Baja is an off road racing game in a time where there is an unusual glut of off road racing games on the market.

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl offers surprisingly competent Smash-like brawler gameplay, but is severely lacking in the bells-and-whistles department. Brawling fans will likely have a great time with this one, but those looking to ease into the genre should look elsewhere.

Jet Kave Adventure is a rock-solid (pun intended) platformer that doesn’t outstay its welcome and offers addictive, retro-style gameplay. If you’ve ever enjoyed any of the Donkey Kong Country titles, Jet Kave Adventure is an earnest tribute that you’re sure to enjoy.

Kane & Lynch is a good idea that is plagued by poor controls, unbalanced weapons, a boring story and some questionable writing.

With choices between flat or VR, solo or co-op, and Explore vs. Engage, Downward Spiral: Horus Station can be tailored to the player's preference. I found the solo VR mode to be an amazing VR experience that amply demonstrated the incredible immersion value of VR in a spooky, broken space station. The Engage mode, which translates to you get shot a lot when playing, was not as compelling - the shooting aspects weren't all that good and served only to detract from the somber, creepy mood.

Wii Party U is a sizable and varied collection of minigames. It’s not much fun unless you have at least four people, but as it stands it’s a pretty good deal: a Wii remote and a big party game, for less than the price of a triple-A title.

If you are a big fan of Suda 51/Grasshopper studios, I would absolutely recommend giving it a try but for others it might seem like too little compared to what other 2D sidescrollers offer.

Dr. Luigi does everything his brother does, but sadly not much more. The new modes do nothing to spice up this aging series' formula, and I really doubt they will be enough to justify a purchase for even the most diehard fan.

With is short missions and cumbersome customizing options, Armored Core 4 isn't nearly as entertaining as it should be.

Mazes of Fate isn't the most technically impressive GBA game, and its shortcomings are more glaring this late in the handheld's life, but the gameplay is as solid old-school RPG as you can get.

Nintendo once again proves that they know the platforming genre better than almost anyone. While polished in its design, I can’t help but wish it was a little more challenging. You can fly through the levels rather quickly without breaking much of a sweat; extra challenges add some life for more advanced players but young ones are likely to get more out of the game.

While Band Hero isn't perfect, it does offer more than just painful, hand-cramping guitar mechanics. This time around you can drum and sing, two modes that prove to be a lot of fun on the go.

Necropolis is a solid foundation with a really weird, questionably designed house built on top. If you're willing to take the time and try to spruce the place up, you may find it was worthwhile, but beware that it may require more work than you're willing to put in.

Antigraviator can be pretty challenging for those not familiar with anti-gravity racing games such as F-Zero. There aren’t a lot of upgrades for your vehicle and requiring credits to attempt later leagues can be a bit detrimental as you might have to replay the first league multiple times just to grind credits. The traps are also not really my cup of tea and I could do without those personally. Beyond that though, Antigraviator is a solid game, but it’s not for everyone.

The puzzles were too easy, the combat too clunky, and the plot was a rehash of a generic B-grade movie.

Taking more of a narrative approach while not really offering all that much narrative but definitely adding a little more marvel in the form of cataclysmic weather events as the major antagonist, Just Cause 4 is a shade more than just another Just Cause game. The major gameplay loop of orchestrating chaos remains true to the series but it is meted out just a bit more slowly while unlocking the goodies to perform your opus just a bit more freely. The real shine of the game comes from just whipping about the game world transitioning between grappling, wing suiting, parachuting, carjacking, plane-jacking, and inviting the player to turn the entire island into their own X-games playground on steroids.

Die-hard fans only need apply for this package.

Farming Simulator 2013 follows last year's version with a wide assortment of new content from hundreds of licensed vehicles and equipment to a massive map with support for raising animals. Players other than farming or simulation enthusiasts will be frustrated by the lack of in-game guidance beyond a few brief tutorials that ultimately results in a game that can only be recommended to series fans.

Marvel’s Avengers–Age of Ultron looks like a 10-car pileup glued together with overly looping dialogue and a few forgivable missteps. Even without prior existing knowledge of these superheroes' thoughts and motivations, it’s still a challenging table with subtle rewards.

