A surprisingly challenging shooter, but not necessarily the best looking one out there. My only real gameplay issue with the game is that it's almost too slow and easy at first, and the plodding pace that the auto scrolling levels go by can start to bore a player before you get to the harder stuff in the mid-game section.

It certainly feels like this game was made to hit a deadline, rather than grow the franchise. I couldn't help but think it was a money-grab title.

The controls are kind of wonky — as enjoyable as it is to soar, the birds here aren’t exactly the most agile things in the world, so you spend a lot of time banking around and coming in for a new pass, and doing that over and over again until you finally shoot down all your enemies. All of this is probably fine if you want to do is aerial combat for a couple of hours. The Falconeer really only does that one thing, so if it’s your thing, then you’re in luck. Don’t expect anything more than that, though, because there’s pretty much nothing else to do.

From a more objective viewpoint, however, there's no escaping the fact this is just a mediocre game that doesn't quite live up to its ideas.

Here is proof that originality alone is not a basis for a fun game.

If the gameplay was a little more involved, with less button bashing and greater emphasis on using combos for effectiveness, it would provide a more fufilling experience.

It nails down just about everything in the right places, and is definitely worth a look if you are interested in the genre.

Barring some frustrations, Afro Samurai is one of the more enjoyable titles of this genre I’ve played since Ninja Gaiden 2. Now break yo’self fool!!!

The controls are challenging when using the motion set up, and while the analog control is better, it's still not on par with a standard game pad set-up.

Despite the negatives regarding plot, the weather elements, visuals and some ui issues, there’s still a very large and fun sandbox found in this title. I still will start the title to just to tackle the hundred plus challenges as well as trying to ensure I am on top of the leaderboard against my friends on the feats the game tracks. I’m sure Rico will still have more countries to liberate and hopefully the team will have gotten a handle of the Apex Engine.

So overall, I'm not too enthused with Tekken Hybrid. TTT is fun enough, but feels awfully outdated compared to modern fighters. And as a port, it lacks the necessary bells and whistles we've come to expect from similar releases.

Most of the time, though, Maneater feels like a game where they spent all their creativity coming up with the premise. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a wonderfully goofy premise, and the fact I keep giving this game so many chances shows how easy it is to love. The unfortunate truth, though, is that no matter how much fun the idea of being an unstoppable killer shark may be, the reality — at least in Maneater — leaves a lot to be desired.

It's far from the best or most innovative action RPG, but as PSP owners seeking their action RPG fix don't have a lot to choose from, it’s certainly better than nothing.

It won't wow you, and it won't disappoint you: it'll basically just kind of be there.

I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed Rover Mechanic Simulator as much as I do some of those other simulators. It’s harder to get in one of those grooves where you just lose all track of time – and not being able to do that means you’re constantly aware that you’re just completing mundane, time-consuming tasks over and over again. That might be the joy of some of the better simulators, but here it just feels like a chore.

Battleship was one of my favorite games growing up and one I have many fond memories of, but this game doesn’t quite hit the nail on the head.

On the positive side, I did like the idea of a two-ball multiball prelude to open the table up with, where you help Iron Man construct the Ultron A.I. It’s also somewhat neat to see it built as an optional thing, even though I’m not sure I fully understand why you would want to skip it. Also, if you manage to get the four-ball multiball for the final event, it’s so chaotic that you can’t help but smile at the mess, even if getting to this point is more frustrating and boring than it’s worth.

Even if the graphics were perfect, Wild Card Football would still suffer from the fact that it’s not very fun. The Switch has a big, football-shaped hole in its catalogue, and Wild Card Football would clearly love to fill it, but it’s pretty clear that the results fall well short of a first down.

We have found ourselves in a situation of victory after abduction by a strange alien species.

Gunman Chronicles isn't a terrible game, I just suspect many of us have been there and done that.

RFS's gameplay is completely off the wall fun, and despite its quirky premise, kept me coming back for more time and time again.

It’s not an intense game, but the decent 2D gameplay is as solid as ever.

The destruction effects are really impressive, as is the art style, and smashing buildings with giant monsters is really hard to screw up.

The end result is certainly a little talk-heavy at times, and your mileage may vary as far as the characters go, but if you're looking for something out of the ordinary, Trillion: God of Destruction definitely fits that bill.

All-in-all, I don’t think Code Vein II is bad. It’s mostly an improvement over some of the stiffness and art direction of the first game, bringing new features, weapons, and jails for players to build their characters around. The music is still great, albeit more orchestral than the grunge of the first game’s collaboration with VAMPS. The biggest problem that this franchise (is it a franchise yet?) struggles with seems to be chasing the Souls-Ring feel but not nailing it as much as I’d have hoped for the second entry. If you liked the first game, you’ll absolutely enjoy Code Vein II, but costing $70 in a market with other similar titles is a tough ask for people looking to get into Code Vein. Code Vein II isn’t a bad game, it’s rather far from it, but it falls short where it needs to really hit hard.

