WWE 2K Battlegrounds is striking for its simplicity. It is the game equivalent of a popcorn flick. This is something goofy, simple, affordable, and likely intended to be enjoyed in brief bursts. The Campaign and Battleground Challenge are each presented in bite-sized chunks. The various matches never tend to go over five minutes. Everything is quick and breezy, with systems that put everyone on equal footing. It’s not incredibly deep, the characters don’t always look great, and all the stuff with price-tags on it can be daunting, but it’s surprisingly entertaining. Especially if you’re jumping in for quick bursts and want a goofy wrestling game anyone can enjoy.

While there are issues, which are worst in MyCareer, it still is enjoyable. If you’re willing to play the long game and deal with the current difficulties, what you’re going to get is going to eventually be a good game with a solid experience. My guess is the issues will be fixed at least by the launch of the next gen systems so that every version of the game has a strong experience. The biggest issues might be fixed earlier. If you were dead set on getting the current-gen version, I’d say give it about a month. Things should be working better by then. And if you’re planning to play on console and upgrade to the next-gen consoles, get the Mamba edition. For $100, you got both the current and next-gen version as well as any fixes that had been put in.

Madden NFL 21 is a game that is generally fine. It’s not extraordinarily exciting, sure. There are some minor additions that work well, like the Skill Stick, and major ones that could have promise after the growing pain patches are out, like The Yard. A lot of elements feel the same as they did last year, like Franchise and MUT, and Face of the Franchise shows there’s still a struggle to have a really good story mode. It’s okay, but people who have and are still enjoying Madden 20 might not feel a need to upgrade.

Had it come before Resident Evil 2, perhaps I would have been fonder of it. But as is, it feels like it doesn’t do as much or go as far as its predecessor, an issue exacerbated by the removal of some of its challenging and unique elements. It is worth playing, but people should enter with tempered expectations.

Thanks to the simple combat, sterile environments, and weird balancing, playing Bleeding Edge feels more grindy and repetitive than any other game I’ve played in this space. The characters are all pretty cool and weird, but when everything is zoomed out and the gameplay loop repeats itself over and over, everything just, well, bleeds together and loses its edge.

It’s weird to feel so disappointed by something so awesome. DOOM Eternal is a constant state of whiplash between being in absolute awe at the game’s mechanical brilliance, only to be snatched in the extreme opposite direction by stale storytelling and environmental padding. I miss the gore nests, the simple but well-presented story, and sardonic overtones that made 2016’s DOOM such a big hit for me. The air-dashing, grappling, and tons of unlockable stuff is cool, and Doomguy’s personal quarters in his weird spaceship/castle gimmick is pretty funny. But while there’s nothing outright bad or poorly crafted in DOOM Eternal, the direction id Software chose to head here just reeks of AAA homogeny. The last game had teeth; DOOM Eternal feels like it sold out a little.

Darksiders Genesis isn’t a bad game. It has a lot of potential to it and there are some things it does well. I especially liked the twists to its story. The problem is that it is pretty clear it didn’t get the same level of attention as its predecessors. Elements of its design makes it feel like corners were cut in an effort to get things done as efficiently as possible. This can mean some platforming segments are difficult to get past and a little perhaps the puzzles could have actually been challenging.

The action is solid and better than plenty of past Dragon Ball video game adventures, but the wholesome fan service is the real offering here. There isn’t enough of that, but what you do get is a great reminder of why Dragon Ball is still here.

I’m all for remasters of old games and keeping those same clunky mechanics with those old games, including the punishing difficulty. However, I want my sequels to old games to adapt and grow with the times. If Shenmue III had done that, it not only would have been a better game overall, it would have appealed to a bigger audience outside its cult following.

While this installment isn’t the most innovative, that isn’t what Need for Speed needs right now. It needs to build up a solid foundation again, so it can get itself into a good position to ride the slipstream behind other titles, ready itself, then overtake it to possibly come out on top. There are some strong elements here, and the balance between day and night activities can provide a good loop. It handles well, not letting obstacles get in people’s way, and gives folks a lot of extras to shoot for. Yes, it could use a more lifelike world, a more interesting story, and a better soundtrack. But, what’s here is fun. That’s what matters most right now.

