Watch Dogs 2's world is a step up from the first game's dreary rendition of Chicago, and even though Watch Dogs 2 can't go toe-to-toe with genre heavyweights, it's hard to walk away from its fun-loving attitude and exuberant cast.

TOCA 3 boasts an awesome variety of racing disciplines, and it backs that boast up with some really excellent driving mechanics.

Dance Central welcomes wallflowers and hot steppers out on the dance floor with great routines and engaging visuals.

FIFA 16 can be stubborn and stifling, but it feels gloriously new, and having to learn fresh strategies and nuances in a game series like this is an almost-forgotten pleasure.

One of the great pure driving games of the new millennium.

The game requires quite some effort to learn, but once competition picks up against the aggressive AI, Capitalism II shows its colors as a great strategy game. Also, as if to help your own bottom line, the game's a real bargain at $20.

It's really a shame that THQ opted to adopt a password feature instead of the battery-save option, because it has added a lot of hassle to what would otherwise be a very fun game.

Ridge Racer 64 takes ideas from the first two Ridge Racer games and puts a new spin on them, introducing the arcade racer to the Nintendo 64 in a way that will interest even longtime fans of the series.

F1 2011 is a great sequel that faithfully represents the thrill and difficulty of driving the world's best racing cars.

It's a seemingly simple and cute journey, but with the underlying potential for strategy in combat, and a massive number of adorable Pokemon to catch, you can't help getting hooked by Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

The stripped down nature of the PS2 version of Rock Band robs it of a good chunk of its value, but the gameplay still rocks.

The Ringed City moves and ends a little too quickly--well before it gets all the mileage it can out of its setting and premises--but that's a small knock against what’s otherwise an exceptional send-off. A well of inspired locales and a renewed focus on the series' obsession with cycles, death and rebirth, and the passage of time, plus a few spectacularly designed and animated foes round out a worthy conclusion to a storied franchise.

It's complex and daunting, but this rich game of exploring, city building, and trading is also tremendously captivating.

It's more of the same for the latest entry in the Hot Shots Golf series.

Hitman 2 is a familiar experience, but in the Hitman world, familiarity is an incredible strength.

The presentation is top-notch, and the community features are neat, despite the hit-and-miss quality of the submissions. The amount of premium downloadable content available thus far is impressive as well.

Lost Judgment improves on its predecessor by cutting down on some of the more tedious elements of its design rather than outright changing the mechanics to make the investigative side of the equation more engaging. In this sense, it's disappointing that it doesn't lean into what makes Judgment unique compared to the Yakuza series and instead remains at its best when sticking close to those origins. The story is compelling with an endearing cast of characters, the sheer amount of stuff to do is astounding, and there's still an inherent joy that comes from pummelling the city's delinquents into the ground. But it's hard not to feel disappointed that you still feel like a passenger when it breaks away from the Yakuza mould. If this is indeed our last time with Yagami and co., then it's one to cherish. There will just always be a nagging feeling that this was a missed opportunity to do something truly special.

FIFA 07 plays a fast-paced and realistic game of soccer and boasts plenty of gameplay options for solo and social players alike.

Child of Light is a wonderfully realized, somber adventure, and I couldn't be happier that such a game exists.

While L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files has its flaws, it excels at making you feel and think like a detective in a way that the base game can't. The VR version isn't a replacement for the full game, but it's a great companion that allows you to play the greatest hit moments from Rockstar's noire opus in a welcomed new way.

When played as a companion game to the original, City of Villains closes an obvious open loop in NCSoft's MMO world of heroic do-gooders and dastardly deeds, and remains a very fun game in the process.

It's not possible to recommend this version of Cave Story over all others, but it is a worthy, good-looking adaptation of a wonderful game all the same. If the WiiWare and DSiWare versions passed you by, and you'd rather do your platforming with an analogue pad than a keyboard, Cave Story 3D is a great way to discover a game that well deserves your attention.

Like the original game, the The Banner Saga 2 leaves you holding your breath, completely invested in the world, its inhabitants, and their struggles, anxiously eager for more.

Not a lot has changed since last year, but the new road-to-the-show mode is a fantastic addition and MLB 07: The Show is a great game.

Despite the nice multiplayer options, the improved accessibility, and the refined crafting system, the missing elements are a sizable backslide from the PC version. But is the core foundation still a lot of fun? Absolutely--if you temper your expectations.

Kentucky Route Zero's refreshingly unconventional tale of a road trip through strange and beautiful parts of America continues in this second act.

But for series newcomers and PC-focused players, Megamix+ is an easy recommendation. There's a ton of content here, built upon a strong rhythm-game foundation that challenges you to grow your skills and aim ever higher--all while having fun watching music videos, playing dress-up, and collecting all the cool and wacky customizations for the entire cast. But most importantly, Megamix+ is the best showcase of Miku's legacy to date, showcasing the unbridled creativity and variety of the online musical and artistic subcultures she's inspired.

PowerWash Sim originally owed a lot of its success to the pandemic. It was an awesome hangout game at a time when everyone was just sort of... hanging out. PowerWash Sim 2 arrives in a different world than its predecessor, though the gameplay at the heart of the series is essentially timeless; it's a lot of fun even without a pandemic forcing us into taking fake jobs for fake money. Before the end of the game, I was looking to change careers, but there will surely be times in the future when I'm itching to get back to it, too. Maybe PowerWash Simulator 2 is best approached as a game where you're your own boss, working on your own schedule. If you can avoid burnout and work as a team with a few friends, it's a good gig.