It’s rare to see a game in this genre – or any genre, really – that defies easy classification, so in a world where everyone wants to be the next Slay the Spire or Balatro, it’s fun to see something try (and mostly succeed) at doing its own thing.

While Fable II seemed to regard the story as secondary to the newest toys thrown into the mix: making money and babies, Fable III draws our attention back to character building and history making.

It's an unsettling journey, but it's probably one worth taking.

Nikoderiko: The Magical World takes a risk that pays off. Playing off the nostalgia of platformers of the past, Nikoderiko is a love letter to the mascot platformer. Clocking in at a little over 8 hours, Nikoderkio is one of the surprise hits of 2024. It is a game that will be loved by players of all ages, and with couch co-op, it should bring fun to friends and family. I hope we get more of Nikoderiko down the road.

Really, that's the overarching theme of Gravity Rush 2: it takes what made the first game intriguing, it builds on the proof of concept that was Gravity Rush Remastered, and it shows what Kat and co. are really capable of doing. It may start out a little slowly, but once it hits its stride, it quickly becomes apparent that the sky's both the literal and figurative limit as to what this game can accomplish.

For anyone else who may wonder what the hubbub is all about, if you have the patience to endure many levels repeatedly in an old school side scrolling fashion, then this is a great start for you. Nevertheless, this game fills in the gaps and tells the tale before the greatest Castlevania title of all time, and includes it in the package to boot.

Overall, I think Pokémon Sword & Shield is a great entry in the franchise, only brought down by its lackluster storyline. It’s certainly new player friendly, but also has enough going for it that long-time Pokémon fans will likely enjoy the new features too. If you have a Switch, and you’re even remotely interested in the series, I’d suggest checking it out.

Like all Karaoke titles, this is a must buy for anyone from the tone deaf to the singing experts.

As strange as it might seem, Rc De GO is actually bounds better than most of the racing titles that have hit the PlayStation and lately, and anyone looking for something slightly off the wall would do best to give Acclaim's latest a try.

While it may not capture the "feel" of surfing quite as well as its closest competitor, it makes up for it with better wave models and the incredible number of actions to perform on each wave.

The maps offer opportunities for strategy and the online battles are a blast.

Control is tight and players should have no problem getting into the swing of things.

A fast, fun, deep, and graphically impressive game and it’s been well worth the two year wait since Sega released the original.

For 10 bucks, the game does pass the time and can become quite addicting for anyone who enjoys games like Tetris or Columns. When put into that scenario, it seems like a great bargain... which it is!

While Capcom Arcade Stadium is a good collection, having everything broken into packs, the weird sound issues on some games and the omission of some US versions take a few points away from it being perfect. The Class System and the online leaderboards are OK, but I think online co-op would of been a better choice in that area. Also, I feel the currency earning system (CASPO) could have been used for more like unlocking art galleries and music tracks. Still even with those little speed bumps, Capcom Arcade Stadium is a fine collection of classic games that many people will enjoy. I can recommend this to any classic arcade fan looking for an old school challenge or someone who wants to get acquainted with Capcom’s colorful past.

Hand of Fate is a great example of how seemingly hidebound genres can be shaken up and made to appeal to people who might not otherwise give them a second look.

When this game clicks — and make no mistake, it clicks pretty often — it's a thing of beauty to behold.

This is absolutely worth picking up for PS3 owners, and one of the better video pinball games I've ever played.

Every aspect about the original has certainly been improved this time out, besides the Psychopath encounters, so it's definitely worth checking out.

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.

Was Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves worth the nearly two and a half decade wait? Absolutely! Despite the wild ride the game has promotionally (The uproar over the “real people” inclusion as playable characters, then having said real person, Salvatore Ganacci show up to open this year’s WrestleMania), the game is certainly one which will stand the test of time. My only hope is that the support is there which will help SNK further bolster the roster and features so that the streets of South Town will never be too quiet. I mean after all, we still don’t know what Cristiano Ronaldo would do with the Jin scrolls…

Pokémon Conquest is definitely one of the best spin-off Pokémon titles I've ever played, and has enough meat to it, along with some standard Pokémon trappings, that fans of the traditional series will find a lot to like here. And if you're more of a strategy RPG fan than you are a Pokémon fan, you'll still get a lot of enjoyment out of this. It's not the most challenging experience out there, but the sheer amount of content available makes this worth checking out.