With its revamped controls and tighter focus on growing your custom wrestlers in MyCareer, WWE 2K20 has a lot of good ideas propping it up. Unfortunately, the game is propped up on top of an uncharacteristically weak foundation. WWE 2K20 is an ugly video game, with gross-looking noodle hair, weird character faces, and PS2-looking NPCs. Add to that a lengthy MyCareer story fueled by corny and sloppy writing, and you get a game only the dedicated parts of the fanbase will love. At its core, there is still a great deal of fun in playing WWE2K20, but the technical issues, poor visuals, and bad writing make this year an easy one to skip, especially if you’re still playing through WWE 2K19.

In the end, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint never finds its groove. There are so many different things to do that you would think that there’s something in this game for everybody, but that’s not really the case. Instead, most things just feel pointless or function as a distraction from its core gameplay, which is already a composite of disparate elements. In a way, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is like listening to rock, jazz, and reggae, only you’re doing all these things at the same time, none of the albums are that good to begin with, and the end result is a confusing cacophony of noise that is far less than the sum of its parts. You’d be better off participating in a more focused experience.

It’s a shame that the surrounding structures don’t hold up, because the in-game experience of NBA 2K20 remains top-class. Another year of refinements has smoothed out some rough edges of the basketball gameplay that was already worth seeking out. The level of control you have over shot types is both useful and entertaining. Defensive assignments feel like they work more consistently. The commentary repeats itself less. They’re great moves forward. But if you engage with the modes 2K seems to want to push most, you’ll have to deal with baggage that weighs down the experience.

In the end, I feel like I’ll continue to struggle with how I truly feel about Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Its strange and uncomfortable structure, or rather my reaction to it, clearly stems from my love for the “normal” games. It isn’t more of what I loved; therefore, it’s scary. At the same time, some of those scary things are legitimate frustrations that seem to compromise the game to make it more gimmicky. It’s still as charming as ever, and is full of fun characters and dialogue, which makes it harder to really be disappointed. Wolfenstein: Youngblood comes off as a big experiment, and attempts to take something people like and do something new with it. I’m glad MachineGames was afforded the creative leeway to make it.

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled feels a bit too derivative, obviously borrowing ideas from competitors. But it’s also the most distinctly challenging of the bunch, almost working best as a single-player endeavor rather than a fun, multiplayer party game. It’s hard to tell if there’s room for that, as Activision itself seemed to struggle with how to sell this one. Crash Bandicoot fans will certainly be happy, and are likely already on board. Those looking for a challenge will have a good time chasing trophies. Casual/Party players who like kart games probably will want to stick with Sonic and Mario.

Rage 2 is presented as a wild ride through a post-apocalyptic playground, with people invited to attend a festival of blood, guts, and spray paint. Wacky characters and bright colors adorn the box art and marketing materials, but the reality of the game is much less colorful. Were the outside trimmings more accurate, they would feature a grey supercop holding an assault rifle. The pizzazz and graffiti are merely background decoration for a collection of tropes and mechanics we’ve seen elsewhere, done better by the same developers to boot. It’s certainly fun to play, and shooter diehards who love open worlds will likely have a blast checking off objectives and discovering new powers, but anyone looking for more style or substance will be disappointed.

I never once thought I was experiencing something exciting, unique, or creative when I played this game, yet hours of my life seem to have vanished. Loot shooters are an increasingly crowded space, and The Division 2 is fighting a losing battle for my attention.

The PvE-only aspect is a nice touch, and it’s refreshing in a world where so many games like to focus on pitting player against player. The problem is that the enemies are rarely more than bullet fodder, and you don’t need to be much of a team in order to take them down. Still, Anthem is rife with potential and we’ve seen games transform into something amazing post-launch. I am hoping that will be the case for Anthem.

From a big picture perspective, Far Cry: New Dawn is fine. It hits a lot of checkboxes that have come to define what Far Cry is and manages to wring some newness and intrigue out of its reused map. While the storytelling is even more unfocused than the previous game (though much less disappointing, due to a noticeable walkback on pretense), new gameplay additions like breezy RPG progression and the Expedition missions make it a fun ride all the way through. Far Cry: New Dawn still has a lot of familiar snags, but the overall experience makes for a solid weekend or two of Hollywood-style gaming.

Terry Crews is here, but he isn't given a chance to really steal the show. (Which is what we know he does best.) It isn't well organized, when it comes to missions and following the story. What is available works well enough, but it doesn't do anything to really set itself apart in a way you would expect from a AAA, first-party game.

