Tight controls and cheeky humor make Brave and the Bold an easy recommendation for bat and brawler fans alike. Accessible and entertaining, it's also a perfect fit for –familyplay.

This edition of the game has many of the components that made the title successful on the other systems, and more, but the behind-the-wheel experience puts it in second place.

Devil May Cry 5 holds up, and I had a good time revisiting it in different ways. Vergil, turbo mode, and the Legendary Dark Knight difficulty are good additions – but fans have already seen all of those features in the series’ previous special editions. They are still worthwhile, but don’t expect any big surprises here. Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition is the best way to play an already-good game, but the fine-tuning doesn’t elevate the experience to new heights.

A surprisingly solid title that wasn’t even on my radar. While it borrows heavily from the Souls franchise, it’s done well and with its own signature flair. I highly recommend this game to anyone that enjoys that series, and if you haven’t gone down that road before, it might be a more forgiving entry point into the action RPG.

It's fun, fast, and simple without being dumbed-down. [Jan 2005, p.134]

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]

While I yearned for a little more in a few areas (difficulty curve and graphical polish in particular), the overall experience lies somewhere between the first "Underground" and the second...meaning it's easy fun, but not genre-defining. [Dec 2005, p.148]

Gears 5 is exactly what it needs to be. This old war vet still packs a punch. The open-world exploration has issues, but that isn’t enough to steal away the thunder The Coalition expertly deploys on the battlefield. The campaign is a fun ride that concludes with a shocker moment and a hell of a setup for a sequel. I’m already looking forward to that follow-up.

Part of this game’s success rests on its simplistic design. RTS fans can rant all they want about how it doesn’t come close to offering the same level of micro-management found in Starcraft, or the genre-bending innovations that made Company of Heroes such a hit, but in its simplicity, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars delivers one of the greatest single player campaigns in all of RTS.

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.

Revenge of the Savage Planet is an upgrade over its predecessor in nearly every way. Consistently rewarding exploration pushed me to poke around every corner of the worlds I visited, and often-fun combat encounters kept the experience fresh and engaging. The first game was a fun one-off experience, but its sequel is a far more complete and rewarding package that left me hungry for more savage planets to explore.

New Leaf is one of the most purely pleasant experiences in gaming, free of stressful boss fights, combative multiplayer experiences, or cynicism in any form. Instead, it focuses on clever humor and forming friendships with the residents of your town. Some may find it cheesy or without direction, but I enjoyed this endlessly charming outlier in the current gaming landscape.

It’s tough to say which is better, Pro Evolution or FIFA, given that the former has more depth while the latter comes off as the sexier experience.

Yes, the action is still exhilarating at times, but without Kojima's story and cinematics, I found Snake's Tales to be rather dry. [Apr 2003, p.85]

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.

Telltale's episodic love letter to zombies remains one of the most memorable gaming experiences of the year. Telltale has already announced it is working on Season Two, and No Time Left beautifully wraps up the story of these last several episodes while teasing things to come. No Time Left isn't a "happily ever after" affair, but it feels like a dark and stormy intro to another exciting chapter.

Wheelman has enough explosive thrills that you’ll be yelling and laughing the whole time.

Can the Xbox controller handle THPS? The feeling is quite awkward at first, but after a few hours, you'll come to terms with the button configuration. It's like breaking in a new pair of shoes. [Nov 2001, p.120]

While it doesn't have the challenge of Donkey Kong Country Returns or the charming art style of Kirby Epic Yarn, Kirby's Return To Dream Land is another formidable entry in a line of great side-scrolling Wii platformers.

This games intricacies are well worth the reward. [Feb 2006, p.111]

With the classic strategy gameplay and trademark Working Designs writing, anybody with a taste for RPGs will find more than a mouthful here. [Jan 2002, p.88]

Telltale's episodic love letter to zombies remains one of the most memorable gaming experiences of the year. Telltale has already announced it is working on Season Two, and No Time Left beautifully wraps up the story of these last several episodes while teasing things to come. No Time Left isn't a "happily ever after" affair, but it feels like a dark and stormy intro to another exciting chapter.

UFC 2 improves over its predecessor in the ways it needed to. The improved ground game and deeper career mode are the biggest draws, but Knockout mode is a blast to play with a friend, and Ultimate Team offers a unique twist on the popular mode from other sports games. If 2014’s EA Sports UFC was a promise being made, UFC 2 is its deliverance.

If you've somehow managed to overlook Final Fantasy IV over its numerous incarnations, this is the best way to get the whole experience. Though not every facet is airtight, The Complete Collection is an addictive mix of traditional RPG mechanics, character-focused narrative, and pure nostalgia.

Xenosaga Episode III has many more successes than failures. But taken in context with the trilogy as a whole, Episode III is the worthy conclusion to an epic that I hadn't dared hope it could be. [Sept. 2006, p.90]

With myriad improvements to both the feature set and the core gameplay, UFC 2 takes the series from prospect to contender in just its second entry.

It's nothing new to the Wario Land enthusiast, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. [Jan 2002, p.96]

NHL 19 still has its share of legacy issues that need attention, but the vastly improved skating and physics make this the best playing hockey game of the generation. The scouting system gives franchise mode a much-needed makeover, and while World of Chel feels like a half-built theme park right now, I’m excited about its future prospects. If you haven’t played an NHL game in a while, this is the year to jump back over the boards.