The Making of Karateka feels like it was told by someone who really loves video games, whereas Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story feels more like it was told by someone who loves Jeff Minter. It’s more interested in showing the man and less about telling his story. Instead, Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story just feels like an organized box of stuff. It’s a pretty great box of stuff, but it should have been more than that.

Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight delivers upon expectations without quite surpassing them. It's a very welcome return for a great cast of characters with a fun, colourful, challenging rhythm-action game wrapped around their weird and entertaining universe. Though the price of entry is undeniably high, there is definitely a party happening in the Velvet Room, and few Persona fans in attendance will find themselves leaving disappointed.

Clockwork Aquario is here. 30 years late, but soaked in old-school style. Westone Bit Entertainment’s final release would not win any awards for originality, but offers a short, fun, and attractive journey to the halcyon days of the ’90s arcade renaissance. The package on offer is a little thin, and the price will be a tad high for the average player’s taste, but important work has been done by publishers ININ Games and Strictly Limited — here’s hoping they will be rewarded in kind.

Pain junkies can get a quick fix of MotoHeroz methadone, but it will only tide them over until the next hit of Trials heroin shows up.

There's so much about Mafia II that feels like a relic of a bygone era. Video game design has long surpassed and evolved beyond this approach to storytelling. Still, I find myself oddly charmed by it. I've played Mafia II twice now, once in 2010 and once in 2020. Its foibles that irritated me a decade ago seem more forgivable now. Maybe it's because I knew to expect a flawed experience, maybe it's because I'm getting more lenient in my old age. Whatever it is, I relished blowing through a thrilling mobster drama over the course of a weekend, knowing I wouldn't have to dedicated the better part of the next month to finish it. In a lot of respects, Mafia II hasn't aged all that well; strangely, that's why I think it's a better game than it was 10 years ago.

It can be tough at times, but that just makes it more gratifying when it all works out and the balls go in the hole.

While testing Banner Saga through Factions is not exactly social work, it's not what you've been waiting for, either. Call it a scenic detour that gives the dinner hosts at Stoic some extra time to cook more side dishes while testing out the current ones on guests. Don't worry: Factions is plenty of fun on its own and will only get better as updates roll out.

Forza Horizon 3 Hot Wheels works even though it occupies a weird space. It doesn't play to Forza Horizon's strengths and, eventually, it doesn't even feel much like Hot Wheels anymore. It's claustrophobic and constricting in a way this franchise hasn't been before. In a twist of irony, it's the Hot Wheels aspect that prevents this expansion from ever performing anything spectacularly perilous.

There are some weird localization issues where the text doesn’t match what’s happening on the screen, and the audio could be better at guiding players when their faces are turned away from the screen. But beyond that and the aforementioned tracking issues, Fitness Circuit is a well-rounded package. If you’re looking for your first fitness game on Switch or have tired of all the other ones, consider it an effective way to keep active every day.

If the more mundane parts of Heavy Rain left you unenthused -- and if they didn’t, that’s even better -- you’ll enjoy this exhilarating condensed experience.

Try FNR4 if you’re looking for a good boxing game or want to experience the glory of current generation pugilism all over again. It’s worth it. Just don’t venture online with wide eyes and innocence. You’ll be rocked.

It's been a while since I've played a game with a cast of characters that was so good it elevated the rest of the experience.

Bright Memory has the potential to be great once Infinite arrives, but for now it gets a very light recommendation with some provisos.

Fans of Bryan Lee O'Malley's comics or the star-studded 2010 Edgar Wright film will find all of their favorites and more in Scott Pilgrim EX, the latest licensed collab from Tribute Games. The beat-em-up is enjoyable to play, but difficulty and connection issues can hamper the short-lived experience.

For your $30, you essentially get a touched-up Toy Soldiers. I loved Toy Soldiers, I think it’s a fantastic game. I’m happy that they took the time to make the battlefields look a little more modern, but if I hadn’t gone back to check the original game, I might not have realized that anything had been done at all. So, the real value to me is just being able to re-experience the game on new platforms, or on PC without the Games for Windows Live nonsense.

While Freedom Planet isn't a perfect experience, it is still a very enjoyable and easily one of the best Sonic the Hedgehog-esque games I've played in years. If you were looking for something to scratch that 16-bit Sonic itch this might be it. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the questionable story, voice acting, and late game bosses.

