Does Grand Slam Tennis 2 compete with Top Spin 4? On the surface it does give the reigning king a run at it but manages to fall short. The career mode is limiting, the analog stick controls need refining, and the game itself doesn't have the depth that sports games have become accustom to in recent years. Although I enjoyed my time with Grand Slam Tennis 2 there is still plenty of room for improvement and my hope is that EA doesn't give up on the young series and comes back with an ace in its follow-up.

iNK Stories’ effort to create both an enthralling story and a factual window into history is admirable, and while it doesn’t quite stick the landing, it’s still an interesting game with plenty of historical information to paw through after you’ve completed it. The price tag is a bit too steep for a three-hour game, but history buffs and Telltale fans alike should see value in 1979 Revolution: Black Friday.

By its nature, a game trivializes its subject matter to some degree, no matter how seriously the subject is presented. One could argue that making any kind of game relating to the Holocaust is bad mojo, but on the other hand, it might engender some awareness of history and My Memory of Us —made by a Polish developer—obviously comes from a sincere place and not crass commercialism. Philosophy and aesthetic arguments aside, where My Memory of Us both occasionally succeeds but equally often stumbles is in its puzzles and gameplay and mechanics.

Ultimately, Marooners doesn't have any staying power and almost no depth. But it's fun in the short term. This is a good game to whip out at a party or with a group of good friends once a year, but that's about it. If that's what you are looking for, then this game is right up there for you.

The premise and production values are pretty much the only things that made me interested in West of Dead but the frustration over not being able to gain a proper foothold for forward progress really got to me. Character advancement doesn’t carry over into each new play session, making any boosts you find a zero-sum game. These days, my time is increasingly valuable. Nothing about the experience was ever fun and at the end of the day, I fell into the mindset that the only way to win was to simply not play.

Spectra is an average, straightforward racer that’s easy enough to grasp. And yet, it comes off as half finished.

It’s fairly obvious that a major reason for Samorost 3’s existence is to give its series some recognition as something other than a footnote to the rest of its developer’s work, and in that regard, it roundly succeeds. But after shaking off the “browser game” stigma, it merely continues its business as a temporarily enjoyable diversion.

It’s a shame, really. Scanner Sombre felt more like a glorified tech demo than a proper game. With its short length and mostly shallow gameplay, it’s a bit difficult to justify the $12 price tag. However, it boasts a very well done gimmick as well as a memorable atmosphere. If you’re looking for a short, but sweet exploration game, then this is for you. If you’re looking for something a bit meatier, however, you should probably give this a pass.

Honestly, Downward Spiral: Horus Station shows a lot of promise. I see what the developers at 3rd Eye Studios were going for, but they seem to have fallen flat in their execution. The excessive amount of minimalism in the story really held the game back for me. The gameplay provided a one of a kind experience, but it didn’t make for that great of a time. Though I’m not all that enthusiastic about the game, I’m very eager to see what 3rd Eye Studios makes next.

All this makes Tembo a fine game where the really bad, really rough parts are REALLY bad and REALLY rough, in a way that brings the rest of the game down.

While its 8-bit action RPG fusion fulfills a baseline addictive quality, frequent missteps and repetitiousness pushed me too far away to ever get hooked.

In the end, Eventide 2: The Sorcerer's Mirror is another solid offering from Artifex Mundi, and fans of the genre will undoubtedly enjoy this title. The entire project however, just feels... a bit underwhelming, as the developer's usual effort just doesn't seem to be here (mainly in the game's short length, lack of a bonus chapter, and lack of alternate game modes). Still, if you're looking for a relaxing time with various puzzles and hidden object scenes to enjoy, Eventide 2 is ready to serve you up another dose.

So, is Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock worth it? If you are a big fan of the series, then you should get some enjoyment out of getting to be The Doctor. If, however, you aren’t much of a fan, you probably won’t find this game’s mechanics and minigames to be worth your time. It is a competent effort, but not a great one.

