Its mechanics are sound but its design uninspired, failing to do any one thing better than the standout entries in the genre. And the few unique tricks it does have, its predecessor did better. After Guerrilla made such a resounding impact, it's a shame that the best you can say about this latest Red Faction is that it's just OK.

In the end, LEGO Rock Band just doesn't do a terrific job of justifying its existence as a standalone game.

This feels like the most wheel-spinning, by-the-numbers Call of Duty they've made thus far.

There are some incredible peaks in Shank that I think are entirely worth experiencing, and it can be a pleasure to play, at least for a while. There are far worse ways to spend $15 for three hours, but it's those very highs that really make Shank's shortcomings that much more disappointing.

There are some incredible peaks in Shank that I think are entirely worth experiencing, and it can be a pleasure to play, at least for a while. There are far worse ways to spend $15 for three hours, but it's those very highs that really make Shank's shortcomings that much more disappointing.

If you're looking for anything other than a solid fighting game with strong netcode, you should probably hold off until the game sees a few more updates.

House of the Dead: OVERKILL Extended Cut so relishes wallowing in its own filth, that at a point it's easy to start questioning whether the stuff that's terrible about it is that way on purpose. (Spoiler: some of it is, some of it isn't.) It's the most shameful of guilty pleasures, brain-dead and proud of it, best suited for those with a lust for the minutiae of cinema's seedier side.

I really enjoy the look and feel of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, and there's a good amount of content here, but the severe difficulty level makes it all much harder to appreciate. It's punishing, but if you're up for it, there are some sights worth seeing here.

I have some very strong feelings towards Street Fighter V--positive and negative. The lack of single-player content is less of an issue for me personally and I’m sure a lot of people feel the same and are really only interested in local or online versus. But there are a surprising number of modes and features that are either missing completely or coming later that should have been included at launch...However, I don’t want to understate the fact that I am having an absolutely great time playing Street Fighter V.

Drifting over the polygonal landscape looking for crystals is still a peaceful good time, if you can overlook a few flaws.

Makes for a good diversion. It doesn't last too long, tells a decent story, and offers enough multiplayer to give you something to mess around with when the single-player's done. It certainly isn't the most ambitious game in the world, but if you're looking for a competent western shooter, Juarez fits the bill just fine.

Even as the level designs seeks to frustrate you beyond measure, the game remains strangely addictive. If this were simply a bad game, you'd give up and move onto something else. But something at the core of Swarm keeps you coming back, despite all reason to the contrary.

Drifting over the polygonal landscape looking for crystals is still a peaceful good time, if you can overlook a few flaws.

Despite the game's slavish adherence to the Mario Kart formula, Mario Kart 7 has moments where it shines simply by executing that formula really well. Still, other than your personal history with Mario Kart, your enjoyment of Mario Kart 7 will likely hinge on your continued appreciation of that formula, and friends to enjoy it with, more than anything else.

If you decide to play Alpha Protocol, just know that your main enemies over the course of its 15-or-so hours will be its collection of misery-inducing technical issues and the clash between its action and role-playing elements. There are parts of Alpha Protocol that I feel are totally amazing and absolutely worth seeing, but you'll have to trudge through a lot of very disappointing stuff just to see it.

There's tons to do in Mad Max, but most of what you do are the same few things, over and over again. I did it because I felt like I was supposed to, because some piece of my weird brain told me what I was doing was fun.

It's a short game, but if it were longer, the excitement of bullet curving would probably wear off. That said, it's got some cool concepts and it compliments the film fairly well. If you can find it for less-than-full price, it's worth checking out.

Hotline Miami's thrillingly brutal gameplay is stretched to the point of breaking in this aesthetically pleasing, but otherwise disappointing sequel.

While it's an uneven experience, the action works well enough and the game's sense of humor hits often enough to make it come together pretty well. Unfortunately, it also gets a bit monotonous, largely due to some repetitive quest design.

Its cooler moments are offset by a long list of missions that aren't engaging at all. You're a man with an ever-increasing list of insane powers, but the tasks you accomplish with those powers are usually pretty ho-hum. Add to all that a script that makes you want to turn the sound down and a dose of awkward control quirks and you've got a run-of-the-mill open-world game.

Where Hotline Miami felt lithe and creative, Hotline Miami 2 often feels sluggish and inflexible. There's fun to be had with this sequel, but it's the kind that only the original game's most ardent and obsessive fans will find in great supply.

Its cooler moments are offset by a long list of missions that aren't engaging at all. You're a man with an ever-increasing list of insane powers, but the tasks you accomplish with those powers are usually pretty ho-hum. Add to all that a script that makes you want to turn the sound down and a dose of awkward control quirks and you've got a run-of-the-mill open-world game.

Even as the level designs seeks to frustrate you beyond measure, the game remains strangely addictive. If this were simply a bad game, you'd give up and move onto something else. But something at the core of Swarm keeps you coming back, despite all reason to the contrary.

The game puts on a pretty good facade, affecting many of Saw's stylistic flares. There's lots of jarring camera shake, motion blur, and patchy focus effects, and the soundtrack is all industrial clangs and squeals, but in the end it's all window-dressing for a game that has more in common with Professor Layton than Condemned.

A good, solid scrolling shooter. It's tough, but not so tough that it will only appeal to genre crazies who can only feel emotion when it's filtered through a bullet hell pattern.

Overall, it's sort of hard to recommend Soulcalibur IV to anyone who isn't already a big fan of the series. It felt like everything I liked about the game (the actual fighting) was countered by something else (the meaningless story mode, equipment stats, Ivy's creepy-looking boobs) that made me want to take the disc out and put it away forever.

A passable shooter in a world that's filled with much, much better ones.

If you have a soft spot in your heart for any of these old big-cart classics, you’ll probably be able to overlook the emulation issues and load times, but some of these early Neo-Geo games don’t hold up so well today, so make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into before you commit.