We have seen plenty of other re-releases with DLC, extras for those who search for them and even new modes, but Darksiders Warmastered Edition is only an upgrade in its simplest form. It's a game that feels slightly dated with its gameplay but it is still enjoyable whether you're a returning player or a new one.

Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville isn’t a huge evolution for the series — but it is mostly an improvement, and appropriately prepared for the persistent multiplayer culture we find ourselves in. Players jumping straight from Garden Warfare 2 to Neighborville may find the action too similar, though they will at least appreciate the distractions of some exciting new classes, new maps and a more engaging story mode.

Where Blood Money offers classic levels and assassinations with unwieldy controls and gunplay, Absolution offers smart, tight controls and better action but unfortunately few sandboxes for which the series is famous. You can see in hindsight how IO put it all together for 2016's relaunch of the franchise, and how they built on that even further to release the very best Hitman ever this past November. The Hitman HD Enhanced Collection, thus, makes for a fun and nostalgic trip for longtime fans, but a contract not worth taking for most everyone else.

Beautiful moments of platforming brilliance exist, but so do moments of needless frustration. Still, the game has its charms and is worth a look if you're either obsessed with or brand new to the last decade's worth of arthouse gaming. There are far more brilliant games in this genre to recommend, but Fe will certainly do you no harm over its short play time.

Biomutant really feels like it has so much heart behind it, and that’s more than enough of a pull to keep you coming back for more. You could just focus on those end-game bosses, but it would be a crime to do so — Biomutant’s expansive world offers so much that you’ll lose hours to exploration before even thinking about taking on some of those sidequests. It’s also a breath of fresh air to see the unique combination of inspirations and themes behind the game, which do indeed help it to stand apart as a real mash-up of genres wrapped up in a “post-apocalyptic kung-fu fable.” The only issues are where Biomutant doesn’t quite measure up to the scope and complexity it offers, leaving it feeling as though a little more polish would complete its transformation into a real gem.

There's nothing groundbreaking going on here, but there's enough for players to have a few hours of fun riding their bike around a muddy track.

Our trip to India is not dissimilar to our original trip to China; the style and gameplay are almost identical to the first game, not that there is anything particularly wrong with that. Being given the choice to play stealthy or by using full on combat is refreshing and you are able to go through the whole game without directly harming a single enemy, but it does sometimes feel like you are forced into combat with the layout of the levels and the frequency of the enemies.

Fishing Sim World is perhaps one of the most niche titles on the Xbox platform, and despite its popularity, angling is not a sport that you may expect to translate well to a digital world. Yet, Dovetail Games have captured the essence of coarse fishing surprisingly well. The ambient sounds of nature surrounding you are very realistic, and there's that same sense of tranquility you have when fishing.

The Bug Butcher is a fun arcade title that has the player exterminating bugs at an increasingly frenetic pace until all bugs have been destroyed. The easy-to-operate game mechanic and variety of difficulties that are available make it fun for all skill levels, but the challenging achievement list and buggy saving could squash some players' enthusiasm like...well, like a bug.

For returning players, and those especially focused on Connected Franchise, there isn't enough here to welcome you back. Updated rosters and small on-field tweaks are the things we get every year but what really makes or breaks an installment of Madden are the big changes, which are up and down and ultimately make Madden 18 a solid starter but no Pro Bowler.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is an early narrative adventure game that outdoes some of its later counterparts in ambition. That ambition is sometimes misguided and ultimately problematic for the storytelling, but a moving final scene with a major reveal salvages the overall story. Mixing in lots of different game mechanics and puzzles is an interesting pre-Edith Finch look at the genre. It still looks gorgeous now four years on from its original release, and it delivers a strong sense of time and place, but above all else, Ethan Carter is trying to move you with its narrative. In that regard, it's a story worth telling, but not always a story well told.

If you've played Baseball Riot, or frankly any one of the hundreds of similar games on the smartphone market, you've already played Tennis in the Face. The bland design means that it doesn't stand out from the crowd, but the stages are competently built.

If the game worked smoothly, it would be easy to recommend purchasing the game. As it stands, I would recommend waiting for an update before taking the plunge.

