DeVuego

007 First Light is less cerebral and replayable than IO's World of Assassination trilogy, but makes up for it with excellent fistfights and oodles of charm.

Blades of Fire manages to feel original, lovable, and born of genuine passion, despite the near overwhelming number of problems that could have extinguished it.

Still, for all the game's lighthearted sleuthing and slinking, it does not shy away from dreadful subject matter, concerning itself, to a large degree, with the Church's often monstrous real-world legacy. The most affecting story is that which occurs through the bodies and minds of its uniformly endearing characters. As they are beaten and maimed by fearsome monks and brutish henchmen, a slow accretion of hardship takes place. It is not the enjoyably flexible stealth action, nor the undercooked mystery, or even the lavish monastery that lingers in the mind, but their human suffering. Foregrounding this emotion is reason enough to tell such a story again.

I had a fun 90 minutes. Well, fun might be the wrong word. Intense, maybe. I'm not going to venture into any cabins for quite some time, let me tell you - even the fancy ones you find at large Garden Centres scare me a little now, if I'm being honest. Like I said, I like gimmicks. The Cabin Factory is that horror movie you rented because you wanted to turn off your brain and have a good time with your friends, and Don't Look Now wasn't going to deliver the right vibes even though the guy at the counter insisted it was better. It does the job.

Naiad makes a brilliant point, in other words, and does it very effectively. Deep in the later levels I properly yearned for the early game, where the waters were blue and there were ducklings that needed me to show them the way home. Even late on, Naiad's still interesting and glorious to move through - there's trash in the water, but those currents still work their magic. But I think I admire it more for being willing to frustrate me a little, just to remind me that there are real things at stake, and the world of swimming, outside my local pool and my weekly lessons, is caught up in all this stuff too.

Nomada Studio follows up on the striking Gris with an effort that's poignant and precise, if maybe just a tad melodramatic.

Missing the elegance of FromSoftware, Lords of the Fallen is let down by Soulslike clichés and performance woes.

Cosmic Wheel's biggest triumph, though, was as a companion and means of creating meaning for me during a period of intense and sudden grief; poring over my deck and deliberating the design of new cards felt like a pleasantly warm balm. 

It's not as outright unhinged as Noita, but it's not far behind, and unlike Noita, it's all about keeping other people alive, so unplanned knock-on effects have steeper consequences. It's both helpful and unhelpful that the lost souls you're rounding up have a healthy sense of self-preservation. They won't walk through pitch-black areas – you'll need to expose the path with your flashlight. They won't jump down from dangerously high ledges, either – you'll need to shove a crate into position, or weave an incline with the soil cannon. They'll also laugh at you when you hurt yourself, moan periodically about needing a shower, and question your sense of direction. A word of advice, just between you, me and the high score table: you don't have to save them all.

This is a modern Metroid, a 2D adventure delivered with triple-A panache, yet one that retains the grace and poise that's always marked the highlights of this series, and marked it out from its many imitators. How blessed we are to have Samus properly back, and what a marvel it is to be reminded how special Metroid can be. The wait, I'm delighted to say, was somehow worth it.

A dazzlingly different debut with a haunting sense of place and adventure.

It's a similar formula to that of this year's grindiest smash hit Monster Hunter World, which has you killing the same monsters multiple times to gather enough resources, only with less variety. As nice as procedurally generated dungeons are, it was occasionally frustrating to know the only reason I was going back yet again was that one particular type of leaf because I couldn't move on without it. There's generally enough to do to distract from this minor sore spot, however, as Moonlighter's clear dedication to its idea manages to suck you into both the exciting adventurer's life and the more sedate job of selling your wares.

It has its foibles, but the sense of adventure is constant, and irresistible. That's what Crossing Souls sets out to achieve, really. Not a 16-bit Stranger Things knock-off but an earnest, big-hearted adventure. It embodies that intention throughout, making adventure its top priority at every juncture. Where other games might linger on puzzles for longer, this one says, 'quick, on to the next cool thing we have lined up!' Where some games might decide not to skip around from Suburbia to haunted forests to the Wild West for fear it might not make much sense, Crossing Souls launches itself into unexpected changes in setting and activity. And that makes it nearly impossible not to enjoy.

