There are two playable races in Defiance, Humans and Irathients, and you can choose to be male of female and then have a choice of origin. These include Outlaw, Machinist, Survivalist and Veteran but the only real differences that these options make is what weapon you start out with.

There are also 4 skill groups you unlock during the tutorial and you can decide on which EGO skill you will play with through the game: Cloak is invisibility for 10 seconds, Overcharge which gives you weapons a boost for 8 seconds, Decoy which sends out a decoy to distract enemies, and Blur which speeds your character up and give you melee attack more power for 8 seconds. All these powers offer upgrades over the game as you earn EGO to unlock skills. EGO (Environmental Guardian Online) is the all-encompassing term for the AI entity cybernetic implants placed in the bodies of these Ark Hunters.

I am running two Characters: my main one is a level 120 a Female Irathient with Veteran origin using cloak skill, and my second character is a level 20 Human Male with Outlaw origin using Overcharge. There is no real difference in the skills or how these characters handle, it is just a cosmetic option. The only difference I had with my Irathient was that I started with an Assault rifle while my Human started with a Scatter Gun.

Gun handling in this game can vary depending on what gun you are using at the time. I constantly run with a LMG and only fire in short bursts to keep on target. The Snipers are powerful and not to painful to use but not good for close combat situation while Shotguns and scatterguns are lethal up close but from a distance make a nice back scratcher. Assault rifles and Carbine vary depending on what you are using. Pistols I have found to be very good in both close combat and long distance. This game has so many guns there is something for everyone.

Vehicles are a must have in an open world game but never fear, you get one very early on. The vehicle controls can be a bit glitchy when the servers have a moment of lag but otherwise they handle well. You spawn your own vehicles and cannot steal other people's, which is a great idea to me.

Overall, the gameplay is easily mastered and everyone from Newbie to Gamer will be able to have a good time. There is no difficulty setting so sometimes it’s best to team up with friends or a group of people in the same areas.

The graphics are not top of the line but they are not bad either. The world is massive and sometimes it can take time to reveal itself in front of you but it is nothing game-breaking. When you look at the game and the TV series together you can see where everything is coming from. I do notice some frame rate issues when in an area with a lot of other players but compared to some games it holds its looks well.

The sound is up and down for me. The weapons and explosions sound great, however vehicles sound like a ride on lawn mower at times. They just need a bit more grunt in them. Vocals can be heard clearly but they overtake a lot of the other sounds in the game and at times you will hear the same thing 3 times in a row

Defiance has your standard shooter controls so you won’t need much to figure out what does what. Vehicle control feels a bit slow at times but it’s nothing game-breaking. Movement controls are smooth and responsive; shooting is easily mastered once you get to know how the gun you are using handles.

Defiance has ground breaking story presentation being paired with a TV series. They are always updating and patching and if you watch the TV series as it airs with the game you can see parts from one or the other.

They have made story progression not so time consuming. Your missions are not spaced too far apart so you are not wandering all over the world or having to go from one end of the map to another just to pick a flower. If you die you extract and respawn close enough to the mission to be able to get right back into it from where you left off.

Being a MMOG, this game is always online. You will occasionally see other players and with any luck, have them doing the same missions as you. The times when you do see a lot of players is when everyone is doing the Ark Hunter community challenges. I have had my mini map just a purple mad of dots and watching this crazy amount of people taking on Hellbugs to try and get awesome new gear is amazing. The Lag really does not have a noticeable effect on gameplay; you will see the odd player jump around but there is no collision detection with players so you have no bumps.

The competitive Multiplayer offers Deathmatch and Team based Matches in Shadow wars, which can host up to 96 players in 48 v 48 matches. I have had issues finding games as I play in the daytime on weekdays and most people seem to stick to the Open world. From what I have played I got owned but did enjoy it with minimal lag interruptions. The games I played were only around 10 v 10 so I have no idea what 48 v 48 would be like.

There are also Co Op missions, which you can unlock the further you get into the game. I only have 2 unlocked at the moment and have not had any luck finding a game in quick match.

There are no private matches in Defiance, however you can set up a clan in the open world. It costs a bit of in game currency for the person setting it up but is an easy way for clan members to meet up in game and go smash through some missions with each other.

Defiance is a nice package with a great story and community all rolled into one. It’s a shame the competitive side seems to be less active but as more people get into the TV series more people are jumping online.

If, like me, you are looking for something to fill in that empty online gap then this game is a must have. Get into the TV series to get the full package and fall in love with this world.

While travelling with a documentary crew in search of the lost kingdom of Yamatai, they are shipwrecked after entering a region known as The Dragon’s Triangle (South of main land Japan), an area known for claiming ships and their crews.

Lara Croft finds herself on an island inhabited by a mysterious and violent cult. With her crew missing and the cult on her tail, Lara must overcome, adapt and survive. Tomb Raider represents a stark change in tone from previous Tomb Raider games and also represents a big change in Lara’s character. Lara is undoubtedly the focus of this game, which is great but at times to the detriment of the supporting cast who never seem to elevate beyond cardboard cut-out film/game tropes. The main antagonist of the story also feels underdeveloped. This is a shame as it feels like a wasted opportunity to create a memorable ensemble cast. Which to an extent is understandable seeing as Lara’s development is central to the story. The real stars here are Lara and The Island.

Much has been made of Lara's seemingly abrupt change from disgust at taking a life to 'cold killer.' While part of this can be attributed to the gameplay needing to take precedent at some point, I think when Lara's actions are looked at in the context in which they are shown it makes more sense. It is a life or death situation and she's decided she needs to live and killing is only way to make that happen.

This game takes a more desperate and realistic tone than previous installments and it shows in the sheer beating Lara is subjected to at every turn. Combined with the dark and depressing feel of the island, it adds to the sense of Lara being out of her depth. It also serves to highlight the mystery of the island, a mystery which will keep you wanting to drive towards the end.

Tomb Raider’s graphics are in a word: impressive. While not the best I've ever seen on a console it is still a gorgeous game to look at. The vistas are some of the most beautiful I've seen and the game makes a point of highlighting these well. I’m a sucker for weather effects in games and Tomb Raider has these in spades. Weather does a great job of creating an oppressive and ominous tone.

The score was composed by Jason Graves who has also scored games such as Dead Space, Alpha Protocol and Section 8. Here Graves creates a great big orchestral score that would fit right in with any big budget action adventure movie.

Most of the voice actors perform well, with the most standout performance being Lara herself (Camilla Luddington). The other cast members are good but lack any real depth. This could be due to the writing more than the actor’s abilities. Tomb Raider has some great sound design but the one lacking aspect is the gun sound. These mostly sound fake and lack any depth.

Early previews of the game had fans worried that Tomb Raider would turn out to be a very linear game. Luckily, those fears were unfounded. A lot of the preview footage that was shown was from early in the game and that is fairly linear but it acts to serve the story and Lara's first trial. After this culminates into a climatic and emotional moment, the game then starts to open up. One of the best aspects of the new Tomb Raider is the great sense of exploration. The game is filled with lots of collectibles like relics and journals. The journals also help to flesh out the story and characters, past and present. As well as these there are also challenges that are unique to different areas. These usually involve destroying x number of this or find x number of that. These collectibles and challenges provide a nice change of pace. Thanks to quick travel, which is available through campsites you are able to travel to any other campsite you have discovered, making artifact searching much easier. You are also able to use the Quick Travel feature at any time during the game, without the need to finish the story first.

As a third person shooter Tomb Raider’s combat controls are very good. Gunplay is responsive and satisfying. You get all the basic weapon types (handgun, shotgun and rifle). As you collect these weapons you are able to upgrade them by collecting scrap of metal and weapon components. The more you upgrade your equipment, the more the island becomes accessible, giving you access to areas earlier in the game that were previously unacceptable (Metroid/Castlevania style).

The stand out weapon is of course the Bow; upgrades allow you to use mods like flame arrows and grappling ropes. It’s one of the most versatile weapons in the game and one you’ll find yourself using most of the time.

As well as upgrading your weapons you are also able to upgrade Lara’s skills. Different actions gain you XP and once you ‘level up’ you are able to spend the points on new abilities. These skills range from new finishers, bonuses to salvage collection, XP and health. Once certain skills are unlocked, Lara is able to use close-quarter melee attacks on her enemies. Whilst many of these are stylish and fun to execute, trying to do so when up against multiple enemies can be problematic as you will often get shot when trying to set yourself up for a melee finisher. Overall, levelling up is fun and it also adds to the story of Lara’s character arch.

One of the biggest changes from previous Tomb Raiders is that now, tombs are optional. These also add a refreshing change of pace from combat and while the puzzles aren't exactly difficult, solving them is still satisfying and the rewards are good.

