You’ve a solid game that, whilst incredibly similar to its forerunner, brings the series up to date, especially in such a historic US election. Just don’t expect too much deviation as every play-through is anything but a winding road.

Being able to thrash baddies on a handheld is gratifying experience. But Joe’s new abilities and the use of the Touch Screen make this game feel a little bit offbeat. If you don’t mind the tedious puzzles and lack of difficulty, this might be something worthwhile.

A great online-enabled emulation of a so-so fighting game (plus a lame puzzle game) which looks rather anaemic now that violence in video gaming is nothing to rave on about.

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.

Perhaps The Missing Link's biggest offense is that it feels like the safe, easy way to go with Human Revolution's DLC.

Battlestations: Midway isn’t bad, but its ambitious mixture of action and real-time strategy doesn’t translate into an exciting and engaging game.

Offers the best FPS experience on the PlayStation 2 with a fluid experience that immerses gamers into a world of conspiracy, intrigue and action.

Really, the whole experience makes for an apt coming-of-age parable: a childlike wonder of space supplanted by the disappointing realisation of its cruel, unforgiving brutality.

The sheer amount of unlockables and additional content ensure that you'll have plenty to uncover. Extend might not be original, but it is built upon the best.

Guncraft is addictive and ambitious. Exato has achieved a real feat in utilising Minecraft’s template in such innovative ways. The potential for creativity and its pure gameplay should make Guncraft a hub of imagination once it becomes more populated and utilised.

Hector isn't innovative. It doesn't raise the bar for gameplay in adventure games, nor does it really bring anything new to the table. It does, however, offer simple gameplay - offering an experience that's easy to get into, along with a downright funny adventure to boot.

The lack of unique modes is disappointing, as is the lack of focus on newbies.. Hardcore “dancers” will be in heaven, but everyone else will find themselves left in the dust.

Sadly, it’s just not a massively compelling adventure, and most certainly won’t be ripe for revisiting like the classics are yet years down the line, but to understate Ceville’s role would be a misstep.

There simply isn’t enough of anything new and revolutionary to warrant years of dedicated play filling the same catalogues of collectables and earning awards that no-one except yourself will ever care about.

Arcana Heart 3 is fun for what it offers, but it falls short of its real potential. These girls need to train more.

It can easily become a sensory overload and the tower balance could have used a little more tweaking, but under its simple premise there is a fulfilling strategy experience.

Creeping around in the dark with only a flashlight to hand whilst the wind whistles through a passageway and footsteps can be heard around every corner can be extremely disconcerting, and it's a testament to good game design that it manages to unsettle right from the start.

Virtua Tennis 2009 is probably the best tennis game on the Wii.

If there was ever a reminder of why The King of Fighters kicks ass, this is it.

It's telling that Earthworm Jim HD is most fun when it's playing with ideas that go beyond its core gameplay mechanics. But it's also telling that this wide range of inventive ideas manage to elevate the game far above its obvious flaws.

Visually dated, but they are arguably two of the deepest 2D fighters that SNK has ever released.

Although The Pitt is a bit on the short side overall, it offers the perfect mix of the core Fallout 3 experience with a great new story, location, enemies, quests and weapons.

If there's one modern shooter convention Hard Reset needs to follow, it's the release of a sequel.

All of the games retain their arcade-based charm, sans the small fortune of quarters you’d have to spend after getting killed for the twentieth time.

Don’t expect a revolutionary change to the series; just expect the same fun we’ve experienced before.

Yes, you could probably sniff up an old Flash game built on roughly the same premise, but it wouldn’t have the same production values as Castlestorm has.

Although Path of Neo is an improvement from Enter the Matrix, it should have been much better than it turned out. I have a feeling this is going to be one of the final nails in the once lucrative and respectable Matrix franchise.

Shadow Hearts has its share of flaws, no doubt. The graphics are weak and the battle system grows monotonous quickly. Fortunately, the unique setting and above-average storyline makes this one worth checking out.

The PS2 may have thrown out its last classic titles with Okami and God of War II, but for those waiting to make the next gen leap then you could do a lot worse for yourself in the mean time than picking this up.

If you take yourself and your RPGs too seriously, then chances are you’re not going to get much out of this game. If, however, you just want to hang out with a bunch of hot anime chicks and kick some butt on the way to nowhere, Endless Frontier is your game.

The platforming, while serviceable enough on its own, is made needlessly annoying with a horrendous excuse of a camera. But if you manage to get it working long enough, you'll be treated to some of Disney's finest, from the animated shorts of the early twentieth century to the nightmarish visions of a world that is normally reserved for cherished childhood memories.

The one thing that would have made this game a true gem would have been some online play, but the multiplayer is so entertaining that it’s easy to overlook.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an entertaining romp through the Star Wars universe; just don't expect something of The Empire Strikes Back brilliance.

In terms of retro gaming, this is probably the best deal you can currently get on the Wii.

A bright and cheery Mech’em’up with a bright charm and nostalgic gleam that despite its problems is worth checking out, provided you agree with the price.

