With the addition of Snowfall on top of the After Dark expansion released last fall, Cities: Skylines is starting to take shape as an expansive city-building franchise that offers something for any wannabe mayor. One caveat here is that you don’t really get a tremendous amount of content, and that what's present is pretty much relegated in specific maps, leaving the impact of this expansion on the overall game fairly minimal. That said, the winter wonderland atmosphere does freshen up the visuals so even while this expansion is not essential, spending a little time in a virtual snow globe city remains awfully appealing.

A fighting game focused on individuality and expression, with deep systems that reward studious players but also accommodate casuals.

The game is part puzzler, part platformer and it offers a decent implementation of the stylus and touch screen for control. Unfortunately, the novelty of the interface can wear thin, despite some different wrinkles in gameplay that you encounter over the course of the game.

[It] isn't a horrible game, but its lackluster level design, poor enemy AI, and easy level of difficulty pile up to detract from what it does offer greatly.

An enjoyable game that should appeal to dinosaur buffs and park simulation fans alike, thanks to its attractive graphics engine, unique features, and surprising gameplay depth.

Offers about seven hours of solid gameplay--give or take an hour--though it suffers from the same problem as Uru: There's no replay value for your $20 once you've completed the game, aside from revisiting your favorite ages and soaking up the scenery again.

Thrillville: Off the Rails makes every part of building and running a theme park great fun.

Highly playable and cleverly designed.

It takes everything that was good in "Spyro: Season of Ice" and "Spyro: Season of Flame," adds in a few new puzzles and abilities, and brings all of these aspects together into an adventure that's larger and more pleasing to the senses than either of those previous games.

The game's mundane subject matter sometimes overwhelms the experience, since having to frequently rest, shower, and relieve yourself in the game is about as much fun as it sounds. But The Urbz nevertheless provides some surprising depth and lasting value.

Fans of four-player cooperative gaming, in the style of Gauntlet, will have fun with Redeemer, but it's still a pretty short game and is quite easy to blast through.

The game is put together pretty well, but the game is very simple and very short. On top of that, the lame wordplay and fart jokes that pass for humor just don't cut it.

At first glance, the game looks like it's moving faster than the old-school arcade version. But in reality, the game is very slow-paced. The robots never seem to get close enough to pose a threat. I went through 40 of the game's 200 levels before losing one life.

Those willing to overlook AI and interface issues (and fans of the "Rainbow Six"-style action games) would do well to check out Hidden and Dangerous.

When the incentive to keep playing is to be able to keep playing, it’s easy to burn out on Fire Emblem Heroes. Aside from obtaining your favorite characters--if you even care about that--Fire Emblem Heroes becomes less and less rewarding as time goes on. Grinding for loot in the form of characters can only be fun for so long before chasing rare allies becomes a chore, and in that sense it caters to two ends of a wide spectrum while offering little incentive for anyone in between.

Uniqueness is one of Zanki Zero's biggest selling points, but its myriad ambitions and ideas aren't enough to obscure the elements that don't work as well. While the novelty of the game, its interesting story, and engaging exploration do a lot to carry it, it falters in some crucial spots that drag down the whole.

While undercooked presentation and visual issues hold the games back, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are still the best mainline Pokemon games in years. They build off Pokemon Legends: Arceus's open-ended design in some thoughtful and surprising ways, and retain that same level of depth that the mainline series is known for.

If the progression felt a bit less stilted and fights weren't drawn out, repetitive affairs, this would be one of the strongest Dragon Ball games out there. Alas, just like Hercule in the series, Dragon Ball Fusions postures and promises more than it actually delivers.

Short but sweet can sound like a back-handed compliment. But to apply it here is not to damn with faint praise. Both short and sweet, Turnip Boy turns a hearty root vegetable base into a frothy, fizzy confection that doesn’t let you over-indulge.

This former Unreal Tournament 2004 mod is more fun than it has any right to be.

