While minor bugs, inconsistencies, and a lackluster story restrain Watch Dogs, its impressive environments, fluid interconnected mechanics and welcome multiplayer components set the bar for future open-world experiences, and help it to stand as a sign of things to come.

Dated graphics and a hopeless multiplayer section damage its overall appeal, but fans of the Tropico series and its competitors won’t be disappointed by the newest offering.

Transistor is beautiful and engaging with a brilliant combat systems that encourages careful planning before and during battle. It’s just a shame the story holds it back from being a true classic. It’s a more flawed experience than Bastion was, but it’s also a more interesting one.

While shooting fascists in video games will likely always be fun, The New Order falters when it’s trying to decide how you should feel about it. Its options and ridiculously sized weapons provide a lot of enjoyment, but the story tries so hard to be serious that it forgets that this is a game that includes Moon Nazis.

Mario Kart is typically the best racer for most people. That’s no different with Mario Kart 8. Nintendo has combined its classic gameplay (finely tuned as ever) with beautiful visuals, and the result is something that I love playing — and so will most people.

Although a bit slower paced than its predecessors, In Harm’s Way is probably the most violent entry of the series to date. It introduces intriguing new characters and gives old ones (very brief) screen time. But it’s the progression of Clementine’s character that will keep you invested throughout the short runtime.

The Last Tinker: City of Colors is best shared with friends or family who enjoy a good story and pretty artwork. It’s not difficult, it’s not aggressive, and it’s not online, so it definitely belongs in the gentler category of family games like the Lego series.

It’s easy to recommend to anyone who’s enjoyed the series before. It’s very easy to recommend to a baseball fan who has a PlayStation 4 and never played The Show before. I just hope that next year’s edition wows me a bit more.

Daylight is a victim of its most-touted feature. When the random generated items and enemies work, every step carries a palpable sense of dread and unease. But the immersion’s lost when the player gets caught in an enemy spawning loop with too few flares is hard to get back. The story’s climax works better on paper, and bland visuals just make maze navigation aggravating.

I have issues with Mario Golf: World Tour, but they are completely unimportant when I’m playing the actual golfing parts. It feels great, it looks very nice, and it plays at a fast pace. And while the campaign packaging is a faint echo of Mario Golfs gone by, that didn’t stop me from loving the 20 hours I spent with this entry in the franchise.

If you ever enjoyed a Kirby game, you really should check this one out.

Hitman Go is a smart and well-designed puzzle game that proves being an assassin can be fun, even in a meticulous, turn-based way.

It’s good to see Nintendo flexing the strength of its back catalog. NES Remix was a nice start, and NES Remix 2 is an improvement. Plenty of people, including me, love this era of gaming, and this game does a good job of capitalizing on that.

Island-hopping in a fantasy world felt new to me, and this builds upon the already engaging strategy that exits in Warlock.

While you certainly won’t hate your experience, Moebius offers nothing remarkable. You can have better adventures elsewhere.

If you’re unsure if you’re ready for more Trials — but you loved the previous games — you’ll find plenty to love here. Just make sure to hold a conclave with your friends to agree on a platform.

After the ever-so-slightly lackluster Smoke and Mirrors, A Crooked Mile brings the series back up to its promising beginnings. The plot is increasingly dire and bleak, but it’s also one of the most sharply written games in recent memory.

Enough defining design elements of the Elder Scrolls single-player RPGs have been successfully grafted onto the traditional MMO template to make The Elder Scrolls Online feel like what an Elder Scrolls massively multiplayer online game ought to be.

Besides adding a wealth of content, Tecmo Koei hasn’t done much to bring this series into a new generation, and its difficulty and tedium might alienate anyone but the most hardcore fans. This is one classic that should have stayed where it belongs — in the past.

Dark Souls II is demonstrative of what all video game sequels should aspire toward. It takes the successful formula of the original, expands it with tons of new content, trims away clunky and confusing gameplay elements, and delivers an experience that is an improvement on all fronts. If this is the kind of trend we can expect from From Software, I truly can’t wait for Dark Souls III.

A phenomenal game, and a must-play for any PlayStation 4 owner. If you don’t own a PS4, it’s worth buying one just to play Second Son — that’s how good it is. If you’re looking for an open-world game with lots of side quests, a satisfying story told through groundbreaking animation, and an arsenal of one-of-a-kind superpowers, Infamous: Second Son has it all.

If you strip away the Rauser parts and the catchy soundtrack, Luftrausers would still stand on its own because of its excellent gameplay. But those features add so much depth and excitement that they actually pushed me to become a better player.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is a demo being sold as a bargain-priced game. While the Metal Gear franchise is renowned for having exceptional game teasers, the idea of selling one of them at this price is absurd. The unsatisfying, unlockable content is painfully obvious filler. Not enough moments of gameplay or narrative consequence happen in the main mission to justify a price above $10, let alone the $20-$30 range.

