I had a ton of fun playing Star Wars Battlefront II. It executes on presenting the Star Wars universe near-perfectly. The sights and sounds of lightsabers and blaster fire encapsulate every child-like midichlorian in your body. The campaign, while disappointing, is a small part of the complete package. There is enough content to keep you busy for dozens of hours, but the progression system may need an overhaul if EA wants to keep a strong multiplayer audience engaged.

60 Parsecs is a simple game about not dying in space. While not complex in gameplay, 60 Parsecs is incredibly deep with strategy, problem-solving, and smart resource planning. The game expertly blends a cartoonish and goofy world with some of the darkest elements of death and isolation. 60 Parsecs is a surprisingly fantastic game that has a large amount of replay value. It’s well worth a look.

Cyber Citizen Shockman 3 is fun at times, mainly thanks to its goofy sense of humor and fun cutscenes and characters, though the basic hack and slash combat paired with inconsistent and often brutal difficulty grows stale quickly. Still, the levels are varied, ranging from city skylines and industrial buildings to demonic underground lairs, and the ever-changing enemies help keep the player’s attention throughout its seven short levels. Cheats and bonuses help provide a bit more bang for the buck, but for only $6, there’s enough here to justify picking this game up and killing an hour or two.

Brink does have challenge modes and a two-sided singleplayer campaign, but obviously it is multiplayer that shines brightest. Brink supports 16 players in multiplayer – get ready as I'm about to lay down some prediction as well as some very heavy compliments.

Those expecting the quality and polish of its predecessor will be disappointed with Exit the Gungeon. It’s too visually clustered and the new mechanics can be more frustrating than fun. Still, for a short burst of rogue-like goodness, you could do worse.

Lasting only 3-4 hours, $20 is a steep price for an experience that leaves you bored and frustrated as often as it proves to be an enjoyable experience.

The innovative control system from 2002 is no longer innovative in 2005, the graphics are just not up to the level of other Sony first-party offerings.

The exclusion of online play destroys any replay value this game may have though.

While Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm CONNECTIONS finally adds some genuinely important features to the series, it still lacks some important features and a large portion of its other content is passable.

Frantics is a nice addition to the Playlink family, allowing friends to get together and play minigames by using their phones. There is a good variety of games, although more would make it better. Plenty of fun twists such as the secret missions, traps, and auctions add to the experience.

A visually striking take on the survival horror genre, The Chant solidifies its own identity within the alternative science of prisms and natural remedies. Unique game mechanics serve to create an unusual but fun experience, even if at odds with the overall narrative at times.

It may be too kiddie for some, but it’s a solid platformer with a great looking world and really inventive puzzles, and above all else it’s a lot of fun. Plus, the voice acting is stellar and I’ve been busting a gut at some of the lines.

Tera is silly, lusty, and over-the-top cute aesthetic within a massive MMO world, interspersed with frustrating and bad gameplay elements that punctuate otherwise fun and immersive action. The world is full of perils, and players have a lot of control over the types of characters they’ll use to face those perils. More fun than foul, Tera combines the cartoony and the serious in its attempt to create a worthwhile MMO universe, and accomplishes the underpinning of a great title.

However, the $40 price tag is a bit steep, especially considering that the original Xbox 360 version sold for a budget price when it was released. Still, if you want a game that you can pick up, play for five minutes, and put back down again, there are much worse alternatives than Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable.

Symphonia regenerated the traditional RPG structure with smartly designed battle mechanics and well-fleshed out cast of characters. It remains a favorite of mine to this day and I’m glad to get the opportunity to experience it again, even if this re-release can never truly recapture the original effect it had on me. The remaster translates the regenerative nature of Symphonia competently, but this is the kind of game that deserves a remaster that goes the extra mile.

The camera angles are much improved and it's much easier since you don't have to micromanage the order of the time crystals that are vacuumed up. However, the difficulty of the game can be a bit frustrating at times.

Pixel Ripped 1978 is a fun, albeit short and flawed VR game that leans into nostalgia and gamers’ love for Atari, but unfortunately does little with the plethora of great Atari IPs available. Still, the concept is unique, the boss fights are creative, and the last third of the game makes up for the rather lackluster beginning. For those with a strong sense of nostalgia, Pixel Ripped 1978 is worth checking out, but for those with no connection to the Atari time period your enjoyment may vary.

