Tiberian Twilight's online play and persistent unlocks make for short-term fun, but the mediocre campaign doesn't give Kane the send-off he deserved.

Despite my distaste for all the hand-holding, Murasaki Baby's mesmerizing art style and strong emotional backbone left me too invested to let go.

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

It's a fairly sturdy, combat-heavy platformer with a good hook, but it lacks a real distinct attitude.

It finds a middle ground between being a destructive playground and an inventive puzzler, with enough variety throughout to make its brief playtime feel well-balanced. You certainly aren't the best person for any of the jobs you're thrust into, but it's a lot of the fun bumbling your way through it all anyway and still getting the job done at the end of the day.

Tetris Party Deluxe keeps a decades-old formula fresh with new mechanics and strong competitive multiplayer.

Corralling livestock is a fun new way to solve puzzles, but some agitating quirks will push the impatient away.

Is Trove the kind of MMOG that I'd like to spend a part of every day in? No. But it is an MMOG that I'd enjoy visiting every now and then, possibly several times a week.

Tecmo Bowl Throwback is a surprisingly enjoyable blast from the past.

This fun take on the Pixar movie has lots of entertaining content for younger players, but control issues and a lack of depth limit its appeal.

Improved gameplay structure makes for a markedly better--and funnier--second episode.

If you think all good mysteries should offer their own solutions, Home may feel like hollow entertainment. But by allowing you room to interpret, Home keeps you intellectually engaged even when you aren't playing it, and that's a triumph worth celebrating.

Tiger Woods 08 is good, but it's only slightly better than the last game.

But as a game of ideas, The Novelist works. It's not a challenging game, but the choices you have to make are.

Confusing accurately describes Remnant: From the Ashes a lot of the time, especially when its combination of established ideas doesn't mesh. But for the most part, the experiment is a success, resulting in deeply satisfying combat against creative and challenging enemies. Remnant struggles to effectively transfer that success over to an engaging loot system and an interesting story to wrap it all up, but when you're blasting away foes with weapons crafted from the remains of your latest boss kill, it's hard not to do so with a wide smile on your face.

Despite its problems, Nidhogg 2 is spectacular, engrossing, funny, tragic, and dramatic in equal measure, and it will no doubt become another party game staple.

Inconsistencies of time reversal aside, Life is Strange is an involving slice of life that works because its situations eloquently capture a peculiar early-college state of mind.

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.

The Banner Saga is a beautiful game, filled with interesting ideas and enjoyable battles. It's too bad the story gets entangled within its own winding web, but this chilly journey does a fine job of reminding you that being a respectable leader is about more than just giving rousing speeches and schmoozing with the high and mighty.

It offers a solid new campaign, as well as some new units, textures, and AI upgrades, but it also neglects to address some old problems.

The combat is frantic and tense, but often feels samey and superficial. The in-match leveling works wonderfully in the campaign, but can become problematic in multiplayer. The varied cast of heroes adds longevity, but the game still feels relatively content light. With so many moving parts that never quite gel, I found plenty of things to love but just as much to feel confused by and ambivalent about.

The lack of a link-cable option, the limiting of power-ups to the jam mode, and an absence of mid-shot passing are the three problems that ultimately keep NBA Jam 2002 from attaining all-star status.

A pretty good game, though it could have been much better.

Playing by myself for an extended period of time was boring and monotonous, and the absence of certain single-player modes is a major oversight. But Nintendo Switch Sports is a fantastic multiplayer game that, for the most part, invites anyone and everyone to pick up a controller and flail their limbs about. It has its issues, but they fall away when you have other people to play with and are joyously going toe-to-toe in virtual sports. As with the original Wii Sports, Nintendo Switch Sports finds beauty and fun in simplicity. And bowling is great. Better than real-life bowling.

Brain Age 2 provides more of the same noggin-teasing puzzles in the same format and presentation as the original game.

When PowerWash Simulator leans into its best qualities, as a soothing and low-impact way to pass some time, it shines like the chrome on a recently power-washed classic car. On the rare occasions when it breaks up its own flow with granular fussiness or interrupts your plans for the in-game economy, it detracts from the experience. At its best, PowerWash Simulator is a quiet, relaxing experience that's best enjoyed in small doses. It's time-consuming, yes, but once in a while, we all need something to consume our time.

There's very little that's truly new in Tiger Woods 07, but it's still one of the best ways to get your golf fix while on the go.

Payday 2 brings crime to life with an alluring intensity that entertains in spite of some rough edges.