I was having a brilliant time with Romancing SaGa 2 before the glaring issues of the battle system came to light. Its non-linearity was ground breaking at the time and as a result, it certainly stands up even today. Even the soundtrack was hugely enjoyable. But those battle mechanics have ruined this game for me.

Little Big Workshop on Xbox One is fun, first and foremost, and if a patch is released that fixes the issues in place I would definitely recommend picking it up. But until then, if you are unfortunate enough to encounter progress-halting bugs then you will most likely be forced to restart. And it doesn’t matter who you are, losing all of your progress to glitches isn’t fun.

I’m afraid that Redout: Space Assault on Xbox just isn’t worth it. The game couldn’t be less interesting to play, because it isn’t interested in having you play it. Its story, if one could call it that, is a mindless distraction, and everything feels pointless.

There’s decent gameplay attached to it all, sure, but the drab visual presentation, the lack of variety or different levels, the archaic difficulty spikes; it all adds up to a game that needs more polish or a rework.

Whilst I have really wanted to love SuperMash, it has instead ended up as a tedious, frustrating and downright boring affair. There are some great ideas but the good faith these earn are ruined within minutes.

In a world where Jim Henson created lovable creations such as The Muppets and the cast seen in The Dark Crystal, it’s disappointing that their property has been wasted on a hollow combat-heavy video game.

Asterix & Obelix: Slap Them All! feels like a missed opportunity to give the world the Asterix game that we have been waiting for. There is no progression, no making the heroes stronger, and at the end, no real desire to see the game through to a conclusion. It’s the same characters and the same action, for level after level, with a different backdrop. Sadly this makes for a dull game.

With plenty of exhilarating platformers on the market, such as A Hat in Time and Yooka-Laylee, it’s hard to recommend Gigantosaurus: The Game to any age. It’s too easy, repetitive and contains no sense of inventiveness. Younger gamers will no doubt find a slight amount of fun in the experience, but it will fail to push their skills any further or demand a large amount of attention.

For free, Defiance 2050 is ok, there is fun if you can overlook the bugs, and the story is a good one, albeit identical to the game I played half a decade ago. However broken shooting mechanics, poor graphics and not enough love put into the detail conspire to rob what fun there is.

If you want to throw a bike around some time trial tracks for a little bit, by all means crack on, but if you try to do anything else in MX vs ATV Legends, you're going to be met with a host of issues.

The art style is generally pleasing to the eye, but the lack of enjoyable content means that it’s likely to be the only thing you’ll remember from the game. With an already diminished player base, there are plenty of other similar local multiplayer titles on the market that offer a lot more.

Overall, Away: Journey to the Unexpected is a bit of a mess, and what’s even more disappointing is that the trailers of the game have made it really seem like the feel-good FPS game that the developers have aimed for. But the poorly thought out combat mixed, with a lacklustre gameplay loop make the hours spent, frustrating to say the least. While there are some aspects of the game that are well executed like the art and music, Away is a tough game to recommend.

Doodle God: Ultimate Edition falters in many areas, but mainly in the one-dimensional, so called puzzle solving and the sheer pot luck it often requires. Instead of making me feel like a god, I am constantly left like a monkey, bashing buttons and hoping a masterpiece comes out. The terrible control system simply adds to my pain, and whilst there is a lot to do, any supposed fun wears off in mere minutes.

It’s very sad to say that Friday the 13th: The Game, after all the hype and excitement of a game that could have truly represented the incredible franchise, is the most unstable, unreliable and underwhelming game I’ve played in a long time.

Ship Graveyard Simulator tries to bring the excitement of breaking ocean-bound vessels to your sofa. However, it ends up feeling like something best left buried at sea.

Everreach: Project Eden on Xbox One just doesn’t feel finished. It needs more work on the shooting mechanics, the AI systems and the bike sections. The concept, mission structure and ideas are all good but the game as a whole fails to feel as polished as it should be.

It’s unfortunate then that their license has been relinquished to such a bland and uninspired creation in Asterix & Obelix XXL 3: The Crystal Menhir on Xbox One, especially when previous entries have been quirky, imaginative titles.

Crashbots is let down by some awful design and gameplay choices. The camera needs to be better. The energy system needs to be rethought. The controls are sluggish and need improvement. The physics need to be made more consistent. The technical issues need to be ironed out.

