Genres

I have a magazine from when the PS1 classic Metal Gear Solid was originally released, upon which is the quote "[Metal Gear Solid] gave me flashbacks." Sometimes I look at this magazine to remind me just how far things have come, and how well we thought we had it back in the day. Either way, Metal Gear Solid was a big enough deal that it kept getting front cover treatment for months after release, and even today it manages to stand up with the best of them. By bearing in mind a few more permanent cobwebs, Metal Gear Solid still manages to be a top title.

Asphalt 6: Adrenaline continues the Asphalt series with new cars, new tracks, and more intense racing action on mobile devices. Visually, this game is as close to Triple-A as it gets on Android and iOS, but the title reveals the design challenges inherent in creating a racing game for mobile devices. Asphalt 6 is fun and compelling enough to have kept me interested all the way through, but there are a few blatant and nagging drawbacks that keep the experience from being as polished as it could be. Despite its weaknesses, this game is definitely worth a try ...

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon came out of nowhere. “This is just an April Fool's joke!”, people claimed. “Oh, it's just going to be some lousy DLC!”, cried the cynics. Thankfully, none of this was true, and the Kojima-esque viral marketing campaign successfully drummed up interest. Blood Dragon is its own game, is definitely not DLC, is definitely an homage to 80s blockbusters, and is definitely awesome.

The story behind Vlambeer's Ridiculous Fishing is almost as interesting as the game itself - a frustrating, occasionally inspirational story about an indie developer fighting a 'clone war' against another title that essentially stole the heart of their fishing game. But after three years in development, the Dutch developers finally released their arcade fisher to the App Store, where praise was rightfully heaped upon it: Ridiculous Fishing is the best iOS game to release so far in 2013.

Path of Exile is a new MMORPG from Grinding Gear Games, currently in open beta. The new action RPG introduces exciting and complex new elements to the genre, and should be a delight to fans of games such as Diablo 3 and Torchlight 2. Path of Exile places players into the dark and gritty world of Wraeclast, which is designed to be the antithesis of modern action RPGs' slant towards bright and cartoony motifs. Although it is certainly not adult-themed, this game is intended for mature players and long-time dungeon-crawler fans. After playing the open beta ...

So it's come to this. The likes of Farm Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator have become beyond a joke, have become mainstream and apparently deserve a parody of their own. From YouTube onwards, Surgeon Simulator 2013 is the main topic of conversation, with hundreds of thousands of videos popping up in a matter of weeks. It's difficult, it's wacky, but is it worth buying and will you get your money's worth out of it if you do? The answer depends on how far you're willing to stretch a joke.

Often called the very best of the HD re-releases, the Metal Gear Solid collection is a must-buy for fans of the series, for fans of the stealth genre and for anybody that enjoys storytelling and excellent gameplay within gaming. Showcasing two of the very best games of the PS2 era (and, arguably, of all time), as well as a PSP classic that's well worth playing, there's an awful lot of value in a single box. Add to that some of the hardest, most time consuming platinums going and you'll need to really work if you plan to reach 100%.

The ocean waves beat a gentle rhythm on the beach behind me as I enter the disused bungalow. An idyllic tropical setting, but I'm here as a scavenger rather than a tourist, picking over the wasted scraps of a life once lived. The now deceased occupant lies on the floor with a gunshot wound in his temple.

There seems to be quite a comment dislike of touch screen gaming. Whether it's justified or not, or how experienced those that repeat the tired old complaints are with the input method, I'm not sure, but even the most die hard detractors must realize their are exceptions to the anti-touch rule. Draw Slasher might be one of those exceptions, for while it's not perfect, it manages to entertain and challenge without ever feeling uncomfortable or annoying.

Everyone’s favourite lombax is back, along with his sidekick Clank in Ratchet & Clank Full Frontal Assault / QForce. The Ratchet & Clank series has always delivered thoroughly entertaining single player action, but Insomniac likes to mix it up every so often by giving us more of a spin-off title; Ratchet: Deadlocked and Ratchet & Clank All 4 One for example. Similarly to All 4 One, Full Frontal Assault / QForce is engineered more towards multi-player action; which isn't what the series is renowned for. It’s like Manchester United quitting football to ...