Platformer

There was a time, not so long ago, where the very height of video gaming was going from one side of a set of platforms to the other. There were variations on that, but they effectively tested your timing and muscle memory more than anything else. Putty Squad is from that era of games, and it feels like it. If you want one of your first next-gen experiences to be something ignored for almost two decades, look no further.

After a poor showing over the last couple of games, Ratchet and Clank Into the Nexus attempts to revisit the series’ core mechanics and return it to its former glory. Series creator Insomniac mostly succeeds, crafting a short but focused adventure that satisfyingly wraps up the Future sub-series. The game rarely, if ever, breaks new ground. But despite this fact, a funny script, engaging characters, sound gameplay, and luscious art design all make this six hour adventure a great addition to this long running franchise.

The Wii U version of Sonic Lost World was a little bit weird. It blended, with varying degrees of success, the main staples of Sonic with a more exploratory, slower paced level design. It has been met with mixed reaction by fans. The 3DS version is much of the same, although the little changes that have been made make this the superior outing for the Blue Blur.

If you're a core gamer of yesteryear, you can stop reading here. You will hate Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. Whatever you felt Pac-Man was about - how you felt he spoke, where he lived, what his reasoning behind traversing those mazes was - The Ghostly Adventures will throw that all back in your face. It'll take decades of quiet appreciation and turn every facet of that appreciation on its head.

It's difficult to write about Sonic games. Depending who you ask, the only good titles in the franchise in the last decade have been re-releases of Mega Drive/Genesis titles. It seems popular to knock the Blue Blur, and it's fairly easy to pick out the commentators that haven't actually played the games they choose to badmouth at every turn.

Alli took a look at Ethan: Meteor Hunter a few months ago, ahead of it being finished, and found a game that had a lot of potential. Now, fully released on PlayStation 3 and PC, you can now play through the whole time-stopping adventure to your heart's content. Does it manage to live up to the potential we saw when we first saw it?

One of the biggest problems with Puppeteer, at least in my experience, is that people go in expecting it to be a lot like LittleBigPlanet. Some people I've spoken to about it have dismissed it entirely, thinking that is had been developed by Media Molecule. That crowd cheers and changing sets make up a huge part of its aesthetic mean that some are quick to point out the similarities.

Platform games are having something of a return to popularity, and it's about time. While Mario and Sonic remained regular parts of the gaming community, the likes of Rayman disappeared completely for a while. Even Donkey Kong - one of Nintendo's most recognisable characters- was resigned to guest appearances, mini-games, bongo playing and Super Smash Brothers.

While everyone was still celebrating the announcement of DuckTales: Remastered, the reveal of another modernization of a bit-era Disney classic flew by everyone's radar: Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse.

When it comes to platformers, the Rayman games are typically hailed as being among the best. 2011's Rayman Origins was a critical success, and with the announcement of Rayman Legends, fans have been clamoring for what could be the definitive entry in the series. Well, I think they have it.