It’s amazing to see such a passionate debut title from Studio Sai. Eternights elegantly blends in addicting and engaging action combat with dating mechanics while providing beautiful visuals and excellent voice acting. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this small team of developers.

Unfortunately, some basic gameplay decisions with the way the camera is handled and the way weapons and 'mechs are implemented hold this title back from its full potential.

If you are yearning for a multiplayer beat-em-up, this might satisfy you for a bit. Be warned though: since there is no story, I found the limited appeal is for all but hardcore fighting fans.

Stranger of Paradise is a good game, but it had the potential to be a great game. Its self seriousness backfires to a genuinely endearing degree, but also leaves the story poorly fleshed out and possibly hard to follow. The combat may be fun, fluid, and visceral, but issues with the PC version should make players look to other platforms.

Fast, furious, funny, and a breeze to play through so it’s perfect for the weekend gamer.

Few games can come close to creating the same mayhem and excitement as Gauntlet can.

If you’re craving pinball on the go, it’s tough to beat the paltry $6.99 price tag. But for most, this is not the platform you’re looking for – and that’s no Jedi mind trick.

A beautifully animated walking simulator. I recommend that you give it a play, because it really is quite a different experience from most mainstream, fast driven, AAA games. It reminded me of a form of meditation because it was simply that immersive.

Winter Burrow is a pleasant experience with a sprinkling of challenge to manage, with good elements of survival, resource management, and cozy. The sum of its parts is adequate but I wish there was more for me to chew on with its mechanics, like more decoration options and varied quests.

Deliver Us Mars explores what it means to struggle against extinction, and the hope of fixing a dying planet. It’s a story of fear, and how it manifests into hope within some, and wrath within others. It’s a short but certainly sweet narrative adventure into the stars with some casual yet amusing puzzles to help break up the flow of gameplay.

Rather than advancing upon the legacy of its predecessor, Wii Sports Club comes off more like an HD remake of the same old game with some additional motion plus and gamepad support. While this may have been a groundbreaking package eight years ago, today it feels altogether lackluster.

Mario Party: Star Rush can be a charming title at times, and definitely shows some promise. However, the game tries too hard to separate itself from its predecessors which causes its mechanics to fall under the pressure of trying something drastically new.

Tokyo Crash Mobs is probably the strangest game Nintendo has published outside of its own Wario Ware series. It's so delightfully weird, and its mechanics are a fun, interesting refinement on the Zuma-esque puzzler. It's too bad, then, that whatever fun that could have been had from this game is mitigated by its asinine touch screen controls.

This game has extended play written all over it. Starting with a fledgling jockey and horse and building up over time and progressively more difficult races results in a game that, if you are a fan of the genre, will have you entertained for weeks on end.

I was taken aback by the difficulty of the intro. The tutorial word in the fill-in-the-blank game is Villain. That was something a little over the top for my 7 year old.

More of the same with a few enhancements. Those looking for more will be disappointed.

When you get right down to it, A Valley Without Wind 2 is just a bad game. I can’t think of anybody who I’d recommend play this title. The heavy use of randomization means that all the character is sucked out of the game, while the awful controls leave this a title devoid of any fun. Pass on this title, and go play AI War instead; you’ll be glad you did.

While visually appealing, the game ultimately falters due to schizophrenic difficulty and a story that’s hard to follow. The forgiving death mechanic made the uncertain levels bearable, but didn’t quite redeem them back to entertaining. As far as appearances go, it stood out as its own title, Don’t Open the Doors fell short in regards to story and gameplay.

Pizza Titan Ultra is not delivery, but it’s delectably delicious. With its humorous premise and fun, entertaining gameplay, this little game will definitely put a smile on your face as you put evildoers to cheesy justice.

Shadow Labyrinth earns the right to have its darker version of Pac-Man be taken seriously. Its solid exploration and combat mechanics make for an excellent game that gets further elevated by its fun integration and celebration of Namco history into its design. While at times the game can feel a little too bloated with ideas, it’s okay to overeat during a celebration.

As much as I wanted to like it, I couldn’t recommend NBA ’07 to any of you out there, especially if you’re interested in actually playing basketball.

Those looking for a new super hero action RPG experience might look at Marvel Ultimate Alliance to get more bang for their buck.

