While there is fun to be had in F1 2009, it's a long way from being a faithful reproduction of the pinnacle of motorsport.

This satirical shooter is fun, but it never takes advantage of the potential of its parodies.

First-person shooter Xotic sure lives up to its name with surreal, fast-flowing gameplay.

Where Telltale’s Walking Dead stories prior have typically hinged on the sanctity of humanity in those facing unspeakable trauma, Michonne’s humanity already hangs by a thread, and In Too Deep does comparatively little to rebuild or cut away at that thread. In light of having a kind of protagonist we’ve seen far too little of in gaming, Walking Dead: Michonne can and should go to narrative places we haven’t seen before.

Pigs and puns are the highlights of this otherwise routine take on an old formula.

Brilliant shoot-outs are dulled by maddening side missions in this inconsistent add-on.

Takes the basic concepts of the original arcade game and adds a few gameplay elements that, ultimately, don't fit together all that well. The game plays well enough, but anyone accustomed to the simplicity of Dig Dug might turn their nose up at this one.

Mafia: The Old Country is at its best when things slow down, letting you take in all the sights and sounds of Sicily. Like previous Mafia games, it nails the look and feel of its real-world counterpart by investing heavily in the details. Unfortunately, generic gameplay and dated mission design hold Mafia: The Old Country back, making it feel like a relic of the early 2010s.

Championship Manager 2008 ultimately fails because it doesn't seem to know who it's aiming at.

The colorful presentational coating is tasty, but unfinished features and rotten artificial intelligence keep Heroes of Annihilated Empires from reaching its potential.

Poor controls plague Mr. Esc's first action puzzler romp on the Nintendo DS.

Telltale's Batman series has passed the halfway point--and, unfortunately, Episode 3 fails to raise the stakes, present a fresh take on Bruce Wayne, or take the narrative in an interesting new direction.

Sonic X Shadow Generations is a weird package. On one hand, Sonic Generations is a remaster of a great game from 2011 that now feels like it's a little outdated. And on the other, Shadow Generations is the conclusion to a storyline that the franchise hasn't really cared about since 2006. As someone who specifically got into Sonic games during that early 2000 period, this collection feels like it speaks directly to me. But it also feels much like its protagonists--lost in a place out of time and desperate to return to fonder times. It's a nice enough trip down memory lane, but the trip features all the speed bumps you'd expect from games from that era.

This WWE franchise overhaul is held back by some serious control issues.

The Golf Club falls short of the green in its current state. There is a tremendous amount of potential here, and the game is immensely satisfying at times due to the demanding nature of the simulation and the wide variety of courses available to play. Off-kilter swing mechanics and noteworthy performance problems have to be addressed, but this is a game to watch.

NHL 08 offers up a few control tweaks and minimal updates to the dynasty mode, but that's about it.

Crisp visuals and legions of enemies struggle to invigorate the lackluster Serious Sam 3: BFE.

Speedball teaches you how to play and sets you loose, but leaves you with only a handful of avenues to explore the possibilities.

Floaty physics and an underwhelming sense of speed add up to a decent, but not great, sci-fi racing game.

As much as Above the Law advances A New Frontier’s narrative and sets up what will inevitably be a chaotic battle for Richmond, there just isn’t enough to do this time around.

Time Crisis: Razing Storm can be fun when it sticks to its arcade roots, but everything else in this shooter package misses the target completely.

If the regular levels were as inventive as the boss battles, then Tropical Freeze would be a surefire hit, or at least a game that demands more of your attention. No matter how much I was looking forward to seeing DK in HD, it's difficult to maintain that enthusiasm when the end product plays it so safe: even the visuals fail to make an impact. They're nice enough, but like the level design, the environments are mostly bland.

Like the previous two episodes, Episode 3 of Guardians gains enough momentum with its most engaging relationships and story beats to carry itself forward. It continues to build upon its characters and gives meaning to its choices, but it also suffers from similar problems, including poor gamified sequences. A cliffhanger ending interrupts the excitement of the scene and ends up feeling forced, which is less intriguing after two prior episodes of manufactured suspense.

This is a satisfying game--especially to the longtime Warhammer 40K devotees who have been waiting for a new Space Hulk video game for nearly two decades--but it could have been so much more.

Broken modes, both online and off, bring the otherwise enjoyable Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed to a screeching halt.

In a lot of ways, Evil West feels like a relic of the past. It's the kind of game you could envision playing back in, say, 2010 or perhaps even earlier. This simplicity could've been somewhat refreshing when so many modern games are overly bloated by comparison, but it comes across like a game short on aspiration. Combat is robust, relishes in gore, and constantly delights with its weighty and satisfying action. It stumbles into tedium towards the end, though, both as a result of enemy oversaturation and because it's forced to carry the load, but it's the one aspect that makes Evil West worth playing. The rest of the game is formulaic and mind-numbingly dull, actively diminishing its high points as you saunter from one combat arena to another. I didn't always enjoy my time with Evil West, but I hope a sequel is in the pipeline, if only to see if Flying Wild Hog can expand and improve on its promise.

Curious George may be squarely aimed at a younger audience, but even they will likely tire of its overly repetitive minigames and extremely simplistic platforming.

Murdered: Soul Suspect is as troubled as its protagonist. There are so many problems--from the presentation to the story and even technical hiccups--that I was continually pulled out of the experience. And yet, I continued on, and I'm glad that I wasn't overwhelmed by those missteps.