From the half-hearted RPG elements that either needed to be expanded upon or removed to the frustrating story layout, there are too many issues that get in the way of enjoying creating a bristling magical city.

Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends is best suited for newcomers to the franchise. If you keep your expectations reasonable before you jump in, then you can easily enjoy yourself.

This is My First RPG for a new generation of gamers, one that spells things out, repeats everything as many times as needed, and generally waits patiently as you scour the map for the one thing you need to move forward.

So while Episode 3 really nails the tension and thrills of coming face-to-face with the Minecraft-staple Enderman, I’m still not convinced this adventure adds up to much more than a mild diversion.

Mario Strikers: Battle League’s core gameplay is fun, but it’s just not enough to justify the incredibly slim package offered. There’s little to do for online players and even less for those looking for a fun offline single-player game, with it for Mario sports games in general. Nintendo fans were hoping for a hat trick here for the third entry in the Mario Strikers series, but were instead left with an own goal.

Despite some poor design choices and a few bugs, Citizens of Earth is still an enjoyable game that will appeal to turn-based RPG fans who like quirky humor. It's just too bad that there's such a strong focus on keeping players busy rather than interested.

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit captures the awkward nostalgia of being a child quite well even if it falters in other areas.

Combat is only a small portion of the overall experience, but the other aspects of the game don't particularly shine. It's as if StarDrive 2 is content in its adequacy.

The variety in game modes doesn't quite make up for the lack of heroes, but Toy Soldiers: War Chest provides some quality entertainment for tower defense aficionados.

As a budget Steam release, Outlast offers some cheap thrills for fans of the survival horror genre. Unfortunately its underwhelming visuals, combined with Red Barrel Games’ over-reliance on jump-scares ahead of more psychological frights, made my experience with it feel similar to walking through a haunted house: It’s scary, but not in a very clever way.

Pokemon Let’s Go is best approached exactly like Nintendo described it. It’s an experimental side game and in no way a substitute for a main series title. Luckily, we should get a chance to experience a new core title for the Switch next year. As it stands, Pokemon Let’s Go is a decent morsel which will help pass the time until then.

Ryse is an absolutely beautiful game, but all the beauty in the world can't make up for repetitive gameplay that will most likely bore the average gamer, even those who like hack-and-slash.

You could ask for a version more to your liking, but Ultimate seems mostly focused on getting to these new consoles before any other subtitle.

Pokemon Let’s Go is best approached exactly like Nintendo described it. It’s an experimental side game and in no way a substitute for a main series title. Luckily, we should get a chance to experience a new core title for the Switch next year. As it stands, Pokemon Let’s Go is a decent morsel which will help pass the time until then.

Whether you want to buy the complete Resident Evil Origins Collection or prefer to experience the original game on the go, Capcom did a great job with these handheld ports. Not only do both look just as good as ever before, but they are a natural fit on Nintendo Switch. The dated gameplay won’t appeal to everyone and Zero is a bummer, but the quality of the remastering can’t be denied and the REmake has plenty of fantastic scares for players to enjoy. It’s a great history lesson, even if it’s just serves as a reminder of how far the series has come over time.

There was a time when just making a solid licensed title was a feat in and of itself, and by those standards, Deadpool would have been considered something of a success. But today, it's just an average action game that succumbs to the classless, risk-averse practices of mainstream game design just as often as it parodies them.

On a whole. Alien Spidy is a platformer whose fun gameplay is slightly overshadowed by its overly stringent level progression mechanic and iffy controls.

Samurai Warriors 4-II isn't a bad game, but it will only appeal to gamers who long to play lengthy battles where mindless button-mashing trumps strategy and variety.

Adventure game fans may be delighted by this return to the old-school style game from Frogwares. However, more casual fans of the genre may find Telltale's approach more accessible and graphically strong. Fans of the genre, or of prior entries in the series, will probably want to pick it up, for everyone else it may be an anachronistic curiosity.

Firefall is middling. If you have free time to spare, the fact that it won’t cost you anything to try is a huge win. If it manages to sink its teeth into you over the first few hours, you might just be hooked. Personally, I’ll pass.

Not every game needs to be ambitious, but those that settle for the familiar must face the consequences. Toukiden succeeds with what it sets out to do, but fails to distinguish itself from the crowd of portable action games.

$60 for a game that’s approaching a year old is a bit much, especially given that it doesn’t include the DLC.

The game features online multiplayer and some other standard features, as well as being able to log your progress with Codemasters' online service, Racenet. However, it's still not Mario Kart, no matter how charming the presentation and attitude.

When it comes right down to it, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a competent platformer that rests on the laurels its namesake and plays it far too safe. That said, hardcore fans will find plenty to love solely because it's more Sly. So if pretty art and average platforming sounds worth the price of admission, who am I to stop you?

The iffy puzzles and tedious backtracking in Unravel sadly cannot be fixed by switching to an easy mode as the game doesn’t offer any kind of “just play the story” mode. That’s a shame since the world and likability of the lead hero make the kind of adventure I love to get lost in.

In many ways, Fable Anniversary is just a prettier version of the original game with the added The Lost Chapters DLC thrown in for good measure.

It’s extremely mindless grinding, which can be fun now and again when you’re feeling non-committal. And from what I’ve learned of the endgame offerings, when you’re fully leveled, you can just experience much of the same. I’m not sure how long someone would want to experience more of the same, and I don’t feel like anything I’ve played warrants going through it all again with another character. It’s just not all that compelling, but if you have friends you’d like to quest with, it’s certainly something to do… like many other things.

Konami’s brazen attitude towards its stable of classic franchises (along with Hideo Kojima) is why it doesn’t have the best relationship with the hardcore video game audience. That doesn’t factor into this Castlevania: Requiem review but this collection is almost a pure manifestation of Konami’s common perception among players since it’s a slapdash port job done with the most minimal effort imaginable.