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.