A kaleidoscope of trippy, tracer-leaving characters parade across the screen, dazzling you into that state of catatonic play where concerns outside the game itself become completely irrelevant.

These are some of gaming's all-time classics, and they still deliver. It's just that, like a swimsuit model who just happens to be wearing muddy, chicken crap-encrusted overalls over her bikini, some of the magic of the original games is concealed by adjustments that were made but not needed or needed but not made.

Sadly, aside from a sharp online Wii experience, Conduit 2 rarely impresses, relying too much on generic drudgery and sad attempts to capture the magic of more popular titles; worse yet, the storyline and characters seem aimless and forgettable.

Our compulsion to keep playing "just one more level" meant that our feelings and hands would get hurt along the way, but in the end we liked what we saw.

Although a great initial distraction for Potterheads, the novelty of Harry Potter Quidditch Champions fades to reveal a competent yet insubstantial grind-a-thon. With questionable voice acting, childish animation, and a flimsy campaign to blitz through in three hours flat, even the biggest Wizarding World fans will struggle to stay engaged – unless staring down the barrel of another battle pass appeals to you.

Phantasy Star Portable’s arenas offer loads of loot if you’re in need of satisfying a role-playing craving. The problem is that it’s designed for extended sessions rather than portable play, and you’ll spend as much time talking about a rabbit-eared robot’s feelings as you will slaughtering legions of monsters.

A successful sequel where it counts the most, only a few potholes slow The Crew 2 down in its drive to become the ultimate road trip.

State of War doesn't offer much variety in terms of gameplay, but it does offer up a fun hack-and-slash game that can be picked up and played for a few minutes or a few hours.

As the name suggests, Rivals plays well against a friend. Racing the computer is cool, but costing your bud the race with a last-minute cheap shot is a whole lot better.

Its portrayal of the world's greatest fictional detective does the license justice, and its narrative intrigues up until its satisfying conclusion, even if getting there can be a pain sometimes. In other words, it's all elementary, my dear friends.

Another ludicrous spectacle, but Volition’s patchy action/comedy sandbox doesn’t prove to be a gangster’s paradise.

You’ll need an appreciation for the cube itself to get the most out of this - and you may want to destroy whoever programmed the chirpy music and decided to call the cubes “cubies” and give them a story - but it’s a solid value for puzzle players.

F1 2014 is a fun, accessible and authentic racing sim. But the differences over last year's game are slight and with the classic mode removed, the package it offers is inferior to F1 2013.

Still a good time, but like all sparse arcade compilations, your mileage may vary.

The problem with the game is that it really isn’t a game at all. We’re not just saying it’s too linear – what little (very little) gameplay you’ll find smattered throughout is completely spoon-fed to you.

Just don’t expect to do well against the seemingly impossible programmed computer opponents.

Kudos to Namco Bandai for raising the bar on 3D fighters' frame rates, but beyond that, it's tough to get excited about a game that seems content with the bare minimum.

If you were asked to imagine a truly average open-world action-adventure in 2023, you'd likely come up with something like Atlas Fallen. If very little here is actually dreadful, not much more is original, or imaginative, or genuinely entertaining either, nor is it even especially polished. You've likely seen it all before, in other words. And if you haven't, there are better places to start.

Ultimately, Rise & Fall is about pretty units killing each other in a beautifully drawn environment and little more. It's a good strategy skirmish, but it falls short of eternal glory.

Between the NFL Network announcer that has the same canned sound bite for common transactions and the lousy framerate of the in-game action, there’s a decidedly second-class-citizen feel from the get-go.

A fun little game that will probably do a better job in stirring nostalgia in those who were playing it 16 years ago rather than drawing in any new players.

Borderlands 2 remains an excellent game--unfortunately the Vita port makes too many concessions. Frequent frame dips, sluggish response, and OK controls make it hard to recommend.

God of War Sons of Sparta struggles to deliver on the best of God of War or the best the Metroidvania genre has to offer. Combat is dull and lifeless despite a handful of nice ideas, and it's visually ugly and muddy. Even lacking in brutal finishers, this all feels quite tame. It's not bad, but serviceable struggles to excite – and that's a sin for God of War.

So what would the average person want with a tough-as-nails, sloppy conversion of a year-old adventure? Nothing. Even the hardcore Ys fans should skip the PSP game and go straight for the PS2 verison.

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).

Shining Force EXA will pass the time; it's just that your memory of it will, ironically, be worn dull six months from now.

If you're looking for a family-friendly kart racer, this is it. It's super-slick, charmingly funny and exciting to play. Its appeal is universal in the best sense of the word, never being too dumbed down for the hardcore or too complex for the casual.

An encouraging debut for the big new rival to WWE, with loads of welcome throwback nods to No Mercy and Fire Pro, and a career mode you won’t be able to resist playing through multiple times.