BioWare will need to build quickly on top of its shimmering jet-fueled foundation to hold people's interest, but folks looking for a new neighborhood to move into might want to give Anthem a try -- either now or after fixes and updates.

I hope that Camouflaj gets their hands on Iron Man again: if only to see how they can top themselves and mend their mistakes.

There’s a lot I’d like to see improved upon in a Sonic Frontiers sequel (which they should absolutely do), but I had fun playing around with the open world format, and just skipping some of the more boring stuff that I didn’t want to do. If you haven’t given up on Sonic yet, you’ll find a lot to love as you wade through some of the muck.

The core mechanics are great, but the latter half feels too repetitive, and there's not much real incentive to replay the game, despite there being many new things to uncover. It is certainly worth the time invested into it, though it may not have players screaming for more.

Hogwarts Legacy is a sometimes unremarkable open world game that's severely uplifted by its dedication to the best parts of the source material.

I would recommend anyone with a little bit of interest in the sport and a lot of patience check out EA Sports UFC. There is a fun game in here somewhere -- it's just behind a lot of barriers.

The sum total of my experience with Daemon X Machina is positive. The combat is amazing, the game is bright and colorful, the framerate mostly holds up in either docked or handheld mode, and the hangar is great to tinker around in, checking out all the different configurations of my mech. That's what I'm going to remember out of all of this, which is safe for me to say because most everything else in this game is pretty forgettable.

It's the best Yoshi game on the 3DS, and if you don't already own it on the Wii U, I would suggest picking it up.

The game is a solid, creative FPS that brings a lot of new ideas to the genre, despite its minor flaws. Unfortunately, due to the short story, and multiplayer overshadowed by better games, spending more than you'd need to to rent this thing from Blockbuster would just be a waste of money that you'll probably need to purchase food, or paper towels for some reason.

If you've skipped over the last few Worms games but pine for the nostalgic feeling of ripping apart cute little critters across a gigantic map with precision bank shots, you'll be able to relive those memories here. Especially so if you love Armageddon, which this one is trying hard to emulate.

It's an easy recommendation for platform fans, but it's also just a plain fun time. It's not revolutionary or trailblazing, but it does what it needs to prove that Frozenbyte hasn't lost its touch. I wouldn't necessarily expect a Trine 5 or anything, but clearly, this series has some life left in it.

Despite its short length, The Shivah is worth playing for its story and to see how far adventure games have come in the last few years.

Trials is a hodgepodge of stuff that should have been patched in and stuff worthy of extra development time.

A limited romp, but its core selection of minigames are fun to play. It's enjoyable for what it is, whether you have a creative mind or just want to blow shit up. I can see myself going back from time to time to top my best score -- I just won't be creating things for months on end.

Quite a good show for a new studio. Tasteful presentation and a great sense of atmosphere manage to elevate it above the issues I had with the scope of the game.

If finding the perfect furniture for your house in Animal Crossing was your favorite part of the series, then you'll surely get some enjoyment out of this game.

What Ails You is the best episode of The Enemy Within since the season opener. After setting the player up with brutal, cathartic violence, the story trims away some (but not all) of its fat to focus on Bruce, his friends, enemies, and the pesky troublemakers who can't seem to rest on either side. There's nothing here that'll change the opinions of Telltale naysayers, but Episode Four at least succeeds in preparing the stage for what could prove an exciting, shocking, perhaps even regret-filled climax.

If you’re heavily interested in a vampire-fueled mystery game with some good “a-ha” moments, Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong can deliver. It’ll falter and miss some notes here and there, but it does at least sate my thirst for some vampire storytelling for now.

All-in-all, I think this is a stronger selection of tracks for the Booster Course Pass than we saw in Wave 1. There isn’t a single dud here and no track has seen changes that take alter how they play in a negative way. As good as these courses are, it’s not an exciting grouping as the Turnip Cup or Propeller Cup lack that one knockout course that is the clear standout of the bunch. But considering some of the best Mario Kart tracks are already in MK8 Deluxe, I think I’ll be satisfied if all future waves of the Booster Course Pass are able to meet the standard set here.

