There are lots of clichés and stereotypes and the scrip makes fun of each one in turn, making for a light, fast story. But even with it's self-deprecating humor and over-the-top boss characters, the story takes a distant back seat to the action.

Perhaps the nicest aspect of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is that it appeals to both those that played the first and those that've never heard of it.

WTS 2003 plays like a dream. Tight and responsive controls help you perform all the headers, passes, and goal kicks with ease.

Visually and mechanically it will be a bit jarring for players who cut their teeth on the series with 0 and the 2 Kiwami games. However those who can forgive these shortcomings, this collection is still quite a value. With 3 titles whose play time can clock in around 20 hours each and even more if you indulge in the plethora of mini games and substories, it’s an absolute steal that the bundled price is $40. The value is even better as this package is available to members of Microsoft’s Game Pass program.

In the end, Warlords is a fun and challenging game that takes a classic and improves it for today's audience. New players can easily jump right in and start wrecking castles in no time. At just 10 bucks, you really can't go wrong. It's definitely not for every gamer out there, but fans of the original will feel right at home, even with the new features.

Like I said, that’s not enough to make Tokyo Xanadu eX+ worth checking out if you’ve already played it on the Vita. But it does mean that if you never played the Vita version, and you’re looking for a big game with smooth combat and a decent enough plot, then it should fit the bill.

It's a gorgeous looking fighter that's pretty unique and fun to play, even if you're currently bogged down in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, SSFIV Arcade Edition, Blazblue, Tekken or whatever.

Color Guardians may not be one of the greatest games you'll ever play, but it's still clearly above average — and all things considered, that makes it a pretty welcome addition to the Vita's library.

Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk succeeds as a visual novel generally and an otome specifically because it ignores its genre conventions in favour of telling a compelling story, with largely decent characters and enough content to keep you interested all the way to the end. I’m not sure what Aksys’ goal with the Summer of Mystery was, but if it was to showcase just how impressive and engaging the genre can be, I’d say it succeeded beyond any shadow of a doubt.

While not every event in the game is going to please you, I'm sure you'll find plenty of things to like, especially with a group of friends.

It is nice to see EA not sit back and take it easy with their illustrious FIFA franchise, and honestly they will need to keep it up with Konami’s PES series set to return with a vengeance.

Game play is spot on "NBA2k2," which is good and bad at the same time. The controls are tight and responsive, but the force field issue mentioned before makes the game feel constrictive in ways.

The gameplay is easily as deep and challenging as "Links" and "Tiger Woods." Those games are traditional, while Outlaw Golf is irreverent and usually bawdy enough that it's best avoided by the faint of heart.

It's worth playing through at least once — and if you're into it, again with New Game +.

A great simulation racer that does almost everything well. The Racing Life mode is too short and the rally racing can be unforgiving. But the pressure sensitive gameplay, realistic AI, and event challenges round out a great race package that’s tough to pass.

Basically, Barry the Bunny keeps you playing level after level, and then wraps up well before it has a chance to wear out its welcome. It’s not going to break new ground, but, like every other game from lightUP so far, it’s going to provide you with a very enjoyable experience for only a couple of dollars.

It's a pretty over-the-top fighter, with a heavy emphasis on flashy supers and specials more than a complex combo/counter system, so it's not going to be for everyone to enjoy. If you're an old fan of the game though, you'll know what to expect.

Most everyone else will appreciate this slightly faster game with excellent online play and much-improved graphics. The strategic, thoughtful play is still there, but it's not the same Ghost Recon you knew.

It feels like deja vu when you’re playing an exhibition game in NHL 18 because it’s very very similar to NHL 17, but that’s not a bad thing. If you’re a fan of the NHL and you buy this release annually, this review isn’t going to tell you anything to prevent you from your purchase. If you listened to my review last year and picked up NHL 17, as a casual fan who doesn’t pick up every release, this year is probably going to be a skip. There’s just not enough of a change year over year. Threes is a fantastic new mode and a way to enjoy some arcade style hockey (and would be perfect on the Switch wink wink), but it’s just not worth a $60 investment for a casual fan. Die hards will have a blast with NHL 18 and Threes is just an added bonus to what is already a tight, feature packed hockey power play.

