As a survival horror game, Condemned 2 is too short on horror. As an FPS game, it’s too short on strategy and level design. At best, it’s a brawler with some horror and FPS elements.

Bomberman Land Touch! 2 proves that deception truly is a sly creature.

One of those games that coulda, woulda, shoulda, but didn't. It introduces some great ideas and lets them fall flat.

Nintendo Switch Sports has a weird emphasis on online play, a frustrating unlock system, and is sadly underwhelming compared to its predecessors, which launched over a decade ago.

Its levels are far too structured for me to believe in its weird world, while its secrets are more laborious to uncover than they are fun. I had a reasonably enjoyable time with New Pokemon Snap, though it’s still a missed opportunity to do something with these creatures other than beat them up.

Arcade racers should be better represented on console and PC, with Cruis’n Blast ticking a lot of boxes for those who love this genre and wish that it wasn’t almost solely confined to arcade cabinets. There are few games that will pitch a unicorn in a race against a UFO, and such possibilities in Cruis’n Blast should be celebrated appropriately. However, performance problems, the absence of online multiplayer, and the lack of things to do for the solo player make for an altogether disappointing port, that nonetheless just about offers enough to warrant the attention of arcade racing fans.

While the shooting and free-running gameplay are enjoyable when everything works, Shadow Warrior 3 remains both fun and frustrating in equal measure — while it lasts.

The Saints Row (2022) reboot takes things back to basics but with very little push for innovation. It still gets a lot right, but that success is in areas where it was already strong, and little effort has been invested in strengthening the weaker aspects. A reboot should offer a chance at a clean slate, at cutting ties with what held you back in the past, but Saints Row (2022) fails to do this in any meaningful way.

Unfortunately, Far Cry 6 has missed the mark again, with too few significant improvements and a lot of bloat. For those who love Far Cry, it’s yet another game to blast through and add to the pile, but compared to the competition, this series is starting to fall seriously behind.

While Dying Light 2 does a lot right with its gameplay and new-gen presentation, it’s still a far cry from zombie gaming greatness. The weak story, uninspired mission design, limitations on initial player skills, and bugs let it down in a big way. Sure, a lot of this will be easy to ignore when fighting the undead as a four-man squad, but “it’s fun with friends” is an excuse that can only get you so far.

Although the game sadly doesn’t use mechanics to tell its story, it represents both the good and bad extremes of what only gaming can do: imbue an emotional tale through interactivity and be technically busted. While Anamorphine’s story is still worth seeing through, it’s a shame that its shoddy optimization tries to actively thwart its touching message at every turn.

This means that anyone else is probably better off just letting the thing sit on the shelf unless you need to unwind with the video game equivalent of pedestrian smooth jazz: bland, boring, uninventive, but still technically a functional example of the art form.

Fans of the series will find more to love than the rest, but Paper Mario 3D allows players of all levels to get to the point a lot faster. Though Dream Team has one of the better 3D effects, in both 2D and 3D gameplay, you're more likely to shut your eyes than cross them. There are hours of entertainment for patient players willing to read and giggle at silly accents, but I'd rather explore Bowser's dreams instead.

Guild Wars 2's first expansion is a modest addition for fans of the original, but those who haven’t found themselves captivated by it already are unlikely to walk away satisfied.

Beenox did a commendable job juicing up the visuals and maintaining the fluid first-person shooting mechanics, but time has not been as kind. Modern Warfare 2 is a dated game due to the archaic framework that surrounds its gunplay and primitive storytelling, showing that the “modern” part of Modern Warfare 2 is no longer as applicable.

The battle system controls easily and is fairly easy to learn; those who see this game basically like chess will enjoy it. Those looking for a new RPG to get into, however, should look elsewhere.

Sniper Elite V2 certainly includes much more sniping techniques than your normal action shooter, which makes it different and fun to play, but it needs more of a storyline and varied missions to emphasize those features. Despite its sub-par and repetitive gameplay, there is still much to do after the SP campaign is completed, making this game worthy enough to at least try it out and see if you have steady aim.

All in all, Worms: Revolution just doesn't have the polish to make it an improvement over previous games. Among these is the virtuous Worms 2: Armageddon, which looks prettier, plays more quickly, and has a far more concise HUD. It's also available on most of the same platforms and boasts a better single-player experience. Worms: Revolution just falls short of that comparison.

As Imageepoch's swan song, it may not be a slam dunk, but it's clear that Stella Glow was crafted with care from people who know the genre, even if at times you just have to stare at whatever just happened in disbelief and say, “Okay, whatever, game.”

State of Decay 2 is a flawed game, and it seems to suffer from Microsoft's increased demand for exclusive titles. If it had about six more months or so of development time, it's likely that the tone of this review would be very different.

Tex Murphy fans will lap it up, but everyone else will likely consider this a case not worth solving.

To those who are looking for another action-RPG fix prior to the release of Bloodborne and can overlook LotF’s derivative nature, then it’s worth a shot. For everyone else, though, there are plenty more games releasing just around the corner to warrant you overlooking this one.

The troublesome touch controls result in a lesser experience, but at its core Broken Sword 5 is still a solid adventure game.

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition isn’t going to wow you unless you already have a built-in appreciation for the franchise.

In its return, NBA Live 14 helps kick off what there is to come for next-gen gaming, but as a representation for sports brands, it’s not the best outing.

Like attendants at a holy temple, developers like this keep the torches lit for any wandering players looking for a gateway into a bygone era. And those willing to track down this temple will likely feel right at home.

While GT Sport is a decent and well-crafted game, Forza 7 does arcade-style driving better, and Project Cars 2 does sim racing better. In comparison, GT Sport just can't stand up to either game.

Hellish bugs might significantly diminish the experience but Afterparty still gives players a convincing enough argument to take an express elevator down to the fiery pits of torment.