DriveClub VR has all of the features and functionality of its PS4 forebear, so you're guaranteed quality handling and plenty of content here. But the compromises made to get the virtual reality working strip the racer of its visual prowess, and its poor image quality can make it hard to see. There's no shortage of effort been invested here, but we can't help but wonder whether the rewards were worth all of the evident exertion.

LEGO Horizon Adventures has left us feeling somewhat torn. On the one hand, this is a charming, kid-friendly take on Sony's popular series that successfully translates the story, characters, and combat into the LEGO realm — and with real visual polish to boot. On the other, once the novelty wears off, level design feels vacant and repetitive, almost never engaging you with the sort of platforming or puzzle solving you might expect. There's absolutely fun to be had here, especially the combat, but some fundamental design decisions let the side down.

While playing as someone not in the driver’s seat is a novel idea, Hitchhiker struggles to create an enjoyable gameplay experience. While the story is engaging, the game’s technical issues, inconsistent puzzle difficulty, and overall monotonous gameplay makes this a better movie than a game. If you are looking for a game that has you playing a more interactive experience, you should steer clear from Hitchhiker.

With plenty of comparisons to BioShock just screaming to be made, Close to the Sun has some massive expectations to hurdle right from the outset. While it can’t quite avoid feeling like a tribute act at times, it does seem to be making all the right moves in its opening chapters, tantalising you with an effective blend of atmosphere and mystery. But when it comes time to make good on that promise and seal the deal, it misses the mark with frustrating frequency. While some nicely designed environments, and a scattering of enjoyable puzzles stop this ship from sinking without a trace, Close to the Sun doesn’t manage to reach the lofty heights of ambition it’s clearly aiming for.

There's nothing quite like Champion Jockey on PS3, and Tecmo Koei is to be commended for an in-depth portrayal of the horse racing world: what could have been a cheap throwaway is instead a surprisingly lengthy pursuit. The Move controls are enjoyable without being essential and the career mode would have seemed out-dated five years ago, but if you want something original and don't mind a gamble you could find yourself backing a winner.

John Doe’s unpredictability continues to be the highlight in a season that’s seen Bruce Wayne’s role become ever more important than the titular Dark Knight. While short, this is a solid episode that puts plenty of interesting plot threads into play, but with the finale around the corner, there’s very little resolution – merely setup for that all-important fifth episode.

The role-playing genre has come a long way since 1991, but that doesn't mean Adventures of Mana should be cast aside. The simplicity of its gameplay makes it a nice portable snack, and as a faithful remake of a Game Boy title, it's hard to fault – just don't expect to get too excited over this dusty old quest.

This Secret of Mana remake feels like a missed opportunity. It could have been a chance to tweak a few systems, strip away any outdated elements, and add in a few basic improvements. Overall the game is good but only because the original Secret of Mana was good; this remaster doesn’t add as much as it could and, if anything, removes some of the magic of the original.

Ghostwire: Tokyo feels like a step back from what Tango Gameworks has produced in the past. While its combat system is fun in bursts, it becomes repetitive far too quickly. The open world is jam-packed with busywork, and the story doesn't go anywhere interesting either. Excellent PS5 DualSense controller support, haunting elements, and nice visuals aside, Ghostwire: Tokyo will have to go down as a miss.

Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen stealthily slips its unique action into the starting line of Vita's launch titles. As the most powerful gaming handheld yet seen, low budget titles don't fully do Vita justice, though, and Shinobido 2 is no different.

Unlike its real-life counterpart, Eclipse isn't anything to get excited about. While the Verge and Knockout multiplayer maps have a lot of personality and are excellent fun, Rift and Spire are pretty dull.

Pure Chess's basic game and artificial intelligence are appropriate for beginners and experts alike, with many tutorials and challenges to keep single players busy. However, the lack of multiplayer outside of the crawling message play hurts a game that is, by its very nature, a two player game, and it isn't aided by flow-breaking input problems.

If you enjoy a spell of Mahjong for quick bouts of puzzle solving, then this should be a welcome addition to your collection, but it’s nothing new.

Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown is an absolutely phenomenal driving experience when it works. Each car is unique and you spend so much time with them that you form a real bond with your machines. Races are hard-fought and the neon streets of Hong Kong Island fun enough to explore in free roam. Unfortunately, a variety of technical issues hamper the experience, and the lifestyle elements and overall atmosphere of Hong Kong Island leave much to be desired. This is an ongoing, live service game with many seasons planned, so hopefully a lot of these issues can be ironed out. Until then, though, it’s still a pleasure to drive around in your favourite car, just soaking up the road.