Tomb Raider’s controls follow a pretty standard fair when compared to other third-person games. The controls are tight and responsive. The only issue I had was on occasion while climbing, Lara didn't seem to want to hang on to the wall after making a jump. But this was a rare occurrence and checkpoints in this game are fairly generous. The use of a minimalist HUD also helped with the immersion of the game and I am a big fan of this method.

The GUI of the menu system is also quite nice and easy to navigate. It has somewhat of a comic book/minimalist look, a la Max Payne, which I like.

Adding multiplayer to Tomb Raider was pointless to say the least. Multiplayer doesn't bring anything that will keep you playing. Gameplay is not as good as the single player. Give it a miss.

Rebooting a series is a tall order that can go oh so wrong, yet Crystal Dynamics have met that challenge head on and created something truly impressive. The gameplay is solid and both the platforming and exploration engaging. The addition of collectibles and challenges will have you coming back to explore the island even more. Tomb Raider is definitely one of the best games I've played in a long time and one worthy of your time.

There was a lot of anticipation for Aliens:Colonial Marines, and more than a little generated by Gearbox (the primary developers behind the game, although Timegate were also involved). Hype can be great for a game that can live up to it but, like Haze and many others, can be poison for a title that can't match the high bar set by pre-release advertising. So it is for Aliens: Colonial Marines, a serviceable game but far below the expectations that were placed upon it.

The game starts with you (playing Corporal Winter) getting settled after waking up from cryogenic sleep on the USS Sephora, with some quality fan service as you get your hands on your very own pulse rifle. Assembling in a hangar bay, you and your squad are briefed by Captain Cruz that you're in orbit over LV-426, responding to a distress call from the USS Sulaco, sent out by Dwayne Hicks after the events of the original Aliens movie. Ordered onto the Sulaco to support two squads of marines sent over earlier, things rapidly fall apart, as Xenomorphs and other forces turn the mission from search-and-rescue to survival in the face of overwhelming odds.

Without going into story spoilers, you'll fight Aliens and humans in the USS Sulaco, the landscape of LV-426, Hadley's Hope and one other recognisable location from the Aliens movies, all the while following orders from Cruz and getting advice from your squad's own Bishop android (voiced excellently by Lance Henriksen, who played the Bishop that appeared in the movie). The story and script is fairly standard stuff, enjoyable enough but really just an excuse for the action - think B-grade sci-fi movie and you're on the right track. Similarly the characters never move beyond action-genre clichés - they're serviceable, and well acted, but you won't get the same depth of character that you'll find in the movie (which itself is hardly a model for in-depth character development).

If you're a big fan of the movies you will have to deal with the game taking liberties with iconic events. This is hardly unusual for games based on movie series (or movies based on books), but it is still likely to grate with fans. We won't give the story away, but if you're into the movies in a big way, go into the game expecting an Aliens atmosphere but some fairly hefty liberties taken with the story. It doesn't mean it's not enjoyable (I'm a big fan of the Lord of the Rings books, but I still enjoyed the movies, even though Peter Jackson butchered numerous story details, and many of the underlying key themes), but you'll probably be wondering why they had to mess with things, particularly as some of the attention to detail in referencing the movies is excellent.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is an FPS, and for most of the game you'll either be looking down your sights or looking at your motion tracker. The gunplay is solid, built around an arcade model where you'll be dealing with fairly low recoil and fast reload times, and works well if unspectacularly. You'll have access to a significant arsenal (which grows over the length of the game) of upgradeable weapons, as well as have the possibility of collecting signature weapons from the Aliens movie.

The gameplay aspect that sets Aliens:Colonial Marines apart from most other shooters, of course, is the aliens (known here as Xenomorphs, or 'Xenos'). The Xenos are split into a few different types, some rushing at you, some standing back and spitting acid, and others doing hit and run attacks from the shadows. While the AI is average at best, many of the stages spawn enemies from a range of different directions, forcing you to use your motion tracker to make sure you're not killed from behind (if you're playing on all but the easiest difficulty setting, getting attacked by surprise from behind won't end well). Xenos will run on walls and ceilings, duck from side-to-side, charge or leap straight at you and stand still doing nothing. Yup, that last one probably isn't Gearbox's desired result.

The game uses the motion tracker well, throwing in signals that don't end up attacking you, but disappear. There are also Xenos that don't move, which you'll hear them breathing but not see anything on the tracker, adding to the suspense and uncertainty. The encounters are generally tense affairs, and fighting the Xenos makes a refreshing change from fighting humans in your standard shooters. There are also some corridor shoots which are less exciting and tense, but these are over quickly. The AI issues and lacklustre visuals (more on that below) mean that the action is from perfect, but there is fun to be had here, as long as your expectations aren't set too high.

The combat against humans (of which there are 2 full levels, as well as others where they alternate with the Xenos) is far less noteworthy, and is just a below-average sci-fi shooter. It all works, but beyond having to flank a turret or an APC, it's fairly standard stuff. The AI and enemy variation is about on par with that found in your average modern Call of Duty's single player, and if you've played a couple of modern arcade shooters, you've seen it all before. Unfortunately, this lack of freshness (unless you haven't played many shooters in the last few years) means that what could have been an exciting variation in gameplay comes off as dull and uninspired.

Friendly AI is no better - it's not bad, but it's not good either. Your team-mates are more effective at taking out Xenos than they are with enemies in your average Call of Duty or the last couple of Medal of Honor games, but they'll also get stuck on parts of the environment, and on more than one occasion were teleported ahead by the game engine to ensure progression (which, while clumsy, is better than not being able to progress at all).

The game generally does a good job of mixing up the pace of the experience, from frantic 'last stand' moments against Aliens to quiet traversal of environments, with sporadic pings on your motion tracker adding to the suspense. This breaks down a bit in the last couple of levels, though, which degenerate into almost constant firefights with little variation in pace. The game unfortunately culminates in a final boss fight that is clunky and relies more on trial and error (and a bit of luck) than skill.

The graphics are by far and away the weakest element of Aliens:Colonial Marines, but you wouldn't know this from visiting the game's official site. Accurate images for this review were hard to find because most of the shots on the web are taken from the official photos from the game's internet site, which unfortunately bear little resemblance to how the game actually looks. The game is lucky its 'honesty in advertising' is not being reviewed, as it'd be down in the 2 out of 10 range....

Anyway, while the action is a mix of good and bad, with some freshness thrown in, the visuals are consistently sub-standard for this stage of the generation. The animations are stuttery, with missing frames leading to jerky Marine movement and the feeling that Xenos are sometimes teleporting rather than leaping at you. The poor and missing animations also mean you get no feedback (beyond flashing hit markers) when shooting Xenos (or humans), which lowers the level of immersion. Textures vary in quality, and are generally passable, but are let down by decidedly five-year old lighting, which makes everything look flat.

The plus side on the graphics is that the visual design adheres extremely closely to what you'll have seen in the movies. The dropships, APCs, weapons, environments and character models are as true to the movies as the engine allows and help you feel like you're in the Aliens universe.

Unlike the visuals, the sound in Aliens:Colonial Marines is solid at worst and excellent at best, not least because it borrows heavily from the Aliens movie. The sound effects feel spot-on, and the voice actors do an excellent job of making the most of the uninspired script. The music is well balanced, sitting in the background and building mood, without distracting from gameplay. Some may find the continual pinging of the pulse rifle gets on their nerves, but if this is the case, then they can always break out the far more 'standard'-sounding shotgun, battle rifle, assault rifle or submachine gun.

If you've played a few shooters this gen you'll jump right into the controls - they generally conform to the genre standards (R1 to shoot, L1 to aim down the sights, square to reload and so on) and do the job well. The interface for the game is also well put together, with well designed menus and easy access to everything you want to get to. The only complaints I'd have is that you can't invite people to a competitive multiplayer game mid-round (but the drop-in, drop-out coop works excellently). Loading times are relatively short, and checkpoints are reasonably placed.

There are two sides to multiplayer in Aliens: Colonial Marines, and both work well. You can either play coop campaign, or jump into four different competitive modes, all of which are worth a look if you've got the game.

While the coop is just the story campaign with friends (nothing to sniff at, of course), the versus multiplayer brings something new to the online multiplayer arena, providing well-designed and implemented assymetric gameplay. Each game is made up of two rounds, with both sides playing the Xenos and the Marines, in remarkably well-balanced encounters given the differences in play between the two species. Games were fast and intense, playing as the Xenos (who can climb walls and ceilings, leap from the shadows, and see nearby Marines through walls) is quick to pick up but there’s plenty to learn and master. Importantly, the netcode was solid (it’s peer-to-peer, and there is lag, but it’s playable with hosts from the US and Europe), which is important given the relatively small player base.

