Ken’s Rage 2 isn’t the ultimate Fist of the North Star game, but it’s a pretty decent step up from the first with way more characters to play as and a tighter focus on trying to make a good adaptation rather than trying to make it a re-skinned Dynasty Warriors.

It all culminates in an ending that will probably become one of those iconic gaming moments - similar to the ending of Fez, it provides a great sense of closure while also making no apparent sense whatsoever.

Try to play it seriously and only anger and frustration awaits. It’s lovable in attitude for a short while but once you begin repeating cycles it soon runs out of fuel. Much like the car now abandoned on that highway.

Natural Selection 2 is unquestionably a unique title, but its bar to entry is incredibly high for the average FPS player. For the hardcore strategist, it has its appeal, but its complexity severely limits the enjoyment in matches that aren’t significantly populated by experts at the game.

Aside from an exhaustion that I’m still trying to shake, I walk away from Ken’s Rage 2 with the realization that us fans probably won’t be graced with a well deserved adaptation anytime soon and that realization already has my eyes shedding streaks of sorrowful man seed.

It’s tempting to support a game that’s been through struggles and survived out the other side, especially when it carries a popular name, but Aliens: Colonial Marines should have remained vaporware.

Despite succumbing to some of the series’ pitfalls, which Sanzaru seems to have knowingly fell into, Thieves in Time is a remarkably faithful recreation of the classic 3D platforming the series was known for; and as such, it’s easy to get lost in the nostalgia of it all.

Alien Breed is a solid twin stick shooter that, while not providing the challenge of the game on which it’s based, is a great game to play when you have a few minutes to spare, perfect for those looking to take down the alien menace on the go.

For now, the wise choice would be for everyone else to wait it out.

Sure it didn’t make sense but it ends on such a satisfactory note that it’s hard to look down on the eager greenlit kickstarter upper that only meant to be fun. And for the short while that it lasted it was.

It comes without recommendation, and yet there’s persistence from within to keep this installed. Toilet paper has never been so charming, though it remains anything but a source of necessary entertainment. It has absolutely no reason to exist and for that I salute it.

It’s a solid, fun experience that will keep you coming back for one more turn.

This loose fragment of fan-service is priced as a Vita game and designed as a low-end iOS game. Square’s use of IAPs wouldn’t be a good model even if it were free-to-play. With the premium attached, All the Bravest is simply anti-consumer. It’s a big waste of a good opportunity to streamline.

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.

It may not be for hardcore fans of the series who are attuned to a particular playstyle, but for everyone else DmC: Devil May Cry is a highly accomplished character action game with a lot to love. It’s a different type of game than its predecessors but one that’s wholly successful at what it does, bringing relevancy back to the Devil May Cry name.

The overall experience of Adventure Time is just fine if not hampered by its reliance on old design. It’s inoffensive and is a fun one-off novelty at best.

To ignore it for avoiding standard conventions would be a mistake. Put any preconceptions aside and let Ed Key and David Kanaga’s work take you in.

Pantheon is not a game: it's an experiment on the addiction of instant gratification combined with in-app purchases that grant rewards.

Stand it beside Papa Sangre and they make a strong argument for design that begins with the technology first, refusing to force an idea onto it without contemplation - and this makes The Room feel necessary and unique, providing something unavailable elsewhere.

This is one best enjoyed in shorter bursts. Cadenza Interactive's work shows promise and if the name Descent brings fond memories this comes recommended.

The Scorchers is a fine way to re-familiarise yourself and extend the run-time of this under-appreciated throwback shooter.

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.

There's no denying that gamers can walk away from the experience feeling a lasting good impression of the revamp. The new direction of the franchise holds a lot of promising potential and Ninja Theory still comes out showing that the duties of keeping things new and fresh are in capable hands. Here's to new beginnings.

It might look like a daunting game to dive into, but stick with it and you'll find one of the most engaging and addictive strategy experiences available.

Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt isn't an awful expansion, but it is woefully underwhelming when compared to the wealth of content the others have provided.

