The game feels rushed. In spite of its obvious issues and glitches, GRAW is still a fantastic game. The presentation is incredibly realistic, dramatic and intense. The gameplay feels natural and smooth and the controls are very intuitive.

If you've already made the commitment to keep downloading these packs, this one has 3 great games that will provide a great challenge. If you were disappointed by the launch release, these games might just turn you into a fan.

It's a tough sweet spot to hit, but it's one that Luftrausers absolutely nails.

It is very hard to stand out in this much crowded racing genre, but Need For Speed Unbound pulls it off. The title is easily the best entry in years and sets a foundation that can easily be built upon. After many years of having an identity crisis, I can see the game evolving from here. With a consistent 4K resolution and 60fps framerate NFS Unbound showcases what could be the future of the series.

As far as I'm concerned, buying the game means you get one of the most consistently fun games ever made — anything more than that (in this case, Fibbage XL and Drawful both being enjoyable) is just a bonus.

This is one of the few must buys for the year for anyone who owns a Kinect, and it is truly the first game to make me care about the technology.

SR3 contains a lot off the wall violence that'll satiate your need for random video game fun for a number of hours. It's bookended by great opening and closing moments, and topped off by a competent co-op mode. You'll devote more time to the game than just the story fueled segments, and SR3 will certainly keep you interested past the end credits scroll.

No doubt, future updates and optimizations will be patched in, but for what we've got right out of the gate, there's a lot going on for the PC crowd this time around.

It's often funny, addictive, and surprisingly good to look at, and the wide appeal that this franchise has tacked on with the already wide appeal that LEGO in general has is sure to make this something that fans of either property won't want to pass up.

Golf Peaks isn’t that far removed from actual golf, given that people always rave about how great the sport is for being calm and zen and whatnot. While I can’t speak to that, never having been anywhere more than a mini-putt place, I can confirm that Golf Peaks is just as good for getting you into a zen puzzle zone, too.

Absolutely worth picking up if you're a wrestling fan, and definitely a big step in the right direction for the series.

Shenmue II's story is really what makes the game so enjoyable, and the plot is about as epic as they come...It has a few annoying flaws, but overall, it's my pick as the best Xbox adventure game of the year.

Outside of a sluggish opening hour, wherein you might struggle a bit getting used to the controls and traveling mechanics, this is one hell of a console exclusive. It’s bright, loud, and occasionally funny, but more importantly Sunset Overdrive is a ton of fun to play.

Obviously, it's not the most complex game. But quite frankly, it doesn't need to be. Race The Sun is — and only wants to be — a simple, addictive game for you to pick up and play, and it's not hard to imagine that anyone who does pick it up will just end up playing and playing and playing it.

It’s quirky enough and happy enough to win over all but the most hardened of hearts, and unless you believe games should be serious business at all times, it’s well worth checking out.

With fantastic level designs, great enemies and power-ups, as well as the addition of some fun and entertaining multiplayer modes, Kirby is a must have.

More of a masterpiece than check-in for the series.

With 30 extra stars to collect, a few new levels thrown in, unique power-ups and characters, addictive mini-games, and even a multiplayer battle mode, the game truly delivers a great experience for Nintendo’s new handheld.

I really, really enjoyed Far Cry 2, and I was happy to see that it's a pretty far departure from the formula of the first title. The open world environment is absolutely beautiful at times, and the little touches in the game really help to heighten the sense that you're in a real world setting.

This is the definitive Mortal Kombat title. You have more fatalities, self-fatalities (hara-kiri), stage fatalities, more characters, four deep modes of play, unlockable Krypt items, and online play.

The environments are absolutely gorgeous, and definitely varied. From jungles to cities, you'll put Ryu thru the motions in a number of locales, all of which are full of vibrant, beautiful color schemes.

What's much easier to rationalize, however, is this: Toukiden: Kiwami is unquestionably the best monster-hunting game the Vita has to offer.

If you're a 360 owner, you definitely owe it to yourself to check this one out. It's worth the price of admission if you just plan to play through to the ending, but its value goes above and beyond if you really dig into what Fez has to offer. Even though the wait has been pretty long, I find myself incredibly pleased with the final result.

For the most part, I think you'll find Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward to be a step up from 999, and really, that's saying something considering how excellent 999 was. It's not flawless, no, but well worth your time, especially if you're the type of person that enjoys new gaming experiences that are far from the norm.

While none of this is enough to make Homo Machina a must-play, at the same time, there’s enough worthwhile stuff going on here that it’s not not a must-play, either. I mean, it’s only $3 or so, and for that price you get a fun little story that wraps up nicely and never overstays its welcome. That’s hardly GOTY material, but it’s nothing to sneeze at, either.

