Forty dollars to access the base content may be steep depending on what players expect to get out of The Taken King. If it's hundreds of hours across all activities, then it's a bargain; if it's just the campaign and some casual competitive play, notsomuch.

People looking for a short romp to fit in between major titles will definitely enjoy Battle Chef Brigade. Some players might find the modes outside of the story mode something they can come back to. Hopefully if a sequel were to come to fruition, the studio will be able to implement some of the features which were missing from this title. They have a solid entree; they just need a couple more appetizers to make this the ultimate meal.

It's not a complex game, by any means. But it doesn't need to be, either. Stranded aims to be a simple little runner/platformer, and it succeeds at that beyond any shadow of a doubt.

The game also has replay value up the wazoo. Not only do you get to storm through 25 levels of insanity, but you have many extras to unlock as well.

Well worth picking up for fans of the original and newcomers alike, and I think it'd be a perfect introduction to the genre for just about anyone.

Overall, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is a fun romp through a little more of the Uncharted universe and I can't imagine that players invested in the franchise will disagree. Naughty Dog did a really nice job fleshing out a pair of once-supporting characters and made us care about who they are and where they came from, and not just because they are women and/or persons of color. Check it out.

The heart and soul of this game lies in stealth, which is splendidly conveyed through the visuals.

At only $7.99, this is a great deal for those who are fans of the series, but as I stated before, the challenge here is no joke. First timers, you have to battle through the frustration and you may just find your new favorite title in the SEGA AGES line.

NFS Underground 2 does one more thing exceptionally well; give the gamer plenty of bang for their buck. If 8 different game play modes wasn’t enough; Circuit, Drag, Drift, Sprint, Street X, Downhill Drift, Outrun, and Underground Racing League, you have a story mode that will give gamers over 40 hours of racing joy.

Sports gaming is on the brink of a new age with the coming of new consoles, so here's hoping the 2k series continues to raise the bar by producing the best game on the market, as they have – again – with NHL 2k6.

Even with Boba’s table being lackluster, the other two tables make Star Wars Pinball worthy of a purchase for certain and remains a must buy not only for pinball fans, but Star Wars fans alike. With the promise of more tables to come in the not too distant future, it’s a welcome surprise to have Star Wars enter in the realm of the Zen Pinball universe and I for one couldn’t be happier.

Overall I think Awesomenauts is a really solid, fun take on a genre that hasn't seen much face time on consoles. I really hope that despite the issues with the publisher Ronimo has a chance to support the game with future DLC, because it's a title that could easily be built off of for months to come. It's a game that definitely warrants the awesome part of its title, and even if you've never jumped into MOBA games before, Awesomenauts makes a pretty good place to start.

The same goes for Heroes of Loot as a whole: it's very simple, but it works incredibly well. Bring on more twin-stick dungeon crawlers!

Obviously, your enjoyment of Scarlet Nexus will likely be greater if you actually do enjoy anime (or maybe not – or all I know, this game’s story may be horrifically bad!). But if you’re indifferent to the genre, you shouldn’t let that stop you from enjoying a very fun action game.

It uses the upgraded visuals of previous ports, and does feature multiple soundtrack options, but outside of that it’s essentially Cave Story as you remember it. Of course that is still a positive thing, but as someone who has played through the game a few times, I’d only suggest it to fans if you’re either dying to play some more Cave Story, or looking to scratch a Metroidvania itch on the Nintendo Switch.

So what is there left to say except, if you call yourself a racing fan, even if you have passed on or hated the last few outings this Need for Speed series had to offer, this is a whole new game that feels fresh. To put it in simple terms, you "Need" this game in your racing library.

So it's certainly worth picking up, and I think most KH fans will fall in love with this entry. It certainly feels like one of the better entries in the series, and is also one of my favorite games on the 3DS right now.

It’s an interesting, tension-filled take on puzzle games, and that’s true however many people are playing it with you.

The guiding intention behind Runner 2 on consoles generally seemed to be to make players work to finish each level — to make them memorize the layout for each level, and then hit all the buttons in the right order at the right times — and that's survived the game's transition to the PS Vita wholly intact.

Overall Crysis 3 is just what you would expect at the end of a generation cycle. A FPS that is deep not only in its level design and scope, but tells a deep story, with deep game play mechanics. You will not find many games that do it all in one fell swoop.

If you own a PlayStation, Dreamcast, GameCube, PS2 or Xbox, I can't in good conscience recommend this as a purchase, but THPS 2 is definitely recommended for those of you who only own an N64.

The XCOM 2 Collection is a pretty welcome addition to the Switch library. It’s got a great reputation for a reason as being a key part of arguably the best tactical RPG series out there, and that reputation survives the game’s jump over to the Switch almost entirely intact.

A great port. It was awesome on the PS2 and now even better on the PSP with Etna mode and the various multiplayer modes.

The Dark Aether parts of the game added quite a bit of backtracking and mapping which really took me out of the experience more than I'd have liked. Still, the game is better than almost any other released this year, so it's definitely worth picking up.

So while it's got enough faults to keep it from being a GOTY contender for most, it's still the best Tomb Raider title I've ever played, and I'm really curious to see what's next for the franchise once again.

Here's the thing, though: as difficult as Life of Pixel may be, it never ceases to be fun — and I say this as someone who generally shies away from overly challenging games.

The game gets the feeling of speed just right. That may not seem like much, but it’s harder than you think – I think back to (the very good) Horizon Chase Turbo, for example, and, as much as I loved it, it occasionally fell short in terms of making it feel like you were flying down the highway. Retro Highway doesn’t have that shortcoming; even when you crash, it really feels like you have some crazy momentum behind your rider bouncing down the highway. This is all basic stuff, I know, but Retro Highway excels at getting it right. Given it doesn’t try to do too much, that’s essential – and it’s why it makes easy to recommend picking it up.

Ghost ‘n Goblins Resurrection is a mighty fine game. It is insanely hard, and it will test you on a variety of levels. New players may be a little turned off by its difficulty, but if you continue to chip away and don’t completely give up, you can make progress. Rest assured, you will die in this game, a lot, but it’s definitely true to form. This is a must have for anyone who is looking for an overbearing challenge, just make sure you don’t take out your frustrations on your poor Joy-Cons.