When you play a game, you want several things: You want escapism, you want excitement and you want to have a good time. Some games do just that with tried and trusted mechanics, while others take those ideas and try to add some exotic flavour to the mix. Some fail, some succeed and some games create lasting memories that create new benchmarks in the entire industry. Here are ten such games, which are unbelievably satisfying thanks to one key gameplay factor.

Here’s a look at what I thought was going to happen this year…and what has actually happened so far.

It’s not easy covering the San Diego Comic-Con, and I don’t just mean that because the show is a gargantuan hive of activity that is overflowing with cosplayers, panels and enough merch to make your wallet scream. No pals, what’s tough about covering all the news coming out of the premiere pop culture show of the year is that I’m not there, dammit.

Many years later, and what has changed in Gears 5and its new arcade mode multiplayer mode? Not much, but just enough.

What is it with toothy beasties knifing through bodies of water that evokes such primal fear in us - and yet keeps us wanting more?

It’s been very nearly ten years since the release of the last Marvel Ultimate Alliance game. Back then, Marvel properties weren’t nearly as popular as they are now. Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk movies had just released, but the unified Marvel Cinematic Universe was just a plan – and Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark had yet to become the …

After three years, the story continues once again! Here’s part six of our retrospective of the Destiny story so far, as we cover The Rise of Iron that closed the book on the original Destiny era.

And let’s be honest, an adorable monkey brandishing a high-powered automatic sub-machine gun bestowed upon him by a hedgehog is already pretty special.

Around a half-million on FaceBook alone have signed a petition pledging that they’ll be ready to storm the gates of Area 51 in pursuit of the truth and hot alien interspecies romance like what Mass Effect promised us. Now while we’d suggest that showing up to Area 51 with a few dozen pals and seeing if you can outrun bullets is probably a bad idea, we’d also be remiss not to suggest using a few of the best vehicles in video gaming to find the truth. Here’s what we’d rock up in, if we could afford them. Or if they were real.

This year’s big marvel event sees none other than Cletus Kasady on a rampage, as the most lethal symbiote to ever exist is on a mission in Absolute Carnage. A story years in the making, Absolute Carnage will fold out across four issues written by Donny Cates and drawn by Ryan Stegman. This being comic books, there’s so much more to the tale than just a mere quartet of comic books. So where does one even begin? Right here with this handy dandy primer!

Eleven and the rest of the gang from Hawkins are all back and better than ever in the third season of Netflix's retro sci-fi horror breakout Stranger Things, where once again they have to face off against a nightmarish evil.

So which is the better console then? Should you shell out extra for the more expensive Nintendo Switch or will the Switch Lite serve you just fine in the long run? Let’s take a look at the core differences between the devices.