Genres

Cybernet was a video game focussed TV show here in the UK back when the PS2 launched. When they weren't showing and reshowing the opening of Metal Gear Solid 2, they were showing and reshowing clips from Final Fantasy X. Look at the graphics! Look at the characters! And, oh, they've got voices as well!

Video gaming's first yellow circular celebrity has turned 30 this year, and instead of getting trashed with friends Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde, he's taking a trip down memory lane, through the highlights (and low-lights) of his prestigious career.

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.

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.

Infinity Ward have fixed a lot of the issues that plagued Ghosts at launch, but there's one thing they can't fix: the size and shape of the original multiplayer maps. They're too big, with too much going on. In trying to combat camping (by creating a "always open" feel wherever you go), they've made it ten times worse. That's why it's fantastic news that Onslaught - the new DLC pack, available on Sony platforms since last Friday

Killer is Dead is a hard game to pin down. You play as an executioner for a government agency that hunts out murderers for the general public. It plays a little like something from Platinum, a third-person action game with an anime flair. That flair runs deeper than just the visual style though, and a unique fantastical twist makes it all the more unusual. Expect blood, whimsy, sex, adventure and intrigue.

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.

Artsy-smartsy games like Bioshock and Spec Ops: The Line have ruined video games. Nowadays players can't just sit back and enjoy a game. Now they're expected to look for symbolism and all that other tweedy intellectual stuff. LocoCycle is a game about a talking motorcycle that blows stuff up - or it might be an insightful deconstruction of the linear nature of video game narratives. The fine line between stupid and clever gets finer and finerer every year.

The Last of Us’ first and last piece of single-player DLC, Left Behind, is a great piece of additional content that further fleshes out both The Last of Us’ exceptional world, and its equally compelling female protagonist, Ellie. Left Behind works well as a standalone experience and breaks free from being marred by the core game.