Easily the best basketball title on a handheld to date.

The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions are nearly identical, particularly in appearance – the graphics appear to be pretty much the same. But there is one very important difference: The PS3 version does not support online play of any kind.

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.

It's frustrating, often needlessly so, and frequently loses its enjoyable premise behind the guise of arbitrary design decisions.

Worth picking up if your trigger finger is itching to blast away at something new, and even if you find yourself bored with the genre, the “Hot Swapping” feature is worth checking out at least once.

The additional content provided by the Dark Arisen add-on is significant enough that fans shouldn’t feel the sting of re-purchasing the core game, as the new content and worthwhile additions made to the core game are well worth the asking price.

A true upgrade to the previous years, and as I mentioned before, is possibly the best version of the series since its inception.

If you already own Madden 18 and you’re a casual football fan, you’d be hard pressed to find anything in here really worth the $60 price tag, especially when you can download the current roster via the community downloads. But if you’re looking for your way back to Madden or have not ever played the series, this is a great jump on point as the visuals are amazing and it’s a near perfect football simulation.

WWE 2K25 is certainly not without its glitches (of course not on the level of the dumpster fire that was 2K20), and for the most part they’ve already been improved via patches. In my opinion, 2K25 is a must buy for a current or lapsed wrestling fan. It’s better than last year’s release, which is still saying a lot, and it’s miles better than the AEW release which feels like an eternity ago.

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.

CoD3 is a game that is slightly repetitive if not lackluster in its single player - the first level is insanely awesome though.

While it has some nice changes, I found myself growing bored with it quicker than I did with the original. I do believe this would have not been the case if the game were primarily the adventure tracks.

The single player game doesn’t last all that long unfortunately, and some camera issues can definitely become an annoyance, but the game is still fun for a while.

The sequel isn’t a major overhaul, but the added tracks and gameplay further enhances an already solid racing series.

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.

One of the best playing baseball games I’ve played in recent memory... This game is for purists.

The Force is definitely strong with these guys.

Just about the only new thing this time around is the ending, which arguably recontextualizes the entire series in a way that’s sure to leave some people infuriated. Personally, though? I don’t think that a controversial, divisive ending changes the fact that everything that comes before it is basically just 35+ hours of more of the same. If you’re a PS4 owner, of course, all of this will seem new and kind of scandalous, so I can see why it may appeal to some people, but for Vita owners hoping that the previous Danganronpa game marked a new direction for the series, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony will represent a bit of a step back to the safe and familiar (to the extent, obviously, that Danganronpa could ever be described as safe).

Pumpkin Jack is an excellent 3D platformer that’s well worth your time, whether you’re playing it at Halloween or any other time of the year.

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.

The controls are solid, there's a great roster present, and the inclusion of Kratos is a great fit here.

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.

I'll admit it might be a tough pill to swallow in regards to picking up this game for a third time, but having it in a portable form that's nearly identical to the home console versions is certainly a pretty big plus. Ideally this is for the hardcore fan, or the person who held off buying Ultimate the first time around because they didn't want another version of the game 9 months after the last one released. If you fall into either of these camps, then you should definitely pick this one up. I don't think there's enough here to really blow away any casual fan, but it's certainly worth a look and right up there with BlazBlue as a pretty awesome launch title for fighting game fans.

While I’m definitely looking forward to updates to the Switch 2 port of Reload, but it’s rather rough on the technical side right now. I would summarize it as a great game that looks great, sounds great, and plays great, but is unfortunately a victim of poor performance.

The end result though is a very playable method of swinging through the city yet at the same time looking flashy and a lot like the way it was done in the movie. You can imagine the final few seconds of the first movie to get an idea of what you can expect, except you'll actually be doing it.

It's a fun little title, and while it might not hold your attention thru the entire main story, it's definitely worth checking out regardless.

