If you're undaunted by the game's singular insistence on coordinated teamwork, and intrigued by its combination of shooter and real-time strategy elements, then Savage is worth checking out.

Despite its unusually deficient single-player mode, Bomberman Party Edition still manages to succeed where many previous attempts have failed, delivering an uproariously enjoyable multiplayer experience.

Fighting fires instead of more typical corporeal opponents is certainly a refreshing change, but the gameplay can't make entirely good on Firefighter's unique concept.

One of the deepest, most accurate simulations of the real sport to date, which is to say it simply isn't for everyone.

The Sims 2: Pets adds some moderately interesting animal companions but offers a surprisingly strong Sims 2 experience.

There's a ton to do, and it lasts for a respectable number of hours.

Gladiator does have some shortcomings, as its simplistic and frequently flawed gameplay can prove to be problematic. However, some excellent production values and an intriguing plot ultimately make the game most certainly worth checking out.

Sam & Max's third episode feels shorter than the previous two, and at least part of that is due to so many of the environments being recycled from previous episodes.

The game might not have all the features that hard-core fans of the genre have come to expect, but it more than makes up for its shortcomings with a pick-up-and-play style of gameplay.

Dynasty Warriors 4 is good, but it's the same kind of good that Koei has been releasing for almost three years now.

Though there are a number of hidden characters you can unlock, Racer Revenge is ultimately a short-lived experience that will keep you entertained, but only for the first few times you blast through its courses.

While F.E.A.R. is still a good action game, it doesn't live up to its potential, thanks to stuttering frame rates and washed-out graphics.

The open-ended design is a breath of fresh air, while the overall presentation lives up to the movie's skewed style and humor.

It's short on modes and asks you to replay the same tournaments on multiple difficulty settings, but the core gameplay in Mario Hoops is pretty good.

While it borrows some new features from "NCAA Football 2005" and includes a revamped play-calling system that is actually fun to use, a broken dynasty mode and choppy online play mar an otherwise good basketball game.

MotoGP commits the ultimate portable game sin by using a password system as opposed to a battery save option, which somewhat defeats the purpose of playing through some of the longer modes when you're on the go.

Ultra Bust-A-Move's Xbox Live support is the most significant addition yet, making this budget title appealing despite its otherwise all-too-familiar gameplay.

A good enough game, though barely anything has changed. It doesn't feel like it has been rushed, since it isn't buggy or broken in any way, but there's definitely a lack of proper maturation here that hinders the overall product.

It may not look as pretty or offer as much in the way of features, but it holds its own against other racing games available for the GBA.

Once again, the Empires expansion of Koei's long-running hack-and-slash action series turns out to be the bright spot amid the doldrums of endless button-mashing, thanks to some legitimately interesting strategy.

While the game serves as only an adequate primer to this tough-guy sport, it's a fairly approachable and fun game, and it's one that does a decent job of conveying the finer aspects of the sport it portrays.

Rustin Parr won't take you very long to finish, but it will give you a few good scares along the way.

Ten Hammers maintains a good presentation and adds some minor control tweaks, but overall you're left with a strategy experience that feels very familiar if you played the first game.

This is a game where you can get lost in the moment very easily.

A generally unremarkable game that manages to pull itself together thanks to its story and interesting characters.

The game would have been better if the robots had back attacks or other, better options to prevent enemies from getting behind them. Regardless, there certainly isn't anything else out there that's quite like it, so fans of other fighting games should give it a look.

The shooting elements are uninspired, but Lethal Alliance features enough variety to please action and Star Wars fans alike.

Enchanted Arms is a capable and often enjoyable role-playing game, but it's also one that you'll likely forget as soon as you finish it.

The Pets expansion adds an interesting wrinkle to The Sims 2 but won't set the world, or even your sims' house, on fire.

Aqua Aqua for the PlayStation 2, the sequel to the critically acclaimed "Wetrix" for the Nintendo 64, is basically the same game released three years later, but it still represents a refreshing change for the puzzle genre.

The story has at least a couple of fine twists, and Kain is as memorable of a main character as they come.

For the most part, Spartan: Total Warrior is a pretty good action effort. Unfortunately, the high production values and engaging gameplay of the Total War games are nowhere to be found here.

The open-ended design is a breath of fresh air, while the overall presentation lives up to the movie's skewed style and humor.

Though it's like a fish out of water on the PC, this straight port of a great, gruelingly fast and intense PlayStation 2 action adventure game can still be exciting.

