Crytek's first iOS game is a decent 30-level romp for folks that are looking for something new and pretty to play on the go.

Electronic Arts has resurrected the franchise after many years, transforming it from an isometric strategy game to a first-person shooter. If you're a hardcore superfan of the original who has an issue with this decision, nothing anyone says is going to change your mind. But if you're open to an FPS reinterpretation with loads of references to the old games, or if you've never heard of Syndicate and like sci-fi shooters, this may be the game for you.

Trips down memory lane have peaks and valleys, but this one is definitely worth taking. [Jan 2006, p.138]

The icing on this cake of RPG happiness is the clever and relatively gaffe-free localization. [June 2005, p.128]

It's one thing for the current-gen versions of this game to be not as visually compelling (such as the sense of speed not being as good), but it's unfortunate that you only race against three other cars during typical challenges.

The Ascent has issues, but those issues don’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the game. I won’t write my thesis on its commentary on capitalism, but I’ll fondly remember my co-op sessions where I tore through this cyberpunk world. That being said, the shallow RPG elements, lack of meaningful narrative, and exploration frustration were constants that really dragged the experience down. Neon Giant has made a solid foundation to build on, and I hope we can see future installments grow into something truly worthy of ascension.

The one real problem I have with this game is that the ubertrick system doesn’t work nearly as well as it should. The new controls do add something new to the series, but almost the entire time I pined for something more traditional.

It may not deliver the entire package this year, but NHL 2K8 is a fun game that offers a fast-paced arcade feel.

It's an intelligently written clash of the titans. [Jan 2004, p.149]

Dying Light’s combat is at its best during melee fights due to the sheer brutality of the hand-to-hand animations, as well as the satisfying nature of hitting an attacker with the weapon you looted or crafted.

Despite those frustrations, I continually returned to John Wick Hex because the core mechanics are incredibly tight. Thanks to Hex’s clever time management systems I always felt one step ahead of my enemies and capable of constructing the kinds of sophisticated close-quarters gunfights that make the films so exciting. John Wick Hex might hit the same note over and over again, but it’s one incredible note.

If the gameplay is a zero-sum when compared to FIFA 14, the title's World Cup-related accoutrements are welcome, but not significant.

Jurassic World Evolution 2 makes as many giant steps forward as it does back but has enough going for it to deliver a fun and rewarding theme-park experience. Like its predecessor, Sandbox Mode is the most fun, and this avenue of play combines everything the player has unlocked while removing all of the stresses. Collecting every dinosaur takes time and effort, but it's worthwhile, especially since you can experiment to see what happens when every dinosaur roams freely in the same space.

Headlander doesn’t forge a bold new path, but it’s a lot of fun to live in its strange world for a while. Its various elements are well trod – ‘70s aesthetic, Metroid-style exploration, big questions about the nature of identity and consciousness – but they’ve been arranged in a fascinating way that feels fresh.

This season has its bright spots, but it also suffers from recycled plot points and uneven writing. From The Gallows represents this season's inconsistencies; it has some satisfying moments, but it also features just as many head scratchers. At the very least, From The Gallows is a decent conclusion to Javier's story – but it didn't leave much of an impression on me.

Dead or Alive 5 can be a decent fighter when you're settling into a good match, but the overall package just doesn't deliver what a sequel should. New characters Mila and Rig are fun to control, and some cameos from Virtua Fighter are a nice bonus, but this series simply hasn't progressed in the same way that its peers in the genre have. This may have sufficed as a sequel in 2007, but Dead or Alive is getting lapped by its competitors in 2012.

I sank plenty of hours into Tokyo Jungle, and still want to play more. I'm just not sure why, as the repetitious gameplay limits the amount of fun I've had with it. Still, if you're looking for something off the beaten path – or just want to see a bunch of animals doing it – Tokyo Jungle provides a modest amount of entertainment.

Quantifying the nuance of Cities: Skylines II isn’t easy. As I dig deeper into its complicated systems, more and more exciting features are still coming into focus. The sequel is ambitious and wants players to juggle hundreds of considerations as they build towards Elysium, and it delivers in that aspect. Yet, unfortunately, the game’s consistent technical problems tend to mire that calculated success.