I can't make out any significant graphical difference between the Xbox 360 version and the Playstation 2 version.

If you have a passion for golf and want the best representation of what the video game world has to offer, this is it. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters is golfing's greatest video game masterpiece.

For everyone that’s already very familiar with Dragon’s Crown, I’d say that Pro feels like a worthy re-release even if it’s a bit light overall on extra features. If you’re starting to wind down with something like God of War right now, Dragon’s Crown Pro could easily be a solid addition to your PS4 library next week.

It's a great reimagining of the original series, and certainly worth checking out for both fans of the modern "bullet hell" CAVE titles, and for old-school Space Invaders fans as well.

While Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning isn't the best game I've played in this genre, for a first outing I must commend them on being so ambitious and trying new elements that appeal to many different players on the hopes to hook in a nice variety of gamers rather than just one. On the whole, I think Big Huge Games has accomplished this and they will find their audience or audiences as the case may be. I look forward to seeing what they have up their sleeves in the next go round.

Just about my only qualm with Laser Disco Defenders is that aforementioned insane level of difficulty. Normally, that might be a dealbreaker for me, but when the overall package is as enjoyable as this one is, that's a problem I have no issue overlooking.

It’s fine for what it is, but if you want something that’ll really blow you away, this probably isn’t it.

Having the Baba Yaga myth wrapping it all together ensures that Blacktail takes that well-worn gameplay and gives it a unique spin. It may have flown mostly under the radar so far, but it’s enjoyable enough that it deserves a much wider audience.

The freedom afforded to the player, not to mention the story, would be impressive coming from a recent RPG, but we’re talking about a game that’s over half a decade old. Sure, it may not be the most portable game on the system, and sure, it may be a port, but that doesn’t stop Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth from being one of the best role-playing games on the PSP.

The game is fun, consistent, accurate and is, in every way, baseball. Over the course of nine innings and several seasons, it's clear that Konami knows baseball better than any other developer.

This is one of the best 3DS releases this year, and certainly not a title I’d urge any Nintendo, or old-school action/adventure fan to miss.

Yes, it has been said; the game is short. I admit that I was very surprised when the credits rolled and it had only been a couple of hours. The thing is, with a fun single (or co-op) game mixed with some great online multiplayer action, I don't think you can really go wrong with Snoopy Flying Ace.

A true upgrade to the previous years, and as I mentioned before, is possibly the best version of the series since its inception.

Sucker Punch seems to have found the ideal blend of enjoyable, super power-infused gameplay, stylishly striking visuals, and an open world sandbox setting.

It's everything you'd expect from the series in terms of gameplay and collectability while still retaining all of the character and charisma you love about the franchise.

It's a shame that the single player campaign is such a letdown - SoF 2 is an incredibly addictive multiplayer game, and if the polish shown to the online portion had transferred over to the single player game, we'd have a candidate of GOTY 2002 here.

One of the most enjoyable baseball games on any platform.

While the characters gained even more charm and personality, the gameplay has suffered.

Game play is where Pro Racer Driver leaves most games behind. The computer A.I. is top notch, and reacts like a real driver and not just robot drones that are either set in one pattern, or trying to wreck your car purposely.

While it may not capture the "feel" of surfing quite as well as its closest competitor, it makes up for it with better wave models and the incredible number of actions to perform on each wave.

If you were a fan of the first Ghostrunner, it’s pretty much a sure thing that you’ll love the sequel. It takes everything that made the first game good and ramps it up a few notches – and, thankfully, it does it all on hardware that doesn’t have too many issues running it.

The best version of soccer that EA has put up to date, and just gets me excited for what lies in store for the full game called FIFA 09 this fall!

It's a great reimagining of the original series, and certainly worth checking out for both fans of the modern "bullet hell" CAVE titles, and for old-school Space Invaders fans as well.

While it's certainly a departure from Rockstar's normal games, those with an appetite for something out of left-field that has a great depth to what is capable with some time and care will be very happy with Beaterator.

The game is surprisingly lengthy, clocking in at almost 30 hours, though it is also still quite easy.