Playing as the marines, the game encourages teamwork like no other online shooter we’ve seen, as lone marines are easy fodder for a couple of Xenos (but a squad of coordinated Marines are a tough nut to crack). Marines don’t have classes, but can mix up weapons loadouts to focus on short (Shotgun), mid (Pulse Rifle) and long (Battle Rifle) range, and can acquire rocket launchers, flamethrowers and the smart gun (a gun with a lock on, very handy against nimble Xenos) as ‘pick-up weapons’ mid-game. The Aliens come in three classes (Warrior – you’re melee combatant, Spitter – a ranged spitter of acid and Lurker – a hit and run specialist), with the unlockable Crusher (a rhino-like creature with a stomp and charge, heavy armour on its front but a much weaker body) and the Boiler (an acid mutation alien that explodes when dies and has a powerful acid spray spit attack).

You’ll face off across four different modes, all worth of a look:

• Escape - 4v4 with no set time limit – the game ends when Marines "Escape" (by completing a sequence of objectives) or Xenos kill them all. Fun, but had least amount of maps (although each map was unique as it was larger to fit the needs of the mode).
• Survival –Marines have to survive for 10 mins, Xenos have to kill them (Xenos can respawn, Marines can’t, although they can be revived). A great mode that stays true to the feel of the movie.
• Extermination – Marines are tasked with destroying clusters of eggs, Xenos to defend them. Two areas open at each time, which keeps the gameplay fluid.
• Team Deathmatch – the standard setup we’ve seen in other games, but the asymmetric gameplay gives it a bit more appeal. Best range of maps of the four modes.

It’s not all roses though. There are only a limited amount of maps, and the level cap (level 60) is easily reachable, limiting replayability. If the host leaves mid-game, the whole lobby closes down, and matchmaking is average at best, with decent waits required to find a lobby, even in the first week of release (so if you are interested in the MP, better to get in sooner rather than later), but we’d recommend a rental first. Voice communications were patchy as well – if you didn’t have a great host, or were playing in a US/European lobby, conversations could be scratchy to the point of indecipherable. Further, some of the later-game Xeno unlocks made a huge difference to their effectiveness, making life harder for new starters. While the deep unlock and customisation system does add replay value and gives players something to play for, it also feels a little derivative of other popular shooters.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a hard game to score. Looking at it solely as a game, there's fun to be had, and playing against Xenos in SP, as well as the MP in general, mixes up the standard FPS gameplay. However, the graphics, AI and last few levels let down the single player, while the graphics, stuttery animation, lag and choppy voice communications stop the multiplayer experience from standing out (despite the unique and innovative nature of the gameplay). For die-hard Aliens fans that have been building themselves up for this game, lapping up all of the promotional material, you have to be ready for a good deal of disappointment. While the game is solid (just a little below average), the marketing for it is downright dishonest, and any negative feedback Sega get for this is thoroughly deserved.

The game brings you right into it by listing you as a guest in the opening credits and putting you in the shoes of Captain Martin Walker, with Lieutenant Adams and Sergeant Lugo making up the rest of your team. You are sent to Dubai six months after it was hit by a devastating sandstorm. Immediately following the sandstorm the US 33rd Brigade was sent in to assist the locals, but shortly thereafter went dark. Your mission begins with being tasked to find any survivors from the 33rd.

Spec ops starts off looking like your traditional war game, with you fellow soldiers falling into fairly standard “good-looking killing machine” stereotypes - Walker the no-nonsense leader, Adams the loyal second in command and Lugo the Joker.

However, Spec Ops changes tone quite quickly. Even after the first fight, the squad questions what they have done and continue to do so throughout the game. Over the course of the mission, all three squad members’ physical, mental and moral state deteriorate, as the harsh decisions forced upon them start to take their toll. Spec Ops really wants to show the reality of war - that it’s not all run in, kill the bad guys and be the hero, then shrug it off likes it’s nothing.

One of the way Spec Ops approaches this is through several morale choices over the course of the game. These have neither right nor wrong options, as both choices will cross the line in some way with no happy/good choices. Apart from the last choice these have no overall bearing upon the end of the game, although they are recapped in a little video before the final choice. There are a possible 4 endings.

I loved the story as it felt different and engrossing. While it was on the shorter side, it really sets this game apart from other, far more clichéd, set piece action shooters.

The way the soldier’s transitions are presented in Spec Ops is great, showing in the clothes becoming dirty, blood and tearing and in their words and character as Lugo loses his quick wit and Adams starts to disagree with Walker, and Walker starts to see things that aren’t there. The squad command responses from Lugo and Adams gradually change from ‘will do’ to ‘if I have too’, a nice way to show the creeping dissent and lessening trust Lugo and Adams have in Walker.

The levels themselves are quite linear, with little room for exploration, though they vary from interiors and wide open expanses to rooftops and this variety keeps each fight feeling different. The game’s checkpoints are generally well placed with a couple having a slow walk section just after them. Loading was hidden, apart from reloading checkpoints/saves, and cutscenes can be skipped (which is always nice, not that skipping is recommended on your first playthrough of course). The user HUD isn’t intrusive, although button prompts can become annoying after you have learned the controls.

Spec Ops gameplay doesn’t do anything too special and plays as a straightforward third-person, cover-based squad shooter (there are a small number of on-rail sections and moments without the squad that add some limited variety). There are four difficulties in Spec Ops, with FUBAR being the hardest.

You will find yourself behind cover most of the time. Enemies go down easily on the lowest difficulty , though you can survive for a while standing in the open, large groups will kill you without cover. On the hardest difficulty, however, you can die in the seconds it takes for you to throw a grenade, enemies becoming a lot more resilient and cover is absolutely essential.

Squad A.I. is generally good, although there are rare moments where your companions will have moments of stupidity, getting downed in impossible to reach positions (particularly on harder difficulties) and other times where they just seem useless. Your teammates can be revived by you or each other, but they cannot revive you so it is game over if you or they die. Control over your squad is very limited, with just one squad command (focus fire on an enemy), and there were times when I would have preferred to have more control over their movements.

Enemy A.I will try to flank you occasionally, throw grenades to get you out of cover and very much focus on your character over the rest of your squad. Enemies become more heavily armed and armoured as you progress through the story, with knife wielding enemies and heavies (bullet/grenade sponges) making a couple of appearances to spice things up.

While you have a melee attack, you should stick to dispatching enemies through firearms as attempting to rifle-but multiple enemies will generally get you killed. As a bit of a gameplay twist, every now and again you will come across a destructible object that, when destroyed, will dump sand on top of your enemies, killing them quickly.

There is a large variety of guns, some more useful than others. The AA12 (an automatic shotgun) stands out for dispatching enemies with great speed even on FUBAR difficulty. Certain guns have a secondary fire mode such as burst/auto, zoom or adding a silencer (stealth opportunities are limited, but they are there).

Sand plays a large part at times, helping or hindering you, with grenades kicking up sand that blind your enemies and sandstorms limiting visibility across the battlefield, lowering your accuracy, reducing your mobility and disabling squad commands.

Dubai looks great for a city that has been hit by a cataclysmic event. While the graphics aren’t pushing the limits, the game still looks great on Very High settings. Many locations and background settings look amazing, and the rooftop levels with large expanses of the city in the background are standouts. The squad’s models are highly detailed as are all the guns. The lighting is great, with the sun blinding and obscuring your view at times, especially when going from interior to exterior locations.

The only graphical options are the levels of textures, shadows, vsync, and ambient occlusion, so AA has to be forced on through your graphics settings outside of the game.

Performance was generally good, with no noticeable texture popping or frame-rate issues. The only issue I encountered was a slight freeze when the auto-save/checkpoint was reached, although I would most likely put these down to my low hardware than the actual game.

Nolan North does the voice for Martin Walker and while he sounds a bit like Nathan Drake of Uncharted Fame, he does a good job. Indeed, the entire cast does brings the characters to life and makes them sound believable. I especially enjoyed Jake Busey as the Radioman, who provides entertaining background chatter and harsh observations on developments during some of the missions - for example "Where's all the violence coming from? Is it the videogames? I bet it's the videogames."

The ambient sounds really help build atmosphere - whether its rock music blasting over speakers in the background or when fighting your way through a sandstorm.

The game’s menus are easy to move through, with level select available through a map showing your path through the once-thriving city.

