Overall, Cognition: an Erica Reed Thriller – Episode 2: The Wise Monkey is a solid step forward for this promising mystery series. The point-and-click gameplay does feel somewhat outdated, but it is devoid of the pixel hunts and illogical hilarity that has ruined past games of the genre.

Although the option to play a variety of starting puppets and see the story beats change nudges up the replayability factor, Shadows: Awakening does become repetitive. There are moments where characters feel unbalanced, and load times can border on egregious. Overall, though, Shadows: Awakening breaks the mold of the action RPG and reshapes it in some entertaining ways while still retaining enough of the genre to appeal to fans.

When a game is genuinely good, it doesn’t feel like I’m playing it just for the sake of the review. Need for Speed Heat evokes that feeling as I’m simply having too much fun with it. Compared to its obvious role models, it doesn’t ramble all over the place but has a grateful focus to it. The game comfortably speeds along a yellow brick road that goes neatly between calculated appeal of Forza Horizon and the excess abundance of The Crew, and that’s why I liked it better than those two. In fact, I’m afraid that NFS Heat kind of spoils its genre. I need games with a human touch and after this, racing games without this much personality just won’t do anymore

Solid in all departments. It has some great RPG elements but nothing that is going to catch the gaming market's eye quite like "Knights of the Old Republic."

Sea of Solitude might be flawed but that makes it more human than any perfect game would ever be. There’s a little bit of classic Ico in the game, especially in the way the journey is concluded, and more than a passing resemblance to Hellblade as an imaginary pilgrimage through a retrospective hardship. When Sea of Solitude states it’s a personal journey, it really is so. It could be about anyone’s passage to understand better not only themselves but also the people around them and that’s the game’s biggest strength.

The series moves from the light-gun to the overly saturated FPS genre, offering decent if unspectacular gameplay.

Like any good puzzle game, MouseCraft tests the wits of its player by gradually increasing its level of difficulty as the story mode advances.

There's certainly fun to be had, and there's no doubt in my mind that there's an excellent foundation here for future updates, but Chasm lacks the qualities needed to make it an essential player in an already competitive genre.

Be the one-man army with Climax's martial arts brawler, which shines on the PSP with its bright visuals and solidly fluid combat system.

Do I recommend playing these games? Oh yes, absolutely. Grandia 1 and 2 deserve four stars by themselves. The games are dated, yes, but they stand the test of time, flaws and all. They are (mostly) timeless and I would replay them over and over. But maybe wait for this specific collection to go on sale.

This game not only challenges you to think outside the box but to have the endurance to continue thinking that way until the level is over and the boss is beaten.

Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is an admirable attempt to make a niche concept work. Unfortunately, it so intently focuses on avoiding the pitfalls of the previous game that it stumbles into a hole of its own.

Coming at the end of a very impressive gaming year, Let It Die can't help but suffer in comparison to a whole bunch of other, more burnished titles. Still, the game's excellent action combat, weirdness, and variety of weapons give it just enough character to stand out and make it worthy of attention. The pay-to-win aspect is a bummer, and there is overall a sense of things being not quite solid, but anyone who's enjoyed other Grasshopper Manufacture games will enjoy this one as well.

State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition doesn’t do much to standout from the original version of the game. Bugs, glitches, and other issues consistently drag down the experience but the sheer amount content, exhilarating survival elements, and solid gameplay saves the day leaving us with hours of fun inside this zombie playground.

The game itself continues to be as good as it was when it came out the first time, and to anyone looking for a deep RPG world to get lost in, you could do a lot worse. Kingdoms of Amalur is a game that shows its age, mainly through system design, and while this re-release does little more then slap a new coat of paint on an already good game, giving a new generation a chance to enjoy the sole product of a studio they otherwise would have only heard about in the annals of “bad stuff that happens to poorly led studios.”

If you have a PS3 and can roll with the kind of plaintive adventure Rain revels in, it’s one of the year’s most interesting peculiarities.

Was the story exciting and interesting enough to experience it several times? Yes and then some! It tells something that even after a few play-throughs, I was curled up in tension with heartbeat in my ears when I drove the story to previously unseen directions. Lastly, would I recommend Late Shift to hardcore gamers? Yes, because I'm such myself and I could see no reason why someone else would't get thrilled by it. And there you have it. Late Shift is a solid crime thriller where you don't have to just watch people making bad choices because you can make them yourself. Or even some good ones necessary to pull you through the night.

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

In the end, Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for the Nintendo Wii is a good solid fighter that's not going to necessarily change anyone's mind on the series.

This is a $15 download, and it packs more than enough content into its frame to balance out the relatively meager 5 maps and 3 modes. Make no mistake, however, Gotham City Impostors stands head and shoulders with every other big-box multiplayer shooter out there.

Think what you will about SOCOM's change from a straight shooter to a tactical shooter on the PSP, but Tactical Strike manages the transition quite nicely.

Although Gato Roboto does not provide the type of sprawling world design that Metroidvania titles are known for, it still does a decent job at reducing this type of experience into a condensed form. The abbreviated process of upgrading Kiki’s mech suit is a satisfying sprint that takes you from helplessness to empowerment at a rapid pace. It may not offer an exciting new take on Metroidvanias, and the limited scope of the world is disappointing, but Gato Roboto works as a solid microcosm of its genre for those who are strapped for time.

It's a series that needs a lot of work and WWE'12 is the first step towards something that could be great. While it's nothing drastically different from what it was in the past, this game is still improving on a franchise that could have just as easily repeated itself into oblivion. The improvements made here aren't perfect but it manages to set the ground work for something great in the future and helps make this game stand out among its predecessors.

There's a dark and meaningful story within Primordia and despite the rush at the end, it's a story worth hearing.

Styx: Shards of Darkness' single-minded dedication to being a stealth game is both admirable and potentially a turnoff to players who expect more flexibility in their approach to completing missions. The flexibility is there, though it's entirely represented by the myriad ways the title character moves through the shadows and confounds his enemies. It's refreshing to play a despicable, amoral antihero; but the game's puerile, scattershot humor will not appeal to everyone. Although its mission objectives are a bit repetitive, the balletic act of moving through the world makes Styx: Shards of Darkness overall entertaining.

Papo & Yo is a title of binary worth; not worth ignoring its issues, but still worth seeing through. While the trip it takes to reach the emotional highs of the story's payoff is indefensibly turbulent, there's no denying that they are indeed dizzying.

In the end, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds does not feature the seminal, tightly-crafted fighting mechanics of Street Fighter or the spectacular boss fights from Castle Crashers, but it does provide a handful of hours of side-scrolling, 2D-beat-em-up glee. In spite of a few crippling issues and ham-fisted mechanics, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds still outweighs its flaws with a competent throwback look and feel, gratifying gameplay flow and a strong selection of modes that, all things considered, justifies the asking price of merely $10.

Even if you don’t like the gameplay, the story and setting are solid enough to where you can get at least some minimum level of enjoyment out of the game. If you are the type of person who enjoys playing adventure games with puzzles like the ones found in The Inner World, then you may get more than that out of it.