Ghostwire: Tokyo feels like a throwback to a different era of action game design. It takes an off-beat approach to world design, story encounters, and combat pacing that won't be for everyone, but if you can get it to click into place you'll have a resoundingly chill time hunting ghosts throughout Tokyo.

Filled with enough fan service to make it an undeniable treat for Spider-maniacs, Shattered Dimensions is a fine game that's a little too uneven and repetitive to be more that the sum of its parts.

While the levels are interesting from an artistic point of view, getting through them is a little too typical. Ultimately, the gifted art design in Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars can’t hide the fact that you’ve played much of this before – it just didn’t look as good then.

Despite letting some of its most compelling aspects die off, The Evil Within is still worth a shot for bringing some unique ideas in the first place, and giving us a new way to think about survival horror.

The new levels are just too unambitious and end up playing like Sonic's recent DS outings, only with polygonal visuals and 3D depth. That's still a worthy experience, but when Dreamcast's 12-years-old Emerald Coast blows its 3DS counterpart out of the water, there's something not quite right here.

Filled with enough fan service to make it an undeniable treat for Spider-maniacs, Shattered Dimensions is a fine game that's a little too uneven and repetitive to be more that the sum of its parts.

If you're willing to spend a few hours to teach yourself how the game works, you might just enjoy how the game plays.

You'll enjoy it a lot while it lasts, but it's just a shame there isn't more Daffy here to love.

But buried underneath the sometimes slopped-on content is fairly competent strategy game. It's challenging enough for serious gamers, but forgiving enough that you can go ahead a use your favorite Sorceress even if a goblin Warrior would be stronger.

All-Stars ends up feeling a little unsure of itself, trying to identify with technical one-on-one fighters and the spontaneous scrapping of Smash Bros. in a way that doesn't completely capture the joys of either. Gripes aside, Battle Royale lays the groundwork for what could be a truly stellar sequel.

Lost in Shadow comes together to form a unique package and is often inspired in its complex play of light and shadow. It's a fun game that sometimes frustrates, but also really works your brain's capacity for spatial awareness.

Unfortunately, NHL 2K6 barely seems like a next-gen game. The graphics are cleaner and slightly prettier than the last-gen versions, but there's no wow power here - you wouldn't be surprised to see this game running on Xbox.

As a game, MLB 2K6 feels more than competent, but it fails to excel. Much like last year’s Cubs, it has its shining moments, but in the end you’re left with the distinct feeling that it could have been so much more.

If this sort of game doesn't sound appealing, no one can blame you. Datura is arty, a tad obtuse, and the clumsy Move controls don't make it any more accessible. For more methodical, curious gamers, we recommend you download Datura, and play it with a DualShock. Moments from the game have a way sticking in your mind, calling you in for a replay.

The Expanse: A Telltale Series makes for a compelling prequel to the show with a few glaring issues outshone by complex, engaging characters.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe is a great package with two entertaining side games to complement the super-slick platforming quest. With a stronger final quarter, this would be essential.

Various lures like to be jerked and jiggled at different speeds, but it’s still pretty easy for any gamer to pick up and start snagging bass in only a few minutes.

DDFF is an interesting take on a lot of well-worn ideas - never exceptional, though usually a lot of fun.

With 250 new ship upgrades, 100 new aircraft, and submarine warfare, Warship Gunner 2 is just the ticket for the gamer who always wanted to shout, "Damn the torpedoes! Full Speed ahead!" Just remember, it won't always be a pleasure cruise.

With no online play and only two-players a time, there's little chance people will still be revving up Excite Truck in a few month's time.

A fizzy addition to the party game canon, Party Animals brings ample amounts of chaos and chuckles, with an uneven mix of modes highlighting the physic fighting shortcomings. Still, it's never not fun to hurl a friend off a speeding train and see them shrink into the distance.

If it had been released in 2004, TimeShift probably would've been the bee's knees. In 2007, though, it's merely a one-hit wonder in a sea of timeless gaming anthems.

Ultimately, the first golf game on 360 is an admirable sign of things to come. But considering its emaciated course selection and the fact that it runs ten bucks more than the current-gen version, we'd think long and hard about which version is best for you.

Rematch sees French studio Sloclap’s first foray into sports mesh elements of Rocket League and classic Be A Pro modes, to form a lighthearted football experience with a bright future. Mais oui.

While the story lacks the humor and extensive narrative of the Wii U sequel, Chase and the rest of the cast are still an endearing bunch.