The sequel has a style and methodology that are similar to the original. However, a far more engaging storyline and a less-intensive reliance on the player's knowledge of legal procedures definitely makes Double or Nothing a better game.

Apart from the lack of online play, MechAssault: Phantom War brings all of the mech combat action from the Xbox to the Nintendo DS without losing much in translation.

The open-ended design is a breath of fresh air, while the overall presentation lives up to the movie's skewed style and humor.

A difficult game, and, as the developer's first effort, it's a bit rough around the edges. For serious fans of the genre, the game can be very time consuming and rewarding in the way a good strategy game should be.

If you're willing to forgive its brain-dead gameplay and occasionally frustrating design, Magna Cum Laude is a hysterically entertaining romp through the world of wacky sexual hijinks.

The tacked-on motion controls and lack of online support take some of the shine off this otherwise dependable superhero adventure.

The game looks good and feels convincing, and although it's unstable and flawed and otherwise every bit as difficult as you would expect, Hidden & Dangerous is nonetheless an impressive and uniquely serious depiction of squad-level combat behind enemy lines.

Its basic premise is its greatest weakness, for by re-creating the classic arcade game it has limited itself to a few basic controls and tile-based movement.

The quest isn't long, but it is a satisfying ride that manages to provide a more in-depth look at what happened to Boog and Elliot in the forest.

It never quite comes together in as compelling a fashion as others of its class. It's far from being poor and is certainly entertaining at times--it just lacks the originality and extra level of polish needed to provide a truly memorable gaming experience.

At its core, The Hulk is a simple beat-'em-up action game that delivers an enjoyable comic book experience with plenty of wanton destruction, as well as its fair share of flaws.

Offers lengthy replay value by allowing players to take up a number of roles on all three sides in the otherwise fixed campaign.

Comes with a new coat of paint and a new gameplay mechanic, but at its core, it's still the same old Puyo Pop.

The combination of the irritatingly tough mission structuring along with the relative simplicity of the combat ultimately makes Battlestar Galactica a bit too basic of an experience for any seasoned space combat fan, and it's too difficult of an experience for casual fans that are just looking for a simple trip down memory lane.

Dabblers should find KAO's charming antics and approachable gameplay well suited to a weekend or two of lighthearted entertainment.

One of the better billiards outings released for consoles in quite a long time.

EA's FIFA 07 plays a good game of football on Nintendo's handheld, although it adds few new features to last year's game.

Strictly on its own merits, this version is a good but unimpressive action adventure that still smacks of being a watered-down port of a technically superior game.

SSSV is out, and while it's unmistakably a late-blooming first-generation N64 game, its charm and straightforward, if simplistic, delivery make up for the graphics and relatively easy gameplay.

The addition of the WPT license has given the game a level of focus and direction that the developer's previous effort lacked.

If you've never played any Ratbag games and are looking for a solid racer with an unusual subject and unusual quality for a budget game, Dirt Track Racing 2 is well worth trying out.

The actual racing in Need for Speed Underground 2 is still pretty good, but unfortunately most of the stuff you do in between races keeps you away from the game's best moments.

It's also rather unpolished. But while the game may not make a very remarkable first impression, it does have some strong gameplay elements that give it some real substance and help make it deserving of your attention.

Its basic design makes it very easy for players to pick up and enjoy, though die-hard fans of the genre will find it frustrating at times.

The logic is complex, and the pacing is manic, but if you commit to the concept, the experience is undeniably exhilarating.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the versions of NHL 07 not made for the next generation of consoles offer little in the way of new content.

Killing foolish earthlings was more fun the first time, but this sarcastic sequel to last year's inventive action game is not without merit or amusement.

Team Sabre may not be realistic, but it's packed with explosions, wild gunfights, and quite a bit of fun--though it's also extremely frustrating at times, due to a limited save system coupled with some excruciatingly difficult gameplay.

SingStar Abba is a good addition to the series and a heap of fun to play, provided you like singing as a female Swede.

Mary-Ann reminds me a lot of Twin Peaks' Laura Palmer, a girl known primarily as a victim. It's only until the movie Fire Walk With Me that we know just how much was going on behind the eyes of that idyllic photograph we saw of her every episode. In Tell Me Why, our clearest, enduring image of Mary-Ann Ronan is the dead woman whose childrens' lives were destroyed after her death. Finding out everything beautiful, intelligent, and loving that was going on behind those eyes is the most powerful thing in Tell Me Why, and matched in how her life created two strong, empathetic children who knew her well and didn't even realize it. There's a lot of empty disengaging space to be filled in in this game, but with a little patience and sympathy, what it does provide you is worth the effort.

