Pinball FX3 delivers a great pinball experience much like its predecessors. The touch screen controls with the Switch’s vertical orientation option work surprisingly well and are really responsive, though I personally prefer using the Joy-Cons for a more machine-like feel. As a free download and three free tables (one with the game and two as free DLC),as well as cross-play with PC and Xbox One players, you can’t really go wrong with this one.

I had high hopes for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and it did not disappoint. The multiplayer suite is the best part of the package by a decent margin, and one of the best in the franchise thanks to the new Omnimovement feature and finely tuned gameplay. Zombies is a fun distraction when you’re needing a break from PvP, but it’s outshined by multiplayer and the campaign. Thankfully, Treyarch and Raven were able to get Call of Duty back on track in terms of campaigns with Black Ops 6, and even took a couple of big swings that paid off. Black Ops 6 feels like one of those evergreen releases in the franchise that people will be playing for years to come – some might even call it a classic Call of Duty.

While selecting individual cases from the full game leaves the player with a disjointed and incomplete story, enough of the 1940's ambiance and the rough and tumble crime fighting of that era is included to offer up a compelling preview of what will hopefully become LA Noire 2: VR. There is some work to do on some of the mechanics, most notably the way in which weapons are handled, but this weakness is easily offset by the compelling, immersive world and some of the action sequences that occur in it.

The Banner Saga 2 is like moving through a still-life painting of swords and spears and ice and hunger. A few thoughtful gameplay tweaks make things a little bit better for players, and a whole lot worse for characters.

Minecraft on the Xbox Live Arcade is an addicting and rewarding experience, assuming you are willing to put the time into the experience. This is one of those games where you will truly get out whatever you put into the game, and that can be both good and bad. If you put in the time and dedication though, you will discover one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences ever.

Power Washer simulator 2 builds on the first game's addictive simplicity, offering a more polished and visually appealing experience. It takes all the core mechanics and layers on larger, more complex levels that add depth without losing accessibility. Ultimately, it remains a relaxing escape and something that transcends the gaming experience to become something more: an outlet for frustration and your worries.

Beautiful graphics, great commentary, and strong game modes create a very fun basketball game. However, animations that restrict movement and frame rate issues detract from the experience and prevent NBA 2K10 from bringing its "A" game.

While survival-horror definitely isn't my best genre, Resident Evil: Revelations is easily one of the best 3DS games I've played to date. Just about any frustrations I've come across is due to my own lack of skill and experience with the franchise as a whole. If you're a Resident Evil fan with a 3DS, this is definitely one to pick up.

The Outer Worlds 2 refines the overall Outer Worlds universe, pulling back on ridiculous and expanding into more human territory, while still keeping its satirical tongue firmly in cheek. Every system in the game has been refined, from greater control over character development to slicker and more impactful combat. This is a great RPG that firmly cements the franchise as a genre leader.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate takes the already great Monster Hunter Tri and perfects it. The graphics might be a bit dated, but the gameplay stands for itself: a massive, engrossing quest that is a lot of fun solo and an absolute blast in multiplayer. Put in the time to master the learning curve, and the hunt will richly reward you.

It’s just hard not to recommend Borderlands: The Handsome Collection. There’s so much content. It received a proper current-gen graphical upgrade and there is tons of both DLC and normal content included. I have a few problems with The Pre-Sequel, but that’s it.

There is simply no better way to spend your money on the Vita platform right now. Slick visuals, a rocking score, and simple-yet-addictive gameplay will keep Super Stardust Delta in rotation on your system for a long, long time.

The Division 2 takes a step forward on the original in just about every area. In a world where so many titles in the genre stumble out fo the gate to fall flat on their face, this is a sequel where the developers really listened to the shortcomings of the first effort and came up with real solutions to overcome them. It's not the fantasy I wanted, but it's a game that really delivers the vision it has. And by every measure looks to have a roadmap to keep it well supported and reasons to keep grinding for the next year to come. It might suffer from a lack of a cohesive narrative, but it offers a vibrant open world with so much going on you can write your own stories on its canvas.

Playing this game with the right people will keep it going for ages, just as it has Command and Conquers.

Runbow has a fairly unique concept in its playstyle that I don’t believe I’ve seen in any other game before. While the single player modes provide quite a bit of challenge on their own, I feel the multiplayer modes are where this game shines. While AI opponents would have been nice so anyone could experience those modes, this is an excellent game for quick play on your own or for when you have lots of friends over.

