Wrath of the Druids has a lot of the same shortcomings as the main game. The story is too concerned with political intrigue that isn’t that intriguing, the landscape is mostly barren greenery that’s unexciting to traverse, and the overall game hardly hovers above the average baseline it rests upon, just to name a few of the overlapping problems. But Wrath of the Druids does leapfrog the base experience because of its relative focus that organically slices off the astounding amount of bloat inherent to a game that large. It doesn’t magically make Assassin’s Creed Valhalla a better game, but it does show that sometimes, a smaller serving can make a huge difference.

Small innovations such as the camera jostle and dash screen blur would normally indicate a developer's attention to detail, but a slew of minor frustrations add up to make Killzone a cardiac in a jewel case.

With the exception of menu interfaces and loading times in towns, this is actually better than the PC version, if just for the fact that it didn’t crash once during my combined 50 hours of playtime.

There was the original Pitfall, and now there is the unoriginal Pitfall: The Lost Expedition.

Objectives are sometimes unclear and the PS3 version chugs like no one's business in the larger environments. But these are classic games that are at the apex of the survival horror genre, now playable on current-gen platforms. Great games, warts and all.

While I suspect many will either doggedly reprimand or passively tolerate Remember Me, at least it tries something new.

Beyond: Two Souls, despite its flaws with the mechanics and the story, is a special game that needs to be played, if just to behold the new level in video game presentation. Though it's not as well-crafted in design as Telltale's The Walking Dead, Beyond: Two Souls is not that far off, cementing Quantic Dream as a cutting-edge developer in the cinematic, story-driven genre.

Legends of Wrestlemania does what exactly what you think it should. Despite some repetition and being short on gameplay content and depth, it’s a casual, enjoyable romp through the good ol’ days that put our childhood heroes (and villians) on a pedestal. Then is shines a spotlight, blasts fireworks, and points at them with a giant arrow.

The Destroy All Humans remake’s skeleton is geriatric in some respects. Repetitive audio, antiquated objective types, strict fail states, and repetitive audio are dead giveaways that this game is firmly planted in 2005 in detrimental ways that this remake did not address. But the overhauled control scheme and thoughtful new mechanics add a layer of muscle on top of that skeleton and keeps old age from breaking those bones down into dust.

As far as beginner games go, this is about as elementary as it can be.

Overall, Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel doesn’t do anything wrong; it just meets the bare minimum.

The overall quality of Alice: Madness Returns is high, despite it feeling rushed. The qualities that made American McGee's Alice so enjoyable-the gory hack-'n'-slash combat, the gorgeous design, the rich dialogue, the menacing mood-are present and abundant.

Despite the overwhelming difficulty found at the start, it is certainly worth pushing through it to enjoy the unique experience that Warriors All-Stars is. Koei Tecmo has found its own Smash Bros. mash-up game that brings together a brilliant ensemble cast of characters like Ryu, William from Nioh, and Dynasty Warriors' Zhao Yun for classic Musou hack-and-slash gameplay.

Technical hiccups and a few narrative shortcomings hold it back a bit but its honest look at the Iranian Revolution is unflinching, educational, engrossing, and hopefully inspirational for those trying to make games capable of enabling cultural empathy in its players.

A game like this is exactly what I wanted in the classic remake trend. Sure, it doesn't bring much that's new, but it does expand on all that makes this genre great and, even better, it brings back the memories of great games from years past.

For all of my bitching, I don’t hate Metal Slug 7. It’s fun enough, functional, and perfect for short bus rides, but I enjoyed playing it more the last six times it was released. Metal Slug 7 proves that shaking down a series for a seventh installment only works if it stars Ron Perlman.

In the crowded first-person genre, this one barely makes the grade.

The characters are as amusing as ever, the story is easy to follow and broken up enough to keep it interesting, and there's always a fight to be had (complete with Goku getting hit, which I think could be considered child abuse in some areas). It's just a shame that the actual fighting is just as boring as it's ever been.

With my review, I set my sights on putting this to the test. Could I save London while resisting the temptation to feed? During my time with Vampyr, a more important question emerged. One that strikes at the heart of the matter. The killing blow, as it were. “Does it really matter when everybody in this town sucks?”

While you die-hard MotoGP fans might eke out some brief enjoyment, you’d be much better off if you went out and bought a bargain-priced copy of MotoGP 07. That three-year-old game has more heart, soul, and chutzpa than either of its lackluster follow-ups, and it makes MotoGP 09/10 look like a snapshot of a series spiraling quickly into oblivion.

Taken by itself, Homefront's campaign is just plain disappointing. A promising concept ultimately falls flat in the fast-paced, "I don't have time for reading" first-person shooter genre. Once you've accomplished all of the objectives in single-player, the game just "ends". Someone obviously wanted to leave room for a sequel. That person is saved by Homefront's well-designed multiplayer.

Even though there's quite a bit to complain about in Red Alert 3 Commander's Challenge, the overall package is worth the 800 Microsoft Points (or ten dollars).

Extortions, scandals and corruption? For gameplay like this, I’m willing to dump the story and other problems in a trunk and fuhgeddaboutit.

Allowing you to pick your own heir to the throne and affect direct change across a whole country is impressive, making the story feel like its your own. This is emotionally strengthened by other elements like permadeath. While it can be frustrating to play at times, it is absolutely worth experiencing Romancing SaGa 2; a truly hidden gem in the Square Enix library.

It's got decent graphics, lots of depth, a cool combat system and it's really long.

A disappointment. I expected your character to play a more integral role in the story. No such luck. I expected better AI from a game that has been in development for this long. Nope.

The only shadows Okage: Shadow King is going to be ruling at my house are the ones under the stack of other games I'd rather be playing.

Red Faction Guerilla ReMARStered is far from perfect, but it’s fun, and it’s proof that not every game needs to have a serious, super in-depth narrative to please.