Splatoon looks and feels wonderful; it’s a satisfying, immediate, hugely entertaining and almost entirely original brand of shooter. Some players might hanker after more substantial nourishment, but the snack-sized morsels of action that Splatoon offers are absolutely bursting with flavour.

If you've felt that Call of Duty has been getting more than a little tedious in recent years, as I certainly have, then Advanced Warfare might just convince that it's something worth taking notice of once again.

This is an unusually brave blockbuster, not prepared to compromise its vision in favour of chasing a larger audience; a credit to both developer and publisher. And while it may not be for everybody, those that are looking for a convincing interpretation of sci-fi's most terrifying monster will be well-served.

While it remains to be seen if this level of quality can keep up over its five acts, Act I of Kentucky Route Zero is a beautiful, melancholy start to what should be a fantastic series.

It may not have the established brands that its rivals can lean on, but SuperChargers is good enough not to need them.

Combining surreal challenges with mind-bending gameplay and packaged with some of the most delightful visuals to ever grace a console, ilomilo is one of the best titles in XBLA's steadily growing catalogue.

Indeed, its central mechanic feels rather like a statement in itself; perhaps this is Nintendo’s way of motivating its designers and players alike to embrace the idea of approaching the familiar from a fresh perspective.

It doesn’t lack for content, then, but those looking for something filling and nutritious may feel short-changed by the game’s adolescence and humdrum tasks. But sometimes you simply need a sugary, cathartic snack. Taken under these circumstances, at least, Sunset Overdrive’s giddy blasting often hits the spot.

Its unusual, offbeat approach to the tropes of both its genres gives the blend that extra dash of flavour it needs, but the base ingredients are just as tasty and fulfilling. And then there’s those guns, those wonderful, wonderful guns.

Just Cause 2 is not without its flaws, but it offers a highly satisfying, if hardly unique, open-world adventure in which players are encouraged to indulge in as much mayhem as possible.

Rage is a game that would have benefitted from being streamlined, with additional FPS levels replacing the awkward driving. It should have been an id game. Instead it occupies this weird halfway-house between Borderlands, Motorstorm and Doom, not quite an RPG, not quite a racer and not quite an FPS.

While this relationship is a triumph rarely seen in video games, the moment-to-moment storytelling is not as well-crafted. Firewatch sets up a smart bait-and-switch by messing with your assumptions about what’s going on, but doesn’t quite deliver on it. The build-up is tremendous, lacing the air with paranoia and tension by dangling different threads. But by the end doesn’t tie together.

A lovingly-crafted update that can happily sit alongside Ocarina of Time 3D as a textbook example of how older games can benefit from a modern makeover.

As ever, the depth of the game is truly breathtaking.

If you're absolutely desperate for a Wii shooter, especially a multiplayer title, then Goldeneye is worth a look.

MadWorld is one of the most eye-catching, stylish and well-made games to land on the Wii in some time. It's also tremendous fun and for players old enough to enjoy its bloody delights, it lands in the essential category effortlessly.

Where it stumbles is in delivering a believable, human world.

The final result is a brilliant alteration of an old friend, shining a new light on a proven structure.

In Super Scribblenauts, 5th Cell have done a fantastic job at refining and expanding upon a fantastically fun toy. However, without a campaign that fully takes advantage of this impressive creative tool, the game remains just shy of true greatness.

Nintendo rightly thought that this form of Zelda had peaked and had to leave much of it behind to foster a new sense of adventure. But that we get to enjoy this brilliant inflection point again, with notable modern trappings, is a delight.

It’s a fantastic, fascinating example of interactive visual storytelling. It would absolutely only work in the form that the developers have created, and it’s a game I’ll no doubt be permanently using as an example in future when I want to illustrate just what can be done in the genre. It’s also an excellent, creepy story which is deftly told, and a game I can recommend without reservation.

Far Cry 5 may not be the biting allegory on the rise of the ‘alt-right’ in Trump’s United States that some envisaged, but it still cuts close to the bone of the culture of God-fearing, gun-toting rural America. And deliberate or not, makes for a fascinating backdrop to a compelling, if conflicted, action romp.

No, it’s not the best Call of Duty ever made, but the sheer volume of content on display largely makes up for its weaknesses in specific areas. A worthwhile story would have added enormous value to the overall package, but its absence doesn’t undermine what is another solid release.

It is a genuine shame. There is a real sense of creative energy crackling at the edges of Watch Dogs and a mechanical aptitude in its systems that make it enjoyable enough to play. Parts of the game irritated me greatly, but I rarely found it less than entertaining, and there were moments that brought a real thrill. Watch Dogs immediate success almost guarantees a sequel, and Ubisoft have plenty of strong points with which to build upon. But I would also like to see more conviction in their own ideas, rather than avoiding difficult questions and settling into a pattern of familiarity.

There's no denying that, as a piece of virtual tourism through the ages, the series has no equal. But today, with endless piles of side-quests, there's also a sense of ennui creeping in, a lack of focus that no amount of micro-improvements can disguise. As such, Revelations is a strong, assured conclusion to Ezio's storyline, but one that begs for a fresh start reboot in whatever comes next.

To blow COD out of the water, they will need a more polished game than this. Perhaps the next-generation will provide it.

On the face of it, an improved core game and a flexible but flawed sandbox mode might not be enough to give Disney the edge over its rivals. On the other hand: Star Wars.

Decent shooting enabled by those twin sticks impress, if perhaps lacking in range, while Vita specific features such as using the touchscreen to pinpoint grenade throws and tilting the device to fine tune your headshots should become Vita shooter staples.