Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series succeeds in its goal of making you feel like a Jedi. With a high production value, intriguing plot, and excellent cinematics, the game will leave fans of the franchise in awe. However, with little gameplay and a short runtime, this is more of a VR experience than a game.

Daemon X Machina goes beyond the expectations of a mech game with the Outer playing an integral part in tactics and combat. The other Outers you encounter are varied, unique, and have great personalities that shine through their voice acting. Combat is crisp, fast, and beautiful, accented by the stellar rock and metal soundtrack. The customization is phenomenal and the overall experience screams “just one more mission.” With the only downside being its lack of tutorials and occasionally bothersome menu, this is a game still easy to learn, fun to master, and an absolutely intense thrill to play. This is the mech game you’ve always wanted.

With customizable shows, an extensive list of unlockables and a massive roster of both current and classic WWE Superstars, WWE 2K17 sets out to establish itself as a simulation title and succeeds.

New Tales from the Borderlands is immensely entertaining, exceptionally well written, and acted with pitch-perfect attention to character. I wish the action wasn’t so restricted to quick-time events, because a full-on action game with such quality of humor and characters would be a hands-down GOTY contender. After replaying the original Tales from the Borderlands, it was obvious how much the new game improves on the first. Any gamer that appreciates great writing, fully dimensional characters, and a wide gamut of humor will love New Tales from the Borderlands.

It will give you a fun gaming experience that is equally zany and competitive. That said, you might want to play with the in-game sound off.

There’s been a lot of innovation in strategy games in the last few years, and Galactic Civilizations IV is not a revolution. It’s a sequel, bigger, neater, and smoother. All the things a sequel hopes to be. With so many new, fizzy strategy games, it’s nice to see a long-running series retain its core and its spirit. Galactic Civilizations IV is safe and deeply playable.

Kao The Kangaroo is an excellent 3D platformer that captures the magic of the golden era. The solid mechanics and great level design make this nostalgic adventure a joy. Even though it’s not particularly difficult and sticks to conventions, it will keep you hooked from beginning to end.

There’s no reason for fans of the television series, or fans of the original game to not check out Rehydrated. It does a brilliant job of encapsulating the source material’s feeling, all the while updating the mechanics to feel fresh, snappy, and modern. Just keep in mind that Rehydrated is based on a game that was made in 2003. Many of the old tropes from games of this era, like repetitive NPC dialogue and music, have made the seventeen-year journey to affect Rehydrated the same way they did the original all that time ago. But I also think the shortcomings are made much more bearable by everything Rehydrated does right. It’s sort of like ordering a Krabby Patty, but they forget the pickles. It’s perfectly edible. Delicious, even. But it could be so much better.

Look, I feel like I’ve been spending a lot of time here bashing Rune Factory 5, and maybe I have. But let me emphasize that I still had a lot of fun with it, and I think other players will too. I might be even a bit addicted to it, honestly. There’s just too much here to not like on many levels. But it’s just missing some finish to its technical aspects, especially the visuals and menus. And it needs some follow-through on all its great ideas to make it coalesce into one great experience. Yes, Rune Factory 5 is many games in one, for better or worse. And if you’re ok with that, you’ll have a lot of fun with it. Now, let’s just hope they fix that menu.

Ultimately, this remake does a great job respecting the original game, but bringing the visuals and interface to a modern age.

Gang Beasts is an interesting attempt at switching up the beat-em-up genre with a unique blend of gameplay styles, and as a whole it almost works, however, the severely limited options the game offers and its general lack of the basic building blocks a game needs makes this a title best reserved for playing with friends when nobody cares who wins and you simply want to laugh at stupidity.

Layers of Fear 2 is bigger, more ambitious, and scarier than its predecessor, but it can feel a bit familiar at times too. Its story is more interesting, and the shape-shifting environments that were so praised in the first game are back in fine form. Aside from a handful of frustrating chase sequences, Layers of Fear 2 is, for the most part, a success. It might not be the most original game in its genre, but for horror fans, it’s still a fun and spooky good time.