Other than laughter and the occasional satisfaction of seeing a crazy plan come together, Just Cause 4 doesn’t illicit much of an emotional response. It’s ugly, monotone, and almost feels incomplete. Even some of the character animations look lazy, as though the characters themselves are saving their energy for something. The game isn’t without its charm, certainly, but that charm doesn’t amount to much when it is marred by a plethora of other issues. Just Cause 4 approaches its potential, but doesn’t quite seize it. Considering how well the game performs at its peak, that is a real shame.

Ultimately, while the setting, characters, and storytelling feel right at home, Darksiders III swings for the fences with its combat ambitions and only just barely manages to get on base. It gets points for trying something new, but the end result is a muddled set of ideas that clash with each other, with nothing in place to soften that collision.

Bethesda claims that the Fallout 76 servers will last “forever” and, while it may not take that long to patch bugs and improve the experience, my foray with the launch version has left me with an abundance of bullet points that need attention. My biggest hope is that Bethesda will take our suggestions and criticisms as a call to action to tweak the faulty mechanics and build more features into a game that has a ton of potential.

This is a game that is in need of some patches and, hopefully in future installments, adjustments that make the online interactions more enjoyable for people who do not want to grind endlessly or pay extra cash.

I found myself struggling to “get” it, worried I was some degree of incompetent or something. But the more I thought about it, the more I feel like The Crew 2 doesn’t get itself, either. It wants so desperately to be an open world experience that can seamlessly become race-like events in a games as service-like multiplayer setting. But we just aren’t there yet, so the races exist in pocket universes where you and some friends can battle the computer or you can go it alone. Either way, you’re just grinding for the sake of it.

Metal Gear Survive is just another middling survival game, with a name-drop that doesn’t do it any favors.

There are over 80 playable characters, but tedious missions, repetitive storylines, a world with large expanses of nothing and no multiplayer.

This is a beautiful, fun game with huge ambitions for being an important part of the Star Wars universe as it is today. It introduces a fascinating new character and injects her right into the main storyline. But it does so in such a disappointingly banal way, it’s hard to care after the story is over. Meanwhile, the fun continues for a bit in the multiplayer until you’re crushed under the boots of either “enormous grind” or “emptying wallet.”

A middling hodgepodge of conflicting concepts that frustrate in the knowledge of what could have been.

While it handles and looks well, with an Arcade mode and online elements that are rather solid, the Campaign isn’t fulfilling and too much gets locked away the second online connectivity has been taken away. There are too few cars and tracks here, something that will hopefully be remedied with both free and paid updates. If it gets the proper support, it could end up being a respectable entry in the series. At the moment, Gran Turismo Sport feels like a precursor to greater things.

The dramatic backstage elements were too lethargic, but the Road to Glory mode offers a great reason to keep improving my custom MyPlayer’s craft. There’s still some fine tuning needed in the animations and general visuals, but the overall feel of a faithful WWE experience is absolute and worth the ticket price for any dedicated fan.

The Fractured but Whole feels like it’s for the superfan, the person who has been with the series since 1997 and has a shelf full of merchandise. It is for the kind of person who finds glee in self-referential content and doesn’t mind clicking through a bunch of banal video game tropes to find the next “I recognize this thing and clapped!” moment. South Park: The Fractured but Whole feels dated, shallow, and lacking in the purpose or self-awareness needed for a work of satire to hit its mark. It feels like it’s trying too hard to recapture that edge.

Despite the Marvel vs. Capcom brand power, the Capcom portion is absolutely the most important, but this time feels like it’s fetching Marvel’s coffee. But this isn’t a kitschy mobile game, it’s a Capcom fighter, and that Means Something – and I can’t shake the feeling that the Marvel Machine doesn’t care.

As of now, Friday the 13th: The Game is unique and has its brilliant moments, but it’s not a game I’d recommend picking up. It can be too dull of an experience. I think it’s mostly diehard fans who will enjoy this the most at this moment. Despite all of this, I could see myself revisiting this game from time to time with some friends who are in it more for a laugh than a scare.

Ultimately, I doubt I’ll remember Prey much after I stop playing it. There’s too much else going on in games in 2017, and Prey does not stand out amongst its peers. Its fiction is self-serious, despite being so derivative, and its systems are frustrating and constantly in conflict with each other. It feels like dozens of other games I’ve played already, but enjoyed more. Even when something interesting does happen, I still feel like my time hasn’t been respected and my brain hasn’t been stimulated as promised.

