Look, Unstoppable Gorg is a pretty good tower defense game. The graphics are flashy, and the mix of towers and enemies are good, but I often found I was playing the game to get to the cutscenes, not to enjoy the game.

If you’re a soccer game fan, then you’ll either really enjoy this game, or really hate it. If you only have a 360, then it’s a definite must buy as a soccer fan. However, if you also have an Xbox or PS2, I have to recommend that you stick to the last-gen version.

It could use a few quality-of-life bonuses that Until Dawn also needed, like being able to skip cutscenes if you’ve seen them already and an actual run button, but it’s a fun mystery wrapped around a solid horror B-movie. One of the cool things about a game as a narrative, as opposed to anything else, is that it’s got a lot of room to cram extra stuff in there, and Little Hope takes full advantage to really pack itself fat with lore.cSeriously, I’d pay for DLC that changed the ending. I’m on that team. I’d probably still recommend Little Hope to horror and adventure-game fans, particularly since it only costs $30, but the last five minutes tips over the entire apple cart.

A pretty face may get you in the door, but interactive ignorance will get you thrown out the window.

The problem with the story in Beyond Divinity -- advertised as “deep and detailed” on the game’s web site -- is that there isn’t really one.

I played for about 10 hours total, and it was a chore. The game doesn’t look good, nothing interesting happens while you’re playing, and the strategic elements are minimal.

For people new to the series, download the demo and see if the gameplay clicks with you. If it does, then you’ll probably get your money’s worth out of a purchase.

I can almost picture the early pitch sessions for Call of Duty: WWII in which they conceived of a game that has something for everyone. But if everyone gets something, no one gets everything. If I were in charge, I would have scrapped the no doubt very expensive but entirely lackluster single player campaign entirely and focused on the core multiplayer, making more maps and expanding on the War concept, which works quite well. The co-op works reasonably well, and pleasantly scratches that itch for people who prefer to work as a team against AI rather than people. So Call of Duty: WWII is a pleasantly rounded package which lands it solidly in the middle of the everything pack.

The putting mechanics aren’t up to par and the game isn’t going to blow anyone away in terms of presentation, but if you’re a golf fan that would rather swing a club, even a mini one at that, as opposed to pushing a few buttons or moving an analog stick around, you very well might want to consider taking a hack at Real World Golf.

With imbalanced AI in the single player mode and elimination of much needed communication from the online version, more and more console gamers might track down the PC version to see what they’ve been missing.

I’m vastly disappointed at this release, like the developers had one surge of creativity for Warlords Battlecry five years ago and have been coasting on fumes since then.

The game has barely evolved since it was first released in the 90’s.

But it’s hard to recommend this port with a straight face due to its severely makeshift presentation. Nevertheless, it is a fun game thanks to the satisfying gameplay and excellent story. If all you’ve got is a PS2, then consider this your consolation prize.

Overall, I’d say that Twisted Metal: Head On - Extra Twisted Edition is a great buy for both long-time and new fans to the series.

You can't really play this game without thinking of the dark, sweat-filled arcades that're now long gone, or of those plastic-sheathed sitdown machines you still sometimes see in bars. Midway Arcade Treasures is like a time capsule, buried back when games were simple, and no less fun because of that.

Mirror of Fate manages to make the once well-worn Metroidvania formula new again by using this reboot-based version of the franchise, and is a must-play for any fans of the series.

Dead Rising 4 is, above all else, surprisingly bland, and that’s not something I ever thought I’d be able to say about a game that’s largely about running over zombies in a tractor. It doesn’t feel like an entry in its series, but like some kind of Dead Rising-themed expansion for a different franchise altogether.

A good Civ game, not revolutionary but more evolutionary, although even at that it seems to pale against the more refined "Alpha Centauri." CTP2 has its charms and if Alpha Centauri alienated you, CTP2 is worthy of any Civ gamer' s time.

While the A.I. could’ve been stronger and there could’ve been more with the playable characters, Chaos Bleeds does a great job of appealing to fans and newcomers to the show alike. Adventure fans should look at sinking their teeth into this game.

