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Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy+ is a tricky release to score, because it's certainly not a bad game - it's just a rather lazy upgrade on a title which came out four years ago. Newcomers who are fans of this type of game are should give it a look, however.
There's a lot to like about ScreamRide, but not much of it is good enough to love. With three discrete elements, each of which could have been a download game in its own right, it's reasonably good value, but no one element is quite as brilliant as it could have been, and the environments aren't engaging enough to make the mindless destruction that much fun. There's potential in the creative tools and community features, but this isn't the most thrilling of thrill rides.
Attila adds new layers of depth and complexity to Total War, and its dark, chaotic atmosphere does a brilliant job of breathing life into one of Europe's most troubled periods. The problem is that all that depth and complexity can make it a very demanding and – at first – unrewarding game. Keep at it, and the epic battles and challenging campaign mode make it well worth persevering. Overall, this feels like one for the fans, but is that really such an awful thing?
A stunning graphical showcase that can't hide a so-so game. The Order: 1886 has a great premise and a decent, albeit clichéd narrative, but the cost of its cinematic values comes in restrictive gameplay, mediocre shooting and an over-reliance on quick-time events. It's a fantastic looking game with which to show off your PS4, but it's too short and too unimaginative for its beauty to be anything more than skin-deep.
The optional PAYG purchase model and cringe-worthy sexy lady stuff might distract you from the fact that this is a hugely entertaining fighting game. Slick, spectacular and fun to play, Last Round is right up there with the best games in the whole Dead or Alive series, and one that's worth paying upfront for if you don't want to end up paying over the odds. It's not a must-have for those who've already played Dead or Alive 5: Last Round on other formats, but if you haven't, it's a good time to give the game a try.
A classic sci-fi saga that's stood the test of time. Thanks to a sympathetic visual update, the graphics look spectacular even by today's high standards, while the well-balanced gameplay and excellent mission design haven't dated much at all. Old fans might not like the way the original Homeworld has been fixed to reflect changes made for the sequel, but it's great to see two legends not just return, but reaffirm what made them legendary in the first place.
If you enjoyed the original OlliOlli, then this sequel is an absolute must-have. For those who didn't play the original, OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood is the better of the two beasts and will have you kickflipping and grinding all day long. Multiple modes, lots of replayability and a wicked soundtrack create a perfectly addictive little combo.
Battlefield: Hardline can be ridiculous, with stealth and arrest mechanics that stretch the very limits of credulity. All the same, the single-player campaign works brilliantly as the video game version of a big, dumb action thriller. Cracking set-piece firefights are mixed with stealth, escape and exploration, and there's scope to play some sequences your way, not just follow the objective marker. Multiplayer, meanwhile, is fiercely enjoyable, and in Hotwired boasts one of Battlefield's finest hours. Look past Hardline's minor faults, and you'll find the best all-round Battlefield since the great Bad Company 2.
So is it worth playing? Definitely. Will it shock and awe players? Only those who are coming to this series for the first time. It's more of the same, but that's no bad thing, and if you're a returning player to this franchise, prepare to be frustrated, enraged and enthralled all over again.
The start might be shaky in places, but Revelations 2 soon builds into the most compelling chapter of Resident Evil since the great Resi 4. The gameplay blends action, survival horror and inventive co-op mechanics to make something that's exciting, but still true to the sinister atmosphere of the original games. Meanwhile the storytelling and self-conscious humour work better than they have in years. Throw in the horribly more-ish Raid mode, and you have a major treat for Resi fans.
The Mario Party series has always been something of an acquired taste, despite the incredibly popularity of its lead character and the obvious potential for entertaining social play, and Mario Party 10 isn't likely to change that anytime soon. There are glimmers of true brilliance thanks to the superb Bowser Party mode, but even this is too limited to have a lasting impact - the same can be said for the incredibly disappointing amiibo mode.
At its best, Evolve is tense, thrilling and what pundits like to call a game changer, with periods of frantic hunting/fleeing punctuated by explosive confrontations. At its worst, nothing comes together and it all feels strangely flat. With time and experience, we're seeing more of the former than the latter, and all the parts are falling into place. Our only concern is that the core Hunt mode could eventually grow stale with repetition, and that games mixing in the other modes are harder to find than they should be.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars might not be the smash-hit the Wii U needs to lift its sluggish sales figures and lacks the graphical flourishes we've seen in other Nintendo first-party software, but for pre-existing fans of the series and puzzle-lovers alike it's sure to provide more than its fair share of entertainment. Besting all of the single-player stages is no mean feat, but its the level creation tool - along with the online community which accompanies it - that are certain to make this a release which continues to attract attention months if not years from now.
Although we feel the Detective path is the weakest point of the new careers, there's still plenty to do in Get to Work that may justify that £29.99 investment. We love the fact we can follow our Sim to work now and explore the professional side of a life simulator – or as much as The Sims allows anyway. The retail businesses are an interesting addition, but we feel they won't prove as popular as the career paths.
Shiftlings, then, is a pleasant, slightly challenging diversion with the tendency to be a tad annoying at times. It's never going to give the likes of Mario, Rayman or even Kirby a run for their money, but if you're in the market for a colourful platformer with an interesting mechanic and you feel the sound of flatulence never gets old, you may be right at home here. The rest of you may want to wait until the price comes down.
If you somehow missed out on the Borderlands games in their original configurations, then the Handsome Collection is the proverbial no-brainer. It offers the very essence of pure gaming pleasure (as long, that is, as shooting outlandish comic-book characters in the face is something that floats your boat). And not just as a short, sharp burst – thanks to all that DLC, it should keep you occupied for months on end. Combine that extreme meatiness with gameplay that is never anything less than irresistibly addictive, and you've got a recipe for waving goodbye to your social life. You have been warned.
It seems churlish to visit a barrage of negativity on a free game, but one sincerely hopes that Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious isn't the harbinger of a new trend in the games industry.
Against all odds, Mortal Kombat X can take on the best of Capcom and Namco and hold its corner. While the core fighting isn't quite as fluid, it's smart, inventive and a lot of fun, while the brilliant story mode, Factions meta-game and additional game modes should keep you coming back for months to come. Easily the best Mortal Kombat yet, it's the first that can go toe-to-toe with Tekken and Streetfighter without going down.
Assassins Creed Chronicles: China does an impressive job of taking the lore and core mechanics of the series and making them work in a 2D game. It's slick, fast-paced and entertaining, with some beautiful stylised art, and all it lacks is a little magic to turn it from a good spin-off into a great one.
While State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition doesn't fix all the hideous flaws of the original, its bug-fixes and visual enhancements make it easier to love. The complex, interwoven systems and perma-death take some getting used to, but the result is a fantastically tense, exciting open-world survival epic with more heart and soul than other zombie games.