Gravel attempts to create a full arcade racer with a serious side. It feels like a welcome amalgamation of a number of familiar arcade titles, distilling the racing elements and doing away with distractions and diversions. While this allows the player to jump into race after race after race, it makes it feel one-dimensional at times. However, the arcade racing is certainly fun and engaging, and it's fully adaptable to any racing level. Fans of old-school racing games should certainly enjoy Gravel. Milestone has created something that's been missing in the genre, and though imperfect, it's a good start to what may be a new recurring franchise.

Cities Skylines is an essential metropolitan simulator, but some of its DLCs aren’t all that necessary. Parklife might be the least essential of the major updates so far. Its mechanics don’t impact or benefit the systems of the main game enough, and individual building objects aren’t attractive either. However the ability to shape a park space on both a larger and smaller scale does make cities feel more alive, more lived in and more like mankind has carved a space into the natural landscape. Die-hard fans of the game will jump at the chance to fine-tune and beautify their creations, but the casual city planner probably won’t find enough here to be worth the investment.

Underneath its flaws, Rogue Trooper Redux is good, old-fashioned fun. Its linear levels are solidly designed and offer a variety of ways to approach the objective at hand. Different play styles are also encouraged with stealth, distractions or running in and mortaring everything in sight all being viable tactics. Multiplayer exists, and that's about all that can be said about that. However, Rogue Trooper is a 2006 game, and Redux still feels like one. Just to name a few of its flaws, the cover system is clumsy, attempts at platforming are awkward, switching weapons is imprecise, the enemy AI have a collective IQ of seven, and it occasionally checkpoints when the entire room is shooting at you. Simply put, when you're not annoyed with Rogue Trooper, you're going to be having a good time with it.

If you grew up playing Q*bert, the Rebooted package is both a revitalization of a formula that you already enjoy, as well as a nostalgic trip down a colorful and snake-infested memory lane. For everyone else, however, it doesn't have the lasting appeal of a contemporary puzzler.

It's not all bad. The combat and the flying are legitimately amazing in Anthem. They're so good that, despite everything else about the game being quite bad, I still thought about playing the game during my hours away from it. In a few years, Anthem might be a good experience. Today, it's hard to recommend.

The mixture of resources and weapons can create exciting scenarios as rockets and lasers fly across the screen, but there is still a large element of strategy in what you're doing. The game leans more towards those who are a fan of the genre and others won't feel the need to play past the story, but it still does a serviceable job at trying to cater to a wider audience.

Livelock at its core is a simple and enjoyable twin-stick shooter that faltered due to an equal amount of hits and misses in the heart of the experience.

My Hero Academia: All's Justice is an exceedingly generous fighting game that, unfortunately, disappoints in a lot of key areas. If you've got a tolerance for some sloppy fighting mechanics, or if you're enough of a My Hero Academia fan to look past the issues, you can still have a good time here! However, there are definitely better 3D arena fighters out there.

Hunter's Legacy is an action-adventure game that offers a story that has been told over and over in many forms without offering much that is different. With different locations to explore and teleporters to help you get around, the game feels quite large. Ultimately, though, you'll end up annoyed, potentially lost and feeling defeated on a number of different occasions whilst playing it; this lets the game down. The appearance of the game is one of its strongest points, but while it is fun in parts and generally an enjoyable experience, Hunter's Legacy just isn't quite the cat's pyjamas.

The game is slow-paced and simple, a strategy title much in keeping with checkers. Although not the same game, it's fun in the same way; it's simple yet surprisingly hard from time to time as you adjust to new opposing skills. Unfortunately the campaign can become monotonous, while multiplayer lacks online capability and much purpose. Overall, the game is no more than average in any way.

While there is fun to be had here, Super Mutant Alien Assault quickly gets repetitive because of the short levels and the fact that you only have 12 levels to complete.

If you've played the developer's other titles then this one isn't any different; it largely works as intended and still provides a quick Gamerscore fix if that's what you're looking for. If you're new to the developer's output, while the game is a decent entry point for those new to the genre, it's not their best work. With Noir Chronicles: City of Crime, Artifex Mundi has made you an adventure game you can refuse.

While playing Trackmania Turbo, the same two words kept cropping up -- missed potential. The game does have some very creative tracks, and the trackcreator is a fun mode if you want to simply mess about and see what happens, but a lot of the game takes some unexciting turns.

