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]