Travis Strikes Again has some undeniable lows but the No More Heroes charm and the prospect of co-op lift it up.

The game is a unique blend of genres that I haven't seen attempted anywhere else, and it gets more right than it does wrong.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair looks gorgeous and has some cool ideas, but ultimate it feels like Castlevania Lite -- a stripped down version of a real Castlevania game with none of the depth or clever design.

Awful obligatory minigames aside, there's a solid game to enjoy at the core. You'll just have to be a really big fan to suffer through the dire moments.

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.

Bright Memory Infinite gets in its own way, and occasionally takes the focus off of its strongest quality.

I think Code of Princess will go on to be one of those cult-classic games that gamers will bring up in their 'must-play games' list for the 3DS, just like Guardian Heroes. It's really that good. That 'spiritual successor' label? Totally worthy. This is a beautifully crafted side-scrolling beat-'em-up that has no equal on the 3DS, and the love that went into the localization makes it that much better.

Book of Shadows employs a point-and-click mechanic and objects that can be interacted with are highlighted with a blue hue. It's still tedious, but at least the days of mashing the X button over every pixel in a Where's Waldo-esque fashion are over.

In order to enjoy this game, you have to be more than just an Uncharted fan: you have to have an affinity towards card games, plain and simple. If you do, you should enjoy Fight for Fortune.

CounterSpy nails its style. The angular art, the tight animation. Even the 2.5D cover mechanic stuff, the over-the-shoulder shooting, looks cool. But there is a weird tonal inconsistency to the whole thing that leaves it feeling unfinished despite the polish.

Resident Evil 6 is a Michael Bay movie. There's really no more polite a way to put it. Stuffed to the gills with bombastic action segments, car chases, and relentless chaos, Capcom has abandoned any pretense of the survival horror genre and embraced a world of skin-deep Hollywood audacity. Listlessly wallowing in the depthless waters of homogeneity, Resident Evil 6 is a coward of a game, afraid to make its own individual mark in the industry and cravenly subscribing itself to every overplayed trope in the book.

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.

I wanted to enjoy Uncanny Valley, especially with its opening concept and jump scares, but despite all the assurances and hard work with those patches, it just wasn't to be.

I’m sure there is a demographic out there that Urban Trial Freestyle 2 will appeal to, but it is clear to me now that I am not a part of that key demo. While I can appreciate what they were going for here and I found myself really getting into the challenge, any feeling of joy I experience doesn’t last for long when I’m faced with so many bewildering design choices.

With the easy 30-hour campaign behind me, I’m having a great deal of fun with the post-game content. There are new maps to unlock, new classes to discover, and daily quests I can conquer.

It really does try something different, even if you can feel the core themes sneaking up on you a mile away.

I appreciate what Squanch Games is doing in the industry as a whole, but Trover Saves the Universe was a much better distillation of Roiland and company's humor in a sounder package.

Men's Room Mayhem has a great premise that expands upon the initial concepts of Flight Control, but the monotony quickly sets in due to poor pacing and a lack of mode variety. With a few simple tweaks, it could be a true "must have" on the Vita marketplace -- mostly given its competitive mobile pricing. But as it stands, don't go in expecting much more than a repetitive, yet occasionally fun time waster.

Fans of the first Godfather game will definitely want to take a look at the sequel, with the caveat that the extra layer of Don’s View depth and the strategic learning curve may turn some people off. It’s also not the best looking game, and it’s certainly not the most engaging. But it’s a fair bit of fun if the idea of shooting fools in the face -- when choking them just doesn’t work -- appeals to you.

There are some cobwebs to shake out of Oddworld: Soulstorm, and some that will remain even after a hot shower, but you'd be hard pressed to name very many games that are doing what this series is doing in 2021.

Despite a few issues I have with the game, most notably the idea of grinding a bit too often early on, this game is a steal at $9.99. If you see it on a sale and remotely enjoy ARPGs, you need to pick this up immediately.

I still think it's fun, but this first run at the license from Milestone doesn't come anywhere close to meeting its real potential.

Operation Warcade isn't a terribly innovative game, but it's fun enough if you're just looking for a very basic arcade shooter. Just don't expect a definitive VR experience from it.