Impact Winter can be an immersive survival game for those who are able to look past the technical issues that could possibly hurt the gameplay for some. Stepping out into The Void in order to scavenge numerous locations while trying to keep your team alive means having to brave the constant stuttering. Discovering new landmarks is addictive, but the odd loading screen slowdown along with some other grating issues threaten to overshadow what should be a tense and gripping experience.

Doodle God: Ultimate Edition is the most complete version of the title to be released to date but compared to some of it predecessors that are available on other formats, not much has changed.

Has-Been Heroes is an initially appealing title that quickly becomes bogged down by a lack of good instructions, too much luck-based randomness, and permadeath that never quits. The clunky controls are very non-intuitive, making it hard to get comfortable with gameplay. The game does have a huge number of unlockables that fans will enjoy discovering, but for anyone struggling with the game's difficulty, it's doubtful that most of these goodies will ever be seen. For those who enjoy rogue-type games and don't mind a stiff challenge, this title could be a gem. For those of us defeated by that boss just one too many times, however, Heroes is an exercise in frustration.

Mighty No. 9 fails to fill the shiny blue, metallic, oversized boots of its predecessor. The game manages to capture the essentials of the previous titles without capturing the essence.

Whilst initially amusing, killing the bad guy soon starts to feel like a chore. The killing is originally hilarious, becomes annoying in the middle and seems to pick up again towards the end. The deaths and the animations are amusing, as are the bonus levels, and the story of each bad guy is funny and unique. Unfortunately, the game is let down by some jerky controls and the fact that, essentially, you are just doing the same thing over and over.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Aliens: Fireteam Elite and aside from a handful of bugs, the game shows promise of a solid third-person co-op survival game. The rich lore and stunning level design put it on par with other successful Alien titles in terms of presentation (if not in terms of being faithful to the source material with its hordes of papier-mâché Xenomorphs), and although there isn’t anything revolutionary about the gameplay, the experience itself feels well crafted. I hope to see some of the issues resolved in the near future, but can happily say that this isn’t just another game to toss on the Aliens failure heap.

Runestone Keeper is a game that may give back as much as you put into it. Mechanically it's extremely simple and anyone will be able to get to grips with it. However, if the core gameplay features frustrate you, it can be tempting to give up after a short while due to the fact that luck is regularly against you. If you do persist, though, it is an enjoyable title that offers a rewarding experience.

The game should be given credit for its incredible performance with a lot of enemies onscreen, and the different graphical settings that let players relive the past are a nice touch. But on the content side, Hyper Sentinel is thin, with only 12 levels and three game modes that don't do enough differently to hold the attention of anyone except hardcore fans.

The presentation is cute and fun, and most of the gameplay is generally challenging without being too difficult. As a player, it is quite satisfying to puzzle your way through the roguelike levels defeating all of the foes, uncovering the secrets and grabbing all of the collectibles. Unfortunately, all of that hard work feels short-changed when the difficulty spikes so sharply at the end of a multistage level.

Earthfall is a decent try at filling the Left 4 Dead 3 hole in our hearts, but it's rarely strong enough to be anything other than a lesser imitation of that classic series. Occasionally, the AI director will put on its best show and it'll feel exactly as fans of this sort of game want it to feel, but those moments are too few and far between. With flat characters, AI issues on both sides of the war, and above all else, some glaring pacing problems, Earthfall is a tough sell when the game it's cribbing so closely is backward compatible and still superior a decade later.

Through The Woods is a horror game that delivers some good scares, just not really in the way that was intended. Enemy encounters are easy to overcome and at worst take just a bit of trial and error. The more effective scares come from the many stories you'll read as you span the woods of Norway looking for your son. Throw in some solid sound design, including an infrequent but effective soundtrack, and it's a game that's worth playing for horror fans, so long as you know it's not just some branches that are broken in these woods.

With competent, if simple, hack and slash action, a short but varied story mode and a decent amount of outside content to encourage replaying, it's a game that fans of the show or the genre may find enjoyable. However, if you're just looking for a quality game to spend some time with, RWBY shouldn't be your first or second choice thanks to a total lack of character development that leaves half the game's heart simply gone and enemy design that would be worthy of a low score.

