Wipeout 64 isn't a bad game by any means. It just doesn't have the same level of adrenaline pumping action and playability that Miyamoto's racer has.

All and all, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a quite enjoyable experience, although it falls short of the perch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge has made for itself. It would definitely be interesting to revisit the title when its online co-op features are implemented. Hopefully I can get one of my fairweather friends to go through this title…I would even be magnanimous enough to them select the Green Ranger. To circle back to the weird rant from the beginning of this review, here’s hoping that products like Rita’s Rewind will show that the fanbase will still come out when it’s created by people who respect and revere the IP. I would love to see what Digital Eclipse has in store for the title, perhaps we’ll even see the game inch closer to the title that stands at the pinnacle.

Annoying or not, it’s a neat mechanic to build a platformer around, and Pecker does a good job of doing just that. Its name may evoke some of the lower points of 3D platformers from a few decades ago, but its gameplay recalls some of the better ones, and for that reason it’s worth investigating if you’re a fan of the genre.

Personally, with PowerWash Simulator 2, I am excited about the future of the PowerWash franchise. If you look at their freshly released 2025/2026 roadmap you can be excited to see 3 paid IP DLC, 3 free Caldera Chronicle Jobs, and what they claim will be a bucket full of other planned additions coming. They are really giving us more of the game we all fell in love with, and I hope they continue to listen to their community. I highly recommend purchasing this installment if you enjoyed the first game, it will be well worth the investment. Go on, let’s go gnome hunting in PowerWash Simulator 2. If you like cozy, comforting games, it’s one of the best.

To be sure, most of what goes on in Promise Mascot Agency is utterly insane if you view it with any kind of detachment. This game is unquestionably bonkers. But it’s also the kind of game you can sink your teeth into in many, many ways, and if you want a unique experience, Promise Mascot Agency offers exactly that.

My concern overall is, will the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster do well enough to ever help justify a new game? The fans are out there, but after part 4, and a canceled sequel, I would remain cautiously optimistic. This is still a remaster that respects its roots in most ways as something that is a product of its time. If you can get past the time management frustrations and balance issues, and make sure to use all your save options, it’s still a bloody and entertaining experience worth the price of admission.

Overall, Cronos: The New Dawn feels like a proper spiritual successor to Dead Space in many ways, but the narrative and environment stand tall on their own to create a truly memorable experience in survival horror. It gives “The Thing” body horror vibes which is a bonus.

Regardless of whether you want to play with someone else in-person or online, Split Fiction is well worth your time. It’s an excellent co-op adventure, and it’s easy to imagine the game garnering the same kind of following – and accolades – as It Takes Two.

It’s a very good port, is what I’m trying to say – and not only that, it’s a very good port of a very good game. Whatever issues Star Wars Outlaws may have had last year, they’re all fixed now, which means that you get all the positives from the first version (a good protagonist, a fun story, some big open worlds), with all of the negatives pushed off to the side. If you didn’t get a chance to play the game the first time around, now is definitely the time to do so.

It’s absurdly easy to pick up, and it only sucks you in more and more as you see your accumulated wealth get bigger and bigger and bigger. It’s not likely to replace Balatro (or whatever your deckbuilder of choice may be), but if you want something that gives you a quick hit of adrenaline without being too demanding, you should probably check it out.

Age of Imprisonment mostly improves upon its predecessor albeit with some caveats that don’t superbly impact the player experience. The characters are all fun to play as, the music is great, and the mechanics all blend together pretty well in combat, mixing into one enjoyable concoction. With the holidays coming up, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is definitely a contender for your list if you’re looking for a nice Zelda story with some mindless hack-n-slash fun.

EA Sports could have done the easiest thing and reskinned the Madden engine and this would have still sold millions, so for them to not take that route I think they should be commended. College Football 25 is a definite buy for the college and pro football fan alike.

Crow Country is clearly influenced by some of the scariest games of the ‘90s, but it’s good enough that it can be enjoyed today even if you never played those games the first time around (or even if you’re generally too much of a scaredy cat to play them).

