The Thrill Cam is a majestic moment in gaming but it's the rock-solid driving model that ensures great universal enjoyment, albeit marred by technical gremlins and misguided GTA aspirations.

MiniSquadron successfully lands on the Minis runway carrying its trademark intense and engaging flight combat frolics but misses an opportunity to deliver a little more content-related freight.

A decent enough puzzling sequel that's ruined by an overbearing and unpleasant payment system, Where's My Water? 2 is a soggy mess.

Naruto: Path of the Ninja may star a sprightly yellow-haired youth, but its gameplay is old and tired. Even fans of the manga are going to have a hard time choking down this stale piece of gaming.

An entertaining, if unspectacular, mix of solo and multiplayer golf that simply isn't strong enough to warrant the constant in-app purchase demands.

While the original remains a classic, Samurai Shodown II for iOS is too glitchy and broken to really recommend.

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 tries to seduce you with its quirky 3D visuals, but at its core this is just a bare-bones mini-game collection that can only sustain the briefest of relationships.

A disappointing effort that manages to stall on nearly every count from lacklustre racing to limited content to technical issues preventing play.

A messy control system that you're constantly having to fight against means The Other Brothers is a pale imitation of the games it's trying to copy.

It might be cute, but Oh Hi! Octopi is tedious, finicky, and almost entirely incomprehensible

It looks the business in screenshots, yet SpinCraft's half-decent 3D landscapes can't hide the tedious design and irritatingly floaty controls.

A capable game destroyed by inexcusable loading. Heavy petting has rarely been less appealing.

Sniper Elite by way of CSR. Kill Shot is dumb free to play fun, but don't expect anything truly ground breaking.

Iffy free-to-play model aside, Ultimate Sackboy is merely a competent runner that could use a lot more variety to keep things interesting. It's a beautiful-looking game but lacks much substance to keep me coming back. With future seasons and updates planned, this might improve, but for now, it remains okay.

You'll dislike the approach Ubisoft took to the presentation of Michael Jackson in the title, as well as the paltry number of songs on offer, but look past these issues and this is a great rhythm-action title that makes smart use of the Vita's touchscreen.

The Legend of Spyro trilogy finishes on a high note. It's imperfect, but highly enjoyable, lacking only polish and length.

A wonderful game that's battered into submission by an overbearing payment scheme, Fightback has the moves, but it uses them all wrongly.

With a bit of sprucing up here and there, Sumioni: Demon Arts could be a keeper. In its current form, there's still plenty to enjoy.

At times, Army Corps of Hell is an adrenaline rush of swift tactical fighting. It's also, however, incredibly repetitive and far too drawn out.

Poor handling and missing features make Race After 1977 feel too much like the dingy vehicles that roll across its post-apocalyptic landscape.

Minor improvements make Cake Mania 2 better than the original, but the difference is negligible. Lacking depth and issues with the touch controls make this casual treat a relatively tasteless affair.

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two might suit the kids, but it's too dull and fiddly for anyone else to truly enjoy.

Attractive presentation can't make up for a lack of substance - just like a real circus!

Third Blade looks the part but the pretty visuals are merely a façade to cover up some painfully uninspiring gameplay and an in-app purchase system which practically forces you to dig deep in your pockets to advance.

High Flyer Death Defyer provides nice fast-paced arcade action, though it does get repetitive after a while.

While it has an interesting central idea, Half-Inch Heist is more about frustration than it is fun.

A fairly standard endless-runner that only really stands out for its inspired visual style.

It has a few stand-out moments, but too often Dream Chaser puts a wall between you and your enjoyment.

There's a decent enough game struggling to get emerge from Dragon Storm. It's just a shame that the developer doesn't seem to want you to find it.

There's a lot to like here, and if you're a fan of gaming's past then you're going to lose a lot of your time in The Deep Paths.

Stupid, glitteringly bright, and a little bit broken, WWE WrestleFest still manages to capture the slapdash drama and violent hilarity of the ring.

