This is an extensive (20-plus hours) game that by the very nature of its complexity invites replay. It is true that many of its individual elements don't withstand close inspection. But those elements add up to an impressive and absorbing adventure that invites you to improvise.

While it doesn't do much to distinguish itself as the first Castlevania on the DS, the updated look, excellent music, and added controls help to refine the series even further. The bottom line is: Whether you're familiar with the series or not, you can't go wrong with Dawn of Sorrow.

The Final Shape often goes above and beyond those improvements and great ideas. With elements like Dual Destiny, it has raised the bar on the best that Destiny 2 can be. With Salvation's Edge and Excision, it sticks the landing on its 10-year narrative. And with additional story missions and character beats waiting after you complete the campaign, it sets up a future for Destiny 2 that seems just as engaging and fascinating as what has come before--if not more so, thanks to everything Bungie has learned throughout that journey. The future of Destiny 2 has perhaps never been less clear, but if Bungie can maintain the excellence of design and the clarity of focus of The Final Shape, that future has never, ever, been more exciting.

An enthusiastic and ambitious project that is worthy of any oval lover's attention. Minor blemishes aside, it is easily the finest stock car sim available and quite possibly the best racing game to date.

Korsun Pocket is an excellent game, is compelling and addictive for anyone interested in deep strategy games, and is easily the best 2D wargame for the PC to date.

A vast oddity, integrating real-time strategy and action elements with the exploratory playability of an adventure title into one game. It may take up eons of play time to finally solve, but one thing's for sure: you will become absorbed in the Star Control universe that unfurls before you.

It's rare when a game comes along that really kicks your ass. 3D Realm's full version of Duke Nukem 3D is just that kind of posterior pummeler. With its free-flowing 3D action, over-the-top weapons, and ruthlessly attitudinal protagonist, Duke Nukem will have PC gamers worldwide rubbing their rumps with spine-tingling glee.

A great game... Any fan of basketball who isn't necessarily sold on the complexities of your average NBA simulation will find plenty to love here.

The ghosts of those original 2D Sonic titles are exorcised in the game's amazing pace, heart-pounding platform jumping action, and in the unyielding barrage of creatively designed levels.

L.A. Noire's absorbing investigations and intoxicating sense of style make it an unforgettable journey through the seamy side of the City of Angels.

It's impressive stuff. It Takes Two is the best 3D platformer I've played since Super Mario Odyssey, and like that game, it has a flair for variety. You may ride a frog or fly a plane with wings made from Cody's boxers or hack-and-slash through a Diablo-style castle. Despite the downright wild amount of things to do, It Takes Two manages to handle every mechanic well. This is the second release from Hazelight, and while A Way Out had plenty of fans, it seems that it may just take two to make a thing go quite this right.

It's no surprise that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 is still a spectacular game. The near-perfect recreation of two of gaming's most beloved titles has been improved upon in some smart ways, utilizing the power of both the PS5 and Xbox Series X to push the image quality, resolution, and frame rate to new heights. And if the PS5 ever gets an update to add VRR support, the Performance mode will shine just as bright as it does on the Xbox Series X.

The first Death Stranding was eerily prescient. Releasing in 2019, it was impossible to divorce it from the COVID-19 pandemic that followed a year later, the parallels between preppers living in bunkers and people struggling to find ways to connect with others reflecting a period of quarantine and uncertainty about the future. By contrast, Death Stranding 2 is less precise and clear about what it wants to say; it seems committed to making you ponder many things at once, inviting different takeaways. Its story touches on topics like the increasing harms of climate change, how our everyday actions are being automated with each passing day, the damaging presence of guns, the clash between governments and privately owned entities, and the importance of helping others in any way we can. If the sequel is prescient of anything, it is that fixation on the past binds us to repeat history, no matter how much we try to pretend otherwise.

Crytek almost delivers a knockout blow. Far Cry isn't just a stunning technical accomplishment. It's quite possibly the best single-player first-person shooter experience for the PC since "Half-Life."

Bastion holds up remarkably well four years later, even as the acclaimed games of the latter day tend to lose their luster once the initial novelty wears off. At its best, this re-release proves that Bastion is worthy of its name. It's a bastion of good game design and innovative narration, and I suspect that another four years from now, it will hold up just as well.

An incredibly atmospheric and disturbingly gruesome deep-space adventure that will haunt your dreams and leave you begging for more.

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is worth the long wait. Ms. Chalice gives players a brand-new way to approach each boss, and each of the new boss fights is an imaginative triumph, from both a visual and gameplay perspective. The new parry-focused fights add a twist to the Cuphead platforming formula that feels right at home while offering something new to the experience. Even the already-great main campaign is improved thanks to Ms. Chalice and a trio of new weapons that shake things up for Cuphead and Mugman. Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course adds more than a cherry on top; it changes the recipe to create a game that's more scrumptious than before.

FIFA 12 is the definitive football game: challenging, addictive, and with more excellent features than ever before.

Dishonored's engrossing world and intoxicating interplay of supernatural powers make it a game you'll want to play more than once.

For almost a decade, Capcom has been refining Resident Evil, finding ways to modernize the storied franchise and to maintain what has made it so beloved. With Requiem, Capcom has dialed in Resident Evil maybe as far as it can. The result is a game that leans too hard on past successes and nostalgia, and so doesn't show its fans any new ideas. But it knows its hits backward and forward, and it plays them near-perfectly.

A wonderful and worthy strategy game with a layer of campy charm that makes the stone-faced seriousness of the game's characters all the more endearing. It's also remarkably accessible, thanks to a great interface that feels comfortable whether you're using a keyboard and mouse or have a controller in your hand.

Whether you possess a storied history with the series or come with a clean slate, Mass Effect 3 expertly entangles you in its universe and inspires you to care about its future.

In many ways, Rise of Nations is better than the strategy games that have come before it. It's smarter. It's more challenging. It gives you more to do.

Though NASCAR Racing 2003 Season isn't quite a revolutionary game, it is nevertheless a worthy finale for the series.

If you don't like Descent at least a little bit, make no mistake, there is something wrong with you. Descent II's huge replay value and absolutely insane network play should ensure its popularity for a long time.

Improves in almost every conceivable way on its predecessors and reestablishes the series as the premier example of the play style it single-handedly pioneered.

Like its predecessors, Curse has all the makings of a classic: great gameplay, fantastic graphics and music, challenging puzzles, a complex plot, and hilarious dialogue.

Start playing NHL Eastside Hockey Manager 2007 now, and you might not come up for air until after the real hockey season ends next spring.