We never stop however, and there's plenty lined up to ensure another action-packed month of era-hopping gaming. June has more mascot reviews to enjoy, as Tom tackles Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time VITA in the series' first foray into handheld gaming, as well as 16-bit favourite Super Alfred Chicken SNES. Meanwhile, Chris examines one of the more recent forays of gaming icon Mario in New Super Mario Bros. U for (you guessed it) WiiU.

There's more: Shane's got a double dose of Marvel on the way in the form of LEGO Marvel Super Heroes X360 and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance X360, so there's plenty to look forward to!

Did you plant yourself in the red corner with a certain Italian plumber? If so, Chris has a review of New Super Mario Bros. U WiiU on the way just for you. Maybe you sided with the blue hedgehog who came to symbolise SEGA's fluctuating fortunes? Tom has the scintillating Sonic Rush DS covered this month.

Not all sidekicks are big-time Charlie's though. How about a beloved sidekick? Luigi's Mansion GC marks our first GameCube review, whilst Shane has already covered Insomniac's famed double-act in Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction PS3. Still too mainstream? Chris gives the retro masses what they've longed for with a bit of Amstrad action in the form of Roland On The Ropes CPC.

Oh, and The Pixel Empire is two years old on May 19th!

And so we have lined-up Jinx PS, a cutesy 3D platformer and Sony's final exclusive for the original PlayStation. Tom also braves the astonishing first-persons shooter Skyscraper PS2, a game so obscure, even Wikipedia doesn't know it exists. 25 to Life PS2 gets an indeterminate sentence from Shane, whilst Alan revisits the overlooked 2D platformer Qwak AMI. Plus, what happened when a classic got 3D'ed? Chris puts Guantlet Legends PS through its paces.

Elsewhere, we've got reviews of more familiar fare on the way too, in the shape of Transformers: War For Cybertron X360, so there's a little something for everyone in April!

Alan has the low down on Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception PS3, whilst Tom covers Nathan Drake's small-screen escapades in the form of Uncharted: Golden Abyss VITA. Meanwhile, Shane is now armed with a PlayStation 3 himself and so will be taking us through the mainline God of War series, beginning, predictably enough, with the PS2 original.

We've got plenty more besides: Chris wheels out (see what I did there?) The Pixel Empire's first WIIU review in the form of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, as well as venerable  shoot 'em up UN Squadron SNES, whilst Tom examines EA's belated port of Mass Effect PS3. Phew, who said March was quiet?

Amongst these reviews are a couple of recent scrolling shoot 'em ups that have landed on eighth generation hardware. They combine the best of gaming old and new: tough, action-packed arcade gameplay mixed with stunning presentation and visual design - so keep an eye out for Resogun and Sine Mora coverage in the coming days and weeks. We've also got a bit of Bully, and we couldn't resist another slice of Batman as well.

Our sharper followers will have already noticed January's homepage. We're celebrating Disney and in particular the Illusion series so beloved of gamers down the years. Three reviews, three writers, across three formats from three different generations of gaming. In other words, there's a little something for everyone here:

Castle of Illusion SMS
World of Illusion SMD
Castle of Illusion HD X360

We have coverage of an evocative new IP in the guise of sci-fi adventure Remember Me X360, a thorough playtest of Mastertronic's latest classic-game remake Speedball 2 HD PC, whilst Tom and Chris have lined up wintry-themed reviews of Beyond the Ice Palace CPC and Snatcher SCD to keep you warm on those chilly evenings. Elsewhere, we fulfil a reader request from one of our most dedicated followers, in the form of Need For Speed: Porsche 2000 PS, whilst Alan has a very special interview in store that our retro fans are going to love. Not going to say anything more just yet... consider it a surprise present.

After the fun we had last year, Retro Secret Santa is back! Our four writers each choose a 16-bit title, they in turn got jumbled, picked at random and given to another member of the Pixel writing team to review over the holidays. This is what you (and we) have got to look forward to:

CYBORG JUSTICE SMD - Tom
THE SIMPSONS: BART'S NIGHTMARE SNES - Chris
PUSH OVER SNES - Shane
GUNSTAR HEROES SMD - Alan

Also, we'd like to say a quick thank you to our Facebook followers, who recently reached triple figures. The likes, comments, discussions, suggestions and requests we've received are all hugely appreciated and you've helped us build a great community, one that already feels much bigger than it is. We promise to continue to work hard in future to make as complete a Pixel Archive as we can, celebrating games of all ages and backgrounds!

Pixel Hi-Score Table (after 5 Duels):

PIXEL DUELS:
MotorStorm RC        Rez        Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Wip3out        Super Castlevania IV

Case in point, our most recent review centres on the enjoyable Blackthorne 32X. A top cinematic platformer. We want to save such games from the footnotes of gaming history, if possible, and that's why it's our on-going aim to offer equal coverage for both the popular and obscure titles. Other things to look forward to in our retro-flavoured September include a look at Chris's favourite 8-bit title Pang GX4K; checkpoint-chasing at its most hi-octane in Lotus Turbo Challenge SMD and we fulfil a request review of the King of Pop's finest videogaming moment! We're also plotting some coverage of homebrew ventures that are keeping the NES, Master System and Atari 2600 among many others going well into the 21st Century.