I really wanted to like Hellboy Web of Wyrd, from the announcement trailer reveal, it looked amazing. Technically that is still true - it does looks amazing. Yet sadly it doesn’t have the substance to back up the fantastic style. Maybe hardcore fans will find more joy, but Web of Wyrd feels tricky to recommend to even the most dedicated fans.

Music Racer: Ultimate is a decent effort at a rhythm game, but it simply lacks too much in the meaningful gameplay category to warrant a recommendation.

It fails in regards to the gameplay thanks to a complete lack of variety in hits, and a robotic and linear feel to each match, but the visuals are fun and there are a ton of customisation opportunities.

With dreadful controls, no map of where to go, nor any in-game speedo to see how fast you are going, Fast & Furious Crossroads on Xbox One is a massive let down. Online is messy at best, and while the storyline is a corker, the way that every mission seems to play out the same, just in a different place, makes me sad.

Don’t bother yourself with Deformers; it’s too pricey, sparsely populated, and not really fun to play anyway.

Anti Gravity Games Studios have included four unique zones, tons of levelling options, a hardcore mode and an actual incentive to perfect levels. Unfortunately the design of most of the game’s systems make that content unenjoyable. Between performance issues, difficulty spikes and a large amount of unfair deaths, it’s tough to enjoy your time here, and much of what fun can be had ends up being more at the expense of Hell Warders rather than because of it.

Clever use of an interactable radial wheel aside, Police Simulator: Patrol Officers should be handing in its badge for lack of care to the community, well before its shift is over.

There is a great game with a brilliant idea underneath the problems of Headspun; problems that have made the game unworkable.

There are much better fishing games than Ultimate Fishing Simulator, and my strong advice is that if you want to go fishing on Xbox One you look elsewhere first.

RAID World War II feels broken. Nothing really seems to work, and everything that is in it looks like it has seen better days. The developers have a lot of work that they need to action in order to fix this game, or at least make more of it work before asking for people to fork over some cash.

It may come in on the cheap side which is always a positive, but if you’re after a meaningful zombie experience, this is definitely one you can afford to leave behind.

Unless you’re dying for a scary fix which highlights how much one person can do in terms of development, I would probably steer clear of Whisperwood mental institution and the frustrations found within. You see, you might just end up submitting yourself as a patient.

It’s clear where its inspiration came from and if you are a fan of early 90’s hack and slash dungeon crawlers, then you will likely see some enjoyment from this. It is very basic and should last no longer than a few nights to complete, but with a price as low as this it is difficult to expect anymore.

I was hoping to be blown away by Dead Alliance, but a dwindling player base, poor gameplay, terrible bugs and a lack of content make this just another disappointment within a once great genre.

If you really must engross yourself in some 1980’s film culture, then drag out that old VHS recorder and watch Terminator for the millionth time. Just don’t bother spending time, money or effort on Tango Fiesta.

Tears of Avia on Xbox One is the very definition of an underachiever. It feels unfinished in almost every regard, and the combat is functional at best but offers nothing compelling in terms of gameplay variety or depth. There is a tactical turn-based RPG at the core, but nothing about it is designed to reel a player in or make them want to stick around.

I understand that delays, post-launch patches and day one updates are now par for the gaming course, but that doesn’t mean that a game shouldn’t be held back if it’s not up to scratch. Case in point: Tennis World Tour.

Super Blackjack Battle II TE is a love letter to arcade beat ‘em ups in terms of its style and sound. That’s about as far as it goes though, with little in terms of excitement, no longevity and just boring old Blackjack to keep you company. Worst of all, the A.I. ruins any chance of finding fun or a challenge, thanks mostly to its pure stupidity and lack of understanding. It’s like playing against my Nan after a Sherry or five.

The whole Heavy Fire: Red Shadow experience feels like it should be on VR, and that may well be the best way to get anything out of this turret shooter. The price is too high as well – at least for anyone to take a punt on – and even though it does nothing wrong and all appears to work fine, it does become very repetitive quite quickly.

CrossfireX is a strange beast which doesn't quite fit together. Odd development decisions and a real lack of ambition result in a barely average experience which pales into insignificance when compared to its competitors and previous developer efforts.

At first glance, XIII looks like a video game. It has graphics, sounds come out of the speakers, and a character moves when you touch the pad. But sit down to play it, and you’ll realise that it’s held together with sticky tape and paper clips, collapsing into scraps when you play for more than five minutes.