Koei Tecmo has absolutely blown it out of the water with this release, so big props to the team behind it. When it comes to doing remakes well, I’d put this up on the pedestal alongside games like the Resident Evil remakes. It is an absolute must-play for survival horror fans, and if you’re curious on what survival horror looks like outside of your typical association, you’ll definitely want to check out Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake.

Nioh 3 is an excellent game with very few rough edges in the moment to moment gameplay. It’s a ton of fun, well made, beautiful looking, and full of content. Another excellent addition to the series, there’s little to desire short of hoping they put some more effort into the storyline. But… that’s not what anyone is here for anyway, so you can essentially just write it off as a con. Boss fights are unique, stylish, and flow well. Chaff enemies even require you to get used to their patterns and offer a bit of challenge on their own. Everything is here to make for a stellar experience for any Nioh fan or Soulslike enjoyer looking for something new to explore. Obviously considering my notes on the lacking storyline, you needn’t worry about having played the previous games. Just hop in and give Nioh 3 a shot.

It’s a relaxing puzzler that doesn’t allow being “cozy” to get in the way of challenging you just enough. If you’re tired of puzzlers that all feel like they’re chasing after a game that almost perfected the genre more than a decade ago, this will be a very pleasant change of pace.

Konami’s return to new titles is strong with Silent Hill f despite its shortcomings in the combat department. The setting is gorgeous and eerie with the music only adding to that, the voice acting is excellent (I played the Japanese dub of the game), and the story is downright gripping. Every new story beat had me eager to theorize with myself and uncover as much as I could of this narrative unfolding in front of me. It truly is a “must play” of the survival horror genre and I wholeheartedly believe this marks the comeback of Konami as a powerhouse in gaming once more.

No robot voices aside, I did quite enjoy my time with Berzerk: Recharged. it may be modernized and made a bit easier with its powerup system, but it does retain that classic arcade feel by having no goal in mind, other than getting a higher score from the last game you played. It’s definitely one of the better Recharged versions of these classic games and players of all skill levels can have a lot of fun. Try this out if your curious, or if you are a fan of the original.

It runs well and it looks great, and it gives hope that, at least for the next little while, Switch 2 ports won’t require you to make a few allowances for subpar performance.

If you are a fan of turn-based JRPGs, games with a lot of customization, or a simple story done really well Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster is a great game that has a lot of great gameplay, a fun combat system, and a lot of different ways to be able to create your party if you want to replay the game. It is a game that has had such a consistent following for a very long time that I would keep on your radar, even if the midgame can feel a bit repetitive and grindy.

There have been some great improvements that will elevate the game and I’m confident that when more voice their thoughts the devs will listen and make it better. Give Cookie Cutter a try! You won’t regret it.

Look I’m certainly happy to have a legal and portable way of Tetris Battle Gaiden, so even if I didn’t review it, this title would’ve been a purchase for me simply because of what a touchstone title Tetris is to me. If you’re a fan of Tetris consider giving this title a look, I’m certain you’ll learn something and have some fun while you’re at it.

Honestly, it’s kind of a relief that Epic Mickey: Rebrushed turned out so well. It’s not uncommon to have fond memories of an older game that turned out to wildly inaccurate in terms of remembering how good that older game actually was, so playing a remake like this, that shows Epic Mickey was just as fun as I remember it (even if it has an obvious new coat of paint), brings some a welcome feeling. Will Epic Mickey: Rebrushed garner the same kind of cult following that the Wii game got? Probably not – but hopefully that’s because being on more platforms allows more people to play this delightful game.

With a story that keeps you engaged and guessing to the end (whichever end you uncover), Expelled! is a worthy successor to inkle’s previous glories, and it’s the kind of game that every mystery fan needs to play.

If you didn’t play Kirby and the Forgotten Land before…well, that means you really need to play it now that it’s on the Switch 2. Not only do you have the fun bonus content, you also get one of Kirby’s best games, his foray into 3D platforming where you can really see the creative team behind the game stretch their powers to think of how our pink puffball hero can interact with a world that has more than two dimensions. Things like the Kirby-car and the Kirby-spike do a great job of making our hero more powerful, but in fun new ways than we saw in older games. And the key word there is “fun,” regardless of whether you’re playing Kirby and the Forgotten Land in its original form or now that you have the option of playing this Star-Crossed World expansion on Switch 2. If you missed it last time around, or even if you just feel like revisiting it on the Switch 2, it’s well worth checking out.