Terminator: Resistance Enhanced is a game that doesn't really understand its source material. The evidence for that can't be made more plain than the way it can't even maintain consistency of vision from one mission to the very next one. The NPC models, audio, bugs and glitches, and repetitive nature of much of the play speaks to an implementation that falls short of any vision, whether the one presented or the one I believe should have been the goal. It does get better with the DLC, and the Infiltrator Mode is an excellent experience in it's own right, although one short lived - clocking in at less than three quarters of an hour with little replayabilty. But factoring in that minor triumph and better subplot of DLC into the mess of the main campaign still falls short of something I can really recommend.

Too combat heavy, Mothership Zeta really isn't that much better than the first DLC.

White Shadows tackles heavy themes with some wonderful storytelling. The gameplay itself is competent, and there is enough variety level to level to make the experience fresh throughout. Through stark visuals and a well placed soundtrack it presents its tale artfully, but unfortunately runs its course in only a few hours. It's hard to squeeze a great deal of game from the experience, but what is there is splendid.

Dynasty Warriors 9 is a fun and fresh take of the series with the familiar 1 vs 1000 action people expect but frame rate issues and no multiplayer component keep it from reaching it's full potential.

War, the Game has stripped away the deep complexity typical of the real-time strategy game and left the player with a simple-to-learn, hard-to-master global dominance game that allows the armchair general to concentrate far more on the actual strategic planning and implementation of battle than on the logistics that support them.

Fans of Resident Evil games will probably want to give this one a shot. Not perfect by any means, but still a fun one.

A more forgiving spin on the prison-break theme of The Escapists, The Escapists: The Walking Dead removes some of the high stress from the original and gives the player more room to breathe and enjoy what was great about it.

There's not much fun to be had here. The games are too short and the cut scenes are too long. Very young children might see things differently, so you might consider it for the little ones.

For a brainless shooter the price tag is a bit high, but at least you know exactly what you’re getting.

As with many movie games, Narnia has a large helping of content but a rushed interface. Controls are slow and a bit unresponsive, and the inability to pause during menu management is confusing.

Long on style and short on substance.

Abyss Odyssey: Extended Dream Edition does a bit of polishing to the core game, but it still has a few flaws that make it hard to rave about this title. But for those that are interested and dedicated, the experience is ultimately rewarding and satisfying.

Can torturing prisoners in a secret underground laboratory be kinda boring? The Kindeman Remedy shows that it can. Essentially a time management game, The Kindeman Remedy has players putting an evil doctor and his nun assistant through the paces of dark experiments in a way that ends up feeling a lot like a repetitive day of work. Some cheap kicks to be had from the not-so-violent violence, but the shock value is short-lived. Not a prison I would want to spend any significant amount of time in.

This is one franchise in serious need of a makeover.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on DS is a whole lot better than the terrible movie and a decent action game in its own right. The online Battle for Earth mode offers new content for months to come, but don’t be tricked into buying both the autobots and decepticons versions of the game—they’re basically the same thing with a different coat of paint.

Conduit 2 is a good example of a sequel done right: it's an evolution of the previous game with a multitude of major improvements. With a bolder, brasher single player game, for better or worse, and a far more robust multiplayer mode, Conduit 2 isn't just a good first person shooter by Wii standards. It's a damn good shooter, period.

While I found StarDrone to be enjoyable, the novelty wears off pretty fast. Players can fly through a majority of the stages at a quick pace and not find much reason to revisit them again, which could turn a lot of gamers off. If you enjoying challenging yourself to top your personal scores, there is quite a bit of replay value to be found, but I don't think a majority of gamers do or will...

Enjoyable once you learn the controls, but it feels like it was more geared towards multiplayer. The ammo capacity and mod restrictions force you to think strategically about what to take on each mission which can be both good and bad depending on how you look at it.

I'm probably being more harsh on this game than it deserves, but for the price point there is an enjoyable title here. You just need to give it time to grow on you. Hopefully gamers out there can look past the flaws that I seem to be hooked on.

Ravaged delivers some of this year's best online vehicular carnage that's set perfectly to the backdrop of an engrossing and atmospheric post-apocalyptic world.

Urban Trial Freestyle is an awesome experience but it just doesn’t last that long.

Gat out of Hell is not bad, but it's not great either. To put it simply, it's more Saints Row IV. If you go into it thinking its going to have all new gameplay with an all new story, you are going to be disappointed. It's fun but the overwhelming feel of deja vu may sour you a bit on it.