While the inclusion of a 9 person multiplayer is indeed intriguing, there just isn’t enough to Runbow to really make you along want to come back, let alone the 8 other people you can possibly finagle. It’s simplistic jumping on levels for time trials, or it’s overly-chaotic racing around the same platforming levels. It’s not like the WiiU is hurting for good 2D platformers that you can play instead.

RB: Axolotl is a multi-year labor of love from a very small team and it bravely includes some characters and emotional situations that have rarely been explored in games, but given the passive nature of the player experience, I couldn’t help but wonder if the video game format was the best, or even a necessary, vehicle for telling the story. I was at first interested in the characters and their emotional and philosophical dilemmas but I was eventually annoyed and made impatient by the pacing and presentation, repetitive visuals and lack of player input. Other than clicking to advance the dialogue and very occasionally hitting a key to start a short animation, my participation was neither necessary or rewarded so it was difficult to fully invest the the drama and lives of the characters.

There’s a good game in Pokemon X, and fans looking for another game near-identical to the ones before it likely won’t find issue with a lot of the dusty trimmings and transparent battle system. If you want to get into into the new stat rebuilding features and grind out tons of easy battles to prep for high-level online multiplayer, it’s never been easier to do so. But for all else, the game’s excellent visuals belie the frustratingly old-fashioned design. RPG folk can find better times on their 3DS.

The fact remains that there is still within Mass Effect: Andromeda an ambitious core and a vast amount of content, some of it very entertaining, if not the major leap forward or surprising change of direction that fans were hoping for. The first trilogy had its issues to be sure, but the games were beloved for their stories and characters. It's doubtful that players will keep returning to Andromeda. Aside from the tepid characters and rote story, its biggest failure is a lack of imagination. It somehow takes us to a whole new galaxy but makes us feel like we never left home.

The game lacks depth, and is just too short to be enjoyed.

There’s a good game in Pokemon Y, and fans looking for another game near-identical to the ones before it likely won’t find issue with a lot of the dusty trimmings and transparent battle system. If you want to get into into the new stat rebuilding features and grind out tons of easy battles to prep for high-level online multiplayer, it’s never been easier to do so. But for all else, the game’s excellent visuals belie the frustratingly old-fashioned design. RPG folk can find better times on their 3DS.

For all of its faults, Battlezone: Combat Commander is fun, unique, and innovative. It could even stand the test of time if the developers had spent their energy updating the game mechanics rather than just the in-game graphics. Ultimately, it's a fun game that should have gotten a lot more love from the remaster than it did. For my part, I will continue to enjoy this old classic like I did when I was a kid, but I will always be disappointed that it isn't all it could be, nay, all that is should be.

Episode 2: Shaking the Hive, for what it’s worth, benefits from better pacing than Episode 1 and it doesn’t waste as much time with Eliot performing ordinary tasks. Still, there is little in either Episode 1 or Episode 2 so far to separate Blues and Bullets from the middle of the pack. My recommendation at this point – stay tuned.

Overall, I enjoyed getting scared by horrible, scary-looking spirits.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands is by no means a terrible, or even bad, game: it provides moments of intense fun, particularly with friends, when you're trying to clear out a base without being detected. Yet, it has some serious issues. The A.I. coding is just not good; the huge draw distances causes stutter and screen-tearing on consoles; and even though there is undeniably a lot of content in the form of missions and things to collect, it does become repetitive and dull—just how quickly it becomes a drag depends on your tolerance for walking around and collecting things, I suppose. But if you don't have friends to play with, and you have to rely on boneheaded teammate A.I. to help you fight questionable and irrational enemy A.I., then the game's problems are amplified.

With such a crowded market for 3-match shooters such as this, Sparkle Unleashed doesn’t do much to stand out, but instead gives us a fun, familiar game, albeit a forgettable one.

Anyone expecting a Zelda-esque level of role-playing or story, or Mario-level platforming will be disappointed by The Forbidden Arts, as will gamers looking forward to a lush, 3D world to explore. In fact, The Forbidden Arts is a platformer with light RPG elements, a skeletal story and an imperfect balance between its controls and its demands. Ultimately, The Forbidden Arts lacks ambition and enough imagination to help it stand out from a crowded, accomplished field.