I played mostly using an XBOX controller; I did have a little playtime with mouse and keyboard also, which was fully customisable. The controls felt cramped at times on the pad with multiple buttons having multiple uses. Walker did pop out of cover without being prompted a couple of times, and very rarely the sprint into cover didn’t work, both of which on higher difficulties would generally result in death.

First off, I did not play any actual multiplayer gameplay, as I could not get any games going, apart from a solo co-op match.

The multiplayer retains the single player gameplay mechanics, and comes in competitive and cooperative varieties, with both game modes offering matchmaking through Steamworks or LAN, and public or private matches.

Competitive multiplayer has six game types, starting with three types open to all players with a further three unlocked through levelling. There are 2 factions (Exile and Damned), each having unique bonuses. Competitive has multiple classes, avatar customization, weapon load-outs and perks, which you gaining more of each with levelling.

Co-operative was added later through free DLC and supports 2 players battling waves of enemies and sandstorms to complete objectives.

Spec Ops: The Line’s multiplayer player base is extremely small so finding matches can be difficult or impossible. As such, I would not recommend buying for the online portion, unless you have a group of friends or some patience and luck.

The story makes the game - without it, it would otherwise be forgettable, and while story was short it was engrossing and gives you something to think about. Even though the gameplay doesn’t do anything to stand out from other third-person cover shooters, it was still enjoyable and felt good for the most part, especially when stealth sections came together. If you’re looking for a compelling story you should add this to your list, but if you want new gameplay, something with a bit of longevity or a multiplayer experience, give it a miss.

The story follows Wei Shen returning to his childhood home from America and going undercover to take apart the Triad, the Sun On Yee. In the course of the story we see Shen’s weakening mental state as he struggles to follow the code he took as a police officer while fighting his growing attachment to his fellow ‘brothers’ in the Triad. The story is probably Sleeping Dogs’ strongest point, as it is engaging and interesting to watch Shen’s downward spiral and leaves you wondering which path he will choose in the end. Although there is an opposing Triad, the 18k, most of the story revolves around Shen and the internal struggle for power in the Sun On Yee.

The map is on the smaller side, but I did not mind this. It will still take a couple of minutes to travel from one side of the map to the other thanks to a mountainous region in the middle splitting things up with winding roads. These roads are surrounded by trees and are my favourite part of the map, having large curves, dipping areas and tunnels. Each of the map’s four main towns vary slightly enough for you to generally be able to tell where you are at a glance while keeping the sense you are in the same overlying city. The entire map is also unlocked from the beginning, so straight away you are able to go anywhere. I quite liked not having any restrictions on the city at the start. I never encountered that feeling of dismay that can occur on some larger maps when travelling large distances and the collectibles are still well spread out. It is well-populated with cars and people and overall the city feels full and alive.

Shen uses free-running to get through the environment on foot holding X to sprint (unlimited which I loved) and he will automatically climb or jump with a Context prompt (tap X) determining how quickly you traverse the object. I found this feature to be quite good and while the amount of climbable objects doesn’t go to the extent of climbing the sides of buildings, it did make travelling on foot a breeze thanks to Shen tackling fences with ease.

Sleeping Dogs is definitely more focused on hand-to-hand combat and as such the game has a much more fleshed out and superior combat system than GTA and the like, being much more similar to the recent incarnations of the Batman series.

Shen’s arsenal consists of combo attacks, counters and grapples. Square is used for combos; tapping for light attacks and holding for heavy. Triangle is used for counters (enemies flash red) and circle is used for grappling. To defeat enemies you must alternate between these as enemies have special traits like blocking or being unable to be grappled. The combat system works well; attacks and counters flow well between each other and stringing combos is simple.

Though the combat can side on being mashy, the varied types of enemies do well to force you to mix it up. Of course filling the face meter (which builds by damaging enemies) disables these traits while active, giving you a chance to go super offensive. Environmental attacks are spread through some areas and will instantly take out any grabbable enemy. Hand held weapons work just like using fists but do more damage and only last for a specific amount of hits. These range from knives to umbrellas and purses. The game does have a lock-on button, L2, but it does disable sprinting and I found it more of a hindrance.

Guns are rare and they are not introduced until later on in the game (Hong Kong has strict gun laws). But when they are introduced you will find yourself relying on the lock-in cover (through the use of L1) to survive as you will fall quickly to them.

There are your basic gun types, each with variants and their traditional traits. Pistols, sub/full machine and shotguns all make an appearance. Guns also introduce a short bullet time when jumping out of cover or aiming in cars (beware it slows your reloading and left me wondering why I hadn’t reloaded yet). I feel they are introduced at the right point in the story and allowed the combat to be front and centre and stand on its own and although they became more predominantly used later, I don’t feel they overshadowed the combat. One thing I did feel was missed was the use of the stealth attacks as there was rarely any chance to use it through the story. One late mission even set itself up for stealth but didn’t necessarily require it, which I felt was a miss.

Hijacking cars is the same concept as other open-world games, but Sleeping Dogs also adds the incredibly useful ability to hijack cars while driving. Holding square, Shen will move to jump out/of his current vehicle and then after tapping square at the right time, Shen will leap onto and hijack the next vehicle. This was extremely useful, easy and fun especially when upgrading to a better or newer vehicle.

Length

The types of missions available in Sleeping Dogs ranges from story and cases to jobs, favours, random events and races. These all vary greatly in the task you will be given to complete - from chasing down bad-guys and chasing down a cake, to having large-scale shootouts and fights as well as singing karaoke and planting bugs. I never felt any form of déjà vu during any of the missions and think that United Front Games did an exceptional job in mixing tasks and locations up. The feeling of repetition never popped up for me, where it has in some other open world games.

During any of these missions you will be earning experience points from 3 specific areas: Cop (story, cases), Triad (story only) and Face (jobs/favours/races/random events). Cop and Triad points are earned during story missions and play off each other by losing Cop points with reckless behaviour and gaining Triads point by killing. Losing Cop points only really come into play when on the streets if you take a corner too wide and risk hitting property or killing civilians with a stray bullet. Triad points reward you for mixing your combat up between heavy attacks, throws and environmental kills. Face experience points are awarded upon completion jobs, favours, races and random events.

All three of these have their own skill tree, with Cop/Triad points giving you a smidgen of choice in how you go about things. The upgrades range from increased food bonuses, stealing cars quicker, a valet, face mode bonuses and extra moves. After completing all missions I had maxed out Cop and Face while Triad needed a couple of mission to be replayed. I really enjoyed mixing my combos and driving more carefully to maximise my points rather than relying on a favoured combo or driving with reckless abandon. There is also a combo tree which is increased by returning jade idols to Shen’s childhood fighting instructor.

There are also several bonuses that are available to you through clothing, food and your face meter. When wearing a set of clothing you may receive a bonus 15% extra Triad exp or striking damage, for example. I felt this was nice and used the triad bonus for the majority of time. The food bonuses tie in with the Health Points (HP) while visiting shrines throughout the city. You are able to double your maximum HP but it will always only regenerate half-way unless you consume food. Other food bonuses include increased attack damage and damage mitigation.

Along with the health shrines and the idols, the other collectibles include hacking security cameras and lock boxes. While most security cameras are guarded and used during drug busts, there are a couple of different ways a lock box may appear. They could require cracking or be guarded. I liked this uncertainty and it gave a nice twist on collectibles.

Along with 2 races you are able to have, these collectibles appear on the big map by completing specific dates, and each of these dates are one-off and different. Any previously found collectibles are marked on the map, which I think is brilliant and should become standard. Apartments are automatically given throughout the story. There is a huge variety of clothing to purchase as well as cars, although car varieties are on the lean side and purchasing them is the only way to add them to your garage.

As is becoming a trend lately, Sleeping Dogs also incorporates leaderboards and medals to compete online with your friends with other players around the world. Basic things like clean driving, kills, bones broken and jump length are all recorded for you to try and beat your friends, along with race times and mission scores, all of which are replayable to increase your score or better your time. I like this trend and enjoy seeing how I stack up against others and welcome this increasingly popular take on the traditional leaderboard.

Post 100% completion however, Sleeping Dogs falls short of other open-world games. While it is possible to replay missions and races, apart from this, mah-jong, cock fighting and stealing armoured vans are your only diversions. The lack of gun availability (one gun spawns at your house) and your weakness to bullets being greater than in other open-world games make rampaging generally short on foot, with death coming quickly once surrounded as the heat level escalates quite quickly. Car chasings generally last longer but ammo is in shorter supply.

The graphics are not mindblowing but they do well in representing a stylised version of Hong Kong. The city looks good under lights or rain and Shen’s clothes will get wet during rain and bloody from fighting. I found them more than acceptable and I did not notice any slow down or screen-tearing. Some of the higher buildings have noticeable low quality textures and the relatively short (for an open world) draw distance was highlighted in open areas. Some cars also suffered from shuddering when braking, but thankfully this only affects a select few cars. Animations are also done well. While sprinting, Shen will bump into pedestrians and his fighting moves are smooth and look good.

