Role-playing

There have been a lot of South Park games over the last two decades and they've all be leading up to The Stick of Truth. Never before has there been a game that so accurately captures the show, both in construction, visuals and attitude. It's been a long time since we were fighting killer turkeys with snowballs, or answering questions with Chef, but those of us who've been burned before definitely need to take a second look.

If you have ever played a game with a guy in a green costume, who is generally always sleeping at the beginning of his adventure, then you've probably played a Legend of Zelda game at some point. Nintendo's latest Zelda release for the 3DS has received much attention since being released, including a number of Game of the Year nominations from multiple prominent media outlets. So what makes yet another Zelda game so appealing and fun?

The Final Fantasy XIII franchise has managed to completely split the Final Fantasy fandom down the middle, becoming a punchline for a certain sort of online persona. In the echo chamber, those that are angry shout the loudest, and they only hear their own voices jump back. That's a shame, because Lightning Returns shows that things can get better, and that new ideas sometimes pay off. It was never going to be the best Final Fantasy game ever - but it CAN be a decent time filler.

Valkria Chronicles 3, the tactical RPG from SEGA, has finally been translated into English for the very first time. This is great news for all the English fans out there who were yet to get to play the latest in the franchise! It will be interesting to see how it's rated compared to countries like Japan who have been playing it for a while.

Final Fantasy VIII was completely mind-blowing to those of us who had been obsessed with Final Fantasy VII. The locations were dark, the characters followed you around and they even managed to have hands. It helped that it was a decent title in its own right, and now it's been re-released on Steam, with a few modern features squeezed in. Is it worth another investment, or should you stick to your Vita download?

2013 has been a big year full of big releases. We've had the open-world Goliath that is Grand Theft Auto V. We've received The Last of Us from Sony's wunderkind Naughty Dog. We'll soon be graced with the presence of next-gen gaming from the titans Microsoft and Sony. And now, Nintendo has sent forth their king of handheld games – ladies and gentlemen, the next generation is here. The next Pokemon generation, of course.

It's pretty obvious that Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland, was created from the get go with multiple playthroughs in mind, but even if you decided only to give the game just one playthrough

Atlus has always been known to deliver niche JRPG experiences; games that don’t sell well but are critical darlings. They have plenty of exceptional titles under their belt such as Catherine and Shin Megami Tensei IV, but Persona 4 is quite possibly their finest work yet. The fourth entry in the Persona series originally made its debut on the PS2 back in 2008. The game was met with immense critical reception, so it was only natural for Atlus to port the game over to the PS Vita. What follows is a fantastic video game that has aged quite well and has shown to ...

Project X Zone should perhaps win the award for the most exciting game with the least descriptive, least exciting name. It sounds like a fantasy extreme sports simulator, like Dead Ball Zone or something of that kin. And yet, behind the name there lies not only a cross-over project perhaps unrivalled in gaming - only beat perhaps by The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen elsewhere - but a decent tactical RPG that will suck you into the genre whether you have prior experience.

These past eight years has seen a great slew of changes in the video game industry. Whether it is the global domination of Call of Duty and Activision’s implementation of a one year release cycle, the integration of online, the creation of achievements and trophies, or the rise of casual gaming; this generation has changed the medium and its landscape in a multitude of ways. But there was one prominent trend that saddened me, and that is the lack of compelling JRPG titles. However, Tales of Xillia gives me hope. The latest entry in the long running Tales ...