Virginia is a taut thriller that strikes a fine balance between storytelling and interactivity in a way that narrative-driven first-person adventure games have not accomplished since their inception, thanks to its blend of classic cinema and exploration. It should not be missed.

Mutant Football League brings back visions of the over-the-top arcade sports games of yesteryear, but its lack of mode depth makes it tough to recommend to anyone beyond nostalgia seekers. Should Digital Dreams build a more engaging infrastructure around the bloody gridiron action in subsequent updates, the game could deserve a second drive, but after reading the field of play on this fourth down I advise you to punt.

It's rife with humor, and the online play does an excellent job of using its core mechanics to keep even boring deathmatches fresh. [Jan 2006, p.156]

The Flame in the Flood has a beautiful aesthetic and a strong structure, welcoming a larger audience with its accessibility options. The trip down the river is a rocky, dangerous one, but there are rich treasures and exciting tales waiting to be discovered by those brave enough to take the journey.

Despite its often-disastrous implementation, Eador’s design is worth your time – a testament to its strength.

In terms of gameplay quality, this may be another middle-of-the-road shooter, but the unique premise sets it aside from everything else out there. [Sept 2005, p.94]

By no means a perfect game, but it's definitely a breath of fresh air within the RTS scene. [June 2004, p.136]

The new territory of the Game Boy Advance isn't too hospitable to our fiery friend. [Jan 2002, p.98]

It's clunky, and some stages are just plain dumb. Transworld is just another log to toss on the fire. [Jan 2003, p.114]

If you have a broadband connection, but this game. If not, I highly suggest a rental. [Jan 2004, p.147]

Much like the PC Call of Duty (which I should note is a completely different game), this console title features a brilliant targetting mechanism that allows players to zoom in and aim down the sight of the firearm. [Jan 2005, p.115]

The act of bouncing a ball back and forth against an opponent in a virtual space, the main hook of Sparc, is fun and it works well. After overcoming my initial shortcomings of accurately being able to throw a digital ball, I quickly began to enjoy Sparc and even work up a small sweat. Beyond the basic fun of the main game, however, there just isn’t much here.

Castlevania fans will definitely be pleased with the direction this series is going in. It's a shame that it feels so dated. [Nov 2005, p.151]

The humor is certainly there, but Hypnotix really needs to get the polish onto this simulation before people will revere its hilarity. [Oct 2004, p.125]

All-Stars is clearly similar to Smash Bros., especially because it's far more fun to play with friends. Solo, it quickly becomes repetitive and doesn't give you much reason to continue. If you have company over, however, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale can be a lot of chaotic fun.

The Swords of Ditto’s repetitive nature grinds after a few playthroughs, but it’s a journey worth taking at least a few times.

The hook at the end of this episode has me intrigued for what comes next, but be warned, this is the roughest (and slowest) start to a Telltale series yet.

It's unusual and unfortunate that the inaugural DDR on the 360 fails to implement the coolest thing that's happened in dance games recently – inputting and grooving to your own tracks.

I don't regret my time with Atomfall. It knows what it wants to be, with a reasonable scope and solid shooting mechanics. But issues with the skill system, its underbaked stealth, and an unengaging narrative are asterisks too large to ignore. Like the world it depicts, something exciting and unique lies at Atomfall's core. I just wish it wasn't walled off by my laundry list of frustrations.

I look forward to the day when Tak gets the game he deserves. [Oct 2005, p.128]

If you are a puzzle game fan planning to pick up Move at launch, then Tumble is certainly worth your attention. If you want to get the most out of the game, however, bring in a friend with an extra Move controller to truly bring Tumble to new heights (pun totally intended).

Smash Hits does absolutely nothing to advance the GH brand in any way, but if you’ve long since packed up your PS2 it’s a great way to get your hands on some old-school favorites.

The Forgotten Sands is a conceptual step back for the franchise, but for once that's not a terrible thing. The Sands of Time trilogy was hugely entertaining, and this return to that formula puts a great face on the franchise to new series converts while pleasing old fans with a return to form.

