Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires is a niche version of an already divisive game and provides very little innovation to the musou formula. It honestly feels like a half-baked game, as if developer Koei Temco felt the need to keep the Empires spinoff line of games going simply because it has done it in the past. There are better musou games out there and better strategy games out there, and I honestly can't recommend this game to fans of either type of game. Ultimately, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires won't hold your interest for any extended period of time unless you're already a fan of the franchise.

Monster Energy Supercross 4 is a game seemingly made for die-hard fans of the sport and the simulation series. The sheer depth of customization options, a massive roster, the new skill-point system, and a robust track editor provide several reasons for them to keep coming back for more sessions. Newcomers, however, will first have to spend several hours learning the systems and grinding to earn enough money and points to improve their rider and bike before finding much enjoyment.

Hellboy: Web of Wyrd has spurts of fun to be found in its gameplay, which is held up by the grand visual aesthetics at the heart of it all. If the game didn't look like a living Hellboy comic it wouldn't be engaging, but that alone cannot save it from the repetitive and slow gameplay that sits at the heart of the entire thing. Luckily Hellboy: Web of Wyrd looks good and it has a story that feels authentic to its character. In the end though, it's also a very short game, and by the time you complete it all and are then allowed to do long runs with more customization options…you may have had your fill.

Skatebird is the kind of game that the world can never have enough of -- complex but accessible gameplay, unique gimmicks, and a clear sense of style. While there are a few kinks that need to be ironed out or settings that can be modified, they're largely outweighed by the unabashedly silly and enjoyable experience of playing the game. Skatebird is the perfect low-stakes, high-reward game to dive into right now, and hopefully other players will soon agree.

While the gameplay in Disintegration is really interesting, the game's plot never felt like it lived up to its promise.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is not a death rattle for Rocksteady Studios. If anything, it shows the studio was able to salvage a piece of its identity in a game that is clearly at war with itself. Whether that's a result of Rocksteady having an ever-evolving vision that was misguided at some point or requests from Warner Bros to make it more commercially viable, we'll likely never know. The point is, the things that Rocksteady is known for are found here. Rocksteadystill excels at satisfying superhero combat and larger-than-life comic book stories. However, it would be a mistake for this studio to double down on these live-service elements in future games. This isn't a great game, but it's also not a terrible one. It's simply two different games of varying qualities blended together to create a violent cocktail with mixed results.

People who love dystopian fiction in comics will probably enjoy the story of the game a great deal, but they will have to be willing to navigate the sometimes-frustrating combat system to see the gorgeously painted tale’s conclusion.

Regardless of how satisfying the combat may be, it’s only somewhat of a redeeming component to prevent the game from being a total letdown. Godfall has looting and it has slashing, to be sure, but you end up wading through so much to enjoy those parts. Perhaps loot fiends will get hooked on the endgame loop enough to stick around for a while, but what waits at the end is hardly worth the time it takes to get there.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition feels like a squandered opportunity. The game has seen a number of delays over the last year, but it doesn't feel like Square Enix utilized that time to improve the game over its predecessor. The voice work is rough, the controls are frustrating, load times are laughable, and the lack of couch co-op is glaring. The game's music and overall presentation are great and multiplayer is still fun after all these years, but it's hard to recommend the game when it feels like such a step back.

If you can get past a few little quirks in how the game runs, however, Tales of the Shire is going to be well worth your time. It is truly a cozy and wholesome escape to the Shire, full of the daily tasks a Hobbit loves best – cooking, eating, and enjoying time with friends.

The story attempts to hit a lot of familiar beats, but instead ends up feeling like someone copied the homework of the original trilogy without showing their work. Modern Warfare 3 seems to think nostalgia will carry the load of this story and that players may project their love for the original onto this one without it doing anything to earn that. On one hand, I commend Call of Duty for taking 20 years to deliver a campaign this messy. On the other hand, I hate that it happened to a story that revolves around characters and storylines that fans like myself have so much affinity for. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign is not a celebration of 20 years of Call of Duty – it's a cry for help. [Campaign Review Score = 40]

The fact that Beyond Victory is able to infuse these different gameplay approaches with such a lived-in touch of the Star Wars magic underscores how clever design and effective application of the tech can do wonders for established franchises. Beyond Victory is a fun experiment and showcase for the VR tech that Star Wars fans will find plenty to love about, but hopefully, the developers can take these lessons from this title and build on them in ways that only improve upon a solid bedrock.

At its best, Dark Alliance reminds me a bit of the classic arcade game Gauntlet. Those games were a blast to play with friends but were a frustrating experience when attempting to run solo. I have enjoyed every minute of Dark Alliance that I played with other players, whether it was with friends or random online companions. However, the single-player experience of Dark Alliance was miserable, at best, and should be avoided by anyone who wishes to have a fondness for the game.