SportsBarVR is a solid collection of multiplayer sports bar games, with pool and darts being the stand out experiences. However, the other experiences on show seem to have been rushed a little to hit PlayStation VR's release date, and the small pool of online players detracts from the overall appeal of the package a little.

But by far the weakest part of Katana Kami is its user interface. Menus are rough to say the least. Even something as simple as switching weapons or organising your inventory can be a chore, often forcing you to click through several confirmation screens that aren't clearly signposted. It's just not good enough for a game that revolves around loot and item management.

Despite a few issues, Catastronauts is a fun co-operative experience that gets most of the basics right. It's unmistakably derivative of Overcooked, but overall, that simply means we now have another accessible yet challenging co-op party game to enjoy with friends. The easy controls and simple structure mean almost anyone can have a good time -- it's just a shame that it falls down on some clumsy presentation issues and game-crashing bugs.

The biggest problem ultimately is that if you don’t like the standard rules or play differently in person, then that’s too bad. Some custom options would have been a welcome addition and allowed even more fun to be squeezed out of the game. But if you’re looking for a quick, get-in, get-out play session of a great board game in digital form, you could do worse than Ticket to Ride.

If you want something simple and a little bit stupid to play along with friends - and you've got a couple of PlayStation Move controllers spare - there's no better option on PS3 right now. It's like a good Chinese dinner you know, with the sweet and the sour.

The Occupation is bold, ambitious, and a bit of a mess. Its bugs and occasionally obtuse storytelling severely detract from the overall experience, and yet it will live longer in the memory than the average game. There’s something fascinating here: a real-time thriller that puts genuine political power in the palm of your hands. But it’s strangled by its own ambition, and that’s as inevitable as it is unfortunate.

Its biggest problem then is that it's over all too quickly. Of course, rogue-lites are designed to be replayed over and over again. However, with just four comic books to work through, you'll see everything Fury Unleashed has to offer much quicker than you might expect. Boss fights are randomised, but the action in between feels wholly similar. As such, it makes for a quick-fire burst of enjoyment that, on the whole, puts a smile on your face every step of the way. Just don't expect Fury Unleashed to entice you into coming back for more.

Tricky Towers is a good romp when playing local multiplayer with friends – the floppy physics add tension (both literally and metaphorically) and the spells make the gameplay interesting and dynamic. The gameplay suffers quite a bit in single player, though, and even though the price is cheap, the game does wear thin eventually.

Utawarerumono: Zan is a decent action RPG that doesn't take too long to beat, but at full retail price, it feels like an overly expensive endeavour -- especially for existing fans of the series.

Superfrog HD tries really hard to be a warm and entertaining re-imagining of the Amiga classic, but there are a few bumps along the road. From a gameplay perspective, jumping is quite floaty and requires a lot of patience to wrap your head around.

Smashbox Arena’s knockout gameplay is entertaining online – assuming you can find a match. While there is a small community on the servers right now, it’s difficult to predict how long that will persist, and thus purchasing is a bit of a risk. Unless you can convince friends to pick up the package, then be warned that the single player content is thin, even if the core gameplay loop is undeniably fun. More work in the art department could have elevated the release enormously, so ultimately you’re left with an ugly but enjoyable multiplayer game that will be defined by the number of people who stick with it beyond launch.

Marvel's Avengers' least advertised aspect turns out to be its greatest asset, and it's exactly what hardcore fans were craving the most. The story and everything that comes with it is a real highlight, allowing the exceptional Kamala Khan to take the lead and bring with her enjoyable combat systems and fun parkour. The shocking framerate, along with bugs and glitches, should be fixed in the near future, but it's what the game has you do after the credits roll that quickly becomes its biggest downfall. Marvel's Avengers has a single player campaign that thoroughly excites, surprises, and delights. What follows brings it crashing back down to Earth.

Melbits World is a nice attempt at creating a fun, simple puzzle game suited to PlayLink's smartphone functionality. Its visual style is very easy on the eye, while the basic, communication-based gameplay means it's bound to be a good family game. The PlayLink initiative may not have been as popular as Sony may have hoped, but Melbot Studios' title shows that there's plenty left to explore when it comes to smartphone controlled gaming.

With the short amount of gameplay and overly easy mechanics, House of the Dead III has not aged gracefully.