This is a game that wears out its welcome several hours into the show. Eight hours of the same mindless killing of identical waves of bugs is a tiresome ordeal. Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable is a game with too much filler and not enough ambition, packaged in bargain bin wrappings.

Its narrative is compelling, its writing thoughtful. The mechanics may be little more that a delivery mechanism for its story but Kentucky Route Zero's mysteries leave you wanting more. Fortunately, there's more to come.

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

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.

Although it can't quite sustain an initially interesting premise and refreshingly inventive ideas throughout the full length of its twenty half hour chapters, this is a Devil May Cry enlived with renewed assurance, nestled in more than capable hands.

With no story or true narrative to latch onto, there's no reason for players to care about what's going on. And there's only one thing ever going on in Dear Esther: nothing. Broken up into individual pieces-the graphics, writing, and music clearly show talent and might have led to interesting stories or games-but together they form a dull, lifeless experience that's quickly forgotten.

There's not much of a reason to play it after you've beaten it.

Had care and attention been given to those (not to mention some reworked visuals), it would've made for a far more compelling package instead of two classics saddled with three duds.

Despite being hampered by a well meaning, but ultimately interfering, plot, Far Cry 3 has evolved into a decadent, playful and exciting title. Be it quality programming, dumb luck or a mixture of them both, the game plunges you into a thick, gloopy world of sugary gameplay, shimmering visuals, intoxicating audio as well as a great deal more. It's long, stupid and buckets of fun - just what you need to burn away the winter blues.

It's a massive chunk of more of the same, basically. If that's what you're looking for you'll be more than satisfied, but lapsed players shouldn't expect anything intriguing enough to drag them back in.

For ancient king and Elvish lord, Guardians of Middle-earth is stuck in the Mystical Bog of Latency Irritation. Its system's solidly built and there's the appearance of depth crying to be uncovered. However, those cries aren't being heard. This isn't the first time a multiplayer-only XBLA title has effectively been broken online. It deserved a better fate than this.

The New Super Mario Bros series was never one to defy expectations, but rather build upon years of refined nostalgia. New Super Mario Bros. U is formulaic Mario and is a delightfully fun time for it.

Too easy for older gamers, and a little over the heads of younger gamers, Quantum Conundrum finds itself in a sort of purgatory between the two, and like a younger brother it can't help but live in the shadow of its older sibling's success.

While it solely focuses on only one type of loot and isn't as big as Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty, Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage is another solid addition to the Borderlands 2 experience.

In short spells, Battle of the Bulge is an engaging strategy game with enough depth to satisfy anyone with a passing interest in World War II history. The developers have clearly paid great attention to detail to make it authentic and ground it in the history it seeks to simulate, but you're left wanting more from a formula that clearly has huge potential.

No Time Left is a wholly satisfying and rewarding conclusion to one of this year's best. It makes a grand statement for episodic content.

A throwback to the classic games that created the genre. It comes bundled with a strange, obscure narrative and a flawless paint job, but the homage to the old lies there, in plain sight, beneath the sparkle.

There are several disparate elements of it that are truly great, and only occasionally do they cross paths, revealing the game that could have been.

It's a shame that our final goodbyes to the cityscape of Omega is so passionless and dull. If Bioware intends to release more episodic content for ME3, I hope they don't rely on their increasingly tired combat system to do all of the work next time round. Let's have some more of that character back, okay?

There's nothing here that casual fans will feel they have to see, but for those still looking for deeper insight into this world, or simply looking for more Mass Effect, this is another few hours of solid entertainment.

ZombiU is an atmospheric game that can be very tense and even sometimes scary. You just have to be willing to over look its flaws.

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.

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare's focus on melee combat with lots of people might frustrate some, but it's an impeccably designed system that throws a huge curveball at anyone who thinks they've mastered the controls.

It's a good indie project. Lucky Frame have proven they're capable of finding the middle ground between the most disparate concepts and they've just about pulled this one off.

