Fez, Xbox 360
Our hero Gomez lives in a resolutely 2D world, which is why his discovery of a mysterious third dimension proves amusingly unsettling to fellow inhabitants. It also means that every scene in the game can be rotated to shift perspective, reducing cavernous gulfs to nothing and letting Gomez investigate the strange interstices of its stages. Rendered in mock 8-bit style, the world of Fez is deceptively complex, with levels interconnecting in a mind-bending cubic spiderweb, visualised in a world map that also tells you whether you've found all the items in each of the game's many areas. The understated wit and sheer scale of its invention make playing a unique pleasure, even if bugs at launch have caused problems for some players. Developer, Polytron has promised a remedial patch.
Polytron, approx £6.80 via XBLA
Machinarium, iPad
Telling the story of a small robot's progress through the underbelly of a grimy android metropolis, Machinarium's trick is to imbue every single automaton you meet with astonishing levels of charm and pathos; even the props convey a sense of intimacy. It's a point-and-click adventure, which means tapping around the screen looking for clues and objects to help solve its puzzles. It's easy to get stuck and some of the challenges require fairly abstruse solutions, but with the internet to help you cheat, it won't spoil your enjoyment of this beautiful and atmospheric game. It's incompatible with first-gen iPads, however, soon doubtless to become a common complaint.
Amanita Design, £2.99
Swordigo, iOS
Swordigo is a role-playing title that looks somewhat like a platform game. That's to say, your sword-wielding cartoon knight needs to perform a series of precarious jumps before going on to slay monsters, find hidden treasure and gradually upgrade health, magic and swordsmanship levels. There are a multitude of characters to meet, quests to undertake and a wide variety of cute, slightly homemade-looking scenery to explore. Swordigo's uncanny knack for getting things right happily extends to touch-screen controls that just shouldn't work as well as they do, making this an immensely satisfying mini-adventure.
Ville Mäkynen, £1.49
Games news
Of this week's releases Disgaea 3: Absence Of Detention (Vita), claims the title of best quirky turn-based strategy game; Bleach: Soul Resurrección (PS3) a new instalment of the long-running series that seems almost designed to baffle newcomers; and Warhammer: 40,000 Dawn Of War – Ultimate Collection (PC), containing every single game in the franchise …
Bethesda has announced that a forthcoming free update will let Xbox-owning Skyrim players use Kinect voice control to cast spells, swap equipment and command allies in what may finally be a useful application of the technology that powers the supremely terrible Kinect Star Wars …
Finally, Nintendo's game design genius, Shigeru Miyamoto has singled out Angry Birds for praise, which is odd because despite its runaway success it's a game with all the heart and soul of a tax inspector, demanding such fastidious perfection that "game" might not even be the right word.