The voice acting is well done with bits of Chinese added in with the English dialogue. This doesn’t feel forced and is well implemented and helps set the location. There is street chatter and the ambient sounds do very well to help build the facade that you are in a living, breathing city. The gun sounds are also good and there seems to be shared or similar sounds between certain cars.

I didn’t have too many control problems, although Wei Shen did thrust himself over a couple of barriers unwantedly when sprinting near them. The camera on vehicles is tight and the bikes gave me a little motion sickness with their rocking until I adjusted. Load times were short and there was generally little loading down time. The menus are easy to navigate through, though due to the online nature the leaderboards are somewhat slow to scroll through.

The car/bike handling (once adjusted) is arcade at its best, requiring little effort to slide around corners and weave through tracks. Some of the faster cars do have some understeer during braking, and boats go forward/backwards and do boaty things - nothing really made me want to drive around in them. I did encounter troubles with reversing cars where it would not work or was delayed. Vehicles are retrieved from the car-parks that litter the map. Other than those, no other control issues surfaced for me in the game.

Beyond leaderboard competition, Sleeping Dogs has no multiplayer, and so this wasn't rated in this review.

I finished the game with 100% completion in under 24 hours. It didn’t feel like I was rushing and there were several non 100% completion-related pursuits that I took in between the story missions. I enjoyed the full 24 hours of playing and it never feel like a chore - it was interesting and exciting for the entire time and the story made me want to keep playing. In the end though, the shortness does hamper it, and I was left wanting more. I like open-world titles to approach the 40-50 hour mark for 100% completion, and people who prefer guns over hand-to-hand combat would most likely not get too much out of it Sleeping Dogs until later on in the story and then find very little fun post-story. But if you’re looking for a short rush of excitement and want something different from the more common, wrong side of the law and gun-focused open-world atmosphere, then Sleeping Dogs is definitely worth playing.

If you love fun and party games then this is a must have for you. Although it is not a game I can sit and have a marathon session on I am happy enough to pop it in a few times a week and play right through one characters Solo campaign. The variety of characters means All Stars has something for every gamer.

The easier setting makes this game accessible to everyone, and you can team up with a friend, child or any relative and have a fun session. With so many characters, everyone can find something they like, be it Nathan Drake with all his guns or Sackboy with his Pop-it, each character brings a different element to the Gameplay.

Some characters move faster than others. For instance, Nathan Drake can be slower while using weapons, but if you use one of the smaller characters you can get in close, fast, and get some quick combos going. Each character has 3 Super powers - you can choose to build up the power meter getting you to level 2 or 3 which are 99% of the time guaranteed knockouts, or keep hammering with your level 1 power which maybe 10% of the time will get you a kill if you are in the right position. The level 2 and 3 powers really are where it is at and show what each character can do. For example, at Level 3 Sack boy turns all characters into orbs and then goes on to collect them - each time you collect a character orb you get a kill. I strongly suggest holding out to get the Level 3 powers as it can be the difference between winning and losing in the end.

Levelling up you characters does not seem to do more then give you unlocks - you can unlock costumes, backgrounds and icons for you player card and also team titles. Some of their unlocks will look near impossible unless you are a hardcore fan and can get all the character up to level 300.

The settings of the levels are taken from each character's games and the all look exactly like they have been taken straight from their full games, The character models clean, smooth and all-round excellent. Cut scenes are more of a comic style with still pictures and a voice over, but they still look amazing.

There is a great soundtrack as you play each level, and you can unlock music from each character's games to customise the music around a bit to suit your character. The sound effects are spot on and clear, very crisp and great when turned up loud with a lot of base. It feels like Fight Club in the Basement!

Voice acting is right out of each game, they sound like who they are supposed to be and they say what you would expect them to. You will get the classic one-liners and can customise what they say during, before and after fights as you level up.

A well-rounded control system that can vary in style from character to character, moves are easy to pull off and remember and the button layout is easily accessible. Some moves can be more tricky than others, and with so many different moves you will find yourself doing the wrong ones early on, but once you get used to the character you're playing it all comes together.

I did notice an Arcade setup in the control scheme - I'm not sure whether this mean you can plug in an arcade stick but I do see this as something that would work exceptionally well in this game.

Ed - I can confirm that All-Stars supports Arcade sticks

The presentation is pretty simple - you run through each Solo mode with your character fighting everyone. They can come at you in groups of 1 – 3, and then at the end of each story you take on a big boss which is pretty easy. It is a basic storyline, but you do get the cut scenes which can fill you in on the character if you are not too familiar with them.

The more characters you run through on Solo mode the more you will get out of the stories, but you can always skip the cut scenes if you just want to get right in there and start the fight.

Multiplayer is hectic, fun and a great laugh. You can play from 2-4 players and while it is better with 4, it's also best to play with friends as the search tends to put you in games with red bars against Americans. 50% of the time I have found myself disconnected form the server after the match started due to excessive overseas lag, which is a shame. I have looked for local search options but so far have not found anything hopefully this will be sorted soon.

This game is the perfect addition to any PlayStation fan - its every Sony Exclusive rolled into one, a great game to play with friends online and at home. I highly recommend it to every gamer out there. My overall experience has been pleasant and have not found that it got the rage meter going as of yet - even when taking it up to the hardest difficulty you really will start to feel the challenge but it is worth it.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is an open-world arcade racer, with such a wide range of experiences packed in, it's hard to know where to start. From races, pursuits, speed runs, competing with your mates' times on autolog and just exploring the world to find new cars and billboards, there's plenty to do here. Yes, it is possible to beat the ten 'most wanted' racers (the closest thing the game has to a structure) in under 10 hours, but that'd be like speed-running Skyrim's main quest in 20 hours and thinking that was all there is to do in the game.

The core driving is rock-solid, and is an excellent balance between that in Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. While the differences between many of the cars aren't huge (this is an arcade, not a sim racer, after all), you will notice a clear difference between the classes of cars on offer (including, Race, Exotic, Muscle, Everyday and SUVs), as well as some difference between cars within each class. There is a limited set of upgrades (two each for tyres, transmission, body, chassis and boost) which are unlocked by completing a set of five races for each car (with 41 different cars to drive in the game, and 10 Most Wanted cars to race, that's over 200 races!), and they're worth unlocking, but it's all pretty basic. Visual customisation is limited to the color of the car, which changes every time you drive through a servo (the one-stop boost refill, damage repair and paint station) in single-player.

The racing (it is an arcade racer, after all) is a traditional arcade affair, with just the right amount of rubber banding - not so much so that you'll often find yourself suddenly and improbably overtaken just before the finish line, but enough so that if you crash out half-way through the race there's still generally a chance of winning if you're good enough.

And while the single-player gameplay is all played solo versus the AI, you'll also be playing against everyone on your friends list at the same time through the extremely well-implemented Autolog. This displays your friends' best times for each and every challenge you can do in the game (from the times for each race, to the longest jump through each of the over 100 billboards, to the fastest time through each of the 66 speed cameras, to how many jack spots have been uncovered and more) and spurs you on to improve your position against your friends.

There are some rough edges to the gameplay that are worth noting. The difficulty curve is very uneven, and while each of a car's five 'unlock' races is labelled with 'easy', 'medium' and 'difficult', these are broadly indicative at best. For example, for the Ford Focus, getting a win on the 'medium' race was far harder than for either of the two 'difficult' options, something that my speedwall suggested was experienced by the others on my friends list. There is also no option to change the difficulty setting, so you can't adjust the difficulty of the game to suit your skills or experience. For an interface and game that was so well designed in most other respects, not including difficulty settings is an odd decision, even if it is in keeping with their approach to Burnout Paradise.

The other issue that popped up a few times was that the cops in the game are a mixed bag, and both myself and most of my friends playing it found them a bit of a chore. The 'Racer' campaign in Criterion's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit were my favourite parts, but for me, running away from the law in Most Wanted was more tedious than exciting. Fortunately, it's possible to avoid getting into prolonged chases most of the time, and if you do, there's pretty much no penalty for pulling over and being busted. It's not a dealbreaker but more of a missed opportunity.

There's a lot to like about the visuals in the game, from the detailed car models (not GT5-detailed, but still very impressive and you never get as close to them as you do in GT5) to the detailed world and the sometimes spectacular lighting. Textures are crisp, the framerate is consistently fast, the world is geometrically complex, and the visual design is appealing. The difference in visuals between (the far from ugly) Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a great example of how developers can wring better visuals out of hardware as the they learn both the quirks of the PS3, and how to better optimise their code.