There's no better game to demonstrate the cool new ways to interact with the Vita, but Little Deviants's long-lasting appeal is minimal, relying on too few gameplay ideas over too long a period of time.

Square Planet looks the part, and it has plenty of good ideas, but a less-than-perfect physics engine lets it down.

An enjoyable cliché while it lasts, but ultimately this is an average package that few players will be able or willing to justify shelling out for.

The Eternal Night tries its best to capture the classic Spyro recipe, but is let down by poor design, an unfair camera and infuriating difficulty spikes.

Globulos Party offers great local multiplayer fun, but is a little too hit and miss as a single-player game.

A cynical reskin of Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North, The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth will be a disappointment to Tolkien fans and experienced freemium city-builders alike.

Convoluted and grind-focused, Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization will alienate newcomers and potentially bore old fans.

The presentation is great and there's lots packed in, but the core platforming of Rayman Raving Rabbids is unfulfilling.

Xevious is a true arcade classic, offering a delicate slice of shooting action that will seriously test your gaming skills. The asking price, however, is far too high to fully recommend.

The Elder Scrolls: Castles is a fantastical kingdom management sim in which you'll build your castle, send adventurers on quests, and make royal decisions that will affect your subject's loyalty and happiness.

Do your part to stop the spread of Coded Arms Contagion and its uninspired strain of first-person action. Crippled controls and multiplayer malaise prove far too potent against its beautiful looks.

It's too short, feels tired and repetitive – not unlike war, Fighter's Battle seems mostly futile.

Fast & Furious 6: The Game is the simplest, most accessible, and graphically impressive of the current set of drag racers.

Surf's Up uses its licence well but flawed execution means it fails to get the pulses racing. Fans of the film can dive on in, but the rest of us will have more fun back on dry land.

DynamoKid Touch has neither the instant appeal of Canabalt nor the breadth of play of a full platformer to make it fully satisfying.

Effectively a fancy way of playing rock-paper-scissors online, The Witcher: Versus possesses some interesting supporting features that do much to hide this fact, but not enough to hold your attention for long.

A rough draft for what could become a masterpiece, Bakushow is messy, unfinished and not yet worth the money.

A poorly put together dungeon crawler with little personality and bad controls.

A formulaic hack and slash action RPG that doesn't even manage to get that bit right.

Deadly Premonition 2's is a game built exclusively for fans of the original, and even they will be put off by the endless bugs, horrible performance, and questionable design.

The PSP has been crying out for a brand new classic Japanese RPG for a long time now. Dragoneer's Aria, as a wholly average expression of the genre that's of interest to super-fans only, is not the game to answer its melancholy call.

More flawed than fun, Star Wars: Imperial Academy is a mess of a shooter that fails to do justice to ngmoco's FPS track record or the Star Wars universe.

Danger Boat is a perfectly pleasant, but completely uneventful entry in a very tired genre. There are at least seventeen zillion better endless-runners on the App Store.

The DS version trumps the PSP edition, but it's a hollow victory - this is lightweight stuff that many players will find is only entertaining for a worryingly short a period of time.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 possesses appealing visuals that give it the swagger of a prize fighter, but the botched controls and anaemic fighter roster expose the game underneath as a featherweight with a glass jaw.

One for fans of the film only as charismatic visuals are not enough to mask problematic controls and monotonous gameplay.

A lot of love has gone into this Mega Man homage, as evidenced by its attractive 2D world, but the simple mechanics of running, jumping, and exploring just aren't of a high enough quality.

A swing and a miss from creator Dong Nguyen. Swing Copters is too demanding for a big audience, and too simple for a niche one.

Shoddy conversions of shoddy conversions – some of these weren't worth playing in the first place, let alone again.

Slow pacing, unusual level design, and missing features prevent Cowboys Vs Zombies from hitting its target.

A painfully simple pair of ideas that are executed poorly and endlessly recycled.

A cheap and cheerful shooter, Touch the Dead isn't revolutionary, but it's a relatively well put together game that will satisfy your lust for zombie zapping.

It's cheap and easy to get into, but Table Top Tanks is just too shallow to really enjoy.

