IGN

Inventive storytelling blends with some of the most bizarre sights you'll experience in a 2D platformer to make Black Knight Sword a real gem on the presentation front. It's deliciously weird from start to finish, but that weirdness only partially distracts from the repetitious, uninspiring gameplay and brutal difficulty. For a game that's so strongly unique, Black Knight Sword sadly bleeds out much of its charm through a few gaping flaws.

The requisite new armor pieces and weapons look very cool – and can even benefit higher-level players – but by and large Skyrim isn’t going to wow you, visually speaking. This is still Skyrim, albeit one year later, and Dragonborn is an expansion pack in every sense of the term. But there’s enough new stuff here, highlighted by the spectacular island of Solstheim itself, to make Dragonborn the best piece of add-on content for Skyrim yet.

The bizarre artistic direction of Just Dance 4's audio/visual components, coupled with its absurd choreography, cripple the player experience found within. This dance party game may illicit a few laughs, but nothing more worthwhile. Just Dance 4 is a generator of awkward moments, an engine powering missteps and bodily mayhem. Whether this is frustrating or fun will often come down to the blood alcohol level of the participants.

I love the original Mass Effect, and I’m pleased that PlayStation 3 gamers who may never have experienced it elsewhere finally have a chance to do so. I’m in the camp that believes the games simply get better the further you get into the series, meaning that for as amazing as Mass Effect is, its sequels are more amazing yet. So if you like this game, just imagine how much you’ll like what follows it.

Although it suffers from some inconsistent AI, spotty online matchmaking and some balancing problems created by Golden Abyss-centric augments, it’s still hard to deny that Uncharted: Fight For Fortune is a fun game. I’ve really enjoyed playing it by myself against the AI, unlocking new cards and other perks in the process.

I think Wonderbook has a lot of potential but in Book of Spells it’s never quite realised. It never becomes the sum of its parts and despite sharing a universe with one of the biggest book series in the world it’s an experience that’s shallow and rarely compelling, as either a game or a book. The technology is fantastic and presentation is impeccable – although the low-res EyeToy visuals really do show their age alongside the slick gloss of the game itself – but as a whole Book of Spells is not the charming experience it promised to be.

Modern Combat 4 might be a small step backwards but it’s still an impressive, action-packed adventure. At its best, the game offers up real moments of intense gunplay. Enemies closing in, planes flying overhead, too much panicked comm chatter, and you trying to line up the perfect sniper head shot.

Initially overwhelming, Storm Legion becomes more attractive as you play. The scale of the new continents is impressive, and the wealth of content available means that even if there are some weak points, by and large it’s more hit than miss. But it’s with the addition of Dimensions that Trion Worlds really breaks new ground, providing players with a powerful tool to create truly unique constructions.

Miasmata is unlike anything I’ve played. It makes the very act of survival an intense learning experience, and manages to do so without beating you over the head with lengthy tutorials. Instead you’re placed in a situation and left with nothing but your curiosity and desire to live to succeed. Surviving in Miasmata is not about the ending or the story it tries to tell, but the journey.

Funky Barn is very basic but passably entertaining. As a lower-price downloadable game it’d be much better value, but as a $50/£30 Wii U launch title it’s more difficult to recommend. Still, the touchscreen control works well, and it's by no means a disaster. It bodes well for the next Harvest Moon.