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.

Unless you're just dying to play something other than "SOCOM II" online with your PS2 you won't be missing much if you pass up Fire Warrior, even if you're a Warhammer diehard.

AEW Fight Forever is a really chaotic blast. Exciting gameplay and ease of play guarantees continued replayability, especially with any of my friends who aren’t familiar with the more complicated 2K series. Would I like more out of the series going forward? Of course. But on top of my gripes in the review the roster is kinda limited, but DLC could help that. That being said, for the very first entry into the market Fight Forever does a surprisingly good job. Patching and building off the foundation established here will be key in how this game is received by the fans, old and new. I’m along for the ride. If you’re an AEW fan, I think you’ll enjoy this release. It does enough to stand out from the WWE series of games and gives a great alternative that AEW the actual wrestling product was supposed to be (but hasn’t really delivered in my opinion… had to leave one last dig in there after being so complementary).

So while I think Painkiller Hell & Damnation is adequate in presentation and gameplay, it's really only suited for those that didn't play the previous releases. The silver lining is that it speaks highly about the endurance of the hold-down-the-fire-button-and-don't-let-go FPSs that started the genre… And hey, it's only $20.