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

Its focus is rather admirable. There’s no voice acting, the graphics are rather basic, but everything comes together wonderfully to get the job done. Fans of visual novels have been eating great recently, and Tron: Identity is another great morsel to dig your teeth into. Even if it’s not the most transcendental experience, it’s hard not to be charmed by the amount of love that’s been put into it.

I hated my first hour or so of Two Worlds II. I believed I was in for a boring, dreary, aggravating eighty hours of wasted life that I'd never be able to get back. I was wrong. Two Worlds II is the perfect gaming equivalent to a diamond in the rough. It's ugly, it's coarse, and it's got one foot in the past, but it's just too damn lovable to be thrown into the trash.

The hand-drawn visuals and endearing cast of characters makes for a short, nostalgic play that I could easily see appealing to parents or young children just starting to explore video games. And while I would've loved to see more of the world that Aidan and Lily inhabit, on its own, The Little Acre is an enjoyable game that ultimately still functions as a shorter experience.

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.

Despite its brisk pace and sparse storytelling, Small Radios Big Televisions manages to feel like a complete handcrafted package. The game shines when you're weaving between corridors and virtual worlds hunting for keys to a mystery among forgotten places and glitchy spaces.

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon is beautiful. I thank the developers for making it. I resent the developers for not making it good enough.

I really do believe there’s a great horror game here. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve played up until this point and love the breadth of content on offer, as well as the intriguing puzzles and an environment that slowly evolves over time. Still, for now, I don’t recommend you buy this game until a patch has been released and I’m able to get through the entire thing for our final review. [Review in Progress]

Jak and Daxter is an excellent franchise and one of my all-time favorites, but the Vita collection doesn't really do it justice. If you're keen on experiencing these classics, whether it's for the first or fortieth time, it's probably best to wait for either a price drop, or just pick up the superior PS3 version.

There is probably a really fun South Park card game buried in Phone Destroyer somewhere. If the economy was fairer and the PvP was more strategic, it might be worthy of my time. As it stands right now, I’ve hit the point where I have pretty much no choice but to open my wallet if I want to compete and the game just isn’t fun enough to convince me to do that.

So much about A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism is neat that I wish I could more strongly recommend it. At the very least, I’d love to force people who don’t think public transportation is worth investing in to play it so they see what an adequate rail system can do for their community. Because this does make a good argument for expanding public transit, it's just that its antiquated user interface and woeful tutorial and manual mean very few people will bother listening to what it has to say.

Legrand Legacy: Tale of the Fatebounds is what it claims to be: a role-playing game that feels old, for better or for worse. It won't wow you with storytelling or world-building, but the combat is serviceable, if not remarkably challenging. If you're a fan of old-school Japanese role-playing games, you'll find something to enjoy here. Just know that you're in for a game that, much like it claims to, feels dated.

All told, there's a decent game in here somewhere, but it's bogged down by annoying difficulty spikes and movement and aiming controls that never feel quite right. Even without those issues, Rocketbirds 2 does little if anything we haven't seen before. Its premise and world can only take it so far.

While the lag doesn’t technically make MLB 2K8 unplayable online, it’s bad enough to be a severe detriment to enjoying the game.

Roogoo: Twisted Towers feels like a bunch of missed opportunities hanging out on top of a really great puzzle game. The great idea is there, it just never makes its way down to earth where players can get a piece of it.

On many other occasions they'll simply augment the existing experience, and your mileage may vary depending on how strong the core is.

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.

Killing Floor 3 is a fantastic new entry into a classic series, bringing novel ideas, refinements, and technologies to the table. Technical and gameplay caveats keep it from perfection, but it nevertheless remains a good game with a great price.

Scanner Sombre is a gimmick game, and I honestly say that without any ill intent. Its gimmick is beautiful and engaging and kind of amazing. To its credit, Scanner Sombre is seemingly aware of the limitations of this because it's brief enough to not wear out its welcome. However, the kaleidoscopic interior decorating is a means to an end, and that end just isn't as thrilling as what's in the mind's eye.

Whether you have the energy to experience all of that entertainment depends entirely on your tolerance for non-stop, mostly immutable FPS action, but nevertheless, this is worth nabbing for any DOOM fan currently not rocking a gaming rig.