Technology and production values as they are, The Invisible Hours is a long way from the subtlety of live immersive theatre. But on the flipside it offers a glimpse at a potential live theatre can never reach: a world of Nikola Tesla mansions and Tesla Coils - worlds of fantasy. But to realise them will take refinement and advancement which comes from investment, which comes from VR games like The Invisible Hours selling. And I can't recommend you buy it. Like Nikola Tesla's inventions, The Invisible Hours is a brave experiment suggesting intoxicating possibilities for the future, but a $30/£30 asking price is too much by half.

That's the best way to describe Qvadriga, I think. Exhiliration followed by a cool malaise.

In Gods Will Be Watching, I feel bad not because of what I've done in the game, but because I feel like I'm the one at somebody else's mercy, and I have no idea what that person wants. This may well be deliberate, and if so this failure to communicate its intentions either makes Gods Will Be Watching a work of unusually cruel genius, or a work of astonishing clumsiness. Maybe even both at the same time. Either way, it's impossible to recommend to anyone but the most masochistic players.

Sharpening the disappointment is the fact that the team at MercurySteam has already made a good game, and perhaps had an opportunity here to make a great one. The first Lords of Shadow was a sweet surprise. The follow-up is a hostage to a story it tells badly, and a prisoner within a dull urban maze that refuses to become a characterful exploratory playground. To live on but to be diminished - that's the fate of the vampire in Castlevania's lore. Sadly, it's a bit of an epitaph for this well-meaning but bloated game as a whole.

Stones, crenellations, laboratories! Castlevania, for all its moody horrors, has always been a comforting sort of experience, and while Mirror of Fate might willingly fumble the classic structure somewhat, it's still got a touch of that familiar vampire-hunting charm to it - a charm that comes to the rescue whenever the developer's invention or polish fall short. This 3DS outing can't match the smart assurance of the first Lords of Shadow, then, but it remains a decent action game with some lovely art to keep it chugging along. It's something of a makeweight, as handheld games far too frequently are - but there's just enough here to satisfy until the true follow-up to Lords of Shadows is ready.

As fleeting entertainment, Deadlight works, its flattening of a tired apocalyptic premise doing enough to make sure that it feels fresh. It's a worthy successor to other 2D XBLA adventures, but in the end you can't help feeling that this one could have done with a little more depth.

If you're looking for a gaming experience to keep you engaged for weeks to come, then, this reality may prove a sobering one. But if the engaging novelty of the experience appeals, there are laughs to be had if you're prepared to tolerate the technical eccentricities.

At first, it seems like an imposition to have to start the Arcade mode from scratch every time, so mollycoddled we've become in our gaming habits. But such is its quickfire structure and moreish appeal that petty gripes fall by the wayside and concerted practice kicks in. The fact that 99Bullets is comfortably the most entertaining game in this week's crop ought to give you a clue to how impressive it really is.

To add a crumb of context to all this, a series of monoliths delivers a feeble attempt at a "deep and intricate" narrative. But just like the rest of this awful attempt, it provides no incentive whatsoever.

For the most part, you're left plodding and prodding around a series of mildly engaging scenarios, wishing that a spark of wry creative genius could just kick it up a notch. As it is, the adventure diehards will appreciate The Next BIG Thing, but we all know how good this genre can be. This is another that falls just short.

So even though the wait continues for a 3D Castlevania that truly matches the elegance, complexity and spatial intelligence of the 2D games, this is a polished and enjoyable blast of musty Gothic action in its own right. In the future, we can only hope that a developer finds a way to deliver more of the core series components – of buildings that you piece together through exploration, of back-tracking that never seems like a chore. For now, though, even with a missing piece of that magnitude, MercurySteam has managed to deliver a game that's heartfelt, handsome, and quietly distinct. It's nice to see Robert Carlyle getting a bit of work, too.

Despite its initially playful and "relaxing" charm, where you mainly focus on conserving your air, about four levels in Dive decides that the gloves are off and proceeds to slap you around like a cat toying with a barely-alive mouse. Jellyfish, spiky plants, puffer fish, sharks, hideous cave-lurking tendrils and giant bloody octopuses all consider you fair game, lining up to take turns to feast on this foolish morsel paddling around in the blue.

But over time, once your poor addled brain adapts to the game's unique demands, Chronos Twins DX's maddening appeal becomes increasingly apparent.

Zombie Panic's gleeful initial charm and quirky visual appeal wane once the frenzied, bullet-spraying repetition kicks in after a couple of stages. It's evidently one of those games best sampled in small doses.