It's a snap to learn and a breeze to play, whether tackling one of its half-dozen goal-driven scenarios or wrangling with a few friends online.

Yes, the action can get tedious over time, as you realize that strategy takes a back seat to cheap super-moves and quick fingers. But there's something here.

The single player, three-tiered campaign will keep you busy for awhile, but as always, Blitz shines best when played against someone you know - that's been the best way to make the helmets fly and pile drivers smash since its inception.

Reanimal is an enjoyably disturbing horror fairy tale full of beautifully designed scenarios, landscapes and creatures that just doesn't quite bring itself together as a whole.

If you're not too old to play pretend and mean it, Stormreach proves fun for the whole family. Just be aware that if you don't bring your whole family, you won't have much fun.

Even if it's not quite everything we hoped, we're pumped that 2K football is back in action. Let the competition begin - again.

Aliens: Dark Descent is a fresh and fun take on the series, with great tactical action supplemented with unique concepts like stress management. The writing and characters sadly don't amount to anything memorable, and boss battles can feel incredibly jarring to the pacing and tension.

Life is Strange Double Exposure draws you into a mystery full of intriguing twists and turns in a fresh university setting. The new shifting ability that allows for parallel timeline hopping works well in the context of a murder investigation, but can make it harder to feel like you're truly connecting with the characters. Overall, Max's return feels like it finds its feet towards the end, and is building towards something bigger.

While The Life remains an eminently pleasant diversion, it’s not enough to vault 09 past its rivals. It’s definitely worth a rental by PS3-owning basketball fans, but NBA 09 The Inside needs more time in training camp before it deserves a spot on the court with Live and 2K9.

It's hard not to be frustrated by the poor visibility and abrupt, inconclusive ending (we suspect this is a prequel to the movie), but this still manages to emerge as one of the PSP's better shooters.

The quirks of what seem to be a last-minute rush out the door development strategy don’t detract from the fact that each Hitman 2 level is wonderfully crafted and full of potential for inventiveness… and silliness.

Fluidity is a game that's just plain fun. The puzzles aren't too difficult and absolutely gratifying to solve.

We’ve rarely been so conflicted about a baseball game, but MLB 2K9 is a paradox. It’s undeniably fun and accessible, offering plenty of addictive options for hardball fans. It also suffers from too many gaffes that are impossible to ignore.

If you can make it past the color explosion, and aren't prone to ulcers in high-stress situations, then you'll be coming back for bite-size servings long after you've completed the campaign. If have four friends eager for some trash talk, it's a perfect way to burn through an evening (and inevitably lose some friends).

A wonderful game is available here, but no one cares. Unfortunately, they might not ever care.

Battleborn mixes the FPS and MOBA genres to produce a game that oozes character and original ideas. Just don’t expect to love it straightaway.

But while the suicidal rodents look sharp and the gameplay is still some of the best puzzle gaming around, there’s no escaping the fact that Lemmings simply doesn’t bring much that’s new to the table.

The true winner in Dark of the Moon isn't Autobots or Decepticons – it's excellent pacing. Before any one part of the game starts to truly show its flaws, you're done with it and on to a new section. Sure, it's not the best Transformers game we've ever played, but it's still a good a Transformers game, and that'll be enough for a lot of people.

This is the simplest Tony Hawk to date.

A pretty, mostly typical RPG wrapped around a deep, compelling battle system and more than 100 collectible monsters.

A stellar first WWE outing on PS5 and XBox Series X, but legacy flaws hold it back from true greatness.

Planet Coaster 2 is an ambitious sequel that expands sideways upon the foundation laid by its predecessor. The graphics are stunning, the water slide additions are fun, and the creative potential is immense, but it comes at a cost. The complexity of infrastructure systems interrupts the creative flow, making the impressively customizable experience feel unnecessarily convoluted at times.

While it doesn't reach the heights we wished it would, War in the North is still a solid experience with more than enough content to justify checking it out. The combination of action-packed combat, RPG elements, and iconic Tolkien vibe make it worth a look for anyone looking for a bloody good time, even if they don't typically care about the stories of Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest of the fellowship.

All Fe’s colour, charm and cute make it utterly recommendable despite its flaws.

The controls and camera do you no favors, and it could really benefit from more complexity in battle - we’d like to hammer buttons other than A once in awhile, please. But if the series continues to improve, it could find itself running down a certain electric yellow chinchilla in a few more years.

The true winner in Dark of the Moon isn't Autobots or Decepticons – it's excellent pacing. Before any one part of the game starts to truly show its flaws, you're done with it and on to a new section. Sure, it's not the best Transformers game we've ever played, but it's still a good a Transformers game, and that'll be enough for a lot of people.

