Joel, a ruthless survivor with few moral lines left to cross, lives in one of the last remaining Quarantine Zones. These walled-off, oppressive cities are run by what’s left of the military. Despite the strict martial law, Joel operates in the black market of the city, smuggling contraband for the right price. Joel is asked by a dying friend to look after Ellie, a fourteen-year-old girl with courage beyond her years. What starts out as a simple job to deliver Ellie to another Quarantine Zone, soon transforms into a profound journey that will forever change Joel and Ellie.

An extended story trailer for The Last of Us follows below, and Metro Gaming will of course keep you updated with all the latest details on this and other PlayStation 3 exclusive releases.

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In N.O.V.A. 3, players will fight for mankind’s survival through ten immersive levels across the galaxy, from a war-torn Earth to a frozen Volterite city. Run, shoot, drive vehicles, and pilot a mech to defeat hordes of enemies. For the first time, multiple allies can jump inside the same vehicle and spread destruction on the battlefield.

N.O.V.A. 3 allows multiplayer gameplay through the Xbox LIVE network, including the use of Gamertags and Friends Lists. Players can enjoy both co-operative and competitive multiplayer gameplay modes utilising the in-game voice chat feature. N.O.V.A. 3 is available to download for Windows Phone 8 handsets now priced at £5.49 GBP, and Metro Gaming will keep you update with all the latest Xbox branded releases on Windows Phone.

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Shooting straight into the action after a few moments buried in character creation, the opening storyline of the videogame bleeds in your character without much on the way of gentle passage but it does give you a reason to meet the television show characters prior to them taking a lead role. So that’s Enter the Matrix’s idea put to work in such a fashion that it’s actually enjoyable not to be the lead, then. The character creation process begins with your choice of either a human or voltan warrior, and their gender, but as the storyline states that the two species have come together in the hope of surviving this isn’t a case of choosing good or bad, this is part of the class system. A light customisation system then has you alter the aesthetic to create one of hundreds – not tens of thousands as is often expected – possible combinations.

The character you create here is important by way of being the basis upon which your Defiance experience will be founded, but the limited aesthetic options are less of a concern when you acknowledge the huge amount of clothing and accessory options that exist within the videogame itself. This is arguably one of Defiance’s greatest strengths: there is so much in the way of firearm, ammo, shields, grenades, vehicles and accessory types that no two players will ever find themselves relying on the exact same combat strategy.

Defiance plays like a science-fiction Diablo in that many of its hours will be spent taking out bad guys and collecting loot, hoping that the rewards will be satisfactory for the time invested in earning them. The difficulty balancing that allows inexperienced players to join worn warriors is to be commended as it allows the former to become a greater force capable of playing on a near-equal footing in a short amount of time.

Outside of the immediate and direct combat Defiance is no more a cerebral affair, nut does give the player enough freedom to encourage the belief that it is. The main campaign is just one string to Defiance’s impressively large bow, with emergent bug hunts, mini-games and specially designed co-operative missions that take place away from the main gameplay area being compliments to the core structure. Furthermore, Defiance features competitive multiplayer gameplay in the form of its Shadow War system. An underappreciated addition to the experience, Shadow War fights take place between two teams on the exact same map as the rest of the videogame – it’s entirely possible to run through the middle of a Shadow War en route to your next mission – with players competing in a typical base capture style of gameplay. It’s hardly innovative design, but aside from the connection to its television brother Defiance isn’t intending to be a new experience: it’s the culmination of the best ideas of the many titles that have inspired it.

There’s the rub, of course, as while Defiance is a very enjoyable videogame it’s easy to feel that it’s many disparate gameplay modes don’t fit together into a cohesive experience. With enough time to fill in the gals and polish the overall experience Defiance could well have been something very special, but as it stands it does lots of things well but nothing spectacularly. Trion Worlds have designed a videogame that fulfils all of its ambitions, but fails to offer any reason as to why it stopped at the same point that titles released over six years ago also did.