While surely not the tidy bow that gamers who wanted a finale would hope for, especially with many questions left unanswered, The Writer does do what it is intended to do, get Alan back to a somewhat sense of reality and get you geared up for Alan Wake 2.

The BIGS 2 comes through huge. It's still the game that it was meant to be, it's got a season mode and it's still baseball as opposed to a sideshow. The new version is deeper and a little more polished, and that's more than can be said about most sports games.

While I still prefer MLB’s game play, the wealth of options and visual flare that "MVP" is bringing makes Sony’s game a bit stale.

Overall I had a good time with Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus, but even without performance issues I think I prefer how the original game played more. There’s also a good challenge within the single-player offerings here, and they’ll have you hooked on getting a complete grade. Other than that, it’s more like a different version of Pac-Man CE than a true sequel, so it might be worth a look if any of this sounds interesting to you.

Obviously, if you’re okay with WarioWare-style minigames, then that may be a bonus for you. And if I could ignore my dislike of them, then there’s plenty about Card Shark to make it worth recommending – and even with those minigames, I’d still say it’s better than average. But unless you’re really fond of wiggling your thumbsticks around every few minutes, you may find the whole experience to not be as good as it could have been.

Acknowledging its major flaws and noteworthy highlights, the whole of The Division is an average shooting game with online elements, loot progression, and some bugs.

If you already own another version of Dead or Alive 5, there isn't enough new material here to recommend a purchase unless you are die hard fan and want a portable version.

It shows just how much the company cares about this series, and the hard work and dedication have paid off in spades. All I can say is even you have played or preferred the 2K series in the past; you owe it to yourself if you are a fan of the game, to take this one to the hoop.

Worth picking up if your trigger finger is itching to blast away at something new, and even if you find yourself bored with the genre, the "Hot Swapping" feature is worth checking out at least once.

It’s easy to forgive a little jank, though, when the overall package is this impressive. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is an epic RPG that aims high and that, much more often than not, succeeds in what it sets out to do. With everything happening with Microsoft and its studios right now, who knows when Elder Scrolls VI will finally come out, so it’s probably worth giving a game like this a chance in the meantime because it’ll surely scratch that itch.

Geometry Wars may have expanded into the reaches of Galaxies, but the game never meant to offer more than a little ship shooting to save its life, and if that doesn't groove with you then it's not time to join the collective just yet.

If you're looking for another tool to use to help you lose some unwanted pounds, or just another way to get the kids off the couch, Wii Fit will make a nice addition to your gaming library.

Throws out the typical RTS paradigm and delivers a engaging game that comes through where it really matters-gameplay.

A great Wii Ware title, and an excellent follow-up to Beat, and definitely more my cup of tea than the original.

If you have any love for any of the old Genesis games or the system itself, $30 is a very fair price for Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. In fact, if you look hard enough, you can find it for a little less, which comes out to be like 65 cents a game. Quite the deal.

We haven’t had a lot of opportunities to cheer the Forrester gang on, but this episode certainly gives you a number of moments to do just that.

One of the rare games that takes the best from lots of games, adds random dungeons, and a dash of its own originality, and ends up being a really great game.

The best version of the fighter to date. Nothing beats the pulse-pounding nature of online play, coupled with the ease of use in Xbox Live.

Even in the wake of ESPN’s fierce competition and 20-dollar price tag, like Madden, March Madness is just a hint better than Sega’s College Hoops title.

If nothing else, then, Gravity Rush Remastered acts as a nice proof-of-concept for what may be possible when Gravity Rush 2 eventually arrives on the PS4.

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.

Like all Karaoke titles, this is a must buy for anyone from the tone deaf to the singing experts.

Despite my frustrations, I really dig the overall vibe that Darkwood goes for. Again, the sound design is the real champ, making great use of audio cues and sound effects to drive home the horror aspect in a way I wasn’t fully expecting. If you’re looking for an interesting take on the survival horror genre, I think you’d do well to check this one out.

It's not quite a perfect game, definitely, but it's the best Naruto game I've been able to play, and I'm glad to see steady improvements being made here.

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.