That said, being more dynamic and more visually appealing is no small thing; whereas I wouldn't recommend anyone play Crimsonland, I'd say that if you have a deep desire to shoot some bugs, you could do a lot worse than Helldivers.

All in all, I can’t deny that Kirby and the Rainbow Curse is a great game.

To be sure, I think it's neat that Q*Bert's developers decided to bring the classic game to a generation who've probably never seen it outside of being a side character in Wreck-It Ralph a few years ago. And I'm grateful that they didn't try and give it some insane makeover, a la Bomberman. But they also didn't demonstrate why the game had to be reborn — sorry, "Rebooted" — for the modern era, when everything about it makes it clear it probably should've stayed in the past.

As a moderate fan of the anime, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed XenoVerse, and I suspect you will be too, provided you have any affinity for the source material.

While issues certainly exist, for the most part it's a matter of just adapting to a different style of play, not overcoming insurmountable design flaws. If this were a lesser game, to be sure, adapting might not be worth it, but when the upside is getting to play one of the best games ever, it's a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make.

The production value on the voice acting, during missions and briefings are fantastic, and the game looks beautiful both during missions and during briefings. The story, with the threat of “the silent ones” hanging over all three races, is engaging.

Even with the development delay and push into 2015, The Order: 1886 isn't exactly the action-packed, cinematic masterpiece we were hoping for. On the bright side, it's a mostly enjoyable ride while it lasts and is most certainly one of the best looking console games released thus far, so it’s worth a playthrough during the winter game release lull.

The visuals by themselves are enough to make htoL#NiQ seem like a game worth investigating, but in the end, that's really all the game has to offer.

There will be (or already is) an upgrade version for DOA 5 Ultimate for the last gen consoles so if you still have your copy of that, then there is really no need to upgrade. But if you skipped playing Ultimate, or just have never experienced a DOA game before, then you owe it to yourself to add this to your library.

So unless you’re an absolute, die-hard, must own every Ace Combat release ever type of fan, then I’d highly suggest skipping this cash grab.

Obviously, being the best in a field of two isn't exactly a momentous achievement, so that label is a little hollow, but at the same time, Reel Fishing is a good enough game that it would probably deserve the title even against much stiffer competition.

In other words, Minutes is exactly the kind of game that should work on the Vita — the sort of thing you squeeze in between classes and during short commutes. But it just doesn't work that way.

If you're desperate for a little hack & slash action on your Vita, I guess you might want to think about Aeternoblade, but otherwise, you can safely miss it.

Still, despite my issues with the hunter role outside of battle, I can’t deny I’ve had some fun with Evolve. It’s certainly a memorable experience, more so with a group of friends working together, but still enjoyable with random online players in tow.

It may look like all the others that have come before it, but play it for any length of time and you'll quickly find that it's anything but.

Addictive, fun, and remarkably exciting.

Now, I know that some people have criticisms of this game: that it's too silly, or that it's too easy with those superpowers (to say nothing of all the upgrades you can make to your character). But you know what? I don't care. Regardless of what any sticks in the mud may say, as far as I'm concerned Saints Row IV: Re-Elected is just plain awesome in every respect.

All in all, Dying Light is a lot of fun, thanks entirely to the way it handles movement and city exploration.

Nihilumbra is proof positive that a game can be short and still be indispensable, and if you like platformers, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

When the rest of the game is basically just your standard dungeon crawler…well, it gets judged as a standard dungeon-crawler, and loses one or two marks for being kind of icky.

With the majority of the cast now established, we’re given more time to see their individual plot threads unravel, and the stakes continue to rise across all locations.

If you have yet to play Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, I’d urge you to check out the iOS version of the game. It’s not quite worth the jump if you already own it on DS, but it’s a cheaper alternative here than picking up a used physical copy of the game second-hand nowadays.

By any reasonable measure, it's a little (okay, a lot) lacking. A limited number of words, in a limited number of game modes, and not-so-great controls: that's about as incomplete a package as you could ever find.

It may be harder to appreciate now than it was when it first came out a couple of years ago, but that doesn't mean it's anything less than outstanding.

Essentially, then, what you're left with is a grind-heavy game with forgettable characters and even worse writing.

It's faithful, it's intelligent, and most of all, a well-designed trilogy that respectfully stands the test of time from when it premiered.

While Zen Studios' ambition may be misplaced in what CastleStorm is, it's a welcome quality in delivering this "complete" version of their original game.

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.