. Plays July 26, 2013

Simon Miller, Editor-In-Chief - Halo: Spartan Assault, PC/Surface

As consoles games have given up for the summer I've jumped back into my new habit this week: mobile gaming. While the Nintendo 3DS will always be at the top of my list (fanboy...) I like to see what developers and publishers are trying to do on handheld devices, more so in the hope that eventually people will start to realise there's nothing wrong with doing something a bit different.

Spartan Assault does do that to a certain degree - Vanguard could've easily just thrown Halo onto a Surface tablet - and what we ended up with is a pretty decent top-down twin-stick shooter. Vehicles may control like utter pap, but I enjoyed it, as I mentioned in my review.

On the other end of the scale, though, is Prince Of Persia: The Shadow and The Flame. Holy ****. It's as if Ubisoft got a work experience kid in and left them to sort how the damned thing should play. In fairness, they did well - if I was left in charge of something similar you'd get nothing but an incorrectly spelled menu screen. That doesn't mean anyone, ever, should play this, though.

Steve Burns, Reviews and Features Editor - PES 2014, Xbox 360

I've been playing PES 2014 this week although, sadly, thanks to the wonders of embargoes, I'm not actually allowed to tell you about it until next week. I can't tell you whether it's different or not, or if the Fox engine really, really, really affects things. I can't tell you about the character models, nor if some of the animations are superb. Bloody superb. I can't even tell you if it feels amazing to score, as is usual in a PES game. I just can't so don't even ask. And definitely don't ask whether I feel it still needs a lot of work. I can't do it I'm afraid.

Chris Bratt, Video Producer - Shadowrun Returns, PC

An intriguing story-line? Tactical, turn-based combat? Cool sunglasses? Where the hell do I sign up?! (I know. I reviewed it...)

This week has been all about Shadowrun Returns for myself, which means I've had a rather good one. In a world where physical augmentation is just a matter of having enough credits, I created Druss: an old school orc, who firmly believes that his limbs should stay very much attached to his body, thank you very much. Druss (as the name might hint) is an orc with a code, a clear set of rules. Sure, he's in the shadowrunning business, but that doesn't mean he'll take any old job. To get Druss on board, you need credits and you also need to make him care. His shotgun is yours if you can...

Oh cripes, I think I might be a roleplayer. Please don't tell anyone!