I was surprised to find that 2K Sports actually seemed to have more success this year with their freshman arcade baseball series, which actually comes out as a big success.

The Last Guy is in no way a bad game. It is just too much of a love it or hate it title to recommend to all, and the best way to decide is to play the demo.

It offers an appreciation of the smaller struggles during The Great War while exposing its horrors. The characters are charming, the gameplay is interesting, the storyline is gripping, and the visuals are full of heart.

Although it retains all the good stuff, the game does not get any next-gen treatment at all.

Midway has almost got their series down, just add more depth, and some more interesting features, and I can see next year's game is going to be a true winner.

Between the challenge, the mission variety, and the rock solid gameplay, there’s an incredible amount to like here and the ability to do it anywhere you want is enticing. The issues I mentioned definitely put a damper on the experience, though, and while some, like the bugs, may improve in time, I doubt we see those load times going anywhere. If you have no other way to experience XCOM 2, it’s still well worth your time. If you are in love with it and need a handheld version, you can feel confident that this is a very solid port. If you’re going to pick any version of the game, though, and handheld play isn’t your top priority, there are better options available.

Light-hearted and surprisingly solid.

The best way I can describe Quantum Break is that it’s a game that I never felt compelled to come back to. I never got invested in the experience; when I sat down to play I always enjoyed myself, but I never found any part of Quantum Break to be all that satisfying. It’s obvious that some masterful developers put this game together but the game lacks the intangible grab that truly great games have. Quantum Break for me ends up being a middle of the road third-person action game with some pretty spectacular ideas with shaky execution.

Spin-off or not, and not going into long-winded arguments for and against, the game does some things better than some of the latest main series entries. The turn-based combat is not only welcome, but it’s implemented on a level that surpasses the nostalgic legacy of it. Also, the writing is worth of a praise. As one half of the twins myself (with a brother though, not a cute thing like Reynn!), I really appreciate the banter between Reynn and Lann. It’s so fun, acute and savvy! World of Final Fantasy might be a bit of a slow burner, as it takes some time to get familiar with it, but when it opens up, you’ll be lost in the beauty of it, hunting mirages and resolving the mystery of the twins and the world around them.

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.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing was a treat, and hopefully, we’ll be able to have more in the future.

Herald: An Interactive Period Drama achieves what it set out to do: It weaves an elaborate story full of entertaining characters, without being squeamish in terms of pointing out racism and cultural bias. The atmosphere is a vivid landscape of bold, striking hues, and the dialog is ripe with interesting conversation choices. I felt genuinely interested in Devan’s experience and personally invested in my decisions along the way. Each choice felt like it carried true weight, given the context and underlining exploration of very serious themes. The voice acting is top-notch, and the soundtrack is a lovely element that compliments without overshadowing. I’m a huge fan of the Point & Click genre, so titles that challenge the norm and think outside the box always capture my attention. Fans of historical themes, story-rich adventures, and compelling characters need to look no further than Herald for a great new experience.

As a standalone arcade game it isn’t worth much. The multiplayer is what makes it great, whether it be local or online. It offers a face paced and ever-changing game space that can be fun for everyone.

Life Is Strange takes Telltale’s formula of consequence driven storytelling to create something original and extremely compelling.

With the additions and improvements, you can actually enjoy slicing up a few of the enemies for a while and attempt to enjoy the story line.

Lumo is a disappointing example of good intentions leading to bad results. While it pays admirable homage to the old-school, fixed-camera video games, Lumo falls victim to frustrating difficulty spikes and unwieldy movement. A short run-time coupled with a lack of depth perception spoils the fun, ensuring that Lumo is best left for those craving old-school puzzle games. The game isn’t without its charms, but it's hard to recommend it. Those interested in an old-school take on puzzle platforming may be willing to overcome its flaws, but modern gamers will want to reconsider their options before doubling down on Lumo.

It's a campaign that merits multiple playthroughs, and a story as strong and daring as those of Bioshock, Shadow of the Colossus and Dead Space 2. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that it achieves this in spite of mechanics that are noticeably dated and bereft of innovation. For that reason, the game is best taken as a whole, and not as something that can be played simply on the strength of its mechanical composition.

Game of Thrones Episode 3 continued to build on the tension of the previous entries.

The world is your skatepark, or Los Angeles in this case, as Neversoft's premier skater continues to impress with a seamless environment and solid gameplay.

In the end NHL 17 is a really great game of hockey. It’s got a full suite of features and modes that are complimented with excellent on-ice action. I found myself more engrossed in NHL 17 then I’ve been with a hockey game in quite some time. It’s a well-rounded and extremely polished game of hockey that fans of the franchise will be mighty happy with.

Deliver Us The Moon is a short adventure but a memorable one. I like how the story concludes in a manner that leaves loose threads, leaving you to speculate how things might have turned out for everything outside the player character’s sphere of influence. The puzzles are modest and easy and for as much backtracking you end up doing, the journey never felt arduous. And right when I felt like things were getting boring, I was treated to strategically placed views of a hauntingly beautiful lunar surface and a dying, lonely Earth floating off in the distance.

Frankly, Unravel Two is honestly just as enjoyable as the first Unravel, only instead of leaning heavily on the feels from a story perspective, it has upped the quality of its platforming. I would have loved for them to have found a way to highlight both sides of the equation, but based on my 4-5 hours of playtime, if one side had to fall even a little, they chose the right one. Unravel Two is a glorious little game and you’ll be better off having played it than not.

If you are a player that enjoys exploring while maneuvering your way through a dangerous platforming world, then On Rusty Trails is sure to deliver a memorable experience.

In the end, 20XX may not spin a tale warning us humans of a robotic future (or feature robots continuously wondering why they fight), but the gameplay here can't be denied: this is the spiritual Mega Man X sequel you've been waiting for. If that sounds like music to your ears, you owe it to yourself to give the game a try! For everlasting peace!

If Uncharted rose to fame with weapons it stole from washed-out Tomb Raider (before its reboot), Shadow of the Tomb Raider grabs them back, making it visually and gameplaywise the most essential action-adventure you can imagine. It not only builds upon the series legacy, it goes to its roots and successfully brings back the exploration that we were busy not to even notice was missing while tackling through many exciting action set pieces of the previous games. Doing so, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the most poignant entry in the long series since the very first game.

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.

Olija’s atmosphere is spot on and despite its huge pixels, the game manages to channel Hugo Pratt’s fabled Corto Maltese graphic novels that take place in similar exotic corners of the world. The gameplay also works most of the time, but as is often the case with indie games, the authoritarian developer has gone overboard. The less is usually more but here, the style simply went over the substance and 12 hours of playtime more than overstays its welcome considering the game's ultimately shallow bounty.

Dungeon Defenders is ambitious, pretty and highly addictive; co-op junkies will no doubt eat this one up.