Invincible VS pulls together many concepts and mechanics from fighting games such as Dragon Ball FighterZ, Killer Instinct (It certainly helps that Quarter Up do have devs from Double Helix, the studio which revived KI in the 2010s) and Mortal Kombat. The end result is something that is accessible to both casual Invincible fans as well as fighting game veterans. I guess if Quarter Up had to answer Omni-Man’s infamous query “What will you have after 500 years?!”, they can hold their heads up high and retort “One hell of a debut title”. Although I do hope they’ll have made more than just a singular game in half a millennium, nonetheless this is a great introduction.

None of this is all that new, and I can understand why some people might be tempted to write Eternal Strands off as a collection of influences thrown together. But if you’ll look a little longer, you’ll see that it combines those influences awfully well.

Overall, though, Ys X: Nordics is a fine return to form for the series. Time will tell whether the already-announced sequel (expanded version?) is a worthwhile upgrade, but why wait until then? We know this version is good as it stands, and that’s more than enough to make it worth your time.

As a single-player game, it’s solid enough, but add in some friends and multiplayer, and you’ve got the makings of a party classic.

We were this close to greatness in Madden this season, in my opinion. If EA would just bite the bullet and get some of those station/network licenses, pair it with these new presentations and the near realistic graphics, we’ll have something special. Lump those all in with some of the best gameplay Madden has had in a long time as well and you would have something that would make the casual fan second guess whether they were watching a video game or a real NFL game. Kudos to EA for a huge step in the right direction and I’m hopeful to see it improved on for next year. Madden NFL 26 is an absolute win/buy for fans, new and old, of the franchise.

Obviously, the match-3 genre isn’t known for producing a lot of innovation – unless you count finding new ways to get people addicted innovative. But Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 is a clear exception to that rule. It’s addictive, sure, but it’s also interesting, and fleshed-out, and funny. Whether you’re a fan of the genre or someone who usually can’t stand it, you owe it to yourself to check this game out.

I genuinely believe that Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail is a phenomenal start to a new story, and that I am very excited to see where the dev team takes us next in the post-expansion patch content. From adding in more EX trials for mounts, new dungeons, raids and more, Final Fantasy XIV fans are feasting with yet more great content from Yoshida-san and the rest of his team.

If you go into Heading Out expecting a driving game, you’re probably going to be sorely disappointed. It’s something entirely different from that – and, improbably (given the different genres being thrown together), it works incredibly well.

In other words, it’s hard to say that Meetup in Bellabel Park makes Super Mario Bros. Wonder any better than it already was. To be sure, “what it already was” is a must-play game, so if you missed out on it a few years ago, now is definitely the time to play it again – but unless you really like moderately enjoyable minigames, you can stick with the base game and get the most important experience.

The key similarity, though – and the reason why, even if I’m disappointed in Lil Gator Game: In the Dark, I can’t say I don’t love it – is that, like Lil Gator Game, In The Dark is a cute look at kids (well, animal kids) making up ridiculous stories and having fun with them. There’s a sense of wonder and silliness that not many other games share, and it’s enough to suck you in and keep you entertained right up to the end of the closing credits.

ININ has has done it again with Taito Milestones 3. The emulation is top notch and the selection of games is one of the best so far. I love that the finally added Runark/Growl and Warrior Blade, along with fun and interesting additions like Cadash and Champion Wrestler. I also like that they are still adding exclusive games not available in the eShop separately, but they do, however, need to bring the number of exclusive games up to say, 4 or 5, for the next volume if there will be one. All in all, a great collection of games with less disappointing additions over the previous volumes. Recommended for anyone looking to play some great classic arcade games without spending a ton of cash.

