While the story of what happens to the main characters is unfulfilling, the descent into the hellish world of Here They Lie is, on its own, worth taking. Its dreary, evocative environments, dark tone, and horrific imagery would stand out even outside the realm of VR games. Some of its places, acts, and monsters will stick with me for a while. It creates a strong sense of place, and while I wouldn't say VR is crucial to experience, it definitely amplifies it.

The unique way the story is conveyed is more impressive than the story itself, but it's still a great time for fans of choice-driven games.

Florence is a beautiful experience that isn’t afraid to tell an ordinary story. This isn’t an action-packed, heroic tale or a somber story filled with tragedy, but it still hits some of those notes in subdued ways. Florence is happy, distressing, and admirable in its reflection of young romance, and it left me with a sense of unexpected hopefulness.

If this game had decent collision - or any semblance of decent collision - it would be much more fun. [Oct 2002, p.87]

While Massive Chalice isn’t much to look at, I couldn’t wait to see this century-spanning adventure through to the end. Double Fine’s strategy simulation is rough around the edges, but hard to put down. With more polish, Massive Chalice could have been one for the ages.

Strayed Lights is short, sweet, and mostly excels at what it asks players to do. Its unique parry-required combat brings something new to the table, and I enjoyed nearly every instance of it, especially in the larger boss-fight setpieces sprinkled through the journey. Its exploration doesn’t require much effort, which is a good thing because it largely doesn’t feel great to platform through areas. Its misses are easy to put aside, though, when what I’m looking at and hearing throughout the game is such a delight. Strayed Lights is a strong debut from Embers in almost every way and serves to highlight the importance of a game’s foundation. At its core, Strayed Lights revolves around a simple, intuitive, and unique combat system, and with this strong base in place, it’s no wonder the game shines as bright as it does.

Some minor tweaks are appreciated, like having all of the minigames unlocked from the beginning, but nothing has been done to alleviate SMB's myriad frustrations. [Apr 2005, p.117]

As a debut title, it's a straight-forward affair. [Dec 2008, p.112]

Some strategies, such as asking your AI players to perform freeform offensive runs, aren’t really executed, and I found that they expressed themselves better in the traditional playing mode rather than Be a Pro.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is often stupid and frequently silly, but I got caught up in shredding my way through the ridiculous experience. It doesn't matter if I was laughing with the game or laughing at it; I was entertained.

One of my favorite games of the year...It makes up for its lack of finesse with sheer style and quirkiness. [Dec 2004, p.168]

Agents of Mayhem is cheesy, rarely funny, and generally ridiculous, but I was eager to play for long periods of time. The action is frenetic and fun, with room for strategy using all the characters’ assorted abilities. Even if Seoul ends up being a bland backdrop, I enjoyed being in the world and causing explosions in at every opportunity.

Soaked in dark sci-fi environments and human personalities, Dark Descent nails the hallmarks of an Alien title and executes much of its squad-based gameplay. Despite some downsides and squad control during precise moments, plenty of its elements kept me jacked in to see its conclusion. It was a thrilling ride with ups and downs, but I left fulfilled and appreciated its experimental twists.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is often stupid and frequently silly, but I got caught up in shredding my way through the ridiculous experience. It doesn't matter if I was laughing with the game or laughing at it; I was entertained.

Truly an amazing game, and the best on the PSP, but I simply can't overlook its one glaring flaw [load times]. [Aug 2005, p.106]

Agents of Mayhem finds an identity of its own thanks to the memorable characters and structure, even if the action is familiar.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles acts as a fantastic primer for those who started with the more action-centric Resident Evil iterations, while simultaneously providing fan service and fun for dedicated followers. Novices and veterans alike would be doing themselves a disservice by passing up this game.

From somber deaths to one satisfying slap, Amid the Ruins has a lot of memorable moments. As you approach the end, you're left in an unexpected place that keeps your head spinning. Telltale was smart to involve players in this final moment, forcing them to make a knee-jerk reaction to a complex situation.

Although using the analog stick or d-pad doesn't compare to the arcade joysticks of old, I appreciate being able to tweak the number of lives you get for each game. [Oct 2005, p.128]

The world is laid out on a giant grid, so the environment feels fairly artificial and lacks a certain amount of believability. There is also a fair amount of backtracking, and the game doesn't always point you in the right direction, which is more annoying when you accidentally leave one area for a few seconds only to come back and find that the enemies you just beat have magically returned. If these kind of ancient gaming weaknesses don't bother you, then Majin will deliver an experience that you won't soon forget – even if the rest of the world does.

The game's not perfect by any means, but this is an idea that is long overdue, and I, for one, think it deserves some props. [Jun 2006, p.113]

Excellent arrangements of Dig Dug, Galaga, and Pac-Man maintain the integrity (and brilliance) of the originals. [Feb 2002, p.85]

You can have a good time with Supreme Commander 2. It’s just not all that different than the enjoymentto be found in any other solid RTS of the last decade.

Just because Capcom is scared to lose money on physical copies doesn’t mean you should let Phoenix Wright’s return pass you by.

With The Entropy Centre behind me, I’m fascinated by what Stubby Games accomplished with its debut. It’s full of excellent puzzles, but the stuff around them, like bugs and narrative pacing, stop the entire package from coming together in an equally impressive way. Despite the exhaustion I felt as the credits rolled, I’m stoked The Entropy Centre exists. It brings something unique and new to the genre, and I hope Stubby Games continues to iterate on that in a sequel, spin-off, or spiritual successor. It’s not every day a game shows me something I’ve never seen before that it also happens to nail, and what The Entropy Centre does well is worth pushing through its long narrative to ensure you see every trick up its sleeve.

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D delivers a fleshed out, faithful, yet slightly flawed version of the gripping bonus mode. Imperfections aside, playing The Mercenaries 3D with a friend is the most thrilling handheld co-op experience I've ever had. Fans and 3DS-owners looking for a shot of pure portable action with a rewarding progression system should definitely check it out.

Roundguard is charming and engaging, both in extended sit-down plays and in shorter intermittent play sessions. Silly characters and nemeses draw heavily on established fantasy tropes, and strike the right tone for the light nature of play. Peggle veterans who have longed for a sequel should definitely play this clear homage. But even newcomers to this style of bouncy-ball fun will find a lot to smile about in this friendly dungeon descent.

This vast, churning sea of information is Crusader Kings II's greatest strength, but it is also the reason the game is as niche as niche gets. You need to bring patience, discipline, and probably a notebook to even scratch its surface, but Crusader Kings II is massively rewarding in its own unique way if you're willing to put in the time and effort it demands.