But even with that reason in place, I had a lot of fun with this. It’s a great little game to play with friends when you just need to kill a bit of time, is very fast-paced with a lot of action, and has a sizable amount of depth to it.

No matter how seasoned hardcore adventure game veteran you think you are (like me), you have to admit that Artifex Mundi’s casual adventures are welcome break to daily activities. Even though their premises are often dark, their classic attitude of good eventually conquering evil can liven up the dreariest of days. There’s no trendy grey area of the contemporary fiction in Enigmatis 3 and once in a while, that’s only a good thing.

Medal of Honor Airborne for the Playstation 3 is one of those games that is just a great deal of fun, but the final verdict can't be as high as I think the developers were anticipating.

And in the end, that’s really what it all comes down to. Counterspy succeeds because it takes a concept that everyone is familiar with, and delivers something a bit unexpected in its ability to capitalize on those familiar aspects.

This is not a huge leap forward for the series but at the same time I don’t think it had to be. There are some gripes I have with the size of the new environment but when it comes down to it there is no question in my mind that this is the best skateboarding experience available right now.

This is a solid port of a solid survival game. It doesn’t have the same crafting depth as other games like Terraria or Minecraft but it does a fine job by giving a survival experience like nothing else.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a worthy inclusion for any fighting game fan’s collection. It’s a straight port of the 2011 game, but the included DLC makes the purchase worth its price. The graphics don’t feel too outdated, and its comic-book style still holds up as far as 2D fighters go. With a huge roster of fan-favorites, flashy movesets, classic game soundtrack remixes, fair online infrastructure, and medium-defying crossovers, UMvC3 is pure, unadulterated fun.

The pace on the battle system was perfect, and more games should be moving towards the real time battle systems.

Formula One has steadily garnered some following, and Sony has finally done the sport justice with this realistically thrilling racing experience.

While it may embrace some of the stealth genre's conventions that it seems directly antithetical to, Stealth Bastard's fantastic level design, wit, and devious death traps result in a thoroughly unique and enjoyable take on the stealth genre.

After falling in love with the delightfully quirky original, this sequel proves to be just as fun and addictive. Just don't expect it to last too long.

Fans of Dynasty Warriors or the Dragon Quest series will enjoy this second-edition genre mashup. Dragon Quest Heroes 2 strikes a great balance between complexity and action and weaves an entertaining story through and around its fast and furious battles. Whether mainlining the story quest or venturing off into the side missions, the fun-factor of plowing through masses of monsters may eventually wane. That said, it was refreshing to enjoy an action RPG that didn't involve geysers of plasma or the dark forces of evil.

If you like arcade action that obviously isn't overly complex but is a lot of fun to play, then give Pursuit Force a try. I think it is a game that will really surprise people.

Catherine: Full Body is a curious remaster. After completing the original release eight years ago, I never really felt like this was something that would benefit from an enhanced re-release and yet, it kind of does. Both the character of Rin and new cinematics enrich the story in ways that give it more depth (even if it does venture into some really wild supernatural territory by the end). And at no point does Rin feel shoehorned into the story. I can’t imagine how tricky it must be to write in a whole new character to a pre-existing work but Full Body makes it look easy by fitting her in with nary an exposed seam. Catherine: Full Body might not be for everyone, it’s the very definition of a niche title, yet in the end, I find it hard not to appreciate it on an aesthetic level.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is an enigmatic thing, a product born out of nostalgia but reimagined and redesigned to take advantage of technology and hardware that could capture the grandeur of this particularly beloved adventure. If you’ve played the original before, don’t go in thinking you’ll know exactly what’s going to happen because the story takes a good number of unexpected left turns. These changes are mostly fine but I’m curious to see what sort of tweaks will be made to the larger story in light of some of the more dramatic changes--with special regards to a final boss that screams, “Well, we just couldn’t help ourselves!” Final Fantasy VII Remake is a fresh take on a familiar story, expanded with a larger scope that just wasn’t possible twenty-three years ago.