From throaty engine noises to ambient sounds in the background, the aural landscape in Need for Speed: Most Wanted matches the game's high standards in other areas. A much-welcome feature is the built-in support of custom soundtracks (you can select any playlists on your PS3 as the soundtrack for the game within the game's options menu), although the default soundtrack is no slouch either, with plenty of quality licensed music. Online, voice communication is clear and generally lag free.

The easy-to-use Easydrive menu is so flexible that if you have the presence of mind and manual dexterity, you can literally change the mods on your car mid-race. Jumping online, changing cars, starting races and replaying the last event is all as easy as a couple of presses on the d-pad, all without stopping the game. It's an elegant and extremely usable menu system that builds on that found in Burnout Paradise. Loading times, other than the initial load-up from the XMB (which does take a while), are all very reasonable, particularly for an open-world game.

The main black mark here is that the game does have a few glitches and bugs. Nothing game-breaking, and they don't happen often, but you may find instances of falling through the bottom of the world, the HUD disappearing, being respawned after crashes in strange locations and the like. Given the core gameplay happens in races that generally don't go for longer than 10 minutes, and often not longer than 5, being occasionally forced to restart an event when these happen isn't as frustrating as in most games. While it's also not a biggy (the game is better suited to playing with a controller), as far as I can tell, there isn't support for racing wheels.

The 'story' to NFW:MW is that you're building up to racing against, beating and then taking the rides of the 10 'Most Wanted' racers in Fairhaven. That's pretty much it, and while you get a nice cinematic once you've done this, both Criterion and you know that the game is more about the open-world, and Autolog competition with friends, than a linear path through a story or event tree. To this end, the game's presentation is exceptional - everything works together really well such that you've always got something to do, or can find it quickly and easily, and you're rarely waiting around, or doing 'busywork' in between.

Multiplayer in NFS:MW, like Burnout Paradise before it, is online-only, and managed using 'speedlists', selections of five events that are played through sequentially, with scores accumulating as you go. Hosts can choose to either set up their own speedlists (which can be done offline, pre-game), or let the game pick one of the many 'Criterion Speedlists', a mix of events put together by the devs. All of these can be restricted to a particular vehicle class.

The events include races, speed tests (competitions to get the highest speed at a particular point, or to jump the longest distance), challenges (a huge range of team events, such as everyone reaching a certain point in the game like jumping onto the top of a building, or getting a set number of takedowns in a particular area) and team races. Speed points (the games universal currency) are awarded not just for the set event objectives, but for things like being first to the meet-up point for the event, or for each takedown. While it can lead to some lobbies being a bit 'takedown happy', it also keeps the scoring fluid and gives everyone a bit of flexibility in how they want to focus their gaming.

Your available cars online is determined by your overall 'speed level', and not by what you've unlocked in single-player. Further, mods for these cars are unlocked by using them for certain things online (getting air, just driving, takedowns, etc;), but to keep the playing-field level, there are modded-up versions of cars available for people that haven't had time to unlock things.

All in all, the MP is a lot of fun, has plenty of material (there's a good range of races, challenges and speed tests), and partying up is quick and easy. It's possible to set rooms to invite-only as well, which means it's well set-up to support competitive play.

With a huge amount of quality content for both single player and multiplayer, Need for Speed: Most Wanted is an excellent package. There are rough edges, and many will find the cops a tad overzealous, but the good in the package far outweighs the bad. Need for Speed: Most Wanted is up there with the best arcade racers yet produced, and if that's your type of game, you should deffo give it a look. With the demo out on the PSN tomorrow, there's no excuse not to.

Resident Evil 6 shares a lot in common with its most recent predecessors when it comes to its gameplay, namely its penchant for valuing gun-play over exploration or puzzling. Like RE5 and RE4 before it you’ll be running though a linear path blasting zombies in the face region. While there are nooks and crannies in each area to ‘explore’ it’s fairly limited, mostly rewarding you with useful items or herbs. The game is broken into four campaigns, each consisting of five chapters. While it’s not necessary to play them in any particular order, the suggested order is Leon, Chris, Jake then Ada.

One of the most noticeable gameplay changes is the ability to move while aiming, which is something people have been wanting for a long time. (Purists, not so much). While you would think this would make a huge difference in gameplay, its addition isn’t that impactful. While it is nice to be able to backup while firing down a tight corridor, for most part I didn't really feel its impact on the gameplay. Probably even more important that shoot-and-move is the addition of more acrobatic maneuvers. Characters cannot just duck incoming attacks but are also able to roll and dive out of the way, allowing you to shoot while lying on your back. This becomes invaluable when finding yourself in a tight spot.

When it comes to melee, Resident Evil games have usually limited themselves to awkward knife waving. With the latest installment comes a more fleshed out melee system. Characters are now able to perform a series of hand-to-hand combat moves on demand, not just as a response to QTE prompts. These moves come at a cost however, in the form of a ‘stamina bar’. Using melee strikes and finishers costs stamina and once it’s gone you have to wait for it to replenish before you can start swinging like a madman again. Personally I’m not a fan of the stamina system in general, but here it kind of makes sense. Melee is an obvious form of defence against a zombie, particularly in a world of scarce resources. The stamina bar however stops it from becoming an easy ‘spam to win’ mechanic. There is also now a ‘quick shot’ ability which enables you to let off a fast reactive round to stagger an enemy that might have snuck up on you. Again this takes stamina so there is a limit to its use. As a whole it plays very much like past titles if not better for now your character’s far more nimble and effective in multi-threat combat and less like a tank on legs.

One of the more welcome additions is the AI. Your AI partner is now far more autonomous and no longer relies on you for weapons, ammo or heath. In my experience they can’t even be downed or killed. While I still question the addition if co-op into a Resident Evil game, its implementation this time is much improved. Not only is there a lot less hand holding of the AI but the addition of a drop-in-drop-out system makes it a lot easier to team up with friends at any time.

The games biggest let down in the gameplay department is the addition of on-rail shooting/driving section. These feel out of place and ill-conceived to say the least and offer the most unsatisfying experience of the game.

In a complete (and welcome) turnaround from RE5, the designers have returned to a more dark and atmospheric approach to its environments in RE6. An emphasis on contrast and strong lighting gives the game a more genre appropriate feel and adds to a more menacing and darker mood. It does however suffer from some low-res textures and model quality. The game also suffers from a really noticeable low-res blur effect in the distance when the camera changes focus during combat. This can have the effect sometimes of undermining the atmosphere and reality of the world they are trying to immerse you in.

One of the best additions is fully destructible zombies. In the past an exploding head was the most you could hope for, now zombies won’t only lose their heads but arms and legs can also be removed and shots to the torso will result in large holes appearing that you can see right through. You can even cut zombies in half with enough bullets to the gut. This extra attention to detail adds another level to the atmosphere and immersion of the game.

Audio presentation in Resident Evil 6 on a whole is very good. The music is well scored and fits perfectly into the mood and atmosphere of the game. Voice acting is also something to be noted. Quality of the cast is high with many well-known and seasoned voice actors lending their talents including; Mathew Mercer, Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, Roger Craig Smith and David Lodge.

The control scheme for Resident Evil 6 is very similar to the last two entries. The biggest difference now is that with the addition of new melee and dodge abilities the characters handle a lot more naturally. Characters default movement speed has been moved up from a walk to more of a jog. There is a sprint button, but now this makes you 'actually' sprint. Escaping and maneuvering during enemy encounters is now a lot easier. You feels less restricted and it removes the feeling of constantly fighting against the controls present in earlier titles. It feels a lot more like a 'modern' game.

The live inventory system has once again been streamlined to the point where you don’t even have to use it if you don’t want to. Weapons are accessed through the D-pad, as are items and sprays. Herbs are converted to pills for quick consumption by taping R2. Hitting Square + R2 instantly converts any herbs you have to pills. So there is no real need to ever visit the inventory screen, unless you need to make room by dropping items of course.

True to a lot of Japanese design, the menu systems are fairly complicated with some options being hidden deep within sub-menus, in categories that don't really make sense. While this is no big detractor, one that is is the fact that the options menu is 'live', meaning you can't pause and go look through the options. The game is still running in the background. I can kind of understand this in say, an online co-op situation needing to be the case, but if I'm playing offline I want to be able to pause and go through my options, for that matter I want to be able to pause while using the inventory while offline.

