Regardless of the format, Gungrave VR doesn’t really offer any major reason to try it. It just exists, although even that is up for debate considering how little content is actually available. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it affair, the type of game I’ll forget I even reviewed a few months from now and should serve as more of a warning for the upcoming Gungrave GORE than a precursor. This gun belongs back in the grave.

The gameplay has not aged well, and the Kinect integration is gimmicky at best.

Babylon’s Fall falters with its implementation of a live-service model. While it contains a compelling, multi-faceted combat system, its brilliance is lost in a crowd of unnecessary features. The art direction, although interesting, doesn’t capture the notion of an oil painting. Instead, it looks bland and at times, downright ugly. Unfortunately, it seems that a troubled development period has marred the game, resulting in a directionless, cluttered and convoluted adventure.

Another gripe I have with the game is that there are no checkpoints. If you fail, you have to start from Wave 1. While getting through each wave doesn’t take an extraordinary amount of time, your arms do start to hurt after shooting a lot of arrows. It would have been nice if the game implemented some sort of checkpoint system as I frequently found myself dying during the boss battles.

Ionia has some appealing concepts and the environmentally-conscious themes show its heart is in the right place. The climbing mechanic and other physical interactions are also well suited to VR. But there just isn’t enough to do, and in Ionia’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it run time I was never challenged physically or mentally. Even the centerpiece musical aspects really just amounted to me plunking a few notes and moving on. Despite a few highlights, this is one adventure that doesn’t live up to the magical premise.

Quantum Error desperately wants to just be a dystopian sci-fi CGI film, without any pesky gameplay to kill its momentum. Alas, there is a clunky, antiquated, and unrefined shooter wedged between the game’s Unreal Engine 5 cinematics. Love and attention was poured into the cutscenes, but the shooter is malnourished and not very much fun. Next time, just make a movie.

Rather than feeling any sort of tension, I was mostly bored.

The graphics look good for a budget title. From far away environments look especially good. But the music is definitely where Tamarin shines brightest. The score was done by Rare veteran composer David Wise and employs everything from military action music, to synthwave, to jungle beats. A lot of tracks are very memorable, and I was always happy when something extra powerful kicked in for combat sections. I really hope Tamarin’s issues are addressed with patches. It’s possible, as the game was constantly pushed back from its original release date. But right now it’s almost unplayable, because of its camera pulling. It’s not possible to recommend Tamarin for anything other than the music at present.

I was expecting (and hoping for) a spooky and atmospheric thrill ride, but instead got an ill conceived and unpolished first person puzzle game. The story is weak, the puzzles unintuitive, and the experience wholly unsatisfying. Explorers would be better served travelling back in time and playing Myst, or picking up one of the games I mentioned above. Steer clear of this one.

A poorly-done Tomb Raider clone that lacks everything good about that series. Awful combat and stealth mechanics, a boring dead world, and mindless co-op puzzles await all who purchase this. Do yourself a favor and purchase either of the new Tomb Raider games for less than you’d be paying if you bought Troll and I. I’m still shocked they’re trying to charge the exorbitant amount that they are for this buggy, unimpressive adventure.

Overall, there’s not a lot here for me to even criticize. The motion controls are a bit sloppy, the dialogue needs work and the amount of actual content is pretty laughable. On top of that, you’d be hard-pressed to get through this game without feeling gross or guilty. Yet, I still have to salute Xseed’s commitment to their physics engines and character models. Whatever else the game lacks, Asuka still moves and reacts at the level you expect from any Senran Kagura title.

Maybe the writing is good? The voice acting? The visuals? Nope. Remothered: Broken Porcelain looks awkward, the writing is weak and the voice acting… actually the some of the voice acting is alright. So, at least it has one redeeming quality, otherwise, this one is a hard pass.

There’s far too much wrong here for me to recommend The Deer God. Maybe the devs will continue developing and turn this into an excellent game at some point. The pieces are all there. It just needs more time and effort to unlock its full potential.

The reason why Zombieland was popular was because it was quirky, the characters were charming, and it was hilariously meta (I’m looking at you, Bill Murray). The makers of Road Trip try to recapture that glory but they seemed to have missed the part about how the characters made that movie. Much like how the phrase ‘Nut up or shut up’ was already tired by the end of the first movie, Road Trip is tired even as it boots up. So much so that most of the dialogue given to Tallahassee is that phrase that has been worn out for a full decade. Luckily, Double Tap itself was much better than its game counterpart. Based on historical examples, this isn’t the first time nor will it be the last time we can make that statement.

Overall, it’s just hard to recall a less ambitious multiplayer shooter than CrossfireX. Its generic single player campaign fares much better than its multiplayer, which is simply lacking in everything we’ve come to expect from the genre. Smilegate’s previous shooters have obviously connected with millions in the Asian market, but it’s hard to imagine CrossfireX igniting anything near that kind of enthusiasm in the very competitive multiplayer scene.

The idea was there, but the execution of the final product is a confused and chaotic mess. It’s unfortunate to say, but Umbrella Corps has taken the title of being the most poorly executed Resident Evil game to date.

All in all, Heavy Fire: Red Shadow is a game that is easy to overlook and doesn’t really give you much reason not to. There’s fun to be had and it’s an easy way to waste a half hour, but that’s really all you’ll be doing. With repetitive gameplay, a strange storyline, and a tone that oddly feels more like a recruitment video than anything else, Heavy Fire seems like it probably should have stayed dormant. Seriously though, if it does unlock a special invite to join the military, someone please let me know!

There was a real opportunity for DYING: Reborn to shine on virtual reality, but the end result feels like a cruel joke.

Clunky controls, poor visuals, and boring and repetitive gameplay make this game experience one that you should skip.

Whether it was the shoddy writing, non-existent character development, the floaty platforming physics or the combat mechanics that are often at odds with themselves, Randall is the kind of game that is no more than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately, that sum does not add up to a memorable experience.

Ultimately, Left Alive was such an awful experience that I wouldn’t recommend purchasing it for its full $60 price or even half that. Throughout my time with the game, I thought about how money someone should spend to buy this game and I eventually decided on an amount: No more than three dollars.

Though there are some definite strengths throughout Past Cure, like the textural environments, the melodies and the overall world duality, it simply fails to really take advantage of the hype gained from its badass trailers.

Flashback 2 has some nice ideas but bugs, a lack of polish and the clunky design hinder the entire experience. At each step, it feels as if you’re fighting with the game to get a hit of nostalgia. Beneath the wealth of issues, there is something of merit, however, the sheer volume of issues will just frustrate and infuriate.

For my interest in something to be increased, it has to be entertaining. This is where NBA Live 14 ultimately falls short for me.

If you’re a fan of Monster Jam or have younger gamers who enjoy simple racing games than this might be a worth-while purchase. However, if you’re a gamer looking for a deep racing simulation style game, or even a really good arcade style racing game, you’ll find better options elsewhere.

Overlord: Fellowship of Evil had the potential to be great especially with the direction of the Diablo-eqsue style game play. Sadly, the lack of polish in the presentation and unintriguing gameplay made for a hot mess and is a definite pass for any gamer, fan of the series or not.

What 7 Days to Die does right is provide a hearty selection of crafting and allows you to team up with friends locally or online to enjoy some co-op action. But is it worth picking up? For the simple fact that there’s better examples of world-building engines out there with a large fan base and even larger servers, I say pass.

Has all the ingredients to be good but it fails to bring it all together and ends up being a mediocre experience at the very best.