Easily the best strategy game out on the PS2 at this time, not to mention one of the more inventive to ever grace a console.

It also features some subtle but important improvements to the original gameplay that make Ghost Recon a more polished and enjoyable game as a whole.

Does a great job of improving on its predecessor's shortcomings and offering deeper, more-balanced gameplay.

More of the same, though with marginally better packaging and the addition of online play.

It's not hugely innovative, and it has its share of faults, but its particular blend of features nevertheless gives it a fresh, fun feel.

An online game that is surprisingly deep but extremely easy to get into, making it an excellent game regardless of whether you've played other multiplayer shooters before.

Younger or more casual players may find the game way too hard and may be better off with something less difficult. However, fans of the series or experienced gamers should not hesitate to pick this one up.

After years of solitude, the world's most addictive management game goes multiplayer with great results.

Raven improves upon the great work it did with the X-Men Legends games, creating a lengthy adventure that touches nearly every last corner of the Marvel Universe.

With A House Divided, season two of The Walking Dead is up and shambling. While the first episode was too perfunctory in how it set the stage and got everything into motion, you can now see both the story and the characters taking shape and evolving. This slow-burn approach should continue to pay dividends as the saga matures in future episodes.

An uproariously fun and enjoyable post-Apocalyptic adventure that is a little too familiar at times.

As Metro broadens its horizons, it loses some of the series' focus. But Exodus makes up for it with thrilling encounters and a crew you'll want to follow to the ends of the earth.

What doesn't work is the fact that the disparate parts of puzzles and message board threads don't really have anything to do with each other.

Nostalgia is something that's often talked about when it comes to WoW Classic, not modern WoW. Nevertheless, nostalgia was what kept coming to mind while playing Midnight. Whether it was hearing old war tales from classic Warcraft characters in the Arcantina or revisiting familiar places and faces in Eversong Woods, Midnight honors the past while not being beholden to it, making for a memorable trip down memory lane. Despite its nostalgic underpinnings, Midnight never feels stuck in the past. Just like with the 20-year-later revamp of Eversong and Silvermoon City, Blizzard isn't simply updating WoW--it's continuing to move it forward, one change at a time.

Exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving come together beautifully in this rewarding, replayable arcade adventure.

The Outer Worlds is consistently compelling throughout, and it's a superb example of how to promote traditional RPG sensibilities in a sharp, modern experience.

With just a bit more variety to its tracks and a slightly better career mode, it definitely could have been better, but it has great graphics, solid sound, and the sort of easy learning curve that makes it a driving game that anyone can excel at.

Capcom's superdeformed puzzle game benefits greatly from the inclusion of online play.

It's still a classic Castlevania homage at heart, but it has an eccentricity that feels right at home alongside the giant kitty-cats of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. When a game seems to be having this much fun at its own expense, it's hard not to join in.

Throw in a better overall sense of presentation and an insanely deep track editor, and what you've got is a truly great sequel.

Like the old saying goes--the king is dead, long live the king. Even though A Knight to Remember is not the King’s Quest of yesterday, this first episode in a new franchise ensures that the heart of the original series will live on for the current generation of adventure gamers. Bring on the new exploits of King Graham.

The game's relative ease is offset by the sheer number of weird unlockable items, and the end result is a platform game that is, above all, great fun.

Though you won't find a paradise in your pocket, Viva Pinata makes animal romancing fun while you're on the road.

All of these elements come together to solidify Cult of the Lamb as a standout title in both the rogue-like and simulation genres, as well as a one-of-a-kind entry that exists in the middle of them. Whether you are exploring the dungeons or expanding your cult, the experience is enjoyable, challenging, and more than a bit demented. With how surprisingly dense each of these parts are, the fact that all the pieces come together as smoothly as they do is a triumph.

Children of Morta's fantastic art style and enjoyable storytelling take what would have been an otherwise fun roguelike dungeon-crawler and elevate it a great deal. Taking down enemies and eventually triumphing over bosses is enjoyable, but what kept bringing me back was the connection I felt to the Bergsons, and my sincere desire to help them push back against the Corruption. After all, it's a lot easier dealing with dungeons full of monsters when you have a family to come home to.

Skullgirls is a risque fighter that wraps sex appeal and smooth jazz skintight around a smartly crafted fighting system.

Imaginative puzzles and explosive boss fights are the most exciting elements of this sequel, but a new emphasis on shooting brings some frustration to the mix.

Taken all together, Mario 3D All-Stars is a worthwhile collection, featuring the best versions of Mario 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy to appear on a Nintendo system. Although the individual games have been sparingly touched up and there's little in the way of ancillary material to pore over, the titles themselves hold up well and are a delight to revisit. Despite their age, the games are still rife with inventive ideas and surprises, which more than makes up for the collection's presentational shortcomings.