Like many of the Resident Evil games 6’s story is fairly complicated with character motivations being kept secret while others having multiple agendas. The story does however inject some interesting elements and revelations into the canon. One of the strongest aspects of the story is its structure. Each campaign while having its own path and ending, periodically links back in to the overarching plot. When this happens we are usually treated to a new perspective on events recently only seen from someone else’s perspective. As the story progresses this gradually results with previous questions being answered and the entire picture being pieced together.

‘Mercenaries’ returns, with the addition of all new melee and dodge abilities as in single player, making for a far more satisfying experience. The main goal is to kill as many enemies within a time limit as well as link these kills for major points. Time can be extended by breaking hour glasses scattered in the level or preforming melee kills for smaller time additions. The main thing that lets down Mercenaries is the limited range of stages available.

I’m assuming more will be added with future DLC. There is a matchmaking feature for finding a buddy but more often than not you are put with someone who’s completely useless. I can’t count the amount of times I've failed a stage because the other guys decides to run off and get themselves killed. If you’re going to do it as a duo I’d recommend finding a real-life friend to play with.

There are many things in Resident Evil 6 that works, unfortunately for every one there is another that doesn't. Its overall design philosophy feels muddled as if they weren't sure what they wanted to achieve. I feel they spread themselves too thin. It has a somewhat design by committee feel. They tried to cram too many ideas into one package. If you’re able to accept it for what it is as appose to what it isn’t, it is a decent game. I believe its marked improvement on the last installment. While all this detracts from the overall package I still found myself enjoying it more than not. However there is plenty of room for improvement and I can only hope that Capcom take the experience of this game on-board when it comes to Resident Evil 7.

The gameplay in Warfighter is your standard FPS fare; the levels are linear in design, moving from one set piece to another. I however do not have a problem with this; in real warfare it is rare that you ever take massive detours like you might in a sandbox game. The set pieces are well worth it though, ranging from straight out action shootouts to driving and foot chase sequences. Wreaking havoc with the bot equipped with 40mm grenades and a machine gun is also quite satisfying.

Speaking of weaponry, the guns in Warfighter have a very realistic feel to them. You can’t just run and gun and hope for the best in this game, aimed shots to an enemy’s head are much more useful than firing a whole magazine from the hip. Recoil plays a big factor with a lot of the weapons, so careful use of your weapons is essential to survival.

The one drawback I found was that the AI would sometimes act incredibly stupid, standing out in the open for me to kill without attempting to take cover, though this happened a scant handful of times that I noticed, so it didn’t kill the experience for me.

Using the Frostbite 2 engine, you would expect the game to look pretty, however it looks better than I expected. Nice smoke and particle effects litter the battlefield and the destruction of cover is a nice touch. Lighting works well with shadows casting on walls and doors when you walk past lights. Character models are detailed both in game and in cut scenes, which are nicely animated. Deaths of enemy soldiers are also nicely animated when you score a headshot, with a satisfying snapping back of the head and blood splatter on the surface behind them. Detail on the weaponry is also good; it’s not something that you notice too much in the heat of battle, but one of the little things that you appreciate the dev team taking time to put in.

I am playing Warfighter on a 7.2 channel surround sound system, which I can tell you, pumped up loud sounds absolutely brilliant. Explosions echo around the room and gunshots zip and crack as they break apart cover and pass by your head. It gives a real immersion into the fight. I also liked the roar of the engine in the car chase scenes, trying to escape from enemy drivers, the changes in gears are clearly audible, kudos to the Need for Speed team for their efforts here.

Medal of Honor Warfighter uses your usual FPS control scheme, L1 and R1, aim down the sights and fire respectively, while R2 throws a grenade and R3 is your melee attack, however you can customize your control to how you like it through the options menu. The characters in the game control well, with that weighty feeling similar to the controls in Battlefield 3, which isn’t surprising considering the engine the game is running on. I found the interface to be a pretty simple affair, somewhat more confusing in the multiplayer component which I will touch on later, but nowhere near as confusing as some made it out to be in the beta. The HUD doesn’t clutter the screen which is a good thing, usually only coming into my field of vision after a reload.

The story of Medal of Honor Warfighter follows the branching paths of Preacher and Stump as they track down an enemy known as The Cleric who is planning terrorist attacks around the globe using a deadly explosive known as PETN. I found the story to have a good mix of action and heartfelt moments as it tries to balance the necessity of being a videogame with the attempt at showcasing the lives and relationships of Tier 1 operators and their families. As the game progresses I grew to like the characters and through cut scenes understand their relationships, especially between Preacher and Mother, who are friends outside the job. As the game builds to its climax you hope everyone will make it through alright. The somewhat happy ending was bittersweet in the fact that our main character gets something he desired most throughout the game but not without losing things along the way.

Here is the real meat of the game and test of its longevity. First of all, I love the fact that I can finally play as the Australian SASR. I have waited a long time for them to be included in a game and it is great to see. I have been playing through the multiplayer quite hard since I got the game and I found it to be immersive and fun. With well-designed maps that cater to different play styles. You can try and be a lone wolf and play for kills if you like, however it is smarter to stay with your teammate in your fire team, you can resupply and heal each other as well as spawn on each other when you die. It is a clever system that works well in its execution.

As I said above, you can’t really spray and pray in this game, aiming down the sights will always win out over shooting from the hip, so aim those shots and you will be better off online. My only worry about the multiplayer in Warfighter is how long it will hold an audience. At the moment there are only a small amount of maps, though I am sure that will change when more DLC is released in the future. Also, there is no means to hold private matches, with platoon matchmaking (where parties formed entirely from platoon members are matched against each other) the closest thing to proper clan wars. There were also a small number of bugs, with players sometimes spawning outside the map for an insta-death, or inexplicably getting caught on scenery, but these were relatively rare events.

As far as game types go there is your standard fare with Team Deathmatch and Home Run (Capture the Flag) as well as 'Hotspot' a game type similar to Battlefield 3’s Rush mode. In this mode 1 bombsite will randomly be chosen out of 5 and the attacking team must plant a bomb and destroy the site while the defending team must stop them. It is a fun game type, with lots of fast and frantic gameplay as each team tries to achieve their objective. In my games there were times when a plant and disarm would take place 5 or 6 times in a 4 minute period, with people running around everywhere and explosives going off all around me, it makes for a heart pumping few minutes. The other two modes are 'Sector Control', where teams fight over the control of three flags, similar to BF's conquest, and Combat Mission, where teams either attack or defend three consecutive bomb sites, similar to BF3's rush mode.

The multiplayer interface is somewhat more confusing than the single player portion, as customizing your soldier is more difficult than it needs to be. There were times when I was trying to play as the SASR and would accidently change to another countries soldier when I wanted to change what class of SASR I was playing. However once I learnt my way around the interface it does become second nature, it just needs a bit of a streamline.

I must say that in the end I am pleasantly surprised with Medal of Honor Warfighter, as the 2010 disappointment of the reboot, and the grumblings of the community after the Warfighter beta, I was expecting the worst out of this game, but it has surpassed my expectations in a big way, with a fun and frantic multiplayer portion and a strong, emotional single player component, Warfighter is a winner.

Turn-based strategy and tactics games are thin on the ground amongst 'core' gaming releases in this day and age, and after playing XCOM: Enemy Unknown, you'll be scratching your head as to why this is the case. Meaningful choices as to how you develop your forces and their equipment at the strategic level shape how your squad of soldiers performs when they go toe-to-toe with alien invaders in turn-based tactical battles. These battles involve each player moving and firing each of their units, until the objective of the mission has been met (usually it involves killing or capturing all of the extra-terrestrials, but there are a range of mission types, from defusing bombs, finding/extracting VIPs, and stopping the aliens before they kill civilians).

By keeping the squad size at 4-6, turns are quick and there's always something happening, which is crucial to keeping a turn-based game interesting. By giving the different soldiers a decent range of equipment choices and skills, there are plenty of ways to tactically approach the game. For example, my default squad of six was comprised of two assault, two support, a sniper and a heavy, while a friend went through his first playthrough with two each of support, sniper and heavy, and completely ignored the assault class. Initially I thought this was an odd choice, until we went online and he showed me just how effective it could be!

Importantly, the enemy AI in the game is top-notch and, crucially, increasing the difficulty of the game actually changes the enemies AI behaviour, materially mixing up the gameplay. Aliens on normal are tough and reasonably aggressive once they've found you. Aliens on 'classic' (the next level of difficulty up from normal) are very aggressive, and you'll often deploy, make contact, and then find yourself falling back to cover to prevent yourself being wiped out (and on more than one occasion in my game, I had to beat a path back to extraction and abort the mission entirely).

