It’s a shame, really: what could have been a cute, well-crafted platformer for home consoles ended up being a poorly-made port of a (much better) Vita game.

I wish I could say that the art of Shuyan Saga is amazing, the story is compelling and the game is challenging. Indeed, the premise was too good to be true. Apart from the occasionally cool fighting, the game lacks everywhere else. Even as it is though, Shuyan Saga somewhat fills the gaping shortage of wuxia games. Come to think of it, has there even been a wuxia game since BioWare’s excellent but widely unappreciated Jade Empire? The lack of better examples in the genre is the only reason I can hesitatingly recommend Shuyan Saga to the fans of Chinese kung fu movies.

It’s delightful that marginal games like Overpass are coming out that serve the need of a very niche market. What is not pleasing, though, is that the quality of the game doesn’t match its full-price tag. For all intent and purposes, Overpass should be a budget title that would excuse some of its issues. As it stands now, I can’t help but think that Overpass feels like playing a PS2 game on an emulator in HD resolution. Maybe some 15 years ago it could have been a cutting edge, but now ... not.

Darkestville Castle is imaginative and well-written, but the obscurity of the puzzle solutions, unfriendly design choices, and presence of a potentially game breaking bug make it difficult to recommend. If you love retro adventure games and have a high tolerance for difficult puzzles, you might want to check it out. Just back up your save as you go.

Slender: The Arrival is the definition of a one-trick pony. But it’s a mangy-looking pony, and it isn’t especially good at its trick. It is a shaky start for a series that hasn’t left me all that excited for any sequels. Blue Isle Studios nailed the tense atmosphere, and with some improvements to graphics and story, it could be the foundation of a decent horror franchise.

I thought I would've been more engaged in both campaigns, but I felt that both modes were pretty bland. Yes, it had its fun moments but they were few and far between.

The frame rate and over simplistic gameplay really makes this game not fun to play. Although Gretzky does have some nice features on paper, the overall play out of the game is just disappointing.

It isn’t a terrible game by a long stretch, and it is possible to like it if you don’t mind playing through what amounts to an interactive novel. It does have a few memorable moments.

To crack an old chestnut, Guardians of Middle Earth has the potential to turn newcomers into fans of the genre, but it certainly isn’t up to their standard.

While the movie wasn't quite original, the game didn't fare all that well either, bogged down by lame characters, uninspired gameplay and dull visuals.

In the end, The Suicide of Rachel Foster feels like the quintessential first draft of a horror/drama flick latched to a graceless gameplay template. The excitement and deliberate pacing early on suggest learning from the industry’s best exemplars. Ominous warnings suggest ghosts are roaming The Timberline’s halls. As it progresses, however, uncoordinated game design and tonally-tangled storytelling turns that engagement frozen stiff. Like walking through a grand hotel with years of decay, you can’t help but wonder how it could fare under new management.

To succeed in its ambition as a homage to the long-lost genre, Raging Justice should have been an excellent street brawler. Now its desires are only skin-deep, basking in leftovers of aesthetics the time deserted. The game can be fun in short bursts, but only in short bursts. Any longer and the frustration due to the gameplay issues will kick in again. It’s a shame Raging Justice is not nearly as good - and more importantly, as fun - as it sets out to be.

For a $10 game Orc Attack is decent for the price. You get what you pay for in this case. Go in for a cheap game and you’ll get is a cheap game. It will hold you over for a few hours, maybe more if you have some friends you can bribe/guilt into joining you, but don’t expect to come back to it once you’re finished.

Afterfall: Insanity is a bit of a mess. Everything about this product comes off as unfinished and if given more time to cook and iron out the bugs, the game could be enjoyable but in its current state it is barely passable.

I will admit that there is a sizable chunk of content here as my fifty five hour playthrough was made up of about ninety five percent main story and five percent of late game sidequests. But when the game feels chore to play, some brevity would have been welcomed. It's a shame to see a title with so much promise feel so flat, but I guess Lost Sphear's main characters' optimism has rubbed off on me. I still think the folks at Tokyo RPG Factory have the ability to make a truly outstanding game. Here's to hoping.

On the surface, Tamarin is a cute, beautifully-made action game with the most adorable of protagonists. However, while the game succeeds in its colorful aesthetics and enticing music, it lacks in its depth and storytelling. There is ultimately too much monkeying around and not enough substance. The game gets an A for effort when it comes to creativity, but ultimately the frustration outweighed the enjoyment.

There are better shooters out on the market.

Beyond just the fact that it’s a little boring to play, there are also the weird problems to deal with, and the game’s charm is nowhere near enough to make up for them. Even when you’re playing, it does so much of taking care of itself that I started to wonder why I’m even playing this when it can so easily play itself.

Even when they have no competition, Ubisoft completely misses the mark on the monster truck racing genre with this run-of-the-mill and dull game.

In the end, It Lurks Below is not a bad effort but everything it offers we’ve seen numerous times before. There is nothing about it that is objectively bad but there isn’t anything that stands out either. It’s a perfectly serviceable indie title that just ends up reminding us of better and more original games out there. In the vast sea of independent games, that’s simply not enough.

Somewhere, deep down in The Final Station, is a game that you can fall in love with – a rough adventure where you uncover a mystery and where every moment is filled with tension or despair. Unfortunately, the game that you actually get is too shallow and repetitive to be satisfying, and the story is so confusing that it is downright broken. The story’s failures are especially disappointing, because you can see the makings of something great around the periphery.

It just falls flat, showing small signs of life, but otherwise just not worth your time.

Square Enix's track record is questioned here, as the update to the 'SaGa' franchise fails miserably due to a disjointed plot and lack of directions.

For someone interested in the science behind things like perception and emotion, it could be a useful tool, if you are willing to dig into the provided library and spend time putting those words into action. For most though, it’s worth a look about as much as those huge birthday predictor omnibuses seen on the shelf of your local Barnes and Noble. It’s fun to flip through, but not nearly entertaining or worthwhile enough to buy.

Grinding out levels and paid for content have their places in games, and neither should be in a $10 downloadable game based on a movie. There are a few moments that the game feels really fun but those moments wear off very quickly once the grind kicks in. Unless Real Steel is a movie that defines you there really isn't any reason to go whole hog over this game. Oh, it doesn't have Hugh Jackman in it in case you were wondering.

While it is not a horrible game itself, I could not help but feel that MechRunner was a game released on the wrong platform, towards the wrong audience, with wrong core design decisions. During my play, I was expecting something unique and innovative from MechRunner, which would distinguish itself from other mindless endless runners. Sadly, my search was fruitless. MechRunner did nothing that warrants your precious time.

The Wake: Mourning Father, Mourning Mother is too uncoordinated in the game being made and the story being told. It hits a strange chord with me because I find Somi laudable and his previous work worth investigating. The visual/audio design’s toned-down, retro ethos marries well with the saccharine storytelling and yet, obstructive gameplay frequently flatlined my drive to turn the next page.

Dokuro feels like an idea with a lot of passion and little effort in its execution.