Score: 6

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Remember Me casts the player as an assassin on a future controlled by a single corporation: Memorize. In this future people have a wet-wired implant through which memories can be extracted or injected, or even manipulated. The latter is our protagonist Nilin’s key skill, as she is able to contort an individual’s personal reality and alter an opinion or experience. This gives her the ability to manipulate people for her own personal cause, cited as a rebellion against Memorize’s monopoly on memories, which has in turn split society into two very disparate classes.

This memory manipulation is included in Remember Me’s gameplay as an aside to the core experience. It takes place outside of the core world structure in a white washed environment not too dissimilar to that of Assassin’s Creed’s animus. Here the player watches a cutscene play out before rewinding the sequence and interacting with specific items in the environment in order to achieve a certain goal. For example, removing a restraint on a prisoner may allow them to act with increased violence, knocking over a bottle may cause someone to unexpectedly slip, and loading a gun could prove fatal.

Adjusting memories in such a fashion appeared to be intriguing upon its initial unveiling, but in practice it’s far too linear a design. There may be several wrong answers on those examples which need multiple item adjustments, but there’s only ever one right answer, and so it feels as though the player is simply an artificial trial-and-error process to find the specific combination that has been programmed to be correct. It doesn’t matter how many times you fail, you’ll eventually check all of the boxes the designers expect you to.

Thankfully Remember Me is a much more enjoyable experience elsewhere. Having borrowed much of its design from critically acclaimed current-generation titles, Remember Me is one of those videogames which takes familiar ideas and makes them into something fresh and enticing. Darksiders proved that this was a worthwhile design ethos, and Remember Me pushes that pillar even further. The platform action is clearly inspired by the critically acclaimed Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, while the combat borrows from Batman: Arkham Asylum. The former is very well paced and the latter uses a welcome but limited customisation system, and these two elements are joined by the likes of the Aug Eye, showing the location of the next objective or important moment if action in a similar fashion to Gears of War, and the QTE boss finishers from about a dozen other action videogames.

This makes Remember Me a composite of ideas from other titles that have been given an appealing science-fiction dressing and a poorly executed mechanic of its own. It’s an enjoyable experience throughout, but you can’t help the feeling that there should be more to it. Given the strength of its character – both in that of its protagonist and its Blade Runner-esque world – Remember Me should perhaps have an inventive series of mechanics to match. Instead we have an enjoyable action videogame that deserves to be recognised as just that, but not one which will live out the last years of this console generation with the acclaim of a groundbreaking achievement.

Score: 7

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Developed by 343 Industries in conjunction with Vanguard Games, Halo: Spartan Assault is set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4, Halo: Spartan Assault explores the first missions of the Spartan Ops programme and dives deeper into the backstory of the Human-Covenant wars. Play through the eyes of either Commander Sarah Palmer or Spartan Davis stationed aboard the UNSC Infinity as they fight in never-before-seen battles against Covenant forces.

With twenty five unique missions featuring unrivalled action and intensity, the single-player experience allows you to compete against friends in Leaderboards or hone your skills with Weekly Challenges. Replay the missions to collect more than forty in-game Achievements and Medals. For fans who already have a prospering Spartan career aboard the UNSC Infinity, Halo: Spartan Assault lets you earn experience points (XP), all-new Achievements, and emblems for your Halo 4 Spartan, with additional integration features available after launch.

In addition, 343 Industries has teamed up with Dark Horse Comics to create Halo: Initiation, a three-part comic series which reveals the story of how Commander Sarah Palmer became a Spartan-IV and leads directly into the exciting missions of Halo: Spartan Assault. Metro Gaming will keep you updated with all the latest details on Halo: Spartan Assault as it approaches release next month.

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Rayman Jungle Run is powered by the same UbiArt Framework engine that brought to players Rayman Origins. The videogame is designed to be easy for all ages to pick up and play, but challenging for the longtime Rayman fans to master. The videogame is now available for any device operated by iOS, Android, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, and Metro Gaming will keep you updated with all the latest Xbox branded titles from Ubisoft.