God Hand is one of those games that will either leave you shaking your head in disappointment or practically drooling for more. It functions superbly as a beat’em up game, and it possesses the some of the charm that games like "Final Fight" and "River City Ransom" used to enjoy.

Perhaps Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Dark Lord isn’t so much uninspired, though, as it is misleading.

There's plenty of style to go around, with an excellent foundation. Unstoppable Gorg provides a fresh new twist on the expected system; however, its limited selection of combat mechanics keeps it from truly taking off.

Dante’s Inferno starts off big, consistently introducing new enemy types and grand environments, but by the end of the game that initial excitement turns to repetition as you fight through wave after wave of the same enemy type in increasingly familiar territory.

To say the Katamari series is becoming stale is something of an overstatement, it’s still as enjoyable as ever but if the next instalment (if there is one) doesn’t take the series in a new direction both on and offline, then this cult series in great danger of killing itself off by the lack of the one thing it brought a bundle of, originality.

It doesn’t matter what kind of artistic talent you may or may not have... absolutely anyone can be proud of the products of their imagination.

Its incredibly short stature makes ZOE an almost pointless re-release, and the de-evolved frame rate handling of 2nd Runner isn't much to pine for unless your PS2 copy was lost, stolen, or destroyed. If this is an effort to get people amped and ready for the recently announced Zone of the Enders 3, fans certainly deserve better than this.

Anarchy Reigns may be the first retail release of 2013 but it's a strong contender for dumbest fun of the year.

With a mixed bag of quality, humor, and creativity to work with, gamers will likely find themselves split over the game’s appeal. It’s not a bad game; it simply lacks a decent execution.

It may have slightly deviated from its original design to welcome the uninitiated to the genre – the many, many knowing references reveal a game that’s meant for the fighting game community more than anyone else – but the added depth proves welcome, even if it requires a little more understanding.

A damn exciting ride if you just want to let loose and allow your instincts to guide you to all manner of ridiculously out-of-this-world rough-and-tumbles.

You can’t help but feel that H.A.W.X. is a little too tame for its own good. While it’s certainly an enjoyable air combat game, it lacks the edge that other Tom Clancy games so evidently possess.

A pretty good – if not unexceptional – action-RPG where an arcade-oriented simplicity and an experiment with pricing structures are the orders of the day.

Just don't expect the technical marvel that PC owners have been waxing on about for years, you'll be sorely disappointed.

Something special for a select audience who's able to fully embrace its peculiar nature. That it doesn't appeal to everyone will likely only strengthen this appeal.

There is a slightness about Scrapland that actually appeals in this day and age.

It may be a little short but the replayability comes in from the extra difficult levels and their newly gained in-game bonus features.

The bottom line is that this game is a lot of fun, does what it sets out to do with ease and I'm sure you'll find yourselves going back to this again and again if you get hold of it, especially if you can talk your mates into buying it too.

The single player still needs work, but as it stands Reverse of Arcadia is the most complete Yu-Gi-Oh! game released to date.

All things considered, Mirror of Fate is still a decent game, one that is merely injured by some elements of poor design. It’s a unique approach to rebooting a franchise, one that doesn’t seek to reestablish the rules, but instead utilize them as a guide, thus allowing this new version to travel its own direction.

Marvel vs. Capcom Origins is the definition of what every HD fighting game re-release should be and as long as Capcom continues down this path, high anticipation for Darkstalkers Resurrection is foreseeable.

Everything feels crafted with care, and it's a fun and stylish strategy game.

Although Ys: The Ark of Napishtim isn’t the prettiest or most epic RPG around, it delivers with its fast-paced action and lack of a convoluted storyline.

Most definitely one of the most inventive games on the PS3. It blends a number of genres into a great package topped off with some great humor.

Stubbs might be left craving a few more brains and he might have wished that he could have done a little bit more than just feast and fart, but I think that by the time Punchbowl and love have been conquered, Stubbs is reasonably satisfied with the second chance he was given for life and love.

Think of it this way: skate is to Tony Hawk as The Bourne Identity was to Die Another Day. The Bourne series didn't kill the Bond series, it just challenged it. And what happened? We got Casino Royale, an awesome Bond flick in a completely new style.

About half of the time I’m playing the game, I’m having a good time, and the other half I’m darkly brooding about stringing up each of the game’s developers by their big toes and slapping them repeatedly in the faces with a giant mackerel. [JPN Import]

The puzzle sections are great fun, and could have been their own game. As it stands, however, the Race mode just doesn't cut it.

A poor game shrouded in an illusion of mediocrity.

Shattered Horizon is an excellent game sold short by its own lack of content. What's in the game is impressive, even beautiful; however, the fundamental fact is that there are only four maps and one gun to be had in the entire game.

A Dragon Ball Z fan’s dream come true. The game boasts a incredibly large roster of fighters hearkening from every obscure movie and saga in the series.

The game demonstrates a solid understanding of point-and-click fundamentals that work, but don't exactly set the genre on fire, and what players end up with is an adventure title that has the elements it needs to be intriguing but can't quite seem to fit all the pieces together yet.

