It’s a fun way to spend a few evenings, or as a deeper alternative to Call of Duty’s zombies mode. Even though you’ve probably seen much of what it offers already, it’ll have you cackling as you paint the walls red with a few of your friends.

If your lonely GameCube is starved for a new RPG, this is your best option. [Nov. 2006, p.139]

Outatime is also significant as it is the first entry in which Michael J. Fox joins the cast, jumping into the role of one of Marty's ancestors. While I found Fox's involvement exciting, the actor's character seemed out of place during these sequences (as if the role was written late just so Telltale could slide him in), and Fox himself uses a goofy southern accent that does little to disguise his aging voice. It's sad, but the most authentic sounding McFly in the game is a Michael J. Fox impersonator.

THQ and Paradigm have taken an already white-knuckle ride and added the features that were conspicuously absent the first time around. However, this game earns its stripes by letting players have more of a hand in creating their own style of mayhem to spice up a scene, and trust me, you’ll take every opportunity you can get.

In tone, Underworld hits the target dead center, delivering the perfect mix of isolation and discovery with larger dramatic encounters. No modern cities mar Lara’s excursion this time – this is tomb raiding from beginning to end. Remarkable visuals sell the experience, and a moving score deepens your involvement. The formula behind the game is ready for some fresh ideas, but as a wrap up of old ideas, Underworld hits the sweet spot.

Simultaneously fun and extremely frustrating, compelling and flawed, mature and foul, engaging and confusing. As a game, it can be aggravating, but as a piece of interactive storytelling, it flirts with brilliance. [Oct 2005, p.123]

NCAA at home or on the go? Now you can truly run the option. [Sept. 2006, p.100]

Even so, for gamers who don't know jutsu from chakra, don't expeect the game to give you any real incentive to play independent of its source material. [July 2006, p.106]

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.

Breathes new life into the formula with some platform-inspired madness. [Oct 2002, p.94]

The title’s gameplay is more than just a band-aid. It's fulfilling in its own way – one which is as temperamental as the sport itself – and it’s the fundamental piece of a title whose benefits are more subtle than overt.

Sloclap’s first foray shows glimmers of brilliance in the combat and the somewhat intriguing aesthetic of masked martial artists going at it in strange lands. Even so, Absolver feels like a collection of little pieces from something larger that just never happens. It’s as if someone has set the table for a fascinating three-course meal and the appetizer is the only thing that ever comes out of the kitchen – and by the time you take your first bite, you’re being ushered out the door.

Adventure games are all about story. This sequel has a great story and good pacing to back it up. [Jun 2006, p.112]

The overall storytelling of Episode 3 is the strongest so far. The ending especially strikes a chord, and has left me more intrigued for the next episode than any of the previous cliffhangers.

In this day and age, you just can't get away with not sharing user-created content online. [Mar 2009, p.95]

Even for longtime fans of the Metal Gear franchise, Ground Zeroes may not be worth playing. It spreads its strengths thin over too little space, relying on the repetition of a handful of unremarkable missions in the same area. That's the bad news. The good news is that the core stealth is fun, and the innovations on the gameplay front are promising.

The missions find the right balance between challenge and ease of play. Having battles against enemies like giant flying fortresses offers enough fantasy to balance the realistic military vibe. There’s even some ad hoc multiplayer, if that’s your thing.

F.E.A.R. 3 features many of the integral pieces necessary to deliver frights – haunting sound effects, an arresting atmosphere, and foreboding environments – yet too often the game recycles old techniques that proved scary in 2005 but do little to raise my blood pressure now.

This game did little to lure me into the college fold. It falls more into the category of a generic baseball game than it does a part of EA's college series. [Feb 2006, p.104]

High On Life 2 sets out to make you laugh, and it does a good job of it. It also sets out to bring you stylish, fast-paced combat with cool movement, and it does a good job of that, too. This is the kind of game that you can put on, laugh at for a while, and forget what's troubling you, even though reminders might slip in through the pointed social commentary. High On Life 2, despite being a battle against Big Pharma, is just what the doctor ordered.

The charm of LEGO blocks is exploring your creativity and building new things, so Traveler’s Tales’ habit of sticking to one formula stands in stark contrast to the entire LEGO philosophy. We’ve had fun with this series, but it’s time to dump the franchise out on the floor and start piecing it back into something new.

Tropico 5 is a polished sim game, the only downside being that city development begins to lose its luster because so many of the game modes feel so similar. But if you’re looking for an accessible, fun, and fresh city builder, Tropico 5 is an excellent choice.

If you’re looking for the next big thing in wacky racing games beyond a capable online framework, don’t look here. If you’re looking for straightforward Mario Kart clone with a glossy Sega veneer, then this game is for you.

Dante’s Inferno features some interesting aspects (like its combat), but early innovation loses out to repetition. The game’s biggest strength – Visceral’s recreation of hell – wanes during the second half. Some entertaining unlockable content adds to the replayability, but for most gamers, Inferno doesn’t have enough new ideas to warrant a return trip through hell.

Sean and Daniel’s relationship continues to be the best part of Life is Strange 2. Will they continue to grow apart or will they find common ground despite their differences? I’m eager to leave behind the hippies and weed farm, and see what comes next for the Diaz brothers.

It’s not bad, but it doesn’t deliver the payoff (and neither do the isolated multiplayer battles) after the time you spend on the more exciting ship building.

Today, the added content in this expansion is still fun – but it’s more of a lunch with an old friend than a sizzling date with a hottie you just met.

Overcoming Nightwar's most challenging battles is a thrill, but only if you're willing to put your nose to the grindstone.