Utterly run of the mill, completely middle of the road. Its flaws may not be glaring, but there isn't a single aspect of the game that truly shines through.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time tells an enjoyably absurd time-hopping tale, but stepping into the tights of its two heroes doesn't feel as empowering as it should.

Easy controls and various activities don't mask the waiting needed to get that big catch.

There's a lot of potential in the ideas seeded in New Dawn, but there isn't enough room for many of them to breathe and feel fully realized.

The absolutely awful camera control that all but ruins the game. But despite these very apparent flaws in the action portion of the game, the turn-based strategy portion is somewhat enjoyable while it lasts.

Stardrone's vibrant, physics-driven arcade action suffers from difficulty spikes and frustrating design elements.

The visual improvements and additional characters layered atop the Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition can't conceal its bloated structure. This is, without a doubt, the best this stylish action romp has looked and felt, but just because you can gussy up an old game, doesn't always mean that you should.

When Satellite Reign is on and all the parts decide they want to work together, it is a blast. Infiltrating a base without setting off any alarms and stealing new guns and money from under the enemy's nose is tense and satisfying, and you have to be willing to take risks to succeed. I just wish you didn't have to slog through the uninviting early hours and the game's regularly busted AI to find those thrills.

NASCAR 08 isn't a bad game; in fact, it's fun once you get the hang of it. Its biggest problem is that it's not noticeably better than last year's game and there aren't any compelling new features. If you own any NASCAR game from the past few years, you might as well stick with that one.

There's a lot of potential in the ideas seeded in New Dawn, but there isn't enough room for many of them to breathe and feel fully realized.

The limitation on cooperative play is the game's biggest disappointment, so here's hoping that Microsoft Studios has more multiplayer levels in mind for possible downloadable content.

If you're dying to see how Vergil fares against the Order of the Sword or feel the need to test the extreme difficulty, take the leap. Just be warned that some aspects of the game would have been better left in the past.

The game's poor graphical performance really gets in the way of the game's cool trick system, and the end result is undeniably tarnished.

A big, loud, shallow action game that severely lacks in content.

Detective Pikachu Returns is charming and well-made enough for what it is, but that is a mystery game made for younger readers. Its setting, story, and mechanics are all geared toward gently introducing the uninitiated to mystery tropes with a soft-touch approach, and that makes it hard to recommend for any age group above tweens. There's some satisfaction to be had in seeing the story unfold, but mostly this is a game made to be played by or with kids, not to make you feel like a kid again.

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood benefits immensely from attractive art design, and that is supplemented by a variety of puzzles that are initially quite satisfying before finally wearing out their welcome near the end. Consider taking the plunge if you're itching to dive into another pretty platformer, but otherwise you're probably better off waiting for a different curse to come along.

Ghost in the Sheet may be more traditional than it first appears, but this spooky adventure still offers challenging puzzles amid a creepy atmosphere.

Like visiting your hometown after years of absence. Everything's the same, yet off somehow. As you visit all the same places and exchange words with old friends, you're faced with an uncomfortable duality. On one hand, you get the closure of knowing how it all turned out, but on the other, you wonder what could have been, making you simultaneously satisfied and unsettled by the reality that this is the end.

While this Special Edition provides slight combat tweaks and additional characters to toy with, there's just not enough mechanical or architectural variation to justify the fluff. As a result, the endless combat rooms and recycled scenarios can be exhausting.

There's compelling dungeon-crawling action to be found here, hiding amid tedious puzzles and an awkward transfer from the DS.

It's not that your time with Kraven Manor won't be well spent. There's fun to be had and there are scary things to jump at, but this short adventure comes up shy of other great first-person horror games from recent years.

And it's a testament to the quality of Halo games throughout the years that Halo: The Master Chief Collection is an attractive package, despite the massive problems with online multiplayer.

River City Saga: Three Kingdoms isn't as revolutionary as River City Ransom or as subversive and modernized as River City Girls. It exists in a middle ground, with loads of combat options and modern quality-of-life conveniences presented in a gameplay style reminiscent of the original NES game. The Three Kingdoms setting is a cute and clever way to contextualize the concept, making for a breezy little homage adventure.

With the generous post-launch support that Payday 2 received over years, only time will tell if the same treatment can address the glaring issues with Payday 3's current progression system and evident lack of content when compared to its previous iteration. But it has established a strong foundation for the new, elaborate heists that it has drastically improved upon, inciting you to play Payday in ways you couldn't in the past. If you're more concerned with just having a good time pulling off the perfect robbery with some friends, Payday 3 features rich new challenges and satisfying stealth objectives to keep you entertained for some time. But if you need tangible rewards to keep you around after you've experienced Payday 3's limited number of heists, then its unrewarding grind might keep its limited loot behind a vault door you aren't willing to wait around to crack open.

The ability to alter terrain isn't enough to save Fracture from becoming the latest run-of-the-mill shooter.

The concept of The Longest Five Minutes is undeniably intriguing, and its retro-styled visuals, quirky personalities and dialogue, and moments of inspired, emotional storytelling give it a lot of inherent charm. But charm can only go so far to make up for a game’s flaws, and far too often, The Longest Five Minutes falls victim to stereotypical old-school JRPG drudgery like endless random encounters and annoying dungeons--the exact sort of thing it wants to deconstruct. Though its ambition is admirable, it ultimately doesn’t live up to the promise of its clever premise.

The role-playing elements are lightweight, and while the combat can be flashy, it's also pretty uncomplicated. It can be fun for a while, but monotony eventually sets in, and you find yourself wondering why this technically modest game is on the PlayStation 3 in the first place.

Necropolis feels like a missed opportunity. Even though the game offers intense combat and an appealingly bizarre setting, there are just too many problems and limitations for it to hold your interest for very long.