The Wheelman isn’t perhaps the prettiest game on the PlayStation 3, but it’s certainly not ugly: Barcelona looks fine, there’s plenty of variety and lots to explore but everything has a slightly flat feel to it.

Solid is the word I would use to describe H1Z1: Battle Royale on PlayStation 4. It’s not the prettiest of games or the most clever, but it does what it does really well and it is a great alternative for those who find all the tree chopping and base building in Fortnite very tiresome. H1Z1 is off to a great start on PlayStation 4.

Feel[s] more like a flashy RPG Maker project than an actual published title.

Black Ops 7 really demonstrates the difficulties of Call of Duty's yearly release schedule and going back-to-back with its sub-series. It's not as rushed-feeling as Modern Warfare III was, that's for sure, but it's also not a consistent experience. The multiplayer and Zombies are solid continuations from last year, but there's not too much excitement in that, especially after the energy-sapping co-op campaign and Endgame.

Golem Gates is a great strategy title that blends CCG and RTS elements into an enjoyable combat-heavy form, while offering a world and soundscape that I immediately fell in love with.

A puzzling game, in every sense of the word. In that manner there are puzzles, each of which must be surmounted before you can progress, but equally its lack of any true storytelling, beyond that which you create yourself, or indeed any hand-holding to point you in the right direction almost cause too much confusion.

While Way of the Hado feels tacked on and ultimately a pointless gimmick, this is still a great version of Street Fighter II and currently the best way to experience the classic game on today’s hardware. The additions to the main game are minor at best for the astonishing price tag, with Evil Ryu and Violent Ken just being amped up clones of existing fighters, but it still plays like the classic arcade fighter. Just don’t expect anything revolutionary.

The crucial factor to take into account here is the sense of humour. Do you like silly, immature humour that has no respect for the fourth wall? If you don’t, the gameplay probably isn’t strong enough to maintain your interest, particularly in a crowded genre. If you do however, the gameplay is strong enough to maintain your interest for the length of the game, slightly short though it may be.

Glaring issues with Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey can be summed up by remarking on just how dull and unfinished it feels.

There’s some good ideas in how PlayLink can be used to let a group of players (and non-gamers in particular) join together and shape a filmic story, but the actual interface feels clumsy, and the story and scripting leaves plenty to be desired. It’s safe to say that Hidden Agenda is an obvious disappointment.

Super Meat Boy Forever is an interesting sequel. It attempts to build on the legacy of its predecessor, but the additions it brings to the table cannot elevate it beyond the simplicity of the original. The updated visuals are welcome, but Super Meat Boy Forever is a classic example of trying too hard to innovate, while losing sight of what made the series so beloved.

It doesn't quite hit the spot in some ways with its puzzles often too simple and unchallenging but it never feels hugely to the detriment of the game.

If you'd have told me before I played Shing! that I would like a control scheme that see's you launch combo attacks with an analogue stick, I would have karate chopped your kidney in anger. Ultimately, you would have been right. It's a control scheme that innovates, is accessible and offers a degree of combo flexibility not seen in more traditional beat 'em ups. In a stellar year for nostalgic side-scrolling beat 'em ups, Shing! is a new IP that absolutely demands your attention.

The card combat and deckbuilding of Neoverse is incredibly strong and if all you need to keep you entertained is deep card combat, it's got you covered. However, the lack of any kind of context and background to anything, just going from fight to fight, eventually takes the sheen off. The core of the game has benefited from a great deal of attention, care and creativity, it's just a shame it was almost squandered due to the lack of it elsewhere.

Winds and Leaves has potential, but the waggle-to-walk controls, the constant jaggedness and morphing vegetation on PSVR, and the detached climbing mechanic cover up most of it. provided you're at peace with the issues it has, It can be a relaxing and meditative experience, but there are better options out there.

Like the first two games, Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord is flawed, tonally inconsistent, and a massively repetitive grind. Re-treading this story for the third time and jump to an entirely different and less enjoyable gameplay system has made it even harder to recommend this game in spite of it's flaws. There is charm, and there are moments, and diehard Compile Heart fans might be able to push through and enjoy them, but I suspect that the people this game will truly speak to are few and far between.

