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Strider is an enjoyable game but it's not one that particularly stands out against others of its type. It is cleverly designed, as this style of game must be, but not so much that it earns the right to sit alongside the genre's ageing greats like Symphony of the Night and it's not quite up to the complex replayability of modern classics like Shadow Complex. It's a decent game that generally looks very nice and will while away a few hours, but you won't be rushing to tell your friends about it and you might not want to return after completing it.
Just remember to turn off the lights and try not to cover your eyes, because you're in for one hell of a ride.
Mario Party: Island Tour is ultimately disappointing. It looks and sounds like a first-party Nintendo product but a great deal of the fun has been stripped out of it by tedium. The best way to experience the game also requires each participant to own a 3/2DS which makes it one of the most expensive multiplayer experiences out there (but cheaper for it being download play enabled).
NBA 2K14 is a gorgeous looking game, with a vastly improved MyCareer mode and an in depth MyGM mode. MyTeam is something that will take plenty of time to get into and enjoy. However the inclusion of microtransactions and the need for an internet connection have a major impact on how easy it is to recommend this game. Still, it's the best basketball game on the market.
There's some great design here, but it's joined by some poor choices and visuals. While children may have a blast, the difficulty and controls are a bit strange, as if they weren't designed with them in mind but everything else was. It's just utterly average and repetitive, despite there being an underlying potential for something superb.
We need more games like Resogun. Housemarque have once again proven that they're the masters of innovation through old school design. It's a stunning game, and perhaps one of the best to show off your new hardware. It's rhythmic, satisfying, hardcore and ultimately a joy to play, and well worth as many hours of your time as it can steal.
As a package, it's a superb launch title and a great first person shooter. Killzone's back, and we can't wait to see where it takes us next.
Tearaway is the kind of game that the PS Vita has demanded since launch, something crafted and tailored to its form and its capabilities, but rather than feeling forced, creating an easy sense of wonder fun and inventiveness. Continuing Media Molecule’s push to unleashing our creativity, it also features a story, a world and creations which delight at every turn, no matter how old you are.
Call of Duty: Ghosts does a good job on all accounts. The single player eventually goes in a direction which I liked and enjoyed, while the multiplayer holds onto what it does best, with a few tweaks to the formula. It even manages to straddle the generational divide quite well, even though the current machines suffer badly in comparison. However, it is generally more of the same, and really doesn't push itself hard enough to overhaul and redefine what Call of Duty can be.
While the power of the 3DS can occasionally be seen working to bring about the delightful art styles and adding some lovely depth to the animations, this is essentially the same substance as every Layton game so far. That is by no means a bad thing. The puzzles offer plenty of variety and there is a lot of content to get you started, even without venturing into the mini-games and the daily puzzle downloads.
It is survival horror right down to the limited effectiveness of your pistol and the scarcity of resources and manages to be thoroughly unnerving despite its low pixel density. The storyline has you questioning everything – even your own character – throughout and is the thing that will keep you coming back if you can bear the incredible tension the game’s atmosphere creates.
Borderlands 2 is one of the unmissable videogame experiences of the year.