There are some decent ideas in Calvino Noir, but it's a mixture that just doesn't come together.

If you're still catching them all in Pokemon Black/White, there's no reason to jump the gun with Super Rumble. Only fanatics need apply.

A charming, easy-to-play Dungeon Keeper clone with features that include cooking up captured monsters in soups and stews to level up your party of characters. It's simple but lengthy fun for all ages, but falls short for its limited dungeon building and too much repetition.

If only a little more budget was invested in the development of Breakout Boost, it'd play more like an arcade titan and less like a nostalgic cash-in.

If the thought of shooting innocent woodland animals in slo-mo through X-ray specs doesn't make you flinch from the game, the freemium costs probably will.

Flick Champions World Edition is more polished than its predecessor, but the new line-up of events simply isn't as accomplished.

A great idea that brings two distinct genres together in a clever fashion. Sadly, though, Crossword Dungeon just doesn't know what to do with them after that.

A competent and polished beat-matching game in which the core action isn't quite snappy or compelling enough to make a dope impression.

The FIFA Street idea has potential but unfortunately the execution is disappointingly sloppy. If you desire soccer entertainment on your DS, we recommend you stay off the streets and pick the standard-issue FIFA instead.

The single-player portion of Bomberman is a lot of fun, with varied stages and plenty of fast, hectic action. Unfortunately, this version is devoid of any sort of online play. The end result is a mixed bag. [Summer 2004, p.15]

A sad and sloppy platformer with little to recommend it, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is best left to the annals of history.

Super Monkey Ball 3D loses sight of what made the series so enjoyable in the first place, serving up dull gameplay.

Fun, but flawed, if you're looking for some strategy for younger DS players, you could do a lot worse than Ecolis.

The fact that Shifting World's flaws are so easily fixable makes this release all the more frustrating.

It's not the most original title you'll play all year, but it's well-made enough to constitute a decent but forgettable superhero movie tie-in.

While Superfrog hasn't aged well at all, this HD remake is worth splashing out on if you're up for some classic Amiga platforming.

Random Runners adds nothing new to the auto-runner genre, except frustration, unfair design, and grinding for currency.

Mediocre stealth action is the order of the day in this forgettable sequel.

As movie game tie-ins go, Thor: God of Thunder is definitely one of the better ones, but that doesn't stop it growing stale and repetitive rather quickly.

The classic original shines through in places, but its greatness is mostly clouded by a poor-quality port.

300 the video game could have been a lot worse for sure, but it's a shame that it couldn't have aped the film and comic's more contemporary, slick and glossy finish.

Fun and the type of game the PSP desperately needs, but it is disappointingly restrained in both substance and creativity.

Forget about calling Ghostbusters. Call a priest to exorcise this game of its broken controls, repetitive missions, and lame driving sequences.

A very short-term diversion, Trioncube is for rare puzzle game fans who don't crave a challenge.

A fine adventure with a cracking plot and some imaginative puzzles, only let down by some interface inconsistencies.

Paperboy: Special Delivery boasts a new Story mode and Game Center integration, but it remains stuck in the dark ages with its clunky gameplay and inadequate controls.

The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy may interest diehard fans of the hidden objects genre, but a lack of puzzle variety is an awful turnoff.

A good-looking, well written side-scrolling platform/RPG hybrid failed by its lack of online functionality and one-dimensional gameplay.

M.U.S.E. tries to layer run-and-gun gameplay on a control system better suited to tactically shooting from cover. The result is a bit of a mess.

A very average Korean RPG that isn't worth the button-bashing hassle.

Fans of Advance Wars should have this extremely challenging game on their radar, for it's one they'll relish.

Monster University barely scrapes a pass with an underwhelming and repetitious duo of endless-runners. Could do better.

This rookie has potential, but it needs some work before it can earn its wings.

Lara's first adventure retains its capacity for wide-open wonder, but the idiosyncratic controls, punishing difficulty, and sparse environments won't appeal to a mainstream crowd the way they once did.