As the first entry in the Famicom Detective Club series, The Missing Heir gives you a chance to experience a key point in visual novel history. Piecing together this mystery and seeing where it leads has this undeniable appeal. However, while the new graphics offer a beautiful leap in quality, this remake doesn’t alter some of the more archaic aspects of the experience, or even attempt to make the characters or story more interesting to keep with modern times. If anything, it’s an enticing way to look back at the history of this franchise, which I’m glad to have as it satiates my curiosity about this classic series. Unfortunately, it doesn't make more of an impact than that.

Minecraft Dungeons has a solid core, and I’d love to see where it goes from here. Hopefully, Mojang recognizes the fact that games with grinding don’t have to be as much of a grind. It would be great to have some kind of way to experience levels in a remixed format, similar to how Diablo III has rifts or Torchlight and Path of Exile offer more randomized maps to encourage replays. But Minecraft Dungeons’ current approach is simply replaying the same stuff over again, and just isn’t enough.

While this game plays better on the pitch because AI teammates are smarter at taking runs, distributing the ball, and springing others with through balls, it lags behind FIFA in its feedback to the player and the fact that it has a better sim feature while you are on the bench.

The level designs and objectives just aren't as clever and the game itself is rather short, even for inexperienced FPS players. [Jan 2003, p.118]

Master of Orion is an incredibly polished iteration and a worthwhile return to the beloved franchise, but it’s entering a galaxy full of fierce competition as the space 4X genre has seen a big bang of resurgence over the last few years. Master of Orion boasts a lot to love for new players, and it’s one of the best entry-level 4X games out there, but older veterans may find themselves searching the stars for more complexity.

An adequate boxing title for fans of the franchise. [Dec 2002, p.144]

It's a cool idea and it looks fantastic, but it's just not that much fun to play. [Jan 2003, p.112]

Battlecry gives you some blistering combat, but the franchise could truly explode if it tapped into the series' rich subtleties. [Nov 2002, p.140]

It's still an exceptional baseball game, but I was expecting improvement where it really matters - the gameplay. [Apr 2003, p.93]

The game's Read and Lead passing system is simply a blast to play. It's not perfect, but it's a breath of fresh air to the sport. [Sept 2003, p.116]

With a breakneck pace and action-packed events, the sophomore episode of season two has me hoping that the series can carry this momentum forward. Though I'm anticipating the typical Telltale pattern where all your choices end up not making much of a difference at the season's conclusion, I'm at least enjoying the ride to that point.

The Council’s bad graphics, voice acting, and load times didn’t bother me as much as its problematic narrative. What’s the point of having choice and consequence when you don’t care about the story you’re inhabiting? The Council seems promising with its good ideas, but then when you get further into it, it betrays you like a dishonest politician.

This series is close to breaking through, it only needs to tighten up and refine its core elements (as well as expand its linear strucure) to stand out. [March 2005, p.130]

Harvestella’s systems feed together in a way that forces you to engage with nearly everything it offers, whether you want to or not. But those slice-of-life activities are mundane and get in the way of letting you enjoy the RPG elements on your own terms. Maximizing a day’s schedule is sometimes rewarding, but the sluggish pacing makes it tough to stay engaged for the long haul. Harvestella forces you to do a whole lot to complete comparatively little. At 70-80 hours, it’s one of the biggest chores I’ve played in some time. That’s unfortunate because the combat, story, and characters are decent enough that, in a more traditional RPG framework, they’d shine brighter. As it stands, squeezing this fruit isn’t always worth its small amount of juice.

Worst of all, however, are the on-foot sections - which would appear to be in the game for the sole purpose of annoying people. Scrap indeed. [Apr 2005, p.136]

With a little more polish BigBig might have had a good series on its hand, but it's not quite there yet. [Feb 2008, p.102]

Guardian of Gotham is consistently strong throughout its two hours, constantly presenting tense scenes that play off the choices you’ve made in previous episodes, with one major disappointment: It ends on an abrupt note that offers no idea of what’s to come in the final installment. Still, this episode packs enough dramatic moments, character development, and entertaining action sequences to emerge as one of the best episodes in the series and one of the best experiences by Telltale in recent memory, period.

