Despite the sometimes-baffling challenges (which, in all honesty, are pretty typical to the genre), EMI delivers exactly what the Monkey Island name promises-a lighthearted, entertaining, and well-written swashbuckling adventure game.

All in all, Broken Steel winds up being a great diversion and a good excuse to re-visit the Capitol Wastelands. Between the continuation of the storyline, the tougher enemies, and the great amount of action given, it's well worth the $10 to take a ride with the Brotherhood of Steel one more time.

Puts the word sequel to shame. Rockstar Games has really taken the time to put together a game that not only fits in perfectly in the GTA universe, but ups the ante for itself and others as well.

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.

I'm really impressed by how well realized Uncharted: Golden Abyss is on a handheld. I had been a little skeptical at how well the series would translate to the small screen, but I've found myself really enjoying this game. It does lose a little bit of the scope, especially compared to the Uncharted 2 or 3, but I feel like that's to be expected here. Still, the excellent third person gameplay is extremely strong, and the game actually paces its combat and exploration mechanics better than Uncharted 3 did. I definitely urge new Vita owners to pick this one up; it deserves to be a marquee title for the Vita.

I found myself hopelessly addicted to this pseudo-dungeon crawl, and I have a feeling it isn't just me.

If you are or ever was a fan of the show, you absolutely can’t go wrong with The Fractured But Whole. Licensed games have come such a long way and I’m so happy to see the time and effort put in to a franchise like this and it truly pays off in the end. So warm up with a shake weight, rock out to some Lorde, put on your favorite Columbus costume, maybe snack on a little Crème fraîche (enough Randy references?) and enjoy one of the best licensed games of all time.

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.

Minus a few hitches here and there with presentation, commentary, and no online leagues, this may be one of the best Madden titles in recent memory, and easily the best on next gen platforms.

These games still hold up today, and while the visual improvements do not make the games feel “Next-Gen”, they definitely bring the games up to date and make them more than playable. The Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the perfect way for both longtime fans and series newcomers alike to experience one of the finest franchises in gaming history.

The GC version gets a better graphics boost than the Xbox counterpart, but both versions pack the same great gameplay.

So all-in-all, Horizon Forbidden West is a very satisfying, extremely impressive if somewhat predictable sequel, to one of the best original titles of last generation. It’s a showcase for the PS5 platform (and not exactly a slouch on the original PS4 and PS4 Pro amazingly), and definitely worth the price of admission.

It doesn't have the polish that GTA IV has, but at the same time I just felt like I was having more fun here than I ever did in Liberty City. The sheer amount of freedom in how you do your missions (and the lack of scripted set-ups) is one of my favorite aspects in a sandbox environment, and right now, Saints Row 2 honestly serves up the best experience when it comes to just having some fun in a big city with no rules for a few hours.

Where this game really shines through is in its sense of humor. While there are many situations that feel like they have a serious undertone, the loudest aspect is the way your character acts as your favorite, cheesiest '80s action cop. He'll push people around if you want him to, or be the nice guy, but who would want to do that?

Music aside, overall this year’s madden is a definite buy if you are a fan of the series or a fan of the NFL.

But this one offers more than eastern art for the sake of pleasing those who prefer it. It's a compelling, unique experience that can be appreciated by just about anyone.

The amazing thing is how great the covers are. Except for a couple of noticeably different sounds from the Incubus and Queen songs, they all sound just like the real tracks. With songs ranging from David Bowie to White Zombie, it’s really a credit to the performers to be able to not only recreate the music, but the voices as well.

You can build to your heart’s content, devote hours upon hours to building a great theme park, and, best of all, you can make your dinosaurs wear hats. There may be a few better management sims on the Switch, but Parkasaurus makes a solid argument for being counted among them.

To be clear, it’s not like ten years has transformed Republique from a decent stealth game into an unsung classic. But they have given its message more relevancy, and given it a console whose controls are a perfect fit for the game – and that’s enough to make it well worth your while.

I found myself fairly engrossed with Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, and would argue it’s the best of the Omega Force/Nintendo collaborations so far. It runs really well in both handheld and TV mode (certainly far better than Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity) and the combat is propelled to another, more interesting level when you start utilizing the ability to command your various units as objectives appear. So even if you’ve not played through a single musou game before, I think Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes would make a pretty great impression for brand new players, while also breathing some fresh air into the formula for returning fans.

As someone who did not attend his own prom, something about Monster Prom just clicked and made me really invested into learning more about these monster young adults and their fates before the big dance. I found myself immediately starting a new session after a rejection in hopes of finally getting the monster of my dreams to finally say yes. The sheer amount of events and possible outcomes meant it would be hard for me to get bored.

You’ll never get enough of picking up a soldier, watching him flail around, followed by throwing him into a wall. The rag doll physics help add to the diabolical pleasure as limbs fly all over the place when tossed from one part of the room to the other.

The real draw in Neon White is the action – the pure, unfiltered, adrenaline-pumping action that feels like it brings together the best thing about games like Devil May Cry or Ghostrunner or Mirror’s Edge or Sonic or whatever else you play when you want to go as fast as possible while slicing and shooting through every single enemy in your way. It’s a pretty exceptional game, and it’s unlike anything else out there.

Between the plotting, level design, and gameplay, Tomb Raider: Legend does an admirable job of rescuing the franchise. Crystal Dynamics have torn down the franchise, consulted with the creator, and rebuilt it from the ground up as something significantly different…Something great.

In some ways, de Blob 2 even improves upon its predecessor. It has a much improved camera, more frequent save points, and cutscenes that don’t show their age, all of which count as plusses in my book. Further, it allows a second player to join in the fun, which is a welcome addition for a game like this one. None of these changes represent massive steps forward, to be sure. But they all contribute towards making de Blob 2 every bit as enjoyable as the original de Blob.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that Inside excels in pretty much every way imaginable.

I think Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder is pretty fantastic, and well-worth playing. I was genuinely surprised that a sequel was even made, but I’m happy to see that ACE Team managed to recapture all of the magic from the first, and expand on it even more.

All in all, I think Galak-Z was definitely worth the wait. It’s one of the most unique titles I’ve played on my PS4 this year, and certainly one of the most challenging.