This may not be the best game you’ve ever played, but Shooting Stars is one that passes the time with colourful and humorous animations, and is a fairly enjoyable experience overall.

Weedcraft Inc, beneath its subject matter, is a decent tycoon-styled management simulator. Despite that, the game was not particularly fun besides the usual attempt to min-max your business as best as possible. The clicker-like features also did little to add to the overall genre despite its initial novelty. Fans of either the subject matter or the genre may find value in the game, but for those who rarely venture into the genre, the game may not be the best introduction to it.

When I previewed Dream Cycle nearly a year ago, I connected with the game’s premise and still-in-development combat mechanics and movement. Those promising elements remain, but in the full game, they’re obscured by some technical issues and the need for a lot more polish and refinement. A third-person, Lovecraft-inspired action game is a great idea. Dream Cycle comes close to making it happen. It’s not quite a nightmare, but not the sweet dream I hoped it would be.

Spelunker Party! hearkens back to the old days of platformers, featuring simple yet challenging gameplay. Playable individually, Spelunker Party! is likely at its best when played with others. For those looking for a simple, classic platformer, this game is likely to be right up your alley. On the other hand, players should not go into this expecting something more contemporary. Overall, Spelunker Party! is what it sets out to be, and it does it well.

If you are looking to pick up an NBA game this holiday season the choice is easy but make no bones about it NBA Live is becoming a contender. Let’s just see what they do next year.

It doesn’t quite make it into the elite, but Feral Fury’s relatively low asking price means that there’s value for money to be found.

Jam Live Music Arcade has some really good elements; however, some of the control issues and the games difficulty level may inevitably turn some people away.

Call of the Beastmen is not a bad bit of DLC; it’s just an overpriced one. It is nearly a third of the price of the main game, and it contains nowhere near a third of the content. For hard-core fans of the original, this addition is worthwhile for the extra race, but it might be prudent to wait for a sale. Casual fans can ignore the Call altogether.

Bohemian Killing, with its unique plot and great artistic style, is a great experience for fans of murder mystery, however, it does seem to be a niche game targeting a very specific audience.

More time to polish would have done a lot of good for Warden: Melody of the Undergrowth. More art, maybe another spirit friend, and better combat could have pushed this game much closer to a “must buy” category. As it is, you’re better off waiting for a sale unless you really dig the art and premise.

There’s nothing overwhelmingly wrong with Twilight Path, but it’s not treading on new ground either. There’s a whole lot of similar VR games to this one and there just isn’t much to make it really stand out from the crowd.

Like two ki blasts meeting and struggling to destroy one another, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is a mixed bag of things. It captures the spirit of the anime with its frenetic combat and ridiculous overacting but stumbles mightily with an impenetrable tutorial and convoluted structure.

If you’re a fan of the Gundam franchise, you’ll experience this game differently. The ambient weight of the setting provides essential context. We’re watching the antagonists as they struggle with impending defeat. Every glimpse of the flagship Gundam across enemy lines spins up genuine dread. Yet even this power is used too sparingly. The Gundam franchise is a massive, sweeping saga whose greatest battles are also remarkably intimate. Colossal wars are distilled into two machines engaging in physical and ideological struggles. So far, this is markedly absent from Code Fairy. Hopefully, the next two volumes find more solid narrative footing.

Republique Episode 4 is neither the weakest entry, nor the best. It’s caught in the middle. Whether it’s because of development troubles or simply to blame on the story, remains to be seen, and with a finale on the horizon, it still has a chance to end strong.

Gamers who love the old school feel of dungeon exploring RPG's will probably enjoy most of what Unchained Blades has to offer. Unfortunately, I found the game had a few too many holes and issues to really hold my attention, but for the right gamer it could be just the thing for the start of summer.

There’s no denying that at its core this game is good, however, the problem lies in the fact that it’s just so damn unpolished.

Fans looking for a fighting game with deep gameplay that rewards mastery of game mechanics best look elsewhere. Fans of the characters that just want to run amuck with them for awhile should be pleasantly diverted. At least for awhile.

Cling! has a steep learning curve for the controls, but once you get the hang of it there is some enjoyment to be had, and the game can be addicting as you try “just one more time” to get a better medal.

Wild Card Football manages to capture the essence of the sport in an arcade format. I’m torn about the Wild Cards, as they add variety to each play but they can also give an unfair advantage. Luckily, you can disable these and just play a standard match. However, the issues lie in the content. Dream Squad is fun but the slow progression makes it feel like a grind and the lack of other modes hinders the overall experience.

There are far better RPG’s available on the 3DS and there are far better “casual” games on the 3DS. But, those quirky Mii’s might still have the power to draw some of you into this grand adventure.

Despite Nightfall being a relatively short bit of DLC, it manages to pack in some fun challenges with the level design, and the combat is as satisfying as ever. I found the story to be nicely paced throughout the four levels and leaves you off just before the opening of Aragami. However, the DLC doesn’t add much more to the game than the three new Shadow Techniques and is over once you’ve only just gotten into it.

Metal Wolf Chaos XD is a priceless artifact, a flawed gem the size of your fist that must be seen to be believed. Especially if you’ve got a history with From Software’s other mech titles. This is a critical link in the chain with no equal in the genre’s history. On the other hand, if none of that applies to you, hot damn this game has issues. The premise and the execution are wildly disparate elements. The pacing is stuttered and archaic. The mechanics at play are padded yet flat. I can’t fault that timeless voice acting either way, though. My thoughts on the game aside, hearing president Wilson and co. deliver their lines is absolute delight. Metal Wolf Chaos XD is a weird, wonky game you should almost definitely, probably, see for yourself.

It is frustrating to take actions and due to the limited character animations not seeing my inputs realized properly on the screen. If you’re a big survival horror fan of games like resident evil outbreak you may find the robustness of the variety of game plays available to you sufficient to overlook or handle the issues with character animation.

A borderline unusable map and generally difficult combat combined with traps that kill you immediately could definitely turn people off, but those who choose to persevere will likely enjoy this game enough to see it through to its obtuse, confusing ending.

If you were looking to find a perfect replica of the Netflix series complete with an original storyline you won’t find that here. Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia is plenty good fun if viewed as a standalone title but it’s hard not to compare it to the Netflix series and find it underwhelming. Now as a pre-teen or teen, Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia is worth a playthrough for sure, especially with friends. As an adult, however, it’s probably not going to hold your attention very long; maybe just skip this one.

Yesterday Origins is yet another game to add to the point & click genre that serves up a fairly unique story. It may not be the “must play” point & click adventure game of the year, but it’s one that you can escape in fairly enjoyably.

This game is kind of a mess. There’s a ton of tiny glitches, the writing is all over the place, and some fights feel pretty wonky. But I still had fun. Maybe it’s just because I never played the original release. Or maybe my expectations were never terribly high. But killing zombies with a chainsaw amidst a flurry of sparkly gore can be a pretty good time. On the other hand, I hesitate to recommend this game for purchase. Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP isn’t quite worth a full-price commitment yet. You might want to catch this one on sale in the near future, once a few patches have dropped.

H1Z1 may have been the king of the battle royale market back in its days of inception, but with Battlegrounds and Fortnite both evolving the genre in distinctive ways, it no longer feels as relevant. For H1Z1 to regain its audience, it needs to take more creative risks as demonstrated by Auto Royale.