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It’s an odd decision to have Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen presented on two discs in such a way that it appears as though the original Dragon’s Dogma is on the first disc and the new Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen content is printed on the second. It’s almost as if Capcom want their audience to think that they’re overcharging for downloadable content (DLC) by presenting it on a retail disc with a videogame they’ve already bought (regardless of what the disc suggests is actually happening through the installation process). But then Capcom has a history of making honest mistakes when it comes to digital retail, and so perhaps nothing else should’ve been expected of their surprise and understated successful new IP.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen connects to the original Dragon’s Dogma so directly that it does in fact take the place lf the original release in your Xbox LIVE Gamertag’s ‘played games’ list. The same Achievements and associated data are imported along with your existing save data, arguing that Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is in fact the expansion it’s been billed as and not simply a rehash of the original title. This is the same product expanded, and with that it should welcome the same acclaim as the original title, not least because it’s launching at a price point that can compete with most retailer’s current demand for Dragon’s Dogma alone.

For those new to the videogame starting at the very start is the only option and it will be a significant amount of time until you benefit from the new skills, equipment, augmentations or pawns that Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen brings. This is the core of the Dragon’s Dogma experience of course, as the videogame plays like a real-time role-playing game (RPG) with a few significant differences. The most important of these being the pawns; characters which players train and take into battle with them, and are also able to share online. These pawns change the way battles are conducted, with players able to rely on them to attack or support in the manner their predominant characteristics dictate. Of course, you’ll still be doing the greatest amount of damage with the daring and most spectacular attacks, but knowing that you can rely on an artificial character that you have invested in certainly makes a change for such endeavours.

Those bringing in their save data will be able to venture to the Bitterblack Isle immediately – providing they’re progressed far enough through the original videogame, of course – and here they will find a great deal of new challenges in the large underground map. Thematically Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen’s new content is limited, but in terms of scope it’s substantial: this isn’t simply one new dungeon, it’s a collection of new missions in one location.

This wealth of new content is complimented by greater customisation options and other bran new additions, such as armour types, high-level skills and enemies. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is an expansion pack that boasts value for existing fans despite the inclusion of the original release, and gives newcomers even more reason to commit their RPG time to Dragon’s Dogma. There’s a reason that Dragon’s Dogma was considered one of 2012’s best surprises, and in 2013 Capcom have simply adding more icing to that already very sweet cake.

Score: 8

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Players can work their way through world famous PGA TOUR courses with Tiger Woods 12 and see how you stack up with real PGA TOUR pros, including Tiger Woods himself. As an Xbox branded title Tiger Woods 12 includes Xbox LIVE Achievements earned for great golfing, such as scoring birdies, sinking a hole-in-one, winning the PGA TOUR and more.

Tiger Woods 12 is available to download for Nokia Lumia handsets now, both Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8, priced at £2.29. Metro Gaming will keep you updated with all the latest Xbox branded titles arriving on Windows Phone.

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Real Racing 2 offers thirty officially licensed cars including the 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, 2010 Nissan GT-R (R35), 2012 McLaren MP4-12C and more, unlocked as you work your way from rookie to pro in a robust Career Mode. Jump into a Quick Race for instant fun – or try to beat the clock in Time Trial Mode.

Available to download now, Real Racing 2 is playable on both Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 Nokia Lumia handsets priced at £3.99 GBP. Metro Gaming will keep you updated with all the latest Xbox branded titles arriving on Windows Phone.

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NBA Jam offers the same over-the-top, high-flying, 2-on-2 arcade basketball just like you remember it. If you’re from the ‘old school,’ you’ll feel the ‘90s nostalgia while you play the hottest arcade sports videogame on the Windows Phone Marketplace. Featuring the voice of Tim Kitzrow (the original NBA Jam play-by-play announcer), you’ll hear all the classic catchphrases plus a few new ones.

NBA Jam is available to download for most Nokia Lumia handsets – both Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7 – now, priced at £2.29 GBP. Metro Gaming will keep you updated with all the latest Xbox branded tiles launching on Windows Phone.

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