F1 Race Stars provides small doses of enjoyment alongside larger doses of frustration and injustice, thanks to its stubborn insistence of remaining both an F1 and karting game.

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.

While technically sound, even with its enhancements Persona 4 Golden is still a port of a PS2 game. There was only so much the system can do, so if you're expecting something that will utilize the potential of the Vita, you won't find that here.

Nintendo Land isn't a bad game, for free. As something that is included with the system, as long as you bought the deluxe model, this makes for an interesting tech demo, letting you and your friends try out different methods of how a game can be played on the Wii U. There is some fun to be had, but it's short lived, mainly due to lack of content, and not all of the content will be fun to everyone.

Mutant Blobs Attack has the right amount of charm and variety of gameplay elements especially considering its price.

Dyad walks that fine line between artistic evocation and arcade addiction, emerging in a blinding euphoria of brilliant light at the end of its tunnel.

Most Wanted succeeds because it is all about the driving and the driving is excellent. It's Burnout with a name that will sell. And that's a pretty good thing.

It's still very much a game rooted in past successes, but the bold changes it makes on the campaign side shows Treyarch aren't quite prepared to rest on their laurels.

Twisted Dreams brings back an unlikely product of a derivative time and gives it unique life. It's a positive early argument for Kickstarter revivals and while it still works in known quantities, it provides a hellishly difficult and sweet platformer that finally provides a non-ironic reason to enjoy the Giana Sisters.

Dead or Alive 5 is just as unique as it is awkward. On the surface it still wants to be the kooky, over-the-top brawler that is known more for its breasts than it is its fists. However, underneath that façade is a high-quality fighter still struggling for acceptance within the fighting game community.

At $3, Rayman Jungle Run hits a nice middle ground in terms of price, but it's the quality of its content that makes this an invaluable gem.

The Darkness II is the ideal rental game. It's a fun shooter with a decent amount of combat variety and has a fast pace that guarantees players won't be bored any time soon, but it lacks lasting appeal and can be beaten within a weekend easily.

What it does do well it does with confidence, but uncharacteristic issues prevent it from being top of the class.

Is Guild Wars 2 a revolutionary MMORPG? Not quite. It is, however, a good game and some of the best value per dollar spent currently available.

Hotline Miami is the rare breed of game that feels as smart as it is bloody. It is unabashedly gratuitous, but there's a context to its mayhem that escapes most ultra-violent operas. There's really nothing quite like it: its unique blend of tactics, tension and a cracked-out fiction bleed together to form a coherent experience that is equal parts cool and disturbing.

Rocketbirds doesn't bring anything new nor does it break any ground, however it's a niche experience in its own right and more importantly it delivers as a title that will occupy your time.

It's expanded beyond any plausible scientific explanation, with what is left being a cumbersome, grotesque mish-mash of disparate elements, barely strung together and about as subtle as a hammer to the thumb.

Sometimes it's frustrating and sometimes it puts you on edge.

Halo 4 is another Halo game in every sense. It's a technically spectacular achievement that in isolation is a product to make the industry proud. Series fatigue is inevitable after six full-length titles and this prevents it from being genuinely essential. For many that decision will have already been made.

Planets Under Attack is a surprising little strategy game, filled with a lot more depth that what can be seen on the surface.

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.

It might not be as substantial of an add-on as The Secret Armory of General Knoxx was for the first Borderlands, but vault hunters hungry for more will find this DLC satisfies their lust for loot quite nicely.

Football Manager, enjoyable as it still remains for the most part, is beginning to enter the Heskey years of its existence: it still does its job more effectively than any other striker on the market, but the tired formula is beginning to show.

It may be dubbed the ultimate collection but even on consoles the BFG Edition is far from ideal. As a PC game its existence is highly questionable; any esoteric changes made on id's part have already been done better by a dedicated modding community.

The problem is that the single-player package stretches the pretty basic gameplay worryingly thin, and leaderboard competition can only keep you interested for so long. If you're looking for a decent arcade romp you could do a lot worse than pick up Zombie Driver HD. It's just that you could do a lot better, too.

