The video game equivalent of a bag of M&M's: candy coating on the outside, mindless hack'n slash on the inside, and not a lot in between. That was fine the first time, but we expect a little more nutrition out of our sequels.

An impressive, invigorating romp and a seemingly unfinished, unpolished rush job. At its core, this is a surprisingly limited game. However, it's still loads of fun if you look past its shortcomings.

Eternal Sonata isn’t a deep RPG by any means. There are few customizable options and very little in the way of exploration or even choice, but it is elegant and pretty.

The universe feels fully fleshed out and not just slapped together for a game. You understand the houses, the units, the motivations, and the raison d' etre. And of course, harvesting finally feels right.

If you foolishly cut your regular Xbox from your living room lineup, this game will do; it’s better than Madden, anyway. But this is still the least impressive NCAA Football game to date, and a rare fumble from EA’s dominant team.

The price point is perfect for what it is, which is another fun entry in a classic franchise, but if Capcom truly wants to bring this back to the forefront, they've got to do something new.

The Evil Within definitely brought back my nostalgia for old-school survival horror games: creepy mansions, terrifying monsters, puzzles, and eerie level design.

A solid game that, on all platforms, performs admirably, draws you into the story, takes itself (and you) seriously, and does the genre proud. It's too thin around the waist to really tangle with the big boys.

Why keep buying Genesis collections?

The developers took a bit of a short cut by relying on invisible walls to guide you through each level.

But if you've never played Worms before, or absolutely need a PC version, now's as good a time as any to jump into the slimy, slithery, British-y chaos. 15 years in, and this war's just getting started.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is still a polished RPG that die-hard fans of the animated series will love. However, while its combat system has been greatly improved, its failure to provide the same belly laughs as The Stick of Truth, the lack of variety in its locations and its mundane puzzle-solving make for a disappointing follow-up.

So much unadulterated fun.

Unfortunately, the package ends up feeling a bit bare. The story is window dressing, and the gameplay is lacking in variety. The lack of multiplayer also feels like a missed opportunity. Without it, there’s not much replayability other than an online leaderboard.

What the game does, and the sheer amount of what it does, is done with solid mechanics and considerable style. Also, the ability to review previous game/story progress (to keep track of what’s gone on before) is handled well.

Cities: Skylines may have been a dark horse at first, but with After Dark it's now a formidable thoroughbred.

A hard, somewhat lengthy tactical RPG that gets the job done. However, it’s an older game being published by Mastiff as though it were new. And even more importantly, "Disgaea" came out last year and is more polished than La Pucelle.

The co-op is absolutely broken and made me want to just quit playing. I sincerely hope that Nintendo patches those issues because anyone who wants this game for its multiplayer is going to be incredibly disappointed.

Streamlines and updates the franchise at the cost of some stiff features and aging presentation.

All told, Jotun is a wonderful experience with just a few sour notes. My only regret about it is that it feels short.

If you've got a fondness for Hasbro's brand, High Moon Studios does not disappoint. If you played with a Transformer as a child and haven't revisited your inner 8-year-old in a few years, Fall of Cybertron will more than suffice. The latest title in the franchise won't disappoint and will provide plenty of childish, stupid fun, but it's not about to set the robotic world on fire.

While the control limitations and simple combos will have you weary of the single-player modes in a couple days, the never-ending blood and neat three stance system will make kicking your friends' asses all the more enjoyable.

WipEout is just as visually impressive and, more importantly, every bit as fun as it's ever been in 2048. It's not without a few small problems, but it provides an exciting experience for racing fans, be they series newcomers or longtime WipEout followers. As of Vita's release time and much of the foreseeable future, this 17-year-old franchise will lay claim to the title of the system's overall best racing game.

While its simulation dreams don’t match competing games, it offers enough of a varied experience to be considered a good, solid combo of the two sports game styles.

Sure, it's got plenty of new items and toys, but unless the majority of your Sims have an interest in a show biz career, this star-studded expansion is somewhat hollow and does little to bring the rosiness back into this old game's cheeks.

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin targets two audiences: newcomers and veterans. In both cases it succeeds.

What Prey lacks in originality it makes up for with meaningful follow-through. It’s drawn so many comparisons to System Shock, Bioshock, Alien: Isolation, and the list goes on and on and on. But, rather than simply aping the superficial elements of its influences, Prey gets down to the core of what made them great and adds its own imaginative flare for good measure. While I may not remember its convoluted and potentially meaningless story, and can’t forget soon enough its incredibly long load times on the PS4, I will always remember Prey’s intricate level design, layered combat and the joy I got from exploring Talos I. Hopefully the day comes when I can say the same about Talos II.

NBA Live 06 is fine, decent, entirely competent, but who wants that again? We want bite, and even though this game has Marv Albert, it barely manages to break last year's skin.