The new material that EA has implemented is minimal at best, and most of the additions don't generate a lot of excitement. With that said, this is still the best-playing baseball game on the market. [March 2005, p.118]

Rayman Origins is an undeniably beautiful game, with vibrant environments and richly defined characters. The graphical fidelity is astounding, even when you scrunch your face against the TV screen. Characters kick up eyelash-sized tufts of grass when they land, and the backgrounds are layered with loads of tiny details.

While showcasing significant enhancements on the field, The Show finds itself down in the count thanks to some archaic game modes and unreliable online. The Show remains the best baseball series to date, but if it wants to be heralded as one of the best sports games, the Franchise and Road to the Show modes need to catch up with the current trendsetters in the genre.

Pokemon Black and White do a great job building upon already solid features and taking them to the next level. [March 2011, p.95]

Seeing your choices carry over across three games is exciting, but it’s also about the squadmates you meet along the way. So, become Commander Shepard, rally people to your cause, make painstakingly difficult choices, and watch others around you grow stronger because of your influence. The sacrifices and rewards will stay in your memory, and the Legendary Edition is a terrific reminder of why all these years later, people still can’t stop talking about this series.

When I finished my playthrough, I sat watching the credits roll with a huge grin on my face, quite convinced I hadn’t played a better first-person shooter in years. I’ll keep coming back for a long time thanks to bountiful epilogue missions, plus an alternate-timeline playthrough that grants access to another side character, scenes, and weapons. But these things are just gravy. On its own merits the campaign is unbeatable, packed to the gills with unforgettable story moments and fantastic combat sequences.

It's not cripplingly difficult, but a definite challenge even for FPS veterans. [Nov 2004, p.165]

With so many annoyances fixed, this feels like the game Odin Sphere was meant to be. The presentation is top-notch, and the action is fast-paced and satisfying.

Absolum is a game I’ve wanted to play since I was a kid. We get simple, approachable brawling battles, high production values in art and music, and a richly imagined fantasy world, all wrapped around a narrative that makes replay and progression worth coming back to advance again and again. It’s not a game that is going to change anyone’s opinions about the genre, but it is a brilliant implementation of a very old formula into something that feels modern, deeply replayable, and unmistakably fun.

Embrace the lack of handholding and complete freedom, and you have an incredible title that provides many hours of entertainment.

Doesn’t do anything terribly interesting outside of adding two new factions (a defensive British division and a highly mobile German counterpart). The added campaigns are very average, but will no doubt be entertaining enough to satisfy the needs of offline-focused players. By all means, grab Opposing Fronts if you simply need more CoH – just don’t expect anything particularly revolutionary here.

The game contains the sophistication of a sim-racer while still packing enough pick-up-and-play fun for anyone watching from the couch. I don’t imagine, however, that there are going to be a lot of people content to simply sit and watch Dirt 2 without getting their hands on ­it.

Unless you feel that the (somewhat disappointing) fight against the Brumak or a minor splash of new single-player content is worth $50, the only gamers that should be thinking about purchasing this are 360-impaired PC owners that never got into the fun last year – especially considering the multitude of superior multiplayer options in the PC action sector.

Rayman Origins is an undeniably beautiful game, with vibrant environments and richly defined characters. The graphical fidelity is astounding, even when you scrunch your face against the TV screen. Characters kick up eyelash-sized tufts of grass when they land, and the backgrounds are layered with loads of tiny details.

The easy respawns also add to the game's biggest issue: it's incredibly short. Then again, I'm not sure Treasure could have crammed much more insanity into this game without needing to put in a break from the exhilaration that makes it so awesome. [July 2010, p.95]

For a game that's been billed as a modest little action game, that's a hell of a lot of replay value. [Nov 2001, p.116]

Botany Manor is a blissful, smart, and creatively conceived puzzle adventure. It’s just challenging enough to be engaging without veering into stressful territory, and its whimsical elements add fun, fantastical touches. I don’t think it made me better at gardening, but unearthing its appeal was satisfying.

I may have a hopeless addiction to Spelunky, but it's not an entirely pleasant one. As exciting as it is to play a platformer with an infinite number of new levels to jump, whip, and bomb your way through, the novelty comes at a cost. You need ample patience, time, and skill to make it through Spelunky's ever-changing caves, and much of the hidden content is virtually off limits to all but the most hardcore (and masochistic) gamers.

In the meantime, Star Wars Pinball provides players three more entertaining tables well worth a spot in their ever-growing collections.

Scholar of the First Sin is best suited for two types of player: Complete Souls newcomers that insist on playing with the latest hardware, and returning warriors who soaked up every bit of new game-plus content loaded into the original. While I don't think the encounters are quite up to the level of the original, it's hard to argue with more of one of 2014's best games.

For multiplayer fans, Resistance 2 delivers everything you could want from a game, but the single-player experience sadly falls short of expectations.

It’s different in all the right ways. With an engaging new control scheme, fewer online hurdles, and all the depth of the original, taking on Diablo’s legion of demon lords has never been more enjoyable.

Dispatch isn’t a triumph of mechanical innovation. It doesn’t reinvent the narrative adventure game, but it doesn’t pretend to. On the other hand, it delivers one of the most compelling interactive dramas in years, an adult animated superhero story with the emotional punch of prestige television and a script that truly shines. I didn’t want to stop playing just because I needed to know what happened next; I kept playing because I cared who it was happening to.

Grief catalyzes a blossoming partnership that anchors this exceptional action platformer.

NBA 2K16 is the first true classic sports game of this console generation. I can only hope other sports games follow Visual Concepts’ steadfast dedication to innovating on both the gameplay and game mode fronts.

Pikmin 3’s control issues are buoyed by solid improvements to the series and easily accessible alternative inputs. It’s adorable, and if you’re a Wii U owner, consider this an essential game.

Sunless Skies is a strange amalgamation of genres with even stranger stories to tell, but the weird world and nightmarish encounters come together to create something special. Combat and repetition may weigh down the Homeric adventure, but the overall journey is well worth the ticket.

Warhammer’s long legacy in gaming has found a perfect partner in Total War. If you’re a fan of strategy games, chaotic rat-men, or rampaging dinosaurs, this isn’t one to miss.