While everything in Tiny Metal feels mechanically great, I found myself having a hard time coming back after each play session. My biggest issue is that the story just isn’t a factor, and the colorful-looking characters feel flat and uninspired. Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble is an exercise in tactics and I can appreciate the mechanics, but those things just weren’t enough to get me hooked on this conflict.

The audacious premise is incredibly fun all the way through, and right up until just before the last few missions the gameplay more than holds up its end. It's too bad the game gets so frustratingly difficult right at the end.

Teacup was definitely a nice surprise — it’s a peaceful and relaxing experience enriched by fantastic audio and visuals. I suspect it will please both younger audiences and slightly older ones, as just about anyone these days could probably use a few hours of respite from the ugliness of the modern world.

This is a game whose execution outweighs its ambition with consummate ease, until it becomes a benchmark of sorts for a generation of underwhelming third-person shooters. Wringing the very best out of its simple and solid core mechanics, Rogue Trooper is more accomplished and enjoyable than anyone had a right to expect.

Excepting its peach-perfect fit on the young platform, Mercury is hardly mind-blowing—how many puzzle games are?—and can't match Lumines for sensation and impact. This is simply a very good puzzle game conceit that's been unassailably well implemented into a sensibly balanced and handsome title.

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.

Although it's too bad that Gladiator Begins landed with nary a whisper, it's clear to see that the title would never have found a large audience to begin with-it's aimed at a certain hardcore niche, and for those outside of that niche, there will be little here of interest. However, for players who love to take a zeroed-out character and build them up into an overwhelmingly powerful force via grinding, creative equipping and numeric management, this combination of swords, sandals, and statistics is an experience not to be missed.

My advice -- hold on to your $30 until Nintendo releases the inevitable sequels to Super Mario Advance featuring games far worthier of another look.

Bridge Constructor Portal is a great way to introduce a newcomer like me to this surprisingly popular genre. It uses the borrowed IP well, and while not every joke hits, the fact that the dev was able to shoehorn that Portal flavor into a completely new genre is commendable. This is probably isn’t the product that Valve fans were wishing for, but let’s stop berating them and enjoy what we’ve received — turning up one’s nose at a surprise gift like this would be silly.

Industria‘s best aspects are its solid combat and beautiful architecture. While this might not be enough for other titles, these things do carry its 4-5 hour runtime, and by not overstaying its welcome it remains engaging enough until the end.

If we assume that videogames are partly about realizing control-fantasies, Nintendogs is about the absolute opposite. Coping with the stubborn and playfully anarchic mindset of a puppy can teach gamers an important lesson: learn to let go.

Despite my complaints, this first installment of Hitman shows that IO seems committed to bringing the series back to the sort of rich, complex gameplay it's known for.

No Sleep has its faults, but I can’t say that I was disappointed revisiting the series, even if trying something new didn’t end up working in its favor. Thankfully, the runtime is half the length of the other two, so it’s not as much of a commitment and the missteps are slightly more excusable as there’s less of them than there would be otherwise. Ultimately though, I would only recommend playing No Sleep if series fans have already been through the other two and are desperate for a fix.

While I wish the combat was more responsive, Chronos: Before the Ashes more than makes up for it with an interesting setting, a marvelous age mechanic and puzzle content that lends it distinct flavor while keeping the entire experience firmly within the soulslike genre. I’m a huge fan of From’s work, but there’s a lot of room to grow the genre they created, and Gunfire Games has done exactly that here.

The game has the energy and vibe of a Roger Corman film, and like Corman's movies, Serious Sam: Next Encounter not only feels like it was created in just a few days on a very low budget, but it's also obvious from the puckish spirit of the final product that the people who made the game had one hell of a time doing so.

As much as I loved the bulk of the game, by the end I was burning out, and burning out fast. Despite that, I'm glad that some studios are still willing to show an almost insane level of ambition in realizing the games they want to make without compromise, even if it does lead to a few dire moments here and there.

Dead Island is so close to greatness that it's frustrating. Sure, it's not exactly an original concept and the story is such a pointless, clichéd mess that I forgot to mention it in the review, but the core gameplay is so stunningly well-executed that I'm able to forgive most of its flaws.

Röki’s castle segment isn’t catastrophic, but it delivered far less in narrative impact and far more in adventure-game twitchiness than the forest, which was almost perfect. In the woods, Röki is a delight, blending whimsy and sorrow into a splendid modern adventure. In the castle, it is simply ordinary, and as a result of these two unbalanced halves, Röki never quite delivers on its early promise.

Carried along by high adventure, interesting sidequests, and a cast of characters I was glad to spend time with, Rise of the Argonauts was an entertaining ride that I would recommend to people interested in the subject matter, or to players who crave an action-RPG that's a little on the lighter side.

Although appearances may be deceiving, don't judge too soon—Critter Crunch is a high-quality addition to the PSN library, and a must for PS3 puzzle fans with an internet connection. Just be ready to grit your teeth a bit towards the end.

I love what it’s going for, how it looks and also enjoy how it plays — for the most part. On the other hand, I burn out on it incredibly quickly during each session. Even so, I’m genuinely glad it exists and wish there were more developers out there like Vanillaware who indulge themselves in creating passion projects like this one.

While I’m not familiar with the manga this game is based on and can’t speak to its fidelity as an adaptation, when taken on its own terms it’s a robust and satisfying arena brawler with almost too much story.

Despite a few rough edges and minor issues, Moonlighter’s satisfying combat and enjoyable shopkeeping made the 15-hour playtime fly by. I wasn’t ready to leave its charming world, so I immediately began planning my next playthrough with different gear and at a higher difficulty level. I don’t use the phrase delightful romp very often, but it fits Moonlighter to a T.

If the devs had simply dropped the skill points and let players freely explore at their own pace, it would have been a better experience. It’s still a good one, though, and a required play for anyone with even the slightest interest in the mythos that inspired it. Ratin

As a nine-year-long passion project of its developers, Granblue Fantasy: Relink oozes promise and style boosted by addictive action gameplay, a large cast and engaging mechanics. However, without more to offer endgame players and perhaps a bit of buffing in the narrative side, it’s likely to fizzle out and be eclipsed by larger titles. I can only hope the developer shows the same labor of love in supporting it, as they have in crafting it.

Given the sheer depth of the title, this Madden NFL 21 review could theoretically go on for another 1,000 words but there’s a good chance most readers already know whether or not they plan to invest in another season of tried and true NFL gameplay. Make no mistake, Madden NFL 21 is the best rendition of football this generation, and is A solid experience for anyone who takes the plunge — it just comes down to whether or not the new features warrant another purchase for regular fans.

It would be easy to write Harold off as a mobile game out of its depth, and I'd be lying if I said the basic concept of the game doesn't scream out for touch controls—it would certainly be the most intuitive way to play. That issue aside, Harold's charming visuals and comical tone may come across as deceptively simplistic, but it offers depth and challenge to those who make it past the slow pace of the first few levels.

I enjoyed tossing tanks into the ocean with telekinesis and leveling city blocks with my destructo-ray, but there's nothing here to win over people who didn't appreciate this formula the first time.