It's pretty simple, if you like the "Kohan" series you'll probably enjoy this game. If you desire the hectic nature of more traditional real time strategy games, you may not appreciate the simplifications made here.

Besides tapping arrow icons to move the story along, you never use the stylus in this particular game, which is a major disappointment.

It’s not bad by any means, just not as interactive or engaging as other JRPGs available.

I’d highly suggest checking out Battle Princess Madelyn, or possibly revisiting the game if you already played it around launch. The changes made so far have all been positive, and it’s certainly one of the best attempts at nailing the Ghosts ‘n Goblins formula that I’ve seen in recent years.

Even by taking the plots from two films, the game is somewhat short, and definitely on the easy side when played on the default difficulty. The multiplayer is fun in bursts, but it's not going to draw players away from the big guns that are currently popular, so I can't imagine it having much of a community past the first few months of release.

Unfortunately, due to the boring missions and the slow moving character and pace, I would pass on Barnyard.

There’s still decent content within Mega Dimension, despite the continuing to lock Mega Stones behind an online battle system requiring the online subscription being absurdly stupid. The combat’s still solid when you’re in most of the zones, the new Mega Evolutions are fun, and being able to hunt previous mythical Pokémon and some Legendaries is always nice to have back. It’s not fully irredeemable, but for $30 for an expansion for the game in the most profitable franchise on the planet, I don’t think it’s wrong to say it’s severely lacking. If you enjoyed Legends: Z-A and just want more of the same fun you already had, go for it. If you’re on the fence because of the base game, I wouldn’t even glance at it. Pokémon Legends: Z-A Mega Dimension is a hard sell, and it’s a bummer because this is very much something I love and have since I was a kid.

As you can tell, Super Motherload is not a particularly exciting game, unless you have a real passion for digging. And digging and digging and digging.

It’s neat to see the franchise trying something new, even if it doesn’t totally succeed. More importantly, none of the new stuff takes away from what makes Warriors games fun in the first place: you still get to single-handedly mow down enemy army after enemy army. No matter what else may have changed, that core fact remains the same in Dynasty Warriors 9 — and as long as that’s true, that’s really all that matters.

So yeah, the game has some issues that keep it from being a great RE handheld experience. But at its core it does get the whole Mercs experience down pat, and playing online with random partners is still immensely fun.

If the gameplay was a little more involved, with less button bashing and greater emphasis on using combos for effectiveness, it would provide a more fufilling experience.

Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain easily ranks among the worst titles I have ever played on the PlayStation 2, an astounding feat considering that the game came from Sony themselves.

While the game doesn’t do much in the way of gameplay, the presentation makes up for it.

Tao Feng, while light years better than "Kakuto Chojin," really ends up as a slightly generic, thoroughly average fighting experience.

The problem I found is that it felt like the RTS equivalent of button mashing; if I lost, I'd just as soon turn it off than feel all that compelled to try a different "strategy". A shame really, because there's nothing technically wrong with the game.

If you’re after a game that captures the general vibe of that era’s 3D platformers, Kao the Kangaroo does an okay job. Every level gives you plenty of coins and baubles and collectibles to discover, which means that if you’re the type of person who wants to collect everything you can in one of these games, there’s plenty for you to do. Likewise, the levels are all pretty good sizes, so it feels like there’s a lot to explore, even if the levels are generally pretty linear. But these things are only enough to make Kao the Kangaroo feel like an average 3D platformer, not anything special. While that may hearken back to the series’ early days – and it makes this game a perfect continuation of what the series did back when it was a thing – it’s certainly not enough to make Kao the Kangaroo a game you need to play in 2022.

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.

Still, for the initial purchase price of $20, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is a really great fighting game, and can easily hold it’s own with other popular 2D style fighters on the market. Even if you don’t have a great deal of love for Power Rangers as a franchise, like myself, I think you can still appreciate how solid the mechanics are here. The season passes are also reasonably priced for the amount of characters they provide, and again the netcode for online play has been near flawless for me so far. So if you haven’t checked out the game yet, I’d absolutely urge you to do so.

The graphics are there, as is some of the sound, and a few decent gameplay elements, but the boring combat system, repetitive scenery, and horrible menu set up really keeps the game from ever becoming more than a mediocre waste of time.