Overall, I’m pretty impressed with how well Creed: Rise to Glory works on PSVR, and I’d imagine the other VR platforms are executed just as well. The only thing that feels a little iffy at launch is the online versus mode, which led to a couple of laggy matches against real-world opponents, enough so that I never finished a match. For me, the online versus isn’t a huge draw, but you might want to give the game a patch or two before picking it up if that’s a deal breaker for you. Outside of that, I think Creed does a great job of simulating the boxing experience with an arcade-style approach, and is certainly worth checking out if you’re looking for a fun, boxing VR workout at home.

As I said earlier, this game wants you to feel uneasy the whole way through, and it’s hard to think of a better way to do that than not telling you what you’re doing. It means that their game isn’t for everyone — but I suspect that if it’s for you, you’re going to love (and fear) every second of it.

You have all the trimmings expected in a baseball game, and the action is quick and enjoyable, so much that you can get games in under a half an hour if you wish.

Overall, it's a far more enjoyable experience than you'll find in most of the Dynasty Warriors series, and it's nice to see some competition for the a game type that doesn't get a lot of love in the Western side of the world.

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.

While it would have been easy enough for Ubisoft to slap the Monopoly brand on a cheap collection of mini-games, instead they made an effort to give a wide range of boards and characters, and even added a story mode in case you want to play solo. You really should play Monopoly Madness with others, though. And that’s a recommendation, too, not just a statement of fact. It’s easy enough to pick up that almost anyone can play, while each match is both short and competitive enough that it’s the sort of thing that you’ll actually want to play it with others. It’s not Monopoly, to be sure – but in this case, that works surprisingly well.

Much like like Pong, or Pac-Man, or Tetris, DDMR only really does one thing, but it does that one thing extraordinarily well. I mean, Don't Die, Mr. Robot is nowhere near as essential as those games…but at the same time, it's at least addictive enough that you can mention it in a not-too-distant proximity to them and not have it sound like the craziest thing ever.

I think the reason that Mario Tennis feels like it’s been out of the picture is because Nintendo hadn’t tried to seriously get it online and into the modern era. It seems like this time the game feels fully online with no gameplay issues that I found. It also helps that Aces has the best gameplay of the series so far and if you like party sports games, you really can’t go wrong with this one. The court variety, character selection, and ability to go online with multiple players on one console make Mario Tennis Aces out to be a game with lasting value. If you’ve been waiting for a series return to form well here it is.

A great debut for the Xbox 360 as it gives its gamers everything you’d want from the series the first time out of the box.

As far as light gun shooters go, this is one of the few that I think is perfectly suited to the home console environment.

The good parts of ESPN far outweigh the bad and combine to make one of the most satisfying and challenging sports games ever. It's such a steal you might want to wear a ski mask to the store – just in case.

The essence of the Hulk – his chaotic power and affect on normal civilization – is captured perfectly.

A high point in the series.

Just like you’d expect, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is the complete package on the Switch. It’s a straightforward port with a couple add-one that don’t feel stapled on, but as always the real draw is having a game on a console with more staying power and appeal than the Wii U offered. If you’re not familiar with Captain Toad then definitely check this out, but if you had the game on Wii U then you’ve probably already made up your mind about if you’ll be migrating the recent ports over to the Switch. Either way you cut it, this is a great game and a definitive port.

I think you’ll still need a pre-existing enjoyment of Mobile Suit Gundam going into Gundam Versus to really, really enjoy it, but the framework is definitely here for a unique fighting game. There are so many Mobile Suits to pick from, and a fair amount of unlockable content, so you can easily spend dozens of hours playing. And, thankfully, the online community is present to support those hours of playing, which is certainly a plus. I’d definitely suggest checking it out, whether you’re a fan of Gundam specifically, or giant robot anime in general. There’s a lot of fun to be had with Gundam Versus.

