I certainly understand that it's unrealistic to expect a developer to fill an entire "universe" with stunningly unique content, but while DarkStar One's heart might be in the right place, it needs a top-down overhaul before I can recommend that anyone climb aboard for the journey.

I met King’s Bounty 2 more than halfway by fighting every monster, completing every quest and searching out every bit of treasure, but at the end of the day, I was left broken, bankrupt, and frustratingly unable to roll credits on a title that was almost great.

Out of all of the nearly-forgotten games to bring forward into the 2020s, I’m not sure why Limited Run chose Gex — it’s such an absurdist concept that I have to laugh at it now, but while playing Gex in the moment, I despised it.

The ending is too abrupt and I would have loved to spend more time with the cast, but I’d much rather a game leave me wanting more instead of dragging on and wearing me out hours before credits roll. The World Next Door is a compact little gem that introduces a style and concepts I’d love to see more of. This feels like just the start of something bigger, and I hope the developers get the chance to keep building on their world.

I appreciated that Penny-Punching Princess brought some new spins to the action-RPG genre and using money as a tool to fight is a fairly novel idea that could be explored more. The calculator is also a thematically brilliant idea in a game about capitalism and debt. However, the combat mechanics are problematic and play falls prey to unnecessary frustration and repetition.

It's almost as though the developers focused everything they had on the art style and equippable items, but forgot to make sure the rest of the game worked as well. A tedious slog, this sort of project is a risky one to undertake since the potential for boredom to kill the experience is so high.

Sadly, I couldn't get past the use of the stylus on what is supposed to be the main event.

Despite the warts and jankiness in Metal Wolf Chaos HD, allowances have to be made for its age, but as a lifelong FROM fan, I’m thrilled to finally play this painfully conspicuous gap in their Western releases. Mech-heads will find it a rough novelty and Souls fans will get a shock to their systems, but for a certain segment of players, Metal Wolf Chaos HD is a great snapshot of where FROM Software was fifteen years ago.

I want to love Battle Princess Madeyln. NPCs exude personality, the dialogue is always clever, and I admire Madelyn’s pluck, self-confidence, and determination. She is forthright, strong, and always willing to lend a hand — she’s a tremendous hero, and I’d love to see more stories about her in the future. But in her current incarnation? I’m just not patient enough to ignore the flaws despite all the good she’s trying to do.

Stale references aside, 60 Seconds! is incredibly entertaining in short bursts, and an easy recommendation to those looking for short, cheerful bursts of desperate apocalyptic survival.

It's tough to recommend Sacred Citadel when there are so many superior side scrolling fighters already on the market.

Despite the roughness and ever-present loadtimes, I can honestly say that The Con took me by surprise by being more interesting and engaging than I would have expected.

After all was said and done, The Suicide of Rachel Foster remains an intriguing story exploration game with great suspense, and I felt that the conclusion justified the journey. However, despite being captivating at times, I did wish the truth revealed would’ve conveyed more of a message and less of a story.

While flawed in places, it's certainly a welcome time.

Although it acts as a wonderful selling point for anyone considering developing an FPS for the Wii, Red Steel is too much of an unsatisfying tease to succeed as much else.

After meeting Ulysses and bringing Lonesome Road to a close, I had nothing but admiration for the mysterious, exciting, brutal and beautiful trek I took through the ravaged remnants of the Divide. I greatly appreciated the change of pace and shift in tone away from the core content, and the events which transpired were a great way to cap off a massive, top-tier RPG like New Vegas.

A mildly diverting shooting gallery, a mediocre FPS, and a slap in the face to those of us who have been waiting for seven years for a decent western-themed shooter.

Lost in Harmony is a short experience, but the fabulous soundtrack and the story of Kaito and Aya are enough to make it a worthwhile one.

While the opening acts are engaging, they're undermined by the newest chapter's bumbling writing and nonsensical changes. With luck, the fifth and final episode will knock it out of the park and justify episode four's existence.

Until chapter two arrives to change my mind, I'm going to have to call Missing an interesting failed experiment in reviving the FMV genre.

Secret of Mana isn’t an improvement in any way, and as such it fails the number one requirement of a remake – there’s no reason to recommend it over the original. Square Enix’s attempts to modernize this classic only make it feel older and less relevant, and the resulting mess is something I can’t see appealing to anyone. Returning fans will wish they were playing the original, and newcomers will likely wonder why Secret of Mana was ever such a big deal to begin with.

Nearly all progress in game design over the last fifteen years has been ignored, and it shows.

With its limited customization, uniform enemy AI, and ineffectual weapons, Cargo Commander tightly constrains the player's tactical and strategic options, no matter the mode. The game may be set in deep space, but Cargo Commander's gameplay feels like it's trapped in a box.

I enjoyed Lords of Shadow 2 far, far more than I ever expected to, and have no hesitation recommending it to anyone looking for dynamic third-person action, environmental exploration, or an intriguing new spin on the Castlevania mythos.

A lot like the middle-class, suburban kid in high school that tries to make everyone think he's cool by wearing nothing but black and listening to Metallica. It's all an act; a dark pretense put up to hide a depressingly normal game that doesn't really know what it wants to be.

Rather from the bold, unique effort I hoped it would be, it's a weak, contrived bore that never gets off the ground. A four alarm blaze? More like a soggy day-old campfire.

A breath of fresh air for me, breaking away from genre conventions and striking out in interesting directions.

Arizona Sunshine is a game that allows players to chill out and blast zombies to pieces in the comfort of their own homes, living out their dreams of slipping into a world where they can use an epic arsenal of weapons to completely eradicate a shambling threat. That may not be the highest bar to clear, but Vertigo Games accomplishes it with style.