Tetris Axis delivers classic gameplay with lots of modes and options, but most of it is very familiar.

You may tire of the formula by the end of the game, but with Wesker at your fingertips, don't be surprised if you find yourself eager to sprint through zombies and decapitate them with energy blasts. It's just crazy enough to work.

NFL Head Coach 09 delivers a deep and immersive coaching experience, provided you can overlook the outdated gameplay engine and lackluster presentation.

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

What Ashes of Ariandel lacks in originality, it makes up for in cohesion with the full version of Dark Souls III.

True, its best qualities can be obscured in the early going by its unforgiving difficulty and the absence of good tutorials, but even when you're overwhelmed, speedy combat and smart AI reel you in. Give it time, and the fast and furious combat smooth out the rough edges into a compelling and challenging strategy game.

What's there right now is undeniably good; however, what's missing makes you yearn for how good it could yet be. It's a fresh, invigorating, more personal take on the grand strategy game. But at the same time, it's lacking in a few areas, and they really do hold it back from greatness. Jon Shafer has found that fertile new ground on which to settle. He just needs to give it a few seasons to grow.

Though it still exhibits many of the camera and control issues that vexed Sonic's previous forays into 3D, it's truer to its 2D roots than any other 3D Sonic game before it.

Broken Age's world may be fun to explore, but don't get too comfortable. Just as you fall into a steady groove with its story and puzzles, the game ends. Thankfully, the ending provides some resolution while also leaving you excited for the second act.

While it offers an interesting and varied campaign, Big Red One doesn't quite nail down the intense feel of World War II infantry combat.

MotoGP 08 is meat-and-potatoes racing with enough challenge to keep two-wheeled gearheads busy for a long time.

While Ashes of Ariandel is ultimately a safe addition to Dark Souls III, it's convincingly satisfying; the risk of death at any moment is as likely as finding a new piece of practical gear or the discovery of an unexplored path. Just don't expect any areas as memorable as those in the main game or revelatory moments that substantially expands the lore.

This enjoyable remake proves that bubble popping never goes out of style, but a few control quirks hamper the fun.

Great use of lighting effects helps sell the feeling of dread and isolation of the strange world.

With three radically different styles of play and some seriously inventive courses, Mario Golf: Super Rush is a compellingly original sports game. Speed Golf and Battle Golf actively make you adapt to wildly different conditions while balancing technique and speediness. The three-click swing system still feels great, though if you desire an accurate motion-controlled golf game, this isn’t it. Golf Adventure curiously lacks a conventional tournament structure or record keeping, which actively dissuaded me from ever wanting to revisit it. Super Rush isn’t the best entry in the series, but it’s a worthy addition.

Glitches drag it down, but Clear Sky provides plenty of haunting ambience and challenging gameplay.

When viewed through that lens, Valiant Hearts: Coming Home is a success story. It tells an emotionally resonant story through multiple episodes, each with simple gameplay mechanics and a difficulty level that's welcoming to many players. That being said, seasoned video game veterans will notice the lack of substance in gameplay, even if they're moved by the story being told.

South Park: The Stick of Truth is not the second coming of role-playing games, so if you come seeking Jesus, you'll be disappointed by the veritable second-rate televangelist you find in His place. But it's as funny as the merry tune of Stratford, and more enjoyable than Butters' favorite game, Hello Kitty: Island Adventure.

Homefront's engrossing vision of the future and gratifying competitive multiplayer outweigh its squandered potential and workaday game mechanics.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl keep enough classic elements to feel like a comfy nostalgia trip, while smoothing over enough of the rough edges that they feel relatively contemporary with other recent Pokemon games. It can't be easy for a storied franchise to pay homage to its legacy while also modernizing in this way, but Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl strike the right balance. It's the classic Pokemon you remember, without most of the little annoyances you've forgotten.

Don your big yellow hat and venture into burning buildings in this engaging firefighting simulation.

MLB 2K10 marks the 10th anniversary of the baseball franchise with a greatly improved game that's the best in the history of the series.

The character models are excellent while the animation is fluid and lively, but the physics of fighting definitely lack polish and can create some frustrating situations. Yet despite these technical shortcomings, it's still great fun to clothesline, drop kick, and power bomb your friends in and out of the ring.

Despite having big ideas, Whispers of a Machine is ultimately a traditional example of the genre with some neat ideas rather than something revelatory. But it's very good at what it does, and those augmentations help to differentiate it from all the other adventure games out there. It's short but gripping, offering a well-written, interesting and clever experience that wraps up well and which rewards your choices and play style with unique powers and puzzle solutions.

Does the phrase "anal beads" make you giggle? Have you daydreamed of tossing poop at the people you hate? Then you know where you can shove The Stick of Truth: right into your console's disc drive.

Moon is a well-crafted shooter that blasts off but fails to reach orbit.

Homefront's engrossing vision of the future and gratifying competitive multiplayer outweigh its squandered potential and workaday game mechanics.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl keep enough classic elements to feel like a comfy nostalgia trip, while smoothing over enough of the rough edges that they feel relatively contemporary with other recent Pokemon games. It can't be easy for a storied franchise to pay homage to its legacy while also modernizing in this way, but Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl strike the right balance. It's the classic Pokemon you remember, without most of the little annoyances you've forgotten.