This humorous and enjoyable adventure is seaworthy, despite some visual choppiness.

All the games play incredibly well, though "Pole Position" suffers a bit without its original analog steering wheel. The games also sound just like their arcade counterparts.

A good game, but toward the end of it, you'll likely be far more interested in seeing how the story ends--and the jokes it tells along the way--than in its gameplay.

While it may not offer the sophistication of other racing games on the market, OutRun2 has an old-school sensibility that makes it both appealing and addictive. A wealth of content and an online mode add to the game's great value as well.

King's Bounty is a great modern rendition of an old-fashioned formula.

Metal Slug's first foray onto the GBA is a resounding success. Even though Metal Slug Advance is a brand-new game, it has all the sights, sounds, and charm of the NeoGeo games it's based on.

The game's main strength is in the way it seamlessly delivers both fighting-game-style combat and puzzle solving while telling a great story using in-game cinemas.

UEFA Euro 2008 plays a better game of football than anything else on the market, but only just.

Buckets of whimsy and oodles of puzzles make this a satisfying adventure, despite the sometimes steep difficulty.

Though plagued by technical issues, Rage creates an engrossing world full of thoughtful detail and solid shooter action.

Heavenly Sword feels like a summer action flick. It's full of nonstop action, and it looks terrific. Unfortunately, like a great summer movie, it's over far too quickly.

It's a shame that these intricacies were tempered by unnecessary simplification and unfocused storytelling. Nevertheless, Dragon Age II makes a strong impression, pulling you through with the promise of another fun quest, another character to meet, and another beast to slay.

Tales of Vesperia is the best game yet in the series, and a beautiful and entertaining RPG in its own right.

Tiger Woods 08 is a good game, but it stumbles a bit this year thanks to some unnecessary changes and some new features that don't work well or don't work at all.

A very good adventure game with impressive production values, but if it had actually shipped complete with the promised multiplayer, it perhaps could have been much more.

As a remake, Resident Evil 3 not only falls short of honoring its source, but it also doesn't quite stick the landing as a standalone horror experience. Even without taking into account the original game, or its predecessor, RE3 struggles to keep up with its pace amid a clashing of elements from survival horror and standard action. While it has a strong start and gives its principal villain some great moments, this truncated retelling of the concluding game from the original Resident Evil trilogy doesn't do it proper justice.

Too much emphasis on battles and too tight a focus on the main story--as interesting as it can be at times, especially if you’re interested in the mythology of Eora--makes the game something of a forced march that removes the wonder of exploring an open world.

This slow-starting strategy game is deliciously destructible once you learn the ropes.

SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 successfully returns to the fundamentals of intense, realistic WWE action and impressive, easy-to-use creation tools.

Once Upon a Katamari is still a fantastic time and the new must-play title in the series. It manages to perfectly capture what has always made Katamari so charming and special--the writing, the humor, the music, the absurdity of it all--and refines it into the best way to experience the series, regardless of if it's your first time playing or if you're a long-time fan. Though it seems absurd to claim I wanted Bandai Namco to commit even more to the bit with this game, more intention and innovation is all that keeps Once Upon a Katamari from being truly great. Regardless, it's still a wonderful--and much-welcomed--return to the world of Katamari.

Eye of the North is largely more of the same. In this case, that's a terrific thing.

Persona 5's transition to tactics-based combat is a triumph. Every aspect of Tactica is so well conceived and moving that what's created is something truly exceptional, especially in regard to its story. I grew to adore the Phantom Thieves even more and fell in love with Toshiro, Erina, their story, and everything their characters stood for. Despite being a spin-off, Tactica has a beautiful message delivered with a clear voice. It's a fantastic addition to the Persona 5 universe--one that celebrates its spirit and resolve while also taking the conversations and ideals explored in the game to new heights.

Swordcraft Story 2 sticks to the basics to deliver an easily enjoyable role-playing game that doesn't take itself too seriously.

The unique tower defense hybrid Anomaly: Warzone Earth makes a smooth transition to the Xbox 360.

If you can stand to look at a lesser version of Doom's once captivating world, you'll find that the game plays well enough on Switch so long as you've got a TV in front of you and a Pro Controller in hand. There's nothing else like it on a portable system, but be prepared to face a handful of compromises, especially if you're used to playing on other platforms. It's an impressive port that begs you to consider gameplay over graphics, and it succeeds more often than not.

A solid, fast-paced experience that provides a nice balance between the fresh and the familiar.

Kirby Air Riders is an impressive package that makes the most of its deceivingly simple mechanics. Air Ride delivers a solid kart racing experience; Top Ride is a fun--albeit a bit straightforward--distraction; City Trial is chaotic in the best way possible; and Road Trip ties it all together with its creative encounters and satisfying progression. In the second Kirby Air Riders Direct, Masahiro Sakurai said he had no plans to continue the franchise or add any DLC. When I first heard this, I was a little disappointed, but now that I've spent countless hours exploring each mode, there's not really anything else I could want. This feels like that initial concept from 2003 taken as far as it could possibly go, and I couldn't be happier with the result.

Harry's adventure into Lego land is exactly what you'd want it to be: charming, fun, and chock-full of secrets.