It isn't often that you play something that is so pure and unapologetically itself, but that's Wattam. I don't know if I'll ever play another game that makes me turn all of my friends into fruit so I can progress. It oozes passion, and it has an infectious enthusiasm that's present in each and every aspect of it. Wattam never takes itself too seriously, and that makes it easy to buy into its world and suspend your disbelief. While the gameplay is all over the place, Wattam is held together by themes of friendship and a cohesive soundtrack that actually leave you grinning long after you're done.

Jam Sessions is neat if you want to turn your DS into an acoustic guitar, but that's about all it does.

Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades improves minimally upon its predecessor, but not in the areas that matter most.

The Warlords remake falls short on both re-creating the old and delivering something exciting and new.

Thanks to its blend of platforming, puzzles, and "combat," all set in a colorful world, Creatures of Ava reminds me of a kind of action-adventure game that is seldom made anymore. It's both nostalgic for yesteryear while also creatively reinventing traditional elements of the genre. It routinely defies tropes in every corner of its world, yet still feels like the sort of game that is approachable, familiar, and easy to love. With a story that goes harder than one might expect and gameplay that routinely throws new tools and challenges in front of you, Creatures of Ava is surely one of the year's coolest surprises.

By the ending cliffhanger, Guardians creates enough of a mystery with the Eternity Forge--specifically the process and cost of using it--to segue into the next episode. Emotions run high, and that works well for Rocket's story as well as the conflict between Gamora and Nebula, but other pivotal choices seem like overblown drama between kids instead of a ragtag band of heroes. It lacks action and big reveals, but it sets up a lot of different avenues to potentially explore down the line.

Capcom Classics Collection 2 isn't as hit-driven as the first game, but the hits that are present hit very hard, indeed.

Dark Sector lacks the compelling storyline that it alludes to early on, but offers plenty of enjoyable combat nonetheless.

Tembo is the sort of game that encourages you to play for 100% completion and/or speedrunning, as well (it even tracks your times and high score). And with Tembo’s satisfying movement and controls, you could play through the game with some amazingly stylish platforming swagger.

Evil Dead: The Game is faithful, but sometimes to a fault. If there were more game modes or even more varied objectives in its one attractive game mode, it would feel more like a game for horror fans to play for a long time, maybe even moving competitors like Dead By Daylight or Hunt Showdown off their vaunted pedestals. As it stands at launch, however, Evil Dead only reaches beyond something pretty good when it's played with a close-knit group of Evil Dead fans. General horror or co-op enthusiasts may get some mileage out of it, but Ash and his boomstick are storming into a crowded field of competitors and can't quite overcome the horde of similar games already available.

Super Swing offers a lighthearted, quirky experience that may strike a chord with some players, but will probably turn off anyone looking for a traditional round of golf.

The enjoyable and derivative The Splatters proves that slime can get just as physical as any angry avians you might know.

Simplistic combat and tedious backtracking don't fully diminish the pleasures of this attractive and festive fable.

Despite being one-note on a gameplay level, Fe's world, with its lush environments and wistful score, compels you to explore. Establishing fleeting connections with the creatures around you is both charming and a little sad, and learning the truth about the enemy machines is even more tragic. By the end, the most important thing you've learned is how to connect with nature, not just by singing with animals but by understanding the world around you.

This demon-controlling adventure lets you do more fun things with your evil minions, but Overlord II hasn't shaken all of the issues that held back the first game.

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.

X2 does offer some highly satisfying gameplay--if you're willing to stick with it. It's not a game that has any reasonable prospect of revitalizing the space sim genre, since it's from a small developer and isn't particularly accessible, but it's a game that highlights why the genre was once much more popular.

The core mechanics are solid, and the addition of true online play is a compelling selling point.

And while it may have a couple of technical issues and lacks the scope and detail of a Zelda game, Kay's heart is in the right place, and it pulls off a great action adventure game for people of all ages.

If you want to play Mortal Kombat II over the Internet, then this is what you've been waiting to play.

If you can withstand the surprisingly hard difficulty level, you'll find that Turok: Evolution is actually quite a good side-scroller.

If you're a fan of the cartoon or are buying the game for someone who is, The Mummy more than lives up to expectations.

Unless you're a dedicated fan of the sport, it's unlikely that the game's focus on car setups, strategies, and never-turn-right racing will appeal.