Fans of H.P. Lovecraft are going to enjoy this game more than most as it brings to life his weird and memorable world to an extent few games, if any, have ever done. Every character and setting feels pulled from the pages in a way that is definitely admirable. It's just too bad much else that surrounds it doesn't impress as much. With a lack of polish in every way, diluted investigations, and rigid stealth sections, Call of Cthulhu isn't the investigative adventure-RPG most will want it to be. If you adore the author, this adaptation is worth a look. Otherwise, you can toss it back into the ocean.

Home Sweet Home is an otherwise effectively scary horror game that is betrayed by some unfortunate bugs. One in particular stopped the game short with ten minutes of plot wrap-up remaining, preventing the full game from being seen. On top of that, even the game's best scares can get hindered by enemy AI that misbehaves by running into walls or getting stuck on loops that demand you hit reset. When it's all working, Home Sweet Home shows a lot of promise, but there are a few too many unintentional scares by way of the game's flaws to recommend it to most horror fans right now.

Redfall isn't a bad game per se, but its lack of a clear vision or sense of direction prevents it from being anything more than just decent at best. It spreads itself too thin and overextends beyond Arkane's wheelhouse, falling back on systems and mechanics borrowed from around open world games and beyond that don't really gel with one another, and leaving Redfall a game confused. Enemy AI is largely pretty shocking, which stops the big multi-faction fights being as interesting or intense as they could be, and while gunplay and abilities do feel good, you're constantly re-gearing up for an endgame challenge that never comes, upgrading to new gear simply to tread water against the same threats as before at a slightly higher level. There's definitely a decent time to be had with Redfall (especially in co-op) in spite of some baffling design decisions, but given Arkane's track record, it's hard not to be deflated by what Redfall could have been compared to what it actually is.

Bridge Constructor Portal is still Bridge Constructor. The inclusion of GLaDOS, dark humor and Portal staples like gels, turrets and companion cubes will be appreciated by fans, but it's not enough to overcome the tedious core gameplay. Once you have the satisfying 'a-ha!' moment of solving a puzzle, you come to the unfun part: painstakingly piling up dozens of little triangle formations to create supports for your structures. The formula gets old quickly as the puzzles start to require more elaborate building, and we come back to that word: tedious. Players who know they enjoy Bridge Constructor will be at home with Bridge Constructor Portal, but those who disliked past games in the series should steer clear, despite the tantalizing Portal branding.

An average Action-RPG that features everything that the genre is known for: hordes of enemies, plenty of loot, and an expansive set of skills to choose from, but there is nothing to set it apart from the crowd.

Despite its fantastic visuals, superb voice acting, and a gorgeous, intriguing world filled with character and charm, South of Midnight sadly falls flat. A lack of variety in enemy types and some dull combat make combat encounters tedious and frustrating towards the end, whereas the story, which starts off so promising, ultimately gets lost in the hollers along the way.

Fans of the toy line will likely find stunning digital recreations of the cars they love here, whether now or in one of many content updates already on the cards, along with a generally competent racer to use them in. Still, said fans may find that the dedication to the brand here elevates the experience to a degree, although those with less love for Hot Wheels in general might just see this passable racer as more of a slightly cynical vessel through which to peddle pretend toy cars for the next few years. Shiny and on-brand, but nothing particularly special, honestly.

If you're a fan of adventure gaming, pointing and clicking through puzzles and looking for clues, Investigations is a respectable callback to that era and whose fault might be in leaving the IP's younger fans behind. If you're a fan of the series, it's an inelegant trip into the peculiar land of Ooo that saves itself by adoring the series as much as the fans who might play it.

Valkyria Revolution comes from a line of highly-acclaimed titles, but this one undoubtedly misses the mark. Gameplay takes a backseat thanks to the primary focus on long, drawn-out cutscenes that take up a solid 70% of your playtime. Even when it is at the forefront, that gameplay is outrageously easy and complimented by braindead AI that will rarely do what you want. Worst of all are the constant loading screens, sometimes in the middle of combat. Still, the game really feels like a war and the combat is still fun if you're looking for something simple. The payoff of the story is ultimately worth it, and the party members are fleshed out and have their own personalities, which helps to get through the cutscenes. The bottom line is that there are much better JRPGs out there if you have access to a PS4. If you've played them all or if Xbox is all you have, this is a game that can be worth your time.