Dungeon Souls proudly wears its inspirations on its sleeve (and its Steam Store description), a mishmash of inspirations that takes a step backwards even as it steps forward. Yet, despite that, it still manages to create a tiny universe of its own, full of engaging heroes and tenacious foes. It's a fun title, but when you have so many standout games that you can combine them to create something like Dungeon Souls, it's hard not to recommend those instead.

I really can’t say anything overly negative about Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise because, despite the issues it has, it will produce results if you keep at it. And that’s the ultimate goal when buying an exercise game. But at $50, you really have to ask yourself if it wouldn’t be worth it to spend a little more money to get a vastly superior experience. If this is all you’re willing to spend and you don’t already own a fitness game, then go for it. But if you have the cash, you'll likely be better served by Ring Fit Adventure.

Much like being a fan of the real thing, WWE 2K18 is often more of a chore than it is fun. Hilariously, yet tragically, I still find myself hoping it'll be better next time.

I'm so torn on Tahira: Echoes of the Astral Empire. It's easily one of the most mechanically sound entries into the genre I have played in quite some time, but it barely lets the players experiment with its mechanics. It feels like having some of the best tools on the market and no supplies to build anything with.

In the end, Sonic Generations is not the worst Sonic game I've played, but it's far from the best either. I'm glad that I was forced to play through the whole thing, as there are definitely some clever design choices and cool moments in later levels. It's just a shame that I had to wade through so many cheap speed-blocking hits and uneventful levels to get to them.

Save me Mr Tako successfully apes a period of gaming history, but I just wish it had shed a few of the more tiresome tropes from that time. If you're part of the niche audience that this is catering to, you'll find a fun romp down what feels like memory lane. For everyone else, I'd proceed with caution.

As a casual fighting game fan, I am drawn to the type of experience Phantom Breaker: Omnia has going for it. It’s very low commitment, not the type of fighter where I feel I’m going to have to invest day after day to be able to land those epic combos and spectacular specials. That’s certainly an option for those who want to make a serious go at it, but I’d wager, like most other fighters that attempt to simplify the fighting game experience, this one will likely remain favored by a more easygoing audience than those who destined to stand atop the podium at EVO.

It’s a stunning lack of imagination that hobbles Recipe for Disaster. It offers absolutely nothing that I haven’t seen before in a management game. It doesn’t really succeed at reaching its own vision, and doesn’t offer anything unique in exchange for that. It’s a functional restaurant management game, and that’s it. Did it give me a reason why I shouldn’t just reinstall Pizza Connection 2? No. So I guess I’m doing that now.

If you're interested in the IP, stick to the core Skylanders series and avoid Battlegrounds. Toys for Bob did a great job synthesizing quality figures with quality games: Vicarious Visions, not so much.

In many ways, ATV Wild Ride 3D is stuck in the 90s, but that isn't wholly a bad thing. It does everything that it advertises -- it allows you to ride ATV vehicles on some pretty neat courses, in 3D.

With a stronger connection to the world and a more rewarding progression system, Nine Parchments could have been more than a fleeting arcade fancy. If you can find it on sale (which it has hosted many times since launch) and can wrangle up three other people, it's a decent party game that will fill a single afternoon.

That said BlazeRush is easily recommendable as one of the experiences to show off your fancy new toy if you get a Rift. It certainly has that initial "wow factor" even though it isn't the kind of game that comes to mind when most people think virtual reality.

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.

Without much option of anything besides leaning on the NES version's method of using Blob (a non-playable character) as the means of gameplay execution, WayForward's take on A Boy and His Blob is frustratingly imprecise and inaccurate. But, by deviating a bit and adding the jellybean wheel, it killed any momentum and turned the game into a slog. That is truly the worst of both worlds.

If you've got a hankering for a game with a stamina meter, sword swinging, and pot smashing, there is at least one other better title on the Nintendo Switch that I can think of, but Oceanhorn is an alright little throwback to retro Zelda titles that could help you bide your time between Nintendo's slow trickle of AAA games this year.

