Nonetheless, flashes of brilliance are in evidence throughout these Dungeons & Dragons adventures, and both games were far enough ahead of their time to hold up to scrutiny. Four friends could have a great time blasting through both games in an extended evening get-together.

Unlike previous episodes, Sons of Winter shows the good guys making progress. This feat will likely be short-lived in the end, but we have a little while to enjoy the feeling of “maybe there’s a chance.” Odds are episode five will rain fire and blood over the Forresters yet again.

While I would have liked gameplay to have more bite and variety, Planet of Lana is still an enjoyable and beautiful romp. The art direction and main jingle are likely the only things that will stick with me in the long run, but Lana and Mui’s journey is a competent rescue mission that doesn’t always soar as high as the machines pursuing them.

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.

It doesn't give you wrestling staples like table matches or a wrestling creator, sadly, but it does give you what most next-gen WWE titles can't: stellar gameplay. [Apr 2003, p.81]

The combat feels relatively imprecise, button-mashy, and quite random. [Jan 2003, p.114]

Playing Amped 2 is like eating a yellow snowball... Due to its inconsistencies and problematic gameplay, frustration abounds in Amped 2. Do me a favor, avoid the frostbite and stick with "SSX." [Nov 2003, p.164]

Off the court, March Madness' Dynasty mode is shallow and doesn't stack up well against "ESPN's" robust Legacy mode. In the end, March Madness performs admirably on the court, but ESPN is the complete package. [Dec 2004, p.168]

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]

Far: Lone Sails is the kind of game that sticks with you after seeing credits. It delivers a fascinating mystery in a strange land with engaging puzzles, and couples that with a relationship between the player and their oversized mode of transportation. A few areas lack polish and some of the physics felt off here and there, but none of that stopped the story from engaging me in a big way.

Finishing Episode 2 is bittersweet, since it’s the last piece of content created by Irrational Games as we know it. However, Burial at Sea also ties together the landmark creations of the talented team in a satisfying way, making it an appropriate curtain call for this amazing studio.

As a series, Paper Mario constantly explores new concepts and mechanics, which is exciting, but that comes with plenty of risks. Origami King’s biggest chances don't pay off in a satisfying way. I enjoyed Mario’s hijinks and all the misfits he encounters, but the new ring-based action needs refinement. I hope Paper Mario’s next twist on combat can rise to the same level as its humor.

Roundguard is charming and engaging, both in extended sit-down plays and in shorter intermittent play sessions. Silly characters and nemeses draw heavily on established fantasy tropes, and strike the right tone for the light nature of play. Peggle veterans who have longed for a sequel should definitely play this clear homage. But even newcomers to this style of bouncy-ball fun will find a lot to smile about in this friendly dungeon descent.

This is everything I've wanted the franchise to become. [Dec 2005, p.161]

Total War: Attila doesn’t radically shift things in the franchise, and the new gameplay additions are most welcome. Siege escalation and razing are great to have as options, and the ability to play the campaign from distinctly different perspectives and playstyles gives you a reason to come back for more.

A good time for sure, but nothing to rock the average person's socks right off their stinky little feet. [Oct 2004, p.146]

Despite all of these cool minor additions, the core gameplay feels mostly like one big retread. With all of the great new games coming out this holiday, it’s hard to justify replaying this series. For diehard fans, however, this is the definitive LEGO Star Wars game.

Everything is a niche game, stubbornly and proudly so. It embraces exploration as its one and only supporting pillar, refusing to bring in any mechanics, like crafting or gunplay, to get in the way of that thematic focus. At the risk of alienating a larger audience, the systems strive to create an experience unlike any other I’ve played. Everything is not always firing on all cylinders, but conveys sheer wonder and ingenuity when it is.

For fans this is a no-brainer, but even those looking for a fighter or RPG with some interesting twists should give this a try.

Infinity Ward’s battle royale offering doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it does add systems that keep you ravenous for constant carnage instead of precision survival. With a bit of arcade flash and an intelligent engagement loop, Warzone is easy to enjoy.

The Wii U version cleans up the HUD by putting menu and map information on the GamePad's screen. I like having constant access to a map without shuffling through menus.

Overall, if you’ve never touched a Pushmo in your life and don’t have a 3DS, this is a good place to jump in. Unfortunately, by reverting to older mechanics, Nintendo offers little for longtime fans to get excited about.

While this latest title doesn’t take any huge risks, I would argue that’s a good thing. Skate has always been one of those rare games where you can just aimlessly play with no goals or objectives.

With the gameplay being such an unwanted distraction, the story is the only attraction. The plot delivers a cool science fiction twist in its final moments, but ultimately serves as a slave to mediocre gameplay for eight to nine hours.

While it’s not like you’re tearing up Forza 2-quality looking rides, the step up to the next generation makes all the flying debris and mayhem pretty alluring.

Thanks to the memorable characters and undeniably fun battle system, I still found myself enthralled by Star Ocean. [Aug 2004, p.98]

Beautiful and challenging. [Oct 2005, p.146]

It may not be a revolutionary step forward, but Metal Gear Acid 2 applies polish in all the right places and gives us even more reasons to expect good things from this franchise in the years to come. [Apr 2006, p.132]