Perception is the latest in a recent run of walking sim horrors to try and deliver a satisfying game in each genre. It's also the latest game to lend evidence to the theory that these two genres simply don't mesh well. Perception tells an intriguing story and if that's enough for you, it's worth playing. Its audio-visual experience is also unlike anything else and if you're looking for a fresh idea, The Deep End Games' debut is worth supporting. It's important to keep in mind, however, if you expect the game to also scare you, there's nothing to see here.

Battlefield 6's new Redsec battle royale mode is grounded by strong gameplay from the main game and mechanics lifted from Warzone, Apex Legends, and Fortnite. However, with clunky menus and UI, some poor HUD, and bereft of its own ideas, Redsec needs to start building a house on these foundations as quickly as possible to become more than a pitstop for me.

If you are an avid cycling fan, Tour de France 2017 does hold a lot of appeal. There are a fair number of races in which to compete, and the proper riders and teams makes the game feel that bit more real. Accompanied by some great graphics, this makes the game perfect for a Tour de France lover. For everyone else, it feels tough and a little lacking. The long stages coupled with a non-existent soundtrack means the game can be boring, and the higher difficulty level can be disheartening even on amateur. Get on your bike and pick this up if you're glued to the Tour de France right now, but otherwise cycle on.

Seems to be a reboot in name only. It neither feels like a reimagining of earlier ideas or a refining of the series' roots, but more of a mishmash of parts from the franchise's long history. As such, it lacks any sense of real identity.

KONA wants to tell an interesting story within the construct of a survival-adventure hybrid game. It succeeds more greatly at doing the latter but even the story provides enough intrigue to merit seeing the brief game through to the end, as ultimately off-the-mark as it becomes. If you're a fan of either genre by which it's inspired then you'll find something to enjoy in the snow-topped Canadian forests of KONA, but pack lightly — it'll be a short and somewhat forgettable stay.

The Sinking City is just the latest in a long line of horror games to be delivered via the Lovecraft Express. Because it's not adherent to any one of the author's tales, it manages to feel different from the crowded pack due to the blending of noir storytelling, its big open world full of side quests, and an investigative loop that asks you to put on your thinking fedora. Lousy combat and a low-res, buggy, lifeless land are blemishes for sure, but overall while this may not be the best of the bunch, The Sinking City is certainly the most ambitious of all recent Lovecraftian horror games.

Staging fights and being able to spruce up your settlement more is always appreciated, but even for a small DLC, there's even less than you might be expecting here and it does lose its charm fairly quickly.

While the graphic style and music add to the entertainment, the crazy grind required to claim all of the achievements takes a lot of the fun out of it, as does having no online play ability.

Tiny Troopers Joint Ops is an easy to pick up, fun little twin stick shooter and it's hard to criticize the title or find any particular fault with the game.

Only the most patient players will succeed here and a completion will not be easy, but those that persist will be awarded with many hours of gameplay.

Whilst The Spectrum Retreat is an enjoyable, well-paced puzzler, it never quite hits the heights of other similarly styled puzzle games. You learn the backstory at the same pace as your character, which means you face the twists and turns together, but it feels like the story could have been expanded on more. The puzzles themselves are never too difficult, but challenging enough to hold your attention. Overall, it's a short but sweet puzzle game that whose greatest fault is coming after several similar but better games.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a popular IP that has strong action and emotion, all backed up by a rock-solid soundtrack. Telltale held the power to make it a memorable addition to the Telltale library, but they let it slip away. The story hits some of the notes of a feel-good superhero story, but falls flat when it tries to evoke more powerful emotions like sadness. Flashbacks to prior episodes are often used as a crutch as well, making the final episode thin on new content. When you strip away the lackluster storytelling, all you have is an outdated engine, QTE sequences that have been wearing thin for a long time, and clunky gameplay that can't stand on its own.

North is an interesting game with something special to offer despite its flaws. As a gaming experience it will be most satisfying to those who enjoy thought-provoking titles or exploring dark worlds. However, it will also appeal to achievement hunters looking to gain an easy 1,000 Gamerscore in less than an hour.

On the field it's still a fun game as always, but for the first time in a long time, it feels like little more than a roster update.