There’s already a really good foundation in place for something that could be really fun to play. Tightening up the gaps in between battles, opening up new environments faster, and redoing the level design would go a long way in making Time Carnage VR really cook.

If you're still hankering for some old school adventure game action, then you could do worse than Tomb Of The Lost Queen. It's hardly the most polished, most attractive title out there but it doesn't make any grave missteps and just about kept me engaged enough to see it through to its conclusion.

EA gets blinded by the bling-bling and forgets to focus on the gameplay, leaving gamers with a painfully basic and shallow fighting game.

There's plenty to like in Mr. Driller DrillLand. It looks and sounds great and the same core gameplay that people loved more than twenty years ago holds up beautifully. However, it ends up being let down by a structure that doesn't make a lot of sense and glitches which don't belong in a game released in 2020. If you have a ton of nostalgia for Mr. Driller or just need a well-designed puzzle game, though, there is still fun to be had.

The all too familiar Quick Time Event mechanic, featured prominently in “Catch A Ride,” is old and its age is made all the more noticeable because of the weak story. It’s also unfunny, hurt by technical issues, and fails to inject excitement in its own narrative, one that I still have no idea of where it’s planning to go.

A game that really has the makings of a good game but doesn't stick around long enough to successfully show it off.

When you first take a peek at 2Dark, the name, the descriptions and whatnot, you get a sense that this game is just gonna be another generic survival horror game that takes itself way too seriously -- maybe with crafting elements sprinkled in there to further piss me off; No charm, no redeeming value, either a Silent Hill knockoff or a Slenderman knockoff. However you will soon realize that 2Dark is, and thank god for that, its own original thing with a different approach to horror. The story is deliberately cheesy. The game itself knows that the story's bland, is quickly brushed off and rarely mentioned ever again. You're a private detective with a murdered family who rescues children from evil clowns, serial killers and rest of the kitchen sink. It's okay, not too aggregating, a bit too edgy but mostly harmless.

Dragon's Dogma is a game of missteps. It tries to be open world, but doesn't fill it with much to do. It tries to be a co-op style adventure game, but doesn't actually have co-op. It tries to tell an epic tale, but fills it with boring tasks. It has a lot going for it thanks to its intense combat and amazing ending.

It’s a commendable effort to make a mystery-solving adventure without narrative structure but the game simply lacks pizzazz for anyone but the keenest investigators. Even I, who utterly love detective stories and games, was often frustrated by how little the game is willing to help the players wanting to solve its case. The Painscreek Killings has an exciting murder mystery hidden somewhere but it’s buried under all the extra baggage of technical issues and awkward game design.

Like so many Piranha Bytes games, it's easy to feel some affection for the sheer ambition and quirky execution of the premise. Even some of the messy, so-bad-it's-good acting has a bit of hokey charm. The reality is that Elex is several significant patches away from any greatness and even then, some fundamental mechanics are too hardwired into the game to be patched away. As I played Elex, I kept wishing that a triple-A developer could get its hands on the story, setting, and concept. Then again, maybe the appeal of Elex lies in it being messy, broken, and ambitious, and not the product of a bland corporate insecurity.

With gangsta-themed games growing in popularity, this ride and gun actioner provides some decent arcade-style action, albeit with limited replay value.

Crossroads Inn might not be the first medieval sim (that honor probably goes to 2011’s The Sims Medieval) and there are quite a few castle builders out there as well, but as a narrowly focused genre blend of builder and sim, Crossroads Inn stakes out some specific territory. Whether the game reaches its potential to own that little niche depends on whether the developers can squash the many bugs that plague the game and degrade the experience of playing it.

Anomaly: Warzone Earth is a tower defense game that may appeal to people who don't like tower defense.