The visuals aren't as flashy as some more recently released titles for the console, but the cool storyline and gameplay more than make up for it.

NHL 13 is a solid effort and should not be missed by fans of NHL Hockey.

A pretty fantastic first entry into the series, and turned out better than I had thought. The controller itself feels well built, and I don't get the sense that it'll breakdown from any extended plays.

Its fun, it'll help you pass some time while you wait for the game, and it does a solid job of introducing the new character and new weapon system, without giving too much away prior to DR2's release.

Overall, Ryse: Son of Rome is a solid launch title that tells a good story, looks freaking amazing, and plays great.

It's also a wonder that the programmers retained the motion blur for this perspective, as it seriously screws around with your ability to judge where the ball is going.

In other words, MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies ultimately works because, like the other Hyperdimension Neptunia spin-offs, it takes the series' formula and applies it to something new.

Worms W.M.D is a fun game. Sometimes it's silly, sometimes it can be frustrating, but no matter how the battles go, you manage to have fun. It's quirkiness and overall fun factor give it a charm that not many turn based games of this caliber can even come close to.

Planet of the Eyes isn’t going to be the next game that you sink dozens and dozens of hours into. But, if you’re looking for a game with an easily-understood plot and some fantastic writing…well, your search should stop here for an hour or two.

All together, I found Monsters vs. Aliens to be a fun game, something that could easily appeal to adults and kids alike, whether you were a fan of the film or not. The gameplay is addictive, great to sit down and play in short bursts, and there's plenty of unlockable content to keep you busy after you've finished the main story.

Having the games and the movie on a single Blu-ray disc is probably the only missing "feature" of the Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience package, although I understand the reasoning behind splitting them up.

Dungeon Defenders is frantic, colorful and deep in a class of games that's usually just frantic and colorful.

Visuals are just as refined and gorgeous as previous versions of the series, with new and subtle differences added to give the game increased flare and a more appealing look to the eye.

A fast and fun game that does everything that hasn't been done before. The game is totally fresh and unique.

Miles & Kilo also does a better job of telling a story. The plot — kid crashlands on island, has to find a way home — is practically identical, but here the game lays out narrative, has more levels, and seems to flow together a little more logically with boss fights (that work!) and whatnot. It’s hardly complex storytelling or anything, but it does a good job of keeping you playing beyond just the challenge of it all. Even with all that, of course, I wouldn’t say that Miles & Kilo does anything all that new. It’s a retro-influenced platformer, after all, and the last several years have seen more of those than I can count. But within that very broad genre, this is definitely one of the better ones.

No complications, no menus or convoluted control schemes between a digital playground and platforming to my heart's content. This is exactly the place in my heart that Plain Sight immediately appeals to.

The best Spider-Man game ever created. Never before has a game captured the form of Spidey, the ‘Spidey-ness’, if you will.

Definitely worth picking up, and I'm glad I had the chance to check it out. It's nice to get a little more light shined on Roxas and Axel in particular, so fans of those two characters will be pretty pleased I think.

a far better Prince of Persia title than we've seen in years. I'm not sure that I would place it on a level with Sands of Time, but it's easily the second best 3D Prince of Persia title to date.

Provided you come to Call of Duty with multiplayer in mind, I think you’ll be very pleased with what Black Ops III has to offer this year.

Probably the best fully original title to hit Sony’ Portable since "Lumines." It’s a solid action RPG set against an old Eastern backdrop that bears a resemblance in style to Bioware’s "Jade Empire."

Another solid year of football gaming with enough lasting appeal to get you by ‘til next season’s opener.

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Blair Witch is so solid. After all its developers, Bloober Time, were also behind the very creepy Layers of Fear (not mention the frighteningly bad Basement Crawl), so for them to apply the lessons from that game to an established horror property like Blair Witch Project is clearly a no-brainer. Nonetheless, it makes for a very enjoyable — and, more importantly, very creepy — horror game, and one that any aficionados of the genre would be wise to check out.

