After Us from developer Piccolo is an interesting title. It tries to create a Journey-like inspiring adventure through gigantic worlds and simplistic controls. Most of what it does works well, especially with its narrative, though the mechanics from its gameplay design sometimes fight against story progression and player engagement. The game can create some frustration with the camera and controls but wins more than it loses.

Super Motherload communicates a desire for players to learn its regimen while simultaneously uncovering its content. It's a neat balance, one that rewards acquired skill with valuable efficiency, at least until its disparate final act trades musing discovery for twitch reaction. "What's at the bottom" was a force that drove me to Super Motherload's completion. Learning the answer diminished a desire to return.

Dynasty Warriors 9 is extremely repetitive, and it gets to the point of frustration and boredom. The graphics in game are nothing to talk about. It would be different if the game had subpar gameplay and beautiful scenery, but you won’t find that here. Unchallenging combat is just salt in the wound. This is not a game I recommend, and its 80 something playable characters cannot save it.

The action is there and it's solid, but the package as a whole isn't enough to fully satisfy. The lack of story brings a hollow feel to this Resident Evil experience, as well as other small factors here and there. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D delivers non-stop action, but it just can't bring enough substance in the gameplay to make the entire experience enjoyable.

EyePet & Friends still needs tweaking on the technological side of the game. If you can move past those frustrations then you'll find a very cute, customizable and affordable game for the younger gamers in the household.

DariusBurst Another Chronicle EX+ is as thin as $40 can stretch the fifth iteration of its namesake. Its cumulative and sweeping arrangement of DariusBurst’s horizontal shooting excellence is, objectively speaking, worth an investment of time. Its position against Dariusburst: Chronicle Saviours in the same marketplace, along with its own slapdash assembly, weakens its necessity in any enthusiast’s collection.

I think Jake Hunter Detective Story: Ghost of the Dusk accomplishes what it sets out to do. It’s more interactive visual novel than it is a typical vidoegame, but if you’re in the mood for a casual yet compelling experience that’s well written with a strong cast and solid presentation, you can’t go wrong here. The DS is the perfect platform for such an experience, and for those of us wanting to itch that Hotel Dusk/Last Window itch, Jake Hunter is a great option.

Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures is worth a look, but only if you have young gamers in your household.

Another fine PSP SRPG that represents the genre well.

There's enough inside Abyss Odyssey to make it all stick together, provided you can find your own spark.

There’s a lot to be seen in this game, as well as a lot of rewards to loot from dungeons and bosses, and I’m still continuing the adventure in hopes of bigger and better things. As it stands now, I think Trove is a solid game for kids, as well as up and coming MMO players. It’s a game that is a wonderful upgrade from the Minecraft world, but pushes players a bit further with gaming concepts and design that most of us have experienced for a good portion of our gaming lives. I’m sure that it will keep growing as a game and hopefully, audience willing, garnish new add-ons and design that push it into a more rewarding experience that will legitimize it as a go-to MMORPG for a wider audience.

Alpha Protocol had so much potential. It had all the elements planned out perfect to make this a great game. Regretfully, it seemed like the game didn't get enough time to finish up as what you get feels like three-fourth of what was planned.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn is a simple package that guarantees only what you see on the surface. There are some unlockables and reasons to replay the game, but beyond the two modes (Official and Ultimate) there’s nothing else to it. Is that bad? Not at all, since it’s good fun and especially since it’s priced at $39.99. It’s certainly worth a go.

In the end, Spyborgs is occasionally amusing in its mindless cooperative combo-driven combat, but it simply seems too unbalanced—and even unfinished—to unconditionally recommend.

AO Tennis 2 is this generation's Top Spin 4. It takes over a baton that has been carried through mis-steps and let-downs as tennis fans young and old finally have a game worth their time and effort. It's not perfect by any stretch but up against the competition and its predecessor it stands head-and-shoulders above them.

I think passionate series fans, whether Budokai veterans or not, will appreciate the Collection, but they may also question why a more thorough and complete version wasn't released.

Conduit 2 is a game which remains relevant primarily thanks to the abysmal selection of competent online multiplayer games on the Wii.

It may not be the Metroid Prime sequel you were looking for, but if you keep an open mind and give it a shot, you're likely to be pleasantly surprised overall, especially if you have some friends to play co-op with.

SNK vs. Capcom – SvC Chaos from developer Code Mystics is an SNK-slanted fighting affair that shows off more of SNK’s flavor than it does Capcom’s. If you can accept those terms, then you’re in for a brutal fighting game that doesn’t pull its punches, nor does it apologize for how many times it takes you down, but it does create some good challenges. This is the SNK way and it works more than it doesn’t.

The Crew 2 is a beautiful follow-up to the first. It packs a lot of punch inside of it and it’s friendly to all types of gamers. The world is still big, the events are great in number, and it just feels like a fun/simple racing game that you want to play on and off for a long time.

Omen of Sorrow offers a lot of modes, unlocks, characters, and some decent fighting elements, but it doesn’t quite have the polish or draw to keep me invested. For genre fans, though, it’s worth checking into.

It's got its problems, but Arcania: Gothic 4 is a surprise hit for me this holiday season. As long as you're not expecting a game of the year class RPG, you're in for a very good time here.

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes offers a challenging, rigid adventure that emphasizes details and a slow pace. It's not without some significant flaws, but it's a compelling entry into the genre nonetheless.

By tying humor and outrageous context to its moving parts, Saints Row The Third and Saints Row IV became viable systems in the modern open-world paradigm. Gat out of Hell (mostly) forgets all of this, sheds (mostly) all of its psychotic humor, and bolts on (mostly) dated mechanics.

VR's viability hinges on making sensible objectives integral to the wonder implicit in its format. Robinson: The Journey understands this and makes visible strides to balance astonishment and curiosity. Too often, however, it gets tripped up by contrasting wandering ambition against capricious behavior. Ideas fight, rather than support, one another, ensuring Robinson's first steps are also its last.

Albino Lullaby creates horror not out of open defiance of genre norms, but from a place of genuine inspiration. "Scary" exists elsewhere, and it great supply. Albino Lullaby prefers to linger in a frightening sense of curiosity.

Foregone is a whirring pastiche of ideas that came to define the last decade of side-scrolling action games. There remains an artful satisfaction to cutting through hordes of exquisitely fashioned monsters across splendid vistas but, without a thought to call its own, Foregone’s performance will be consigned to oblivion the moment its player puts down their controller. It’s a beautiful, sterile wasteland.

I've had more fun with Strikeforce on the PS3 than I've ever had with the Dynasty Warriors franchise. To me, the series was stale until now, and while not without its problems, Strikeforce moves Dynasty Warriors back into the realm of relevance.