Despite its shortcomings, Mr. Shifty is a fun adrenaline rush that tests your twitch reflexes and quick thinking. Each level has your heart pumping as you dodge bullets only to get hit by that one stray grenade. Death comes quickly, but respawns come even faster, and you will need them. While some levels can be frustrating due to difficulty spikes, you’ll get the hang of it eventually. And when you finally complete that one trouble spot, you’ll feel that rush of accomplishment. Mr. Shifty is a fun, competent action game that offers a brief, but great, rush of excitement that is only slightly marred by technical issues.

What Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption ultimately lacks is the kind of flexibility and variety that makes the Souls games so engaging. I actually think that Sinner’s bosses are interesting, well-designed and sort of terrifying, and in the context of a game with a fleshed out story, character-defining progression and better pacing, those bosses could be memorable level-ending encounters. In its present form, Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption feels like a proof of concept tech demo that badly needs to have a real game built around it.

Siren is a game that was an experiment of sorts in the realm of downloadable and episodic games. I would have to say on most accounts that the game failed.

Cloudpunk has a lot of character and charm going for it. The voice acting is well done, the design of the city is great, the ambient sound design is absolutely fantastic, and the rainy atmosphere is wonderfully evocative. Such joys were sadly short-lived in the aftermath of losing all my progress because of a mysterious bug that I have no idea how to reproduce and avoid. There’s nothing worse than having a game break down in such a way that pretty much kills all enthusiasm and motivation to keep playing. Cloudpunk is a really neat piece of software and if you’re keen to try it yourself, I strongly recommend waiting until it gets the necessary patches.

Disintegration falls somewhere between its spiritual forefather and the potential it could have achieved. Neither single-player nor multiplayer is satisfying enough to guarantee staying power in the ruthless battle for gamers’ souls.

Majesco promises a unique gaming experience that looks great on paper, but is constantly plagued by poor enemy AI and major frame-rate issues.

It's a shame that the difficulty spike was so abrupt and painful. There is the core of a great game here. A little more play-testing or a little bending of the design philosophy to allow a hint system would have allowed me to retain the initial positive feelings I had towards the game. I hope that the developers make more games in this vein and refine their formula further.

It’s low rent gun porn. At its best, Lethal VR is a tech demo and barely worth notice, even for hungry PlayStation VR owners looking for something to play. Best acquired during a PSN sale, if at all.

Sega tries to breathe new life into the stale Sonic franchise with this racer, but sadly forgot to rev up the overly simplistic gameplay and slim selection of modes and characters.

The more I played, the more I felt like Sailaway wasn’t my kind of game. It seemed to be more for the diehard boat lovers looking to emulate the sailing experience with all its technicalities, warts and all. That is all well and good, but as it is for me, it is simply a game that isn’t all that satisfying to play. It passes on a technical level, but as art, it leans far too heavily on realism for its own good.

While the first The Amazing Spider-Man could have been a great launch point, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 feels like the same thing all over again with, at most, half steps taken to improve.

While it may not be the best platformer of our time, it’s a decent enough romp for the $15 price tag.

Overall, Galaxy Champions TV is a decent little game, and an instant purchase for those who miss Smash TV. Otherwise, I feel like this is the sort of game perfectly suited to the Switch. Just something to play during your morning train ride. Simple, engaging for a short time, and rounds are over quickly.

I want to love The Falconeer, and I do love it in a way, but I cannot recommend it. Despite the quality of its art style and the peacefulness that exudes when you fly over its endless ocean, it’s a tedious and plodding experience. Combat, which comprised the vast majority of the game’s runtime, is inaccurate and weightless, making all of your successes and failures feel arbitrary. And yet, the game makes you want to come back to it, as if by some ineffable witchcraft. I desperately wish this were a better game than it is, rather than an amazing looking game let down by its frustrating combat and boring sandbox experience.

Outward is a game of disappointments and intriguing potential. While its dated-looking graphics and unsatisfying combat are off-putting, it stands alone as an RPG of particularly human scale. We may not need to be reminded that humans are frail and fragile creatures in a scary world, but Outward takes a conceptual chance and sees it through to the end.

