Without a doubt, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a masterpiece of storytelling and fits magnificently into the Star Wars universe. Unfortunately, as a video game, the gameplay issues in The Force Unleashed are extremely noticeable and hinder a lot of the enjoyment that is derived from the narrative.

The final surprise the game offered was its at first vanilla, then definitively Vanilla Sky storyline.

I can't promise you a perfect horror FPS in Jericho, in fact I can promise you that it won't be, but somewhere between the dense oppression of its atmosphere, the unapologetically, almost decadently horrific nature of its production design, the satisfaction of its gameplay when it's firing on all cylinders, and some rather broken protagonist characters who I was surprised to grow rather attached to by the end despite the script not making the most of their backstories, I find myself unable to write it off.

Bravely Second is a missed opportunity in many ways. It's too similar to the original to woo a new crowd, and any risks it takes are narrative-centric and mostly fall flat.

Overall, it's a very solid title. Flawed, certainly, but a lot of fun to play if you don't mind a little repetitive combat and a story that feels a bit slow.

Expeditions: Viking has been as much of a trial as it has been an adventure. It desperately needed even another month in development to work out the kinks in its system, and even now (a monthish later), it has its share of problems. Despite that, it's damnably endearing. The story's morally gray, fantasy-free atmosphere is refreshing, with a great sense of humor. Add to this a visceral, varied, if somewhat unbalanced combat system, and the result is something I look forward to playing through again in the future... assuming it works.

By the end, you'll feel as if you cleverly solved this murder. In all actuality, you only watched the murder solve itself. That is The Invisible Hours' greatest theatrical feat.

Strike Vector EX is a small game with a lot of heart. While the campaign is sub-par and it doesn’t offer the depth or longevity or other titles, what’s there is fun, fast, and wild. Released at a discount price, this is definitely a game to rope one or two friends into buying with you so you can always have a wingman (or nemesis) on call on and seed some multiplayer action.

Despite a poor beginning and ending, I can't shake off the warm feeling Deponia left me with. It's a game with a big heart and some clever puzzles that recall a special time in the history of adventure games.

Mediocre multiplayer aside, Burn Zombie Burn is still a very fun to play and has an impressive amount of complexity for what it is. The zombies are charming, funny caricatures with outlandish behavior which are sure to bring a smile.

I really do love SlashDash, but only when playing with four people.

Praises and complaints aside, Heroes of Ruin does exactly what it wanted to do -- give 3DS users a solid hack n' slash RPG. While it flounders on the way to that simple goal, it's a goal that has been undoubtedly reached. Better may come along in the future, but right now, this does the trick.

On one hand, the online is absolutely broken and embarrassing. On the other, anytime I'm not dealing with that nonsense, I'm having fun with the game. Maybe in a couple of months, when I've min-maxed every Pokémon in the Dex and am just focusing on raids, I'll feel more antagonistic toward the game and its woeful online, but right now, when I'm doing literally anything else in it, I'm having a good time.

My biggest issue is that DLC is so blatantly being held back from the game that it's annoying. The base board that you play on has the artwork for the two factions from the Invaders from Afar expansion and it's like they aren't even trying to hide the fact that there is still more money left to be spent. I understand the need to charge for expansions but at least try to hide it next time.

It’s a refreshing change of pace from moody protagonists saving the world from unambiguously evil villains. While I like to poke fun at fashion issues like Ryza’s butt hungrily devouring her shorts, I had fun with Atelier Ryza. It’s not quite enough to get me to run out and pick up the rest of the series, but if I’m ever in the mood for some more anime crafting hijinks, I’ll probably give them a look.

A solid point-and-click adventure with a fresh twist, though it stumbles into many of the standard pitfalls for the genre. The story is largely respectable and interesting, while not at the top of the pile. If you’re a big fan of the genre or an old fan of Larry who wants to check in on him, you should absolutely give this game a go as close to release as you can. For everyone else, a fun time lies in wait, provided you can tolerate the infuriating puzzles.

Anyone who isn't a fan of the "Telltale interactive story" style will find nothing at all here to change their mind on the genre, but fans of previous games will find themselves thrown into yet another adventure filled with questionable loyalties, tense confrontations, morally-grey decisions and that ever-nagging thought that maybe, just maybe, you should have turned left instead of right.

It's a deeply flawed game, to be sure, wasting a wellspring of potential for no discernible reason, but one that should be played for being unafraid to show people at their weakest and most vicious. If the metric of a good game is that I keep coming back to it despite it's faults, Dragon Age II certainly qualifies.

Borderlands 3's first DLC is quirky and action-packed, but I was decidedly left wanting more.

In many basic ways, Armageddon is a superior game to Guerrilla. It makes strides in a number of key areas that are hard to ignore, including more polished visuals and a broader range of spectacular weapons and abilities. But ultimately, it manages to miss the mark when it comes to the core elements that made the open world game so great: freedom and ample opportunities to simply trash the game's world.

My biggest complaint is the length. I don’t know what I was expecting at this price point, but I completed the game in just under three hours.

And that’s kind of the bottom line: RoboDunk works quite well on a functional level. Its dunk-centric basketball is a quick, enjoyable snack. Its toy-like aesthetic and minimalistic stop-motion animation is effective. However, the framework just doesn’t support it quite right. Barring my (possible superficial) thoughts about robo-dunkers, the roguelite setup doesn’t provide a compelling experience. It’s a decent game to pick up and play, but it’s not the slam dunk it should be.

Life Goes On might not start with the most mindblowing hook, but the idea is solid and Infinite Monkeys develops it well. By constantly adding new tricks into its repertoire and not dragging itself out unnecessarily, it maintains a good quality throughout.

I’m a bit embarrassed I missed out on Little Orpheus when it hit Apple Arcade a year and a half ago. However, because of that blunder, my first excursion through the game was a memorable one because I played it on a screen and a piece of hardware that could truly do those visuals justice.

Meanwhile Wii Fit U's mini-games are fun, but still suffer from being single-player/non-simultaneous multiplayer and there just isn't that much new stuff.

Void Terrarium is tough, and it can be unforgiving with a lot of different systems to keep track of. But it's always a satisfying experience. It's not the greatest roguelike/Mystery Dungeon title I've played, but it might just have the most rewarding gameplay loop I've seen in the genre.

Although the occasional technical issue and odd mechanic put a damper on things, Aragami has its heart in the right place. It's strict adherence to stealth with no ifs, ands, or buts will turn some people off, but it'll speak to a lot of old-school fans who are sick of experiences that allow you to blast your way out of everything.

Ontamarama is definitely unwieldy and a bit overcomplicated, but it's still engaging, time-sucking and solidly fun. And the oddball factor actually works in its favor.