Mario Sports Superstars could appeal to multiple demographics, but might not hold the attention for any of them. Each sport is fun, but the lack of variety in games and their respective courses wears thin. The Mario sports games are rife with potential for players of all ages, sports fans or not, to gather their 3DS consoles and participate in wild tournaments. But with Mario Sports Superstars, I only want to go further inside my house to play different Nintendo games.

There’s a decent game in here somewhere, but Mass Effect: Andromeda feels like a collaboration from Mass Effect fans rather than a group of known and established developers. It’s like that cool thing everyone loves, a decade-plus removed from its creators and pushed down an assembly line. Mass Effect: Andromeda didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, but the wheel needed to have that special sheen that’s evidence of five years of polish and care. Instead it feels well meaning, but sloppy.

If you want Super Bomberman R for the occasional good time blasting your friends and family around the television, then it is worth considering, but only down the road when the price drops significantly. At $50, there is simply too little it offers and too much it does wrong. With the issues presented, it begs speculation as to whether Konami simply cranked this out quickly to capitalize on the hype of the launch of a new system.

The game’s grindy premise has been exhausted for what seems like decade and will leave you feeling more defeated than anything else. The combat mechanics are certainly worth noticing, but the environment restricts them, making it a wash. Do yourself a favor and pass on this compilation of recycled concepts and frustrating gameplay.

There is artistry behind The Last Guardian's concept, but in stumbles in execution, creating a journey that is far less fascinating than the relationship that lies at its story's core.

Infinite Warfare is just about average with a few sparks here and there. The game feels a lot like the few of the other CoD titles I have tucked away on my shelf but with a few shiny upgrades. Same great mechanics, same beautiful visuals, familiar platform, and the baddest Call of Duty game since the original in Modern Warfare Remastered makes this an average title that won’t disappoint the die-hard Call of Duty fan.

Mafia III is an ambitious game that tackles serious, relevant themes. Unfortunately, it lacks technical polish, and the mechanics aren’t much better than anything on the market, let alone offer anything new.

Nascar Heat Evolution is a devolution for the series, and even when playing friends online, I can't imagine how you'd have fun with this game for more than a few hours - if you even make it that long.

Ghostbusters will get you through a few levels of mildly pleasant action before you shrug and see what's new on Netflix. That's about all she's got in the ol' proton pack, but as far as movie tie-in games go, it could certainly be much worse.

With all of the delays this game has seen, why do these problems still exist? Mighty No. 9 isn’t a terrible game, but it isn’t a good one either. With an end result like this, I feel pity for every person who backed it.

I gave this game several chances, but after turning off my PS4 and walking away from it just now, I'm realizing that I have no motivation to boot Umbrella Corps back up when there are so many alternatives that look, sound, feel, and play better. Wait for a sale and pick this up cheaply if you're a die-hard fan, but keep your friends close and your expectations low.

This game is a simple kind of fun, and if you play online with your friends you'll have a great time. Otherwise there's not much here for you unless you like to hunt for collectibles.

Personally, I found this remaster to have improved things just enough to cement me as a fan of Twilight Princess. The world is far more vibrant than before, and turning off motion controls removes almost all the frustration I experienced with the Wii version. I have an enduring affection for Twilight Princess' idiosyncrasies, creepy Malo Mart and all, and I'm glad we've had the chance to see the title refreshed for the HD generation.

This one is worth your time if you’re simply looking for a unique take on the classic sandbox genre. Otherwise, it might not be a bad idea to lay low and wait for a price drop in the future.

It certainly succeeds in providing a forum for building personalized heroes to show off in cooperative missions, and has enough content to supply hundreds of hours to those interested. It doesn't, however, have the strategic girth, the environmental depth and detail, nor the quirky and engaging story and characters that Capcom has perfected with its series.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash will do ya if you're big on using buttons instead of swinging Wii Remotes or if you absolutely must perform fancy shots. Just know that this is a full-priced game that says, “Here, play some tennis,” and not much else.

A game that provides some much needed Star Wars nostalgia on the cusp of the franchise’s latest theatrical release. Unfortunately that’s all this game provides, with the exception of a few high points in the beautiful visuals and the Walker Assault multiplayer offering. Ultimately, it doesn’t capitalize on the phenomenal infrastructure DICE created – weapons, vehicles, planets, landscapes, and the resurrection of everyone's favorite cast of characters is all lost without any sense of direction.