It’s easy to learn, easy to get into matches and play, and it’s fun. It’s led me to check out other digital card games — and I’m again surprised at how much I enjoy these.

It’s not as good as the original game. It’s merely solid, and it is also evidence that Nintendo should probably stop trying to recapture the 19-year-old magic.

For a multiplayer-only game, Titanfall should have some amazing options and ways to play. But it doesn’t. It has a very healthy number of maps (15), but the lack of interesting new modes will make you feel shortchanged for not getting a single-player campaign. Hell, even shooters like Halo 2 from two console generations ago offer more in the multiplayer-options department...But what is there is so incredible.

You’re going to get a lot of play out of TowerFall: Ascension, which is likely going to be the best version of this deep, clever, and wildly fun game. I loved what I got, and I wanted more. If you thought local multiplayer was dead, you might want to give Ascension a try.

Square Enix has been known to rerelease subpar versions of its Final Fantasy games — just look at the old PlayStation port of Final Fantasy VI. It’s clear that the publisher put plenty of care into this version, giving those of us in the New World the complete package for the first time and no doubt pleasing fans with TV-like episodes that run with the credits.

While Episode 1 had the unenviable task of reintroducing people to the world of The Walking Dead — Episode 2: A House Divided takes off running with numerous action sequences and tension-filled scenarios that will keep you guessing until the end.

Not only is it a great South Park game, but it’s a fantastic RPG in its own right. The plot has enough ridiculous twists to keep you engaged, and the battle system offers enough variety to keep encounters from growing stale and tiresome...This is one of the greatest licensed games ever made.

Inazuma Eleven took a sport I didn’t care for and managed to make it exciting. My 30-hour adventure did drag a bit with the constant, and ultimately useless, random battle system, but the strategic matches and compelling story made it hard to put down.

The patient build-up of plant defenses is almost entirely absent, and the zombies act just like competent human soldiers. Although Garden Warfare has some charm, most of it is borrowed from the original games.

An amazing conclusion to the beloved puzzle series. Its variety and clever storytelling make it the most interesting and well-executed installment of the franchise, and it’s nice to see that after six games, Level-5 can keep surprising players with intriguing, surprisingly moving plots and hundreds of clever puzzles.

MercurySteam has taken out most of the problem sections inside the original Lords of Shadow’s design document, specifically the loose patch work of several different action genre ideas, and has given Lords of Shadow 2 a much tighter focus.

Despite my disappointment with Thief’s setting and story, I did enjoy my time with it. Sneaking about, pickpocketing guards, picking locks, and finding new ways to infiltrate a building are as satisfying as ever, and the game looks and sounds great (despite some janky audio mixing).

Weapon Shop de Omasse is an infuriating, boring game. Only RPG enthusiasts who snigger at jokes about stereotypical Evil Lords, grinding against rats, and “Tutorial Caves” will care to play it — and even then, they would be wise to reconsider.

One Piece: Romance Dawn is easy to summarize: It just isn’t any fun.

The new game didn’t bring anything new, instead opting to jam Hiryu into a formulaic experience that looks good on a whiteboard...This is a competent platformer. But when it comes to Strider, I’m not looking for competent. I’m looking for crazy.

Tropical Freeze does little to justify the Wii U’s existence, but it’s still mostly a fun, challenging platformer. Fans of the series will certainly enjoy this difficult, beautiful romp through Donkey Kong’s islands, but the game will frustrate less-enthusiastic players.

This is the most satisfying battle system the series has had since Final Fantasy X, and it stands strong enough on its own to merit a recommendation for most players.

I had a lot of fun playing Strike Vector. It’s a good game held back by frustrating glitches and a lack of polish.

Smoke and Mirrors has plenty to like, but it doesn’t quite live up to its impressive prequel. I miss the first part’s abundance of action sequences, but the dialogue and storytelling are still among the best around. And I would still like to turn off those annoying notifications.

Solving a homicide can be a lot of fun when it’s alongside an idiot clairvoyant, Lolita gambler, and psychotic robo-teddy bear (“Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhu!”). Countering contradictions with metaphorical lead is an amusing attempt to giving a courtroom a more action-packed edge, and it’s a strong enough mechanic to survive some frivolously tacked-on gameplay extensions and hazy road bumps in the translation.

When it works, Loadout hooks you in with its deep weapon-crafting system and frantic battles where everyone is trying out their own crazy creations. And to its credit, Edge of Reality has shown incredible resilience in responding to the server problems so quickly. But Loadout isn’t worth playing until it solves them.

