Star Wars Battlefront; Deadpool; Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, gaming reviews

Fast paced, stylish and entirely nostalgic, it's a spectacle to behold

Star Wars Battlefront can feel more like a stylised map pack for a shooter rather than its own game

Star Wars Battlefront

***

PS4/Xbox One/PC (£49.99)

Revisiting the Star Wars universe is nearly always a pleasure. From Jedi battles to full-frontal rebel sieges on Endor, Battlefront (above) is a spectacle to behold. Fast paced, stylish and entirely nostalgic, any fan of the long-running series will be satisfied for hours. However, with a significant lack of single-player action (the developers decided not to include the much-loved conquest mode from the original) and split-screen limited to just survival mode, this game can feel more like a stylised map pack for a shooter rather than its own game.

Jack Shepherd

Deadpool

***

Ps4/Xbox One (£32.99 )

The king of violent irreverance is back, still very politically incorrect, a bit sexist and pretty much everything someone doing their GCSEs thinks is clever. Everyone knows it's cool not to care. Apart from those flaws, the game is fine. It's excruciatingly meta at times but you make it through. There are enough guns and a varied battle mechanics that the constant fighting doesn't get too dull. The overall comic-book style is quite pleasing as well. If only the character would stop meta-commenting, I might want to play it again.

James Tennent

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash

***

Wii U (£39.99)

Arriving in time to bulk out a slim festive selection from Nintendo, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash serves up a rather uninspired entry in the long-running series. Mega Battle matches see mushrooms tossed on to the court mid-game, allowing players to super-size their characters and play with extra power and reach, but despite attempts to vary the action, the lack of a proper story or career mode means the game is ultimately quite limited.

Sam Gill