The Sims 4 Horse Ranch is unfortunately a wonderful concept rendered almost unplayable due to bugs, and both my Sim and animals getting stuck. The CAS clothing items and Build Mode pieces are fantastic and add a lot to the game, especially if building a ranch or country theme is your jam. Bonding with your horse and the interactions between both your Sim and the animals is heartwarming, and riding is loads of fun. I’d have liked to see more with the Equestrian Center and competitions, not being able to go inside is kind of a bummer and a waste of space. As much as I’d have loved to explore all that Horse Ranch has to offer, I just can’t play it in its current state. I’d love to adjust my review at a later date if things improve.

Trine 3 is an incomplete mess that feels like the game’s creators just ran out of time (despite four months in Steam Early Access). The graphics, art style, and landscapes are stunning, but aren’t enough to make Trine 3 a game worth your time.

Spacecom is a super-fun strategy game, and a truly unpretentious take on the RTS genre.

With a great campaign, and engaging (albeit repetitive) multiplayer, Marvel’s Avengers is a fun title with cosmetic-only games as a service components bolted onto it. The innumerable bugs hide what could be an amazing and ever-expanding universe -- I just hope the team at SquareEnix is up to the challenge. I want to “do this all day”...but right now we are in the “you hope for the best and make do with what you get” stage.

There are plenty of options to play the game how you want to, and the objectives give a nice variety.

Serious Sam 4 has done seriously well for a series that hasn’t seen a mainline game in nearly 10 years. Croteam went all out on this one and has filled it to the brim with rewarding gameplay, hidden goodies, and a great soundtrack to boot. Unfortunately, there are a few kinks in this pipe, such as the sub-par story, weird character models and animations, and other gameplay bugs. But no doubt, you’ll only be interested in carving through hundreds, if not thousands, of enemies with a huge arsenal of skills, weapons, and gadgets, and that’s exactly what Serious Sam 4 has done so well.

Yupitergrad is an intensely fun, if too difficult, Russian Spider-Man simulator that will have you speedily swinging through obstacles with grace. That is, if you can get past the nauseating motion sickness.

While Gylt has some tragic elements in its story, it’s even more tragic that it was tied to the sinking ship that was Google Staida. Luckily, with its re-release, adults and children alike will be able to get lost in the Lovecraftian lore, unnerving enemy design, and clean aesthetics. Overall, Gylt packs intrigue into every aspect of its gameplay and story without telling you the answers outright, leading to great moments of discovery.

With all of its upgrades and love, Fable Anniversary really is the original Fable in a brand new suit, warts and all.

The Charnel House Trilogy is a great rainy afternoon pulp horror game, with just enough creepy imagery and top-notch atmosphere to mull over in the days after. It ends up feeling like a short, albeit exciting, prologue to a great adventure game.

Soulstice does an exceptional job of keeping the player engaged throughout its entirety. The amount of content just within the combat is jaw-dropping, so much so that it feels like Reply Game Studios aren’t saving anything for a sequel. There’s a lot to discover (and a lot to master) as you slowly trek through its massive world and uncover one of the most enjoyable detective-style stories that I’ve come to experience.

The lack of any extra modes could be forgiven if the main story wasn't so short. You can easily finish this title in a weekend play through.

The game really falls flat, and feels more like a hack and slash title than a superhero game.

The storyline used to merge the two is slightly clumsy, but that can only be expected when combining two relatively disparate franchises. What I didn’t expect, though, was for the merge to be treated as a zero-sum game; where Unmasked expanded the depth and breadth of DC content, it has responded by limiting the scope and difficulty of the core Scribblenauts experience.

For the price of a cup of coffee you can pick this game up – don’t be one of the 97% that pirated it. Game Dev Tycoon is the one Tycoon title worth buying now that it’s on Steam.

Sniper Elite VR is an absolutely fantastic transformation of the flat-screen game, trimming the fat to just the parts that’ll be fun in virtual reality. Translating the sniper rifle into a VR medium makes the game immersive in a way we’ve not seen capitalized in many games to date. This one should be in your library, if you can handle the gore, and the occasional braindead AI.

Where the Heart Leads is almost impossible to put down thanks to its strong characters, deep story and attention to detail. The game is brought down only by its minor inconveniences such as bugs and typos that detract only a little from the main experience. For fans of narrative games, this is a must-play, but even those who do not consider themselves fans of the genre might find something they relate to in this game.