Octodad is a great example of a game that conveys a message through gameplay. In conjunction with its story, characters, and setting, the controls offer an empathetic look into the life of an extreme outsider trying to fit in and trying to do right by his family...I love that. Gaming is growing up, and Octodad is some of the best evidence of that.

Bravely Default is the best JRPG you could play on the 3DS. If I were Square Enix, I would give this same team a Final Fantasy-sized budget and let them make a proper, numbered entry in the series.

Insurgency is going to win fans for its gameplay. The action is highly competitive and focused. It brings me about as close to a real gunfight as I’ll likely ever want to get.

What good is a fully 3D world when you can’t touch or interact with hardly anything? What sense does it make that you can’t run away from an encounter in which you’re clearly outmatched (or even move once you’re in melee rage, for that matter)?...These glaring issues, combined with a general lack of polish, make for an experience that just doesn’t live up to my fond memories of Might & Magic.

It has a beautiful world populated by a colorful cast of characters and an alluring mystery that doesn’t unfold in the way you expect it to. This is Double Fine Productions at its finest, and it’s on track to finish strong with Act 2.

All That Remains is short, roughly two hours long. Yet Telltale Games has done a good job in setting up future episodes by asking tantalizing questions about its plot and cast.

Camouflaj better have a lot of new mechanics and twists planned if it hopes players will see this prison escape to its end.

While the newest Cut the Rope is one of the most creative and entertaining games you’ll download on the App Store this month, you may already be bored with Om Nom and the trouble you go through to give him sweets.

It’s not as varied or exciting as a Mario Kart title, but it’ll keep you busy and entertained — especially once you mute those sound effects.

As feel-good as Doki-Doki Universe is, there’s not much going on under the surface.

Mechanically, Peggle 2 is just as good as the previous Peggle titles, and once you get into a groove, it’s really hard to put down the controller.

Everything about Gran Turismo feels functional but a bit soulless. Lonely, even.

Trading powers with scientifically enhanced critters is a ton of fun across Tiny Brains’ various puzzle rooms and combat arenas. But once the brief story campaign has been completed, there is little reason to play beyond the extra half-hour of unlocked challenges and Tiny Soccer matches.

I left Tearaway feeling happy and content. What more could you ask for?

It’s a promising step toward those good intentions.

When I finished playing this game, I felt like I wanted more. That’s the mark of a good game.

The inclusion of Drivatars also helped keep my attention.

It is beautiful. It sounds amazing. Its controls are perfect. It loves you with its pacing and variety, and it never wants you to get bored.

Unfortunately, the weird pricing structure and noticeable depth of features holds back the screaming, rage-filled “Powerthirst” of fighting games from really making a statement. It’s no Street Fighter competitor this time around, but it’s good enough to measure up against the rest.

The city of Los Perdidos is a bit too massive for its own good, but there is plenty to do and kill within its limits. And with an impressive next-gen presentation and endearingly spastic boss encounters, Dead Rising 3 is an easy recommendation to any new Xbox One owner.

If Crimson Dragon had been released for iOS or Android devices at a cheaper price, it would be one of the year’s more interesting releases. Instead, the final product is a rushed, homogenized mess of a game that fails to live up to its loosely associated pedigree.

Despite its many references and callbacks to the 1991 classic, A Link Between Worlds feels fresh. Not only does it feature some of the best dungeons and bosses in the series’ long history, but its stunning use of the system’s 3D effect should make anyone thinking about saving a few bucks by getting a Nintendo 2DS pause and reconsider.

It took me about three hours to burn through Contrast, and the level design didn’t seem like it had really done anything dramatic in such a limited session.

The end product seems like it’ll be one of the better original titles to come out of the system’s early exclusives. It hits enough checkboxes to warrant a look, but that $60 price should call for some thought before you buy in.

Resogun does everything it promises, and not a a bit more. It has gorgeous graphics and solid skill-based gameplay, with valuable online co-op support and just enough content to keep things interesting for a while.

Killzone: Shadow Fall is a pretty game, gorgeous even. But the demand for moments to punctuate trailers or demos forced a sacrifice of story that it never quite recovers from. The OWL will find its place in history as one of the few controller-based mechanics to actually entertain, while the time spent in free fall may make players actually consider a plummet-related death.

The wax-figure-like NPCs and mostly uneventful story, however, dampen a lot of the fun. It’s possible that once both parts of the two-episode Burial at Sea series are out, the story issues will evaporate. That’s just not the case right now.

After nine successful titles (though No. 3 was pretty weak), Activision has finally delivered a Call of Duty game that is a disappointment for me. I’ll play it. I’ll enjoy the multiplayer. But I thought that the multiplayer modes for Black Ops II were great. I don’t know why Infinity Ward couldn’t borrow more from those modes and just build upon them.