My hype to see how Bethesda would interpret all these innovations and incorporate them into the Fallout setting turned to disappointment when I stumbled through a game that features the same poorly-implemented combat and all the same old Gamebryo engine annoyances and glitches we've been dealing with for years.

A game that leaves you wanting more, for better or worse. You want more loot, or at least confirmation that when you go through the same tedious level again, you'll find exactly the item you need waiting at the end. You want more of a balanced challenge, with a single player that feels like it could be handled alone or a multiplayer that performs perfectly under any condition and is worth replaying. Most importantly, you want a real reason to keep returning to the game and not just a prospect of a pretty new look for the Link-alike.

Regular adventuring is fun, but the second a player has to hop into a vehicle, it's a gamble as how good or bad the experience will be. If the vehicular elements were separate from the story and entirely optional, this would be the best entry in the series. But they're not and bring the rest of the game down.

NBA Live 16 has a lot of promise but only comes in a little bit above average at its current state. Hopefully EA Sports provides gamers with an October patch or else the game will fall well below the ranks of its highly touted expectations.

I'd definitely recommend Disney Infinity 3.0 for families with kids who adore Star Wars, as well as for gamers of all ages who love Disney and enjoy creating their own games and levels. If you don't fit into either of those categories, I'm not sure that the game holds its appeal past a few hours of play set fun, and that's a shame considering how much money you need to sink into the game's starter set and any additional characters and play sets you might want to buy.

Just don’t expect this episode to feel rewarding. Look at it as something you have to do for the inevitable finale.

Kholat is genuinely scary, sometimes to its detriment. You will have to push yourself to continue playing at times.

The fact that everything I do just seems to be unwritten at the end of every episode, and not in any way that ever makes me triumph, takes me straight out of the action. I can’t get invested in this game, because I feel like I’m not doing anything.

For its merit, it has that simple, pure, fun factor that keeps me coming back, even after memorizing every nuance of each board. Yet with a sparse selection of maps, a single match type for each mode, and what feels like a dousing of turpentine on character customization and choice, in the end Splatoon feels like purchasing an expensive gallon of paint, only to crack open the lid and find just a quart of paint within.

I hated every single puzzle it threw my way, and couldn’t stand how I had to brute force my way through most of it. But the story was still so good and the ending was superb.

Broken Age: Act 2 may stumble a bit trying to be something it isn’t, but what it is, is still gorgeous and enthralling, and I’ll put up with some frustrating puzzles and backtracking for that.

I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers. But for what this game has in its psychological scare tactics, it totally lacks in the things that make a game one that you’d want to come back to and play again and again. So as the title implies, this game truly is thick on scares but slender on everything else.

The weakest episode yet, but worth it to see the ending.

The pace is a welcome relief from other Sid Meier games, and the ship customization is simple yet multifaceted. However, the game has severe tactical balance issues, and is lacking any multiplayer component.

The basic gameplay in this entry just seems uninspired, especially its main campaign.

The game has some flaws, but for now it’s just a setup and as a setup, it’s decent.

If you want to upgrade to a next-generation version of this fun fighter, go ahead. If you really really want two new characters, go for it. But if you are looking for something truly new and different, you are unfortunately looking in the wrong place.

The premise is solid, the graphics are great, the voice casting is excellent, but in the end you have to ask yourself, are we buying games to watch them or to play them? This is something you need to ask yourself before picking up The Order. It’s a shame, too.

The non-linear progression is a welcome change.

It’s not mind blowing and it isn’t going to be winning any game of the year awards, but it’s an inexpensive title that you can have fun with, especially if you have a dedicated group of friends to play it with.

I’d recommend The Crew to anyone who has a dedicated circle of friends who would play with them, who all have great internet connections. If you do, this game is pretty awesome, and possibly even a better format than a lot of other driving games out there. If you don’t, the game can get frustrating at times. This is a “your mileage may vary” sort of game, good, but really only appealing to a very specific type of gamer.

I expected the next-gen version of WWE 2k15 to offer a lot more than the last gen version that came before it. While the differences are noticeable, the extra features aren’t exactly mind-blowing.

The game has a lot of content, but struggles with keeping you coming back for session after session.

As a casual styled Dark Souls type game, it’s quite fun.

Smaller roster, fewer options, and a disjointed single-player make this less impressive than previous WWE titles.

NBA Live 15 is a definite upgrade over the previous year’s edition, but again, that really isn’t saying much.

