While the threat of so much death in such a short period of time might throw fans of Knight's sunshine for a loop, Rubble Without A Cause felt different and fresh, and I'm glad that The Odd Gentlemen didn't just do a repeat of the previous installment. Good work, Gentlemen... You've got me hooked.

White Night is meant to be a slow-burn investigative horror story, but I grew impatient with how incompetent its mechanics are and how they combine to make the experience as irritating as possible. I'm a fan of old-school horror, but one-hit kill enemies, mazelike, hard-to-parse level design, obtuse camera angles and a punishing save system override any nostalgia I might have. I admire that it's trying to pull off a bit of an homage here, but with every good element canceled out by a misstep, I'll stick with the original stuff.

Aside from that irritating final segment there's nothing significant to complain about in Planet of the Eyes, but neither is there anything to praise. It has solid action, and it looks and sounds fine. What it lacks is a hook, something for the mind or eye, or even just the reflexes to work over. Without that, Planet of the Eyes is just a competent thing that passes quickly and leaves no impression.

While they're certainly a strange pair, I'm glad Zen combined these two tables into a single five-dollar package. While I quite probably would have paid three dollars for CastleStorm, I doubt I ever would have taken a chance on a complete unknown for the same price. Maybe their plan was to convince people to throw a little extra money at a dud by attaching it to something with brand recognition, but in the end, the unknown was the real gem.

If you can put up with the ever-present grind and can see through the frustrating moments then you’ll have a good time playing through Punch Club’s celebration of 90s action, if not then you may find yourself looking for a new keyboard, or worse, a monitor as a result of working through game related anger issues.

My thanks go out to whoever at Sony was responsible for choosing King's Quest: A Knight To Remember as a free Plus title. It's an outstanding piece of work that surprised me not only for being a wonderful experience in a genre that I usually avoid, but also by coming from a studio whose past work gave no clue that they were capable of such. My hat is off to the The Odd Gentlemen, red feather and all.

Despite thoroughly grasping of the rules of Tharsis and even being able to offer advice on how to be more successful to others, my winning runs were due entirely to luck. Sheer chance might be a solid basis for gambling or having a good time with friends, but when it comes to single player games, I should have a bit more say in whether my crew survives or not.

It's so good, in fact, that I'm still eager for more. It's a good thing that the next expansion, Blood and Wine, is coming soon...

This is the friendliest, most approachable tactics game I've seen in a while, and it's a credit to the 3DS.

Although I liked the minimalist aesthetics and I'm open to interesting little projects like this, Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition didn't feel like it had much of a point. I'm sure that something about this content is very significant to its creator, but the problem is that it wasn't very significant to me.

It's hard to beat blasting aliens on a commute, but its long-term prospects demand a tolerance for repetition that the game's charming awkwardness might not overcome.

Albert and Otto certainly has a few issues, but it's still well-made and endearing. In fact, it's good enough to get me excited at the prospect of another installment which is sure to come—I just hope they tighten up the controls and straighten out its tone before it arrives.

While the developers could have made a by-the-numbers vampire story, they've done something far more interesting, turning it on its head to creating one of the most delightfully absurd narratives I've seen in ages.

Yakuza 5 is more Yakuza. Way more, and while the content isn't always the best of the series, it's still damned good for the most part. While every decent moment of pulse-pounding drama may be matched by a dose of piffle where characters stare into the distance and talk about following their dreams, there's no denying that Yakuza still brings the heat. Even after spending seventy hours on this, I'm still definitely up for more.

The Rivers of Alice is a vehicle to display the talents of its artists and musicians. The adventure is short and simple, and if not for the loading, slow movement and obscure puzzles, it could probably be finished in under an hour. Of course, game length does not equate to game quality, but with its other flaws taken into account, it's hard to recommend Alice to anybody who isn't already deeply invested in small indies.

I wish I enjoyed A Fistful of Gun more than I do. There's a lot about its visuals and arcade-style presentation to like, but it never stops feeling disappointingly shallow and overly-chaotic. Exciting and charming in small doses, it's just a relentless slog through hails of gunfire during extended play. Fans of the Western genre might get into it, but I'm riding to another saloon.

With its perfectly-realized art style and a wide variety of puzzles that never break its themes, The Bridge takes its inspiration and runs an impressive distance with it. The developer has produced a charming, inventive, and only occasionally aggravating puzzle experience that I hope Escher would feel honored by.

Cross of the Dutchman feels lightweight and disposable. The action is basic, the world is tiny, and the story doesn't cover the most interesting bits of the hero’s history. Unlike its giant titular character, Cross of the Dutchman is a thin slip of a game that passes by too quickly to make much of an impression.

Because its worlds are so expansive and fascinating, and because moving across them is such a pleasure, Corpse of Discovery might have been an all-time great had it been a straight exploration game. Instead, it grapples artlessly with a theme that has been done to death.

Dishonored was an incredible accomplishment—a game that offered stylish murder and great storytelling in equal measure. It accomplished everything that it set out to do and made it look easy, while games all around it failed to impress. Three years later, nothing in its genre has come close.

While it's a solid action title, DmC doesn't measure up to the queen of the genre, Bayonetta. Ninja Theory's combat and graphic design illustrate their talent, but the weaker environmental exploration and narrative make the game an uneven package. Fans of the action genre may find a lot to love, but for most, this is a title better left in Limbo.

For newer players who'll likely have an experience similar to mine, Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires is not a place I'd recommend they start.

While I ended up being surprised at how much I liked Need for Speed when it wasn't trying to strangle the very joy out of life itself, it's a game that's obviously flawed -- the cheating AI, the always-online requirement, the glitches -- but it's still a damn good looking racer that gives a real buzz when it's working as intended. Whether people will be willing to put up with the bad in order to enjoy the good... Well, that's debatable.

Just Cause 3 may offer a metric ton of content, a ridiculously huge world to roam, and some unbelievable aerial acrobatics, but none of those things are enough to save the day because the writing is phoned in and the game's core is too rooted in the last generation. Apart from the traversal, everything here has been covered time and time and time again, and it absolutely wheezes without anything more interesting to sustain a player over the long haul.

Difficulties with the interface aside, Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition is an intriguing, challenging, relentlessly charming game that serves as a refreshing break from bleaker RPGs that have dominated the rest of the year. It absolutely shouldn't be overlooked by RPG fans who never played it on PC. For those who have played the original, enough has changed in the story and progression that the remastered edition is well worth a second purchase to play locally with friends.

Although I enjoyed Ether One, the game is based entirely on exploration, and unraveling the story is key to its appreciation. Players who don't have the patience for this sort of slow-burn adventure might find that things are fairly incomprehensible if they don't take the time to do some of the non-essential puzzles. However, those who find the idea of a casual stroll through someone's mind would do well to check this one out.

Rememoried is a deeply flawed and inaccessible title and I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone. Its central conceit isn't a striking idea, and it mostly results in frustration. The lack of a plot means the game doesn't have any draw to pull the player forward. Yet even when it's at its worst, Rememoried has an interesting atmosphere that can be rewarding. There's something valuable here, but Rememoried gets in its own way no matter where you look.

It's a testament to how expertly-crafted this DLC is that I can replay the base game in preparation, still get my ass kicked to an embarrassing degree, and ultimately walk away feeling satisfied and as capable as ever. The Old Hunters is definitely more "hardcore" than anything From Software has cooked up in recent memory, but those who want this know who they are, and for that select group, The Old Hunters is everything they signed up for and more.