NBA Live 08 is a vastly improved game that is nearly ready for primetime. With another year under its belt, NBA Live may be contending for the championship.

I clearly wasn’t as smart as Sherlock Holmes, but the game sure made me feel like him – something I haven’t been able to say about the other games bearing his name.

I have reservations about the experience as a whole – however, I can't help but smile thinking about this adventure with the Straw Hats. It nails the core cast of characters, the Memoria areas are fun to revisit, and the revelations surrounding Waford, Lim, and Adio ultimately satisfy. Of course, I can't thoroughly recommend this voyage for someone new to One Piece, but seasoned pirates will find a worthy adventure on the horizon.

This game hasn't solved all of its pivot-based racing problems, so unfortunately that doesn't help matters, but at least it's better simply because the tracks are more interesting and the sense of speed is pretty good. [Sept. 2006, p.88]

If you have an affinity for the classic franchise and an interest in proving you’re the best in the world at the steeplechase, this game may do it for you. Otherwise, it’s not worth the possible risks to your DS and blood pressure.

But at least the game supports multiplayer; though the offerings hardly compete with the big boys, Wii owners finally get a taste of just how addictive these matches can be.

Not being able to share levels online to get global feedback (or show off your creation to a friend across the country) holds the 3DS version of Super Mario Maker back significantly. The fun community aspect is almost entirely gone, which is disheartening. The ability to create, however, still feels great, and playing all of Nintendo’s new levels is worthwhile. Mario Maker encourages creativity and continues to be one of the best level creation tools ever made, but the limitations on sharing make the 3DS version an inferior experience compared to the Wii U original.

Though it’s a beautiful game, with an excellent Sicilian dub to boot, [Mafia: The Old Country] unfortunately leaves a lot on the Don’s table, failing to rise to the promise of its premise.

It's kind of like the video game version of playing dress-up with Barbie dolls - and I put my, uh, I mean, my sister's Barbies away years ago. [Mar 2003, p.87]

If EA can branch out of the canned animations to make the controls more responsive, the already decent gameplay could take a dramatic leap forward. The core at the heart of NBA Live still shows promise, but chalk this one up to a year of growing pains.

Given that fact, however, this game largely remains the same as it ever was--due to the consistency of the gameplay from last year. But because that the tour has adopted the new FedEx Cup system, your career can't help but feel a little different. [Nov. 2006, p.128]

With so many great co-op experiences available to gamers, it’s tough to recommend The 40th Day. Lacking a cohesive story, solid controls, key multiplayer features, and polish, this sequel fails to close the gap of mediocrity running through its core game design.

When you look past the gorgeous visuals, Killzone: Shadow Fall is a competent shooter in terms of both campaign gameplay and multiplayer offerings. It may not be the most innovative titles on the market, but it’s certainly one of the top stars of the PlayStation 4’s launch lineup.

Perhaps the best praise I can heap on Hardline is for what nowadays constitutes a miraculously smooth launch; aside from a single isolated DDoS attack on Xbox One, the servers have been rock solid since release day, and the server browser has offered up endless lists of near-full matches to join.

Thematically, developer Rockstar San Diego has hit the nail right on the head. You really do feel like the toughest cowboy to ever step foot in the west. [June 2004, p.124]

Still, it's addictive, and the humor of the patient cards you unlock is motivation to keep going after the gameplay grows stale. [May 2008, p.99]

I'm not a big proponent of the isometric view, and marrying it to sloppy stealth-style gameplay only exacerbates the problem. [Feb 2004, p.114]

Let's put it this way: Anything you see Indy do in a movie, he can do in the game - the control is that good. [Mar 2003, p.86]

Even the many vehicle-based levels are solid enough that you can't ask for much more in a platform game. [Nov 2003, p.159]

Whoever designed Avalanche's trick system obviously got his or her doctorate in stupidity. [Jan 2004, p.136]

Lego 2K Drive builds an incredibly inviting world where speed and silliness reign supreme as you race and morph across its delightfully destructible setting. Despite some frustrating mission design and a smattering of bugs, Lego 2K Drive quickly won me over with its absurd narrative full of irreverent dialogue and moreish open-world challenges. If only the specter of microtransactions didn’t loom so large in this kid-friendly game, it would make for an even smoother ride.

