As you can probably tell from my time with it, Yoshi's New Island isn't a "must have," but that doesn't mean it's a bad game. It's very much by the books based on any genre standard, and there's pretty much nothing new here that you'll need to run out to experience. But even so, fans of the genre will still dig it.

Titanfall has all of the pieces to make a very nice FPS puzzle -- a wide variety of well crafted maps, a decent amount of familiar game modes, and a prestige system to hold the interest of veterans. In that sense, it's a very welcoming game that many disenfranchised genre fans will enjoy. Just don't expect anything monumentally different, or a worthwhile world to enjoy while you're having fun shooting everything in sight.

A fun spin on sci-fi real-time strategy that makes good use of tower defense mechanics in an offense-focused game. A little rough around the edges, it still manages to succeed in creating an experience that is challenging and unique every round while providing options which accommodate a wide range of skill level.

Rest assured if you liked Dark and Demon's you will like Dark Souls II. I was skeptical at first given the proposed changes, but ultimately I had an enjoyable time as I was aimlessly exploring its world and dying over and over to its bosses.

What it does to differentiate itself from previous entries in the series is mostly superficial, but Layton fans and puzzle lovers do not really need or want a great departure for the series. All we want is a puzzle-solving adventure, and Azran Legacy delivers a good one.

As far as videogame remasters go, Final Fantasy X and X-2 are at the top of the list as far as quality is concerned. It's clear that Square Enix put a lot of time into both of these beloved titles, and as a series fan I really appreciate that. They've made both of these great games even better with this remastering, and any fan of either should definitely check them out.

Tower of Guns is a beautiful marriage of two of my favorite genres, the first-person shooter and the roguelike. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my run I paused to finish this review.

Another major advantage the PC version has over the 3DS iteration is the new aforementioned multiplayer mode. Before you get your hopes up, it's asynchronous -- meaning your co-op partner cannot control themselves until you manually switch over to the other screen, and vice-versa. Because you'll have to quickly "take over" sometimes in mid-air in situations beyond your control, multiplayer is even harder than the base game.

If you do have some local friends who can come over and hold a controller, buy this game immediately and invite them over, because TowerFall: Ascension is easily one of the best things you can do on a couch.

Although I'm still not sure if this new cast is going to top Lee's old crew, A House Divided is a great second offering, and I'm sufficiently hooked.

The RPG elements are very serviceable but they're not going to satiate most of the hardcore genre fans out there. It's a good thing then that the rest of the package is filled with so much care from the show's creators, that it makes it something truly special.

While the difficulty curve is smartly placed overall, there are some levels where you'll feel you've hit a brick wall and will have to try over and over again. Still, the leaderboards will offer dedicated players a reason to keep coming back and doing exactly that.

If you've never played Championship Edition before and thus do not have DX to compare it to, it's a perfect way to re-acclimate yourself to the franchise, while you use Royale to spice up your next local gathering. Everyone else who lacks friends on-hand or has already played CE should wait for a sale, or pass this one up entirely.

Basement Crawl is not only a broken, unfinished game -- it's also a poor one.

Gunslugs is a great tribute to the old school, while still maintaining a fresh outlook on the genre. While its random level generation isn't perfect, the control and chaos at play here is a fun distraction for an afternoon. You'll shoot a lot, you'll die a lot, and you'll always be moving right, but you'll always be having fun too.

The music is infectious and lends itself to a focused tunnel vision. And it's occasionally disorienting in the best way. Getting that turned around becomes hypnotic and rhythmic, with TxK acting as the snake charmer.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 could have either used significantly more development time, or significantly less. Either way you slice it, ideas that just have no place in the game could have either been expanded upon or pared down to the point where it doesn't feel like Dracula was wasted.

The problem with Chaos Rising is that while it offers up something unique compared to the other two DLCs, it suffers from a weak, unengaging lead character and uninteresting sidequests.

The fact that Rambo: The Video Game is being sold for almost full retail price is insulting, not to mention the fact that it feels mostly unfinished and uninspired.

Even with its blemishes, I was incredibly surprised by the amount of depth the game has to offer on top of all of its charm. Hopefully EA will ease off the microtransactions in the future and even more content will pile in.

Nintendo made a good attempt to salvage Steel Diver with Sub Wars, but other than the solid implementation of free-to-play, it doesn't really do anything exciting.

The story and characters are somewhat forgettable, most of the missions are straight-forward, and the locales tend to blend together after a while. Having said that, there's a lot of potential here if you dig deep down into the game's ingenious difficulty sliders and challenge modes. In that sense, Thief succeeds as a bold stealth game, despite its bruises.

While only half of the package is truly worth the price of entry, the fact of the matter is Tales of Symphonia is required reading for JRPG fans. If you've been itching to get into another giant quest filled with twists, turns, and a top-notch battle system, this is your chance.

Inazuma Eleven is one of the best role-playing experiences I've had in a long time, and more importantly, rekindled a youthful feeling I've grown to miss.

Weapon Shop de Omasse is a breezy rhythm game, brimming with humor targeted at JRPG fans. I realize that's a niche within a niche, and it certainly won't be for everyone, but I loved it. And if that bizarre concept sounds even vaguely interesting, I bet you'll love it too.

If you've enjoyed the Earth Defense Force games in the past, you'll love this one. It has more missions, more weapons, more ways to play with the new solider classes, and just more fun. If you've never played EDF, check your brain at the door and enjoy blowing the shit out of some ugly bugs. I defy you to NOT have fun with this game.

Strider reminds me of a Shadow Complex with a much better combat system and a scaled-down exploration element. And that's perfectly okay with me.

It's an incredibly crafted platformer with an HD sheen and an insane attention to detail, and any fan of the genre owes it to themselves to experience it. With the addition of control options to the already proven formula, Retro Studios' rendition of Donkey Kong is pretty much flawless.