If you go into Loddlenaut expecting anything in the way of stakes or drama or a challenge, you’ll probably be underwhelmed. But if you just want a relaxing, chill game that you can escape into for a couple of hours, it’s hard to think of a nicer, more pleasant way to pass the time.

For its price point, Sonic X Shadow Generations is a true value for hardcore Sonic fans and fans of platformers alike. With high replay value, and even with some control hiccups, Sega reminds us of what they can do with their blue hedgehog and his edgy counterpart.

Naughty Dog did a knock-out job the first time and simply wanted to perfect it, so I would say they were successful.

I would recommend that you buy Highwater for the soundtrack alone if anything else. The moments I got to sail around and just listen and take in what was happening around me were fabulous. If you can get past the very sobering fact that we are currently dealing with a climate crisis in real-time, I would give this one a try.

Games like Braid are best experienced when playing with little knowledge of gameplay and/or story. While the levels are challenging, this was one of the first games I remember feeling a true sense of accomplishment once each level was completed. It’s an inexpensive title that is worth the price of admission, and if you have played it before and may not be interested in revisiting it, I would encourage you to recommend it to newcomers so it can grow a new fanbase.

You’re filling up your board with pretty adorable animals on behalf of an equally adorable robot, and you’d have to be hard-hearted not to get sucked into the game’s brightly coloured world. Unless, of course, you’re just sick of deckbuilding roguelikes – and I fully get it if you are. But if you have room in your heart and your hard drive for just one more, then you may want to give Roulette Hero a shot.

If you’re a fan of charming RPGs with unique systems, great music, and a fantastic use of pixel art, you really owe it to yourself to pick up Demonschool.

Combine it all together – the modern gameplay with the lost media aesthetic – and it adds up to make 1000 Deaths one of the most interesting platformers you’re likely to come across. While there’s certainly no shortage of retro-tinged 3D platformers that have very identifiable influences, I don’t think I’ve played one yet that evokes the past without being tied to it the way 1000 Deaths does. For that reason – and also the reason that it’s pretty good – it’s very much worth your time.

Everyone’s specific experiences with Peppered will differ, but taken as a whole, I have to imagine that anyone who like platformers will find themselves well-rewarded by this game.

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos’s remaster is really good, and I think it’s worth playing even if you didn’t play it back in 1997. You can find it on consoles and GOG, which is also a huge plus for everybody. It plays better than before, offers new and overhauled visuals, and yet still keeps all of that original charm it had back in ‘97. Argonaut Games returns with a real blast from the past and boy is it ever wonderful. With all the new updates for modern platforms and smooth performance without hiccups, it’s a fantastic port for PCs and modern consoles. If Argonaut is bringing quality of life like this to older titles, I can only be excited for future releases and work from them.

Virtua Tennis 3 looks great, plays extremely well and, online, offers an excellent substitute for the real thing if it’s raining or you’re just too lazy to get out there and play.

It's not a complex formula — cute characters + logical puzzles + intuitive controls (provided you pick the right ones) — but, as Lumo shows, it is a winning one.

The fighters are scary-real looking, and they animate without hiccups and with perfect transitions. Facial expressions are also top notch.

There is a nasty bug which ensures that you will hear the same song, over and over again, until you're ready to kill someone.

So if you’re looking for a tense, difficult, team focused first person shooter this holiday season, I’d urge you to check out Rainbow Six Siege. While it lacks a suitable campaign, it more than makes up for it with its exciting versus and coop modes.

Just about the only reason not to get Ticket to Ride on PS4 is if you’ve played it to death elsewhere at a much cheaper price — which, to be fair, is probably a lot of people. Still, if you’re looking for a way to experience a classic board game on your PS4, Ticket to Ride offers exactly that.

This is the Saturday morning cartoon your parents wouldn't dare let you watch, the closest thing to Venture Bros. becoming a video game, and one of the highlights of this year's downloadable titles. The only thing it's missing is a lot of limbs falling off and decapitation, but that's what sequels are for, right?

Gameplay definitely takes some getting use to, due to the design of the PSP.

I can say this, though: it's a visually and aurally appealing game, and it's a perfect fit on the PS Vita.

