. Plays, 30th November 2014

Steve Burns, Deputy Editor – Resident Evil HD Remaster, PS4

This week I finally got around to playing Resident Evil Remake HD Remaster: the Essential Collection. No surprises with the game's structure – it's still brilliant – but I was impressed with Capcom's efforts to enhance the aesthetics. Rather than just cashing in, the publisher has actually done a very good job of bumping the resolution and cleaning it up in other areas without ruining the original feel.

Brett Phipps, Staff Writer – The Evil Within, PS4

After finally getting to play Smash Bros. for Wii U's online component (read the updated review here) I decided to start The Evil Within. Well, that game is gruesome. I’m only at the start of the third chapter, but the first two were enough to turn my stomach a time or two, and Charlie Chainsaw (not his official name) diced me more times than I could count. I’ve been told the game only gets better (and more violent). Great.

Jim Trinca, Video Enabler – Tales from the Borderlands, PC, The Wolf Among Us, PC

Though Telltale has settled into a very comfortable formula, where every one of its serials is mechanically identical, it still has the capacity to surprise.

Tales from the Borderlands has surprised me more than any of its games to date, because Telltale has somehow managed to take a universe I couldn’t care less about and inject it with endearing characters and, well, character.

It shows a side to Pandora that the main games have been very bad at conveying; the side where people live, and where things happen beyond the hunting for vaults and the shooting of bandits. By changing the way you interact with the world, it has been given some much needed illumination. I never expected to give a toss, but Telltale made me give a toss and then some. It seems quite good at that.

Meanwhile, I’ve also been playing through The Wolf Among Us for the first time (after a few false starts). This is a universe I do care about immensely, and it's been done considerable justice.

I can’t wait for the Game of Thrones series to start next week. I just hope I’m not too tired of QTEs and branching dialogues by then.