Construction Simulator 2 gives a fascinating insight into building processes, and a deeper appreciation of specialist construction machinery. Once past the initial learning curve, the gameplay is methodical with a meditative quality that will make it relaxing for some and boring for others. It strikes a good balance between realism and accessibility, and it’s genuinely satisfying to complete projects. However the realistic aspects of the game leave no room for creativity and will limit its appeal to those who can find satisfaction in completing set tasks. It's a niche game, but if you're interested in construction you might dig it.

DreamBreak is a short but still enjoyable title for those who decide to jump in. The intriguing story could have been expanded upon a little more, however the game doesn't needlessly outstay its welcome purely for the playtime. With different mini-games and mechanics spread throughout, the two or so hours that you will spend will be engaging. Eugene's slightly clunky controls need tightening for fluidity. Meanwhile, the lack of replay value means that the game won't have much of a lasting effect in today's market, but that shouldn't deter fans of the genre. If you're a genre fan and don't need DreamBreak to break the mold of point and clicks, it'll be a short but fun adventure.

If We Happy Few had all of these problems while in Xbox Game Preview and a pre-release state, you'd be more likely to excuse it, but it's rare to encounter so many issues in a full game release. While none were game breaking, they spoil what can be a decent game, with a unique world, interesting characters, and a convincingly damning depiction of the perils of taking hallucinogenic drugs. It's a world to which you want to return, but it's also a world that throws up a new problem with every visit. With several patches, this game could be a fun experience, but right now it can often be an exercise in frustration.

Below the surface there isn't too much else to see with this title, so you will be done with it relatively quickly. Nonetheless, if going on a killing rampage while dancing the night away sounds like your kind of night out then it may be worth checking out.

Aside from the pacing, the episode is let down by a variety of technical issues which add a layer of frustration and detract from the experience. Fortunately we can see that the pace of Episode 3 is likely to pick up, and hopefully that finally reaches the potential this story is promising.

This would be a perfect fit as an indie title, but when it sits on store shelves at full price, you should expect more. You should demand more. As a yearly title, MotoGP 17 seems to have settled for being just alright in every aspect. It should have been better.

How much you enjoy The Station will come down to how soon you see its ending coming, as it's likely you will see it earlier than intended by the developer. In that case, you may still take away a memorable experience from the game, if you can forgive its derivative tale and enjoy it as a narrative adventure mystery with a bit to say about our role in the universe. It doesn't show or say anything that other science fiction tales haven't shown or told already, but if you're relatively new to the genre or don't mind rehashing previous themes, The Station is worth its short stay.

911 Operator is a game that most would assume to be a laughably bad title. However, the game proves that wrong as it takes itself seriously and tastefully addresses the pressure that emergency services no doubt feel in reality. Approaching situations strategically will generate the best results, and handling emergency phone calls is an exciting concept. However, when you begin to hear the same call twice, or another collapsing bridge appears, the initial rush from encountering these for the first time quickly diminishes. Nonetheless, the fun factor never disappears entirely, so you will garner the same amount of enjoyment out of the game in correlation to the time you invest in it.

A simple point-and-click game that won't tax many of those little grey cells. The game constantly guides the player through the events of Agatha Christie's novel and the no-fail approach means that Adventure game novices can reach the end of the story, although the lack of challenge may discourage more ardent Adventure players from trying the title.

What we have is a game that is based on one core experience — an exceptionally good one — which comes at the cost of a solid gaming experience and ultimately feels like a title of missed opportunities.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint is the reigning poster child for the late-generation live service game. There is more on offer here than most people could ever dream of playing unless you retired from all other games — and maybe your family and your job too. But players should measure their content in quality, not quantity. There’s still a lot of fun to be had in Breakpoint, but you’ll need friends or good co-op partners to see a lot of it. For solo players, the gameplay loop wears out fast and even the awesome Jon Bernthal can’t save the project’s clashing design principles. Breakpoint measures its successes in stats like user engagement, but I still measure mine in memorable moments, and that’s one area this gargantuan game is not servicing.

Whilst there are moments when the arcade racing feels like fun, there is an omnipresent sense of Déjà Vu, that you've played this all before. NFS Payback doesn't bring anything original to the genre and if you've already finished with those other racing titles, you're unlikely to find anything new here. It feels like the game is following other racing games and has somehow lost its own identity in the process. It's not a bad title, but it also fails to distinguish itself. It feels like an option and an alternative; it no longer feels like a must-have title not even for arcade racers. However, the main issue is the progression system that relies more on luck than skill, and judgement that almost seems to debilitate the player's advancement. Despite the previous reboot and this latest title, Payback already feels aged and needs a dramatic rethink if it is to reclaim its crown from the likes of Forza Horizon.