Good gameplay improvements and a much needed change in commentary have made the in-game experience feel fresh, but the offline game modes have largely been ignored with the same boring options except for the minor inclusion of game planning that is generally determined by the CPU anyways. Madden is fun, but running game improvements aren't enough to suggest that this is worthy of another $60 purchase.

Quell Memento is definitely worth remembering!

It's easy to love a game like Reality 2.0, it tells one of the best stories in the season, it's full of laugh out loud moments, and most gamers will get a kick out of all of the classic video game references.

Ultimately is Destiny 2: Forsaken worth the price of admission? Let's be honest, Bungie bungled vanilla Destiny 2 about as badly as they could have, saving turning it into a 2D side scroller (what up Zelda II: the Adventure of Link!). In the past year they have rolled back every major change implemented from D1 to D2. This is the game we should have had from the beginning. There is still work to be done, but the core of the experience is fixed. And what we have is a new version of that original game I poured hundreds of hours into. A version I am looking forward to pouring in hundreds more.

A highly-detailed, multi-platform naval simulator, perfect for fans of the genre. However, Dangerous Waters is also quite unfriendly toward newbies, so enter at your own risk.

Shift 2 is not quite a full-realism simulator, but it's not exactly an arcade game either. The Xbox controller makes precise control difficult at best, but configuration settings and driving aids can help tame the unruly driving quirks. The evolutionary Helmet Cam provides a nice boost of realism.

Don't like tower defense games? Not impressed by the slow-moving nature of mech games? Me neither, yet I couldn't get enough of Double Fine's newest game. Trenched isn't perfect (it can be a tad frustrating when playing solo), but that shouldn't stop you from experiencing one of the year's most creative games!

Borderlands 3 is a great game, but it’s definitely got some technical issues with sadly brings the score down a bit. While my issues weren’t as bad as others I’ve heard about, they’re still annoying at times. However, if you can get past that you’ll find a game that’s more of the same as previous games (especially 2 and pre-sequel), but that’s what made Borderlands great to start with. A great story, reuniting with old friends, and some pretty interesting villains ensures I’ll be coming back to open any more vaults that are found on any planet Gearbox wishes to travel to.

The final word when delving into the richest Dungeons & Dragons experience available on a hard drive today. The bugs will get mashed, the community will thrive, and Obsidian's reputation for challenging and meaningful narratives will live on. No self-respecting D&D fan should go this holiday season without it.

Dreamscaper combines solid gameplay elements and narrative in an excellent and carefully crafted adventure. While there are occasional difficulty jumps that break the loop, there are mechanics to put things back together and push onward in a journey of discovery and heart. It's a good roguelike outright that also succeeds weaving in storytelling that most games are often too fearful to even try.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is a great game that is packed with content that will keep players coming back to it for a long time long after finishing both campaigns. While on its own it is just as good as 1+2 in the gameplay department, the soundtrack consisting of mostly new tracks along with the removal of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4's original career mode will make this game probably not hit as hard in the nostalgia department as the first game did. On its own Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is very good, but as remakes of the original 3 and 4? Not as good.

There are still a couple of features that need to be tweaked, such as recruiting, but with the addition of custom playbooks, the coaching carousel, conference realignments, and a fully revamped Road to Glory mode, NCAA Football has shown great strides in the last couple of titles, and NCAA Football 12 is the result of a development team putting in some hard work to make the fans happy.

The Darkness baptizes you in its unholy immersive waters, lingering in your memory well after you've shut down the console -- and well after you've shut off the lights. Its psychological horror, plus its polished performances, minus any mind-numbing pace of pre-packaged FPS meals-ready-to-eat, equals a nuanced and pendulous journey down one man's dark, downward spiral.

NBA 2K26 is another small but significant step forward for the franchise. It has never felt better to play an NBA 2K game, thanks to on-court gameplay improvements and quality-of-life fixes off the court. There is so much content that you almost have to pick a lane and stay there, while microtransactions are positioned as a fix for the FOMO you’ll inevitably feel ignoring one mode for another. But it’s still easy to recommend NBA 2K26 to hoops fans.

Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight serves as a good place to start with its accessibility and less steep learning curve. It's a great game for JRPG fans, and is a welcome addition to the franchise, even if it is getting a little crowded now.

Disgaea on DS is still a solid adventure and it works great in a portable medium, but again the limited DS cart size has caused the game to lose some of its audio and graphical fidelity in exchange for touch sensitive controls which are for the most part serviceable.

