Alien Hominid HD is a charming and challenging arcade-style shooter that everyone should check out.

This somewhat scary sequel is a solid shooter, but it can't keep pace with its lauded predecessor.

Black's first few levels are exciting, but the action movie formula wears thin fast, and the game's over not long after.

Despite some drawbacks, this satisfying adventure is just what you'd want from a Ghostbusters game: it's funny and it's fun.

A licensed game that feels as nicely made as this one is a rarity indeed, and any fan of Naruto, even the casual ones who don’t wear ninja headbands while shopping for groceries, would do well to give this a look.

A glorified song pack it may be, but this is still as fun a party game as you're going find, one that revels in its own brilliant silliness and that's all but guaranteed to get the party started.

Like its predecessors, Runaway: A Twist of Fate is a romantic comedy masquerading as a point-and-click adventure.

Warzone is a great sophomore attempt at a battle royale from Call of Duty, which finally manages to carve out its own identity with interesting spins on the existing formula. Its subversion of death and the nail-biting Gulag duels give you more ways to stay in a match, while also forcing you to be aware of your surroundings even after wiping a rival squad. Its looting is streamlined enough to make early moments feel fast, but Warzone also loses some of the messy magic from hobbled together loadouts by letting you drop in prebuilt ones far too easily and frequently. Still, if you're comfortable with Call of Duty's latest iteration of multiplayer antics and thrive in the stressful setting of battle royales, Warzone is a strong contender for your attention.

Sniper Elite 5 follows in its immediate predecessor's footprints with another massive open-ended sandbox for you to experiment in. There's a renewed emphasis on player agency this time around that factors into every aspect of its design, from the way each sprawling map is constructed, right down to the addition of a broad weapon customization system. Invisible barriers tend to break the immersion at times, and the AI can be overly finicky as it veers between competence and incompetence. Fairburne isn't the most graceful protagonist, either, but these shortcomings aren't damaging enough to seriously dampen the glee that comes from shooting Nazis in the face from 300 yards away. When it comes to long-range combat, Sniper Elite 5 has mastered the craft.

Elden Ring Nightreign's announcement was a genuine surprise. The details explaining the kind of game it was were even more surprising. This peculiar mix of a From Software RPG spliced with elements of roguelites and battle royales sounds like the kind of experimental concept no game studio would actually devote money to. But here's From Software, tapping into its creativity to put its own weird, bold spin on a thrilling cooperative multiplayer experience. Even if the end result were middling, this is the kind of risk worth celebrating, but doubly so now that it turned out to be such a fantastic, anomalous thing. The part of From Software's collective brain that created oddities like Metal Wolf Chaos and Otogi: Myth of Demons is still very much alive and well.

Toki Tori is a fun and challenging WiiWare puzzle game. Its cute graphics, simple control scheme, good difficulty curve, and challenging gameplay will keep kids and adults alike amused for hours.

When you reach Toem, the event itself, it really does feel spectacular in the context of the game. More important, though, is what it represents. Toem is a simple, cute fable about growing up and engaging with the world. And like the phenomenon, it's really best if you see it for yourself.

Just remember to keep your expectations in check: Final Fantasy XIII-2 isn't a timeless adventure in the grand tradition of the beloved series. But if you're curious to see the next stage in this ongoing tale, there's no reason you shouldn't chase after Lightning. After all, she can't defeat Caius without you.

What the Golf is a comedy game first and foremost, and it succeeds at its primary goal. Perhaps the game's most telling feature is the 'Show To A Friend' option on the main menu, which runs you through a quick playable "best of" reel of some clever challenges the game offers up. What the Golf is an experience that can be shown off, fully understood, and effectively sold to a player in the span of about two minutes--and like all great jokes, you'll want to share it.

It's a wonderful arcade experience that not only demands both precision and speed, but has the tight controls necessary to make both possible.

Guitar Hero III delivers the rock to PC owners, but it does it with the performance capability of a second-rate bar band.

That old Civilization mantra still echoes, just like it used to: One more turn.

It's a great introduction for first-time smugglers, but those already familiar with the series won't find much new here.

While it may never be considered a classic, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn is certainly a DS RPG worth playing.

Goofy humor and a bevy of wacky objectives make it easy to lose yourself in this action role-playing game.

If you've already played Framed 1 and 2 on mobile there's not much reason to come back, but if you haven't these are the best versions of the unique and enduring puzzle games.

Skin Deep doesn't reimagine immersive sims, but it takes the level design principles that players have enjoyed for decades and recontextualizes them for its brightly lit, goofier-than-usual world. Sometimes, preferred routes to success can become too reliable and make very differently shaped spaceships the settings for some familiar outcomes, but much more often, it's a game of clever actions and surprising reactions. It checks all the boxes of a great immersive sim, where each level is a puzzle box and you hold any number of figurative keys to unlocking it. And, yes, you can flush the toilets.

A couple of amusing Sixaxis control functions are the only real bonus to the package this time around, though they're certainly not anything special enough to make you consider the game again if you've already bought it this year.

Prey's campaign won't take too long, and it's rarely difficult, which makes it a solid choice if you're looking for an easy weekend romp. But much of the game's potential for unique thrills feels wasted by its straightforward level design, and the multiplayer doesn't add much to the package.

The ongoing and persistent nature of the game universe gives Shattered Galaxy something missing from most real-time strategy games, even those with superior technology.

For those who haven't yet played a Close Combat game, or for veterans looking for new maps and scenarios for this outstanding series, then Close Combat: Invasion Normandy provides plenty of new challenges.

It's a little rough around the edges, but it's both exciting and technically impressive enough to hold its own against its full-priced competition.

Considering both its many quests and its trial-and-error gameplay, Gothic II is a substantially long game, and its different quests and different professions allow for some good replay value.