NHL 22 on current-generation consoles is the best NHL experience that has released in some time. It also provides the biggest change from last gen to current gen consoles of any EA Sports game yet. It still has its issues at its core with how the AI plays and there are bugs that crop up often, but the overall experience feels fresh and the game looks much improved. The lighting and reflections provide the biggest boost while Frostbite brings more realism to player faces and jerseys. I feel more could have been included with Frostbite on the physics side, but this will come in the future. While the modes remain the same, the updates to each are sufficient and the addition of Superstar X-Factors allows for a game-changing experience. Online, if not getting disconnected, generally works as it needs to. NHL 22 offers the right feel for a new console that a lot of sports games haven’t provided in the last two generations.

The battle royale mode is slick, tense and the most exciting addition to Call of Duty in years. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a solid entry in the franchise thanks to Blackout and Zombies, and though multiplayer may not having any exciting new features, there’s still plenty of fun on offer. This Call of Duty can safely be declassified.

Dishonored 2, with its refined mechanics and expanded gameplay following suit, personifies what a sequel should be.

Liberation Maiden is an outstanding on-rails shooter worth its $8 price tag.

There’s a strong variety of unique puzzles, and with the gorgeous world that can be taken-in, Trine 2 ends up being a luscious adventure. If you haven’t had the chance to pick it up on the many platforms it has been released on, then now is the best time.

Song of Horror: Complete Edition is a lot to take in all at once. The slow pacing and puzzle difficulty make it an exercise to get through, making the episodic pacing seem like the better choice. What is special here is the right way to do a paranormal horror game that involves something you can see but not control. A few variations of quick time events used to defend yourself and having to also think on the fly is a new exercise in horror games. The atmosphere is fantastic as dark environments mixed with excellent ambiance goes unrivaled, especially when it comes to indie titles. The Complete Edition is also only $30 at launch making it clear that Song of Horror: Complete Edition is worth a play for any old school horror fan.

It would be easy to say that you should just wait until later to pick up Killer Queen Black once more content has poured in, but no, you should check it out as soon as you can. The action is still quick and intense while requiring a healthy dose of strategy, it’s visually stunning and it’s another stellar example of “easy to learn, hard to master.” Top it all off with the insane amount of fun that can be had while playing with friends and Killer Queen Black a no-brainer. Much like the NBA Jams and Mortal Kombat IIs of the ’90s, what we have here is an impressive home version of an arcade hit that can easily keep you tied up for a while.

Whether playing for the first time or revisiting once again, Rescue Team DX delivers an amazing adventure that doesn’t end after the story has been beaten. The difficulty is right in the perfect spot that’s satisfying to overcome challenges, while being random and wild enough at times that some help might be needed. The art style and music making it worth hunkering down in one area to admire the surroundings, while each new area offers brand new surroundings to never get bored of. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is on par with if not superior to the original in many ways, and offers the perfect kind of journey for players looking for the latest adventure in the world of Pokémon.

It's a massive game filled with a lengthy single player campaign and a long-lasting multiplayer component that can be played day-by-day or minute-by-minute. Patience is a virtue as Skulls of the Shogun was worth waiting for.

Most of the game is well put together and engaging and when it finally reaches its pinnacle, with the bosses and the Sky Tower, it becomes a compulsory addictive game.

Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation shows its age even with the modernization but it also holds up very well. The game mechanics and story progression are echoes of a forgotten past which will invoke nostalgia in older gamers but may just seem archaic to the younger crowd. This one holds up the best out of the three Switch titles. The first two games are mainly worth playing for historical interest or nostalgia but this one should be played by any JRPG fan for its own merits. While this title does a nice job of concluding the Erdrick trilogy, it’s a great title in its own right and still enjoyable over thirty years after its release. It would be great if the subsequent Zenithian trilogy found its way onto Switch.

This is the best these two games have ever played, and for those who haven’t played the titles before or returning players who can take advantage of the $10 upgrade, it’s the best way to play them. Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection might not be the shiniest of Sony’s remastered treasures, but it’s a treasure nonetheless.

Madden NFL 15 marks a noticeable improvement for the long-standing franchise.

Those who still fancy the original GameCube version might not be interested if they can still readily play it, but the addition of the challenging new hidden mansion, ability to challenge bosses and local multiplayer can make it well worthwhile for those wanting to try something new. Luigi’s Mansion is still a great classic and fits in fairly well with all the other wonderful ports on 3DS.

This is a sweet, gentle, silly game for people who are still in touch with their inner nerdy child. [JPN Import; July 2007, p.71]

Fat Princess was subversive, politically incorrect and unexpectedly complex in its strategy and depth. Fat Princess Adventures trades a little of that depth for a more straightforward, action RPG-focused design.

The humor is consistent with some of the show’s best episodes, the visuals are wholly original for a game and the gameplay is surprisingly challenging and rewarding. As much of its humor is dependent on character references, those who aren’t avid viewers of the show probably won’t enjoy it, but you should remedy that if you fall into that category.

On top of the fun gameplay, the art direction is a great stylized approach to incorporating the Voodoo influence and Alistar Lindsay’s soundtrack fits the style perfectly.

