DeVuego BD

Baboon! ticks a whole lot of our boxes. 

Even if you could play Funk Of Titans on your phone, for free, it is so ludicrously sketchy and tedious that it would still be impossible to recommend. So on Xbox One, for the positively gaudy introductory asking price? No way, José.

The goalposts are moved without warning

This is a game that’s overly ambitious in some rather strange ways, but there’s something to be said for being concise, and some brutal editing would have likely made for a far more beguiling romp through that gothic splendour. A hugely frustrating experience, then. Lords Of Shadow 2 is a game with flair and gusto that constantly bogs itself down with design choices that should have never made it past the first week of studio meetings. Dracula deserves better.

Tequila Work’s debut’s confident craftsmanship and considered design more than compensates for its shortfalls with the narrative’s impact and the intermittently niggling handling. It’s by no means a smooth ride, but this dank and desolate landscape is worth braving.

Of course, any niggles relating to the quality of puzzles is alleviated somewhat by the quality of animation. 

Though its imperfections are numerous, the overall build quality is such that all fade into insignificance in the face of masterful design – there’s just something about Mercurysteam’s collaboration with Kojima Productions that will keep you coming back for more, even after the Lords of Shadow are no more. Whether or not it constitutes a good Castlevania game will depend very much on what your expectations are. But taken on its own merits, there’s far less question over Lords Of Shadow’s credentials – it’s as brilliant as it is long. That’s 20 hours brilliant, then. Whatever that means.

The ideas Grin has introduced work well within the plot put forward by the comic books, it's just a shame they don't hold up over an extended period. 

It’s important to stress that Clive Barker’s Jericho is really not a bad game. It’s just nowhere near as good as the top shooters that surround it.

You’re essentially playing an endurance test in videogame form. It’s not terrible, but it is horribly annoying. If you’re aware of that before going in you may just love it

The game is so immensely frustrating and linear that moments of fun are few and far between. 

A good-looking game that offers inoffensive, simple gameplay that's likely to suit the tastes of most gamers. Due to knowing exactly what you're meant to be doing at all times, it loses the complete immersion that games like "Beyond Good & Evil" and a few others in the genre have managed to accomplish, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

Sadly, despite such impressive scope, the difficulty level takes its toll on the playing experience. Only those with buckets of patience and strategic acumen will ever fully realise this game's awesome potential.