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.

The Solus Project kind of feels like No Man’s Sky without starships. The survival aspect is more robust and requires full attention to different health systems. The game could use a bit more polish in places, like better inventory management, more worthwhile exploration and more interesting caves. Overall, The Solus Project is a pretty solid adventure that left me feeling surprised with how it hooks into at certain moments. Although it ended up being one of those games I played to have something to do while catching up on podcasts, I caught myself getting more and more intrigued by the whole affair.

There are parts of Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break that I really came to enjoy. The rolling aspect of the game can be quite rewarding and the humor is consistently outstanding. I also appreciate any game that works well in a split screen local multiplayer today, something which far too many modern games overlook. The tower defense modes just keep showing up, though, and they consistently take away from the experience. Tower defense is never easy on consoles but it can be done, yet on its third try, Rock of Ages is still not where it needs to be. These issues leave us with a muddled experience that can be fun but is hard to enthusiastically recommend.

In a normal year, this game would still be an easy one to recommend, but with 2014 being the strongest year for RPGs in at least a decade, there is a lot of competition. It might not be one to set aside time for immediately, but it might be one worth revisiting later once you have a lot of time available to put into it.

From a stylistic point of view, the game got its hooks deep in me because I felt it drew visual and aural inspiration from the likes of 1980s sci-fi film legends Douglas Trumbull, John Carpenter, and Ridley Scott. Genesis: Alpha One offers a tense and methodical approach to roguelike survival through base building and resource gathering in one of the most harshest environments imaginable.

If you've played the previous two Death Spank titles and enjoyed them beyond all measure, I'm sure you will delighted with The Baconing. For the rest of you, you're better off spending your time and money elsewhere.

The game is not just another Diablo clone either as NeocoreGames has woven enough depth of its own to the well-worn concept. The dark science fiction setting is also a refreshing departure to the sword and sorcery the genre usually sees. Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr is a good game and has makings of a great one too - if only its technical issues are eventually fixed.

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.

If you can forgive the technical faux pas, the somewhat creepy mannequin people, the absence of any memorable music and the bare bones gameplay, there's a fantastic story buried underneath the rubble. All of the characters are three dimensional and real, the voice acting feels authentic, and the writing is smart but never preachy. At its core, Fragments of Him is just a poignant story of love and loss. It showcases Will and his partner's relationship as normal and pedestrian. It's almost mundane. But this approach is all the more effective when something that should just be normal and average is treated as such. Based on the title of the game, you can kind of assume where the narrative is likely heading to, but the journey there, while bumpy, is one worth taking.

Taken on its own, Crash of the Titans is not a bad game. It does improve the series with the introduction of new gameplay ideas, but nothing you haven't seen before.

Despite its Kinect-oriented problems, Mini Ninjas Adventures' sensibly organized gesture controls and ever escalating mechanics and complexity should compel players to return as soon as the lactic acid dissipates.

Sony Online improves upon their original PSP RPG with a more intuitive control scheme and online play, but messes up with a disjointed story.

The campaign really is the center point of my complaints. Aside from that, the updated rules are fun and add a fresh take to an otherwise simple game.

The game is put together competently, but missteps and minor issues are repeatedly encountered to the point where they grow large in scale. A good concept and the intent to make a strong game is there, and by trying to reap a niche market, the developers clearly have the passion to make a great game. However, there aren’t enough hooks to keep you strongly invested in Titan Quest.

Namco goes back to their roots and comes out with this classic, which retains its old-school playability, but sadly doesn't offer much in terms of variety.

Clearly, Re: Hollow Fragment is designed specifically for stalwarts of Sword Art Online. If they haven’t already played the game on the Vita, the digital-only PlayStation 4 version offers more content and a whole new set of levels to conquer. Everyone else should tread carefully.

Several technical issues aren’t game-breaking but they hurt the flow. As it its, some parts of the game take more perseverance than they should. All the problems bugging Ginger: Beyond the Crystal could be fixed with some serious patching. I really hope the developers rise up to the challenge as there’s clearly a fun and chirpy game bubbling under, something a whole family can enjoy together.

Poi is best played in short bursts, which does work well for the platform in question. Play it undocked, right before bed, for the best experience. And I say that because in this context, it works very well as a fun, snappy, immersive little platformer that you can jump right into and leave minutes later. Staying with it for too long at a time will leave you starved for a change in scenery, and rather perturbed by the occasional sneak attacks. Taken altogether, though, Poi is still a good game. And hey, maybe next time the old man will lose his medallions over a wider radius.

I wanted to love Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts. There is a lot that is well done here, particularly the shooting, the upgrades, and the level design. Unfortunately, it is all but marred by bugs, especially the way the save system currently works… or doesn’t. If you’re in the market for a new sniping shooter, I cannot in good conscious recommend Contracts, it’s simply too frustrating to play in its current state.

If you want more story, higher production quality and more layers of control that is fine, but try looking elsewhere. If you are like me and not the greatest strategy player in the world but still want to feel the thrill of managing an army to victory, then this game is for you.

One of those games that did not live up to the hype that its fan base put out for it.

Despite moment’s of brilliance, it’s hard to recommend to an audience of any age, whether it be a fifty year old gaming aficionado or a five year old infant.

Party Hard presents some interesting ideas and has a promising start, but it sours quickly due to repetitive game design and a frustrating inconsistency in difficulty.

Can't get enough of those mobile suits? Bandai releases a turn-based RPG with an engaging plot, but let down by run-of-the-mill gameplay.

The one thing that does however drag the game down is the poor computer AI, which at first can be funny but after a while just becomes a big annoyance.

Looks like even Tim Burton can't help but succumb to the movie-game conversion curse. Decent action and gameplay, but nothing to write home about.

There are just so many better ways to spend your money, like on a copy of the original Choplifter or any other of the good and unique games available on downloadable services. The only sort of person who should buy this game is someone who thinks that the original Choplifter would be the best game ever if it had sort of funny voice acting.

Your tolerance for weighed down controls and unpredictability determines what you’ll get out of Abyss Odyssey.