Tachyon Project isn't a remarkable shooter, but it's well-designed on several levels. There's no multiplayer to speak here, but with a decent campaign, lots of customization, and New Game+/Endless modes, you'll be perfectly fine going at it solo.

Without company, the initial dungeons begin to blend together a bit, and restarting isn't so much a pain from a pure skill-based roguelike standpoint, but a crisis of variety.

Time has been kind to Modern Warfare 2. The resonance of this particular entry is demonstrated with heartfelt passion in Beenox' high-gloss, finely-tuned remaster. While the overall package is slim and the asking price no doubt steep for some tastes, there's no denying that MW 2's provocative and exciting campaign has aged like wine, an explosive roller-coaster still worth riding.

Is the Blair Witch game a good fit for a franchise many have mostly written off by now? As a fan of said series, I would say yes. It absolutely has its faults, with the poorly paced gameplay and story elements being the worst offenders, but the amazing set pieces and psychological horror do a great job of raising the heart rate of anyone willing to venture through the forest. Ultimately, there are a lot of interesting ideas here, but they simply don't come together like they needed to in order to make the best of them.

Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice isn't the worst Sonic game I've ever played. It isn't terrible. The platforming and sense of speed are here, though just not as fun as you might remember them. The whole affair is rather ugly -- which can't only be blamed on the 3DS, though it doesn't help -- and the game isn't exactly long at a few hours to complete, if that. Hardcore fans of the series will probably get some enjoyment out of this, but for the full price of $40, it is hard to recommend to anyone else.

The maps alone in the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Havoc DLC are an average affair, but Exo Zombies rises this package slightly above the cut. I love the new cast, the Exosuits makes a world of difference, and I'm digging the Hollywood cheese of the story.

Given the opportunity to dare, Forspoken chooses to play it incredibly safe, with muddled pacing and strict adherence to both narrative and gameplay tropes holding it back from reaching its groundbreaking potential. Regardless, its dazzling visuals, charismatic leads, memorable boss battles, and energetic and varied combat will reward the more patient player with a solid, spellbinding adventure… And, for everybody else, there are magical cats.

The most egregious of all faults lies in the enemy AI. Nearly all creatures in Dark Souls are hyper-aggressive and many of them to a fault. Some will completely ignore a gap between you and them, running off a cliff.

If you like old-school third-person action games with horror elements, I'd recommend picking up The Evil Within on a console, possibly at a price cut. It will definitely scratch the itch of someone who has been pining for a return to the older days of gaming, but everyone else who has come to expect that certain layer of polish likely won't be amused.

It’s a really f.cking stupid game, and that’s what I loved about it. It seems like it’s almost doomed to be overlooked, but this is a classic case of the pros outweighing the cons. Super Daryl Deluxe has cult classic written all over it.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is beautiful and charming in many respects, but an absolute drudgery in others.

I wasn't super impressed by Monster Hunter Stories but I don't think the developers intended for it to be a game-changer.

It's certainly worth the $10 if you're willing to let your imagination fly!

Still a good game, even if it does feel like a wasted creative opportunity. It steals liberally from the Bat, but it does so with a high enough degree of skill and style that it can be forgiven.

It's not the best game in its catalog, and the difficulty will be a turn-off for many, but Rive leaves its mark as one of the more challenging games of this generation. Gluttons for punishment will have no trouble eating it up, but others should satiate their appetite elsewhere.

Brawlout is positioning itself as the sort of indie Smash, especially with its addition of Hyper Light Drifter and Juan into the mix. With proper post-launch support, and most importantly, an audience, it could grow and fill that Bowser-sized hole that Smash Wii U left. Until then it'll serve as a fun party game that could be a little more.

Tengami is a decent way to spend a soothing afternoon, but overall left me wanting more from what was there.

You're not getting a sports sim here; this is about simple Wiimote-swinging fun. Those looking for a high level of challenge need to look elsewhere.

My enjoyment of Farpoint is inherently tethered to my experience with it in VR. As a shooter it's only slightly above average. But the team was able to incorporate various elements of sight, sound, and touch (by way of the Aim Controller) to elevate it.

Dissidia NT is fun to play, but it could use a few tweaks that could easily come as low-effort updates along with its existing premium DLC. More modes, some UI tweaks, and combat flow upgrades would go a long way.

