Ministry of Broadcast, despite the gloom and doom, is fun for a few laughs every now and then, and the levels can be challenging enough to keep you going. Eventually, the whole thing becomes a tad too repetitive, and it’s a little like, “Yes, I know, society is horrible, life is terrible, we’re all nihilists here.” And then you just want to move on.

While it's unlikely to ensnare new players due to its plodding pace and labyrinthine rules, Caylus is a faithful adaptation of an award-winning boardgame that fans will adore.

A spirited attempt to do something different with the tower defence genre, though its presentation lets the side down.

With care and attention, Fun! Fun! Minigolf Touch! could have been great, but instead it feels restricted and poorly implemented.

Monsterz Revenge is too scattered to be fun, its colourful charm offset by oddball tendencies and disjointed gameplay.

Swordshot is a really challenging game that requires a lot of patience and a lot of exact movements - which is for a very specific audience!

Carps and Dragons is a fairly entertaining fish-'em-up, but the messy controls put a dampener on an already-water-filled experience.

A simplistic, reasonably captivating blend of turn-based exploration and real-time combat that's disappointingly hollow without additional investment.

A strange little game dressed up like a freemium title, Dragon Keeper suffers from a lack of impetus that inevitably makes it forgettable.

The gaming equivalent of a brussel sprout – despite being a solid experience, Harvest Moon DS' weak presentation leaves something of a bitter taste.

A solid, good looking, but ultimately forgettable hidden object adventure.

There is some entertainment to be had with this year's NHL 2K, but it has more than its fair share of problems.

Slow to start and difficult to invest time and focus in, Journey to Kreisia is only for the Kemco faithful.

An interesting take on the tactical role-playing genre, Blue Dragon Plus isn't quite honed enough to fulfill its potential.

Too short and a little unrefined, Reversion - The Escape has a lot of promise, but it doesn't manage to fulfill much of it.

An awfully simple screen masher, Mortal Kombat X looks the part, but it's all a bit flat

Attractive and fun for a short while, the unbalanced gameplay and lack of social features end up clipping the wings of this fairly pleasant casual game.

A lazy effort that adds little value in relation to last year's instalment, NBA Elite 11 offers only superficial improvements that fail to move the ball forward in terms of gameplay.

There are some decent ideas here, but Cartoon Survivor can't quite squish them together into a cohesive whole.

Not all the mini-games on offer here are winners, but the structure of 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix not only minimises frustration but spurs you forward too.

Touchdown Hero: New Season does what little it does well, but it does too little to be a fixture on your home screen.

It's a good story, but those looking to emulate their favourite Belgium detective will find the repetitive brainteasers and limited sleuthing frustrating.

It might try something a little different with the match-three puzzler, but Zookeeper Battle doesn't make enough changes to the basics of the game to really stand out.

Docking Sequence is an odd sort of reactionary arcade game that's not without its charm.

A solid autorunner, but one that doesn't really have any flare or swagger to it.

Rayman 3D takes a classic gaming experience and excites with 3D visuals, but fails to solve the camera and control problems.

With a great setting, storyline and characters, it's a shame Hector: Badge of Carnage Ep1 falls down due to overly complicated, frustrating puzzles.

Relying heavily on its franchising and not on the quality of its gameplay leaves CN Superstar Soccer on the sidelines.