Fairly well done but generally unspectacular--while it has its good points, its overall lack of original features or design elements is unlikely to leave a lasting impression on real-time strategy players.

For as long as it lasts, Stranglehold delivers a satisfying, if somewhat derivative action game experience.

It's an expansion that leaves a lot to be desired, only because there’s enough fertile ground to support a full blown game.

Golden Abyss is full of disappointments. The action set pieces are great, but there's too few of them; the voice acting is exemplary, but the narrative doesn't do it justice; the touch and motion controls work well for some actions, but they ruin others. For every moment of enjoyment you have, something comes along to spoil it. Despite its problems, though, Golden Abyss still succeeds in delivering some intense, entertaining action and combat.

And that's just what Labo is at the moment: a great tool for creation, rather than for playing.

The game hits a lot of fantastic cinematic highs, and those ultimately lift it above the trappings of its familiar open-world quest design and all the innate weaknesses that come with it--but those imperfections and dull edges are definitely still there. Ghost of Tsushima is at its best when you're riding your horse and taking in the beautiful world on your own terms, armed with a sword and a screenshot button, allowing the environmental cues and your own curiosity to guide you. It's not quite a Criterion classic, but a lot of the time it sure looks like one.

Kill la Kill IF is clearly designed for fans of Kill la Kill who are looking for more ways to enjoy the characters, music, and battles of the anime series. Each fighter behaves as they do in the anime, and the excellent voice actor rewards provide a nice incentive to keep playing even after you've mastered every character. However, as a fighting game, Kill la Kill IF doesn't deliver the expected harmony of offense and defense. And though campaign battles that are beyond the one-on-one formula are an awesome addition, the traditional arena fighting game mechanics aren't designed to adequately handle multiple opponents. The campaign's startling revelation is a fascinating turn of events for Kill la Kill's story, though, creating a new and intriguing interpretation of one of 2013's best anime series.

If you're already a Magic expert, this is an acceptable way to get in a few games online with friends, though you'll likely find the inability to create your own deck to be a pretty major drawback. If you're a Magic neophyte, you'll get more out of this experience.

The gameplay might not be anything special, but The Simpsons Game delivers more than enough laughs to make it worth a look.

It's the kind of expansion that gets you imagining what else this world and these characters are capable of, which is the best kind of disappointment you can have.

I enjoyed my time with We Are OFK. Even for a visual novel, the storyline can feel a bit too on the rails at times, but Itsumi, Carter, Luca, and Jey's journey is poignant in its relatability and powerful in its narrative exploration through music. This is best expressed in the interactive music video segments, especially when they allow you to fully lose yourself in the song and respond to the vocals, rhythm, or accompanying visuals in your own way. It's a good opening track for OFK's career, and I can't wait to see what's in store for the virtual group.

Between its overall solid presentation, and its gameplay that keeps you guessing, this is one game that's worth taking a look at.

While I was left dissatisfied by the narrative conclusion of Hell is Us, its journey to that point was pleasantly engaging. It was refreshing to not just follow a quest marker through a story, but also a relief that I was never spun around for hours on end wondering where I needed to go next. This balance is what made traversing Hadea and experiencing all the horrors it contained a rewarding one, making each new step feel earned rather than routine. It's backed up by an imperfect but engaging combat system that's only let down by some shallow enemy variety and imprecise control, but never to the point of outright frustration. If Hell is Us is developer Rogue Factor's first stab at a new type of third-person action game and although it's less revolutionary than the initial promise might suggest, it is one that still managed to stay surprising until the end.

Gemini Rue is an intriguing adventure game with an excellent story that outshines its basic puzzle-solving.

Dragon Marked for Death is a polished experience that draws on a lot of existing genre sensibilities, but with a heavy focus on aspects that make for a good co-op experience. The classes are thematically coherent and entertainingly distinct, and the levels are just varied enough that gliding through one for the first time is always aurally and visually pleasing. The unbalanced single-player experience is a big sticking point, but if you have friends who are willing to take up the Dragonblood mantle with you, then there are few action platformers more entertaining.

Cosmic Top Secret's very existence and ethos makes it special in the realm of gaming. It's conceptually brilliant and heartwarming. Arguably, it's still worth fighting the game's mechanics just because Trine--and you, by proxy--deserves to know the truth and hear every angle of these peoples' captivating story firsthand.