If the price were a bit cheaper, or if even online multiplayer were included, I’d readily recommend this port without a problem. As it stands, while Space Invaders Extreme on PC is solid and certainly looks and sounds the best out of any available version, the lack of such an awesome mode just sours my opinion on it.

With a lot of polish in terms of the controls through a future update, this could be one of the finest games on the App Store. Otherwise, just stick to the other incredible versions if possible.

It's a very uneven package in the sense that there could have either been a few more games and a few could have been better, but honestly -- $15 isn't a terrible price just for Joust alone.

If you can get friends interested, though, Windjammers makes for an almost no-brainer local purchase. The intensity of the gameplay and sheer attitude the game exhibits is truly a joy.

Exit the Gungeon is an interesting experiment and a clever way to keep the series going without copying what's already been done; but along the path to mobile, some crucial elements of the DNA of the franchise were lost. I'll still be following it through its post-launch journey, however, and Gungeon fanatics will find plenty of references to smile at.

Mahjong Cub3d is simply mahjong in fully rotatable 3D. I can tell you that it's easy to get into and control, and that it seems to have this gravitational pull on me as a puzzle game fan. I've always liked mahjong, and this 3D twist on the classic formula makes it even more enjoyable and challenging.

High Strangeness might be a brief adventure that feels a bit shallow at times, but it's very easy to digest. Because of the short nature of the game it doesn't waste your time, and it's very easy for anyone -- retro enthusiast or not -- to pick up and play.

Witcheye is an absolutely pleasant and pleasurable adventure and easily one of the best mobile games I've played all year. With tight controls and a headphone-worthy soundtrack, it's one I'm going to be returning to. Though I'll probably just stick to the boss rush mode going forward.

Until Dawn knows exactly what it is, and it doesn't pretend to be anything more. In that process it allows for some predictable plotlines, hammy acting, and lack of meaningful choices, but I'm glad that it exists, and every horror fan owes it to themselves to play it at some point -- especially at a price cut.

The quality of any given WWE 2K game is a gamble year to year, but 2K19 manages to claw its way up from being buried alive by the travesty of last year's entry. Daniel Bryan's Showcase is a clear highlight as are the mostly welcome mechanical changes. Here's hoping they don't regress again in 2019.

As I walked back to Shenhua's cottage to turn in for the night after a hard day's work, earning back the money I had gambled away, it hit me: people just aren't making many games like this anymore.

If none of these tracks really tickle your fancy, you’re probably better off just waiting for the next proper entry in the Mario Kart series. For me, I’m cautious but optimistic the rest of the Booster Course Pass will be worth the $25 entry fee once all is said and done. Obviously, there are some great tracks included already with Wave 1, but if Toad Circuit’s inclusion is any indication, I shouldn’t completely dismiss the possibility of some stinkers getting through too.

Beyond a breath of fresh air, it will provide a chuckle for some and a tear for others. Well done, Vicious Cycle. Well done indeed.

Dying Light often boils down to "Zombies: The Videogame," but it's fun to flip around like a ninja and cause havoc while you shuffle from one mission to the next. For many of you out there, that's basically all you'll need.

A flawed, but ultimately good game. However, here we come to the major malfunction. Barely anybody is playing this thing. Even with 32-player matches available, it's really hard find a game populated by even half that number.

Astro Bot has replaced Knack as the cute Sony mascot and I’m okay with it.

Rodea the Sky Soldier really hits that sweet spot when it comes to evoking the wonder of flight, but the troubled developmental process is tangible in the final build. For those of you who can stomach older experiences however, you'll likely overlook some of its issues and find a lot to love.

This is a surprisingly meaty title that'll have you coming back again and again to best one difficulty level after another, even if it's just to collect special accessories with which you can outfit your girls.

A disappointing finale doesn't completely undo the goodwill earned by the rest of the season, but a sour aftertaste is still pretty hard to wash out.

Warriors All-Stars is good silly fun as the story never takes itself too seriously, nor do the cameos. But in the process a few huge staples we've come to expect have been stripped.

Dragon Quest Heroes almost feels like a fully-fledged action RPG, but there's a few things holding it back from greatness. In the end though it still has its charms, alongside of a beautiful art style and a buttery smooth framerate. If you really dig Warriors games and can go at it solo, you'll likely enjoy it.