When the Xbox version of SYMMETRY is updated to add a lower difficulty level it has the potential to be a great introduction to the management genre and satisfying for casual and experienced players alike. However, at time of writing, the steep learning curve, high difficulty level, and occasional game-breaking bugs make it more fitting for hardcore fans of the genre and people whose love of challenges is matched by their patience.

The online is mostly where they lie. There's problems with games being abandoned, players not playing and the game not actually letting you play. On top of that, games can simply just go on for too long and they eventually just become tedious rather than fun. If you are just looking to play Uno then this offering will fulfill your desire, but with a game that is simply called Uno, what else would you expect?

With a darker storyline and a wonderfully re-imagined London that is the star of the show, the third entry into the franchise feels as if it’s slightly matured from Watch Dogs 2. The new ‘play as anyone’ mechanic is innovative but sadly soon becomes redundant. Numerous bugs and glitches also mar the overall experience. Having the game crash several times and losing about 20 minutes worth of progress each time is not something that should be happening with a big-budget title such as Legion. Even after downloading the latest hotfix, crashing issues still persisted. This will likely be fixed with more patches later on down the line, but it will still be disappointing for those who purchase the game on day one. However, if you can keep a stiff upper lip about some of the bugs, you’ll have a lot of fun with Legion. Even if someone does end up calling you a twatwaffle.

It's fitting that just days after Microsoft announced the name change of their internal production branch from Microsoft Studios to Xbox Game Studios, Crackdown 3's launch screen displays the old moniker. After a year of exciting studio acquisitions for the company in 2018 and a stronger push for first-party moving forward, Crackdown 3 is the last remnant of the bygone era of Smartglass, live-action/video game hybrids, and forced Kinect purchases. It survived the purge where Fable Legends and Scalebound did not, but even in its best moments, Crackdown 3's campaign feels like it was born too late.

Aqua Kitty is a fun shoot-em-up that presents a fair challenge with a decent soundtrack, but it won't hold your attention in the long run.

Cars 3: Driven to Win is a competent kart racer that is accessible to players of all skill levels. There’s plenty of content on offer and the pleasant art style, cast of characters and location will keep fans of the films entertained for quite a few hours. It doesn’t do anything new to reinvent the genre and is lacking in a number of areas, but what is there is decent and that’s more than can be said for a lot of movie tie-ins. As a full priced title Cars 3: Driven to Win is hard to recommend to anyone except the biggest fans of the franchise, but for anyone else looking for a new kart racer to sink their teeth into, it might be worthy of your time once it hits a more realistic price point.

Overall, Wondershot is a fun game for brief spurts of time, especially if one has friends with which to play. When alone, however, the game quickly becomes tedious and frustrating, and this can become a real problem since online play is not an option -- a serious oversight by the developer since the game is geared to be a party game.

This title offers a typical Sherlock Holmes storyline and an easy completion, but its issues turn this into a mediocre affair rather than the elementary experience that you would expect from Holmes himself.

"New World Order" is a slower episode that promises a lot of worthwhile story moments soon, but fails to provide many of its own. Character interactions are the best that they've been so far, but everything else is missing the drama that it needs to deliver a worthwhile standalone episode.

Ninjin: Clash of Carrots starts out as a silly, colorful beat 'em up, then takes a dark turn down a surprisingly frustrating and challenging path. There is a huge arsenal of weapons and perks with which to engage enemies in both local and online co-op. New gear is constantly unlocked along the way, which keeps things interesting (until you rage quit, that is). A little challenge is fine, but in Ninjin, many mechanics feel unfair, and the later bosses' difficulty level is a sharp contrast to the rest of the game. A bit of balancing of the end-game missions would do wonders, but unless that happens, Ninjin remains hard to recommend to everyone.

After a great run of titles, Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom doesn't quite match up to the standard of those that have gone before it.