Outside of a few additions like an air rifle and grenade launcher (which is used exactly one for mission), there's next to nothing in Rogue that moves the franchise forward.

he new QB1 career mode--which includes a barebones NCAA football experience--overall feels like a half-baked idea that doesn't deliver anything meaningful or interesting. When it comes to the on-the-field action, however, the new X-Factor and Superstar abilities shake up the familiar gameplay formula to give seasoned players and newcomers alike a fresh way to scheme plays and orchestrate strategy on both sides of the ball.

Tiger Woods 07's excellent use of the Wii's motion-sensing abilities makes it a worthwhile purchase for anyone looking to hit the links on the Wii.

They may not win best in show, but the adorable animals of Nintendogs + Cats are sure to win your heart.

This competent example of the well-worn dungeon-crawling formula lacks the spark of innovation that might have made it something more.

The simplicity of the campaign's stealth gameplay and the enemies' readiness to submit at the sound of "Freeze!" is comical, though the silliness was not likely Visceral's intention.

It's not the best version of Puzzle Quest to date, but it still offers much of the same great fun.

MX vs. ATV Unleashed is a fast-paced and fun-filled arcade racing game, loaded with enough variety of modes and unlockable content to keep you engaged for quite a while.

Off the Record provides as much entertainment as last year's Dead Rising 2 because it's almost exactly the same game.

Freedom Cry is more than just another Assassin's Creed IV chapter with a reskinned protagonist, but its troubled handling of dark themes makes this a turbulent voyage.

Nazis and necromancy mix once again in this flawed but fun sequel.

Electroplankton is an interesting experiment in both music and game design, but its reliance on the novelty of something different limits its lasting value.

Moon is a well-crafted shooter that blasts off but fails to reach orbit.

Solid gameplay, challenging platform puzzles, and a touch of wacky humour make Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier a good addition to Sony's much-loved series.

Younger players will enjoy the variety and sandbox-style freedom of Bee Movie Game.

There's a lot of good in Minecraft Legends. The absurdity of the game is delightful at times and the tower-defense elements in both the story campaign and the first Lost Legends challenge are a taste of how the combat system can excel in the right scenario. But the story campaign's regular gameplay loop of tracking down enemy bases and overthrowing them can become tedious, especially in battles when there's a huge field of Nether between you and your foe. Gathering resources, while enjoyably quick and easy, feels so impersonal as well, making it difficult to appreciate the vibrant world you're slowly chiseling away in your war with the Piglins. The pieces to a good game are here; they just aren't yet built into a structure sound enough for me to want to spend a lot of time in it.

All of the problems that plagued the PlayStation 2 version of the original Brothers in Arms are front and center once again, making for a lackluster port of a great game.

A good entry point to the series, but if you've played any recent Mortal Kombat game, you'll notice that most of this stuff has been recycled.

The gameplay interface can prove to be very cumbersome, but if you can learn to tolerate how it plays, Maximum Pool is a great deal.

If unadulterated speed and kaleidoscopic imagery sounds like fun, Ballistics is your ticket to paradise. But many racing fans may well find that paradise short-lived.

Unfortunately, there's not much here that stands out, making this feel more like a series of tweaks than what we've come to expect from a fully featured expansion.

Resident Evil 3 isn't the best place to start for a newcomer to the series. It's a zombie-killing rampage that lacks the inventive game structure that made "Resident Evil 2" so good.

It's just a bad representation of real-life F1 racing, especially compared with EA's earlier "F1 2000."

Delivers a more focused, more satisfying experience that seems less like an abstract interpretation of horse racing and more like the real thing.

Regardless of its presentation, The King of Fighters 2000/2001 contains two solid ports of two great 2D fighting games, and the two-disc compilation retails at a very reasonable suggested price of $40.

There's nothing else quite like Scarface on the Wii yet, but the gamepad-to-Wii Remote transition has made this lackluster game play even worse.

Though rough in places, the RPG series' latest entry is one of its weirdest, if not best.

It's short and it's frustrating, but you'll still have a reasonably good time with this force-powered adventure.

Quite fun in its execution with a good two-player mode and the ability to replay each level to attain near perfect scores and increasingly higher rankings, Sheep offers a lot of bang for your puzzle-game buck.

