Halo 5: Guardians 

Compared to other space operas, the Halo series is up there with the best of them, as its main protagonist – a cybernetically-enhanced supersoldier known as Master Chief – locks horns with various alien ne’er-do-wells. And now, the first new Halo game built specifically for Xbox One takes us on a planet-hopping tour of its spectacular universe.

The series’ lore has become so complicated that it’s difficult for newcomers to make sense of it all, but Halo 5: Guardians drops players right into the thick of things from the start of its 10-hour campaign, with little explanation of what’s going on. It turns out that Master Chief has gone Awol with a group of his Spartan II buddies, and the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) has sent Spartan Jameson Locke, accompanied by Fireteam Osiris, to track him down.

The action swaps between the two groups throughout the campaign, but Master Chief fans might feel a little hard done by, as he only gets to headline three of the 15 chapters. Most of the attention is lavished on Locke, so it’s a pity his character has all the appeal of boiled cabbage.

The combat elements of the campaign are excellent, though. There’s always been an exciting rhythm to the fighting in a Halo game – the so-called ‘golden triangle’ of shoot-grenade-melee – and it’s been expanded upon with several new mechanics. These include a thruster pack for a nippy dodge manoeuvre, a powerful sprinting melee attack, the ability to aim down the sights of any weapon, a clamber system for upward mobility and an air-launched ground pound.

You don’t carry out any of these moves in isolation, however, as you always have three teammates in tow, whether they’re controlled by the game’s AI routines, or by other players, who can drop in and out of missions whenever they want. To be fair, the AI is fairly responsive, but you can only issue very basic commands to them – such as ‘go here’, ‘shoot this’, or ‘revive teammate’ – and there are occasions when they simply ignore your orders.

Of course, many players will jump straight into Halo’s online multiplayer modes. Here, things have been split into two modes, with Arena hosting traditional game types – such as Capture The Flag, SWAT and Breakout – while Warzone is a new 12 vs. 12 competitive mode, with the first team to capture the opposing team’s bases or rack up 1000 points declared the winner. To further complicate matters, you also have to fight off AI-controlled enemies and a new card-based system doles out extra weapons and vehicles.

Halo 5: Guardians is a very slick shooter, running at a solid 60 frames a second, and the changes made to the combat mechanics and online modes only make a great game even better. Sadly, there’s no longer a local split-screen mode, so inviting friends over for a Halo all-nighter is no longer an option.

Score: HHHHI

The Park

The Park only takes an hour-and-a-half to finish, and most of that time involves walking – very slowly – around a creepy amusement park at night, but it still manages to tick enough genre tropes to make your visit a scary one. It’s a first-person horror story about a mum looking for her missing son, although you’ll quickly realize that something is not quite right about this set-up. Indeed, you can probably guess the ending within the first few minutes, but it’s all about the journey rather than the destination, with a backstory that unravels through monologues, flashbacks, hand-written notes, and newspaper clippings. After a slow start, the final act picks up the pace, and manages to cover some disturbing themes. It’s just a pity that everything comes to such an abrupt conclusion as the story was worth exploring in more detail.

Score: HHHII

Driveclub Bikes

Available as an expansion pack for Driveclub, or as a standalone game, Driveclub Bikes lets you put a dozen superbikes through their paces. You can choose to park your backside on a Yamaha Y2F-R1, a Ducati 1098R or a Kawasaki Ninja H2, among others, and take on all-comers in a lengthy Tour mode, multiplayer events and time trials. There’s also a skill mode, which involves racing around a track, pulling wheelies and stoppies, and smashing speed records. The bikes require the lightest of touches to steer them round each circuit, while a helmet cam gives a real sense of speed. We’d advise switching to a third-person behind-the-bike camera if you want to avoid taking a tumble, though. It’s an arcade racer rather than a simulation, but it still offers a fairly steep challenge for those who want to swap four wheels for two.

Score: HHHHI

Just Dance 2016

This year’s Just Dance entry is much like any other in the series, as you leap around your living room attempting to mimic the choreographed moves of a bunch of onscreen dancers.

The scoring system is as random as it’s always been, but that’s missing the point, as the game is all about you and up to five of your friends dancing yourselves silly to an eclectic mix of pop songs.

The 40+ track list lets you get your wiggle on to recent hits such as Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass and Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, but also includes You’re The One That I Want from Grease, and even the William Tell Overture by Rossini. You can dance solo, with or against your friends, indulge in a spot of karaoke, create a workout, or even record your own music videos.

Score: HHHHI