Sine Mora, crucially with Digital Reality's contribution, strikes a deft balance between madness and shoot-em-up fun.

Just. Under no circumstances, though, should you go anywhere near this alone. When tackled with three AI buddies and a prayer, never has the name Biohazard felt more apt.

There are the origins of a fast, exciting new combat system buried underneath all the mess, and the gorgeous animations and zippy takedowns provide an immediate buzz. Yet its problems vastly outweigh its positives, and it's hard to come away feeling anything other than disappointed. This was supposed to be a bold new beginning for the series, but ultimately Ninja Gaiden 3 feels like a false start.

The mission to defreeze Javik is short, and you can beat it easily within about half an hour. If you're looking for a chunk of content as substantial as Mass Effect 2's Lair of the Shadow Broker you'll probably come away disappointed, and Javik doesn't really dramatically affect anything about the Mass Effect 3 campaign.

So it's not hard to ignore those niggles, especially when you've got an excitable eight year old in your head jumping around and making gun noises as he pretends to swing a sword about. There's a magic in that weird juxtaposition of old and new.

FIFA Street finally realises the potential of a franchise that was lacking identity. By eradicating any silliness from the past, EA has crafted a thoughtful, challenging and consistently entertaining title that celebrates the nuances of football.

Certain key aspects of the game don't feel like they've had enough time spent on them, so the result is a game that is on the right tracks but more of a taster of things to come than something Vita owners should celebrate.

The controls are effortless, the game has a zany indie personality (which has the quiet decency to bugger off when the actual game starts playing) and the electro-dystopia backdrops are fun to hurtle past at a few thousand miles an hour.

I Am Alive only really becomes a proper tale of human survival if you can look past the wonky mechanics and rough engine, if you can see past the rustic models and amateur dialogue, and if you can actually connect with the wailing cast of cardboard cut-outs. Ubisoft's vision is clear and ambitious, but it lacks the development talent and budget to be effectively realised.

Here is a package that represents exceptional value. There's little here to convert non-believers, but then this game is not for them. This is one for the fans, and few who buy it will be left unsatisfied by how the story - their story - ends.

As an experiment and a sequel... Street Fighter X Tekken is still a resounding and admirable success, and further proof than Ono-san is hiding true genius behind those scruffy cords and pudgy cheeks. In this battle of Street Fighter and Tekken, Capcom has landed the first knockout blow. I can't wait to see how Namco responds.

Essentially, Mario Party 9 is a great leveller. No matter if you play games for a living or only touch a controller when one is forced into you hand, chances are you'll be in with a shot of winning come the end of the each game. The Wii has always been about bringing people together to play, and Mario Party 9 does that considerably better than I thought it would.

If you've never fought with The End, eaten a rotting crab or climbed the tallest ladder in gaming, and if the 3DS is the only console you own, you really should acquire this game as soon as you can. When everyone said that you'd love it, they really weren't lying.

An immaculately constructed, expertly choreographed experience that tells a story in a unique, intelligent way, exploring themes of faith and fate, death and rebirth with a rare delicacy of touch. That it comes at a time where risk is routinely avoided, sent out into a landscape clouded by doubt and dominated by the safe, the tried and tested? Maybe that's the real wonder.

The snowboarding itself is solid, if lacking some of the skill required in previous titles, but it's everything surrounding it - RiderNet, Geo Tags and Harmony - that make the game such an involving experience. Its connected features take the genre to the logical next step, setting the benchmark for future extreme sports titles to follow.

Escape Plan can be a real treat, but you'll only ever get fleeting glimpses of what could have been, leaving you with a frustrating adventure that rarely gets a chance to show its true potential. Escape Plan isn't a game you shouldn't be desperate to break into.

Of all the Vita launch titles, MotorStorm RC is the most natural fit for short gaming sessions. It's ideal to jump into for a few minutes, but that doesn't prevent it from being a huge timesink once its hooks are in.

It gets the basics right and backs up its tight gameplay mechanics with tidy visuals and portable-friendly loading times - something that a few of the higher profile launch games can't claim. The dev team certainly played it safe, but going for PAR isn't a bad thing.

While it's clear Q Entertainment perfected the game's formula on their very first try, this iteration of the neon-lit puzzler is so charming and elegantly formed you'd be a fool to say no.

These clashes between East and West cause more than enough sparks to make Binary Domain one of the most interesting culture shocks in a long time. It's redolent of the late Dreamcast/early PS2 era, when games were edgier and more interesting, before they were focus-tested into oblivion.

There's a lot to like about Syndicate's mechanics and recoil-rich gunplay, and your cache of cybernetic powers elevates the game above most rote corridor shooters. But Syndicate doesn't know what it wants to be at its core, and its dry protagonist blasts through hyper-violent environments with no motivation or desire.

Touch My Katamari is still a decent series entry, and if you don't know the franchise there's some enjoyment to be found, though the authenticity and soul of Takahashi's Katamari games remains lost.

Good or bad, game or no game, you've just got to play Asura's Wrath. And, in truth, that probably says it all.

Full of gags, bawdy humour and pratfalls (what other game gives you the chance to shoot bananas at the feet of citizens for comic relief?) it's got charm to spare. Unlike Sakaguchi's biggest hit, The Last Story's title is more likely to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it represents compelling proof that there's still life in the old JRPG yet.

The elementary combat system is entertaining, but ultimately overshadowed by a hopelessly contrived plot. Mr Scratch's presence could have been something special, and it's regrettable that his performance is throwaway. As with the rest of the game, a lack of cohesion and clear thought from Remedy ensures American Nightmare feels like a missed opportunity.

Then there's stuff that's just completely baffling, like the game's complete inability to match players into games that have already started - those kind of matchmaking particulars might work for a game the size of Halo, but here it just causes untold problems and a lengthy wait on the lobby screen.

Repetition is probably Warp's biggest issue. Without much in the way of enemy and environmental variety, it can start to feel like a chore at times to make your way through the facility. Puzzles and progression blend together. Unfortunately, Warp's challenging difficulty forces the game to devolve into decidedly cheap scenarios.

It is disarmingly addictive, and by far the most original game to hit the App Store in ages. Even if you're a bit rubbish at it, it's impossible not to fall in love with this funky little number.