A fun if slightly derivative third-person shooter. It certainly isn’t close to perfect -- the melee is kind of wonky and disappointingly underdeveloped, it suffers from a fair bit of repetition, and the enemy A.I. is only somewhat smarter than the girls on Flavor of Love. But the infected powers, the occasionally dazzling visuals, and Michael Rosenbaum’s sweet, sweet voice definitely make the game worth a look if you’re a fan of the genre.

Tembo the Badass Elephant is a really enjoyable game at its core, but it can get tiring to replay the same stage five times over just to grind out a few kills to see the next set of levels.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend picking up the entire Metal Gear Solid V package just for online play, as it still has a lot to prove. I'm pulling for it to get better, but I don't trust Konami.

I found myself largely enamored with Phoenotopia Awakening. Its often humorous and sometimes sentimental dialogue got through to me, and its challenging but tight platforming action really appealed. I’m a little bit weary from my trek through its expansive campaign, but I’m satisfied all the same. It’s an aesthetically pleasing, unforgivingly mean, but an altogether lovingly assembled experience.

Despite a few nitpicks here and there, I can't compliment it enough. The Splatters is a truly wonderful game, one that reminds us how terrific a platform Xbox Live Arcade was during its prime and still has the potential to be. Go add points to your account and download this immediately.

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.

Those who yearn for a return to Black Flag's sandbox will take comfort knowing this is "more of the same," as the clichéd review expression goes. But, Rogue's systems do nothing to move Assassin's Creed forward, leaving it fittingly stuck in the past like the last-generation consoles it graces.

It sometimes feels antiquated; a late arriver to a bygone era of JRPGs. An amalgamation of the directness of SNES RPGs and the pomp of the PS2 flavor. I can only dream of what the series would be like with a bigger budget and staff. But even with what we have now, Metal Max Xeno Reborn is something special. Now, you’ll have to excuse me while I go to work digging through the series past. I need more, and I need it now.

Breakers Collection offers 2D fight fans the opportunity to relive one of the finest examples of myriad Street Fighter II clones, refreshed with polished gameplay and modern online technology. While first-timers may be warned off by its perceived simplicity, Breakers remains a fun, satisfying, and compelling scrapper, deserving of its resurgence in the competitive scene. Breakers may have dated somewhat over the ensuing decades, but this solid scrapper, much like Tia’s legwarmers, never goes out of style.

Phantom Abyss isn’t a perfect endless temple speedrunner, but for a dozen or so hours, it has a great hook.

Die-hard, devout rougelikes may feel the urge to gripe about the fact that you can reload from last save when you die (on Easy mode), but I think most gamers will be glad that this game is more player-friendly overall.

The Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle offers seven good (if repetitive) games for a great price. There's zero excuse for a 30-year-old game having terrible online in 2018, which is a huge minus here. But for those who fancy a violent trip down memory lane, especially with local buddies to watch their back, The Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle still provides simple-minded mayhem for not a lot of coin.

As long as you can deal with a little skin and a silly plotline, Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed is a fun little action romp.

Dedicating more attention to it than that may prove to be a bit tedious (not least because of the simple, repetitive music) and the design lends itself far better to touch controls for mobile devices than a mouse, so your better bet is to grab it on the phone and take it with you places.

A fine game. It seems to lack a bit of polish and charm, the game does become a bit repetitive, and there's some flaws in the game design in some areas, but the experience was still fun overall. Moon won't win any awards for its story, either. But the spot-on control, slick interface, and impossibly smooth FPS play on this little portable game system should be commended.

If you have a child or a friend who loves Disney and just can't get into simulators, this is their gateway, but I have a feeling that a lot of hardcore fans won't really get their money's worth.

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.

For all my complaints, Bound is an interesting beast. The way it incorporates its animation style has been rarely, if ever done so well. It's well worth experiencing in some fashion, just maybe not at full price.

While Job Simulator may not be my personal favorite virtual reality game, it is one of the easier titles to recommend given its intuitive design, effective comedy stylings, and broad appeal.

Watching an early decision ripple out to future consequences, then rewinding and seeing what would have happened if something else were chosen is an entertaining exercise. I'm going to keep playing at least a few more times until I see all of the different scenes and maybe even find my true story.

Let me make this clear -- if you find yourself playing any of these games yearly, whether it's for nostalgia or because you think they're genuinely good games, you will love NES Remix.

While it could have exploited fans at every turn like EA tried to do with Dungeon Keeper, it's actually a nice little way to spend an afternoon while you wait for Fallout 4 to come out in November. Just don't expect anything particularly exciting, as it is slightly skewed towards enticing you to spend money on it -- lest you wait to enjoy it in short spurts.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is, by most counts, a really bad game. However, for such a technical disaster, I have been playing it solidly for a week since I got the thing. It's a technical mess and its flaws are impossible to ignore, but its sheer character and the strength of some incredibly addictive gameplay have allowed it to surpass all its problems and become a truly fun game.

Its sometimes aggravating difficulty might not be for everyone, but anyone looking to bring back that warm, pit of your stomach feeling of playing Double Dragon for the first time needn't look any further.

After the awful showing of Episode 2, I had absolutely no expectations going into this one. But hey, I came away relatively pleased and somewhat looking forward to what is to come next. The underlying issues that have plagued every episode thus far still persist here, but at least The Council is finally utilizing its strengths in the best way possible, despite its flaws.

Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 is worth it for 9 alone, but you'll also get to experience several legacy games that were passed by.

When assessing these packs I try to rate the sum of their parts, and more often than not, the A-game of the zombie team elevates these DLCs. Call of Duty: WWII: The Resistance is another one of those times where the extra bits upstage the main attraction of the maps.

Towa is a beautiful and unique game, with innovations hiding under every rock and shrine, but with poor design choices and inconsistencies, it's definitely a very rough diamond.