Cute but ultimately forgettable, Animal Gods is a slow, short ride that some will enjoy, but it's not much more than a pleasing time-killer that's over before you know it.

Overall, the core of a highly successful soccer game is in FIFA 16 but there's a niggling sense of "been there, done that," alongside a healthy dollop of "coulda shoulda woulda" that gets in the way. It's just a bit too safe and predictable. FIFA is still the Cup winner, but PES 2016 has made this annual Friendly a more heated affair.

The game is gorgeous, authentic, highly detailed, and rife with potential to grow into something much bigger.

It seems like the developers of RIDE have a passion for motorcycle culture, as evidenced by the narrator's enthusiastic burblings and plenty of descriptive loading screen text, but they lack either the necessary budget or the level of technical know-how to bring that passion into the final product. The mediocre graphics could easily be forgiven if the rest was up to snuff, but the absurd loading times, glitches and lack of polish and speed kill it at the starting line.

As I end this review, I'm reminded of a phrase attributed to Oscar Wilde: "The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy." That sentence perfectly describes Prison Architect—as it is with many sims like it, it's growth for the sake of growth, and when I was done with the game and had my prison and had every little detail perfectly in place, I let it burn to the ground again.

Unfortunately for those sticking to the main route, Rise is a repeat of the 2013 title with less character development and several years' worth of mounting standards.

Assault Android Cactus is good, but it used to be great.

In its base form, Chariot is cute but frustrating—a great idea with a lot of flaws.

If the harmonization sequences appeared on their own, Laserlife might seem too thin, but I'd be willing to replay it. As it is, Laserlife is a game I'll be fine with forgetting.

On a system without a lot of high-profile support lately, Runbow shines as an exclusive that plays to the Wii U's strengths and reflects the Nintendo ideals of a couch full of friends, laughing and playing together.

Norn9 offers pretty visuals, a nice cast of characters and some interesting dynamics, but little more. The romance content should be its main draw, but it suffers thanks to the quantity-over-quality attitude, and the overarching plot is somewhat tepid. On the other hand, the bite-sized routes provide an ideal introduction for newcomers to the genre, and more experienced otome players will enjoy the replayability. It's not the best in its genre, but still worth checking out.

Because of my love for otome, I wish I could wholeheartedly recommend Amnesia: Memories to fellow romance fans, but I can't do so without mentioning the many issues it has. Players who dig the brand of "I'm going to be a jerk to you even though I like you" boy that Amnesia: Memories prominently features, get ready to swoon. Those looking for a little kindness and a more compelling overall package, however, will likely come away disappointed.

We don't live in a sports game world where "definitely playable" is a testimonial. Gamers expect authentic sports experiences from head to toe, and a flawed-but-functional title just can't compete for their hard-earned cash when 2K's bulletproof NBA title will set them back the same sixty bucks.

Broforce is a conceptual triumph that could be successfully sold as a jokey bit of nostalgia, but what's truly amazing is how well it works on a moment-to-moment basis.

Quibbles aside, Undertale offers a great story with excellent dialogue, a truly fantastic soundtrack and tons of unique, clever, and occasionally demented twists on RPG genre tropes that aren't just window dressing or subtle winking nudges to the player. It's not a perfect game, but it is a great one.

343 Industries made a terrific impression with their first dip into the franchise, but with a lackluster campaign and multiplayer that still needs tuning, Halo 5: Guardians makes them look like one-hit wonders.

While SOMA never hits the highs of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, it's still largely decent in its own right. Some confused environment design and lackluster monster scenarios work against it, but as an atmospheric jaunt under the sea with a reasonable storyline behind it... well, it works pretty well. Faint praise perhaps, but praise nonetheless.

Blood Bowl 2 captures everything that makes the board game great and makes it available to those not willing to shell out a hundred dollars on miniatures. The passion the developers have for their game is clear to see, and the result proves that their love was not misplaced—it's easy to see that Blood Bowl 2 is one of the greatest board game translations ever.

In a year when games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt have redefined what open-world RPGs are capable of, I suspect that a lot of Fallout fans will be forced to question whether the usual Bethesda shtick of providing vast amounts of unpolished content with no emotional investment is still enough. I had a pretty good time, but despite its many strong points, Fallout 4 feels like one of Bethesda's minor works.

If the online multiplayer had modern social features and an engaging story worthy of the IP, Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown would be as essential as other recent entries in the series. Unfortunately, the fundamental issues leave it hard to recommend. In lieu, I'd suggest replaying Shadowrun Returns and Dragonfall instead.

The game isn't deep or diverse enough to justify the 20-plus hours players can expect to invest before reaching the end. A tighter, narrower scope would have elevated Rebel Galaxy beyond being the sort of mild distraction derived from marathoning a TV show.

As I put in more time, the game kept opening up and more of my own light bulbs lit with the realization of potential.

Despite the fact that the game is only two or three hours long (depending on how lost a player gets) I found it to be absolutely unbearable. I became so bored with the lack of interesting things to see and do that I literally put a rubber band on my controller's left stick to keep her moving for long stretches of time, which gives an idea of how interactive Beyond Eyes is. I badly wanted to quit after the first thirty minutes, but I was determined to see where the story was going. Naturally, the ending was a total non-event and not worth the time and aggravation.

As a philosophical rumination on the ownership of art, The Beginner's Guide is what Boswell might call an "ingenious sophistry", but not a compelling argument. As an exploration of an obsessive relationship that failed painfully, it's a sneakily effective success. Is the latter so bound up in the former that it loses impact? I thought not, but that's just me.

For a two- or three-hour game with an asking price of $7, Leo's Fortune might seem a bit overpriced, but throughout the journey I found myself enjoying the controls, the well-placed puzzles, and yes, even the nostalgic gaming environments.

Anyone looking for a better example of TenNapel's creative spark should seek out a copy of The Neverhood—it hasn't aged perfectly, but it's far more entertaining than this failed follow-up.

Tales is far and away the most entertaining game I've played from Telltale yet.... And given the way the final episode ends, I'm very much looking forward to the sure-to-come second season.

The combat is brainlessly entertaining, but this sort of content only occupies someone for so long, and with no other improvements or expansions to the core play, I can't in good conscience praise this game. That said, I did find it interesting enough to want to find out more about the IP, and I strongly suspect those who are already fans will happily climb aboard this particular pirate ship.