A Machine For Pigs may not appease fans of The Dark Descent, but it does offer a compelling entry into the genre, even if it's inferior to its predecessor.

Spark Unlimited's take on EDN III is engaging and fun. It's not going to turn the genre on its head or come away with any game of the year awards, but it is the best in the series and makes the franchise relevant again.

Creative Assembly has yet again produced another engaging and time-eating RTS that joyfully lets you create some of the earliest civilizations in a matter of days. The new features should allow many first-time RTS gamers to jump right in and find hours of enjoyment while the expert strategist of Total War will find a new challenge in building their empire in the more specific choices of construction, character abilities, and conquest.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is something that is worthy of your gaming shelf. It certainly has some growing pains it's going through, but for the most part it's a very competent and fun MMORPG.

Part Bayonetta, part Viewtiful Joe, The Wonderful 101 is a game with a phenomenal, hilarious presentation and plenty of great ideas that is frequently hamstrung by its reliance on some unfortunate design choices.

Hardcore fans will get it for the new characters alone. But if you've ever been interested in DOA, and might be intimidated by its unique fighting mechanics, Ultimate offers a great platform to take the leap.

Chapter 2 is a step back for The Raven, but it's a necessary hurdle to get to what will hopefully be a great closing act.

Portraying the casual indifference from nature to it residents is a neat idea, but Shelter can't come up with enough ways to cleverly explore that relationship. The message is clear pretty early on and a change in scenery and context isn't enough to make it any more interesting. It sure is beautiful, though, and as the final scene fades away you can't help but smile.

Fostering a reaction as elusive and subjective as fear and then circulating it through a game presents a vicious assignment. Outlast nearly completes this task before exhaustively collapsing under the burden of its medium. While Outlast doesn't crack the code, its dreadful atmosphere and relentless tension move the entire genre closer to figuring it all out.

Guardians of Middle-Earth on the PC should be better in so many ways than its console cousin, but it's not. The controls and lack of online community support make this game a tough sell.

Accessible controls, beautiful in-game physics and few, but strong game modes make for an overall addictive experience. Perhaps it's the NHL rookie in me talking, but it's hard to believe this isn't the best iteration of the franchise yet.

Guerrilla Cambridge did a great job in giving the Vita its best FPS game to date. They did this by approaching the Killzone franchise from a fresh angle, giving players a console-like FPS experience with the convenience of a handheld, and by adding layers of gameplay mechanics that encourage continued play.

Pokémon Rumble U isn't a bad game, but it doesn't have much to it as a complete package. It's a button mashing brawler with a bit of depth coming from the NFC figures that you can purchase (optional).

MercurySteam's take on Castlevania has never looked better than it does with the Ultimate Edition. Despite being three years removed from its original release, it's still a joy to play and would do very well for itself when compared to more recent genre releases.

At first glance, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons seems to be asking a lot from a prospective player. Its narrative is exposed exclusively through its emotive cast of characters. It provides a grand sense of adventure neatly tucked inside a three hour running time.

Killer is Dead functions decently, the art is occasionally nice, and it has shades of greater ideas, but beyond that I can't find a reason to spend money or time exploring its gradual deterioration.

There are endless amounts of hours waiting for kids in Disney Infinity's worlds. If kids want to build worlds, boom. If kids want to play adventures, boom. If kids want to spend time with each other and share Toy Box creations, boom. There's so much in one package that younger gamers will absolutely have a blast with it. It literally has everything for them and it's a worry-free environment to play in. What more could you ask for as a parent from a single game?

At the end of the day, if you're an old school gamer that loved Flashback when it was first released in the 90s then you're going to adore what VectorCell and Ubisoft have brought to you in the HD version. They've done a helluva job keeping the memory and core gameplay of the original intact, while still delivering a competent game that is fun and engaging in a new way.

From ambulances driving on field to cart off the injured to cones projected on the field to aid your passing, a lot has changed in Madden over the last 25 years. This latest edition boasts the most dynamic rushing controls to date. And with all the tweaks to the physics, Madden 25 gives you a nicely touched up version of the franchise you have loved for a quarter century.

Sam Fisher's latest is a treat, and quite possibly the most complete and robust Splinter Cell experience to date. It's not without some flaws of course, and I do wonder if it will be re-released on PS4/X1 in the next several months, but fans of the franchise should take note and suit up.

Papers, Please is a game about beating the system. Or subverting the system. Or submitting to the system. Or maybe ignoring the system. In any approach, it forces the player to consider conflict as a multifaceted condition tied to its narrative and design, and it doesn't much care if you judge its sum-total as traditionally fun. Papers, Please has something to say, and it makes it very clear at almost every instance.

If I had to sum up Thunder Wolves with a single world it would be 'fun.' It's not the most memorable or rewarding game you'll ever play by any means, but just like any good arcade game from the 90s, it provides you with several hours of raw action enjoyment.

WayForward set out to revitalize the Capcom NES hit from nearly twenty-five years ago and I believe they succeeded. That doesn't mean Ducktales Remastered is the greatest platformer of all time or that it doesn't have it's own gripes, but for anyone that has fond memories of the TV show, original game, or 90s platforming, this is good buy.

Gone Home is a story in which you'll get to know a handful of characters without physically meeting any one of them. A game where engagement is driven by exploration and absorption at a pace that perfectly suits the story it needs to tell. An experience that offers first and third person accounts of different stories and trusts the player with filling in the blanks. It's not that they don't make them like this anymore, but rather they've never made one like this before.

That should tell you all you need to know about how Volition This is a good game with solid principles, tight control functions, and awesome presentation. It just might be a little too insane for it's own good. Saints fans shouldn't hesitate picking this one up. For those that haven't liked the series to this point, I don't think there is any aspect to IV that would make them jump on the crazy train now.

There are times when Saints Row IV feels like the greatest super hero game ever made and there are times when it feels paralyzed by all of its power. Even when Saints Row IV retreats into molds it’s perfectly equipped to destroy, it’s always operating under the some of the most ridiculous and hilarious context seen in a videogame.

As expected, The Brigmore Witches functions as the opposite half of The Knife of Dunwall. Both are tremendous values for their price, offering what’s effectively a $20 b-campaign to Dishonored.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team follows a strong format set forth by previous games in the series. Though Bowser's Inside Story is still the best, Dream Team holds its own and suits the new hardware of the 3DS very well.