If you are looking for a fun and explosive real-time strategy title that isn't mired in diplomacy and realism, look no further.

Getting into a game is incredibly easy, and the action draws you in like a real war movie.

If the platforming were better, then Journey of the Broken Circle might just have challenged Thomas Was Alone for that “best platformer starring inanimate objects” crown. As it stands, it’ll simply have to settle for being a very, very good game.

This is the Saturday morning cartoon your parents wouldn't dare let you watch, the closest thing to Venture Bros. becoming a video game, and one of the highlights of this year's downloadable titles. The only thing it's missing is a lot of limbs falling off and decapitation, but that's what sequels are for, right?

Gameplay is top notch this year catering to all walks of life. Whether you are a newbie or veteran, there are many levels of difficulty and settings that will challenge any golfing fan.

Still, it's a fun game, and not nearly as punishing on the difficult side as something like Prinny is, so I'd say most people could jump in and enjoy it. The levels are well thought out, the controls work extremely well, and it's a really nice looking title on the PSP.

Overall Anarchy Reigns is definitely worth a look. There's a substantial amount of content present for the asking price, and the overall feel of the game is pretty polished. The combat aspect that drives the single and online play feels really solid, with easy to pick up and understand movesets for characters that don't feel like cookie cutter copy and paste jobs, featuring strong art direction and a fantastic soundtrack to wrap it all up.

It’s certainly different from what we’ve come to expect out of Mario vs. Donkey Kong, but if you’re interested in a Nintendo themed puzzle game with some actual challenge, look no further than Minis on the Move.

It is by far the best of the series thus far and is a great building block for future versions. Just bear in mind that the multiplayer experience gives this game a much higher score than the single player, so if you don’t plan on playing online or with friends, you may want to just check this out.

Tennis in the Face may not push the PS4 to its limits (I doubt the eventual Vita version will even do that either), but it's still a lot more enjoyable than any number of other more complex games — and quite frankly, I'll take enjoyable over complex any day of the week.

Needless to say, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is just as fun as the first three games in the series. It doesn’t break any new ground, but it doesn’t have to. If you want a game where you can take over a map by punching your enemies through buildings, you’ll get precisely that right here, and that couldn’t make me happier.

The fielding is great in the infield and a nightmare in the outfield.

Much like the film and the book, is possibly the best in the series.

All in all, I still feel like this is a collection that’s worth checking out, provided you haven’t already blitzed through both games on PS3 or PS Vita. The upgrades are nice, but not so big as to warrant another purchase a year later.

This is a game that is especially good for traveling since the levels are somewhat small and can be beaten in a few minutes instead of hours.

EA's game has grown into the role of the hockey simulation, while NHL 2K has become a better and better version of what hard core hockey fans see as a casual game - lots of scoring. This year is no different, and NHL 2K10 has made some of the most needed improvements while staying consistent to its identity - as a welcoming game that gives us the chance to play like the Ovechkins and Crosbys.

Retro City Rampage DX knows which side of that divide it falls on, it never pretends to be more than that, and it's got enough non-stop action that it's able to pull that off with ease.

RoboCop: Rogue City managed to be one giant leap in the right direction for a property that could never find a proper footing in the video game space. It worked extremely well as a bridge to the 2nd and 3rd films and managed to provide an action packed romp for someone who is looking for your usual power fantasy experience. I hope Tayon gets a second crack at the guy and really lets loose without the confines of the two films holding them back. That and maybe put less cutscenes of Robo watching a car drive off…it happens more than you think. Otherwise if you’re a fan of RoboCop or are Robo-curious, you owe it to yourself to check out Rogue City…and yes spend more than a dollar when acquiring it (This was the best I could do in cramming that line in, anyways go pick up this game…I need to figure out how to do well in the shooting range).

It’s the kind of sequel that gamers look for, just as if you were to see a great horror film and then anxiously await the next installment to get all the answers.

Now where NBA Live 2004 excels is in the gameplay department. NBA Live successfully gives you almost total control of the game of basketball, crossovers, pivot moves, shot adjustments, and fade-aways, are all aspects of the game that EA has given you control of.