The innovation gets waylaid by the less than revolutionary components that make up the rest of the title... On the other hand, its less than revolutionary portions are actually very well polished and executed.

A mixed bag, pairing a genuinely frightening horror experience with gameplay that's somewhat hit or miss.

Where NBA Inside Drive hasn’t changed much is in the visual department, and it also lacks Xbox Live support, which is inexcusable from a first-party standpoint.

As a lifetime fan of horror, good, bad, and cheesetastic, I’m pleased that we’re experiencing a renaissance of horror in books, movies, and games. But recent games (SOMA, Penumbra, Amnesia) have set a pretty high bar, and in comparison to those Layers of Fear falls markedly short.

Except for the pieces where SS3 is like the old Serious Sam, awash in enemy hordes, this Serious Sam feels almost more like the original FPS Duke Nukem' than anything else.

During that transition from one medium to another, a clunky targeting system, unbelievable AI and pathetic camera were attached to this edgy property, significantly dulling it.

Definitely improved over the launch title, with a number of smoother animations, two new mini-games and simpler gameplay mechanics. However, the sometimes idiotic AI on your team and nonsensical limitations on jukes or cleanly driving to the lane without picking up the ball will make any basketball fan call for a technical foul on this title.

All in all, Commanders is a fun ride on a small scale, if the turn-based strategy genre is your thing.

Could it possibly be more impressive than Commandos 2? The answer is no, and I don’t think developer Pyro Studios even really tried.

Overall, Team Sonic Racing is hurt ever-so-slightly by not keeping the transformative aspects of the last Sonic racing game – but that is largely offset by the team-based nature of things. Unlike OnRush, the team-based side of things is pretty seamless and feels like a natural extension of the single character-centric style from before. The tracks are outstanding and feature a slew of new environments for a Sega-based racer, while the controls are great for the relative car class. The game plays like a dream, looks great, and sounds fantastic. No matter what platform you get it on, you’re in for a fun time.

I think my largest criticism of Mass Effect: Andromeda is how safe Bioware played it. They wrote a new, sprawling plotline with a vast number of side quests and in doing so discarded Shepard as the main character, and added an open world sandbox element, but left so many of the core game mechanics, even some of the truly awful ones, unchanged that Andromeda feels more like a gigantic DLC than anything else. Note that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s been five years since the last Mass Effect, and I do for the most part like the gameplay, and I’m not particularly adverse to more of the same (a quote so good, it should definitely be on the game box somewhere), but a part of me was hoping for something less familiar, something less Mass Effect 4. I can’t help but feel that I didn’t get it.

One of those titles that fans of D&D might wish was a bit deeper and a lot longer. As an action title, it's decently presented, albeit repetitive, and has a creative control scheme, although not fully implemented.

All considered though, Mercenaries 2 isn’t a complicated game to assess. It’s a stupid action game in a long and storied tradition of stupid action games.

The latest incarnation of the Namco Museum does a great job of replicating every game in it – it’s just a shame there aren’t more games included. What’s here is largely good, with games like Splatterhouse and the Rolling Thunder games getting a showcase that they haven’t had in quite some time. If you already have existing collections, then the regulars like Galaga, Pac-Man, and Dig Dug won’t sell you on it, but if you’re missing out on the lesser-seen games, this is a great way to get them at a solid price point.

You might get three days of amusement out of it instead of only two. Wouldn’t that be something? Not too shabby for game built around a prop from a twenty five year old movie that nobody’s ever heard of. Not bad at all.

If you played through Dead Rising 2 and you're not particularly enthused about Frank, the reason to look at Off the Record is to spend a few days with a friend bouncing around the mall in Sandbox Mode. I wouldn't recommend this on any other basis, but that's pretty much enough on its own.

It's made complex because of the user interface, which is anything but logical and intuitive. There are too many instances where doing something simple can be needlessly complicated.

The gameplay is incredibly slow, with weak controls and very sloppy technical facets that harms the enjoyment and eventual replayability of the title.