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate is a renewed take on a beat 'em up that probably felt a little outdated back when it launched in 2012, and while the revamped graphics and the engine are both nice, they're not enough to make this feel like a game that's really worth sinking your time into. It's a fun five minutes or so here and there, but it's just not doing enough to really make it an enjoyable time.

Echoes of the End is annoying, because it just needs a bit more time to iron out the niggles and give it that extra layer of polish. As it is it's got a lot going for it but some will lose sight of it through some issues that get in the way.

There is a lot of fun to be had with the game; it's fast, there's a fair amount of content, and two different styles of vehicle to master. Unfortunately it's plagued with issues which can spoil the experience somewhat. If you feel you can handle these issues, then go out and get yourself nail'd… damn it!

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is the pinnacle of musou games, as far as I’m concerned. Omega Force and Koei Tecmo have experimented with the formula for years, and everything they’ve learned and perfected has led up to this game. Berserk Musou gives you the addictive, outrageous hack-and-slash combat musou games have had for ages. It gives you the unique characters and varied mission structures that musou games have only had in the last few years. And on top of that it gives you a gripping, mature, and masterful narrative that a musou game has never had. Until now.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond offers a fun and lengthy single player campaign with lots of replayability alongside a full featured suite of multiplayer modes. I did, however, find the general tone to be somewhat at odds with the respectful presentation, lacking a connection with real history and feeling more like a Wolfenstein game at times. There are also some issues still to be patched, which Respawn are working on, and the multiplayer lacks players right now. Overall, this is a tour of duty that is rewarding but not essential.

There’s not many wholly new ideas within the mix of Payday 3, but it’s a sensible refinement of what those games tick, bringing in some interesting tweaks and gameplay changes to smooth the experience a little. All in all, Payday 3 is a welcome return for the heist ’em up series, and a reminder of why the first two games were so popular. [Review in Progress]

If you’re looking for a compelling and atmospheric take on the zombie genre that’s more Walking Dead than Left 4 Dead, State of Decay 2 is an imperfect but enjoyable sequel to the superior original. The gameplay loop of scavenging, crafting and killing can begin to wear thin, but the human element is capable of pulling you back in. Tackling the world with others in tow may decimate the game’s carefully constructed atmosphere, but those multiplayer shenanigans will probably be wild enough to distract from the host of technical issues that simply refuse to die.

Detective Pikachu Returns falls flat, feeling like a hollow experience with under-baked and sparse bolts of brilliance. Wide and mostly empty areas, a difficulty level smaller than a Cutiefly, slightly more gameplay than your standard visual novel, short run time and limited usage of its one truly unique and fun mechanic. Forgive the cliche, but most of Detective Pikachu Returns’ moves just weren’t very effective.

Without wishing to damn it with faint praise, Battletoads is pretty much exactly what you’d think it would be. Taking clear influence from the 90s classics whilst adding in some welcome modern approaches, there is plenty here to enjoy while it lasts. An ideal perfect Game Pass title, this is well worth checking out, warts and all.

The MotoGP series has long suffered from a lack of obvious progression from one release to the next. This time, Milestone has at least tried to do things differently and switch game engines, but right now that hasn’t paid off. Last year’s game was already supposed to be a transitional one, yet here we are with a game that is a regression for a series that was becoming a bit stale.

Chaos Code: New Sign of Catastrophe thankfully does not live up to its subtitle at all. This re-release of a re-release builds up on everything that came before it, fleshing out the experience into something worthy of your attention, whether you’re a hardcore fighter or a casual button-masher. Some wonky writing and poor visuals dampen the experience somewhat, but if you can look past that and fancy some classic KOF style fighting game action, this is the game for you.

This Is The Police leans on cliched scenarios and characters, but it represents some of the real struggles a police force has to deal with, like budgets being cut and a city with a lot of social problems.