I actually enjoyed the story in Origins more than the wildly implausible (even by comic book standards) Arkham City, but my fun was constantly interrupted by bugs and questionable design decisions. While this is arguably still the third-best Batman game ever made, WB Games Montréal unfortunately dropped the high bar set by Rocksteady down a few notches.

Nostalgic WWE enthusiasts will love the enormous roster of modern and classic superstars, and the 30 Years of Wrestlemania mode is the most entertaining single-player campaign the series has seen.

Even though the PS3 and Xbox 360 aren’t equipped to give you the best ACIV experience, the core adventure here is more than good enough for fans who won’t be burying their current-gen consoles any time soon.

Sonic Lost World is beautifully brutal. More important, however, is that it’s a worthy addition to Sega’s most beloved franchise.

Despite the slightly higher cost of admission ($75 versus $60), and the addictive yet very wallet-unfriendly collectible aspect, Skylanders Swap Force is still a great game and a great value for the content and replayability you get right out of the box.

The characters are interesting, the writing is sharp, and the story switches effortlessly between thoughtful investigation sequences and more action-heavy scenes featuring some of the most effective quick-time events I’ve seen in a while.

Beyond is hands-down one of the most emotionally accomplished experiences I have ever had in a video game, and it’s enjoyable from start to finish. The controls and gameplay are tiresome, and they can be difficult to manage (or boring), but they’re of little consequence compared to the well-written story, the depth of the characters, and the empathy you feel toward them.

X and Y may not surprise you, but Pokéfans will still revel in another chance to catch them all.

Pokémon X and Y might mark a big visual jump for the series, but the structure remains steadfast in its dedication to tradition.

Rain is a wonderful, atmospheric game that’s too short but well worth the experience. It takes turns that I never expected it to.

This HD version not only makes everything look sharper than before, but the new additions and features make for an even more enjoyable experience without tarnishing the spirit the original. Simply put, The Wind Waker HD makes one of Nintendo’s greatest games even better.

It’s even more remarkable that all of this exists in a browser-based game.

Time just melted away as I lived a second, third, and fourth life in GTA V. The experience consists of more than just crimes. I played tennis, enrolled in a flight school, captured fugitives, watched movies, and towed cars. A lot of that doesn’t sound fun on paper, but they bring some semblance of real life to a world that otherwise runs on its own bizarre rules.

The Wonderful 101 is a good game … at times. Once I got the hang of its combo system, the battles were nearly always exciting and challenging, but Platinum’s Wii U debut has too much filler and a busted camera.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix offers old fans a great excuse to play some of the series’ older installments while also giving curious newcomers the best way to get their first fix.

I never thought I would be this enthusiastic about an MMO again, but I’m in love with A Realm Reborn. Its beautiful world always offers something fun and interesting to do.

Most of what this adventure does is refreshing and just plain charming — especially for its take-my-money-please $39.99 price. The title made me smile with its top-notch production value, radiant world, and phenomenal music.

It’s stressful and terrifying in a way that most recent horror games can’t match... I say play it in a brightly lit room surrounded by pictures of kittens. The heart can only take so much.

It’s a polished shooter, and it’s undeniably fun to play. Still, set up against console shooters, it’s really nothing special. But as a portable game, it offers an unrivaled experience for anyone looking to get their FPS thrills away from their PC or TV.

I’ve played many games in this series, including Shogun: Total War and Total War: Rome, and I have been amazed each time by the improvements in gameplay and graphics. This title is the most impressive yet, and I can easily see someone sinking in hundreds of hours — without running into constant reruns of gameplay or visuals.

An unusual adventure with better-than-average fighting mechanics and a mostly likable cast. But it falls short nearly everywhere else.

Madden NFL 25 is the best American football game I’ve played since Sega’s last NFL 2K effort. It’s polished. It presents itself well. And it’s a lot of fun.

Two-button controls just aren’t very deep, and while the game is enjoyable in short bursts, I doubt if most players will care to play extensively.

The Bureau is Enemy Unknown’s hyperactive younger sibling who delivers something different while still fitting in well with its predecessors.

In spite of its uninspiring story, Splinter Cell: Blacklist creates a sense of urgency that few games can match. It gives you the tools — the guns, the high-tech devices, the goggles — to accomplish your mission and then lets you use them as you see fit.

While this is a game about a gang of sociopaths killing thousands of enemies and collecting a bunch of stupid blue things that give them magical powers, it’s secretly about a gang of puckish rogues that care deeply for one another. It’s admirable that Volition even attempted something like that. It’s astounding that it succeeded.