Sacred 3's primary primary flaw is that it's so easy to forget. It contains too little of what you look for in an action-first RPG, and distances itself it so far from its two predecessors that there is no meaningful connection left between the games besides the name and the setting. And that, as you can see from this example, doesn't mean much.

Pure Football may be an arcade take on the sport, but that doesn't excuse its repetitive gameplay and general lack of game modes.

The Harry Potter film tie-ins end on a low note with this short, tedious, and conceptually vapid cover shooter.

The body-swapping combat, RPG-like team of possessable people, the monster-hunting semi-paranormal narrative--they're all exciting until you engage with them a little, when they reveal themselves to be shallow and underdeveloped. The actual experience of playing Slitterhead is constant repetition of systems that aren't very engaging even their first time, across levels you'll see over and over again, telling a story that never makes much sense, with characters that feel like first-draft lists of stereotypes. Slitterhead has a lot of fascinating ideas and compelling gameplay on the surface, but beneath, it's just boring and banal--a bunch of scary-looking monsters who turn out not to be very scary at all.

It's unlikely that many were begging for a Napoleon Dynamite-themed minigame collection, and those few who were will be disappointed by this shabby effort.

It lacks character; bare-bones quests and audiovisual repetition fail to instill a sense of fantasy wonder. It lacks cohesion; communication failures, economic oddities, and stringent limitations leave you constantly directionless. And it lacks joy; the abysmal interface and boring monsters make it a struggle to stay invested.

This bot-filled sequel delivers all of the mind-numbing monotony we've come to expect from the Dynasty Warriors franchise.

Problematic platforming and awkward action add up to crummy adventures for Zack Zero.

Unfortunately, most of Natural Doctrine's greatest challenges to your patience don't arise from a fair and balanced battle system, but from the game's failure to adhere to comprehensible logic.

Slick graphics cannot cover up a poor port of a classic game.

For the first time since the infamous dam level in the original NES Turtles game, God, it sucks being a turtle.

A unique concept needs a supporting cast of good ideas to flourish, and Spoiler Alert's lone conceit doesn't have the charms to carry the weight of an entire game on its shoulders.

VoidExpanse is toothless in general, lacking the mystery and suspense that could have propelled it through the universe.

As someone who loves Lord of the Rings, life-sims, and cozy games, Tales of the Shire is heartbreakingly disappointing--so much so that I find myself genuinely wondering what went wrong. With such a strong premise, a solid team working on it, and what seemed like a concentrated effort being made to let this game fully cook before it was shipped, I’m ultimately confused by the finished product and concerned for what happened during production. Although Tales of the Shire has some charming ideas, dull gameplay, heaps of bugs, and a general sense of emptiness ultimately drag this once-promising life sim down to the pits of Moria.

In X-Men: Destiny, mindless combat and meaningless choices combine to create a new mutation of boredom.

Warriors Orochi 2 elevates hack-and-slash action to amazing levels of repetitive boredom.

With its repetitive, pedestrian amusement-park games and nearly lifeless presentation, Wonder World Amusement Park completely fails to amuse.

ShellShock 2: Blood Trails spices up Vietnam with a liberal application of zombies, but the controls and the generic shooter gameplay leave a lot to be desired.

In X-Men: Destiny, mindless combat and meaningless choices combine to create a new mutation of boredom.

The PC version of this package does a far better job of emulating these classic Atari hits.

Without the constant glitches, the game would be a mediocre six-hour distraction allowing you to toy with an enjoyable time-bending mechanic. The shallow story and the general awkwardness of its delivery, not to mention Project Temporality's inability to lead the protagonist without a leash, however, prevent the game from being worth the time.

Awkward controls and a forgettable plot greatly overshadow Blackwater's few bright spots.

As it stands, Ashes of the Singularity feels like little more than a tech demo of Stardock's new Oxide engine.

It's unlikely that many were begging for a Napoleon Dynamite-themed minigame collection, and those few who were will be disappointed by this shabby effort.

Obviously, a game-breaking bug is a serious problem, but I was tired of Bridge Constructor Portal long before my progress was abruptly halted. This game falls short in just about every area; an amusing story or eye-catching visual design could have at least distracted from the dull puzzles, but you get no reprieve here.

Couple that with major bugs, sloppy typos, and a painfully slow pace, and you get a mess of a game that feels more like punishment than fun.

Fallout 76 can look and feel like its illustrious predecessors at times, but it's a soulless husk of an experience.

This bot-filled sequel delivers all of the mind-numbing monotony that we've come to expect from the Dynasty Warriors franchise.