Rubik’s World has the right idea, but counter-intuitive puzzles, less-than-helpful instructions and finicky controls make this game more aggravating than mind-bending.

If you are extremely patient, then Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition has a deep and rewarding game to offer you. But that patience isn't just tested in the tutorial or painstakingly crawling your way over the steep learning curve. It will be tested throughout your entire experience with the pacing, bugs, and even control scheme itself. Kerbal Space Program is a fantastic and unique gaming experience, and it's a valiant effort to bring this to consoles that rarely even attempt games this outside the box, but ultimately it always feels like a port, and one that would simply be better enjoyed with a mouse and keyboard. If that's not an option, there is an opportunity here to get a taste of one of the ways the PC gaming community stays weird, but be prepared to spend a long time chewing on it before you'll enjoy that taste.

The core of the game is excellent, the gameplay is fun, progression balanced, it has personality, and presents as much difficulty as you are willing to chase flawless runs through the levels. However, there are small quality of life challenges that hold the game back when receiving its due. Streamline the menus and make some tweaks to really optimize the experience on the Switch handheld screen and I would have bumped the score up a notch.

Farming Simulator 15 earns a strong recommendation for both series fans and farming enthusiasts.

A sequel in everything but name to PS VR’s delightful Rush of Blood, The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR takes everything that made that title successful and refines it further. The shooting is great, the thrills are some of the best on the platform, and the overall vibe can be downright terrifying. Ride a coaster, shoot some demons, scream, laugh, and cuss. What’s not to love?

When the poor sensation of speed isn't bothering you the soundtrack is.

Atlas Fallen might not make any game of the year lists, but its inventive, refreshing combat is worth checking out. It will require a bit of patience, as the opening and closing acts are a protracted slog, in addition to numerous bugs, but the foundation is set for a sequel that capitalizes on the promise of this new IP.

GoldenEye 007 is a good DS shooter held back by a few issues.

Speedball 2 doesn't offer a lot of frills and extras, but it does prove to still be a solid action/sports game that is just as violent today as it was 17 years ago.

While it is amazing that all of this content has been squeezed down to a portable version on the Vita, it has lost a lot of its luster in the transition. There is still a ton of fun to be had here, but this is far from what has come to be expected from a Borderlands experience and nothing near the quality on either the consoles or the PC.

Gunslingers & Zombies gameplay and visuals are better than this score would suggest. It's just let down by awkward controls, worse camera angles, and other evidence of a generally uninterested PC port. There's a better game out there on PC that might be more fun than paying more for a Switch version that really didn't care enough to take advantage of anything that makes the Switch good.

It’s not a bad game per se, but it’s just got a lot of nagging issues that make it almost a chore to play.

Biomutant attempts to channel many inspirations into a compelling package. It does much of that extremely well, excelling at world building and creating a fluid combat system to drive the experience. The one area it falls short is in tying it all together with an engrossing narrative. It not only fails at the narrative, but even worse, fails at the very mechanics of delivering the story. Wander the world on your own initiative and experience a great game; follow the path of the main quest and suffer the letdown of a mediocre tale, told poorly.

Owning the exclusive F1 license offered Codemasters the opportunity to make a game that would be fun for adults and kids to play together. Unfortunately, Codemasters took a different direction and built a game only suitable for kids who don't have a Nintendo console.

No Mercy this is not. It's got good intentions and the right idea, but the game is not there just yet. I understand this is their first game, but there is just not enough meat on the bone to justify paying full price for this. The story mode is short, repetitive, and nothing you do matters. Matches are way too short, the creation modes are ridiculously limited, and we don't even have basic match options like turning on and off DQs or elimination rules in multiman matches to keep exhibition mode interesting. Maybe after a year or so of updates, this will feel more like a complete package, but I would recommend waiting for a sale or some major updates before picking this one up.

While the game is true to its roots the game just doesn't hold up compared to other remade FPS games like Serious Sam.

Windbound is a delight. With a few UX issues and a bit of repetition holding it back from all-time-great status, this game is still a wonder to explore and discover. The sailing is fantastic, the island exploration is intriguing, and the sting of dying isn't so bad that it should scare away roguelike-haters. The world of Windbound is so well made that you may want to dip into it just to hang out for a while. Fun, exciting, and rewarding.