Joe Danger 2: The Movie has its share of small problems, but the amount of stuff that is in this game and the overall quality will put any doubts to rest.

Its varied level design, gratifying gameplay, vast amount of content, and palpable tension make 1001 Spikes a must-play for people seeking a challenge.

The first episode debut of Before The Storm will make returning Life Is Strange players feel like they never left Arcadia Bay. The characters might be younger but all the familiar locations, tone, and controls are pretty familiar (except the camera controls of which I am not a fan because it’s too fluid for its own good). As a first episode, Awake performs its task of setting things up for the adventure ahead, one that I really curious to see its direction. The original game used time travel to create a story with all sorts of unpredictable twists, turns, and emotional trauma. It would have been nice if Deck Nine didn’t religiously follow DONTNOD’s design but all the same, I want to see what Chloe Price got up to during a moment in time she needed a best friend the most.

Repetitiveness can sink in the long periods of playing and if anything - besides obvious skills - Sundered demands time. Difficulty spikes can be punishing as the more you play in a one go, the enemies will mount in ever-increasing numbers and toughness. But again, what does kill you, makes you only better. Sundered is a hardcore game, not some casual fun which can be completed in a matter of few hours. The game rewards the time spent on it, and the more you put into it, the more awesome it gets. Just like Eshe, who in the beginning is a mere shadow of the lean, mean killing machine she’s to become. To me, she is the Starkiller that never was and the caverns are her proving grounds.

Assassin's Creed III is a huge game. After four games and hundreds of years of history, players will step into an adventure that attempts to bring all the loose ends to a close. While it's a shame that the content tends to get in the way of the bigger picture I find it to be a worthy entry in a storied franchise.

LEGO Lord of the Rings is easily one of my favorite LEGO games. I’m not sure if it’s just the source material or the fact that the game is actually really fun and evolves the LEGO franchise in significant ways, but this is definitely worth playing for any fan of the previous LEGO games or Lord of the Rings films.

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

If you’re a fan of either franchise and own a Wii U, you owe it to yourself to at least give Hyrule Warriors a try.

Kingdom Hearts III is an amazing yet flawed game made for the most die-hard fans of the series. While newcomers can still enjoy the quick-paced gameplay, the extremely complicated story will surely leave them bewildered. Even if you understand so little of it, prepare to embrace the wacky and bizarre nature of Kingdom Hearts III with an open-mind and it will be a fun ride.

In the eight years since Dawn of War II, the RTS genre has evolved to include MOBA-like elements, but someone returning to the RTS fold will have no problem getting up to speed. The stalwart staple of three balanced factions has been enriched with Elite hero units, and the multiplayer mode clearly shows the influence of DOTA and its brethren. Dawn of War III's campaign is substantial -- if not always entirely entertaining -- and once mastered, its three factions offer extended fun in skirmishes with the game's capable AI or online against human competitors. While there is no longer a steady stream of RTS games, fans will be more than satisfied by Dawn of War III's fundamentally classic approach.

UFC 4 is not without its flaws, most notably in its ground game and its lackluster career mode, but there are much welcomed upgrades virtually everywhere else. Meaningful character progression, a reworked striking system and an array of other improvements makes this easily the best of the series.

With your brain getting older by the minute, Nintendo lets you reverse the flow and makes it younger. Fun exercises to stimulate the mind while on the go.

Overall, Peach Ball is a strong entry in the Senran Kagura series. Not only does it provide an appealing avenue into pinball, it also made me want to finish past Senran Kagura titles that I’ve missed. With Senran Kagura creator, Kenichiro Takaki leaving Marvelous, the future of the franchise looks dire, but this latest title would be a fine sendoff for the fun series. Peach Ball is a pinball game that is well worth playing for longtime fans and newcomers alike. Regardless, it’s only worth recommending to those who are open to high degrees of fanservice.