Cover (which is destructible) is very important in XCOM, and players that pay little heed to it will find their troops dying with alarming regularity. And when your troops are dead, they stay dead - as they level up and gain experience and skills, losing key soldiers (your elite sniper, or veteran machine gunner) can have a huge impact on your game, while you adjust your tactics as the rookie replacement gets up to speed.

Finally, and this warrants a mention because of how unusual it is in this day and age on a console, it is entirely possible (although unlikely if you make an attempt to think strategically, and change difficulties when you're clearly running into trouble) to play poorly and find yourself into a position, 12-15 hours or so into the game, that is beyond recovery, even if you adjust the difficulty setting (which can be changed mid-game). If you're new to strategy and concerned about this, be sure to keep a save from an hour or two ago, just in case.

XCOM is arguable the prettiest turn-based tactics game available on console (and that's not as narrow a claim as it might sound, after the very well put together Valkyria Chronicles). Aliens and soldiers animate well, the textures are generally crisp and detailed (although the Unreal Engine's signature texture pop-in does pop up on occasion) and the lighting is dark and foreboding. While it's no Uncharted or God of War, the visuals do a good job of drawing you into the game.

The voice acting throughout the game is well-done and appropriate, and the score and sound effects set the tone well. Nothing reinforces your team's technical inferiority like the reply of the enemies' plasma rifles (which sound appropriately advanced and other-worldly) to the rattle of your team's assault rifles.

Firaxis' experience with turn-based strategy on console (they developed the excellent Civilization:Revolution) is clearly evident in the set-up of the controls, which allow for easy navigation about your base in the strategic side of the game, and intuitive placing of troops and issuing of commands during tactical battles. Unlike many strategy and tactics games, XCOM does not suffer when played with a controller. However, it should be noted that the loading times can sometimes be a bit on the long side (this isn't a huge issue, because battles often go for upwards of half an hour, so you won't be loading too often), and there are a small number of technical glitches that can mar the experience. For example, you may find troops firing through cover, and on the odd occasion (twice for me, in around 30 hours of playtime) the game can lock up during the animation of the Skyranger returning to base.

For a genre that generally focuses more on strategic and tactical challenges than story, the presentation of XCOM:Enemy Unknown is strong, but it (unsurprisingly) doesn't stand up against games with a stronger story focus. Key characters, such as your Chief Engineer or Scientist, are fully voiced, and they will often give their thoughts on the latest developments in the fight against the aliens. Indeed, there is a story arc of sorts, with developments as the fight progresses, but while it is entertaining and draws you into the game, it's not the part of the game that you'll remember, but rather the 15 to 30 or so hours for each playthrough as you defend earth from the alien menace.

However, the presentation is a completely different story. The way the game brings everything together, from the visual design, the gameplay, the choices, the characters and even the loading screens, immerses the player in the fight against the unknown enemy invaders.

While some reviewers have criticised XCOM's multiplayer for a lack of unlocks and progression, I personally found the game's approach of not being unbalanced by design refreshing, and it means that (unlike the vast majority of modern online 'pub' gaming experiences) every encounter you have online is decided by the skill of the players, and not by who has unlocked what. However, the limited number of maps, and limiting the game simply to deathmatch-style encounters, means the multiplayer is limited when compared with the likes of Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed or even titles like RUSE or Civilization:Revolution.

The 1 v 1 encounters let both sides customise their squads to a set number of 'points', and then have at it in tactical battles. XCOM supports custom games (allowing you to vary your points allowance to give high or low-powered confrontations), but does not allow you to play more than one match at a time (so if you want to play a 'best of three' with a mate, you'll need to set up and play three separate matches). The tactical gameplay on which the single-player is based shines when a human opponent is involved, and there is a lot of potential for XCOM as a competitive game (we'll be gauging interest in it here at GG).

XCOM:Enemy Unknown is an excellent game, and is easily recommended to fans of turn-based strategy and tactics, or strategy role-playing games. For other gamers who might not be sure whether this type of old-school gameplay is their thing, there is a demo on the PSN store, and you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to check it out.

Borderlands 2 is all about shooting and looting, and preferably with friends (although it's still entertaining playing solo). Starting at level 1, you'll work your way up to level 50 all the while playing through an entertaining if not altogether serious story full of quirky and humorous characters. As you level up, you'll be eligible to use new, more powerful weapons (either looted from enemies or chests, or purchased from the ever-enterprising Marcus) and unlock skills and abilities specific to your class. So good, so similar to the original, but the game is so much more than the original.

Rather than re-working key elements, what sets Borderlands 2 above the original in the series is the serious polishing of almost every facet of the game. Guns, enemies, environments, characters and quests are all more varied, in ways that open up tactical choice and variety of gameplay. Each gun feels far more unique this time around, making the choice of which weapon to use more significant. Enemies are more varied both in form and behaviour, and the abilities of each class also play out in a more unique fashion, adding to replayability. And, as would be expected of a shooter from Gearbox, the core gunplay is satisfying and enjoyable.

The only thing to keep in mind about the core gameplay is that, for a single-player only game, there's probably just a bit too much content, and it can feel slightly grindy after a while. When partied up with mates, the extra tactical variety and natural buzz of working together makes the game's length perfect, but I'd argue it goes for a tiny bit too long for a single-player experience.

With its unique graphical style, Borderlands 2 would stand out even if it wasn't genuinely impressive graphically as well. It's clear that Gearbox have polished the game engine up to give everything that extra bit of polish. There is plenty of detail in the textures (most wall posters have some readable text, most of it pretty entertaining), the frame rate is generally smooth (although it can get a bit crazy if a lot of enemies are about, particularly with a 3-4 player game) and this is all in areas that are very large from the perspective of most shooters.

Like everything else in the game, the sound is all quality. Music is generally relegated to the background, but it does a good job of setting the mood as the situation changes, picking up when the action intensifies and providing gentle ambience when travelling between locations. Sound effects are varied, and while there aren't 83 bajillion different sounding guns, there are plenty of variations. The highlight of the soundscape, though, is the voice acting. There isn't a single sour note in the arrangement, with every character sounding unique, and delivering their performances flawlessly. While it may not seem important, the quality of the voice acting goes a long way to adding to the entertainment value of the title, providing context and flavour to the action.

The interface for the game is rock-solid. Although the game doesn't provide full button mapping, there are plenty of presets that reflect all of the major FPS button layouts (and the default fire button is R1 this time around, rather than the R2 in the original). Loading up different characters is a breeze, and the load times are reasonable, whether its for a new game or travelling between different areas during a play session.

Most impressively, the way players are linked to each other is far, far smoother than the original, and in over forty hours of gameplay I experienced 2 disconnects due to network issues, and no VOIP problems at all. To top it all off (and I suspect this won't be news to anyone who has a friend with the game), the PSN status of people playing the game lists the level of their current character, so its easy to know who to party up with.

The biggest surprise in Borderlands 2 is its story. Its still in no danger of winning a BAFTA or 'best story of the year' award, and it doesn't take itself too seriously, but the individual parts of the story are genuinely entertaining. Whether you're helping inspire Scooter to write a love poem, or dealing with Handsome Jack, the games' villain, the writing is witty, entertaining and clever. Importantly for a game that will involve people jumping in at different points, even though there are references to the broader story (as well as the first game) most of it can be appreciated in in self-contained chunks.

As mentioned earlier, it's a breeze partying up to shoot'n'loot together through the game's menus. This is further enhanced by the game letting you know how good a match you are with the people you're partying with. Importantly, the level strength curve has been flattened a bit in the sequel, making it easier to party up over a larger range of levels.

And once you're partied up, that's where the real fun begins, particularly if you have a range of classes in your group (and with four classes at launch, with another now available via DLC, that's pretty likely). The different class abilities lend themselves to different tactical approaches to enemies, be they crowd control as the Siren, drawing fire as the Gunzerker or sneaking around doing damage as the Assassin. Combine these abilities together and you can have a Gunzerker taking it to the enemy while the Assassin sneaks in close for some serious melee damage, or the Siren holding up traffic at a choke point while the Commando and his turret chew through the enemy. Add in the variety of enemy behaviours, and the depth of the gameplay and entertainment skyrockets.

If you want a quick break from the coop action, duels are back in Borderlands 2 to let off steam between chasing down Handsome Jack.

There's a lot of good and not a lot of bad to say about Borderlands 2. It's one of the best produced sequels ever made, improving on the original in every way, and if you've got some mates that like shooters, its one of the best ways to coop it up together. Even as a single-player game it's solid and enjoyable, but its really made for coop play, and the score below rates it as a coop game - I'd take half a point to a point off if you only intended to play solo. On the other hand, if you enjoy coop shooters, RPGs and loot 'em ups, it's absolutely not to be missed, and easily one of the best games released in 2012.