Where Giant Sparrow's narrative vision is clearly focused, The Unfinished Swan's gameplay deviates rather rapidly from that opening castle of wonder.

It's intelligent, rewarding and challenging and with any luck it will find the audience it deserves.

Whether you're fighting Gustav Graves, Blofeld, Oddjob or Sanchez, it's all done via these poorly disguised Quick Time Events. Every time a boss would step forward and assume the position, I cringed.

Dishonored may not contain the depth of Skyrim or the unrivaled beauty of Uncharted, but it does present something new, innovative and engaging. It makes the player think about the effect their choices, both in terms of narrative and gameplay, may potentially have on the world around them.

It's a lengthy adventure full of personality, an endless plethora of weapons, and addictive co-op gameplay. Fans of the first game would be foolish to pass up another chance to visit Pandora and plunder the incalculable treasures therein.

Jet Set Radio is by no means a perfect game, nor was it originally, but it's the world, its ideas and that same unique energy that keep it relevant today.

Despite developer Vanpool's best efforts to do something stylish and new, they're unable to deliver fully on their vision in a cohesive way and Dillon's Rolling Western falls just short of being that standout defining game on the eShop.

Double Dragon: Neon is fun in small doses, but the lack of online play greatly diminishes its appeal along with its strict adherence to the same annoying aspects of the genre that have since been done away with.

You get back what you invest into this series. And whilst the story has taken a turn I knew it would, there was a true involvement by the end. I won't lie: it got very emotional.

It's an intelligent game, but also one that acknowledges that action needs to feel satisfying and brutal, just as much as stealth needs to feel tense and crafty.

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes isn't so much a detective game, but a puzzle title, one that limits its audience given its difficult old skool approach. On top of that, its outdated graphics and terrible frame rate asks more of its players to swallow before taking things seriously.

The sky isn't the limit, but there is plenty of reason to wander around the casual world of New Little King's Story, even if it's just to see what's there.

Inconsistency is the name of the game. Resident Evil 6 tries so much to be all things to all people, and it ends up just being bloated, unwieldy, and frustrating.

With its assortment of tweaks and gameplay additions, as well as a story that evolves with Nintendo-esque pacing, Supermagical manages to feel like a whole lot more than merely another casual novelty.

Depending on the player's level of experience with the series, F1 2012 is either a sincere virtual representation of the world's most technical sport in a substantial package, or a finely-tuned forward and sideways step in the reinterpretation of F1 2011.

Borderlands 2 successfully maintains every aspect that made the first game such a surprise hit and improves upon them in all the ways that matter.

I don't know whether a rush to meet deadlines or a half-hearted attitude led to the game being released in this state, but that is exactly what MechWarrior: Tactical Command is: a total state.

For a title that many cult followers have demanded others to acknowledge, the disregarding scrutiny on Capcom's part does more harm than good for the cause.

It's highly energetic in attitude and then does all it can to hamper and slow the player's progress and enjoyment. All filler, no killer.

It may not have the depth of Sim City or the dedicated following of FarmVille but Tapped Out is still a thoroughly entertaining and addictive experience; arguably the best videogame based on The Simpsons yet.

Now, there is some challenge for the gamer that's inclined to find it. Every stage has three hidden star coins, and the acquisition of them all can be tricky, and necessary to access the harder levels. For everyone else, this is another Mario game that's far too easy and plays it far too safe. It's more Mario for people who want more Mario, and nothing more.

Clearly a lot of love and effort has gone into making this game and both Endeavor Bros. and Monkube should be applauded for creating one of the best-looking and most endearing games on the casual market, but the fundamental gameplay issues cannot be ignored.

Despite its fantastic, straightforward combat, Rainbow Moon is a game that buckles under the weight of its bloated runtime.

Perfectly fine in execution, its refusal to deviate or break the mould holds back its ideas from becoming fully realised and providing real character or polish.