I felt at some moments that the mechanics of a great, or at least good, game was buried under all the blandness.

Shadows: Awakening could use a longer power curve, or to dole out some more significant fights or abilities, to keep things from feeling stale. It’s the best possible version of what it is, but after a while, a lot of the shine wore off and it started feeling like a particularly violent part-time job. Still, if you’re looking for a new dungeon crawler, this is a pretty good one, and I did enjoy the first twelve hours or so.

Sudeki's graphics are really impressive, both in terms of technical and artistic achievement. The world of Sudeki is one continuous experience, slicing a swath from vast location to location is seamless.

At its root, The Saboteur is a classic revenge tale with some tasks to perform to distract you from the main story. The fact that the side tasks have little to no effect on that main story is a bit of a shame, as these open-style games tend to really shine when some act you committed causes unforeseen consequences. All in all, it can be said that Pandemic’s last offering is a worthwhile one, especially for the gorgeous visuals and nail-biting gameplay that comes from trying to undermine a Nazi occupation one building at a time. Do yourself a favor and find yourself a copy… perhaps the one Ugarte gave to Rick to hide under the lid of the piano.

A strong game, but it succeeds kind of in spite of itself. It would've been nice to see a lot more originality in the game, but Area 51 is a fun ride, regardless.

If you can forgive the button mashing simplicity and the other hiccups of the fighting system, you'll find an enjoyable action RPG title in a beautiful environmental setting.

The levels are fairly exquisitely designed. The textures on the buildings are quite nice, and there is a multitude of signs that call up a smile every once so often. The only problem is, in order to read them you'd have to be in the 'High' detail level - and for that you'd need a pretty nice machine.

The good news is that it's very playable on a level that the Mortal Kombat series rarely manages to reach, and has solid enough net code that you can play online with virtually no lag.

Though it falls well short of greatness it does manage to be pretty good, and the multitude of upgrades make for a huge improvement over the original.

The Club is a classic example of an excellent rental game. Its brutal, rapid pace will wear you out in a hurry, and just when you think you can’t take much more POOF! It’s over.

The decision to move away from what has made the series so great and toward the simulation style is a questionable one. Fans of the series will be upset with the omission of the cop chases, illegal racing, and overall shady mood.

The lack of difficulty levels, imbalanced gameplay mechanics and lack of multiplayer support reduce this game from being much more than a rent for anyone other than the most hardcore flight fanatic.

I’d still argue that Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is a failure, but it’s an interesting failure. It started from an idea that nobody’s been able to make work, and it still didn’t make it work, but an attempt was made. I’ll take that over a game that’s simply mediocre any day of the week.

The engine is unusual, but it doesn’t look especially good. The storyline is intriguing, but it’s a lot darker and more gruesome than you’d expect from a Sherlock Holmes tale.

It’s not quite as well-rounded an experience as its predecessor and it can be frustrating at times, but ultimately the combination role-playing and 3-match puzzle game formula is still very much a winner here.

This entry doesn’t make major waves, but is always enjoyable and a good pickup for longtime fans.

If you're willing to forgive a game some flaws in exchange for a memorable plotline and interesting characters, Syberia has those in spades.

LEGO The Hobbit is ultimately par for the course.

After a few years of steady improvements, WWE '12 marks the end of that era by delivering the worst overall game in years. It does a few new things relatively well, but really messes up some things that were done very well before, like the Road to WrestleMania mode, backstage fighting and the object interaction from last year's game.

Wolfenstein is a mediocre title from a franchise known to be innovative and exceptional in their offerings.

All in all this is a great game with solid gameplay, beautiful worlds, tons of customization, and an excellent multiplayer component.

This is simply "Links 2000" under a different name. Sure, it's a solid game of golf, but then again so were the previous editions. You're not going to find any new additions, no up-to-date golfing counterparts, nothing.

The interface isn’t very friendly. That’s something people can work around, but the problem here is that the puzzles are complicated enough on their own.