Killing giant insect scum was has never been as fun and addicting as it is now. The four different classes provide four different and fun ways to play the game and there is tons of replay value here to keep you killing incest for many months to come.

Based on the 2003 game of the same name, Crimsonland is a fun four-player dual-stick shooter with 60 levels and a nice variety of baddies. Unfortunately, it's also insanely dull.

This is not the grand space opera you were looking for.

Rise & Shine is a good action-platformer though its main shortcoming is how short the game can be. Once you get the hang of things the game can be finished in a few hours, but if you’re looking for a challenge the game’s difficulty spikes about a third of the way in and it just gets harder from there. If you're up for a challenge, this is one to check out.

Nuka-World is a monument to the raider aesthetic, poor life decisions and sugary soda-induced diabetes. You'll need a higher-than-normal glitch tolerance. But if you’re willing to assume a raider's principles for good, then you’ll want the uncompromising, combat-heavy lifestyle that Nuka-World provides.

Akiba's Trip is like a summer blockbuster at the movies, it looks like it'll be a ton of fun, and it has its heart in the right place, but it's just missing a little bit of soul. Thanks to a sub-par battle system, and some technical flaws, it winds up wasting a lot of potential.

Mech Land Assault is not here to make friends. This piece of DLC is made up of some of the most fun—and some of the least fun—you’ll have in Just Cause 3. It’s harder to get your hands on a mech than it should be, but it’s a power trip every time you do.

Tank Troopers is neither a great game, nor a horrible game. It's a niche game aimed at a wide audience, and has its upswings and downturns. Mission dynamics are diverse, with enemies both larger and smaller than you, or faster and slower. Weather plays a role, and your tank troopers are a pretty interesting bunch. The game is frustrating at times, and greatly rewarding at others. My tip: have patience with it.

While groovy from its soundtrack to its illustrated style, Serial Cleaner’s ‘70s ‘stache and sharply defined stealth-action is often tiring. I’d rather have somebody else clean this up.

Damsel is a fun arcade-style platformer/shooter/speedrunner/whatever genre you want to call it. The comic-style motif is a nice concept that I haven’t seen for a long time and the gameplay is pretty fluid. The darkness of the stages and the similarities between the three game modes kind of bring the game down a little, but it’s still an enjoyable outing for the Nintendo Switch.

There’s not a lot of negative things I have to say about Mad Head Games’ Scars Above, but I don’t have a lot of positive things to say either. It’s an aggressively average experience brought down by performance issues and lack of important accessibility features. Even where color is present, this game drowns in dullness.

MACROSS-Shooting Insight may feel run of the mill with the way it covers four types of shooters, but is still enjoyable and a bit challenging. If you’re really good at shooters or bullet-hell games, you’ll find a decent challenge here while those not as experienced can tone down the difficulty a bit to their liking. While the game looks nice graphically and is fun to play, for genre veterans the gameplay is a bit average.

This standalone expansion doesn’t have the wherewithal to pull itself up by its own bootstraps, let alone incite an uprising.

I wanted to like Jet Car Stunts, I really did but I just couldn't. I just got incredibly bored with this.

Maid of Sker is a long, linear hike through a very murky, muddy game world. Interesting story beats can't overcome the fact that Maid of Sker looks and plays like a frustrating game from an earlier era. Obscured visuals prevent any fun from being had with the stealth gameplay, leaving deaths feeling random and unpredictable. This hotel is best avoided, for reasons beyond its tortured history.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors is a fan's dream, until they encounter the boring combat and one-dimensional gameplay. It's one of the better 'Musou' titles out there, but this style of beat-em-up needs some renovation.

While the game itself isn't bad so to speak, it does get repetitive kind of quickly. It's an interesting concept, and I am a huge fan of 16-bit games, especially RPGs, but the short length of the game and the repetitiveness of the battles is kind of a let down for me.

Argul's Tomb adds one new quest, three new dungeons, and takes less than three hours to complete. The quality is what you'd expect, but ultimately it's not worth the cost; that is, unless you pre-ordered Darksiders II and get Argul's Tomb for free.

If you’re looking for a portable Trials game, Urban Trial Freestyle isn’t a bad alternative. However, the track designs could have been a little better, and I’m appalled at the lack of multiplayer. A motocross game is a perfect example of a game to play with friends, but apparently the developers didn’t think so.