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.

FAR: Lone Sails is fine for what it is, and I liked my time with it — but throughout it all, I couldn’t help but feel like it could’ve been even better than it was.

The near endless replay value of searching out new and original juggle combos is alone almost enough to warrant a purchase.

The game seems earmarked to become a cult hit...and with another game on the way in Japan, I can only see the series getting better.

It's a mighty strong testament that the gameplay is as addictive now as it was back on the Apple II, though those that got burned out back in the day will likely remain burned out today.

Game play in the first NFL Street hampered on the difficulty on playing defense. This has all been fixed in NFL Street 2 as there are a larger amount of both offence and defensive plays that not only give you a chance of catching a player off guard for the easy score, but for that quick sack as well.

It also receives high marks for the sheer amount of games made available--20 in all--at a suggested MSRP of $30 makes this game worthy of attention to the casual PSP gamer, and a must-have for any classic/retro gamer looking for a game that will get a lot of playtime on their PSP.

Star Trek: Tactical Assault does a fantastic job with giving the player a feel of the Star Trek universe and what the commander of a starship had to go through in the shows. I would probably recommend picking out the PSP version if you had a choice.

GGB does not have much in the way of storyline -- a continuation of the previous Gungriffon games' post-apocalyptic military scenario -- or extras, but it doesn't need those things. It is extremely fast and fun and easy to play, and it is a solid title worthy of buying.

While it's clear that Microsoft Game Studios isn't quite ready to overtake EA or Sega on the gridiron, there's no denying that they've made it a three-man race.

Dead or Alive 6 continues the trend of being a fun title that has a low barrier of entry, but offers those who wish to go deeper a lot of tools to accomplish that. The title remains one of the more visually appealing fighting games out there in the market. Team Ninja has created the framework for a tournament ready title, It’s tough to have to appeal to a mass market, the fighting game community AND the community that stuck with them for all these years. They just need to avoid unnecessary controversies, maybe pump the breaks sheer amount of paid cosmetic DLC.

Skulls of the Shogun offers up a fairly unique take on what we’ve come to expect from turn-based strategy titles, and its use of a unique movement structure and simplified unit types makes this a far more accessible venture than most titles in the same genre. But that accessibility doesn’t come at the cost of challenge, which later stages certainly prove. Combine that with a fun, but bare online mode and you’ve got a new XBLA title that’s definitely worth a look.

The colorful visuals, well-paced gameplay and smart dialog came as a bit of a shock. Even more surprising was the part where I kept playing, not because I had to review it, but because I wanted to.

Motocross action is what the game promises, and motocross action is precisely what it delivers.

It’s a solid shooter that often manages to nail its jokes, has a unique visual style, and feels pretty great to control the further into the campaign you get. It isn’t going to be the best shooter of all time, but it’s certainly fun while it lasts, and worth checking out.

It does a fantastic job of capturing a lot of the gameplay elements that made the original Deus Ex so much fun, and from a story perspective leads into the events of the original nicely.

It would have been nice if the gameplay were anywhere close to being as great as the premise. If we were going by looks and ideas alone, Bartlow’s Dread Machine would be an easy GOTY contender. As it stands, it’s simply a great-looking game with more than a few flaws — but those looks are so good, they might just be enough to make this game worthwhile.

Whether you like combat, trading, or just general exploration, Rebel Galaxy has something unique and enjoyable to offer, and is certainly worth checking out on any available platform.

League of Evil is still the same old game that made it so much fun all those years ago. The levels are still quick little puzzles for you to feel out and solve, ideally within seconds. The graphics are still heavily indebted to games of earlier eras, as is the plot (which, as the title implies, is all about you taking on a group — a league, if you will — of evildoers). There’s little here that you wouldn’t also see in the likes of Super Meat Boy.

Paradox Interactive has made an extremely faithful recreation of the board game and its rules. Every rule, every detail is folowed to letter.