A highly satisfying game. Despite being trapped in the same old LucasArts formula, the change of pace fighting in vehicles turns what could have been a ho-hum game into a thrilling homage to the film's end sequence.

That’s the largest issue to be found within Xtreme Legends: the simple fact that you’ve seen this action before. How many times can players put down the Yellow Turban revolt or other issues from the same period before they get bored?

It caters to beginners, challenges experts and offers an impressive variety of ways to play Sudoku.

NFL Fever 2003 continues to look good, sound great, and play fast, resulting in a solid yet slighly unrealistic arcade football experience.

In the end, Brink is another of those games that we see every so often; the games that have incredible potential and truly unique ideas but fail in their implementation. This could have been a great game, it could've been a hit and it could've given shooter fans a reason to return to a genre that has lost much of its originality over the last handful of years. Unfortunately for us and for its developer, the keyword here is "could've", because there's little here that makes Brink the genre redefining game some of us hoped it would be.

In A:aMfP the balance is off. There’s too much wandering around admiring the scenery and not enough stuff to do or scares to go around. But the plot is so good I almost wish they had released it as a movie instead of a game.

Look, Assassin’s Creed Unity isn’t a bad game, it’s just not up to the standards of the franchise. It needed more development time – more time to optimize the experience and to get its systems to work smartly.

All considered though, Mercenaries 2 isn’t a complicated game to assess. It’s a stupid action game in a long and storied tradition of stupid action games.

Short of rewriting the entire story and redrawing the whole dungeon, the single player isn’t going to get any better. I do genuinely hope that this combat system appears in some future, hopefully better, game.

Novice gamers or gamers who don’t really like games where there are objectives (such as fans of "The Sims" or "SimCity") might like Zoo Tycoon 2.

It continues to remind me a lot of "Futurama."...Cheerful, sarcastic and energetic fun.

Avoids the action overdose that plagued the film and manages to put up a solid but not incredible first person shooter experience.

I know that a large amount of people will pick it up merely for the sex and violence the game portrays. But I think that a lot of golf enthusiasts or curiosity seekers may actually enjoy taking a look at this title.

Dungeon Siege III doesn't reinvent the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but if you're into these sorts of D&D style, loot collecting, hack and slashers, then it's definitely worth a look. For me though, I ended up disappointed. While the game can be fun, the surprising linearity, terrible camera (both online and off), uninteresting (and seemingly uninterested) characters, and the lack of a New Game + mode made this dungeon crawler feel like a lost opportunity.

Considering people were claiming Halo 3 wasn’t stretching the limits of graphical prowess on the Xbox 360 in the recent beta test, it’s doubtful that a barely upgraded Halo 2 is going to wow anyone.

Emperor’s Testament needs more variety. Even the surprise plot twist in the game doesn’t enable Emperor’s Testament to break the formula.

An excellent presentation of the World Cup. The feeling, emotion, and intensity of the event are all there.

I just don’t see it being a game anybody would want to play more than a handful of times. It’s just too simplistic. I saw everything there was to see after one game, but I played it five times to be sure, and that was plenty.

The hit and miss AI and relaxed realism will not appeal to hardcore veterans that are still playing Rogue Spear. Its aids and features is an olive branch to the mass gaming audience not hooked on tactical first person shooters.

If you're able to deal with the PSP's control limitations, then I can give Secret Agent Clank a completely unqualified recommendation.

Sonic 4: Episode 1 is a short, but well-crafted entry in the series. It's hurt by a lack of innovation and a relatively high price given that it's basically half the length of a regular side-scrolling Sonic, but still carries a pretty hefty $15 price tag. If you're a casual Sonic fan, you're probably better off waiting for it to be discounted at some point on PSN or as an Xbox Deal of the Week, but series die-hards will definitely get $15 out of it between playing through it, then replaying stages for better times and leaderboard scores.

