The fact Mercenary has such strong on-paper ideas only makes its lack of ambition even more disappointing. It’s a smart, fun shooter, with the exact structure needed to slim triple-A FPS down to pick-up-and-play portability, but it never comes through and capitalises on its potential.

It's a great stepping stone if you're looking to really improve on your overall fighting game skills, and it's a meticulously well-made effort in its own right. Just like the dominatrixes flaunting and frolicking about on the screen, though, it's just a little too weird and demanding to fall in love with.

"Pro Evolution Soccer" still reigns supreme. FIFA 07 most definitely beats PES in a few areas, most notably in presentation and the brilliant first-touch control, but it's still not "PES."

Discerning GTA fans will notice that Rockstar's latest isn't quite up to the hugely high standard that the first three PlayStation 2 games have set, but Liberty City Stories is still a GTA game, and ticks most of the boxes.

As a long-term PES acolyte who has favoured FIFA for the last four seasons, I'm heartened to see Konami's series finally approaching something close to its best form – even if it's not the domineering force it was in its glory days of 2004/5.

State Of Decay is an amazing videogame, albeit one hiding beneath one of the ugliest, creakiest engines we’ve seen in some time. It’s a complex, inaccessible beast, but one of the most rewarding and compelling open-world games in years. This is The Walking Dead: The Simulator. And it’s every bit as good as that sounds.

Retro/Grade is built on a unique idea that simply isn't explored in an exciting enough way or to a sufficient depth to keep you interested for long.

Without the distractions of combat, hub worlds and pointless Wii-mote waggling, Sonic Team has been able to put all its efforts into creating a platformer Sonic fans can be proud of. The quality of the level design is what separates this from previous disappointments, and it's certainly better than that on show in Sonic 4.

The 'Feral' abilities make the experience unlike most other games out there and some of the online game types are immense fun.

For once, it's an expansion pack that does exactly what it says on the box. It broadens the experience of the already panoramically wide core game enough to justify a purchase.

Outside of multiplayer, the campaign is a po-faced, nonsensical rehash of greatest hits long past. Extinction (Left 4 Dead meets Zombies) is a lot of fun, and Squads feels like a well-marketed shell for Black Ops' Combat Training mode...Multiplayer is still the star then, but it's diminishing with every return, its addictiveness tempered by over-familiarity.

A gritty and tough combat game that is both fun and rewarding. UFC 5 will keep you coming back until you are the champ.

A thoughtful and charming title that puts a unique spin on the board-game strategy. While it might take a while to rewire your brain to the game's way of thinking, Greed Corp offers an experience quite unlike anything else.

The Disney Infinity 3.0 Starter Pack is a great introduction that will keep kids and kidults alike entertained for a long time.

It's often gorgeous to look at and the story is worth experiencing, but the multiplayer is nothing more than a slight distraction and the lack of co-op is a missed opportunity. Bound in Blood is worth a look, but as a sequel it doesn't take the series on enough.

If the idea of single shot kills causes a sharp pain to run down your spine, stick to modern action offerings, but if you want a challenge look no further.

John Wick Hex could have been a number of different games, none of them as strange and satisfying as this.

The revised focus on the new toys can make your previous investments feel disappointingly redundant.

The overriding feeling you'll get from Viva Piñata is one of depth.

Mercury has always seemed like a great fit for the PSP, and Meltdown improves on an already impressive game.

Little Nightmares is frightening, in a way that gets under your skin. A way that whispers in your ear that you won't sleep well tonight. Little Nightmares takes things you were afraid of when you were a kid, and reminds you you're still afraid now.

It’s maybe playing things a bit safe, but GRID 2 is ultimately a likable, fun, challenging game with hours worth of content.

This is not gaming perfection or a must have title that will be remembered for decades, but if you like war romps, and you long for the feel of Frontline or Underground, pick up this brilliant war game.

Regardless of that feeling of déjà vu, Carbon is another solid racer from EA, and the Auto-Sculpt feature is absolutely fantastic, not to mention the impressive car roster and functional online component.

Assault Horizon can be a frustrating experience at times, but when things are going to plan - when you've waited to the very last second to pull off an evasive manoeuvre or taken out two bogeys at once with a few well placed missiles - you'll be left with an intense feeling of satisfaction.

It can feel a little dated in terms of its approach to combat, but the game is so beautiful, so different, so utterly weird and wonderful that this is of no real consequence.

The attention to detail here shames most other movie-licensed titles and there's plenty of fan service that will please gamers and non-gamers alike. Had the core game been more focused on the hunting and trapping we'd have had a potential classic.

There's plenty of unmemorable fun to be had here, but it's shocking how it only took three goes for Nintendo to make New Super Mario Bros. feel old.