Overall, the numerous heroes filled with in-jokes and references are the game’s biggest strengths. The novelty doesn’t last long and it becomes an exercise in patience having to relearn control schemes while navigating unfairly placed traps. It’s compelling to find each character’s inner strengths but it can also get repetitive thanks to the uninspired stage layouts. Indeed, 88 Heroes is an example of quantity over quality. I like the premise but wish there were more specialized challenges that took the heroes’ unique powers into account or levels that incorporated the powers as opposed to succumbing to a generic one-size fits all design. While the game isn’t necessarily GR8, I didn’t H8 it, and there’s some value to be found for 2D sidescrolling fans or anyone who’s willing to pay for a good laugh.

There is really not much else that can be said about Shrek the Third, other than it is disappointing to constantly see games that could be enjoyable but fall into the stereotype of bad games based-on movies.

As a point-and-click adventure fan, I liked Subject 13 despite its flaws. There were some shining examples of environmental puzzles and an interesting story that hooked me. Due to the faulty controls and the horrible final puzzle, I can only recommend this game to the most devout fans of the genre. This game was made for those fans, as the Kickstarter suggests. With just a bit more polish, Subject 13 could have been a solid example of a modern point-and-click adventure.

The visuals and the platform challenges create a strong framework for what could be a great game. Despite these sturdy foundations, the skirmishes are problematic. Castle of Heart is blemished by some bad gameplay decisions when it comes to the action. If you can look past these flaws, though, there's an enjoyable game making me warily recommend it.

Koei's less hectic hack and slasher brings PS2-standard gameplay to the small screens to the PSP, but hampered by the inadequate camera and drab graphics.

All in all, New Super Lucky's Tale isn't a bad 3D romp at all, although veterans of the genre (or really gaming in general) are just going to tear through it with ease. This definitely puts the game into the for younger audiences crowd, for better or worse. Still, if you really dig these types of games and don't mind the low challenge and short run-time, the game may just be for you. Just make sure you've fully explored the genre first!

Pagan Online’s Slavic fantasy pulls from mythologies that are slightly off the beaten path, but so much of the game feels like familiar — and what’s worse, less successful — tropes, mechanics and ideas gleaned from other ARPGs, MOBAs and mobile games. It does have the advantage of presenting relatively short and fast-paced missions to the time-pressed player, but I suspect fans of action RPGs would prefer a more creative, immersive and less repetitive experience to one that is just abbreviated.

Overall, Knights of Pen & Paper 2 is a light-hearted turn-based RPG with some novel concepts attached to it. Still, the magic wears thin pretty fast as there is not much strategy and variation involved in the combat, while side quests are mostly glorified fetch jobs. Nevertheless, the game is still a fun experience in itself and worth checking out if you love tabletop RPGs and haven’t played the first game.

The story was interesting with captivating settings and gorgeous areas to explore. The game also featured a great audio design, with some voice acting accenting the strong background music. The puzzles were difficult but fair, and the sense of accomplishment created true highs. But between glitches and faulty control schemes, I found the game impossible to complete, and that makes it hard to recommend.

Every genre has a mechanic that a game has to nail. For a roguelike, it’s that tantalizing feeling of almost getting to the end and being just short of the power or skill to do so that makes it so fun to try again. While Warlander has a decent core combat system, it’s surrounded by frustrating mechanics, dull writing and a story that goes nowhere. Like its empty environments, Warlander above all feels like missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind isn’t a bad game by any means, it’s just a familiar one. It captures the tone of Birmingham really well, and exploring this world can be fun at times, but otherwise, nothing else really sets itself apart. For puzzle adventure fans there are plenty of other options that may have more to offer, but fans of the show may find some enjoyment in this title despite some of its shortcomings.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier is not bad game; it's simply a bad Ghost Recon game.

There is potentially a lot to like about Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command for the PSP, but it is overly frustrating, and this frustration doesn't make either the offline or online content all that enticing to play.

