By shifting the tone from serious to crazy and making the combat system rewarding for the most dedicated players, this is a beat-'em-up that fits alongside modern games.

Really just a slight refinement of the well-established DDR formula.

As a horror-tinged slaughterfest that vomits blood and bile on the face of modern first-person shooter convention, Hell & Damnation distills the essence of the Painkiller series into a tight, finely honed package.

Exceptionally easy and surprisingly brief, but while it lasts, it's a fun romp for its target audience through Prisoner of Azkaban's twisty storyline.

I know a lot of my problems with Sonic Origins sound like nitpicks, but I adore these games and I want to see them restored and presented with joy and reverence as the masterpieces they are--not tainted with frivolous DLC that should be unlockables and lackluster presentation. Sonic Origins comes close to being the definitive classic Sonic experience, but stumbles just before the finish line.

The Club provides some old-school single-player thrills, but it fails to live up to its initial promise.

It retains some of its predecessor's faults, but Marble Saga is still a leap forward for the Kororinpa series.

They Bleed Pixels is a problematic but highly replayable platformer/beat-'em-up combo enhanced by a Lovecraftian vibe.

Double Dragon Neon revitalizes the classic franchise, but a few missteps derail the silly fun.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a better version of a classic, flawed game. Those blemishes are sometimes more glaring today, but some great fixes to the overall package also erase some other issues entirely. Its timeless qualities, like an absurd story and a fun setting, keep it from feeling like an unwelcome retread. Still, I'd hope the next Dead Rising fixes a lot of what this one does poorly--and even some of its sequels did that, so it seems likely. In 2024, Dead Rising is no longer the sort of game that would make me run out and buy a new console, but it is a game that I'm happy to revisit in this improved form.

City of Brass is a good dungeon crawler, with some of its best moments and mechanics derived from its rendition of an Arabian Nights theme.

Though I wish that Jaws of Hakkon was less bloated, and though I miss the cinematic flair of the rest of Dragon Age: Inquisition, I know that in a month I'll have forgotten these quibbles. Instead, I'll remember my time spent in Frostback Basin fondly. I'll remember the sharp wit of Svarah Sun-Hair, the leader of the local Avvar clan.

A number of small improvements make Baseball Mogul 2009 only a minor evolution over its predecessor.

Hot Wheels Unleashed captures the magic of plastic cars with fast and smooth racing, but the toy box is a little shallow. There are numerous maps and cars, but the limited amount of environments, music, and set-pieces make for an experience that starts to get old quickly. As a result, Hot Wheels Unleashed rides the high of its racing, which feels like butter when drifting around corners and speeding through loop-the-loops, using whichever food truck or licensed car you pull out of the blind box, but doesn't bring enough of the license's personality over.

This third-person action game lacks the compelling storyline that it alludes to early on, but offers plenty of enjoyable combat nonetheless.

Hollowbody is scary, dreary, and sad; it's all the things I love about horror games. Sometimes, it embodies these feelings because it nearly repurposes the same monsters, places, and predicaments from the games that inspired it. But it's not all familiar, and the things it does differently are its best attributes, like telling a story conscious of and concerned about sociopolitics and offering a minimalistic but unsettling soundtrack of its own. Maybe the last great Silent Hill game is behind us. I don't know. But I do know its memory remains alive in successes like Hollowbody.

It isn't often that you play something that is so pure and unapologetically itself, but that's Wattam. I don't know if I'll ever play another game that makes me turn all of my friends into fruit so I can progress. It oozes passion, and it has an infectious enthusiasm that's present in each and every aspect of it. Wattam never takes itself too seriously, and that makes it easy to buy into its world and suspend your disbelief. While the gameplay is all over the place, Wattam is held together by themes of friendship and a cohesive soundtrack that actually leave you grinning long after you're done.

Defenders is a worthy addition to an already great game that will no doubt please anyone with a fondness for fighting within an inch of their life while also blowing up everything in sight into tiny, beautiful pieces.

A delicious mix of arena fighting and bullet-hell chaos wins out over weak presentation in this action battler.

Arcen's latest delivers an undeniable rush of triumph once you manage to overcome the final confrontation. Most times you'll fail, however, but if you're not put off by the limitations of the presentation and the sheer brutality of Bionic Dues' challenges, you'll find an enjoyable roguelike that rewards your persistence and determination.

As much as I've gotten used to modern, hold-your-hand RPGs like Mass Effect 3, there is something to be said for this take-no-prisoners blast from the past, especially if you love old-timey D&D as much as I do.

Assessed solely as a Zelda game, Hyrule Warriors probably isn’t good enough to lure in non-Dynasty Warriors fans, but it is passable enough to offer Musou lovers something different to play between their usual battles for dynastic superiority.

The most realistic football game for the Wii is let down by poor graphics and limited improvements to last year's version.

Dawnguard is an atmospheric and enjoyable return to the frigid lands of Skyrim. Just beware the bugs.

Grapple Dog isn't doing anything new or revolutionary, but it is nicely delivering on a simple premise. It felt like uncovering a forgotten gem in a Game Boy Advance bargain bin, then taking it home and discovering some parts that are a little uneven or awkward. It's the kind of game that's just imminently likable and endearing, even if I don't expect it to hook me long-term.

In its undead modes, and the first 10 hours of multiplayer, it excels. But in its campaign, it merely crawls forward. Black Ops III doesn't offer anything remarkable to the series, but does just enough to maintain the Call of Duty status quo. The franchise, however slowly, continues its inexorable march.

RiffTrax: The Game fits well into the party game genre and is a nice follow up to What the Dub, but ultimately, half of the game (Pick A Riff) isn't worth your time. The inclusion of the RiffTrax team is exciting to those who are a fan of RiffTrax and its lineage, but if you're not familiar with them, then it's not really going to be a huge selling point. RiffTrax: The Game works very well if you completely avoid Pick A Riff and have a group of friends over--or online--and spend your evenings in the Write A Riff game. There's an endless amount of fun within group play that's simple enough to pick up and play.

Though the brutal rise in difficulty near the end mars the adventure, it doesn't ruin the overall mood, and the cover charge is more than reasonable for this particular night at the club. Grab a colorful cocktail and head to the dance floor!