IGN

By rights, Alan Wake's American Nightmare should be utterly underwhelming. The core game is changed not at all from its parent's lukewarm style, the story is thin and hackneyed, hell it even has live-action cutscenes. But somehow, the gameplay is challenging enough to keep you clicking that left mouse button and listening to that weird, not quite Rod Serling voice telling you to survive until morning just one more time.

Resistance: Burning Skies has the honor of being the first true twin-stick FPS on a handheld, but it doesn't do much with it. The story here is forgettable, the action is formulaic, and the multiplayer is simplistic. If first-person action is your favorite thing in the world, Resistance: Burning Skies is at your service. Just don't expect it to shine like we know this franchise can.

Tera's an action-MMO that nails the “action” part and then manages a face-palm-inducing face-plant on all the other bits. Combat moves quickly and feels great, but dirt-dull quests, a generic, disjointed story, repetition, repetition, and repetition ensure that any fun you might stumble across is short-lived. ...Between impressive graphics and flashy battles, Tera has mountains of style. Substance, however, is still sadly lacking.

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock is a game that is filled to the brim with good intentions and does a lot of things right, but the even the Pandorica couldn’t fit the amount of technical issues present, making it very hard to fully recommend this time-travelling outing to any fellow Who fan. Hopefully the BBC will continue in this vein with future Doctor Who games, but give them a bit more time in development so that they feel properly finished upon release.

Reviewing Gravity Rush is a battle between my heart and my head. I love Kat and totally dig most of the superhero story, but the cumbersome combat in latter missions definitely had me cursing at my handheld. Still, if you're looking for a lite JRPG or cool comic game, you should dig Gravity Rush despite its flaws. Just don't expect it to justify purchasing your Vita.

Showdown may look heavy on options from its bombastic menus but ultimately it just feels like a narrow slice of Dirt 3 with some destruction derbies tacked on. There’s a good game in here, but there just isn’t enough of it. It’s perhaps eerily fitting Codies shipped this Dirt 3 follow-up with the subtitle Showdown; it may have swagger but this town really ain’t big enough for the two of them.

Ghost Recon: Future Solider is a refreshing change from the current trend of thoughtless shooters, and in the moments when everything clicks together, it’s hard to think of a more absorbing shooter. Unfortunately it doesn't always click though, and forgettable dialogue, poor facial animations and inconsistent visuals dent what is otherwise a great game, plus there’s no denying a little extra polish would’ve made a huge difference. But if you’re after a superbly paced, thoughtful shooter that boasts a strong campaign and enjoyable multiplayer, Future Soldier is bang on target.

I liked Sorcery a lot, but the game doesn’t quite rise to the level that many of us expected with such a lengthy development period. The Workshop should be commended for creating one of the best PlayStation Move games, but I think most gamers will question why and how Sorcery took so long to create. With a short adventure, no replay value and no online functionality to speak of, Sorcery is a one-off.

pisode II is a better game than that one was when it comes to the fans' key criticisms, but yet this second – and final – installment of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 still seems bland. Buy it and enjoy it as much as you can if you're a longtime Sonic follower. Just don't get your hopes up too high again. Sonic the Hedgehog 4, once more, has not been the true second coming of your hero.

There aren’t gobs of money behind Vessel. It's independent, and the journey isn't always smooth. But cookie-cutter it is not, nor is it garish or sexist or silly or mindless. If you are a patient person who appreciates grey matter workouts and "Eureka" moments, and if you are willing to forgive imperfections, check it out. Gaming needs titles and developers like this.