The gameplay loop is kind of awful but piloting an airplane and shooting others out of the sky is really satisfying, especially as they fall to the earth trailing black smoke before they explode into dozen pieces. What Skies of Fury DX lacks in stuff to do, it almost makes up for it in playability.

Perhaps with time Heroes of the Storm can age into something great, for now it’s worth checking out if you want to experience a different take on a popular genre.

It’s hard to imagine RPG fans used to God of War or Outer Worlds finding Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition anything but nearly unplayable. Graphics aren’t everything, but dated appearance married to a frustrating UI and even some missing features are asking a lot to be forgiven. Extremely tolerant gamers willing to overlook these flaws and seek the under-the-surface quality will find it, but playing a true remake or graphically made-over game would be a more inviting prospect than the disappointing port that we actually have.

Epic Manager's conceit is refreshingly unexpected and, for the most part, its two genres manage to coexist pretty well. The game seems to own its absurd premise and leavens the experience with humor, bad puns and wordplay. There is a lot to do, although it's often not clear what to do, and I wish its core RPG elements were a bit more appealing. There are many games where dissimilar genres feel at odds, but Epic Manager manages to make a pretty convincing case for itself.

If you absolutely must have a new combat car racing game, go for it. Otherwise, maybe hold off until the mood strikes you… or it’s on sale.

On the whole, The Little Acre might make for an entertaining couple of hours to spend with the family, but offers little substance or lasting appeal. This does not suggest that the game is without merit, and one can only imagine the countless hours that the team at Pewter Games poured into the The Little Acre’s art and animation. Beauty aside, however, the game simply isn’t supported by its art-style alone.

Milanoir is an enjoyable, bite-sized action game. Its combat stays fresh despite its simplicity, and well-designed boss fights allow the game to put its best foot forward for most of the campaign. However, the final act walks back much of what made the main game fun, while the story fails to coalesce into anything particularly moving. Milanoir may provide some fun thrills for action-movie junkies with an appreciation for Milan and its culture, but those looking for anything deeper would best look elsewhere.

Frustrating controls and just a mediocre performance as a whole.

At no point in the game is there a solid hour of uninterrupted fun.

While it’s obvious that the games spell-crafting system is the main focus, I felt as though it was never implemented into the game well enough to warrant great praise. I’m sure it will get a lot of coverage and be an entertaining thing to watch players utilize and break over time, but it doesn’t do much for the game aside from that. Mages of Mystralia is a good looking fantasy romp with an interesting spell system, typical fantasy setting and story, and basic combat. It’s the type of game you can finish and enjoy in a weekend and then probably forget about in a few weeks.

Darkestville Castle is an admirable take on the point-and-click genre. It provides a unique perspective on the idea of morality in games in the form of a compelling protagonist. Cid immediately impresses thanks to some strong writing and voice acting. However, the game is bogged down by inconsistent storytelling, unintuitive puzzles and pacing issues throughout its runtime, making the merits much more difficult to appreciate. The genre veterans undeterred by Darkestville Castle’s rougher edges will find a charming story about demons and trickery worth experiencing. For everyone else, there are easier and more consistent adventure games deserving your time.

Super Crush KO offers fantastic style and solid gameplay which is a strong opening combo for any action game. Far too little variety, even for a game this short, keeps it from being a must play, but there is fun to be had if you go in with the right expectations.

If Dead Synchronicity sounds intriguing (it did to me when I first heard about it), playing the game should be done at your own risk. This game has no ending. The conclusion is thoroughly unsatisfying and because I have no idea what the future looks like for this game on the platform, I’m at a loss to offer much in the way of a recommendation

You get the sense that the developers are simply going through the motions and don't didn't bother to offer a refreshing take on the genre.

In the end, Rayman 3 just doesn't make much sense on the gamescape of 2012. It would have been more logical as a pre-order bonus for Rayman Origins than its own thing. It's a good port of a pretty good game that relies too heavily on combat rather than platforming and should only be experienced by those that can't get enough Rayman.

