A bonafide toys-to-life title in many respects, if more of a hybrid flavor than past efforts, and that will probably scare certain people away. But even if you strip out all the expensive extras, you can still play everything digitally (the deluxe digital edition includes all ships, characters and weapons), and on top of that, the game is simply really, really good.

EA Sports has delivered a strong next-gen experience with FIFA 22. The primary focus was on gameplay and the attention led to a tangible improvement overall. However, the feature set is still in need of more layers.

MLB The Show 22 plays too strong of a game on the field and offers too much with Diamond Dynasty, March to October, franchise mode and a general cohesiveness to be a bad sports game. However, some of the missteps are impossible to ignore because of what other sports games offer, and because of what the Show series has offered in the past.

The Nintendo Labo Variety Kit is a great interactive model/science kit to put together with your kids. If you like building or tinkering with stuff, you'll like this. If that's not your thing, you might find it tedious. Not a ton of replay value, but the construction seems sturdy. Overall, a very unique new 'game' for the Nintendo Switch.

This is still a good game in terms of its offline content and local multiplayer. However, the online community is pretty quiet and incredibly experienced. While it’s nice and convenient to have Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 available on modern consoles and at a very reasonable price, it does feel like a stopgap until Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite comes along next year.

A thoroughly excellent game and one that Capcom intend to support for a good while to come. It is, however, an intensely involved beat-em-up, as well as a work in progress, and only time will tell if the online community will be able to support players unfamiliar with the series.

With a focus on depth and functionality, the EA UFC 3 development team has created the strongest version in their series. A few minor missteps and the reluctance to embrace or include a true-sim component keeps it from GOAT status. However, there's no question it's a titleholder.

Even after hours of play, Onrush remains wonderfully difficult to classify. The stomach-churning drops of Hydro Thunder. The insane crashes of Burnout. The combo system and radical attitude of SSX. The nail-biting cooperative multiplayer mayhem of Overwatch. It’s a recipe that probably shouldn’t work as well as it does, and despite a steep learning curve, it creates what feels like the next evolutionary step in driving games. Or, at the very least, the initial iterative lurch toward a completely new genre.

This is a genuinely new experience, and I’m beyond glad that Remedy took this bizarre risk and made it. This is a game that feels special, new, and worth trying. I doubted this thing, I really did. But damn if it didn’t get me in the end.

ARMS is a unique, fresh take on the fighting genre that's simple to learn but tough to master. It's not going to be for everyone, but it's fun to see Nintendo try something so new. $60 seems a bit steep.

A great start to a new series. Although the child-like visuals will put some Telltale fans off this is to miss the huge investment and achievement so far. If the series continues in this vein it’s set to be warmly welcomed by both Minecraft fans and families.

It’s absolutely worth your time, and gives me a great deal of faith that virtual reality can be used for more than just spectacle and first-person POV. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is a solid entry in the long-running franchise, but it fails to stand out in a crowded first-person-shooter landscape.

But if the question was if Crimson Desert could really be that big and really play that well and really keep you entertained the whole time, the answer, for me, is unequivocally yes.

Avowed is an excellent game. Yes, it may be a bit of a bite-sized, stripped-down experience in the grand scope of epic RPGs, but in many ways, I found that refreshing, and I think others might as well in this age of too many big games and not enough time to play them. I would make time for Avowed, you won’t regret it.

NHL 18 is another strong entry from an underrated sports gaming franchise. EA has delivered a more rewarding franchise mode, added new ways to play, while at the minimum, sustaining itself in other modes. That's a formula for success, but the lack of progress in customization, single-player modes and presentation keep it from being a monumental step for the franchise.

Overall, this is not your typical “game”, but it is still a lot of fun one to play. Game Builder Garage is also a game that is uniquely important and necessary for people to understand how games work. While all of this may sound like a chore, it really isn’t, as Nintendo is probably the only company that could make visual scripting actually fun. That alone is a huge achievement and one I am excited as well as relieved to champion.

WWE 2K19 maxes out all of the incumbent concepts from recent games in the franchise, and this is a solid and more polished release than we've seen from some recent versions. You'll likely have fun with the game and all of its layers. However, there is potential for true greatness with this series, but the WWE and the development team have to be willing to take some chances.

From a pure gameplay standpoint, PGA Tour 2K21 delivers a strong enough experience to satisfy fans, and the course designer is fantastic. However, the game falls more toward the average because of its bland career mode, modest list of licensed golfers, and out-dated graphics.

This is a re-establishment year for the WWE 2K series. Let’s face it, WWE 2K20 was rough and while it took more than 2 years to develop, 2K has re-emerged with a strong and not only playable wrestling game, but a fun one. The engine is better and the basics are tighter, but we’re looking forward to more layers in the future.

There is less to dislike with FIFA 23 than there was with last year’s game, but I also wasn’t blown away with the advancements in several features such as career/franchise mode or the visuals. While it’s technically a better game than FIFA 22, it may not seem like it to those who don’t spend most of their time in FUT or VOLTA. Color me satisfied, but not overwhelmed.

I'm having a lot of fun with Madden 20, and readily admit it is improved from last year's game, which I didn't hate. However, my fun is regularly curtailed by an inexplicable limitation in almost every mode. Madden 20 gets a lot more right than it gets wrong, but it still won't let itself be great.

There’s just no spark of life in Syndicate. Everything is so by the book it feels like it was made in factory by the child laborers I’m trying to free. They have refined the combat, stealth and traversal systems to a point where they’re as close to perfect as they’re ever going to get, but the actual content of the game itself refuses to evolve.

The gameplay and options are on an elite level in TGC 2, but the graphics and presentation are still a step behind.

If you like Far Cry, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll like this as well. But if you’re becoming exhausted by ~20 hours of leveling, skinning, leaf-collecting, trinket-finding and map-clearing after the last few installments, Primal is definitely more of the same. The setting change is effective, but this isn’t going outside of the series’ comfort zone as much as Ubisoft might have you believe.

Replaced is a breathtakingly beautiful and narratively riveting game that has engrossing world-building while also delivering solid combat. However, it’s held back by fickle platforming and dull side quests. Still, the memorable music helps elevate the entire experience, making this dystopian adventure worth playing.

A brief but eminently enjoyable Mario game stretched out in all sorts of less than successful ways. A perfect port of Mario gameplay to a new platform but a deeply problematic port of mobile structure onto classic Mario.

he campaign is a blast and quite unique for Call Of Duty (though not that weird for Black Ops more specifically) and multiplayer is a lot of fun if you don’t need split-screen which is irredeemably and inexcusably broken. If you’re a fan of Black Ops games I think you’ll enjoy this one a lot. If you prefer Modern Warfare I suspect you’ll like it less. It’s good, not great.