With a remake, all of this, along with the often questionable level design, could have been corrected. But with SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated aiming to be as faithful to the original as possible, these issues only serve as a reminder of how much better the industry has become at making 3D platformers.

Fitness Boxing is a better fit for me and while I may not get the body of my dreams using it, anything is better than what I'm working with now.

It's just a primitive action RPG that, in many ways, seems outmoded in this day and age.

For those of you who are curious about this series and want to jump in, you could do a whole lot worse on the Nintendo Switch. If you want to play Crysis in the most shiny way possible and own another platform, it's best to wait.

Prior to Lightfall, I felt Destiny was at its strongest point ever. The narrative was exceptional, the character development was unrivaled by any other FPS, and the future seemed both terrifying and wildly exciting. After Lightfall, I am still intrigued to see what happens next, but I think that lies solely with my thousands of logged hours and personal emotional investment that may not exist for new players. There is so much potential in Destiny for newcomers, but it isn’t easy to find, and Bungie often doesn’t help them along the way.

I had a lot of trouble tearing myself away from Biomutant, and a lot of my grievances didn’t really surface until I’d finished it and had time to digest.

I'm not a fan of One Piece: Burning Blood and it's not because of the unfamiliar source material. The combat here just isn't that fun, and no amount of colorful anime action will change that.

If you aren't pissed off about having to install it to your hard drive to avoid graphical issues and you like a strategic element to your battles, you may really enjoy the game. The truth of the matter is though, my standards for the genre are high, and I feel that if Square had spent a little more time clarifying the muddy parts and fixing the technical issues, this could have been a terrific game.

Nothing here will anger or upset you, but nothing will amaze or move you either. It's a steady, repetitive line to the end without any sort of escalation, but not everything need to be full of crazy turns and ups and downs.

Rounds out the collection found in the original Kinect Sports with a competent batch of games without a really bad one in the bunch. It can be a good time for families and folks who like to party and ideal in small doses. At the same time, it struggles to be compelling for more than the most casual of encounters and the limitations of the simple games don't really hold up for repeated playing.

Sunset struggles with pacing, technical performance (movement is a tad wonky and it can run sluggish), and a disconnect between how its lead is written and, occasionally, what she does, player depending.

In a season consisting of five or more episodes, a transitional, table-setting tale like Give No Shelter would theoretically justify itself. But with just one more chapter left, it feels like there should be more here. Despite that, I do have faith that the finale will tie it all together neatly.

Despite the fact that Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy can be a bit by-the-numbers inside dungeons, it's anything but in nearly every other facet of the game. While I probably won't be rushing to complete it again anytime soon, it was a lengthy enough adventure that will stay fresh in my mind for some time.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified desperately wants to be liked, but by failing to satisfy in any direction, all it succeeds in being is a disappointment. It wants to be a strategy game without being a strategy game, it wants to be a shooter without being a shooter, and it wants to be XCOM without being XCOM. As such, it is nothing. It's an inconsequential waste of time that does nothing for anybody, and saying that makes me feel guilty because its cloying pleas to not be hated are worthy of pity.

Black Ops 7 expands on Black Ops 6 with an enhanced, less sweaty multiplayer offering and more Zombie-killing fun, but a forgettable co-op campaign that leads into the exciting new Endgame mode prevents it from being a true top-tier Call of Duty.

The Crystal Bearers gives me something the likes of which I've never played before, and in the end, I think it can stand proudly along side other risky, underappreciated Squaresoft classics like Brave Fencer Musashi and Tobal 2. Ask someone to buy it for you for Christmas/Hannukah/whatever, or pick it up used down the line. Just don't write it off as nothing special.

Meet the new Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, mostly the same as the old Street Fighter II. Beyond the veil of some visual wizardry and a few rote fleeting fluff modes, this is the old school foundation that a lot of folks built their fighting game careers on.

For all its missteps as an action-RPG, it is simply flawless as an example of how to make a Vita experience work. Judicious use of touchscreen controls, beautiful visuals, a smartly broken-up mission structure and eerily swift loading times makes this the gold standard for Sony's portable.

It doesn't claim to be anything but a wave-based, score-centric space-arcade game, and that works in its favor. The simple design allows the game to focus on its wonderfully satisfying mechanics, even if they aren't communicated very well through the poor tutorial.

