A great twist on the classic 4X formula.

Mad Max's combat system is too dumbed down to enjoy, and repetitive activities such as searching for scrap and invading small enemy camps gets old fast. Mad Max offers some great experiences, but for a game that tries to impose the realities of survival on you, it does a poor job of following up on this pressure.

With solid presentation, combat, and customization, LBX: Little Battler’s eXperience is a satisfying game that is more involved than it seems. It’s not without its faults, including unwieldy, sometimes tedious design, but to write it off as just another kid’s RPG would do it a massive disservice. Level-5 has created an action-RPG that--even with its faults--is still an entertaining offering.

It's a peek into the early days of complex level design, interlocking combat mechanics, basic physics, and the best of what could be accomplished visually and sonically on the NES. Just don't ask me to beat Snake Man again. Please, never ask me to do that.

Zombi manages to set itself apart, with its deliberate pacing, desolate atmosphere, and focus on survival. It might not be a Crown Jewel, but this undead romp through London is an interesting change of pace.

If Ultra Despair Girls didn’t have so much else going for it, it would be a mostly-mediocre quasi-survival-horror-shooter with a few high points. But even with some very obvious gameplay issues, the sheer strength of the game’s setting, story, characters, and style manages to overshadow everything else, turning this into an absolute must-play for anyone already invested in the Danganronpa universe.

Despite the occasional laughs and wonderfully weird multiplayer modes, Devil's Third is near-impossible to recommend. The numerous issues with the controls as well as crucial elements of the game's combat systems soon mount up to provide an experience that frustrates far more often than it entertains, resulting in a missed opportunity for what could've been a cult hit.

Devoid of any throwaway modes or game types that rely on nostalgia, Madden NFL 16 is both sensible and forward thinking. Its developers could have made a bigger deal about Super Bowl 50 or relied more heavily on the appeal of Hall of Fame players (who are available in Ultimate Team). Instead, EA Tiburon has focused more on fans’ diverse play tastes as well as making this one of the most welcoming Madden games in recent memory.

Saying that The Descent meets expectations may be damning this DLC with faint praise, but that’s also a fair summation of what it offers during its seven-to-10 hours of action. This is a pure sideline quest to the events of Dragon Age: Inquisition that plays out in a completely linear fashion and has no impact on the greater world.

I didn't expect to have so much fun with Until Dawn, and the depth with which my choices mattered and affected the final outcome encouraged repeat playthroughs. The visuals can be wonky at times, but in the end Until Dawn succeeds in being a thoughtful use of familiar mechanics, a great achievement in player-driven narrative, and a horror game you shouldn't miss.

The return trip might have revealed a few more cracks than we remembered, but it also serves as a shield for our nostalgia. And as remakes go, that's worth the journey home.

There has never been a game in the series with such depth to its gameplay, or so much volume in content. The best elements from the past games are here, and the new open-world gameplay adds more to love on top. When it comes to storytelling, there has never been a Metal Gear game that's so consistent in tone, daring in subject matter, and so captivating in presentation. The Phantom Pain may be a contender for one of the best action games ever made, but is undoubtedly the best Metal Gear game there is.

Even a couple years after its release, though, The Bridge is one of the better examples of 2D puzzle games available right now. It's a shame that frustration can sometimes break the trance induced by the wonderful art and design, but that shouldn't keep you from exploring this unique black-and-white world.

There are no big action sequences, which takes away some of the energy, but the emphasis on character relationships is what makes this episode a good one.

It stumbles when trying to tell a story, but excels at communicating phenomenal mechanics.

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, intelligent combat, and a range of tactical depth is hard to find in different games, let alone rolled up into one very catchy, very reasonably priced package.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture uses subtle cues to guide you through its world and then gives you the space to digest what you find. It's a wonderful example of what games can achieve narratively while presenting minimal physical engagement and tasking player imagination with the rest.

The later platforming sequences are frustratingly difficult, the load times are excruciatingly protracted, the combat is sloppy, and sometimes the game just breaks. Jumping up walls and across crevices can be fun, but that's not nearly enough when everything else is such a chore to play.

The purity of N++ is still its greatest appeal, a stripped-down representation of the skills that many gamers have come to know as innate, given free reign in some of the best level design ideas in the industry.

It's a layered, complex system, and even now, 20 hours after I started it, there are upgrades I haven't found, techniques I haven't practiced, and possibilities I haven't considered. Galak-Z pummelled me, knocked me to the ground and kicked me when I was down. But when I finally got the upper hand, and beat the final season with only a sliver of health left, the victory was all the more rewarding.

Rare Replay is a great way to experience some of the best games from the studio's past, and the new videos that document Rare's storied history are the icing on the cake; it's just a shame that you can't access them from the start.

The variety of challenges makes Tembo fun and exciting, though the high-pressure, instant-death sections can become irritating because they tend to eat through your limited stock of lives much faster than any other parts of the game, throwing the otherwise solid pacing off.

Tembo is the sort of game that encourages you to play for 100% completion and/or speedrunning, as well (it even tracks your times and high score). And with Tembo’s satisfying movement and controls, you could play through the game with some amazingly stylish platforming swagger.

Etrian Odyssey Untold 2 has some flaws, certainly--the additions to the formula make it more accessible but don't ultimately enhance the game. On the other hand, it looks great, it retains the traditional Etrian Odyssey experience in Classic mode, and you still feel empowered after defeating a challenging FOE with only a sliver of health to your name.

There are problems with just about every aspect of Victor Vran. The issues range from small to large, from the glitches to frequent crashes and audio cutouts. Still, there’s a lot to enjoy about it.

Although Blues and Bullets isn’t without its flaws, this first episode sets a distinctive comic-book, crime-noir attitude compelling enough to keep you playing and looking forward to what the series will offer in future installments. Anyone who enjoys classic noir fiction or the decidedly modern, bloody take on it offered up on the grim streets of Sin City will find a lot to like here.

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.