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.

A few tweaks are needed, but things are on the right track.

There's no denying that, for me at least, it was as fun as it was irritating, as stylish as it was silly. It could've used some tweaking, some more suitable level design in places, and perhaps more thought gone into making the game a cohesive whole. It's not close to Platinum's best, or Kojima's best, but is a game worth checking out, even if just as a rental.

These flashes of inspiration can't stop Start the Party from being an extremely fleeting experience.

In keeping with the period aesthetic, Black Ops Cold War feels like a throwback in all senses of the word. It’s unlikely to be remembered as a Call of Duty classic but throw in the multiplayer mayhem of Zombies too and there’s enough here to help keep the lockdown blues at bay. Which, frankly, is the most any of us can ask for right now.

The most disappointing aspect of Rugby World Cup, however, is just how threadbare it is in terms of modes.

Due to its shortness of length, repetitive (and at times annoying) gameplay and non-existent re-play value, its hard to justify paying the full recommended retail price for it.

A mostly good adventure, then, but not without some major foibles. There’s no doubt Battlefront 2 is better than its predecessor but we do miss some the latter’s purity – guns, for example, still feel excellent to fire, but there’s so many of them now that you feel like you’re in Call of Duty shooter territory. Amidst a forcible loot system it creates a slight sense of soullessness that could see DICE’s latest effort risks fading into the background as another decent shooter that misses its mark. This is Star Wars, though, so there’s no doubt they’ll get another shot.

For those with the patience, Danganronpa certainly has its moments. And its pitiless, gurning despair-bear will haunt your dreams.

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.

Despite its niggles, WWE Universe is a terrifically flexible mode that offers endless hours of enjoyment for the committed. For the more casual player, and the lapsed wrestling fans WWE 13 is aiming for, the main draw is the Attitude Era mode. It's flawed, sure, but many of its foibles can be forgiven when you're playing out moments that recall a time when professional wrestling was fresh, fierce and relevant.

For Avengers to entertain any thought of survival as a service game, then, there is a huge amount of work to be done. Most games in the area falter in their early days, if not necessarily to this extent, and there is the kernel of something good here, with strong combat and definable superheroes that are fun to stomp/fly/bound around with. With new heroes on the way to bolster out the roster, if Crystal Dynamics can find a way to hone the game closer to its strengths than its borrowed weaknesses, there may be hope for the Avengers yet. Otherwise the decision to compromise its otherwise solid campaign in the pursuit of all-consuming longevity could prove fatal.

Ultimately, it lacks the action set pieces that helped to push the FPS genre to where it is today.

It is a small delight, then, to be able to replay Onimusha Warlords. In truth, it is an imperfect game that thoroughly shows its age (this is an enhanced port of the 2002 original to PS4, Xbox One and Switch, rather than a full-blooded remake like the upcoming Resident Evil 2), but a singular one that reminds you of its forgotten impact.

Still, despite the inconsistencies, The Devil’s Daughter is an enjoyable thriller. Albeit one that doesn’t always know its strengths.

It feels that EA Tiburon have a conundrum here as there is both too much and not enough when it comes to Madden’s modes. Persevering with stuff like The Yard and Face of the Franchise to keep the options broad is all very well, but when no aspect of the game is given full attention, everything feels undercooked.

In Local and Private lobbies, Tekken 7 is almost perfect, but comes short of greatness when it comes to looking at the full package, which is a frustrating disappointment.

It's a decent enough game to play through, but certainly one you'll forget in a hurry. It's the kind of game perfect for a lull in gaming when there's nothing else left, and you fancy something disposable but enjoyable.

Despite the volume of content and the sharp precision and attention to detail levelled at everything from visuals to audio, Forza 6 can oftentimes feel like the standard bearer of a bygone age. On the one hand it's a mechanical wonder, but on the other it's firmly rooted in ideologies and design tropes of the past.

But its baggy middle does become more taut in The Quarry’s strong denouement; the threat and deathcount rises, the story threads come together and your decisions show their consequence. The paths you choose make for quite the spiderweb, which Supermassive lets you poke into should you wish, and it is never less than impressive to see all of those different decisions pulling together your own personal story through the game. Even if there can be some odd cuts between scenes, a skipped beat because you managed to get one of the group killed.

Just don’t expect to come away with any fond memories or exciting stories to tell. You jump around collecting orbs, you shoot things and they blow up. And that’s it. But sometimes, that’s enough.

As much as it can come off the rails, there is something gruesomely compelling about The Callisto Protocol that drags you through its dark, blood-soaked corridors. Perhaps it is its lavishly constructed world; finding your way out of the prison onto Callisto’s snow-whipped surface has quite the effect. Perhaps, when it works, it is the primal satisfaction of the combat; a perfectly executed dodge and clobber before lobbing another zombie into a woodchipper with your gravity glove is a grisly but undeniable rush. It is unrefined and often testing, but if those raw ingredients appeal, there is some ghoulish action to savour.

Nintendo's boisterous take on our national sport is thrilling and hilarious, but doesn't offer enough options to play with.

There is still a great multiplayer shooter here, but it feels more like an expansion than a full sequel - if it wasn’t for the campaign, Hardline would be Battlefield 4’s version of Bad Company 2's Vietnam expansion - it even has the vehicle music. It just forgot to bring the personality.

Fruit Frenzy is, for want of a better word, uninspired. It lacks both the originality and the imagination needed to make it stand out from the crowd nor makes use of the iPhone's touch-screen capabilities in any meaningful way.

There are some truly great games that can transcend the universe they are set in to appeal to fans and non-converts alike. Fallen Order doesn't do that. There is nothing new or radical here. But as comforting popcorn gaming to indulge in while you wait for your trip to the pictures? Job done.

When you liberate an enemy stronghold Rico sometimes says, “That was fun - let’s do it again.” This feels like a perfect summary for the game: it is 15 minutes of stupid fun on repeat. But that barely matters when you are firing remote-detonated cows at a military compound filled with the red stuff.

A good game that, on a few occasions, desperately feels like it's trying to be better than it is, but lacks the juice to succeed.