Everybody has their Assassin's Creed. Mine might still be the pirate's life in Black Flag. But Valhalla is basically Vikings vs. knights, filling out the other two sides of my personal trifecta. The assassinations might've gone soft, but the northern European world building hits hard.

Despite being far from the best version of this series, the Walking Dead on Vita is still a stellar adventure. The quality of Telltale's work transcends the various technical issues that haunt this port.

Bizarre Creations has managed to combine two polar opposite takes on the racing genre, sim versus kart, into a winning combination that leaves me wandering why no one else had done it before.

FIFA 15 received upgrades in all the right places: Presentation and gameplay. EA Sports outdid themselves and have shown that the beautiful game is just that on the next-gen: Beautiful.

No masquerade this; the first expansion to Neverwinter Nights 2 inherits the family jewels, lines up a commendable dramatis personae, and simply continues to ladle up what D&D fans grab their bowls and spoons for -- although there’s no room at the table for newcomers.

This is a decent expansion to the best 4X-RTS-in-space out there. A real treat for newcomers to the game, veterans might find the $40 price tag a little steep for an expansion that is more evolutionary than revolutionary.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is impressive in every sense. From the tight, scripted story gameplay to the sprawling open world, every piece of this game feels lovingly crafted. While the Switch version feels a bit dated, that’s not the fault of the developer, which squeezed an impressive performance from Nintendo’s handheld. This is a game with enough fresh content to keep players coming back for years to come.

Compared to the other recent superhero brawler, the bitterly disappointing Justice League Heroes, Marvel Ultimate Alliance is a godsend.

Obsidian set out to make a Fallout game, but didn’t think we’d mind if they actually made it a Firefly game along the way. So now we have an anti-capitalist Firefly mired in labor issues but elevated by rapidfire gunplay, peppered with chuckles from a tryhard sense of humor.

The art style might be a hard sell for some people, and if that's the case they'll be missing out on one of the best new fighting game franchises in recent memory. Here's to hoping that Reverge Labs and Autumn Games can release a "Super Skullgirls" in the near future.

Dragonborn is great for those who have exhausted as much as possible in Skyrim.

Despite some advancement in storytelling approach and liberal borrowing from Bioware's Mass Effect approach to gameplay, Dragon Age 2 on the PC has a lot of bugs and is populated with re-used settings that make this feel like a play performed on a stage with two sets.

When it's on, it's damn fun. Single player is ok but playing co-op with three others is a blast.. when the lag is minimized.

Hatsworth manages to line up three titles, New Super Mario Bros, Planet Puzzle League, and Guilty Gear and knocks them out of your collection. It is seriously good enough to replace all three.

With an improved co-op and five fresh gameplay styles It's a great new direction for the Trauma Center series and one of the year's best Wii games so far.

Skylanders is a fun game, and it does have it's challenging moments. Aside from Hektore pursuing you after getting a crystal and the ice world being a pain, I'm a little disappointed that there's no multiplayer in the 3DS version unless I'm really just missing it. Still, it is one I recommend if you like a good platformer. Just be prepared to spend some money if you plan to unlock everything.

Welcome to the new king of fantasy turn-based 4X strategy. While not perfect, this game has achieved many of its lofty goals. A must-buy for any fan of TBS games, Endless Legends could put a dent in the sales of that other big game coming out soon. It is that good.

Both tables in the Iron & Steel Pack, at first glance, fall back on overly generic themes, but Wild West Rampage tells the more interesting story with its genre's tropes, but CastleStorm makes you earn its love.

Pyre teaches you to fight tirelessly for your freedom, but to question the definition of that freedom as well. I like the sports-combat a little more each time I play. And Pyre fetishizes the tools of the writer's trade, but more importantly focuses on the art and dialogue of good storytelling.

Defender’s Quest represents something new and unique. By dipping the tower defense chocolate into some RPG peanut butter, Level Up Labs has created a Reese’s Cup-level classic. Defender’s Quest: Valley of the Forgotten DX’ gameplay is rock solid, reflecting the six years of refinements that the small development team has made to the core title. If you have any interest at all in the tower defense genre, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

If you've played the first two, The Banner Saga 3 is impossible to ignore. In this final chapter, everything is broken and mended and broken again. I was never sure if there would be--or even could be--any kind of happily ever after to this massive mythology Stoic Studios has built. It's an excellent uncertainty.

As with the 2016 reboot of Hitman, Hitman 2 is one of the best games of the year and is so far my personal Game of the Year.