From gameplay to graphics to sound, there's a lot to enjoy with Bionicle Heroes - just don't expect to be blown away. If you're a fan of action games or giant robots, this game is sure to keep you satisfied.

It can't go without mentioning that 2K8 is available for just twenty bones - a darn good value even if it were just a glorified roster update.

An incredibly pretty game with some impressive ideas, and it's going to surprise you with its engaging story and weighty combat. The short campaign and repetitive battles hold it back from greatness, but it's a journey through Rome absolutely worth experiencing, if just to see exactly what the console is capable of.

If you've been complaining about the lack of PvP in your MMO, this is a non-stop, complex and compelling game that offers a deep, intricate and layered PvP play. If not, Fury isn't likely to convert you from Player versus Environment to PvP in one sitting - but it's still a hell of a good time.

The world won’t stick with you, but beautiful visuals and excellent twin-stick looting make this a co-op blast…once you figure out what you’re doing. You could get lost for weeks in its end-game content, but only the most obsessive will care about climbing Alienation’s leaderboards.

The best decision the development team made was scrapping last year’s (too?) complicated control scheme for a streamlined series of options, including one that apes EA’s superb right stick/hockey stick mechanic.

While the individual minigames offer varying degrees of entertainment, they all nail the controls - or lack thereof - pretty well. There's definitely a bit of a learning curve, and the inherent limitations of the designed-for-the-living-room tech means lag issues occasionally pop up, but overall Adventures succeeds in effectively immersing you in its gamepad-free fun.

For the time being, we'd rather play Ballers than EA's "NBA Street," and that's really all you need to know.

We were put off by Legends’ quick-time event-heavy controls. Yet at the same time, we felt driven to replay matches and earn unlockables. Yes, we had fun but we griped a bunch too. Maybe the next Legends game can return to the right-analog stick action we’re so used to. Or maybe it’s we who are blinded by nostalgia.

There's nothing wrong with the fundamentals, and the online play is sweetness, but a couple more weeks in the situation room would have helped this war sail smoother.

While we're having some fun with MLB 2K11, we can envision a scenario where the "new baseball game" sheen wears off and we lose steam quickly. It takes a special game to keep our interest over the long haul, and 2K11 may not have enough to grip us tightly and never let go.

Skate Story is a beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals and interesting characters. The movement might make you queasy and the skateboarding element could have been developed further, but it does a lot with its premise and refuses to pander to convention, which is refreshing. A wonderful creation, but not always a great game.

Building on the excellent cyberpunk parkour of its predecessor, Ghostrunner 2 is the best freerunning game available, despite some ill-advised attempts to push the boundaries of its world

It's always refreshing to have a good game like this sneak up on you. Controlling the Swarm is solid and the platforming requires a deft precision.

While we're having some fun with MLB 2K11, we can envision a scenario where the "new baseball game" sheen wears off and we lose steam quickly. It takes a special game to keep our interest over the long haul, and 2K11 may not have enough to grip us tightly and never let go.

The new class souls and Dimensions are a great welcome to the game for new and old players, and the gigantic new continents add some much-needed diversity to the end game.

Is This Seat Taken? is an incredibly charming and beautifully designed puzzle game that makes its truckload of logic puzzles tactile and fun to play with rather than intimidating. Despite the variety of location types, some core parts of the challenge can become repetitive, but there's more than enough to keep you going to credits.

Visually and aurally it's a decadent feast for the senses, but its frequent descents into ham-fisted schlock and downright broken storytelling ultimately make it a clumsy case of style over substance. It's a likeable mess if you don't think too hard, but nevertheless, a mess it remains.

Darksiders 3 feels like coming home for fans, and combat is a blast - but it can be hard to appreciate the good when dealing with a laundry list of technical stumbles.

We could do without the mode in which you use your arms and the camera to control the game, but the four-player online version that finds you racing friends to attain a certain score is an interesting option that is simply not possible on real-world tables.

Transformers: Autobots and Decepticons are essentially one game split into two “campaigns” in a shameless grab for fans’ wallets. All of the fundamental game mechanics, including controls, combat, and mission structure, are exactly the same, and even the first few levels are near-mirrors of each other.

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is an enjoyable roguelike with satisfying gameplay loops, rewarding combat, and lots of features to unlock and upgrade, but the narrative-rich source material is overshadowed by a new focus on combat, largely wasting a concept ripe for more storytelling.

