J-Stars Victory VS+ doesn't look all that hot, offers inconsistent controls and camera, and features wildly unbalanced characters. While it was admittedly awesome to see Vegeta from Dragon Ball power up in a manner 100% authentic to how he is on screen, there's just nothing here for those who aren't already sold on the characters and franchises.

Splatoon is Nintendo's best game in years.

I'm sure once EA gets a better grip on this engine and produces stellar next-gen golf, we'll look back at Rory McIlroy PGA Tour with a furrowed brow. Until then, it's the best golf sim for current-gen consoles, and it offers fans and newcomers alike a heck of a good time, warts and all.

Those hoping to see the franchise return to its legendary roots, or those (like me) who are just sick of the Final Fantasy XIII universe are likely to come away less impressed. It's nice that we've finally gotten the opportunity to play this game, but I'm not convinced it was worth the wait.

Not A Hero may not star a hero, but it is a heroic effort to freshen up the 2D shooter scene. It's not easy to stand out in the vast crowd of pixel-art indie productions these days, but Roll7 pulls it off, and such craft is enough for Bunnylord to get my vote.

Lost Orbit can't make up its mind about what it wants to be, and the result is neither a touching tale of survival nor technically-compelling arcade-style action. It's not a bad piece of work and would certainly shine with better integration of its elements, but design confusion is its most notable characteristic, and that's not a good place for a game to be.

There are many potentially-interesting stories to be told about regular people whose lives are briefly interrupted when they brush up against things beyond their understanding. Epanalepsisis is not one of them.

It's hard to fault the developers for not including a split-screen multiplayer mode, but that might have sent Disco Dodgeball over the edge of recommendation for me. While the fast-paced action of all-out dodgeball combat is consistently enjoyable, it would be even better with friends in the room.

As a whole, Shiftlings is a good concept that falls down in the execution thanks to a lack of a clear identity, potty humor and poor physics. Although I had some good moments with it during the course of play, it feels a bit too mixed to recommend.

Complaints aside, the uniqueness of the concept makes the game more than worth checking out.

Fans of the blockbuster might enjoy the set dressing applied to this pinball table, but those looking for a solid pinball board underneath the veneer might be left wanting.

Bunker could have been a decent adventure title had the devs shown some follow-through, but the diminishing lack of effort kills the game's potential long before it ends.

On second glance, it's an amazing sniping experience available at a budget price. This is a game that shooter fans who are willing to push their skills and patience to the limit absolutely shouldn't miss.

As interesting as the moral choices might be, The Awakened Fate Ultimatum is too many dungeons, too few combat options, and too many of the same themes Nippon Ichi has dealt with before.

Westerado: Double Barreled is a satisfying and well-rounded title that will be a surprising gem to anyone who enjoys a good Western-themed romp.

LA Cops is a gorgeous piece of art design which, by all rights, should have served as the foundation for a classic indie shooter. The utter failure of its gameplay to deliver on that potential frustrates to no end. This is clearly a game with a lot of talent behind it, but I have no idea how they botched things so badly.

The Portal add-on to Zen Pinball 2 is another excellent addition to the already-strong lineup of tables available, and having played most of the selections on offer, I'd say this one ranks right near the top. For anyone who loves Portal, pinball, or both, this is an absolute no-brainer.

An incredible game which deserves respect from anyone with even a passing interest in FPSs.

Fat Chicken doesn't really succeed either as a reverse tower-defense game or as a political statement. By clinging too tightly to a standard in-level economy that doesn't play well with its twist on the genre, Fat Chicken ends up with play that's overly constrained.

Although several of its elements still need some work, I like what Project Root is trying to do overall, and I appreciated the effort to blend non-traditional elements into the shmup genre. There's a lot of potential for the free-roaming shooting, leveling-up, and dual-layer combat, but none of it is quite there yet.

Overall, Project CARS is... fine. I suspect it'd be superb to anyone who's never delved into a serious racing sim before, but it brings too little new to the table for someone like me who's already gotten a bit bored with the big-name offerings in this genre. I love to see indies challenge AAA publishers like this, but it's a lost cause if I'd rather stick with the AAA games anyway.

Despite the fact that (potentially) dying and restarting feels like a design misstep, Lifeline was still a worthwhile experience, and one that I would recommend to people looking for something new and fresh for their mobile device. If nothing else, I appreciated the unusual approach, and well-written text is always a welcome thing in my world.

It's not broken, and at times it threatens to be interesting to more than the already-converted, but it's utterly lacking in the heart and spark that helped other Compile Heart titles lineup transcend their inauspicious beginnings.

Whether to avenge my wounded pride or prove that, yes, I can climb that ledge, Sayonara UmiharaKawase+ has its hook in me, pun very much intended.

I appreciate the developers' commitment to a gag, and as a piece of conceptual comedy Goat Simulator has few competitors in the world of video games. Still, when there's not a huge difference between playing the game and watching compilation clips of it online, potential buyers must ask themselves whether it's really worth ten dollars for the opportunity to feel buyer's remorse soon after.

Homeworld Remastered Collection is a huge proposition, an indelible package, and it deserves to remain a towering monolith in the RTS game canon as long as possible... And now, I think that maybe it's not so bad feeling tiny.

With another year in dev and refinement of story, gameplay, and technical aspects, Toren might blossom into something special. As it stands, it's a work-in-progress sent to market too soon.

Tom Happ took great care when taking the Metroid formula and expanding on everything that makes it great, and it shows. Although I spent a bit too much time wandering around and I could have done without the eleventh-hour difficulty spike, Axiom Verge is an excellent Sci-Fi adventure that I'd recommend to anyone.