The Hong Kong Massacre is a game with a specific goal--to capture the feeling of an over-the-top John Woo-style slow-motion diving kill shot, and it succeeds. The game's faults are washed away whenever you leap out of the way of a bullet and quickly take out the person who fired it. It's a game that sticks with you when you're not playing it, as you think through different approaches to the room you died in last time. You'll fail frequently, and the repetition can wear you down, but it's hard to resist the temptation of bursting through a window and perfectly lining up three kill shots.

In a genre as close to utter desolation as the space combat sim, even a plucky little space shooter with more heart than technical prowess like Space Interceptor can prove to be a breath of fresh air.

Harold Halibut's world and the people that inhabit it were literally crafted by people that cared about him and his story. And while that story struggles under the weight of its ambitions, the human touches on every part of it are evident. Those are the heart and soul of the game, and they imprinted on me too.

Though the story is weak and the design of the game favors certain characters, Extraction is a good Rainbow Six game that rewards you and your team's ability to adapt to deliver a compelling gameplay loop.

The tennis is merely average, but the challenges and minigames in Sega Superstars Tennis are creatively done and a lot of fun.

Infiltrating enemy territory and tactically eliminating evildoers is tense and enjoyable in Unit 13.

This crafty and calming puzzle game won't addict you, but it will lull you into the occasional trance.

It's equal parts pleasing and frustrating, but the struggle to keep up with everything thrown your way is more of a hurdle than a roadblock. It will be a tough pill to swallow for people who aren't accustomed to the typical cliches found in many Japanese RPGs, and its often clumsy nature keeps it from being the next groundbreaking Switch game. But Xenoblade 2 is worth pursuing if you've got enough patience to let it blossom.

It's very good, maybe even great in places, but the story's smaller focus has come at the expense of its exquisitely rendered backdrop. The grandness and spectacle that so often graces the finest Assassin's Creeds is sadly sorely lacking here.

The Hong Kong Massacre is a game with a specific goal--to capture the feeling of an over-the-top John Woo-style slow-motion diving kill shot, and it succeeds. The game's faults are washed away whenever you leap out of the way of a bullet and quickly take out the person who fired it. It's a game that sticks with you when you're not playing it, as you think through different approaches to the room you died in last time. You'll fail frequently, and the repetition can wear you down, but it's hard to resist the temptation of bursting through a window and perfectly lining up three kill shots.

The real reason that you're driven to keep playing Squadrons is for the pure joy of dogfighting, whether that be in the game's team deathmatch mode, campaign setpieces, or perhaps in VR on PS4 and PC, where the sensory deprivation and head-tracking give you an extra layer of physical response to your flight maneuvers, which can be exciting for as long as you can stomach it. The campaign's narrative leaves you wanting, and the flagship Fleet Battles can be incredibly uneven. But the feeling of Squadrons' core flight combat is gratifying enough to sustain you through it all. The involved nature of juggling all tasks required to operate your cool starfighter at peak efficiency while soaking in the more mechanical sights and sounds of Star Wars is a stimulating experience that Squadrons just gets right.

This more or less reflects Bloodlines 2 as a whole: sometimes charming, other times, not so much. There is a lot here that is great; I loved the narrative, the characters, the drama, and the sheer power fantasy of it all. At the same time, it's one of the more unpolished games I've reviewed, and definitely lacks the same level of ambition, scope, choice, and general tightness of other modern RPGs. Oftentimes, I found myself thinking that Bloodlines 2 is a great game in spite of itself--which really only makes it a pretty good game, ultimately.

Jump Force is a worthy celebration of the legacy of Shonen Jump manga, but it honors its source material a little too well with how filler-heavy the middle of its story arc is.

It's not the most immediately compelling arcade-style shooter in the world, but this top-down shooter has enough additional difficulty settings to make it entertaining, especially if you're into online score tracking.

The involved nature of juggling all tasks required to operate your cool starfighter at peak efficiency while soaking in the more mechanical sights and sounds of Star Wars is a stimulating experience that Squadrons just gets right.

SuperNOVA is mostly more of the same, but a decent array of modes and a list of new songs help keep the experience feeling reasonably fresh.

Blazing Angels 2 is a clear improvement over the previous game, though history buffs will probably hate its fictional missions.

Journey to the Savage Planet borrows plenty of familiar elements from other games, yet it does so in a carefree way that sets it apart from other sci-fi exploration games, settling on a relaxing playstyle that's informed by its single, vivid planet and tightly focused design. It only takes a couple of hours to reveal its humdrum combat, but this is the only significant damper on what is an entertaining slice of lighthearted planetary exploration.