Genres

Level-5's Guild series is an interesting concept. Released in physical format for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan, both Guild01 and Guild02 contain games developed by famous Japanese developers. Strangely, none of the games go together, and each offers a completely different experience. It's an eclectic assortment of titles, to be sure, and thankfully most are available in the West via the 3DS eShop. All are worth playing, but the worst of the bunch is easily Keiji Inafune's Bugs vs. Tanks.

Gone Home is special. A creation designed to grasp the industry and its fans by their collar, and show them how a mature and painfully honest story should be told. While some games are set in fantastical worlds, such as a floating city or an apocalyptic world, Gone Home prides itself on its simplicity and intimacy. And like any good novel, Gone Home’s strength is the way it rewards people once they uncover and solve the game’s many metaphorical and clever puzzles. It isn’t fantastical by any means, nor is it complex mechanically, but it is immeasurably genuine.

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?

Following the success of The Walking Dead, developer Telltale Games continues its trend of churning out compelling narrative experiences with the recent release of The Wolf Among Us. Based off of the Fables comic book series created by Bill Willingham, which follows recognizable fairy tale characters living in 80s New York, The Wolf Among Us is a delightful prequel that beautifully introduces the creative world Willingham was able to forge back in 2002.

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.

The time has finally come for The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief to reach its conclusion. This Agatha Christie inspired mystery has had its ups and downs, but has been a relatively enjoyable experience thus far, flaws notwithstanding. The second chapter followed through with the solid writing featured during chapter one's final act, but does it continue here in the third chapter, A Murder of Ravens? Do the puzzles get better, or are they the same humdrum offerings? The answer: not really.

MyGPTeam is a Grand Prix title with a difference. Available on the Google Play store via Android mobile devices, it gives you the chance to win races against people from all over the world without needing to hold your phone like a steering wheel or get used to any complicated controls. It's an online casual free-to-play driving title that challenges you to keep up with your opponents, and in terms of gameplay, it does it very well.

Ridge Racer 3D - now over a couple of years old - is staunch reminder of two things. First, arcade racers are awesome. More titles should drop the realism and rap music of recent racing titles and should instead employ someone to shout down the speakers at you.

It's refreshing to see developers create a different kind of game then what they're typically known for. Starbreeze Studios is famous for their gritty shooters (The Syndicate, The Darkness), so it is a little strange to see them collaborate with Swedish filmmaker Josef Fares and create a thoughtful adventure game like Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. It was certainly a risk, but it's a risk that paid off.