It worms its way into your brain and sticks there, and if you’re a fan of deceptively simple puzzle games, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

You're doing yourself a disservice if you have unachievable expectations for GT5. However, if you take certain oversights into consideration when you first boot up the game, you'll probably be more than pleased. GT5 is not perfect, but it gets fairly close.

It's a fantastic game, even set aside from playing the original Witcher, so don't be put off by the fact that you might not have played the first game. For console only players that have heard PC gamers talk endlessly about the merits of this particular title, you'll finally get a chance to see what all the hype has been about. I don't think you'll come away disappointed in the slightest, as The Witcher 2 really delivers in every way imaginable.

Judgment is a great title to play to get acquainted with the type of games Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio puts out. If you don’t want the baggage of over 8 plus titles over your head, this is currently a one and done title, however you want to see what else has happened in Kamurocho, you also have the option to explore the main line series (which included “free” on Gamepass via Microsoft). Either way you’ll definitely see the studio in a different light if you play this title.

A fantastic game, and definitely what I was hoping for when I first saw those initial screenshots a while back. The capturing mechanic is fun and interesting, while at the same time being tied into familiar third person controls for shooter fans, so there's nothing here that takes a lot of time to get used to.

A great side story for the Halo universe, with an eerie atmosphere that's more exciting than the majority of the Halo 3 campaign.

After playing it for an extended period of time, I think it is a great game and would recommend it to anyone who is on the fence and loves racing games. Unfortunately, the candle on this game burns out a little too quickly, with only a few modes supported for online play.

The control is spot-on, player ratings make a huge difference in checking, skating and passing, and it just feels like real on-ice action. ESPN NHL 2K4 has ironed out most of the wrinkles from last year, and turned the presentation up to 11 - you won't find a better playing, better looking, or better sounding hockey game available.

All in all, Trek to Yomi is a pretty solid game if a little short. I won’t fault a game for being single-digit hours long, as long as it delivers a good story; Trek to Yomi certainly did. As mentioned prior, the additional story path options potentially take the game up to a good probably 10 hours, assuming all are approximately the same. The challenge offered by completing the game on higher difficulties can also invite a challenge to squeeze a few more hours out, and the combat is fun enough to welcome a playthrough just for difficulties sake.

Really, as twitchy platformers go, Pinkman+ does so much right that it’s easy to fall in love with the game. It doesn’t try to do too much, but it does what it does exceedingly well.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man who Erased his Name is the second volley in Ryu Ga Gotoku’s year long triple threat (February’s Like a Dragon: Ishin! And January 2024’s Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth are the other prongs of this attack!). While it is not as voluminous as the feudal era title that came before it, I can stay storywise Gaiden is more impactful and frankly I do appreciate its existence (Even though I was squarely in the camp of letting Kiryu walk away into the sunset never to be heard from again…), it lays the groundwork for his participation in the upcoming Infinite Wealth. For fans who have enjoyed any of Kiryu’s adventures you owe it to yourself to take this one on as it further adds to the legend of the Dragon of Dojima…even if that’s not him anymore. Let’s hope nothing bad befalls this man in subsequent titles…hasn’t he suffered enough, perhaps a trip to Hawaii will do him some good!

So while it's got enough faults to keep it from being a GOTY contender for most, it's still the best Tomb Raider title I've ever played, and I'm really curious to see what's next for the franchise once again.

All in all, I can’t deny that Kirby and the Rainbow Curse is a great game.

Gaps by POWGI is a fun way to pass the time if, like me, you’re obsessed with words and spelling. Admittedly, if that describes you, it means that you’ll only get a few hours of enjoyment out of the game — but at least for those few hours, you’ll definitely be having fun with words.

Those people who missed out on it first time around, however, are in for a treat — a bloody, murderous, thoroughly enjoyable treat.

A great experience.

The real reason to pick up this version over last year's are the presentation upgrades.

One other thing I wanted to note is that the game is perfectly suited to portable play, which was a concern for me going in.

It may not be what you are expecting if you are a hardcore Pokémon fan, or a hardcore fighting game fan … but Pokkén Tournament is a fun and unique experience that almost anyone can enjoy.

It’s a fun, inexpensive game that knows what it wants to be, and is more than capable of meeting its goals. If that doesn’t count as a success, I don’t know what does.

The visuals are incredible... [and] environments are jaw-dropping.

A no-brainer recommendation. The story moves along nicely, and the battles load quickly and provide you with enough strategy to stay reasonably interesting.

There are very few titles on the PSN currently that play anything like it, and the mix of puzzle solving and platforming is extremely well done.

