Action

Batman might have ruined the superhero genre for us. While that type of title has never been especially strong on the whole, Arkham Asylum and its sequels proved that it could be done. So why are Activision still relying almost entirely on a format that's been basically unchanged since Spider-man 2 ten years ago? The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is another film tie-in that falls short of expectation, but it's the Spidey-by-Numbers feel that is the most surprising.

If there was one complaint about Ground Zeroes, it was its size. Despite the fact that you could easily spend tens of hours exploring that little base off the coast of Cuba, it was quite samey and, ultimately, failed to hold all but the most dedicated of Metal Gear fans to its 100% completion.

Daylight is a survival horror game that is procedurally generated, creating a new experience each time you play, however, while rooms and location of items change, the experience doesn’t feel entirely “new.” Daylight has some concepts that were promising but failed to deliver in terms of content and variety.

Goat Simulator is wacky, which is distinctly different to funny. Sure, it provides a certain amount of amusement, like only a goat strapped to a rocket can, but the amount of laughs you'll be having are minimal. Mostly you'll just ask yourself why you bought a game called Goat Simulator in the first place, probably while you complain about glitches and disfigured farm animals.

When playing inFamous Second Son, I received a deluge of visual satisfaction. Sucker Punch’s third attempt at its superhero series is a great showcase of PlayStation 4’s technical prowess. Particle effects galore, a breathtakingly gorgeous open-world, and great facial animations make Second Son the best looking PS4 game by a mile. But for all of Sucker Punch’s technical advancements, the game’s storytelling failed to meet the same type of improvements.

Bioshock Infinite was fairly unique in that it was entirely self-contained with room for discussion, but with plenty of opportunity for DLC. The idea of multiple universes isn't a new one, and it always opens itself up to certain issues, but it did mean that Booker and Elizabeth could end up appearing almost anywhere. So, of course, they ended up back in the underwater city of Rapture. It was an easy way of impressing fans, but it's questionable whether that managed to pay off.

Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc is a zany experience filled with boundless creativity. Developed by Spike Chunsoft (the studio responsible for similar games in the Zero Escape series), and originally released for the PSP all the way back in 2010, Danganronpa has spawned an anime and manga over in Japan before its port to the Vita this year; and it’s easy to see why.

Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes has all the makings of a very good game. An interesting beginning that has you waiting for answers, gameplay that goes beyond what you expect and offers depth and choice, all with the kind of production value that big budget movies wish they could approach - that's Ground Zeroes, a checklist of what all interactive entertainment should strive to achieve. There's only one major fault. The game Ground Zeroes should be is still at least a year out, if we're lucky, and what's on offer here doesn't even begin to scratch the itch it ...

PopCap did a lot of things right when they developed Plants vs Zombies for every platform imaginable - Mac, PC, Xbox, Playstation, DS, iOS, and Android - and the success of that game has led to multiple sequels. Plants vs Zombies 2's free to play model scared some since it was a departure from the original set-price model, however, PopCap again delivered a solid product, and one that did not require any additional purchases.

Thief, developed by Eidos Montreal, is a reboot of the beloved 90s first-person stealth series of the same name. Penned by Ken Levine, who would go on to create Bioshock, and forged by the now defunct Looking Glass Studios, 1999’s Thief: The Dark Project was the birth of the first-person stealth genre. It successfully introduced several innovative mechanics, like the clever use of light and sound as an integral part of game play, and told an intriguing narrative in the process.