Vector Unit has made yet another outstanding aquatic racer and anyone who enjoyed Wave Race or the Hydro Thunder franchise should give it a shot. It’s thrilling, controls like a dream and looks excellent.

This is an easy recommendation for anyone that has already played through Tales of Xillia and yet another good reason to force you to if you haven’t yet.

It may not be perfect on all fronts, but MAG certainly lives up to its name as a massive action game that caters towards those who want to experience tactical battles larger than those found almost anywhere else.

Metal Slug Tactics is a fun and nicely-challenging strategy game, but what truly makes it stand out is how it finds a way to incorporate mechanics from the arcade games into its gameplay by placing a unique emphasis on movement. Combined with astonishing visuals (especially during the epic boss battle), it makes for an entry into the franchise that's more than worthy and one that's worth checking out whether you're a fan of the series or not. After all, you can't attack a basket of snakes in order to sic them on your enemies and not have fun.

Despite simplistic controls, Fotonica transports players into a beautiful vector landscape that they’ll inhabit for hours.

Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour is a surprisingly large shooter that takes the long-running arcade FPS and translates it perfectly into a new genre. The gorgeous pixel art is well detailed and animated, and can pack a ton of critters on screen at once without any issues. Blasting through an area, painting the floor red with the remains of a vicious horde that couldn’t quite stand up to a rocket launcher, is basically what I pictured games would turn into back in the Genesis/SNES days. It’s got fast action, tons of weapons, a huge variety of creatures and a handful of bosses to use them against and firepower flies everywhere when the encounters heat up. Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour may look different from Sam’s usual outings, but 2D fans will have as much fun checking out the excellent pixel art as series fans will tearing through enemies both familiar and new.

Void Terrarium is a strange and beautiful dungeon crawling RPG, and despite the familiar genre, manages to feel like there’s nothing else out there like it.

The puzzles are a blast, the graphics and environments are jaw-dropping, and little bonuses such as the challenge levels provide a good incentive to keep coming back for a while. It may not hit the same emotional heights as before, but the latest outing for our stringy heroes is one that cements them as the stars of a classic franchise in the indie gaming scene, so don’t miss it.

Wherever it takes you, Genshin Impact is a more-than-convincing proposition, not least for those adamant on never spending a single cent in-game. The grind to get there may not always feel wholly natural or that players are genuinely being left to wander without restraint, but Genshin Impact‘s meticulous approach to environment design above all pulls through in many wonderful ways. Crafting one of the year’s more immersive and surprisingly rich open-world RPGs.

Sonic X Shadow Generations stands as a reminder as to where the series has gone and will be going in the future. While Sonic Generations values the original with some added features, Shadow Generations breaks the glass ceiling set by an already top-tier Sonic title.

Prominence hearkens back to the glory days of first-person point and click adventure games. Its intriguing story will keep you digging through terminals to find out more. Not only does it look like a classic game, but it plays like one too. It’s a nice modern addition to our libraries full of old favorites.

It would have been nice if Pikuniku was longer and had a bit more to its story, if only because it means spending more time with its interesting and charming world. Still, what we have is a fun blend of physics-based gameplay, traditional platforming, exploration, eye-catching art and a fun cast that makes for one cute, highly-enjoyable experience. It’s a quick little romp through a gleefully bizarre world that you won’t regret checking out.

The actual amount of content added with the Storm Island DLC isn’t Earth-shattering, but there are a lot of new events thanks to the new locale and some new vehicles made with this terrain in mind.

Under Pressure keeps the story flowing and the jams pumping as Telltale provides a rare look at one of the Guardians’ upbringings. The hit-or-miss humor and standard technical malfunctions are still on full display, but the strong storytelling helps keep the season moving forward as the dysfunctional space crew keep searching for answers.

Star Wars: Squadrons nails the inherently exciting feeling of piloting and fighting in its iconic starfighters, but the paltry single player and multiplayer modes fail to do anything ambitious or impressive with the core gameplay. The sheer amount of gameplay and aesthetic customization and clear passion for the license do their best to make up for these shortcomings, and could keep dedicated Star Wars or space combat fans invested. But as the hours wear on, Squadrons’ repetitive objectives starts to feel less like a main attraction and more like a fun diversion, ultimately leaving the game as an enjoyable multiplayer experience to return to when you feel that itch for a few rounds of frantic and fast space combat.

Still, it would have been nice to see a bit more treatment given to Dishonored: Definitive Edition, as this underrated gem is something that should be experienced by as many people as possible.

It’s for the thinkers; the true appreciators of fine-tuned designs and engaging puzzle solving. It’s a satisfying, refreshing and, most importantly, an incredibly fun romp through Team17’s take on a classic.

The Minotaur Arcade games may not look like the same high-end product as Polybius or Tempest 4000, but they’re still top-notch games that will embed their voxels deep into your brain.

Elegy for a Dead World may be a jarring departure from traditions, but unlike the more pretentious attempts at alternative gaming experiences we’ve seen in recent times, this is one idea that should be encouraged.

