Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a fun spin off that has allowed RGG Studio to indulge in silliness. Majima as a pirate captain is a perfect fit, and the new characters are a good addition. But the actual piracy can quickly become a bit too repetitive and unsatisfying.

Beneath this wildly altered aesthetic, for better or for worse, Ubisoft is still playing it safe. Personally, I found Primal to be far more entertaining than Far Cry 4, but even then it’s hard to overlook the series’ systematic regurgitation of ideas and concepts.

There’s more depth to the game with more nuanced battles and more player creation options, and a very self aware plot and sense of humour. Though the fighting can start to feel repetitive, it’s a great fit for bite sized gaming on the go.

Subdivision Infinity DX is a decent space shooter filled with fast and frantic action. The grindy nature and and exploration missions do let it down a bit, but the gameplay is stylish and fun, and there's plenty of challenge for those that want it.

Of course, for some, Obliteracers just won’t click. While fun, the singleplayer campaign doesn’t have much of a lifespan – a problem for those who don’t have the means to play online or locally with a group of friends. Then there are the raw mechanics, tuned to give Obliteracers a frantic, sometimes nonsensical feel. Needless to say, if you’re looking for something similar to Mario Kart, you’re in the wrong place.

Stories From Sol: The Gun-Dog is a decent visual novel, and a good opening salvo for what is supposed to be the first entry to a wider universe. While most of the story is self-contained, there are major plot points left open to be resolved in later releases. The different visual styles all look good, the story is fine if familiar, and you can get through it in an afternoon.

Road of Devastation provides an interesting take on the endless survival formula. It's robust and there's a large scope for replayability that will appeal to those continually wanting to better their score and survival rating. There's definitely a couple of hours of fun here for everyone else, but the lack of new additions will fail to incentivise those who have already gunned-down enough zombies to last a lifetime.

For the stalwart fan, it’s possible that Last Round contains just enough additions and upgrades to make a purchase necessary, especially when you consider its budget pricing, but for the less committed it may not be enough. Meanwhile, for those yet to play Dead or Alive 5, Last Round is the most complete and attractive version of an enjoyable, albeit ostentatious, fighter despite a few minor issues.

Dakar Desert Rally promises a lot, and delivers on a good portion of it, recreating the renowned rally event in spectacular fashion. While players may have to wait for all of the features on their wishlist, there's a huge amount of enjoyable rally racing to get stuck into.

The game's core mechanics are sound, but they are the same mechanics we were playing several years ago.

Raiden V tries to add something new the shoot ’em up genre which is admirable, but unfortunately most of the ideas don’t live up to expectations. The Cheer system may have worked better if you could let spectators view your game, and the running commentary is like trying to listen to couple arguing at back of a bus when you’re at the front and have someone playing loud techno music on their phone right next to you. For a shoot ’em up there is a lot of content and the main mechanics have clearly been honed to perfection over the last twenty five years, making this a good, solid entry to the series.

Dog Man: Impawsible Mission is a light and breezy platformer that will keep fans of the books happy for a number of hours. However, parents might need to be on hand to get past some of the trickier sections.

Happy Home Designer captures some of the Animal Crossing magic, but not enough to make it an essential entry in the series.

Sporadic in pace and quality of content, this is the area in which Reckoning borrows too heavily from its MMO ancestry and it really doesn't pay off.

Storm Boy is an inoffensive and simple experience that would be well suited for a young audience, especially with an adult alongside. It’s much more like an interactive storybook than it is an out and out gaming experience, and keeps everything simple and short. If you want a calming break from the gaming behemoths that are currently out and about, then Storm Boy is a delightful option.

Digimon Survive is an exciting alternate take on the tone and style of the Digimon series. It doesn't execute things flawlessly - those opening chapters are a bit of a chore and the tactics gameplay is simple with a capital 'S'. Still, when things kick off and the story starts to come together, it's a suspenseful and gripping journey that I'm glad I got to experience.

Titans of Tide is another strong SpongeBob platformer from Purple Lamp and has plenty of fan service for those even slightly familiar with the cartoon. The Plankton Challenges are really fun, so it’s a shame that they are locked behind either busywork or microtransactions. As a total package it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Cosmic Shake or Battle for Bikini Bottom but it’s still a solid game.

Blackwood is a brilliant throwback to Oblivion, but it feels like a starting point for a grander tale. Players going into Blackwood expecting a full-fat expansion experience will feel slightly letdown. Its dedication to 2006s Cyrodill shines through with the spaced out content making the overall zone feel a little empty. Still, the content itself is a job well done, ticking all the boxes to keep players entertained, but new features like Blackwood's companions work best when revisiting older zones.

Zombie Army Trilogy knows what it wants to be, a straightforward zombie sniping game that lacks any real pretensions or delusions of grandeur. Parts of the trilogy are showing their age and difficulty spikes can sap away the fun, but steel yourself for a challenge, get some mates together and there’s plenty to like about it.

Looked at as a game it is a fun experience that is over far too quickly. However, those that lose themselves in the Creation Mode will find the hours flying by and will be more than happy with their purchase.

A well-presented, enjoyable game of football that suffers from a few issues involving sound and physics. If you loved PES 6 you will love PES 09 and in many ways I think this is the game’s biggest strength and, at the same time, its biggest weakness.

Kirby Fighters 2 is an unremarkable fighting game that doesn’t really do much to separate itself from Super Smash Brothers. The fighting is decent and the story mode is fun, but there’s little reason to carry on playing once you’ve climbed the tower, especially with the multiplayer servers already feeling empty a few weeks after release. At less than half the price of Ultimate, Kirby Fighters 2 is a great compromise if you’re looking for a simple fighting game.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue may be saddled with a ridiculous title, but the package offers plenty to enjoy. It may not be the most welcoming of games, thanks to Kingdom Hearts being amongst the worst offenders for convoluted narratives, but the HD remaster of Dream Drop Distance combined with a glimpse of what is to come for the franchise makes this more or less essential for fans.

Berzerk Recharged is a great game if you have ten minutes to spare. You don't have look up the controls, search massive maps for crafting materials or remember the plot, just dive in, shoot robots and chase high scores. Great fun in short bursts.

The Survivalists is a calm and serene survival game and monkey butler training broken up by spurts of risky combat and dungeon crawling with your trained monkey attack squad. If it wasn't for a few awkward design decisions it'd be fantastic, but it's still a good survival game that you can tackle with friends online.

Party Hard 2 riffs off the Hitman formula, mixing it with a pixel art style and humorous flourishes wherever you look. It can be frustrating when you're caught and sent back to the start of a level, but so long as you don't find the premise too extreme, there's enough here to scratch your stealth action itch.

SoulCalibur VI is a fantastic looking entry in the series, but beyond that feels like something of a missed opportunity. The core combat remains as vibrant, weighty and enjoyable as ever, but the Reversal Edge adds in an element of chance that feels at odds with what most fighting games set out to achieve. The two interminably dull story modes don’t help either, with players left to rely on the the straightforward arcade and online modes for their kicks.

Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy is more Layton, but with a host of new characters and a healthy dollop of puzzles. Unfortunately, they're weaker, more contrived tests of your mind than previously. Katrielle and the stellar supporting cast really boost the experience, as do the stunning visuals, but the sum of its parts is less than I expect from a Layton title.