The game rewards strategy and patience time and time again, and you’d be doing yourself a disservice by not having it on your iOS devices.

NCAA has its flaws, but with improved on-the-field action, recruiting, and presentation (including the option to generate custom stories on your Dynasty), for the first time in years I feel like I'm getting the college experience.

Some areas shine brighter than others, but the developer's inspired Champion mode is the star feature that must be experienced.

Over the years, Destiny 2 has ballooned into a massive and unwieldy beast, filled with cooperative and competitive experiences, hundreds of named characters and organizations, and an often-unapproachable vernacular that can take a long time to learn to speak and play. With The Final Shape, Bungie makes no apologies for the complexity but does finally offer purposeful punctuation to mark an endpoint. Largely unencumbered by what has come before, the frontiers ahead are now open to be revealed.

Even though Runner2 is a single-player game, it’s fun to trade off levels with a friend simply to appreciate the finer details, like the different way every character dances or when bigfoot lumbers into the background. You just can’t absorb this stuff when you’re laser-focused on sweet, sweet survival.

Nothing but wild fun. [Nov 2001, p.125]

Smite is an excellent addition to an expanding genre, and one that distinguishes itself from the rest of the pack with decidedly different gameplay, a quirky and lighthearted take on classic mythology, and a variety of interesting modes.

With over 20 hours of gameplay, and one of the most enjoyable cooperative multiplayer experiences I've had, I couldn't recommend Legends more highly to fans and newbies alike. [Nov 2004, p.144]

Mask of the Betrayer delivers on all fronts: tactical battles, exceptional story, and great characters. It’s truly remarkable how far NWN 2 has come. It’s not perfect, but as far as I’m concerned the smooth execution and excellent new content in this expansion make this the best electronic D&D experience since "Baldur’s Gate II."

I can’t stress just how smartly made Children of Morta is. The narrative flows smoothly in and out of dungeons, the characters have a real life to them, and the gameplay is enthralling and has those addictive qualities that make you just want to keep leveling everyone up. In the 15-plus hours I invested in this adventure, I was thoroughly captivated by everything Dead Mage set out to achieve. The way family comes together for the final conflict is truly impressive.

Has everything we've ever wanted in a WWII battlefield game. [Nov 2002, p.146]

Monster Train is a pleasant, mind-blowingly addictive exercise that’s well worth your time, especially if you’re a fan of roguelikes, card games, and deck-building fare. Hours of entertainment await, often chained back-to-back like a crazy card combo.

Whether you are striving for higher ranks or want to dazzle people with a map that you created and uploaded, TimeSplitters' online presence is unprecedented and simply irresistible. [Apr 2005, p.114]

More exciting than just about anything the DS or PSP has offered up so far. [Oct 2005, p.152]

Like a star player at the apex of his career, NHL 11 still shines on the ice. New innovations like the real-time physics engine and UHL show EA Canada still has some room to grow, but as age creeps up on the stalwart franchise and its prior innovations feel commonplace, some of its weaknesses are starting to appear more evident.

Not all the shots NBA 2K18 takes are swishes, but its shooting percentage is high enough to once again recommend you step on the hardcourt. The deep MyGM, MyCareer, and MyTeam modes offer hundreds of hours of compelling play, and the on-court action is once again stellar. Once the servers stabilize and Visual Concepts patches in some easily correctible fixes, NBA 2K18 should once again be in pole position for sports game of the year.

The overall high level of polish and deep macro-level scheming are enough to cement its place in the upper echelons of strategy gaming, regardless of personal taste.

Like a star player at the apex of his career, NHL 11 still shines on the ice. New innovations like the real-time physics engine and UHL show EA Canada still has some room to grow, but as age creeps up on the stalwart franchise and its prior innovations feel commonplace, some of its weaknesses are starting to appear more evident.

Story failings and technical hiccups aside, Ubisoft has a winner on its hands with The Division 2. The strong combat, interesting missions, and compelling loot loop kept me invested through the endgame, and I don’t plan to stop playing anytime soon. For a live-service game just getting out of the gate, that’s quite an achievement.

BioShock was undoubtedly the best game of 2007, but after a year with so little extra polish, its luster has diminished slightly.

Not all the shots NBA 2K18 takes are swishes, but its shooting percentage is high enough to once again recommend you step on the hardcourt. The deep MyGM, MyCareer, and MyTeam modes offer hundreds of hours of compelling play, and the on-court action is once again stellar. Once the servers stabilize and Visual Concepts patches in some easily correctible fixes, NBA 2K18 should once again be in pole position for sports game of the year.

Not all the shots NBA 2K18 takes are swishes, but its shooting percentage is high enough to once again recommend you step on the hardcourt. The deep MyGM, MyCareer, and MyTeam modes offer hundreds of hours of compelling play, and the on-court action is once again stellar. Once the servers stabilize and Visual Concepts patches in some easily correctible fixes, NBA 2K18 should once again be in pole position for sports game of the year.

It bests its predecessors in one key area: Every mission conveys a nail-biting tension that absorbs the player as never before. [June 2002]

The quintessential expansion pack; with more to do, see, and experience on many different levels. [Sept 2003, p.122]

Half Life: Alyx is a must-play game worthy of the series' legacy. Despite some puzzles and encounters that feel like filler, the overall experience is strong. The stunning setpieces, beautiful world, and smart writing stand out no matter the medium, and mark a return to form for Valve. If you were waiting for a killer app before you made the investment into virtual reality, this is it.

Deathloop is a bloody, chaotic mess. A mess you will fail at over and over until finally, you succeed. And that success – the result of hours of experimentation, iteration, and knowledge – makes for one of the best games of the year.

Even with much of the gameplay remaining the same, Skate 2 is one of the most impressive sequels I’ve played in my tenure as a game critic. Most developers follow the line of thought of “more equals better.” In Skate 2 better is achieved by just making it better. It does the almost impossible task of making old gameplay feel new again.

This game is tough, but also rewarding, interesting, evocative, and, in its own special way, brilliant.