Simple and forgettable.

Released years after either of its predecessors, in turn borrows elements from both games but combines them in a way that, quite simply, isn't very fun at all.

Quite shallow, and while it could easily tide over Godzilla fans for a while, it ultimately relies on the strength of its license to compensate for its weakness as a game.

A number of Xbox Live-compatible multiplayer modes for up to eight players (or four players on a split-screen) round out a good, solid Star Wars game that should appeal to anyone who'd care to relive Episode II's large-scale action scenes.

Didn’t EKO Software learn anything from the record industry--that the trick to luring fans with greatest hits collections is to add at least one new song, even if it’s terrible? This is not a director’s cut, but rather EKO Software’s aspirational idea of a Game of the Year Edition.

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.

Unsophisticated mechanics and repetitive battles plague this generic space adventure.

If you don't step off the boat expecting a taut horror experience, a masterful gun game, or compelling characters, you'll have a bloody good time.

They may not win best in show, but the adorable animals of Nintendogs + Cats are sure to win your heart.

Clumsy combat, a glut of bugs, and ancient production values tarnish this otherwise rich and complex online role-playing game.

Though Kirby Squeak Squad rarely finds a way to challenge you, it's a clever and cute enough platformer to recommend to most DS owners.

A by-the-numbers adventure game...and a pretty short one at that.

Bound is digital art installation. It's only in the game's final moments, when you're able to view the full breadth of the work, that it's clear this is a work of art that could not be accomplished in any other medium but this one.

Astroneer succeeds when it's enraptured you with its beautiful visuals and the irresistible call to explore the planet you find yourself on. Although it lacks a central through line to give you guidance, the variety of structures you can build helps point you towards new resources to hunt for.

Underneath Nanostray's excellent presentation is a game that's not nearly as good as its sources of inspiration. A weak multiplayer mode, repetitive level design (even for a shoot-'em-up), and limited replay value put Nanostray squarely in the "almost, but not quite" category.

This game "gets" the template of 1985's Commodore 64 classic Elite in a way that many other space-trading games released over the past decade or so didn't, thanks to its emphasis on the mid-'80s classic's simple principles of buying low, selling high, and blasting pirates for fun and profit. It comes with a few minor problems in the fit-and-finish department, but the game is still an outstanding return to the frontier spirit that made Elite so memorable.

Despite its faults, Little Hope can't help but remind me of the reasons I love Supermassive's take on the modern narrative adventure game. The studio is masterful at producing tension through gameplay as simple as a well-timed button press, and Little Hope is a high-water mark for the studio's technical proficiency. While the story and character work are uncharacteristically lackluster, Little Hope still manages to offer a solid foundation for Supermassive's future.

Dyscourse has charm and personality to spare, and though you can peel back the layers of its systems if you spend enough time replaying it, few games make your choices feel as meaningful and impactful as this one does.

Dead by Daylight executes the concept of a competitive horror game well, but only to a point.

This 3D fighting game can be enjoyed by newcomers to the DBZ universe and Super Saiyan wannabes alike.

The deciding factor should be whether or not you appreciate the Phantasy Star Online aesthetic and would be interested in playing a card battling game alongside and against other players in that universe. If so, then PSO will have plenty to offer you.

Like many other character-based shoot-'em-ups, the main problems with CT Special Forces are that it's repetitive and that it's over too quickly.

At $15, NES Remix is a pricey piece of packaged nostalgia. For me, playing through these mini-challenges and unlocking new stages and new games was an enjoyable whirlwind tour of some of my fondest gaming memories. But then again, I've been on this vacation before.

Medal of Honor Heroes proves that a good, albeit extremely short, first-person shooter can be done on the PSP.

In some ways Styx feels like a stealth game from an earlier era, but one that's more dated then vintage. It tries to pick up a few tricks from more modern games in the genre, but much of its core wouldn't have been out of place alongside the earlier Tenchu or Metal Gear Solid games.

The hack-and-slash role-playing game Sacred 2 may feel more at home on console systems than it does on the PC, but the game design still leaves something to be desired.