For all of its shortcomings, its flaws, and its failures, I still enjoyed my time with Deadlight. I wanted to find out what happened to Randall and his family. I was driven, compelled to finish, and I would still recommend that it be played. Fans of side-scrolling platformers, and zombie games in general, will find an original, if imperfect, experience here. And while the price is a bit steep for the content, I think there's a great game to be found in here.

Rocket Arena is an interesting rocket-based twist on the team-based shooter genre. With unique rockets and abilities, each character plays differently and entices you to try them out. Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed by enemy attacks, especially with the slow movement speed, but that doesn't drag it down much.

But in the end, The Bureau is a completely different game that stands on its own. While they didn’t make the next game of the year, 2K Marin has crafted their own XCOM adventure. It’s one that features some lifeless characters and a nonsensical story, but also some of the best squad-based third person shooting you’re going to see all year.

Regardless, it’s a solid SRPG, and sure to provide Neptunia fans with many hours of content and entertainment.

It’s an enormously fun and creative take on two genres you would never think to see in bed together. The gameplay is tight and responsive, the boards are intricate and clever, and the splendid voice acting is an added delight.

Saturday Morning RPG is an extremely fun and heart-filled adventure, giving a great homage to the 80’s.

Need for Speed The Run is a game that has just enough issues to make it an average game. It is filled with potential, and it eventually could have made a really great game. The cross-country race is a great story-telling mechanic and the cutscenes are well done. The progression of the Driver Level to gain more bonuses could have been given out more consistently and some of the cars could have handled better. If you don't mind driving for a while to unlock cars and abilities, then you should find a satisfying experience.

A pretty game with a bad camera and no attempt at coming close to the fun of the first game makes this an extremely bad purchasing decision.

If the controls were more solid and the graphics a bit better, then Juiced would be a winner. Instead, Juiced gets left behind in the dust.

Piranha has long promised that “community warfare” will address this lack of endgame, but that feature has been delayed so often that it’s hard to be sure if it’s ever coming out. It’s a bit of a shame that there’s so little reason to keep at MechWarrior Online. The matches themselves are fun–and as it is free-to-play, there’s no barrier to entry–but without any form of metagame it’s hard to stay engaged.

It's disappointing to have a game that shows so much promise, and yet could have been so much more.

Oninaki has one foot in the grave while the other doing a pleasant tap dance. It has an interesting story held back by bland characters and filler, and its gameplay can feel great when you’re not getting pounded in the face and stunned to death. Unless you can find it on sale, I’d skip this one.

While not offering too much from the Apple TV entry, Super Beat Sports is a serviceable rhythm party game. Its simple controls and infectious soundtrack will have you tapping your toes, but a couple of games in the collection might be a bit disappointing to play with friends.

My advice is to play the first game if you like it, because there is nothing new to be had here.

The graphics engine never really received enough attention to smooth it out, nor did the sound system. The control system is ambitious and unique but just doesn't pan out either.

For you guys who love to collect gear and customize/create avatars, particularly mechas? Again, this is worth a look. Everyone else, you may want to give this a pass for now and wait to catch it at a discount.

If you are a fan of the franchise, by all means, consider adding this game to your collection, as it will let you slide into the shoes of some of your favorite characters. For all others, look elsewhere for your adventuring and competitive needs.

Flock has a lot going for it. It’s a unique action-puzzle title in a genre filled with too many uninspired Bejeweled clones.

There’s a lot to like in Mafia III, the presentation is very impressive and the discussion of race is brought up appropriately. The story unfolds well and doesn’t disappoint, but the mission structure brings about a host of disappointments. Missions rarely give the opportunity to let side characters develop, and the main story consists of doing the exact same objectives over and over until the credits roll. Unfortunately, Mafia III is as disappointing as it is impressive.

This game is crap. Much like "Smackdown" this fails to live up to the best AKI/Asmik has put forward in this genre. However this game falls even below Smackdown in my mind.

Anchor did the wrong thing in slightly refining the already crappy gameplay instead of either totally refining it or totally rebuilding from scratch. Another big mistake was leaving the AI kick/pin cycle in the game. It gets aggrivatingly annoying.

You might forget the STROL virus, or that you are tackling insurgents and mutants, but you won’t forget just how much fun you have, solo or with a local co-op friend, with the non-stop action of Solstice Chronicles: MIA. While there are still some areas to be polished, and online multiplayer is unfortunately missing, Solstice manages to translate the souls of games like Alien Breed and Helldivers into a challenging two-player or solo adventure.

