Guardian's Reviews
Simon Parkin: The delightful Fez is a game in which the true aim is nothing more than to explore and to find treasure while doing so
Gearbox has fleshed out the overall character of the universe from the first Borderlands and come up with a winner
Rayman Legends feels more polished and looks even richer than its already stunning predecessor. As far as pure platformers go this generation, you'll be hard pressed trying to find one better than this.
Just when he thought he had kicked the habit, Matt Kamen finds himself captured by the new improved Pokémon adventures
In Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, the puzzles are solid, enjoyable and very varied with only a few repeat patterns, even if some are a little more mathsy than my brain would like. The narrative has mystery and whimsy aplenty, there's lots of small twists, cute animations behind which collectibles hide, and there are cameos to please the long-running fans. The world comes off more sprawling, with more choice and more ability to explore environments with your trusty stylus.
It looks great in 3D but there's no getting around the fact that the new Zelda adventure is very much like all of the others
To some, Super Mario may appear tired: a mascot whom Nintendo trots out every few years to sell another console with repackaged but fundamentally stale ideas. Super Mario 3D World is a fierce rebuttal to the accusation. Mario and his makers once again assert their dominance of spatial navigation games, displaying a rude abundance of ideas to delight, surprise and celebrate innocence and playfulness.
As good a showcase for the new console's graphics capabilities as Forza 5 – if only the gameplay was as beautiful
The game struggles a little over the mid-to-long term: the difficulty doesn't fluctuate much and, soon enough, you're merely turning the cogs rather than responding to thrilling challenges, but Zoo Tycoon is pleasant and engaging, even in its absence of spectacle.
Motorsport 5 often feels like a warm-up rather than the victory parade. It may not be introducing us to the future just yet, but as Xbox One's best launch game, it's giving you an exhilarating tease.
Dead Rising 3 is still one of the strongest titles in the PS4/ Xbox One launch line-up, but that's more down to a lack of sharp competition than any peculiar brilliance. A more forgiving proposition than its forebears, this is an enjoyable zombie romp that's lost some of its character in the lurch onto the next generation hardware.
This cute action-adventure effort adds a non-hardcore dimension to the PS4's launch line-up, but its graphics and gameplay fail to convince
There's no doubt that Killzone: Shadow Fall is far and away the best PlayStation 4 launch title. It feels fresh and innovative throughout – after playing it, we checked out Call of Duty: Ghosts on the PS4, which felt one-dimensional and strangely old-fashioned – looks stunning and through its beautifully fettled multiplayer side, offers infinite replay value. It towers above previous versions of Killzone in terms of quality and taking a much more interesting approach. All of which makes it the one must-buy exclusive in the PS4's launch line-up.
With the second part added, Broken Sword 5 could certainly reach beyond three stars – but, until then, it's wise to remain agnostic about Charles Cecil's latest offering.
In Bravely Default, developer Square Enix has recaptured what made its earlier Final Fantasy games so wonderfully absorbing, while addressing many of the flaws inherent in the genre.
The designer Sid Meier famously said that a game is a series of interesting choices. It's a maxim fully embraced by The Banner Saga, which stitches those choices into its very fabric to form a tapestry that is wholly your own.
Slow animations make these already mundane board games not worth a purchase
[I]t's a great game – exactly what we expect from Nintendo. But in a way, that's also its problem: anyone with a Wii U would be a fool not to buy it, but so few people have committed to the Wii U, and in order to rectify that, Nintendo needs to woo the unconverted with all-new gaming experiences. And the gaming experience that Tropical Freeze provides may be rich, enjoyable, challenging and frequently hilarious, but it isn't anything conspicuously new.
The fighting, all live online, is generally fast, furious and terrific fun and while some of the early vehicles available represent clunky first world war relics, after levelling-up better models become available for purchase having acquired the necessary experience points and in-game currency.
Nick Cowen: Thief feels unwieldy at times, although it's not the travesty some reviewers are making it out to be