Sequels are difficult to get right, but Asobo Studio has created a wonderful follow up to Amicia and Hugo’s journey. A Plague Tale: Requiem effortlessly expands on the premise of the original by fleshing out a more in-depth gameplay experience to cater to various playstyle while maintaining an engaging narrative filled with colorful yet unpredictable characters. The game is unfortunately only held back by performance issues and icky bugs.

This short, sweet detective game is exactly that—short and sweet. With the ability to allow hints or turn hints off, you can increase the difficulty if you're a super sleuth, or keep it easy if you're looking to veg out. The cast of characters is vibrant, and the jokes are plentiful. Follow Detective Eugene McQuackin and find some not-so-hidden clues to help quack the case.

Hideo Kojima has fully weaponized the walking simulator writing a love letter to the delivery service workers of our shipping and handling world. Death Stranding is about ending isolation, and does it so gracefully that I can't imagine it being done better than it's done here.

Mega Man 9 is going to give you your money's worth in the long run.

Space Invaders Extreme 2 keeps the same addictive elements that made the first game so good and adds a few new features, but it's more of an incremental improvement.

Even with its non-stop references to heavy metal and specialized soundtrack, Brutal Legend comes off feeling like one of Tim Schafer's most accessible game. The real-time strategy aspects are carefully explained and never feel too daunting for the average console gamer. What's more, the game's humor and over-the-top story will make you want to see the game through to the end.

Telltale continues to be faithful to the source material while adding characters and plot twists that surprise you. Even though the controls threw a roadblock into my immersion in a couple places, I'm still heavily invested in The Wolf Among Us, and can't wait to see what happens to Sherif Bigby and Snow next.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena is a great re-packaging of a great game, but loses its sense of character towards the end.

Mortal Kombat 11 is a nice send off to the 25+ year story of the series and it's NetherRealms best fighting game to date. It's just unfortunate that almost all of the single player content had to be filled with ridiculous amounts of grinding, RNG loot drops and unfair, unbalanced challenges.

It's going to take the average gamer about 20 hours to complete the game. I finished it in a little under 18 hours but that's because I skipped some of the optional Danger Room missions. If you're an X-men fan, than this is a must-own.

Aside from some repetition and a few minor technical flaws, Sonic Rush delivers a wholly satisfying old-school experience, kicked into extreme overdrive.

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy is an absolute pleasure and a strong continuation of Activision's commitment to remastering classic games. For those who grew up with or loved the old Spyro games, I can't imagine you won't find yourself engrossed in the collective quality of these remasters. For those new to the world of Spyro, this game is a winner even without its history. Plus, a very attainable set of achievements (or trophies) means you can earn yourself some rewards along the way.

You may think I'm crazy, but Pinball Hall of Fame: The William Collection is easily one of the best games on the Wii.

Borderlands Legendary Collection is a great way to experience the first three games in the series on the Nintendo Switch. The games play as their original counterparts (well, Game of the Year edition for the original) and run about as smooth as their original counterparts both docked and in portable mode. As you're also getting just about every DLC add-on for all three games, $50 is definitely worth picking the collection up for the portability alone. Who knows, maybe if this does well we might just see Borderlands 3 on the Switch someday.

I haven't found a more binge-worthy single-player action game this year. Control is wonderfully built, smartly written, and already dying for its season pass content.

Little Nightmares II is a must-play for any fans of indie sensations Limbo and Inside. If you've yet to play the first game, it's not necessary, per se, but is wholly recommended. Having played the first game, one can appreciate how much Little Nightmares II builds upon its predecessor. It's gloomy, gruesome, ghastly, but downright intoxicating.

A return to the complex, deep Dominions world of fantasy turn-based strategy. Dominions 3 is a heavyweight game, but one well worth the effort to delve into.

Believe it or not, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is different enough from all of the other fighting games on the Xbox Live Arcade to warrant a purchase.

Dishonored: Death of The Outsider is a great follow up to Dishonored 2. It offers a really rich experience with a fair amount of replay value—which is really rare in add-on content these days.

Regardless of whether you've never played the classic before or you're a seasoned veteran, Prince of Persia Classic is definitely worth checking out.

Overall, a solid DLC that is worth your time and money.

If My Little Ponies trampled a bouncy house and shot it toward Saturn, then you’d have an idea of what Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime looks like. It’ll be tough to make an FTL-like more adorable than this one. The frantic one- or two-player co-op is mandatory and makes for a not-so-lonely outer space.