Smoke and Sacrifice tells a compelling tale of a mother searching for answers after being forced to give up her son. While the game’s gorgeous art brings its grim world to life, its story is ultimately undercut by poor pacing and vague objectives. Smoke and Sacrifice shines in concept, but falters in execution.

If you enjoy Choose Your Own Adventure type games, you’ll love This is the President. It scratches a Schadenfreude itch for the dystopian hellscape we currently live in, and it’s equal parts fun, funny, and quite disturbing along the way, even with the odd choice baked in..

The Masterplan presents a very unique and welcoming vibe for all who have dreamed of robbing a building establishment.

Fairy Tail 2 arrives at the finale of our favorite wizards' adventure with highlights and shortcomings alike. I recommend it to dedicated fans of the manga and anime, but this simply isn’t a welcoming entry for potential new fans.

Even if you don’t have any other versions on other platforms, SWAP Force on 3DS is a decent 3rd person 3D platformer. Just don’t expect a 3DS interpretation of the console SWAP Force game – it stands on it’s own pedestal, and it can fit your toy collection inside a pocket.

If you’re a fan of space strategy games, you might enjoy Ancient Space, otherwise, it’s not worth the frustration.

What I don't understand though is how the developers felt the need to add a really bad slow motion element to the final boss battle, when this had never happened anywhere else in the game. This makes the final fight agonizingly annoying, so if you can get this far then you may as well push on through.

Digimon World:Next Order is a bright, slow-paced game that intermixes a open-world RPG with monster raising to great success. Refreshingly simple and fun, the game overcomes some issues with AI to be a surprisingly addictive title. With team based battles focused on strategy and plenty of exploration, Digimon World: Next Order provides solid content worth a look.

The gameplay is exciting and works excellently, but it’s unfortunately lost on a backdrop of boring maps and ugly design.

While addictive in short bursts, Pirate Pop Plus doesn’t have the staying power to compete with the new retro classics in the market today.

Siege of Centauri is a fun tower defense title for a good price. While, visually, there’s more to be desired, it runs incredibly well despite the thousands of enemies that can flood the map as you place your towers in an oftentimes frantic and addictive mission to protect your colony. It's well worth the asking price.

Argonus and the Gods of Stone is an ambitious game that recreates a world that is rich with lore and beauty. Playing a game that is narratively driven and offers a different style of gameplay is refreshing and necessary in a world where sequels and copycats are too frequent. The story and musical score are top notch as it helps set the mood for a game that you’re a part of. The performance and the way you interact with objects in the world are the biggest dilemmas to overcome in this title.

Occasionally obtuse and sporting a few UX/UI barnacles, Port Royale 4 could use a little more dry dock time before setting out on the high seas. AI trading bugs and occasionally unfair combat sequences discourage combat, which takes the wind out of the sails of this pirate adventure. Developer Gaming Minds can patch the hull, but they need to do so before people find another ship on which to set sail.

Chronos: Before the Ashes is a tough game to recommend to Remnant fans due to its comparatively flawed combat system and less amount of content overall. Nevertheless, I still believe that while the game does not live up to its full potential, it still has just enough charm to be worth at least a try for hardcore fans of the action-RPG genre.

SaGa Emerald Beyond is a fun experience with new mechanics and many ways to play. With five different characters with their own stories, it’s a fun time to run around fighting a flurry of monsters, demons, and more. While things might get a bit repetitive at times, many will find it a blast trying out the different formations, United Attacks, and more.

Dustborn has noble intentions, but intentions don’t matter as much as execution and it executes just about everything poorly. There are too many characters and gameplay styles to make any one of them shine, let alone enjoyable.

A portable version of this game seems unnecessary, and overall the game is not worth even a moment’s time even from the most dedicated a hack-and-slash player.

Exoprimal’s dreadful narrative and foundational mishaps drain the life out of the fun to be had, leading to one of Capcom’s roughest outings in recent years.

Session: Skate Sim is the most authentic skateboarding experience you can get from a video game. Though you will fall down (a lot) and may get frustrated, you will undoubtedly leave this experience with a greater appreciation for skating and the culture that surrounds it.

And for the love of all that's holy, get some decent voice actors next time.