Does Grand Slam Tennis 2 compete with Top Spin 4? On the surface it does give the reigning king a run at it but manages to fall short. The career mode is limiting, the analog stick controls need refining, and the game itself doesn't have the depth that sports games have become accustom to in recent years. Although I enjoyed my time with Grand Slam Tennis 2 there is still plenty of room for improvement and my hope is that EA doesn't give up on the young series and comes back with an ace in its follow-up.

iNK Stories’ effort to create both an enthralling story and a factual window into history is admirable, and while it doesn’t quite stick the landing, it’s still an interesting game with plenty of historical information to paw through after you’ve completed it. The price tag is a bit too steep for a three-hour game, but history buffs and Telltale fans alike should see value in 1979 Revolution: Black Friday.

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.

Ultimately, Marooners doesn't have any staying power and almost no depth. But it's fun in the short term. This is a good game to whip out at a party or with a group of good friends once a year, but that's about it. If that's what you are looking for, then this game is right up there for you.

The premise and production values are pretty much the only things that made me interested in West of Dead but the frustration over not being able to gain a proper foothold for forward progress really got to me. Character advancement doesn’t carry over into each new play session, making any boosts you find a zero-sum game. These days, my time is increasingly valuable. Nothing about the experience was ever fun and at the end of the day, I fell into the mindset that the only way to win was to simply not play.

Spectra is an average, straightforward racer that’s easy enough to grasp. And yet, it comes off as half finished.

It’s fairly obvious that a major reason for Samorost 3’s existence is to give its series some recognition as something other than a footnote to the rest of its developer’s work, and in that regard, it roundly succeeds. But after shaking off the “browser game” stigma, it merely continues its business as a temporarily enjoyable diversion.

It’s a shame, really. Scanner Sombre felt more like a glorified tech demo than a proper game. With its short length and mostly shallow gameplay, it’s a bit difficult to justify the $12 price tag. However, it boasts a very well done gimmick as well as a memorable atmosphere. If you’re looking for a short, but sweet exploration game, then this is for you. If you’re looking for something a bit meatier, however, you should probably give this a pass.

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.

All this makes Tembo a fine game where the really bad, really rough parts are REALLY bad and REALLY rough, in a way that brings the rest of the game down.

While its 8-bit action RPG fusion fulfills a baseline addictive quality, frequent missteps and repetitiousness pushed me too far away to ever get hooked.

In the end, Eventide 2: The Sorcerer's Mirror is another solid offering from Artifex Mundi, and fans of the genre will undoubtedly enjoy this title. The entire project however, just feels... a bit underwhelming, as the developer's usual effort just doesn't seem to be here (mainly in the game's short length, lack of a bonus chapter, and lack of alternate game modes). Still, if you're looking for a relaxing time with various puzzles and hidden object scenes to enjoy, Eventide 2 is ready to serve you up another dose.

So, is Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock worth it? If you are a big fan of the series, then you should get some enjoyment out of getting to be The Doctor. If, however, you aren’t much of a fan, you probably won’t find this game’s mechanics and minigames to be worth your time. It is a competent effort, but not a great one.

While the inclusion of a 9 person multiplayer is indeed intriguing, there just isn’t enough to Runbow to really make you along want to come back, let alone the 8 other people you can possibly finagle. It’s simplistic jumping on levels for time trials, or it’s overly-chaotic racing around the same platforming levels. It’s not like the WiiU is hurting for good 2D platformers that you can play instead.

RB: Axolotl is a multi-year labor of love from a very small team and it bravely includes some characters and emotional situations that have rarely been explored in games, but given the passive nature of the player experience, I couldn’t help but wonder if the video game format was the best, or even a necessary, vehicle for telling the story. I was at first interested in the characters and their emotional and philosophical dilemmas but I was eventually annoyed and made impatient by the pacing and presentation, repetitive visuals and lack of player input. Other than clicking to advance the dialogue and very occasionally hitting a key to start a short animation, my participation was neither necessary or rewarded so it was difficult to fully invest the the drama and lives of the characters.