Pressure provides gamers with entertaining shoot-em-up and arcade racing gameplay mechanics that are unfortunately overshadowed by repetitive level design. With the uninspired game design and lack of a real narrative, Pressure provides a mediocre experience at best.

This DLC is for those who're dedicated to the Dragon Age brand and that's about it. This short addition does a little to flesh out the Hawke story, but doesn't have the impressive scale that some previous Bioware DLC had.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure isn't a bad fighting game, but it may be too weird for its own good. The 22 characters are hard to relate to and the action is often chaotic for no reason. Worse yet, the game is too expensive for the amount of content. If you can get over some of the imperfections you'll find a good looking fighting game with a lot of memorable characters!

The re-imagined and return of SimCity is a disappointment that's a direct result of the included always-online system. Even worse, the gameplay suffers from multiple issues including reduced map sizes to seemingly-unintelligent Sims. Individuals looking to purchase SimCity should wait until the online restrictions have been lessened and gameplay issues fixed.

After a while once you start learning some of the better skills and have a little bit of a better grasp on the fighting system it becomes just a little bit more than your standard hack and slash. There are just so many other areas where there was not enough effort that I can’t rate this game higher.

A great way to celebrate Rockford’s thirty year trek through the caves. While the game looks like it belongs on a mobile device (which makes sense given this was originally released on iOS and Android) and the controls could be a bit tighter, the game offers up plenty of challenge even within the early worlds. Fans of arcade-style puzzle games will definitely want to dig into this one.

Five Dates is a solid entry in the FMV game genre, offering an interesting take on dating during the pandemic. While there is nothing revolutionary here, the way the game plays with expectations and subverts players impressions is interesting enough to give it a shot. Fans of the genre will likely enjoy this one.

Firefighting Simulator – The Squad isn’t a dumpster fire, but it has a hard time staying out of its own way. Perfectly fine firefighting gameplay is smothered by annoying bugs and wildly inconsistent AI. There is enjoyment to be had, but you better gear up for inconveniences along the way.

A brief but well-made science fiction story, Lifeless Moon doesn't ask much from the player beyond a few hours of time and some light puzzle solving. Though it is light on content, what is there is interesting and rewarding. Recommended for fans of weird, think-y science fiction tales.

Sid Meier's Starships provides a simplified, portable gameplay snippet of the series turn-based gameplay that ultimately makes it a difficult recommend for Civilization fans. While the game was clearly designed for a tablet, there is still some entertainment to be found in brief gameplay sessions.

As with most expansion packs, Endangered Species breaths fresh life into a title that may have gotten stale on your hard drive. Fans of the original game will enjoy the newly expanded library of animals and objects when updating their zoos.

Infliction feels like a mash-up of elements from other, better-known games. However, a strong game loop and stellar sound design elevate Inflicted beyond being a tired retread. While the lighting is questionable at times, in general the visuals reveal an eye for detail. A fun photo mechanic also sets the game apart from its contemporaries. Infliction is well worth a look for horror fans, and those nostalgic for the early '90s.

With tight controls and an enjoyable way to get around large areas, Accel World vs. Sword Art Online features memorable aerial combat. However, story progression can drag to a halt at times. Though perfect for fans of either series, this may not be the action RPG that anyone else asked for.

Strafe is a game where you need to know what you’re getting into before jumping in. It looks like Quake but it absolutely is not; it’s a roguelike FPS with a retro art style. It’s a harsh mistress, and masochistic players will love that, but Strafe personally left me frustrated and cold.

The Legend of Kay Anniversary isn’t a horrible game, but it leaves a bit to be desired.

2k Sports swings for the fences, but ultimately drops the ball.

The different gameplay style is going to throw Disgaea fans for a bit of a loop. But the humor and story is on point, making this a perfectly legitimate entry in the Disgaea universe.

Command and Conquer continues its tradition of existence to its fans.

It may be the same old game with a new coat of paint and some online multiplayer options, but the game still has some legs under it after more than two decades; it plays as good as ever.

Firebreak could be 2025's most underrated shooter — if it can hold players' attention long enough. But Remedy isn't punching above its weight anymore. It's pacing itself, for better or worse.

Undercover doesn’t cover any new ground, and the campy cutscenes – which are a better motivator than earning higher-tier vehicles – lose sight of the game’s pace car. The police chases are knowingly the high point, but even those grow subdued through saturated exposure.