The only downside for me is that this is a universe wholly dedicated to the spirit of J-pop and idol lifestyle, where I would hope to see a little more variety in the tracklist, or more imaginative minigames in a future iteration. That said if you're interested in any aspect of J-pop or rhythm games, The Project DIVA universe is a great little corner to spend some time in.

Since the game is relatively short (under 10 hours for most players), I have to wonder if Rare didn't try to compensate for this shortcoming by making some of the areas insanely difficult to beat.

Mortal Shell is a true love letter to Dark Souls and feels like a distilled version of the From Software masterpiece. Unique mechanics serve to separate it a bit and enhance the experience, but there is nothing here that will sell a person that just downright dislikes Souls games. Available for a modest $30, though, I strongly recommend it to any Souls fans or anyone who has ever been interested but hesitant to pull the trigger.

Overall the combat system works quite well on the GBA version, however, old veterans of the Lunar RPGs of past will by turned off by the GBA version’s less strategic, more simplistic system.

Every time this game was in my hands, I didn’t want it to end. It will make you laugh, feel great about yourself, want to visit Mexico, and mostly wall-run so you can yell “Spicy move!” because you just ran off a wall.

What I love most about Rise of Nightmares is that it actually works. Having finished the game I'm still very impressed with how responsive all the movement controls were, and how well they meshed together to perform a very cohesive experience.

It's a far better game than any of the modern day Sonic titles I've played so far, and the classic Sonic stuff is enough to sell me on the game, even if the modern Sonic side isn't always my cup of tea.

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.

Is it repetitive? Sure, if you don't get a perverse thrill out of launching people through the air and into the path of an oncoming boulder. But if you do — and boy, do I ever — then Deception IV should be right up your alley.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a good addition to the current Switch lineup. I’m not sure if I would say that in a year from now once more exclusives are available, but for anyone starving to play a new game with Mario, Ubisoft has you covered! You could also play it if you miss the Rabbids, if you wanted. I did enjoy my time with this, but found the pace of battles to be awkward without any way to customize the settings. I’m no developer, but if they could patch something in, this would be a lot more enjoyable and probably even fun! Don’t expect this to replace the games it rips off, but there is a good time to be had in this weird mashup.

It's not often that a game will embrace its own ludicrousness and just be totally and completely ridiculous, but One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 does just that. These results are proof that it's not a bad approach for a game to take.

The controls feel precise and fluid as they react according to the situation you are in. If one thing that may be a downer to some casual gamers is the difficult A.I. in the game.

A bigger problem on the visual side is the framerate. A lot of the time the game is running at 60 fps. But depending on the level, there can be considerable slowdown...Other than it being short and containing a few minor problems, it's an excellent launch title that is extremely fun to play.

Almost a directors cut, there has been many cut scenes and even some characters added to tighten up the storyline, making the GC version of Skies a different, and even deeper game than its predecessor.

Overall, Tera is extremely fun; the real time battle system makes the game very unique among the MMO genre. The use of the Unreal Engine and the beautiful soundtrack does a wonderful job of immersing players into the world. The promise of the Vanarchs sounds like a great attempt at giving players the ability to really influence the world, though the questing system is somewhat disappointing in the sense that it makes the game feel like a standard MMO. And finally the battle system makes the game stand out against a slew of MMO games that have already made a name for themselves.

Technical sim junkies will have a lot to build, destroy, and monitor, but newbies might want to run for shelter.

There's nothing else quite like it, however, and for fans of music games or cool indie projects, this one's worth taking for a spin.

It's a unique little platformer that's pretty much perfect for the service, and while it's ideal control scheme might have a few flaws to it, the overall enjoyment I gained from playing it definitely outweighed the bad.

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

The mission variety and complexity, with multi-tiered goals and mixtures of dog fighting, bombing and strafing, make Secret Weapons Over Normandy a long-lived, rewarding experience.

As much fun as I had with Rain On Your Parade, however, I still keep going back to how the game’s desperate desire to be liked was somewhat off-putting. It’s unfortunate the developers didn’t have more confidence in their abilities to make a fun game without all the viral bells and whistles, because even without them, there’s something here that’s well worth playing.

Whatever problems there are in the one player mode, the party games more than make up for them.

Terminal Velocity: Boosted Edition may not feel as cutting edge as it did when it was first released (assuming it felt that way even then), but the passage of time hasn’t made it any less enjoyable.

I was very impressed with Mundaun from the beginning, and despite that impression faltering a bit while I got my bearings and came to grips with some of the wonky controls and design choices, it ultimately delivered an experience that was beyond what I could have hoped for. I was drawn to this game from the first announcement, mostly because of the unique art-style and intriguing story, and it really managed to deliver above and beyond the initial promise. Stick with Mundaun past the growing pains, and I think you will really enjoy it too.

Like I said, the combat was outstanding, and the world in which it takes place is gorgeous and vibrant. Not only that, as a Vita diehard, it pains me to give an exclusive for the system anything other than a rave review. But I have to be honest here — and the unfortunate truth is, as good as Severed may be, it's hard to shake the feeling that it could've been even better.

All together, especially if you already know you enjoy Puzzle & Dragons, I think this is a package worth checking out.

Is Star Wars Battlefront the first-person shooter that’ll carry me into the early parts of 2016? Probably not. But I’m definitely enjoying the time I’ve spent with it so far, and I’ll be curious to see what the inevitable DLC brings outside of the upcoming Battle for Jakku map.

It might not be the next Pushmo, but it's certainly a title that shouldn't be overlooked.