Strider isn’t the lightning-in-a-bottle remake that Bionic Commando Rearmed was. That was a clever reimagining, where the updates enhanced the experience rather than detracted, and every new armament felt like a natural requirement of the combat mechanics. Here, it’s overstuffed with nary a worthy challenge in sight.

It’s a fun, introspective and occasionally exhilarating ride from one end of the solar system to the other. It’s worth the trip, even if you only want to make it just the once.

Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition is a solid collection for anyone still nostalgic for Duke’s brand of gory antics or those wanting to test their mettle against the corridor shooters of old.

While it’s not really much of a looker, and non-fans won’t find much here besides a series of fights, there’s a ton in here for fans of the series to dig into and enjoy.

There’s a spark here, though, and certainly a handful of memorable moments. There are just as many that require restraint, lest you put a controller through your TV.

Hardline is the archetypal spin-off, then; the victim of a franchise treading water until the next big advancement.

And while the story is fun enough, the plot isn’t the centerpiece. This expansion to the Saints Row universe is here to give a new sandbox to blow things up in. It is a sandbox to play around, without either worrying or carrying about the direction of any overall plot.

I simply wish there was more of it. Not necessarily in terms of length, but more combat, a more fleshed out story and more player agency. It has the ingredients to be great but it’s too restrictive and those aspects of its design are used so sparingly or aren’t yet fully formed, that it’s simply disappointing.

It’s a shame those moments aren’t more frequent, though, because I really wanted to like Dying Light more than I did. I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it if you’re in need of some schlocky fun, there are just some caveats clutching on to this recommendation that even a bloody hatchet won’t fix.

If you’re not on board with the series’ mashing of shooting and RPG elements, there’s nothing here that’s going to dissuade, and even casual fans might not feel the need to pick up this interquel after they’re still stuffed from Borderlands 2, but for the hardcore fan it’s hard to deny the formula is still plenty of fun and taking things to the moon provides enough of a difference in the mechanics to justify a play-through.

It’s just so cluttered by other stuff that it ends up being a slog to get through once you’re nearing the home stretch.

This War of Mine is a soul crushing thing to consider as entertainment. It is going to make you feel bad and absorb the consequences of your actions. It exists as a piece of indie expression that shows the actual grayness that is inherent in all conflict. There is no winning.

All in all, Dead Rising 3 is a fun, open world zombie-splattering experience that is notably let down by a weak narrative, derivative boss fights and too much emphasis on using crazy weapons to obliterate scores of undead.

As solid as ever and the best it’s been in quite a while. I just won’t be holding out hope for next year.

Murdered is a game that does a lot of things sub-par, but what it does offer is an engaging, well written story. You just have to look past the mess.

There might be an interesting game in this engine, but it’s not here, not yet, and as a result Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is at best a very expensive demo that should only be approached with the lowest expectations.

If you look at that game it’s difficult to see how this has taken such a giant leap backwards. With any hope the next iteration in this series will gravitate towards previous successes.

Here we have a game that borrows too heavily from others – entertaining as those mechanics may be – robbing it of its own unique identity. The hacking rectifies this somewhat, providing that differentiating hook, but even that’s not enough to elevate Watch Dogs above the sum of its derivative parts.

The latest take at JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a fair and accessible fighting game that offers something different from the crowd.

Yaiba is weird. It’s dumb, insanely frustrating and to be honest, kind of insulting. However, regrettably, it’s also a bit fun.

Tearaway may not be the best first-party game currently available on the Vita, but it certainly is beautiful, ambitious and worth a look, if you’re willing to weather the foibles mentioned above.

An underwhelming conclusion for Sony’s duo on the PlayStation 3. It’s a fine game; it’s pretty, it’s got the series’ trademark weaponry, and yet, it’s just another Ratchet game.

Despite its late-game flaws I’m just so surprised the team at Young Horses managed to make this ludicrous concept work as a fully-fledged game that I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

Need for Speed: Rivals is nothing if not ridiculously dumb fun, but that just makes its multiplayer failings all the more disappointing.

It never quite feels like you get as much bang for your buck as previous expansions.

It’s a brilliant piece of interface design, the defining moment for which will come when the player realises that they’re giving a massage to the device they read their e-mails on.

You might have been to the city before, but in Burial at Sea, it remains as alluring a creation as it ever was.

The game’s utter oddness is enough to grab the attention of the average gamer, but its on-and-off mission structure isn’t going to keep them for long and once again fisticuffs in first-person proves problematic.