Claptrap's New Robot Revolution offers no surprises, and it's really only for Borderlands players that are looking to get one last bit of mileage out of the game.

While I did not personally find “The Bogey Man” to be as enthralling as “Muzzled”, it is certainly one of the best games of the series and will no doubt appeal to fans and newcomers alike.

While the replayability of Episode 2 is somewhat limited due to its single-solution design, the overall experience is simply too much fun to pass up. Any fan of adventure titles will find Wallace and Gromit: The Last Resort to be well worth the money.

Still, at its heart this is Dead Rising 2. Most of the cutscenes contain the same dialogue, only with Frank edited in, so there's the feeling that two entirely different conversations are taking place and it comes across as lazy.

The Wise Monkey is overall a better installment than its predecessor, but it still has its work cut out. Characters and dialogue are once again rather tin-eared and jerky animations can take players out of the experience.

Perhaps that doesn’t sound like the most enthusiastic endorsement, but Amped 3 is one of those games that has so many peripheral pleasures that it must be looked at in terms of the whole package rather than the score gameplay (which is polished even if it’s easy).

It makes a brilliant case of “show, don’t tell”, but unfortunately, it just doesn’t show a heck of a lot.

Beyond all of the enhancements and extras, After Burner Climax’s bargain price of 800 Microsoft Points ($9.99) makes it a must own.

It seems that with the aid of their superhero counterparts, Mortal Kombat is back, and in better skull cracking shape than before.

If you’re after a game to play on the way to work, or when you have a spare few minutes, then this could be a worthy purchase.

This is by no means a must-have title, but one that can take care of a boring weekend ahead and still have room to venture back through either for achievements or some risky, gun-toting action.

Apparently The Last Hope will be the last Star Ocean game to be released - if that’s the case then it’s a fitting swansong.

The hideous load times serve the player well, allowing him or her to reflect on what they could better be doing with their time than such run of the mill drudgery. Something enriching, perhaps, because life’s short enough as it is.

After the final battle has been fought, the fact remains that this is one excellently polished and solid fighting experience.

Exemplary art and music alone willfully justify the purchase. The problem is there's a less satisfactory design there to meet it and the game never proves as interesting or provocative as appearances let on. There is something special about Pid, it just doesn't fully execute on all of its winning ideas.

By now, you’ve probably forgotten about the killer vagina. But while The Awakened should have been an adventure memorable for its gutsy Lovecraftian/Holmesian hybrid plot – a dark, unpredictable tale of an arcane sect responsible for kidnappings, bloody murders and dismemberments – most of that gets buried behind the sluggish game.

Rain’s emotional potency is progressively diluted by tiresome design, but there’s no one particular grievance that completely ruins the experience.

Essentially its predecessor with more characters, more challenging content, minor gameplay tweaks, and better controls.

A decent multiplayer component gives the score a boost, but for the most part, Medal of Honor is held back by the developer's unwillingness to take risks with the franchise.

Primordia will enchant its guests, leaving a deep impression that will have you wanting more. And no matter what your craft may be, it unquestionably has a way of getting those creative juices flowing.

An intense, satisfying, difficult but fun shooting gallery. Whilst it ultimately lacks depth and variety and will never threaten to trouble the bigger players in the genre, it is a lot of fun and can be an [oftentimes insane] test of your gaming abilities.

Still when all is said and done, I’d rather pull this out in a tea break or in the evening than try to make sense of a sudoku puzzle.

More than any of its clipping issues or framerate dips, it's Caballero's opening words that resonate throughout the entire experience, an emotionally raw dedication to his family that lingers in black and white, piercing each heartbreakingly symbolic interaction between Quico and Monster.

It isn’t as nerve-shreddingly terrifying as its predecessor, but A Machine for Pigs purveys a different kind of horror, revelling in the power of suggestion rather than the substance of real threat.

But once those colourful environments are replaced with dull mechanical labs, and the few rocket pack-related ideas presented in the first stage are reused ad infinitum, any initial enthusiasm is dispelled quickly.

This lack of polish could be forgiven in a game with tight gameplay, but that’s not Battlecry. Your Veritech feels wimpy and clunky in every mode.

For shooter fans craving something with a little more substance, Binary Domain is definitely the ticket. Behind its hokey yet self-aware characters and stereotypical premise is a hugely intelligent shooter, one that packs just as much heart as it does brawn.

There hasn’t been a game since Mister Mosquito that has played with the idea of an insect-sized protagonist and pulled it off so well.

Instead of putting in the muscle to make a Bond game worthy of the canon, we have been given a port of a remake of a Nintendo 64 game. GoldenEye 007: Reloaded isn't worth your time.

If you’re in the market for a bog standard platformer that exceeds itself visually and aurally, then Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is a worthwhile head spin without the legal repercussions.

Ultimately though, there is a lot of fun to be had in this package, especially for just a $30 download. Section 8 offers an enjoyable blend of frantic FPS action and strategic squad-based gameplay.