job combat’s something of a rare occurrence, then. All Vita’s unique control aspects are exploited brilliantly within another beguiling Media Molecule universe.

FIFA 14 is one of the few launch games to have evolved in ways that aren’t solely graphics-based, and every one of its changes brings clear, distinguishable improvement. This is an essential day one purchase and – quite literally – the football game you’ve waited generations for.

The first twin-stick shooter of the next generation has a good chance of being PS4’s dark-horse killer app at the console’s launch. It’s hard to remember ever having quite this much fun whizzing around blowing up things in space. Resogun showcases how stunning arcade games can look with PS4 tech.

Most importantly, of all the launch shooters on PS4, this is the only one to try and do something different and vary its formula. Something it also does with visibly new tech rather than shored up current-gen code. It’s a combination that makes Killzone Shadow Fall a great experience and strong start to PS4.

It’s such a rare treat to find yourself blown away by a game you had no expectations of. I don’t want to ruin that feeling for you, so forget everything you just read after hitting the ‘buy’ button on the store, so you can enjoy the through-the-looking-glass wonderment of SITTM afresh. I can think of only one reason you wouldn’t go and play this, and it’s that you hate fun.

Appalling textures, clunky systems and gameplay you have to shake yourself away from. [Dec 2013, p.95]

Falls into the trap of sludgy platforming. [Dec 2013, p.94]

The tracklist is one for the generations. [Dec 2013, p.94]

An HD remake of the highest order. [Dec 2013, p.84]

A good game, but one you’ve played before. The single player is sorely lacking innovation, but the online side is strong like bison, even if the power of PS4 is sadly missing.

There’s a lot of highly polished content in Ghosts, and although it’s disappointing to see that it doesn’t truly embrace next-gen possibilities, I can’t lambaste it because I’d be denying the loveable bombast it doles out in wild, indiscriminate sprays. But yes, there should be a new engine powering all of it, plus genuine innovation always trumps the best-of atmosphere that pervades the solo campaign.

Simple but wonderfully effective, combining ‘Ooh what’s that?’ invitations to explore with ‘Ooh isn’t that lovely’ moments of beauty. Size doesn’t matter with a gem like this.

So this is a beautiful, sun-drenched idyll in which you’ll never want for something to do, and as such Black Flag is an excellent pirate fantasy. However, the core game is undermined by issues which should have been booted out of the franchise years ago. Eavesdropping missions have always been abysmal, and there’s a boatload of them here.

This isn’t Street Fighter or Soulcalibur, because it doesn’t set out to be. And it’s time series critics accepted that.

What we have then is a wonderfully strong start to what looks set to be another great Telltale episdoic. Smart, dark and stylish, and with plenty of intrigue as to where things go from here.

There are some familiar elements – Arkham City’s ice grenades reappear as the mechanically identical glue grenades for example – and most of the gains are in scale and size rather than substance, but this is still a satisfying adventure with only a few minor faults that’ll keep all but the hardest to please happy.

One very welcome addition is NHL 94 Anniversary mode. [Nov 2013, p.94]

Anniversary features disappoint. [Nov 2013, p.94]

Technical teething issues aside, FFXIV is a blinding online RPG. [Nov 2013, p.92]

Beyond’s a huge technical step forward for interactive drama, but seems less resolute than Heavy Rain not to stray back into familiar game territory. Commit to it like its actors do to the eccentric plot, though, and the rewards are gigantic – Holmes is where the heart is. Another essential purchase for interactive-drama disciples featuring a knockout turn by Page, but one that spreads itself thin telling its story through so many genres.

So it’s F1 2013’s ability to recreate a boring season in a fascinating way, rather than its ticket to oil-stained memory lane, that makes it a worthy purchase.

Beautiful and bizarre, the likeably certifiable antics on show are ultimately undone by a repetitive structure, lack of ideas and undercooked scraps.