MonsterBag is a nice bit of light puzzles and charming slapstick, at least until the narrative drives it towards something more serious and mechanical that ups complexity and challenge, but almost feels like a different, less personable game.

Infinite Minigolf shows a lot of promise, but in its current state it's bland. Apart from the course creator, there's just nothing here that stands out from other minigolf titles.

The bad menus, controls, unplayable online component, and terrible campaign mode completely shroud any real accomplishments made in terms of the game's balance and feel.

It's simple to get into, it looks good and at the end of the day it provides some incredibly good racing action. Purists will hate it, but those who just want to have a laugh without worrying about hardcore racing simulation will enjoy Fuel for what it is.

Like every incarnation of the game, even the Re Mind DLC is going to both confuse and excite people en masse.

But despite its lack of any real innovation or complexity, Nail'd succeeds in being one of the most approachable and entertaining racers of the year.

Do you want to slice some demons into little meat chunks as a troubled badass, and perhaps missed out on the great Dreamcast and PS2 renditions of Berserk? Get Band of the Hawk. Seeing the story continue past the Golden Age is enough for an enthusiast to buy in. Otherwise, wait for the price to match what's being offered.

There's plenty of fun to be had in Lightning Returns if you're open to it, and are willing to overlook some of the messiness.

It's easy to appreciate the budget that went into making it look the way it does, and I hope Respawn gives it another go; but it needed so much more than a shiny veneer to survive in this current VR climate.

It's a lesson in wonderful concept and poor execution. If you were looking for the next Subnautica or Sunless Sea, this isn't quite there.

While decent enough, Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax may be too simplistic for most hardcore fighting game fans to enjoy as anything more than an ephemeral lark, but also perhaps still too complex for those that find the genre intimidating.

This is the Police presents situations that aren’t deep enough to invoke social commentary, yet it still takes the opportunity to arbitrarily throw them out in the open. It’s missing key storytelling elements that allow for that kind of messaging, and in the mundane yet slur-sprinkled missions those ideas fall apart.

There are some glaring balance issues for Rebellion to work out, and Battlezone is far less advisable as a solo game, but damn if it isn't thrilling when everything comes together and your team perseveres against all odds.

I love the look of City of Brass and its combat system, but after only about three hours I felt like I'd seen all it had to offer. It's a great way to kill an afternoon, I just wish it would give me a reason to keep coming back.

There is enough here that I’d give a Monark follow-up a shot. One that fills out its stories a bit more, amps up the horror, and flattens out the grind. There are some novel ideas here, and if you’re looking for something outside the RPG status quo and with a darker vibe, Monark could fit the bill. Just go in knowing that it can get arduous, and you’ll need to overlook those faults to find what Monark does that’s really different.

As much as I wanted to rave about this one, I must begrudgingly admit that those who love freedom would probably be better served hunting down a copy of the PS2 version or downloading it for PSP.

Hot Tin Roof isn’t terrible by any means, it just seems as though Glass Bottom Games had certain things it wanted to put in a game only to realize it had to actually make all those things fit together and the studio never really quite figured out how to make it flow naturally.

It's not a must-buy, not even for platformer fans, but it's a cute little game that most people can find some fun with.

There is simply not enough meat on the core game modes, seemingly in favor of adding in a hodgepodge of concepts that are isolated from one another. It's time to give up the vehicle concept, Nd Cube, as it inherently limits the sprawling nature of the maps we once played for years on end.

The sci-fi meta-narrative, as well as the conspiracy-laced in-world narrative, are both interesting and this was the first time in a while a game has made me do some real detective work.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: The Official Video Game doesn’t have a lot going on. Progression boils down to earning points to unlocking costumes, different titles, earning medals, and not much else. That progression can be kind of a slog, though, when a lot of the gameplay mechanics are too shallow to be fun for more than a few minutes (especially when playing alone). It’s at its absolute best when it’s over-the-top and absurd while competing in sports that are more than just button mashing. If you’ve got a friend or two — or the itch to take this thing online — you’re still bound to have fun, but I doubt it’ll keep most folks interested for very long.