Goldeneye 007: Reloaded is a fantastic trip down memory lane, as well as a very solid shooter in its own right. It controls well, the Bond universe is very much alive and kicking, and the reasonably-long and entertaining campaign is engaging. Though the online multiplayer is very average, split-screen multiplayer is as fun and rage-inducing as ever. If you're a fan of the Goldeneye series, or had any involvement with the original, you should definitely pick this one up.

A pure, simple and satisfying role-playing game that is easy to pick up, easy on the eyes and downright absorbing, eventually. Great game, great game.

This is definitely a single player title first, multiplayer title second. Even in the former, it lacks the material to vault it into the stratosphere and turn XIII into a classic. Style and visuals can only do so much for a game.

With its Orwellian environment and story Republique succeeds in putting the player into the position of a person who needs to escape from a dark destiny. On the other hand this edition is plagued by some technical issues that sometimes keep you from enjoying what the game has to offer.

Legion’s biggest problem is that it’s boring: its central mechanic is effectively meaningless, which just leaves you piloting a generic character through yet another Ubisoft-styled open-world. Legion will likely find some fans, but as seems to be the curse of the Watch Dogs series, it’s watered itself down so much in an attempt to appeal to as broad an audience as possible that it’s lost all its texture. If a bad open-world game is an oversalted omelet, Watch Dogs: Legion is plain oatmeal.

Goldeneye 007: Reloaded is a fantastic trip down memory lane, as well as a very solid shooter in its own right. It controls well, the Bond universe is very much alive and kicking, and the reasonably-long and entertaining campaign is engaging. Though the online multiplayer is very average, split-screen multiplayer is as fun and rage-inducing as ever. If you're a fan of the Goldeneye series, or had any involvement with the original, you should definitely pick this one up.

There’s no denying that Army of Two is a game concept whose day has arrived, and it’s a shame that it didn’t quite hit the mark.

I wasn’t wild about Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Dry. The puzzles work pretty well, and that’s the most important thing for an adventure, but the writing is sub-par, and the longer I played the game, the more I felt bad for Al Lowe, the franchise’s creator. Wet Dreams is definitely a game for adults — with a slew of references to penises, dildos, fleshlights, and more — but if you’re a part of that target demographic, and if you like adventures, then you might get enough out of the title for it to be a worthwhile purchase. Just wait for it to go on sale first.

The Jurassic Park license alone can only take it so far before it becomes formulaic. Thereafter, the roars become little more than a growl.

It plays out like a popcorn movie: a fun ride while it lasts.

Redeemer’s gameplay comes across as completely stale, which is a pity because this is most likely the last console game in the World of Darkness (White Wolf is stopping the series next year).

Ultimately though, the sort of plotless killing gets old, or at least it did for me. L4D felt like you were trying to go somewhere and do something. KF fails in that respect and instead feels like just a bunch of deathmatch games with the computer controlling one side.

I generally like what Vicarious Visions has done to bring the Guitar Hero experience to the portable market, but I’d prefer to see them focus on amending the functionality of the game rather than expanding the song list of a still flawed product.

So, overall, Battle Slots might be a useful diversion for you, depending perhaps on how much you like slot machines.

D:TDL is, by an itsy bitsy margin, better than Dungeons (perhaps if that trend continues in six or seven sequels it will approach marginal), but the gameplay which was the biggest weakness of Dungeons remains essentially unchanged.

Overall, Battletoads succeeds far more than I ever could have imagined going in. It’s a great time for beat ‘em up revivals with both Streets of Rage 4 and now Battletoads bringing the goods. Battletoads is packed with even more variety than the original series and features smoother action, with a couple of small caveats that hurt the gameplay slightly. Still, it’s a gorgeous-looking and sounding game with top-shelf voice work and a surprisingly successful turn to a comedy-heavy story that works far better than prior, more serious tales. The revival of the Battletoads is a huge success when it comes to offering up a high-quality experience, and it’s a fitting entry in a beloved series that winds up being one of the best brawlers ever.

You might get three days of amusement out of it instead of only two. Wouldn’t that be something? Not too shabby for game built around a prop from a twenty five year old movie that nobody’s ever heard of. Not bad at all.