Super Street: The Game is bad – outdated graphics, outdated gameplay and outdated objectification of women, bad.

There are plenty of problems found in Bounce Rescue, and these outweigh the positives tenfold, but the biggest by far is that the game lacks the fun element we all need from an indie title. Feelings of frustration and unfairness instead preside over nearly everything that this game delivers. And that’s not good in anyone’s book.

Tyler: Model 005 is simply a bad game. Good graphics cannot hide the multiple issues: bad voice acting, poor combat and crucially, terrible platforming. In a game where platforming is a major component it is imperative that jumping works, and here it does not at all. In fact, this may well be the worst example I’ve ever seen.

Revhead is both good and bad, with the scales coming down on the bad side rather firmly. As a mechanic simulator, it works and is fun. But the rest of the game is shockingly bad. I can’t recommend Revhead to anyone who doesn't have actual grease under their fingernails.

In many ways, Agony delivers an authentic experience of the archaic interpretation of ‘Hell’. Playing this game feels like torture, an exercise in utter tedium as you perform the same tasks and witness the same, ‘gruesome’ scenes. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s that meta, it simply tries too hard. Squandering any potential it might’ve had, the result is a shallow, monotonous experience that’s not worth your time.

Maximum Games have a solid premise throughout Troll and I, and the game can be made much better with patches, but ultimately Troll and I will be lost to the vast majority of players who are unwilling to see the game for its good points opposed to its potential.

Charging $40/£20 for this game is borderline criminal. Associating it with Road Rash is disrespectful. Unless customizing motorcycles is your sole passion in life, avoid this one.

Gene Rain is a disappointment. It is ultimately good looking enough, but shallow, with poor gameplay and frankly laughable dialogue. The acting is poor, the guns lack heft and the cover mechanic is broken so much that you really don’t want to get me started.

Doug Hates His Job on Xbox One has an interesting setup for what could have been a gamer’s dream game. Instead, it ends up being an experience far more dreary and painful than a day job. With its dry and whimsical writing, it probably could have been a fun adventure game on its own, but sadly the advertised eight gameplay styles collectively amount to something that barely feels like a video game.

Bounty Battle on Xbox One is a great idea. With such lovable and memorable characters from a host of indie games, it seemed like a knockout idea. Yet, horrible visuals, unfinished gameplay, and terrible optimization mar the loving treatment that was given to these indie icons.

Demolish & Build Classic is absolutely rubbish. It is annoying, frustrating from beginning to end, looks like a game from the very early days of consoles, and is unable to provide any form of fun in exchange for your hard earned money. When you include the glitches, this is one to avoid at all costs.

It gives me no pleasure at all to say that I didn’t enjoy Crimson Keep. At all, if I’m being honest. It drove me mad, and not in that tough, but satisfying, Dark Souls way. It just drove me mad to a point where I didn’t want to play it again. It’s a tedious, nightmarishly dull experience that I have no intention of going back to.

If you pitched This is the Zodiac Speaking to us at a Dragon’s Den, we would have given you the money. A true-crime hunt for the real-life serial killer, in partnership with the Investigation Discovery channel: it feels like a no brainer. Unfortunately, like the infamous scene from the Hannibal movie, it feels more like someone else is spooning your brains out. This could have been the gateway to more true crime games on the Xbox One – instead, it’s a gateway to something a little more hellish.

Deadliest Catch: The Game is dull, hard to operate and looks awful. Most importantly, the way that the controls operate manage to suck what little fun going crabbing has out of the game. The result is a mess that you would do well to avoid.

Robot Squad Simulator X on Xbox One is not a game I can recommend to anyone. It seems a shame that a potentially good idea, with genuinely tense gameplay to be recreated, has been squandered like this. The driving of the robots is awful, the arm mechanics really suck, and the rest of the game is simply shoddy and badly designed.

The only way I could recommend this game to you is if you’re looking for a particularly un-aesthetic type of suffering. But if you’re keen for that then ring me up. I’ll paint myself magenta, scream at you and repeatedly kick you in the shins. It might not be as painful, but it will be free.

ACA NEOGEO Sengoku isn’t a game that I can recommend to anyone but the most ardent retro fiends. It has aged horrendously, and even judging it by 1991 standards, it isn’t a fun game to play.