While its procedurally-generated nature produces some annoying issues, Nightmare Reaper has a creative story, punchy edge-of-your-seat action and a deep, entertaining arsenal. This is one bad dream you won’t regret ripping and tearing your way through.

Dragon’s Crown is a masterpiece. The gameplay is simple enough for casual play but offers deep components to compliment it for those who want more from their games on both single and multiplayer levels.

More software than game, Art Academy: Home Studio is an enjoyable experience with infinite replayability. Regardless of your artistic skill, it will teach you a thing or two and give you a nice creative outlet to express yourself with its expansive toolset.

One of the standout RPG's for the year, if you like Final Fantasy style RPG's you need to own both of these titles.

If you're looking for a few hours of non-stop comedy then you would be a fool to pass over Ice Station Santa. This Sam & Max adventure hasn't evolved much from the first season, but it tells an interesting story full of memorable characters and plot twists. After this game you'll never look at Santa Claus in quite the same way.

Although the hybrid first- and third-person aspects never quite work perfectly, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath still manages to charm.

Despite a couple minor complaints and a steep learning curve, Fireteam Bravo is easily the best game of its type on the PSP.

Everything it promises to be: an old-school shooter with a zany, slightly raunchy style that you really won't find anywhere else.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is a fun game that was almost brought down by questionable control issues and a repetitive story. If players can get past a few minor problems, they'll discover that this prequel offers a surprising amount of great content, beautiful graphics and even some fun multiplayer modes!

College Football 26 is a significant refinement from last year, particularly in terms of realistic gameplay and an authentic college football experience. But you'll have to contend with a troublesome Wear and Tear system, and occasionally braindead AI in specific modes.

With a stack of new mechanics, a tight new campaign story, and some great seasonal content, Vessel of Hatred piles more awesome Diablo IV goodness onto the already incredible base game - itself further refined by a year's worth of seasonal updates. If you enjoyed Diablo IV even slightly, consider this expansion a must-play.

An excellent puzzler that is let down only by a mediocre port onto a screen that it is doing no favors for. The game plays fine when docked onto a bigger screen, but then the controls let you down that much more when you lose the touchscreen to doodle on. There is a rhythmic, difficult challenge unlocked behind the awkward interface played across a level design that beautifully weaves the very canvas of each problem into the story. I thoroughly enjoyed Solas 128, if only I could shake the feeling I would have loved it more were I playing it on a PC.

My bottom line is that the FSX Acceleration expansion pack is worth getting for the improvements to the infrastructure (carrier operations, Reno air racing), but that better add-on airplanes are available elsewhere. Which, now that I think about it, is pretty much how I felt about Flight Simulator X too.

Ys Origin is a fantastic game and definitely a good way to get into the series itself. The controls feel pretty fluid for the most part. You have several different difficulty options to choose from, so anyone from newcomers to experts can enjoy the game. The visuals still look pretty good today, and the soundtrack is nice to just sit back and listen to. If you're looking for a way to get into the series, Ys Origin is a great place to start.

After conquering Sam & Max, Monkey Island and Back to the Future, Telltale is ready to prove that they know a thing or two about zombies. If A New Day is any indication, then The Walking Dead game is going to be the must-play zombie game of the year. Stylish visuals accompany a well written adventure full of memorable characters and genuine scares!

ModNation Racers isn't the most original game on the PlayStation 3, but what it lacks in creativity it more than makes up in customization.

If you're in need of a good beat em' up with plenty of wild gameplay and a captivating story, Soul Sacrifice Delta fills a great void for the Vita.

A solid standalone expansion to one of my favorite time-sinks, Armored Princess has enough new goodies and little bits of polish to make for quite an enjoyable time.

Toki Tori on the Nintendo Switch is an excellent puzzle game. The difficult progresses naturally, the puzzles themselves will make you think about solutions other than what seem obvious, and the wild card and rewind functions are great for newcomers and veterans alike. If you have five dollars to spare, definitely give Toki Tori a shot.

A great story, fantastic characters, and fantastic production values are brought down some questionable game design decisions.

8-Bit Is Enough is a surprisingly slow-to-start but satisfying capstone to an eclectic first season for Homestar Runner and friends.

There's no reason to be worried about SSX. After a seven year hiatus, Electronic Arts has decided to retool their best extreme sports franchise. The result is a fast-paced action experience that offers an impressive collection of real life mountains to conquer. The only thing missing is a real multiplayer mode.

There are some improvements to aspect ratio and analog movement, but, at its core, this is the same old Resident Evil we've been playing for nearly two decades.