Ultimately, we tapped in for par what should have been a birdie – the best description we can come up with for Tiger Woods 12.

Open Roads' mother-daughter travelog about discovering long-buried family secrets is heartfelt, but this lightweight driving adventure doesn't reach the momentum of the mystery it so carefully maps out.

Compared to the jittery Nintendo DS version, this one clips along nicely, with expectedly superior graphics and slightly better sound quality.

It’s solid enough and has depth aplenty, but the lack of spit and polish keeps it on the virtual bench. It’s worth a cup of coffee as a rental, but not quite a spot in the starting rotation.

Allowing the Wii remote to more closely simulate a computer mouse would have increased the game's fun factor even more, but after spending enough time on the game's campaign, gamers are encouraged to delve into multiplayer, where the price tag pays for itself over and over again.

With the promise of downloadable tracks, levels and game types in the future, GripShift is a decent way to spend 800 Microsoft Points. It might not be the most incredible kart racer you’ve ever played, but it’s solid and it’s fun, and that’s what counts.

By merging Burnout Paradise and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with pedal power, Wheel World arrives somewhere unusual and worth visiting. For fans of the soothing sound of displaced gravel.

While many gamers will be turned off by the daunting gameplay, the true superbike diehard can be sure they'll get their money's worth — though Namco's "MotoGP" series does the genre better on whole.

The Legendary Starfy never completely shakes the sluggish nature of its initially vanilla gameplay, and the game offers very little challenge for hardened platform veterans, but it's a pleasant romp that continually improves as it progresses.

Rogue Trooper may not be cutting edge, but as a simple, straightforward shooter, it’s more than capable of delivering a quick action fix.

Perhaps the most convenient feature of WRC is its much-appreciated and often-used instant reset. When - not if - you make a mistake and end up stuck behind a boulder or upside down in a ditch, hitting the reset starts the race over immediately - no loading at all.

A novel mecha-based take on the hero shooter that delivers the pilot fantasy with style and feels like what a modern-day team-based Virtual On might be. Yet, while more approachable in its hero and extraction shooter guises, it also lacks deeper level customization in favor of more shallow cosmetics delivered with aggressive microtransactions.

Both immensely satisfying and somewhat frustrating at the same time.

One Piece Unlimited World Red offers great combat, even if the battles occur in dull places.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an action-RPG that delivers on most of its promises, along with some solid side content that is well worth indulging in – even if the full game isn't anything particularly remarkable.

At its core, Rocksmith is wildly cool, innovative technology sitting on top of a tired formula many of us have played to death. Had the story mode been anything other than the tried-and-true Guitar Hero/Rock Band "play a few songs, unlock new venues, rinse and repeat," it would have been infinitely more fun. Even so, Rocksmith is undeniably interesting, and the potential for greatness in the franchise is there.

Non-fans will be confused by references to little played NES and Game & Watch games. Oppositely, Nintendo fanboys will enjoy the references, but won't like settling for imitations of games like F-Zero and Zelda instead of the real thing. In spite of all that, Nintendo Land is great introduction to the Wii U, even if it lacks the longevity of Wii Sports.

Shadow Gambit is a fiendishly fun stealth strategy game that does precisely what it says on the tin. With stunning voice acting, atmospheric maps, and no shortage of ways to solve the sandbox puzzles in each one, you'll be so bewitched by the world and its charming cast of characters that the muddy plot can almost be forgiven.

The crazy, flashy fights are still as addictive as ever, and all of the little changes and improvements do ultimately render the previous installment obsolete by comparison.

Despite its unattractive exterior, Puzzle Kingdoms shines where it counts – fun, addicting puzzles with tons of meaningful customization options, and no BS filler (like, ahem, PQ Galactrix’s tedious leap gate hacking).

The game's foundation is utterly unique, hypnotically compelling, and seriously scary in weird ways horror games don't normally pull off, and if it had been more polished I would have given it a higher score. It really is an unfinished game, though, and its problems are not minor annoyances. I really, really enjoyed playing the game for most of its humongous play time, but it also brought spectacular bouts of frustration.

Axis might not be the best Tetris of all time, but it's filled with so many features that its $29.99 price tag is be easily justified, no matter how many times you've bought this game already.

Sadly, these striking visuals only serve to exacerbate Winterbottom’s one true issue: some incredibly bland level design.

For gamers who are willing to obsess over the stats and intricacies, Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice will give you an excuse to chain yourself to your couch.

This one's for kids or those looking for a cheery, laid-back adventure.