As a fan of the movie, I really love the characters, but the uninspired and repetitive gameplay really hurts it in the long run.

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

As with Eat Lead, Blood, Bath and Beyond isn't without its fair share of problems, this time around though, it's more forgiving as this game speaks to the inner child to those of use in our late 20s to mid 30s with its 8-Bit nod to classic shooters that toss in nostalgic references that speak to our Gen X attitudes.

The lasting appeal unfortunately is only as long as the game is sadly, which isn't long at all.

This game comes in a very…and I mean a very close second to "Outlaw Volleyball" in terms of great game play and lasting appeal.

If you can do these picture logic puzzles in your sleep, then nothing here should be too far out of your comfort zone. For anyone else, however, I feel like the barrier of entry is just a little too high and the payoff a little too low to make Sketchcross worth the investment.

It complements Volume 1 nicely, and shows that for a little-loved handheld with a small library, the Neo Geo Pocket Color had a pretty impressive collection of games.

Lunar Lander Beyond is definitely beyond what it’s predecessor brought. Everything has been turned up and upside down with this reimagining. The insanity aspect and the ability to get new ships and upgrades is really cool, while the overall story is fun and lighthearted at times while being scary and intriguing at others. Its one of those games where you want to constantly do better and want to beat that tough mission you failed at 30 times. You just want to hop back in and keep trying, and it really makes for a good time. I can recommend this one for anyone looking for a unique challenge that will keep you busy for a long while, and for those that like reimagining of classic games. Another solid release for Atari!

It really pains me to say that Akimbot is as bad as it is. It started out with so much promise, and it drew from some of the best influences imaginable. Unfortunately, as this end result shows time and again, good influences don’t automatically lead to good outcomes, and Akimbot is pretty far from anything that could be called a good outcome.

If the gameplay could match the quality of the plot or dialogue options then you'd have a real winner here, but as it stands Alpha Protocol isn't a title I'd want to revisit anytime soon.

All in all, Dynasty Warriors Gundam Reborn doesn’t come close to being my favorite in the series. It feels rushed, lightweight, and not something that indicates a three year gap in time between titles.

In short, it's Monopoly, only prettier and easier to get out and put away than the board game. Now if you excuse me, I need to roll doubles to try and get out of jail.

A Hero's Tail isn't a revolutionary game. It's not bad, either. It's just very simple. It seems just simple enough, in fact, for children who are at least learning to read and have the motor skills to follow relatively easy control instructions.

I don't think it's going to hold the interest of the current-gen crowd for long, and while coming out a reduced price point was probably a smart idea for Capcom, you might want to hold off on a purchase until it drops a little bit more. Still, it's worth playing, but only as a rental.

The collection of games are all pretty varied, and tie in well with each resort.

But the good news is that Tempest, Pong and Warlords are all very good fun.

Refunct won’t challenge you in any way, and it’ll be over before you know it. But — as someone who still has fond memories of playing the game when it first came out on Xbox a few years ago — I can tell you from firsthand experience that its pleasantness will stick with you long after you’ve finished its very short run time.

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's a lot of fun, and while it's not without flaws, I think it's a definite improvement on the original, and certainly one of the better multiplayer shooters available on the Wii.

It’s surprisingly touching, and the way the tension slowly ramps up makes for a really interesting experience. Interesting enough to make up for all the ways Cloudpunk is lacking, though? Your mileage on that will obviously vary. For me, it was, if only barely. There’s some engaging stuff going on here, but you need to dig through some pretty iffy stuff to get there.

No matter what type of game you are looking for, the control takes some getting used to.

Fallout by all means is far from bad; it’s just far from original.

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

While Worms: A Space Oddity makes a solid first showing for the series on the Wii, it doesn't feel nearly as full fledged a Worms title as previous console versions. The lack of an online multiplayer mode definitely hurts things, and the less than stellar weapon and tool selection feels like a step backwards in the series.

I imagine that if you have fond memories of the Amiga game, playing this remade version will feel like checking in on an old friend after a few decades apart. If you don't have that nostalgia, though…let's just say you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

The real problem is that 2 Dawn decided to join the ranks of an oversaturated genre and is directly competing with games whose advertising budgets are probably 10x as much as Ravaged's development budget… That's an uphill battle if there ever was one.

It’s far from the best, to be sure, but it’s competent and content-filled enough that you’ll at least feel like you’re getting your money’s worth.

Essentially, I never found myself enjoying The Crew 2. It’s not broken or busted in any major way, but I kept hacking away at the progression in the hopes that something would click and make the core game fun, but that never happens. It’s remarkable how similar in design the game is to the original, and how little feels improved upon outside of the visuals and the number of events to compete in.