Tricky Towers is game that strikes you as simple from the outside, but once you start playing you realise it's actually quite hard to master. The game is enjoyable and addictive both online and offline, with a good choice of modes to play either against others or on your own. Unfortunately building towers isn't always easy to do as the trajectory beam doesn't always seem to be accurate enough and you have no idea what your spells do until you actually try and use them. Overall, the game is fun for a short time, but it's never anything on which you are going to spend a huge amount of time.

If you can wipe away all the preconceptions surrounding Konami, Hideo Kojima, and the Metal Gear franchise, you’ll find a competent game in Metal Gear Survive. The story is mediocre and the game has obviously cut corners to make the budget despite being full of microtransactions. However, it’s also fun as both a survival game and a horde defense game at times.

The Town of Light has a story to tell, one that isn't afraid to shy away from its uncomfortable subject matter and creates a sense of unease that follows players throughout the game. The story is well-paced and encourages players to keep going, even if it leads to more horrifying discoveries. The developer has succeeded in accurately portraying both their subject matter and location, but this accuracy comes at the price of uninteresting exploration and technical difficulties that mar the game's walking simulator experience. You'll remember the story long after the game has finished, but you'll likely forget how you got there.

It feels like Big Bad Wolf was in need of some shortcuts to get things to where they need to be for the finale, and there's enough reason to get through this episode and see the series through to its finale, but that still doesn't make Burning Bridges anything better than the low point of an otherwise strong and commendable adventure game.

In the future, we may view Friday The 13th as one of the year's great games. Its mix of laugh out loud moments and tense chase sequences is unique, refreshing, and a draw even if you're not usually a multiplayer fan. As it stands currently, however, the game is weighed down by far too many issues that hurt the overall experience. A lot of the game requires wits and patience, but it'll be hard to retain those qualities when the game is regularly throwing technical flaws at you. The bright side of this is its issues rarely relate to design. Bugs can be patched, like some already have been. If Illfonic can rein in the many issues seen in Friday The 13th it will go down as a classic multiplayer game. Until then, it's simply wishful thinking.

The aerial combat genre is a very under-represented and niche genre on the console. FT:SOC is a budget-priced game and it does feel like this; it might not be the title to bring in new fans but it gives existing fans a new title to while away a few hours. There's a fair bit of content, and the combat can be intense and challenging. However, the lasting appeal of the title will depend on the multiplayer arena, and given that the virtual skies were already relatively deserted and there is unreliable network behavior, this doesn't look too promising. This is a shame, because when it worked, it was good fun. Casual players might enjoy picking up the relatively quick achievements that are available, but this is mainly a title for those fans of the aerial combat genre.

All things considered, it's a decent point-and-click title although the asking price seems way off the mark for a game that's only five hours long, which doesn't offer enough time to flesh out the story and characters.

TerraTech has some good elements, with huge scope for building a whole score of different vehicles. Sadly, aside from this and a hefty environment to explore, it doesn't do much else right.

It’s an ambitious passion project that I wish I could love, but Steep's reach ultimately exceeds its grasp.

Black Mirror will leave you feeling a bit torn. It's a good story told in a good location, accompanied by an ideal soundtrack. The fact that it is carrying on with the same family from the original games is the icing on the cake. Sadly, it is let down by too many problems, including annoying movement and camera tracking, poor facial character designs and other issues that mount up to make the game more of a struggle than it should be. It's hard to recommend the game at its current price point, but a discount might warrant a purchase for those who like a good supernatural tale told via point and click gameplay.

The AI poses no challenge when compared to human players and there is only one difficulty for bots, so multiplayer is the place to go to get the most enjoyment. Unfortunately, with only two game modes and six similar maps, even with the ability to play online there just isn't a lot here to keep players captivated any longer than short-term.

Unfortunately the game just gets annoying and repetitive after a while, ultimately falling short in keeping you engaged for any significant time.

Despite the addition of more bikes and tracks, not much has changed since the first RIDE, so those who come back for seconds will probably feel a bit of déjà vu when playing. Repetition can creep in, as well, but at least the game won't feel quite as monotonous because of the better load times. If bikes are for you, or you're a novice who wants to jump in, then RIDE 2 will give you some enjoyment.

All in all, WWE 2K19 feels like a game in which annual players will find enough to enjoy, but anyone looking to make their way back into the ring is best to wait it out in the locker room for another year.