Castlevania 2 Lords of Shadow, Playstation 3 Xbox 360, PC Release date 25/2/2014

The Castlevania series needs no introduction, Symphony Of The Night first sucked the life from our consoles back in 1997 and is still widely regarded by critics as one of the best games ever made. Mercurysteam, the developers given the huge task of making a modern sequel to the much loved classic series released 'Castlevania Lords Of Shadow' in 2010. It was a brilliant take on a classic franchise, It sees you playing as a powerful vampire, Gabriel Belmont. Featuring adrenaline inducing third person 3D combat and the classic whip weapon from previous titles, it also came with other new additions to his arsenal like magic and upgrades. It was a worthy successor, Mercurysteam had proved they could deliver the goods, everything was great, until I clapped eyes on the sequel. The game-play is precisely the same as its predecessor which is not such a bad thing, but the map layout and mechanics elsewhere in the game let this sequel down. An open world environment has been introduced resulting in a lot of back tracking and an unwelcome stealth mode added. These additions don't suit the play style for a game that is essentially a hack'n'slash adventure, so its points lost there unfortunately. Plus points are however great boss battles, a brilliant soundtrack by the welcomed return of Oscar Araujo and some stunning white knuckle fighting, as the combat has not been messed around with too much, if it isn't broken, don't fix it! Is my motto here 3/5

Darksouls 2 Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC Release date 11/3/2014

Darksouls 2 is technically the third title in the series created by From Software, which started with the Playstation 3 exclusive Demon Souls in 2010. It was well received but didn't make a huge noise with critic's. Darksouls its spiritual successor made much more of a bang, partly as it was released on both platforms, but mainly because its still regarded by millions as a generation defining action RPG. It stands as a true modern classic and not only is it one of the hardest games I have ever played, it's also one of the most rewarding. From Software had an absolute mountain to climb in order to produce something to equal this masterpiece and to a certain extent they have. Darksouls 2 is huge and still as murderously difficult as it should be, 'Prepare to die" is the games mantra and this rings true throughout. Releasing this game on 7th generation systems is a bold move, it may be my lavished eye balls that have become used to staring at Xbox One visuals, but I couldn't help notice the graphics have taken a bit of a hit. This may be due to the frame-rate complaints from the original Darksouls or the size of the world being greatly increased, there could be a trade off here. Closing comments are, From Software you have done it again, another torturous classic is born and the 7th generation systems couldn't have had a better send off. Tears of frustration, pain and joy, here I come. 5/5

Titanfall Xbox One Releases date 11/3/2014

Respawn Entertainment are multi-player first person shooter geniuses, members of this studio were on the team for the massively popular online phenomenon that was 'Call Of Duty 4'. Their template for kill streak rewards and upgrades is still used nearly seven years later for the current new releases from the franchise, bringing us to Titanfall's unique selling point. Its nothing like Call of Duty, in actual fact, I have had more fun with Titanfall in the last two weeks than with all the sequels to Call Of Duty 4. It's a fresh take on the genre, allowing the player new found freedom of movement in the form of double jumps and 'free running' style wall climbs, it puts a whole new twist on just marching around with a gun. The 'pilots' as they are called, also have a range of special moves including stealth camouflage and anti-titan weaponry. Yes! There are titans, giant hulking mechanical machines straddling the battle field with huge cannons, stomping on the tiny pilots, punching other titans and generally being totally awesome. You win your own titan by getting a set number of kills, this turns the game on its head as you are no longer a nimble soldier but a slow moving heavily armoured tank with legs. To witness titan vs titan battles in game as a bystander is a hands down stunning spectacle, the developers have utilised all the Xbox One's graphical might, my jaw dropped as I stared at the particle physics and fire effects all in full swing. We don't need a single player campaign when things are this good. Just like Halo back in the day, this could be a system seller, only time and the online community will tell. 5/5