A lackluster effort compared to the previous two games, and I think a lot more polish and thought could have went into making it more fun to play.

The redeeming fact is that the game is always there to be had at a moment's notice while on the go. There's so much content that there's always some new officer to unlock or new ability to acquire even if the basic gameplay remains the same throughout.

Sonic Rivals pulls it together pretty well, but the game feels more like a mini-game than a fully fleshed out product. Overall, Sonic Rivals is unfortunately too short, and the concept is too simple, to hold the interest of most gamers for very long.

Puzzlegeddon has a couple decent ideas, but for the most part I found it bland, boring, and just not that fun to play. I'd definitely suggest skipping this one, and sticking to the classics for the time being.

In other words, it won't win Game of the Year, but it will keep you playing for awhile — and really, what more can a game do?

Gat Out Of Hell is a buggy, glitchy mess, and there's no getting around the fact it could — and probably should — be way better than it is.

In strict gameplay terms, save for the multiple character options, Street Fighter EX 3 doesn't represent anything we haven't seen before.

Devil Kings is a beat-em up romp of wanton destruction more than anything else, and it's a very good one.

A decent enough job, particularly for strategy and match-3 fans, but not something essential by any stretch of the imagination.

I think if you're already an established Dynasty Warriors fan, then you'll probably love what Strikeforce is doing for the series. Likewise, if you were a fan and fell off the wagon at some point, this is a great game to jump back on with. Finally, if you've never played a DW game before, or if the series hasn't held much appeal, I think Strikeforce can even be the game for you.

Once you have a few upgrades earned, the game becomes fun in quite a hurry.

There's a lot of content here if you enjoy the standard games and want to unlock everything, but not enough of a change here to sway non DW fans into checking this out.

Admittedly, apart from that, Xenoraid is large what you'd expect from a vertical-scrolling shmup: you control a ship around the screen as you blast away at wave after wave of successive enemies. Your weapons, naturally, are upgradable, and the game is generally all about shooting as many aliens as you can. In other words, it's what you'd expect from a shmup, but for one minor deviation. But you know what? That one deviation may just be enough to make Xenoraid checking out.

Really, the only reason to play Paradox Soul is if you want to spend between $5 or so on a quick, fairly easy Platinum. No judgment if you do, but it feels like there has to be a better way to spend that money.

I mean, I’m sure that if you loved Star Wars: Bounty Hunter back when it first came out 20+ years ago, you’ll probably still have a soft spot for it. And it’s certainly far from a bad game – as shooters go, it’s definitely competent. But that doesn’t make it some long-lost hidden gem. It was a so-so game back then, and it’s still a so-so game today.

So I'd venture to say that SEGA has managed to deliver a really fun, fairly precise Olympic experience this year, and if you have any sort of interest in the Olympic Games, you should probably check this out. It's definitely one of the better Olympic or Track and Field style games I've played in recent memory (outside of the mascot stuff), and is well worth your time.

Fans will have to wait for a sequel to see more freedom and variety in gameplay.

Sure, it's a Cross-Buy title, so it's basically free, but again: it's literally the exact same game, just on a bigger screen (unless, of course, you're playing it remotely on your Vita).

Obviously, I can't say that any of Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters Daybreak: Special Gigs! did much more for me this time around than it did the first time. But, as I said up top, the opposite is true, too: if you liked the first one, then get this one too, because they're basically functionally identical.

The story lacks depth, the same way the cartoon did, and when you have such a run-of-the-mill platform game you really need an engaging story.

It's a great game for the DS, and well worth playing. Avoid the Wii version though, I can't really stress that enough.

Short of Sonic CD, there's really not much here for the casual Sonic fan, as they'll either grow bored or quickly blaze through everything else.

Borderlands 2 is instantly one of the best games the Vita has to offer, and a sign that maybe, just maybe, those initial promises of it being a portable console in your pocket weren't that far from reality.

As someone who misses the old Sony and the way they’d try weird things (and not just go for big and cinematic with every one of their games), it feels weird to criticize them for a game where they try something different. But the problem is that God of War: Sons of Sparta isn’t particularly fun. It’s a perfectly adequate metroidvania at a time when there are plenty of very good metroidvanias that are more worth your time, so unless you desperately want a Kratos: The Very Early Years game you can safely skip this one.

This is a no brainer for gamers over 25 who remember a better time, as well as the others who may not get what us geezers have been talking about all this time when we say, "Back in my day, my RPG titles were full of substance with wonderful hand drawn art."

I'd love to say White Knight Chronicles was the RPG that we've all been waiting for. Unfortunately it's nothing like the RPG I've been waiting for since that first gameplay trailer.