Doctor Who: The Edge of Time has some fun ideas and offers fans a great opportunity to go on a time-hopping adventure with the greatest alien hero television has ever seen. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite feel ready for prime time nor is it optimized well enough on the PlayStation 4.

Unless you’re dying for a game set in Vietnam, there’s no great need to play this.

Tired of dancing to the tunes? Konami lets you become the DJ, with the aid of a cool controller. Fun for a while, if not for the dated songlist.

The new driving physics are very enjoyable, the sense of speed is at best dizzying, real-time weather works to a great effect, and there is a lot of offline and online content (and progress between them is mutual). Dozens of tracks to race on come from all over the world, painstakingly recreated from real ones (along with some made-up ones) to maximize their authenticity. However, these positives are buried under excess rubble of inexcusably coarse presentation and flawed game design that leans too much on merciless grind instead of rewarding natural progress.

Burnout Crash is better served as a something to do when you have a few minutes to kill.

All that being said, the core of Pressure is a fun ride. Good mechanics go a long way towards making a great action-racer, but the bumps along the road end up bogging this down at the end of the race.

This latest AC continues to cater for hardcore fans, as casual gamers will be turned off by the absence of a story and online multiplayer support.

Conan Unconquered’s slow-moving economy that always seems to lag behind the relentless waves of enemies is frustrating and the fact that there are only two playable heroes — a third is available behind a paywall at launch — and no story or campaign make the game feel like it’s incomplete or at the very least a meager package for the price. Coupled with the repetitious nature of the environments and matches, the uninspired voice work and shallow gameplay, Conan Unconquered is a disappointing hybrid of RTS and tower defense that squanders the Conan brand once again.

EA extends their NBA franchise for the next-gen 360, but sadly fails to refine the whole formula, resulting in an uneven and unpolished game.

Players who want to complete the level and do so in the shortest amount of time will find a lot to love in this game and even more so in the game’s replay value. However, when the initial awe wears off, Shadow Blade: Reload comes across as a generic ninja-action game with an interesting art style, good controls and an otherwise underwhelming story.

As a hidden object game, this will definitely appeal to casual gamers and puzzle enthusiasts, although the story and overall premise may turn off a hard-core audience.

Keepers of the Void offers a nice change of pace to Darksiders III’s From Software-enriched action experience. If you’re playing the game for the first time or enjoying the New Game Plus mode that was added back in April, the added zone should provide a nice break from the main story (especially on harder difficulty modes). To that end, I just wish the puzzles were more exciting. If nothing else, I was pleased to see that the area of Limbo runs very well and at no point did I run into issues that plagued my experience last year.

Nintendo release another title that makes perfect use of its quirky controllers, but with just a few truly memorable games in the collection, it's best as a weekend rental.

Setting traps and luring your enemies to their doom is a brilliant idea, but Tecmo doesn't build on that with more gameplay variety.

Fans who are starving for more Pillars of Eternity II will not be disappointed, either by the gameplay or by this mini story’s dive into some of the universe’s more interesting lore. On the other hand, if you have sunk 150 hours into the series through two full games and two previous DLCs, then you may be tiring of its formula, its routine, and its combat. It probably feels even more tiresome if you love the series for its open ended exploration, since the mostly linear DLC offers very little of this. How much you will enjoy Beast of Winter ultimately depends upon how important each of these elements are to you.

Although Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is a classic in the Fire Emblem series, it's hard to recommend for modern audiences. The bare bones of what makes Fire Emblem great is here, but it's bogged down by outdated systems and the limitations of the original Famicom system. Although I appreciate that Nintendo wanted to preserve the original experience, I feel that they should have added more quality of life improvements to the game before releasing it. This game has already been remade for the DS as Shadow Dragon. I feel like it would have been better for Nintendo to have released that in a bundle with this original port. I can really only recommend this for hardcore Fire Emblem fans and those who have a great deal of patience for classic game mechanics.

Under the right set of circumstances, though, the game can be fun thanks to its varied classes and trolling-heavy metagame. Shooting the food with three friends can still be a great time, but you’ll have to temper your expectations.