At the heart of Ary and the Secret of Seasons rests a good story and a delightful world ripe for exploring. The only thing that keeps players from experiencing the world in full is the game's half-done execution. The glitches alone will put off seasoned gamers, and given this game's young demographic, it is hard to imagine kids suffering through the slips. This is a shame as Ary is the kind of character you want to root for. But after one too many glitches, her dazzling personality will fail to keep gamers plugged in.

There is a glimmer of a diamond in Predator: Hunting Grounds, but it is surrounded by a lot of rough. The game is a lot of fun when you’re playing with friends or even a well-coordinated group as the Fireteam, but balance issues with how the Predator can actually hunt the team or how the Fireteam can respond to an ill-equipped Predator truly keep it in a rough place as an asymmetrical multiplayer title. It has great ideas at its core but the execution at this stage isn’t working, and with fine-tuning, it could be top tier.

Pardon the pun, but playing Redfall really sucked the life out of me. It's a game that so desperately feels like it wants to be more than what it is, which is understandable. It's dreadfully dull, buggy, frustrating, and feels shackled to a genre that it doesn't really want to be part of. Far Cry with vampires sounds like a great idea, but ultimately, what we got feels like a shell of a prototype for such a concept. The vibes the game radiates are great and there are glimmers of a better game when all of the game's elements are working together in harmony, but that so rarely happens.

In simplest terms, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is a mess of a release and isn't anything close to the level of quality that we have come to expect from the Rockstar Games name in the past.

There’s a fun concept in Ascendance right from the jump, reintroducing one of gaming’s most beloved vampire epics with a riff on one of their closest peers in the medium. However, the game is held back by some lackluster design choices and overall lack of depth. While the game can be fun, Legacy of Kain: Ascendance never quite matches the ambitions it set for itself.

South Park: Snow Day's biggest sin is the complete lack of what made Fractured, But Whole and Stick of Truth work so well: their humor. Gone are many of the edgy jokes that made the previous two entries stick out, instead being replaced by characters that feel neutered and lacking the punch that helped make the animated series such a hit for oh so many years. Everything feels safe and stale, meaning that Snow Day is an easy pass for those looking to re-enter the world of South Park on their consoles or computers.

Crime Boss: Rockay City isn't a terrible game, but it is one that fails to even scratch the surface of its own potential. Sometimes mediocrity is worse than being bad, though, especially when all of the game's most unique concepts feel half-baked and the core gameplay experience is average at best. For a game that draws immediate parallels to other highly successful co-op crime games, Crime Boss fails to make itself stand out and tries to cover that up with gimmick-y Hollywood performances.

Override 2: Super Mech League truly flourishes when four friends can play together at the same time. It would be even better in the same room, but unfortunately, that's impossible for the time being. The online matchmaking holds up well through this setup, however, and you can definitely feel the hours melting away when you really get into the groove of things. It's just fun to beat up giant robots!

Balan Wonderworld is a lesson in how a video game can go completely wrong, missing every target it attempts to hit.

G.I. Joe fans haven't had much to celebrate over the last two decades, but G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout is a solid step forward in the franchise's return to greatness. It's not an experience that's likely to excite those unfamiliar with the brand, but this is a game that was clearly made for those looking for a genuine, G.I. Joe experience. IguanaBee and Fair Play Labs put a lot of effort into getting all of the little details right, delivering an experience that's absolutely worth checking out for Joe fans. The game doesn't offer anything too revolutionary, but this is a licensed game that does right by its audience. Yo Joe!

The Good Life, for better or intentionally worse, is full of hardships. It might be the kind of experience you're looking for if you wanted a reflection of just how laborious life can be sometimes. That might not make for a very good life, though.

Even with the beloved characters and charming interactions, as with most Shonen Jump crossover games, how much you get out of it will largely depend on how much you love these stories. For fans who only have access to a Switch, the journey will be worth it for you to experience this game, especially as the holidays loom and sales come through, but for anime fans looking for the best version of the game, you might want to get out that Dragon Radar and look at the offerings on PS4 and Xbox One.

There are also numerous graphical issues, flare-ups, and technical difficulties that show that Remothered: Broken Porcelain could have definitely benefited from more time in the oven. If you're looking for some survival horror for this Halloween season, look elsewhere.

Ultimately, Greyhill Incident is a big disappointment. This had real potential to be a short, but cool horror game that leverages tension and aliens in a way we haven't really seen in gaming. What we got instead is a flavorless game that feels like a concept for something much better. The only real positive thing I can give it is that it ensures what you'll endure is short and swift.

R.B.I. Baseball 20’s exhibition mode and the Home Run Derby provide brief stints of entertainment while the new presentation style and improved controls add even more depth and style. However, the lack of commentary, frequent and infuriating glitches, and shoddy AI cause an insurmountable amount of frustration.