Molds Middle-earth into a traditional turn-based frame, and while the results aren't all that great, the game carries some pretty good features and should appeal to fans of the source material.

Ultimately, Amplitude fails to recapture the magic that elevated the original to cult status, but it does deliver an impressive and enjoyable slice of quick-hit rhythm gaming fun.

It's not deep, but excellent music, inspired choreography, and improved visuals make Just Dance 2 a fun multilplayer experience.

The most fundamental aspects of moment-to-moment interaction fail to engage, and this is the unfortunate first impression that could push players to a more immediately fun game. Sadly, the wonderful flexibility and challenge of the Secret World is lost on anyone that quits early on.

Sonic's first foray into the role-playing realm is a laudable effort, but it ultimately falls short of its potential.

The 40th Day has the same shallow appeal as a summer blockbuster. It provides brash, satisfying action when you're in the mood for something loud and fun.

Taken as a whole, however, Soul Hackers 2 is a mostly satisfying experience. The character interactions and stylish art help it stand out from the pack, and the smooth-flowing, fast-paced combat makes even some of the more annoying dungeons (I don't want to see another abandoned subway for a very long time) feel like less of a drag. Soul Hackers, as a series, has a lot of potential to further grow into its own unique experience the way Persona has. Soul Hackers 2, despite its flaws, is a very promising start.

Fireteam Bravo 3 has the makings of a rewarding shooter, but it lacks the freshness and tactical depth that made its predecessors so engaging.

A wealth of hidden secrets in every level keeps the game high on replayability, while the deluge of extra content promises many hours of adventuring.

This GT5 appetizer is a very good driving game in its own right, especially if you have friends to enjoy it with.

While these complaints might dampen the overall experience, ultimately, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a great experience filled with far more satisfying battles than frustrating ones, wonderful ideas, and truly gorgeous locations. Considering this is Leenzee's debut title, I have extremely high hopes for the studio's future endeavors, and even Wuchang itself, assuming it receives a few needed adjustments. However, even as it exists now, Wuchang is absolutely a game I'd recommend to soulslike fans, so long as they don't mind getting a bit sweaty.

Darktide feels like both the natural progression of Vermintide's best parts as well as an exemplar of some growing pains in the live-service world. Things like combat, pacing, and team builds are expertly considered and crafted, but metagame elements such as chasing loot and cosmetics have some issues that are admittedly common when a team tries to create a new game with a long tail. It's both a promising Left 4 Dead-like and a flawed live service, but its issues are fixable, and the growth of Vermintide suggests that Darktide will also enjoy a long shelf life as one of the better games of its kind.

Seventeen years after its first release, with one sequel out and another on its way, there's still nothing quite like Luigi's Mansion. Nintendo's strange foray into the paranormal has aged well--I was surprised at how much of it had stuck in my memory, and how good it felt being back in its haunted halls. It's a basic port with a few issues, but Luigi's Mansion still remains a charming and enjoyable game.

Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition adds a new multiplayer mode to this strange action game, but it's still an average beat-'em-up at best.

Princess Peach Showtime is a friendly, inviting game that's made to be easy to digest. Some of the genres work better than others in this format, but none of them are too tricky or off-putting, and most of it will come down to personal taste. None of these stages are fleshed out enough to support their own game, but they're an invitation for novice gamers to explore a bunch of different game types, with a charming (and apparently polymath) princess offering her gloved hand to welcome them in.

There's a line of dialogue I encountered a few hours into Romeo Is a Dead Man that summed up the experience for me. "Embrace the chaos, Dead Man," a character told me. "Meaning is nowhere. And there is nothing without meaning." It's a piece of doublespeak that cancels itself out, and similarly the game struggles to imbue its own chaos with anything that would give it a stronger sense of meaning, like deeper combat or an engaging story. Suda51 is an artist with a recognizable aesthetic, and his fingerprints are evident on this game too, but what's missing is a sense of a larger vision for the game. . Sometimes it's charming or funny, but these moments are fleeting, and artistic flair does not cancel out the tedium of the game's combat and exploration. . It's not a tragedy on the scale of the real Romeo and Juliet, but this is one Dead Man I'm not inclined to mourn.

Short and doesn't look like much, but it's an unusual game that can be a lot of fun.

Introduces significant gameplay changes and breathes new life into Ultima Online. Unfortunately, these changes have also reintroduced problems that had previously been addressed.

A racing game that puts drivers in the spotlight without sacrificing exciting ontrack action.

The game's unspectacular presentation and its dated design do interfere with its success, though.

Romance IX manages to make a few improvements to the interface and systems from the previous games while still retaining the core of what made them good. Ultimately, it's more of what you already love.

It's somewhat disappointing when, only three to four hours into the game, you've reached the final climactic battle.

Variety and customization are what people enjoy about the dungeon crawler genre, and Shining Soul II offers both in abundance.

UEFA Euro 2004 might have only a fraction of the teams and features found in this year's FIFA offering, but the gameplay and options it offers are actually sufficiently different from those found in FIFA 2004 to make it a worthwhile purchase.

Excellent gameplay, copious replay, and creamy visuals, marred ever so slightly by chintzy music.

If you're into off-roading, you may never have to buy another video game.

Completing Action Henk will set you back only several hours, but you will be at the edge of your seat for most of that time.

Pikuniku is a funny game on numerous levels--the script often undercuts tension and plays with tropes in amusing ways, the goofy way you flip when you jump is a constant source of amusement, and the game will often throw you into strange situations without much explanation.