Really, the thrill of the crawl is this game's only reward. For me, that's more than enough as the dungeon crawling play fits the bill exactly as a Vita game. But if you're new to this genre, there are many better places to start.

Gylt is very much in the same spirit as Concrete Genie in that it's a short but mostly engaging romp that's best enjoyed by the right kind of audience.

If you're willing to dig in, and I mean truly dig in, the two styles of play benefit Return to PoPoLoCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale. The core story is roughly 30 hours or so, but you can mess around with all of the side content and the farming aspect for far beyond that, which is a perfect excuse to spend weeks on end with a portable.

It's a damn solid game, with bright and beautiful graphics, simple but fun gameplay and a significant wad of content.

When it comes to gameplay and longevity, Death Come True suffers from the exact same issues as many titles in the FMV genre without breaking new ground. But Izanagi's engrossing tale of love, regret, and murder redresses the balance with superb performances, dramatic twists, and a genuinely impassioned climax. It's a short, somewhat expensive trip, but one worth taking when it hits your personal price-point.

One other major issue with the game is the horrible navigational map that just shows everything as a circle of cluttered brown mess. With so much going on during a standard mission, it's understandably difficult to create a map that reads clearly and informs the player of what's happening. However, this impossible creation doesn't even come close.

At this point I'm starting to tire from the Telltale formula, especially when it doesn't provide a cast of memorable characters from the get-go, but Michonne herself was enough to power me through the episode and keep me interested. In Too Deep hasn't topped either season of The Walking Dead so far, but if you can still stomach a few empty "remember" prompts, you'll enjoy the story they're trying to tell.

It bugged me that there was so much about this game that got it right, but it was ultimately too pulled down by super-linear level design for me to love it to the end.

chick chick BOOM is fast and furious at the outset but slows down way too soon and way too abruptly. It's fun if a bit lacking. But hey, you get to murder baby chickens, so that's gotta count for something, right?

Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed is an interesting culture shock of a good time if you can see past the silliness, especially if “quirky Japanese games” happen to be your cup of tea.

The game really is a niche title that is going to appeal to only a small group. I'm certainly a part of it, but even I feel like the extreme customization gets to be a bit much.

Kirby's Dream Buffet isn't quite what I expected, mostly for the better.

I don't think it's going to make headlines or change the horror game in any way, but it's a fun way to spend an afternoon and another respectable showing for Amazon's game division.

Whether you are a history nut or an action RPG lover, Rise of the Ronin should be your next choice in a game. You’ll have fun dicing up your enemies while learning about Japan’s rich culture. It’s the perfect combination of the two, and I hope to see more entries like this to dive more into historical content.

It isn't perfect, but this episodic format isn't something I'd mind seeing return to Assassin's Creed in the future.

Despite some gripes, the legacy of this trilogy is fully secure.

Kao the Kangaroo feels like a game that has more potential that wasn't executed on, but the vibrant visuals go a really long way.

As far as Lego games go, it’s not perfect, but it delivers a solid story and a plethora of DC characters to play around with, which is more than ICE can ask for.

The camera is one of the most immediate problems that needs to be fixed, but Black Box has done a good job with the title, and if they can keep making substantial improvements with each title in the series, then they'll be the undisputed frontrunners for the new generation of skating titles.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is obviously in no position to take the platform fighter throne right now, but I think the teams at Ludosity and Fair Play Labs have created a very good blueprint for what could be a very great franchise. If Super Smash Bros. is a celebration of all things Nintendo, I don’t see why an All-Star Brawl 2 couldn’t be a celebration of all things Nickelodeon. I think it’s possible with the right amount of time and money, and I hope this game is successful enough to convince GameMill to invest in a sequel that could be truly spectacular.

It’s the house that was built for the actual racing that is the problem. Beneath the vibrant colors and retro sensibilities, it’s disappointingly unpolished and monotone. Getting through the championship took me short of 6 hours, but it feels like it would be better off being half that with better attention to detail. As it stands, Victory Heat Rally isn’t the bumpiest ride I’ve been on, but it would benefit from a tune-up.

Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage probably isn't going to stick with you as a cherished experience, but it's a competently designed combo slasher with a fair bit going for it. Players who like their 2D hack n' slash combat fast and accurate should be satisfied.