Cross Rays still has room to improve for both presentation and gameplay elements, but the new changes result in a better game. In an era where many Gundam games are failing to improve over their predecessor, seeing Cross Rays try and succeed to be a better game is a much-needed sight. Hopefully the team at Tom Create keeps the trend going with the next one, because they have the foundation needed to create something special, especially if they make it a crossover entry.

It serves as a good system launch game that shows off the 3DS' new features. Don't go in expecting deep entertainment and you'll likely enjoy this. Again, what it lacks in depth it more than makes up for in cuteness.

Despite the issues of repetition and somewhat contrary design choices, Alien Swarm is an enjoyable shooter at an absolute steal of a non-price.

Axiom Verge works great as a portable game, and while it's been available before on the Vita, I feel like the Switch is the best possible platform since it looks spectacular in handheld mode and works beautifully as a sit-down, console experience.

It's hard to predict how Crash Team Rumble ends up in six months, but I hope it's still around, and the team is able to just facilitate what is working without corporate meddling. Whether or not enough people feel like spending $30 minimum to stick around and find out is up in the air.

The cast is interesting and memorable and the various settings are well realized, but it feels that more can be done with all of these elements that will likely be presented in future releases, which I'm keen to play.

The story is still compelling and slowly spirals downwards into the more twisted and perverse, with several moments that leave you in shock. The game has a lot of room to grow, though, and can tighten up some of the aspects of combat and get rid of the damned grain filter.

Bandai Namco has crafted a deep brawler that deserves to be up there with a lot of the competition, but some logistical issues specific to the Wii U hold the game back a bit more than I'd like.

While some aspects of the narrative -- particularly its protagonist -- have rough edges to them, it remains intriguing and mysterious through to its climax.

Building on the reasonably solid gameplay foundation of WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23 manages to finally find a comfortable spot. It is, at its core, the same general game that we get year after year. It kind of sucks that we have to keep paying for small improvements. However, small improvements got us here, and here is a pretty decent place to be.

There is a genuine allure to SteamWorld Dig, you just have to clear out the rubble to find it.

Trine has a fantastic core concept and occasional flashes of true brilliance, but it just doesn't go far enough in exploring its own mechanics. It delivers a perfectly entertaining few hours of gameplay -- much more time than I was expecting from an indie game, honestly -- but I could never shake the feeling that it just plain wasn't as good as it could have been.

So did Rune Factory: Frontier turn me into a full-fledged fan of the farming sim genre? No, not entirely, but it was definitely the most fun I've ever had with a Harvest Moon-like title.

While I never really connected with the trap mechanic or the new Trap Master toys, Skylanders: Trap Team is still a well-oiled machine. On newer consoles it looks fantastic, the action gameplay is still exciting, and the charm is still there. I just hope that Activision and its ilk have more interesting concepts in mind for the next iteration.

Being a part of huge battles, the likes of which games like Battlefield 3 only dream of, is not to be understated. If there's a better free-to-play game to have a short-term fling with, I have yet to play it. Just don't expect any sort of meaningful commitment.

Zoo Tycoon has a distinct lack of depth, but if you're capable of sitting down with this simplistic simulator, you'll smile more times than you can count. The simulator fan in me was a bit disappointed by the ease of it all, but the child in me couldn't help but enjoy myself.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War - Desolation of Mordor brings a worthy character into the spotlight with a slightly different feel, to aplomb.

With better care given to the other modes and maybe some concrete rally tracks, this could have been the definitive rally racing game. As it stands, though, DiRT 4 is a hardcore simulation with limited appeal beyond a specific audience. Those fans will absolutely love this game, but any newcomers should try to cut their teeth somewhere else.

The beauty of Road 96 isn’t that it’s thematically or mechanically well-executed, because it’s sometimes not. Every so often, you’ll hit a rough patch that just doesn’t jive and jars you out of your immersion. Sometimes that’s mechanical, other times a character will act against their established motivations. I think that can be forgiven, but there will be some who can’t move past the awkward moments. Yet, I can’t help but feel entranced by Road 96’s framework; the depiction of a journey as being a bunch of moments. Moments where you dig into a character’s psyche or just have fun playing air hockey. It’s lightweight, effective, and I can’t think of another place where it’s this well-executed. If you’re willing to stomach the rough patches and politics, there’s a rich game within. One that explores how people affect and are affected by the world. Personally, I think it’s worth the trip.

I'm still not particularly impressed with Covert Ops' storytelling ability, but Mission Pack 2 contains concise objectives, maintains a strong sense of pacing throughout, and sports an impressive voice cast.

Mario Tennis Open feels a bit lifeless at first, simply because it doesn't give any other incentive for playing than to keep unlocking things and to just play more tennis.

While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with Sword of the Stars: The Pit, there just isn't anything that is really mind-blowing. It is a well-polished roguelike that doesn't stray far from expectations, but instead stays in a rather comfortable zone from a game design perspective.

Some of the boss designs feel uneven or underdeveloped, and the dialogue misses about as often as it lands, but when Furi is good, it's real good.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion is an entertaining, nostalgia-fueled retro beat-em-up romp that ends way too quickly and doesn't have a ton of playable content outside of its core game mode.

ILMxLAB did a great job of taking an existing expanded universe storyline and making it their own.

At the very least, you'll get your money's worth, which often cannot be said for the many games DLC Quest owes its creation to.

A surprising little game. It manages to rise above the status of a throwaway mictoransaction-begging App by providing a deep and compelling system at the core of the experience. With a few more tweaks, it would be worth spending more time with, but as it stands, depending on your ability to play with others it may be a more fleeting experience.

It’s worth a look for being so effective at delivering its perspective. Death Noodle Delivery is sympathetic, but it has no answers for you. It may remind you that you’re not alone in your struggles, but rarely have I found that sentiment to be helpful. Instead, we can only be like Jimmy and hope that by continuing to put one foot in front of the other, we’ll eventually get somewhere better. At least there are noodles to comfort us in the meantime.