Role-playing

When playing Child of Light, I felt a bit melancholic. Ubisoft Montreal’s own unique take on the RPG genre elicits a sense of somberness throughout its, roughly, 10-hour adventure. Though it doesn’t sport a complex or even original story, the way it is told is Child of Light’s best strength. By using the UbiArt engine that was created for Rayman Origins several years ago, Ubisoft Montreal is able to perfectly concoct a classic fairy tale experience.

If you've never played a third person RPG such as Diablo or Sacred, then perhaps Holy Avatar vs Maidens of the Dead is the game you ought to pick up. It's simple enough to grasp within a few minutes, but complicated enough to provide hours of fun. Don’t go in expecting a serious story with gripping plot changes. Instead, be ready to observe a very intelligent parody of what a traditional RPG really is.

Cybernet was a video game focussed TV show here in the UK back when the PS2 launched. When they weren't showing and reshowing the opening of Metal Gear Solid 2, they were showing and reshowing clips from Final Fantasy X. Look at the graphics! Look at the characters! And, oh, they've got voices as well!

There have been a lot of South Park games over the last two decades and they've all be leading up to The Stick of Truth. Never before has there been a game that so accurately captures the show, both in construction, visuals and attitude. It's been a long time since we were fighting killer turkeys with snowballs, or answering questions with Chef, but those of us who've been burned before definitely need to take a second look.

If you have ever played a game with a guy in a green costume, who is generally always sleeping at the beginning of his adventure, then you've probably played a Legend of Zelda game at some point. Nintendo's latest Zelda release for the 3DS has received much attention since being released, including a number of Game of the Year nominations from multiple prominent media outlets. So what makes yet another Zelda game so appealing and fun?

The Final Fantasy XIII franchise has managed to completely split the Final Fantasy fandom down the middle, becoming a punchline for a certain sort of online persona. In the echo chamber, those that are angry shout the loudest, and they only hear their own voices jump back. That's a shame, because Lightning Returns shows that things can get better, and that new ideas sometimes pay off. It was never going to be the best Final Fantasy game ever - but it CAN be a decent time filler.

Valkria Chronicles 3, the tactical RPG from SEGA, has finally been translated into English for the very first time. This is great news for all the English fans out there who were yet to get to play the latest in the franchise! It will be interesting to see how it's rated compared to countries like Japan who have been playing it for a while.

Final Fantasy VIII was completely mind-blowing to those of us who had been obsessed with Final Fantasy VII. The locations were dark, the characters followed you around and they even managed to have hands. It helped that it was a decent title in its own right, and now it's been re-released on Steam, with a few modern features squeezed in. Is it worth another investment, or should you stick to your Vita download?

2013 has been a big year full of big releases. We've had the open-world Goliath that is Grand Theft Auto V. We've received The Last of Us from Sony's wunderkind Naughty Dog. We'll soon be graced with the presence of next-gen gaming from the titans Microsoft and Sony. And now, Nintendo has sent forth their king of handheld games – ladies and gentlemen, the next generation is here. The next Pokemon generation, of course.

It's pretty obvious that Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland, was created from the get go with multiple playthroughs in mind, but even if you decided only to give the game just one playthrough