It’s fun to explore this extended dungeon, but it offers nothing over the existing ones in the main game, where you have a Gladiolus tailored to your playstyle.

Those looking for a true flight experience are better off heading to your local airfield or waiting for the highly anticipated release of Ace Combat later this year.

At the end of the day, as with the vast majority of gamers, I don’t mind a good puzzler. But it’s got to bring a bit of fun to the table at the same time. Jump, Step, Step struggles in that department.

The overall difficulty of Spartan is a real shame, because it doesn’t need to be as challenging as it is to give you the reward and elation of finishing a level.

If this really is a sim, one that tries to portray how dull and dreadful an airport firefighter’s life is, then the developers have achieved their goal. But I’m not sure that was the intention.

Credit is due for the unique and daring storyline, however the way in which it, and the gameplay, come across gives nothing to allow Iron Wings to be remembered in a positive way.

Simply put, it feels like a hunting game made by somebody who has never gone hunting.

What really kills Outbreak: The New Nightmare is the generally unpolished feel of the whole game. It must be said that the developer clearly has his heart in the right place by trying to revive the classic style of survival horror in this way, but it takes more than copying a classic to make that happen.

Poor controls and shoddy graphics will take away any last drop of praise you have for Winx Club: Alfea Butterflix Adventures. It is literally all about the achievements for this game – one that is easily set to be one of the worst of 2018.

£3.99 isn’t much to pay for a game, even a pinball game, but what is included still has to turn out to be fun and Babylon 2055 Pinball is far removed from that.

I, Hope doesn’t do an awful lot right with its relatively short, couple of hours, adventure, with problems in the gameplay mechanics standing in the way and immense frustration found at dying through no fault of your own. The execution of the idea is what hampers the experience, as there are some good blueprints here in regards both the platforming and puzzling aspects.

Whether you point fingers at the hectic visuals, foolish mode design choices or terrible gameplay mechanics, absolutely nothing entices you to play one more game, let alone the many it’ll take to unlock more tables. Throw in the annoying backing track and poor voice-overs, and no good can come from playing this game – unless you’re glutton for punishment that is.

Awkward most definitely does as the name suggests. In fact, I’d go as far as to say this is one game that is highly unsuitable for a family birthday. But for a group of mates on the beers and looking for a laugh? It does a reasonably decent job, at least for 5 minutes.

Deep Space has some interesting ideas and if it had been given the time and budget to flesh out, I imagine it could have been a much better game. Instead what we get is a very repetitive and unfair experience that very quickly becomes tiresome.

In all What the Box? is a missed opportunity. It lacks any depth, fun or even a decent set of controls. The modes included do nothing but encourage players to ignore the whole point of what has been built here.

I’ve been left wanting pilot schedules, food decisions, and many more options in regards time management. But instead I’ve been left with some very dull, very boring gameplay that will struggle to appeal to anyone.

Moonfall Ultimate is a prime example of how not to make a game. The nice looking graphics are drowned in a tide of clunky combat, poor animation and a generally unpolished feel. I cannot recommend this game to anyone, unless you were to buy it for your worst enemy. Even then, that may still come under the heading of cruel and unusual punishment.

3on3 FreeStyle brings a keen reminder to why we love street-style games so much, but the clear pay-to-win influence stops this particular game from shining, turning it into a battle of the wallets rather than a test of skill.

It is a simple and repetitive venture, but one which does fulfill its promise of providing fairly fun and engaging platform levels, of which there are plenty. Unfortunately, this experience comes within a plain world which contains repetitive music and bad sound mixing.

With slow dialogue, repetitive and stressful combat encounters in which enemies glitch out of the map and push you into lava far more than you deserve, and a game length which is rather insulting for the price, I can only be honest and tell you to stay away from Claws of Furry.

If you love the professional American bull riding league then you might just manage to get something out of 8 to Glory, but if you aren’t a veteran follower of the sport, then it’s a bit pricey to take a gamble on. It’s different though, and that should be wholeheartedly applauded, however I’m afraid the gameplay just becomes too repetitive for any long term bull riding fun.

Axis Football 2018 tries to be a complete sports simulation title but aside from the multitude of animation, sound and graphical issues, there are also too many bugs and glitches that contradict the fundamental rules of the sport itself. John Madden can sleep soundly for another night knowing his royalty cheques are safe for the time being.

