The lack of meaningful obstacles lessens the overall experience a bit, but Shantae and the Pirate's Curse still stands as an excellent addition to a series with a devoted fan base. The Pirate's Curse adheres to the Metroidvania formula from previous games, but everything here feels bigger and better. I imagine the devoted fan base will only grow after more people play it.

Bottom line, this DLC is well worth your time and money to check this out, especially if you're going though Skyrim withdrawal.

The mission structure and narrative leave something to be desired, but when I think of Galak-Z, I think of my many triumphs and the elation I felt when I completed a season. Few games manage to instill that feeling of triumph quite like Galak-

In their reimagining of Dragon Age II, Bioware has transferred one too many points from storytelling and exploration to combat.

In their reimagining of Dragon Age II, Bioware has transferred one too many points from storytelling and exploration to combat.

SOCOM 3 has the distinction of being the best online offering the system has ever seen. Those without a PS2 network adapter need not enlist, but for the rest this game is practically a tour of duty.

The whole package is very much worth playing through, even if it doesn't do much of anything outright new apart from the genre combination. This is the title, like Retro Game Challenge, that is helping to keep the classics around. And for good reason: everybody should get the chance to play them.

Many action-oriented gamers arena’t going to like this game at all, but you strategy buffs will be pleased that Gladius is such a strong contender, because you really don’t have any other options. There are no other games like it.

There's not a great deal here that you haven't played before - like, last year - and we can't help but feel that this particular dungeon-crawl epic needs more updating and fewer characters. A little more, shall we say, mutation?

The biggest problem is that you cannot die. Sure, your cars have shields, but I never noticed any difference from using a heavily shielded car as opposed to a light one. The penalty in the unlikely event that either your shield runs out or you fall off the track is that you have the start from a stopped position, losing a few places in the race. I'm sorry, but if you drive your car into a pit of molten lava, you're not getting back out again.

Endless Legend won’t be for everyone, of course. This is very much a hexagonal conquest game that comes complete with methodic, turn-based play. While I found multiplayer way too slow and dependent on others, the single player was my jam. The best way I enjoyed this game was to fire it up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, and prepare for a few hours to vanish.

Hitman 2 is another contract in the same mold as the last, but like that bomb I placed into one of the target’s prized cars, it still knows how to be surprising when it counts.

If there’s one game you should play this year, it’s Death Stranding. It’s a system seller, and I love it.

Really, though, there’s nothing wrong with the game itself, and it will appeal greatly to the legions of longtime fans. The franchise has always been difficult, and dying a lot has always been a part of getting through the games. Yet ultimately, Mega Man 9 is so difficult that it gives newcomers very little reason to pick it up.

Maybe I just need something more extreme to get excited about, but as it stands, it's a solid title that is worth picking up... if you don't have it already in some form. Unfortunately, it just reminds me that the word “extreme” has, sadly, lost any and all meaning to me.

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.

The operative words here are "Heavy Metal". Not all that black metal with all that panda make-up, or that judd-judd hardcore or that god-awful crap with turntables either - this is the good stuff.

Plenty of side quests.

Castle Crashers really is the great co-op experience that you were hoping it would be, but because it's just so consistently fun to play and look at, it holds up as a single-player experience as well.

The only way to ensure that players don’t forego buying PES 2019 in favor of FIFA 19 is to hope that they stick with the controls long enough for them to appreciate the deeper mechanics that make PES 2019 so good.

There is a lot to like about Vectronom even if it never reaches any incredible highs. It’s just a well-designed rhythm game with a lot of heart put into it.

The standout is Pitch Black mode where only one player is our pal Riddick (who can see in the dark thanks to either surgery or magic depending on which movie you watch) and everyone else hunting him has a flashlight and a gun.

Mortal Kombat 11’s toned down yet more tactical play gives it its own style that also remains true to the heart of the series. Although the franchise has been all about ripping out beating hearts, MK11 thankfully knew to leave that heart intact.

Feel free to take Lara out for the weekend, but don’t go looking for a long-term relationship.

This year they tried to futz with the gameplay, but the changes are so minute that most veterans will seamlessly transition from last year's game to this one. Whether or not it's worth the green fees depends a great deal on your love of the game, but chances are you've already aced this course.

Given a little patience, however, X-Men Legends will reward you with a good storyline and fun gameplay.

Many strategy fans will appreciate the depth and Fallout groupies will love the continuity, but some things like control in CTB mode or the pace in the classic style may drop bombs in the wrong places.

It's always just race after race after race with same amount of cash and the same prizes without any incentive outside of buying a new car or tuning the existing one. Frankly, it gets dull.