A technically proficient racer with a social side that can be fun. But overall it lacks some things that make racing games great, especially ones that insist on arcade style progression. Hardcore racing fans will be pleased by the bevy of cars available and may enjoy creating a club with their friends, but players like me won’t be converted due to the lack of customization and/or arcade style gameplay.

The game takes about 15 hours to complete, but more than half of that time is spent wandering around and waiting for something to happen.

The sixty dollar price tag is a bit much to take, especially if you already spent sixty dollars on the original two years ago, but if Persona 4 Arena has been a staple in your fighting game library, Ultimax gives you more than enough content to satisfy you for another two years, and hopefully with patches and DLC it will get even better.

It doesn’t feel like you are actually playing a new game in the franchise, rather it feels very much like you are playing an updated and expanded version of last year’s game.

The Sims 4 is a core game, pure and simple. It is made specifically so that more content can be pumped into it via DLC. The overall functionality of the game is fine, with no real breakthroughs, just a little simplification and minor tweaks. Nothing groundbreaking here.

If you still have the dancing bug in you, give Dance Central: Spotlight a shot. If not, well, it’s not like you are missing out on much other than a short 10 track offering.

Tales of Xillia 2 is most notable for its unusually dark storyline and strong character development. It's only truly worthwhile when played as a sequel, however, and is dragged down by poor design decisions.

It’s almost a good game. For some of you that will be enough. It’s a neat little diversion and it’s fun in spurts, and maybe that’s all you are looking for. However, there are many other better RPGs to play out there with better stories, and better systems.

It certainly rides on the coattails of 2033 Redux’s release, but it’s still incredibly fun. If anything, it’s a testament to how much fun Last Light was to begin with.

I don’t think Sacred 3 knew what its own genre was. If it was self-aware that this was nothing more than a hack and slash dungeon crawler, it could have gone the extra mile and given it a refreshing arcade feel, like Dragon’s Crown did. However, Sacred 3 thinks it’s a serious ARPG, and as a serious ARPG it simply falls up short.

Though it's still fun to battle opponents without having to fray my cards, dish out game night snacks, or use up gas to go where the in-person action is, I'll likely return to my Magic 2014 stock, and hope next year's entry provides more sustenance.

This is just another movie tie in title, and nothing much more. It tries to tie in the original cartoons, the movies, and the video games, but it fails. It just feels like a corny fanfiction crossover plot painted over a mediocre third person shooter.

If you like EA’s first venture into the MMA world, you will probably like EA UFC. If you are a UFC fan, you will definitely like EA UFC. Heck, the roster is over 100 fighters huge, and that’s saying something. However, if you are a fighting game fan, this isn’t the game for you. If you are looking for a sports like simulation experience, this isn’t the game for you. If you aren’t looking to play with other players, this isn’t the game for you.

It's lovely and challenges gamers in an unusual way, but it is also hampered by an awkward (and possibly painful) control scheme and dropped frames.

The story is genuinely interesting and kept me playing far after the fun had drained out of the game. But in all honesty, I cannot recommend it. With a couple tweaks, this could have been an awesome game, but as it stands Murderer: Soul Suspect is dead on arrival.

Ultra Street Fighter IV is undeniably enjoyable.

In technical respects Tropico 5 feels more like an expansion rather than a successor in the series. Many parts of the gameplay feel similar to past titles, but the inclusion of the era system, an overall campaign that is brimming with choices and consequences, as well as a plausible maiden attempt at multiplayer gives long time fans something new to try out.

Its mechanics are shallow, its gunplay is simple, and its story is something out of World War II obsessive’s wet dream. However, the things it gets right it does really well. The stealth is handled perfectly, the inventory and character progression are really well done, and the combination of regenerating health and pickups is actually something I wouldn’t mind seeing in future shooters.

Just like many of the game's secondary characters, it will be difficult for most players to be convinced that experiencing Chou-Chou's charms is worth the attendant drudgery.

This isn’t a game production made from the ground up. This isn’t a labor of love or a risk of innovation. It’s just another action game with a coat of Spider-Man paint. If that’s all you want, then feel free to pick it up, but don’t expect anything profound. In a way, Spider-Man hasn’t had a truly good game since Maximum Carnage for the SNES and Genesis, and as long as Spidey keeps showing up in movie tie-ins, we likely won’t see another quality Spidey game for quite some time.