This is the best version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 made. The control of the PSP however, hinders the title's gameplay and as such makes the game a must-buy only for those hardcore fighting game fans who must have every game available, or for those desperate for a fighting game fix on the PSP platform.

Dewy's Adventure has some great ideas and many gamers will like the simple pleasures it provides, but hardcore platform fans will breeze right though this one like a box of Oreos.

It's a bloody decent game, as could only be expected. If it were not for the battle with Eidos perhaps one would have expected SI to release this as an add-on or update to FM 2005, rather than pitch it as an entirely new game with all these 'amazing' new features.

If you consider yourself a series NASCAR fan, you must own NASCAR 06. This is the game you have been waiting for and offers more game play options than you can handle. Casual racing fans may be confused by the concept and might want to consider this a rental at best.

When Mafia III gets things right, it really gets things right. It has the kind of soundtrack and vibe that most other games would kill to have, and it's built around an incredibly compelling protagonist. It's nowhere close to being perfect, but there's enough good stuff here that, ultimately, it's hard to stay too mad at Mafia III.

Here's the thing, though: as insular as One Piece 2 might be, it's also absurdly fun.

Déraciné is a VR experience that will not take to long to finish, but will leave a lasting impression. Its one of those games that you can play through multiple times to see if there are other ways to complete a task or see if there are other things to interact with you missed before. I’m hoping that more can be added with DLC in the future, as I can see so much potential to expand this world. Clocking in at just under 4 hours, it may put off some players with its overall length and presentation, but if you want to experience an extremely unique VR game for the PSVR, then I can highly recommend Déraciné. There is nothing quite like it available.

As someone who’s always loved building teams in other sports games, it was pretty fun to have so much control over your destiny here. Even more importantly, watching the games play out on the field was pretty enjoyable here. I wouldn’t say that Football Manager Touch 2018 is about to challenge FIFA or anything in the looks department, but it’s still pleasant to look at.

Minor gripe aside, I expect Headlander to reach that cult classic status like many of Double Fine’s prior titles and it’s well deserved. This is a must own for fans of the genre.

After "Bioshock" and "Uncharted," it's hard to imagine a game having an even better setting, but Assassin's Creed seems to have pulled it off.

Xillia is not as good as Symphonia or Vesperia, but it is most certainly worth the journey.

It's admirable that the DS managed to pull off a solid Geometry Wars experience with dozens of levels and enemies to blow away, and isn't that what's important?

The story is well written and very entertaining, and the cast of characters really grow on you.

All things considered, Borderlands 3: Ultimate Edition is a pretty neat achievement that’s only slightly undermined by the fact that we had an even better port of an even more well-received open-world game from a previous generation just a few months ago. Even so, this is a fun game in its own right, and if you’re after a big, open-world shooter with lots of guns and gore on the Switch, this is definitely one of your better options.

No Straight Roads is like an indie band that if given a chance, you’ll end up being a fan for life. It’s not perfect, but there’s enough there to ensure you have a good time. It certainly stands out in a crowd of titles where colors are muted and personalities are lacking. In a battle of Rock vs EDM, I’ll side with rock every time!

L4D2 isn't going to change your mind if you thought it was just okay or didn't care for it. On the other hand if you and a handful of friends enjoyed joining up to defeat the land of the dead and surviving the thought of being a smorgasbord for the flesh eaters, then you will have nothing short of a blast with L4D2.

The biggest drawback to NHL 2k8 is the new controls. Even if you want to grow into them, it’s not worth it. Fortunately, you can turn them off and get on with your day, so there’s not much downside. 2k8 still plays a smooth, exciting and fun game of hockey.

Aside from my mixed feelings on A.I., which was never one of the series' strengths to begin with, and the length, the game has a lot of great action, well done atmosphere, and multiplayer to keep you coming back for more.

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.

A true upgrade over the previous version, and as I mentioned before, is the best handheld soccer game ever created.

While it does suffer some faults, the magic is still there and the package is a solid purchase for those looking to relive the glory of RPG's gone by.