The passing game is tremendously fun, and that's where the bulk of the action happens. The job of video game QB becomes a lot easier when you don't have to worry about complex coverages in the secondary.

As far as realism, physics, and attention to detail, Colin blows away the competition. Other racing fans, especially casual fans, will pass on Colin for its difficulty and lack of modes.

While Titanfall sadly lacks any single player story mode, it is how wonderfully the game looks and plays along with some exciting game modes that will draw gamers in and keep them sucked in for quite some time.

It's a grand adventure whose small flaws in pacing and dungeon design shouldn't keep it from demolishing a week or two of your life.

The new kicking meter makes it way onto current generation, providing a ton of more control and consistency with the kicking game.

The dead-zone issues on the Wii U version are unfortunate, but I find myself willing to trade that for the GamePad functionality alone. The MiiVerse features aren't exciting, but scrawling a Game Over message to taunt other players with isn't a bad addition either.

The animations are incredible, the textures are fantastic, the stadiums look like cathedrals, and the new menus are slick and very easy to weed through. But alas, you still don't have a full integration of the ESPN license, the presentation is lacking with no pre-game studio views, ala current gen, and there is a few hiccups in the frame rate when scoping the entire field.

I can’t recommend Grand Slam Tennis enough for Wii owners, and am excited to see what changes are made when this title hits Xbox 360 and PS3 later this year.

The AI can be challenging, and towards the end it does border on cheap at times. However, everything feels pretty well balanced, and when it comes to portable fighters, Bleach definitely sits at the top of the heap.

It's a great HD version of a classic game, and I look forward to running through it again when the PSN version launches.

Offers enough newness for a purchase, but fans that have been there from the beginning might begin to wonder when the series will take that next step in evolution.

Where Iconoclasts falls a little short is in making it clear what it expects of you in places. It uses little signs to convey instructions, but a lot of the time these illustrations make no sense, and you have to puzzle things out for yourself. It’s obviously never impossible, but there are certainly places where it feels like it may as well be. Still, as the creation of one man after seven years of development, it’s hard to fault Iconoclasts for being a little challenging in places. If that’s the trade-off to be made for a story as strong and distinctive as this, it’s well worth it.

What .hack//G.U. throws at you is a brisk (well, compared to most jRPGs), well planned, somewhat clever but ultimately a bit generic romp through a MMORPG that resides in a unsettling futuristic world that you only view through electronic windows.

It's far from perfect, but even further from broken. Alice looks good, plays good, and has a very decent length that should appease any diehard fan.

If you have never played Metal Slug but love 2D games like Contra, this title will provide unlimited game play for you too.

The key is MLB doesn’t concentrate on doing just one thing right, it maintains doing all things very well and in the end I can’t help but give MLB 2005 my pick for best baseball game this year.

Graphics and gameplay probably don't get much better in a 2D game than they are in Viewtiful Joe2. The faint of heart might long for a few more difficulty options, as the action can get hairy in a hurry. But this is still a fun, challenging game that's extremely easy on the eyes.

Much like the story of the man it is “based on”, I think people will be unaware of this extremely competent title. It’s a tad short for my liking, but it is an otherwise complete experience. Hopefully the game’s marketing team will find the right influencers to champion this title. Those who do find it will get a chance to experience an enjoyable game and learn about the colonial history of an area that increasingly finds itself on the world stage.

The story was well told, the acting believable, the action enjoyable, and the new ideas implemented will inspire future games, but when all is said and done, the game just feels unfinished in too many areas to feel like a AAA title.

All in all for 15 bucks for 1200 Microsoft points you have a lot of game and reasons to replay for quite some time.

It may be disappointing to some that Battlefield 4's single player doesn't live up to a hill of beans, but what they did accomplish with the impressive multiplayer mode is something special that cannot be duplicated even by Activision's mighty series.

It remains one of the best party games around, and it's still engaging and fun in a single player setting, and if you can't find people locally to play with, then the online mode will generally satisfy that itch.

One thing that Sega’s game has over EA’s is options.