This is the most fun I've had being scared in a video game since I first encountered the 'dog scene' in Resident Evil. The game is very pretty, draws you in with it's sound, atmosphere, and story, plays wonderfully, and is diverse enough from chapter to chapter where you feel like you are not playing similar missions (like Assassin's Creed). I can't recommend Dead Space enough; it is already up for my GOTY vote, and with a crowded line up of games coming soon, that is a bold statement.

It's a great shooter, with a fantastic rendition of the old west that really adds a lot of character to the game overall.

Super Wiloo Demake deserves to be played all the way through. It’s not going to blow you away with its originality, but it is a fun, well-made 2D platformer, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s enough to make it worth checking out.

Shivering Isles is like Oblivion unleashed and on some kind of psychedelic steroid. While the gameplay remains the same, the artists and level designers kicked things up quite a few notches.

The inclusion of Emmy is certainly a great idea, and the wonderful mini-games and side game of London Life are much needed diversions that help break up any monotony earned by just solving puzzles.

The online gameplay is somewhat less inspiring than I hoped, but overall it looks and sounds great, plays extremely well, and most importantly is a ton of fun for single and multiple players.

It's not going to be for everyone, the punishing difficulty you'll encounter by just hopping into Arcade mode can certainly be off-putting, but if you end up spending time with the Rising mode, you'll definitely find a lot to love.

If you've been on board with the game up to this point, Episode 3 will fail to disappoint. It's another excellent entry in what is easily shaping up to be Telltale's best work yet, and there's no reason to stop playing the series now.

Is Red Ronin original? Definitely (or, at least, mostly definitely) not. Is it a fantastic game nonetheless? Yes, beyond any shadow of a doubt.

The Secret of Monkey Island is a classic, and the enhanced visuals, soundtrack and audio, along with the inclusion of the original art and music is just icing on the cake. Drop that FPS, pack up your rubber chicken-with-a-pulley-in-the-middle, and book a trip to Monkey Island.

With smooth graphics and animations, a true feel for the art of street ball, fantastic controls, and a multiplayer mode that brings out the trash talker in even choirboys make NBA Street a must have for owners of any major console.

It's not going to be for everyone, the punishing difficulty you'll encounter by just hopping into Arcade mode can certainly be off-putting, but if you end up spending time with the Rising mode, you'll definitely find a lot to love.

An amusing and entertaining game, and a great addition to the series. With the new game modes and game play elements, LSW III is a must have for any fan.

Playing the HD Remaster filled me with regret in that I could’ve enjoyed this deep and engrossing title many years ago (The copy I bought from amazon is still sealed…). Yes, while it would’ve been nice that all the DLC was just baked into the base game, but it’s a small price to pay to be able to recruit demons on the go, or not have to worry about losing access to the title if a digital storefront shutters (I mean Steam will never close…will it?). Don’t make the 16 year mistake I did by letting this one pass you by.

An excellent game is now cheaper and better than it was when first released.

All together, if you own a Wii, you should definitely plan on picking up Muramasa: The Demon Blade. It's easily one of the best third party titles on the system, and it's certainly the best looking 2D game I've seen in quite some time.

An amusing and entertaining game, and a great addition to the series. With the new game modes and game play elements, LSW III is a must have for any fan.

The parry system, once you start to wrap your head around the timing, can be both satisfying and impressive as hell to pull off.

As far as realism, physics, and attention to detail, Colin blows away the competition.

This is the most genuine representation to the genre on a console yet. Casual fans that've fell in love with Tiger's bottle-feeding approach, may want to steer clear of this title. Simulation buffs need only apply.

In a nutshell the quality of a port we got with Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen on the Switch is very much what fans could hope for. The whole game is here and plays great and for $30 is a steal even today because of the quality hours of content here. For those looking to revisit the game they will be happy with Capcom’s effort and those looking for a world to rival the playtime of their biggest Switch selection will find a very fun and rewarding gem they can dig into.

There’s no denying that Urban Flow succeeds at being a highly addictive casual game. I’m still not entirely convinced I haven’t played something exactly like it somewhere before, but even if I did, it probably didn’t pull off traffic management anywhere near as well as this game does.

Even if it’s not an all-time classic, it’s still a very good game, and if, like me, you’ve never played it, the Switch remaster is an excellent opportunity to dive in and discover what you missed.

No longer can you "Happy Gilmore" your way onto the tour, you have to earn it with patience and skill. Golf fans rejoice, your virtual messiah has arrived and it is the UCAP version of Tiger Woods.

The best racing game I’ve played in months, and anyone looking to release a title in this genre now should look long and hard at what Rockstar’s been able to pull off here.

If you thought it would be hard to screw up a port of Out Run then you’re right! Everything turned out just like you’d hope and it’s a great addition to retro games on the Switch.

