Uppercut Games’ first roguelite is a strong entry in the crowded rogue-lite genre thanks to its amusing, thievery-based brand of creativity. Though I’ve had my fill for now, I imagine in a few weeks I’ll find myself running through the haunted halls and squares of some haunted desert setting gleefully filling my pockets with every shiny piece in sight.

Navigating this world is more tiresome than frightening, especially once you realize that you’re not in peril most of the time. Instead, it’s more about how creepy you find wooden stick figures and walking around in the dark.

Just as addictive as its predecessors, but features more thoughtful challenges and conquests. [Mar 2004, p.97]

It consistently provides innovations for the series but nothing to distinguish it among its RPG peers. [Feb 2006, p.107]

A better, more focused sense of humor and combat tweaks help move the action along at a better pace, but Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon still pales in comparison to the core RPG installments.

A disastrous misstep. [Jan 2006, p.149]

The dull, simplistic puzzle-solving relies on a gimmicky control scheme to distract you from the fact that it’s barely a game in any sense of the word.

The characters, their stories, and world they inhabit are divorced in a way that doesn’t make The Fidelio Incident a rewarding journey. When complete, I could look back on the story and appreciate it. But the two hours it took me to finish the game and gather the narrative components made me doubt it was worth the effort.

In its current state, Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game is a good asymmetrical multiplayer game. The gameplay mechanics that help balance the competitive roles reinforce the lessons IllFonic has learned over the years, while its comical nods to the film and impressive graphics showcase the respect given to the source material. If IllFonic can iron out the bugs in the coming patch and provide solid post-launch content, Killer Klowns From Outer Space could become the best this genre has to offer.

Even though the game pulls back the curtain on some fundamental elements of performing magic, it’s still fun and even head-scratching at times.

Those looking for a huge step forward in the EA Sports’ football franchise won’t find it with Madden NFL 21. However, despite its lack of major upgrades, Madden NFL 21 is still a mechanically sound and fun football game.

Final Fantasy Explorers never fully captivated me. Building up your character is fun and the Final Fantasy fan in me enjoyed all the callbacks, but it didn't keep me invested. It gives you plenty to tinker with, but doesn't have the meat to back it up.

The technical feat of getting a game of this pedigree up and running on iOS is impressive. Without competent combat, however, all that work is for naught.

Youngblood excels as an entertaining shooter with the right kind of RPG elements and choices. However, when compared to the stellar and shocking storytelling of previous Wolfensteins, this entry comes up short. It has a few interesting breadcrumbs about what happened in the aftermath of Wolfenstein II, including the fates of a couple characters, but this outing is mainly focused on the exploits of its dynamic duo. As far as protagonists go, Jess and Soph are likeable goofballs – a detour from their sad-sack papa – but they don’t have any real character development

The game's levels take you through a variety of iconic areas, but they ultimately lack the wow factor that more fanciful takes that other games in the genre offer. At the end of the day, however, Cars 2: The Video Game is a satisfying racing game with a reserve tank of charm. And if multiplayer is your thing, the entire game can be played via a four-way split screen. Chances are, if you have younger gamers in your household, you'll have a few eager challengers in no time flat.

I don't doubt that the DS can be a good system for sports, but I really don't think this is the way to go about it. [Oct. 2006, p.113]

The courses are twisted and the mud splatters nice and thick. [Dec 2001, p.95]

It tries to be deviant and innovative, yet is actually little more than a sub-par action game that can be confusing and overly frustrating. [Apr 2002, p.73]

It's the same excellent-looking title that we saw on PS2 last month, featuring even better texturing and fewer jaggies on the Xbox. [Jan 2003, p.114]

Graphics (especially on Xbox) are sharp and colorful, the characters and areas from the movie are represented well, and the licensed songs are far more impressive than most similar fare. [Dec 2004, p.168]

Kororinpa serves as a quick dose of fun. It just needs some more beef to keep players coming back.

Innovative, different, and oddly compelling. [Oct 2005, p.152]

The Full Spectrum Warrior series has given inspiration to "Brothers in Arms" and 360's "Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter", but is still lacking some of its own. [Apr 2006, p.116]

While this first episode is a bit rocky and uneven, it ends strong, raising the stakes and setting the stage for the other two episodes. The Walking Dead: Michonne still has time to hit its stride, make something out of its supporting cast, and creating a journey worthy of its fascinating protagonist.

This episode is a fun continuation of The New Order of the Stone’s adventures, but it’s missing the building drama of the prior installments.

That potential clearly exists in the final version, but woefully underdeveloped single-player and multiplayer offerings ultimately suck the air out of the cockpit. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

Ashes of the Singularity is a solid title, but ultimately too unambitious in areas that matter. It demonstrates it can do amazing things with tons and tons of units on screen, but fails to provide compelling reasons to play beyond that.

For the first time in series history, Mario Tennis Open offers full online multiplayer – both singles and (impressively) doubles. It also has local wireless multiplayer. Based on my experience, both modes work smoothly. This isn't the tennis revolution that some might have hoped for, but it's a solid new feature in a franchise that's built its popularity on slow, incremental improvement.