It's cute and clever, then, but still more than a little clunky. Attempting to provide gameplay that the camera can't always handle, it risks frustrating its young, genre-savvy audience before they've even collected or evolved a decent collection of creatures. Invizimals is certainly packed with bold ideas and rewards for those motivated enough, but frequently suffers for its ambition, and it's hard not to feel that it's restricted as much as liberated by the camera.

It’s lovely, and if there’s any criticism to be made, it’s that while NyxQuest effortlessly builds into something delightful, it never quite manages that little extra twist that distinguishes a truly memorable title. Even so, that’s still enough to make it stand out from its WiiWare peers, and there are few better ways to spend 1000 points on the service right now.

Among the lines of interesting code there still lurks plenty of potential - perhaps for a speed-based high-scores shooter in the same mould as The Club, or for more exotic tactics that call upon the destructive cover and explosive ornaments that occasionally brush against the rank-and-file run-and-gun. Or perhaps for something else entirely. GRIN clearly has the capacity to go beyond what it does in Wanted, and it's a shame that the game only aspires to be a competent, mildly inventive extension of the film.

On the whole, Jericho is an intriguing experiment that almost comes off for Codemasters. Clive Barker's contribution to the concept and narrative direction of the game will certainly help get the attention of horror fans, and few who put the time into exploring Jericho's intricacies will come away disappointed. With its unique squad-based focus and the huge combat variety on offer, it breaks plenty of new ground for the genre - and were it not for a few rough edges would have been bordering on essential. As it stands, Jericho is definitely one that all horror fans should check out - if your bank balance can cope.

Still, it survives on the strengths of taking an innovative approach. It latches on to one of the DS's inherently unique capabilities and takes it as far as it can go. It can be a frustrating and arduous game at times. Death is frequent, and it doesn't readily do much to sustain its appeal when - or if - it clicks, but it's a neat idea worth checking out, especially at its budget price point.

Though it occasionally feels a touch too stylistically beholden to the Golden Age of Lucasarts adventures, that fact is more likely to entice ardent point-and-clickers than turn them off. The absence of any truly teeth-gnashing puzzles means that experienced players will rattle through this tropical romp in short order, but the experience will at least be an overwhelmingly enjoyable one.

I suppose it'd be fair to say that the Commandos series has been successfully updated, but not without the sense that it is lacking something of the detail and complexity of its RTS cousins. With so many other, stronger games around right now I somehow suspect that Strike Force will earn few medals by the end of its tour of duty.

There's really something fundamentally wrong in a game where I start keeping a book beside the table to read while my armies trudge into battle. That said, it's a good book and I recommend it.

Make no mistake that it is going to give you absolute hell, yet beyond the initial frustration at your apparent gaming impotence, attempting to penetrate its steely exterior becomes a bizarre pleasure that offers a triumphant sense of achievement. If you think you have the patience and what it takes to lead these men to victory, then be my guest. Give it your best shot.

Praetorians certainly does set itself apart from the competition - it offers quite a different approach to any other RTS games we've seen recently, and neatly occupies a middle ground between the incredibly hardcore Total War franchise and the more lightweight gameplay of something like Age of Mythology. Sadly, that might be the downfall of the game. More hardcore strategy gamers might simply find that this whets their appetite for the forthcoming Roman treatment of the Total War series, while those weaned on StarCraft and Command & Conquer may find the whole affair a bit too plodding and cerebral. 

Toon Car is an unfortunate attempt at filling a market hole on the PC, and it fails miserably. Quite how a game could be such an extreme opposite of fun is astounding. I played on just to see if I could squeeze any enjoyment out of it whatsoever, but I'm not convinced Toon Car was made with any sense of what your average games player wants. Let me assure you Akaei, it isn't this.

Severance is not a role-playing game. It is not a game suitable for the young or impressionable. It is not a particular deep game, with the storyline being largely submerged beneath the rivers of blood which you unleash wherever you go, and your missions generally consisting of getting from A to B by pulling a lot of levers and then picking up an item.

So in conclusion, what is there to commend about Pro Rally 2001? Very little indeed is the unfortunate answer. The different Championship modes are all roughly the same, the teaching element is frustrating and badly planned, the handling and road-manners of the cars are dreadful, and there are plenty of others games available which do more of the same, only better. A shame, because it looked good last year.