There’s a good game in Pokemon X, and fans looking for another game near-identical to the ones before it likely won’t find issue with a lot of the dusty trimmings and transparent battle system. If you want to get into into the new stat rebuilding features and grind out tons of easy battles to prep for high-level online multiplayer, it’s never been easier to do so. But for all else, the game’s excellent visuals belie the frustratingly old-fashioned design. RPG folk can find better times on their 3DS.

The fact remains that there is still within Mass Effect: Andromeda an ambitious core and a vast amount of content, some of it very entertaining, if not the major leap forward or surprising change of direction that fans were hoping for. The first trilogy had its issues to be sure, but the games were beloved for their stories and characters. It's doubtful that players will keep returning to Andromeda. Aside from the tepid characters and rote story, its biggest failure is a lack of imagination. It somehow takes us to a whole new galaxy but makes us feel like we never left home.

The game lacks depth, and is just too short to be enjoyed.

There’s a good game in Pokemon Y, and fans looking for another game near-identical to the ones before it likely won’t find issue with a lot of the dusty trimmings and transparent battle system. If you want to get into into the new stat rebuilding features and grind out tons of easy battles to prep for high-level online multiplayer, it’s never been easier to do so. But for all else, the game’s excellent visuals belie the frustratingly old-fashioned design. RPG folk can find better times on their 3DS.

For all of its faults, Battlezone: Combat Commander is fun, unique, and innovative. It could even stand the test of time if the developers had spent their energy updating the game mechanics rather than just the in-game graphics. Ultimately, it's a fun game that should have gotten a lot more love from the remaster than it did. For my part, I will continue to enjoy this old classic like I did when I was a kid, but I will always be disappointed that it isn't all it could be, nay, all that is should be.

Episode 2: Shaking the Hive, for what it’s worth, benefits from better pacing than Episode 1 and it doesn’t waste as much time with Eliot performing ordinary tasks. Still, there is little in either Episode 1 or Episode 2 so far to separate Blues and Bullets from the middle of the pack. My recommendation at this point – stay tuned.

Overall, I enjoyed getting scared by horrible, scary-looking spirits.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands is by no means a terrible, or even bad, game: it provides moments of intense fun, particularly with friends, when you're trying to clear out a base without being detected. Yet, it has some serious issues. The A.I. coding is just not good; the huge draw distances causes stutter and screen-tearing on consoles; and even though there is undeniably a lot of content in the form of missions and things to collect, it does become repetitive and dull—just how quickly it becomes a drag depends on your tolerance for walking around and collecting things, I suppose. But if you don't have friends to play with, and you have to rely on boneheaded teammate A.I. to help you fight questionable and irrational enemy A.I., then the game's problems are amplified.

With such a crowded market for 3-match shooters such as this, Sparkle Unleashed doesn’t do much to stand out, but instead gives us a fun, familiar game, albeit a forgettable one.

Anyone expecting a Zelda-esque level of role-playing or story, or Mario-level platforming will be disappointed by The Forbidden Arts, as will gamers looking forward to a lush, 3D world to explore. In fact, The Forbidden Arts is a platformer with light RPG elements, a skeletal story and an imperfect balance between its controls and its demands. Ultimately, The Forbidden Arts lacks ambition and enough imagination to help it stand out from a crowded, accomplished field.

There’s already a really good foundation in place for something that could be really fun to play. Tightening up the gaps in between battles, opening up new environments faster, and redoing the level design would go a long way in making Time Carnage VR really cook.

If you're still hankering for some old school adventure game action, then you could do worse than Tomb Of The Lost Queen. It's hardly the most polished, most attractive title out there but it doesn't make any grave missteps and just about kept me engaged enough to see it through to its conclusion.

EA gets blinded by the bling-bling and forgets to focus on the gameplay, leaving gamers with a painfully basic and shallow fighting game.