My Little Riding Champion on Xbox One is a pretty terrible offering all-round. Its main draw of being a horse riding champ is over in the blink of an eye, whilst the additional missions are uneventful and boring. The large open-world is so drab and empty that it comes across as merely a cheap way to make missions seem longer by having the ability to send you far away. Even the horse jumping mechanics aren’t up to scratch, with any failing occurring at no fault of your own. Add in the bugs, the awful acting and the shoddy visuals, and there’s not much good to be found here.

World Enduro Rally on Xbox One is a pretty bad game, but even a bad game can hold certain merits if it’s designed well. Alas, it isn’t. With bland visuals, awful sound design, poor camera work, often unresponsive controls and numerous bugs, this game doesn’t really offer anything of value.

Yes there are the occasional good bits, and it’s reasonably decent fun to be able to take a solo career team on a journey to success, but at the end of the day you’ll have to be a huge fan and follower of all things volleyball in order to really find enjoyment. And even then, it’s not a patch on what we find down at the beach, even more so when you take into account the horrendous price being asked.

If you really want the real players and ballparks, just know that while there are some fun moments, R.B.I. Baseball 19 will likely leave you frustrated and wondering when a good licensed baseball game will finally arrive on the Xbox One.

All in all, and if you can find it in yourself to take the fight to Blood Waves, then you’ll find a game that lacks sheen and finish in so many ways. Despite very briefly being a bit of fun, it is ultimately missing depth and individuality, which in turn will see it sink into obscurity after a short amount of time.

If you’re fond of the genre, and are prepared for a challenging (even frustrating) experience, Mars: Chaos Menace might be just what you’re looking for. However, the average player will almost certainly be alienated (pun!) by the staggering amount of retries it takes to make progress.

As a tool for the inexperienced driver looking to learn the way of the road in America, taking in real world experiences in a safe environment, Driving Essentials on Xbox One is just about fine; although even then the lack of content is an issue. But for anyone else, it’s a total waste of time. The visuals, the audio, the huge price tag and the problems with the AI and penalty system will fail to ever really draw in any prospective new driver, even if they fully understand that at no point in time is this ever being marketed as a game.

After taking in a whole host of KEMCO titles over the last few months, it has to be said that I am very disappointed in Frane: Dragons’ Odyssey - it has no redeeming features that allow me to recommend it to anyone.

Velocity G is a racer with very few things going for it. It’s plain, generic, boring, and, for much of the time, frustrating.

Realms of Arkania: Star Trail is a laborious experience that drains any potential fun out of proceedings with the monotonous travelling, the repetitive and often pointless conversations, and some turn-based combat that’s way behind the times.

While ASCENDANCE – First Horizon achieves some things with its emphasis on relaxation, calming 3D FPS platforming and hidden collectables, all of this is nearly gone to waste when you are unable to experience the entire package because of technical issues which should have been solved before the game’s launch.

Back in 1995 doesn’t feel like something worth experiencing as a video game in 2019. At best, it is something which simply exists to satisfy a modern gamer’s curiosity, as even those who grew up with classic survival horror games don’t honestly miss playing these archaic games once the rose-tinted lenses are off.

For little ones, this may be a good entry point into gaming, but for the older gamers, this is nothing more than Gamerscore fodder, and it’s tough to even recommend it for that reason.

Tour de France 2019 could well have done with a bit more development time, instead of being pushed out in the current state just in order to meet the demands of the first stage of the 2019 Tour.

Its vibrant art style and relative wealth of content are overshadowed by the shoddy controls. They fall far short of what is expected of a modern platformer and really spoil what could have been a potentially enjoyable experience.

In conclusion, I can’t recommend The Lost Legends Of Redwall: The Scout – Act One to anyone other than absolutely rabid fans of the Redwall stories, and even then, try before you buy.

Like anything Ratalaika Games put out these days, the achievements are some of the easiest going; so easy that I was done in about half an hour. So if you’re on the lookout for some easy Gamerscore, pick this one up. If you aren’t, I’d recommend avoiding it.

Put it this way, if a meteor hit the Xbox Store today, no one would miss Roarr! Jurassic Edition.

I fully understand that it’s a super cheap game but that doesn’t let the team at Flyhigh off from the fact that the content included is bare bones at best.

It’s simple by name, simple by nature, and sadly you get what you pay for.