Combat is certainly more difficult, but every fight you get into feels like an event. And the game does a great job of pacing out its enemy encounters so the player doesn't get battle fatigue.

Despite the inevitable comparisons, Round8’s title stands on its own and can fill the void for those always beseeching a new entry of Bloodborne or at least a port to different platforms. Krat in this current form is indeed horrifying and built off of the suffering of many, but man what I would pay to see the city in its prime. While I think I’m done with my playthrough, I believe a second playthrough will unlock many more insights to the world of the title and once I’ve recovered my nerves that might be something I will indeed do. Like many fairy tales and fables, I can expect Lies of P to be experienced for a long time to come.

A complete package. It combines some fine storytelling, great presentation values on every level, interesting puzzles, and great platforming to make for a fun ride that doesn't leave too soon or overstay its welcome.

It's easily the best game I've played so far this year on the N64 (although Banjo-Tooie might be a strong contender) and will remain one of my favorite games for a long time to come.

Whether you know Links Awakening like the back of your hand or have never played then you will be in for a treat. This was a great game back in the day and still is! The only thing holding it back are the distracting framerate problems and even being less sensitive to these things it was noticeable to me. I don’t think it’s game breaking but might be for some. For anyone else they will find an adventure once lost to time and now back in all it’s glory!

Truthfully, I don’t think that Danganronpa Decadence is the best way to experience the trilogy. These are three very intense games, each with enough crazy twists and over-the-top cruelty and violence that you should probably take a break between each one. One thing that you’ll be reminded of again and again in each game is that they earn their M ratings beyond a shadow of a doubt. But nonetheless, these are still three of the best games the visual novel genre has to offer, and if you’re even remotely interested in playing murder mysteries, they’re all must-plays.

It's big, dumb action on a grand scale, and manages to give Gears of War a pretty good run for its money.

One of the best jRPGs out now. It breaks every rule, goes back to the roots of the genre, and incorporates battle and customization systems that far exceed anything else the genre’s thrown to gamers so far.

If you can get pass the obvious dated graphics then you will be in for a serious treat.

As strictly a fighting game, the long wait was worth it. Killer Instinct is everything I’d hoped for and more.

From the stunning near photo-realistic visuals, to the innovative Gotham TV feature, PGR3 is everything you could ask for from a launch title.

A cross between "Destruction Derby" and "Grand Theft Auto," an interesting mix of driving, story, action and a heavy film influence thrown in, Reflections has created one of the best games the PlayStation has ever seen.

Genshin Impact is part of a wave of titles from China that is slowly eroding the bad stereotype that Chinese devs are devoid of creativity and skill. While the initial comparisons are there, Genshin Impact does go beyond to distinguish itself…now if only the gacha rates and the free primogem are better I would have no hesitation recommending the title.

The shortcomings in the PS2 version have been ironed out on the Xbox, leaving hockey gamers everywhere with the best arcade style hockey game to date.

It's just too bad that the challenge will be so short unless you can find someone else to play with. Get that, and I imagine you could have matches that take forever, but in the best possible sense of that phrase. Even without it, however, Nidhogg still has more than its fair share of charms, and it's the kind of thing worth picking up if you're in the mood for something unlike anything else out there.

Playing Wipeout Pure on the large, crisp PSP screen is a thing of beauty. Visually, the game is damn gorgeous. An excellent, silky smooth framerate, impressive textures, and even better lighting and weather effects.

I may not entirely love where it winds up, but the journey getting to that point is so pitch-perfect, it'd be wrong of me to say it's anything other than a must-play experience for people who enjoy a good walking simulator.

That J-Stars Victory Vs+ delivers its rampant destruction in a way that goes down so smoothly, even for newcomers to the genre/universe…well, that's more than enough to make it worth picking up, as far as I'm concerned.

The GC version gets a better graphics boost than the Xbox counterpart, but both versions pack the same great gameplay.

The best basketball game on the market today. The depth of the Legacy mode will keep you busy for months, and it provides the gameplay to match.

Armed with the updated translation, and new abilities that we did not get in the original release, Final Fantasy IV is definitely a classic RPG worth picking up and playing through again or for the first time.

They have done an amazing job of re-creating the intense thrill of being out in the ocean in large surf. I know from experience. The very first time I started a session with the game I got butterflies in my stomach.

The best basketball game on the market today. The depth of the Legacy mode will keep you busy for months, and it provides the gameplay to match.

NFS Underground 2 does one more thing exceptionally well; give the gamer plenty of bang for their buck. If 8 different game play modes wasn't enough; Circuit, Drag, Drift, Sprint, Street X, Downhill Drift, Outrun, and Underground Racing League, you have a story mode that will give gamers over 40 hours of racing joy.