In my opinion, chapter 3 is going to make or break this series. The Odd Gentleman still has my curiosity and attention for now, but unless something really exciting happens soon then they’re going to lose not only myself but I think many others as well.

Overall, Call of Duty Black Ops 3 Descent DLC is merely more of the same. Granted, the “same” looks and plays great, and gives Black Ops 3 fans a reason to keep playing. Yet Descent doesn’t stray from the COD DLC formula, at all.

In spite of my cruel and cutting remarks, I still enjoyed Lost Sphear.

When Steel Rats works, it works really well. Levels where you’re gunning it through well-charted courses, flipping and spinning through the air, burning through obstacles like a hot knife through butter—these are an absolute joy to play. Somewhere in Steel Rats is a game I would gladly play and recommend. Unfortunately, the pieces just didn’t fall into place often enough for me to call the full game good. The game overall is a very stylistic “okay.”

Red Wings: Aces of the Sky is a solid first effort by All In! Games. I hope this isn’t the end of the road for the franchise, because there’s tremendous groundwork that’s been laid here for something that could be truly special. If the developers were to flesh out the modes, further the variety in the missions, and hire actors more capable of conveying the power of the writing, we could have one of the all-time great dogfighting games ever made. Until then, Red Wings remains good, but not great.

It was rather fun to play a turn-based tactical RPG in this style, but I wish it had just a bit more life to it and not feel so stiff.

All in all the Vergil’s Downfall, the first DLC for Devil May Cry, is a solid experience as Vergil’s unique combos are fun and the narrative is actually pretty good, all which make the $7.99 (720 MS Points) worth the price of admission. The collectibles and additional difficulties deliver a fair amount of content for the coin too.

NBA 2K24 continues to dominate the paint when it comes to mainstream success. It also looks to dominate the wallets of fans each year. The game is undoubtedly fun to play along with its great gameplay and graphics, but the gutting of MyCAREER and increased incorporation of virtual currency does leave a bad taste at times.

Visually, the game is leaps and bounds above the original. The game controls far better than the original and additions such as checking, boosting, and Run Up objectives provide some much-needed depth and challenge.

A great game for young gamers. The co-op mode is awesome for parents who want to play with their kids. The park hub is a fun concept and allows players to bounce back and forth between movie areas quickly.

Even though the core gameplay is solid, most game modes are riddled with micro-transactions that prioritizes grinding and monetization over enjoyment.

Football Manager 26 excels in many areas but stumbles in others. Match presentation is the best it’s ever been, helping to strengthen your connection with players as a manager, while new tactical options, including refined player roles and formations in and out of possession, add greater depth on the pitch. The user interface, though improved for controller use, buries too many menus, and overall performance still needs work, leaving the experience feeling slightly unfinished. Despite these issues, FM 26 remains the best management sim available, and it’s easy to lose hours to its deep, endlessly rewarding gameplay loop.

The whole narrative was shallow. The game shows potential, but it is so incohesive and unimpressive that it flounders as a whole.

For young players without any action RPG experience, Ravenlok could certainly serve as an introduction to the genre. The controls are simple and the environments are beautiful. The main character and narrative are straightforward and relatable. Experienced gamers might be put off by the intentional lack of depth in combat and movement, but even for them, this short game might be worth playing just for the art and imaginative characters and world.

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a great fit for asymmetrical multiplayer. I’ll take any chance to engage with a film that made a huge impact on my childhood. Also, the film lends itself very well to this style of gameplay. My hope is that future support includes new content. I’d love to see maps set in iconic locations, like the Sedgewick Hotel. Additional ghosts and equipment (like the pink slime gun) would be great, too. There’s a solid foundation to work with and future plans would go a long way to keeping the experience fresh.

After playing Zoo Tycoon I have to admit that it is quite time consuming, has a long learning curve and is more ideal on a PC platform compared to a console experience. That being said, it is a game that provides a robust zoo experience perfect for any zoo enthusiast, a veteran “sim” player, or perhaps even for a parent looking for a game without any violence whatsoever.