I feel that the game opens up too quickly and that, while there a respectable nine districts, each has very similar goals and features. [Dec 2004, p.164]

This game hasn't solved all of its pivot-based racing problems, so unfortunately that doesn't help matters, but at least it's better simply because the tracks are more interesting and the sense of speed is pretty good. [Sept. 2006, p.88]

It is a fun game with some cool ideas, just one with its share of problems. If nothing else it tries a few new things, which is more than you can say about many games. [Oct. 2006, p.93]

Even though the Wii controls work extremely well, you'll spend most of the game mashing the Z button to harvest every stick, stone, and pineapple you see. [Nov 2007, p.148]

If you grew up with these games, they're still a joy to play. New converts t the Sonic fold will get a great introduction to the 'hog's history. [Dec 2004, p.168]

The Saboteur may lack the polish of the contemporaries it boldly mimics, but protagonist Sean Devlin’s quest for revenge and an alluring 1940s Paris make this a World War II memory worth making.

A fun racer that almost feels more like a LittleBigPlanet game than it does a kart racer. This is more than just a vehicle for Sackboy's mascot potential. It's a new LittleBigPlanet game.

Medal of Honor: Airborne sprinkles minor moments of brilliance though a minefield of questionable game design. Fans of the series will experience some memorable gunfights, but if you’re a casual gamer looking for a great World War II title, stick with Call of Duty.

Touch & Go's unique control scheme opens up a world of possibilities for the action/platform genre, and Nintendo has explored exactly two of them. [May 2005, p.126]

Lore enthusiasts will appreciate several significant developments, and no matter your choice, both new organizations have memorable characters and conversations. I had a blast returning to Skyrim after a few months away. Even so, Bethesda did such a fine job of entertaining me the first time out that Dawnguard feels more like an added bonus than an essential ingredient of the whole.

The GameBreakers are unbalanced and the new non-interactive GameBreaker 2's are shameful. [May 2005, p.136]

I wanted to know more about the game’s league, but this title doesn’t deliver. With no franchise mode, Crib, or many amenities apart from nice stadiums, it’s the lack of connection with the league itself, not the fact that the NFL is missing, that is a letdown. Bolster this aspect and make some gameplay tweaks, and All-Pro Football will threaten Madden’s NFL more than the XFL ever did.

There are things about Mario Party 9 that make it a better experience than previous entries, but overall it's still a disheartening experience. The best times I experienced with the game were the times when co-workers and I were laughing at each other's stupid mistakes while playing, but you really don't need a video game to fuel stupid mistakes worth laughing at.

Project Spark offers an impressive collection of tools for tinkerers, or even someone who might want to try prototyping an idea, but the experience is what you’re willing to make of it. It won’t make a designer out of everyone, but if you’re eager to invest and study, it can be a versatile and enjoyable tool.

The art direction, character design, and storytelling are all top notch. [Nov 2004, p.146]

A pretty, well-crafted, and well-intentioned chore, but a chore nonetheless.

The second episode bites off more than it can chew, putting you on an emotional rollercoaster exposing you to all kinds of traumatic events. While some scenes end up raw and honest, a lot more are frustrating due to the extremism of the world and the mixed messages sent about how to handle these complicated subjects.

In some ways, Phantom Doctrine is what you make of it. The sheer depth and lack of guidance allow you to focus on the systems you enjoy while ignoring other systems completely, sometimes to your own detriment. Despite feeling burned by the ploy for an extended replay, I thoroughly enjoyed CreativeForge’s stealthy and methodical take on espionage.

Ultimately leads to some truly heart-pounding races, especially on the Race of Champions track in Gran Canaria. [Dec 2002, p.119]