I played the original Destroy All Humans! quite often when it first came out. It stood alone then as being unique - playing the 'villain', piloting space-craft and vaporising humans seemed a new take on a third-person open-world shooter. Its writing was dry and sarcastic, and riffing off 1950s Cold War hysteria and pop-culture was something new for me as a teen. You were humanity's saviour: saving them from their stupid selves, harvesting brains for the good of the Furon Empire.

Does this all translate today? A lot of it does actually, but perhaps not entirely. The writing and performance seems a bit stilted and the complexity of the missions aren't nearly as groundbreaking anymore, but it's still a hell of a lot of fun.

Like Spyro and Crash remakes, the differences to the original are predominately visual. Blackforest Games have 'cartoonified' the models here which is a striking difference but works more in the game's favour than against it, I thought. Unlike those PS1 remakes, there are some gameplay control changes which work well for me but might not for others. Some added abilities from the second game like the Transmog are welcome, and an all-new S.K.A.T.E. mechanic for quick traversal on ground as well as better manoeuvrability for the jetpack are both godsends. New side-story challenges are a good addition too.

Definitely worth picking up if you liked the original but may not have legs if you’re new to the games. Honestly, it’s incredible to me that it was even chosen by game developers to be remade as although the games have a decent following, it’s not that huge.

An enjoyable experience that matches together a platforming collect-a-thon with a game mechanic that is unique and captivating. The story centres on overcoming one's bullies whilst sharing positivity by painting uplifting murals. As you bring colour back to the town with a magic brush, you choose which art designs to use and add your own vision to the story. These murals all remain on the map as you progress which is a wonderful touch. The genies you get to create are expressive, charming and add an interactional element through their requests that really brings the game up a notch in terms of immersion.

There was room for improvement in places. Occasionally, the map is a little difficult to read, but counteracted as protagonist Ash can easily clamber across many surfaces to reach places to put murals. The story comes to a close a little earlier than anticipated too but there's some replayability. I thought the motion sensor controls were fine and serviceable but they missed a trick by not allowing you to also use an optional PS Move controller! I'd have loved to have been able to use that as a brush. The devs addressed this, slightly, with a VR/Move level (which I haven't played) but it still could have been added to the main game.

Lots of fun and worth playing for its innovation alone.

Not hugely into the LEGO games other than LEGO Jurassic World, but this was a pleasant surprise. It's a GTA-clone bringing to mind family-orientated predecessor Simpsons Hit & Run, but unlike that game (and even many other LEGO games), this has its own original story. Lots of the story beats riff off other action-adventure and/or crime films and it's written very well. Genuinely humourous too. I can't recall when I've laughed out loud this much playing a game.

It's standard LEGO game gameplay of using different character types to puzzle and combat your way through the story. It's fairly rewarding but simplistic. The driving is decent if not a little sluggish. Probably let down the most really by its very lacklustre soundtrack. Very boring and repetitive, and I think the inclusion of a radio, with instrumental tracks, could have been a really great addition.