Battletoads revives what was thought to be a long-dead franchise without missing a step. The game benefits from modernized game mechanics but maintains the overall gameplay feel of the original titles. If you have fond memories of the earlier titles, it’s a no brainer that this is a title worth playing. The game does rely on nostalgia, but this is one of the better reboots around. Battletoads succeeds at making a game look and feel modern while maintaining the essence of what made it good so many years ago. Battletoads does offer a variety of different modes in addition to primarily being a beat ’em up title. It’s a truly ridiculous game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s good to see that after such a long break the ‘Toads are still on top of their game.

It may be confusing and an outright crazy adventure, but it’s one that will have gamers readily engaged.

Neon Struct isn’t a perfect game, and technically its main gameplay focus of stealth is fairly simplistic. Enemies aren’t that smart, darkness is overpowered and once you’ve learned its rhythms it’s very easy to remain undiscovered, or at least not get caught if you’re seen. It makes up for this by being excellent in many other ways, most notably in the level design and world building.

Terrian Saga: KR-17 is a loving tribute to glorious days of 32 bit sprite-based video games.

Despite NanoApolstle being short and without voice acting or any of the standard cutscenes, it's a delightful game that doesn’t overstay its welcome and does what it does best in the short amount of time it has with us as players. Boss fights are difficult and require quick thinking and precise timing to take them down. This makes the inevitable boss kill all that more enjoyable as they get their just deserts from the struggle they put you through. There's great art and music to pair with bosses, making them even more intense and compelling to fight against. NanoAposlte is an absolute joy to play if you like difficult games about taking down bosses and completing challenges within each boss fight.

Closing out a season of fantastic launches, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle finally delivers on the promise of Xbox Games Pass, delivering a high-quality and entertaining single-player adventure that fans of the series will absolutely adore.

Thumper is a beautifully dark, unforgiving and utterly fantastic rhythm game, and its sense of menace is only matched by its wonderful playability.

Killing Floor 3 is extremely fun in its initial stages, but will this wear off over time? Tripwire Interactive has done a good job at updating the previous games, and judging by the Helldivers-like progression system here, the staying power should be there to keep players engaged. Adding six-player crossplay and cross voice will assure the best online multiplayer experience that the series has ever had. Offline single player is more difficult, but the game is designed for online multiplayer. The visuals do a good job of showcasing the Unreal Engine 5 with Lumen Lighting, but stutters and hiccups happen a fair amount. Using Frame Gen on PC works well to compensate. The Specialists and Perk Systems help to add longevity, but you have to dig through the menu to see the other Specialists. In the end at launch, however, Killing Floor III is a bloody fun time.

It’s a highly-replayable adventure and something that anyone who craves more depth in a game’s story should try out. It may not be a long tale, but this pre-amble to what’s to come for LiS showcases that there is plenty of life in the franchise no matter who is in it thanks to the rock-solid storytelling foundation on display.

The world of Shining Resonance Refrain is a joy to explore and the option to go through it a second time with villains on your side adds a good reason to play through again.

Swords & Soldiers II has something to offer RTS veterans as well as those with zero experience with the genre. It’s accessible without sacrificing depth, and varied without being needlessly intricate.

Warriors Orochi 4 is successful in maintaining the essence of the series while introducing new gameplay mechanics, making it a definite step in the right direction for the evolution of the series.

If you’ve been looking to get back into fighters and somehow missed the boat on Street Fighter IV or have been waiting for something to bring you back into the world of Street Fighting, I doubt there is a better option than a game full of characters, awesome music, and a robust fighting system with great online support.

Basically, Rive is pure 16-bit action from back when console games were still balanced between the arcade and more modern-style adventures. While it’s much prettier than anything the Genesis could do, it would have been right at home with the best of that console’s library. Run, gun, blow stuff up real good and there’s even plenty of fun banter between Roughshot and the unnamed robot antagonist. The game moves at a solid 60FPS at all times, the backgrounds and settings all look fantastic, and anything that gets shot goes down hard. Rive: Ulimate Edition has a few extra bits for the Switch, such as co-op where two players can use a Joy-Con apiece to work together controlling the tank, one on shooting and the other on movement, and it loads faster and has a few tweaks to the levels, but other than that it’s the same great shooter that came out on the other consoles and PC last year. It was a lot of fun then and it’s a perfect match with the Switch, letting you get in a bite-sized round of shooting or going for a multi-hour play session depending on available time. That’s what classic action shooters do best, and despite the occasional misfired encounter, Rive pulls it off with style and an ending that leaves the player hoping that, just maybe, there might somehow end up being a Rive 2 after all.

Sickness is not a visual novel for the faint of heart or those looking for a good, comedic romp with adorable anime characters. While you will find anime-style art, it is hardly attributed to anything adorable or sweet for long.

Portal Knights has a few shortcomings, but the overall experience is a lot of fun. Its blend of RPG-esque leveling up with crafting and a steady learning curve keep you engaged. Those looking for a solid gateway game into the crafting sub-genre should check it out — especially if they enjoy RPGs. The music does hold things back, but every other major part of Portal Knights works well.

Life is Strange: True Colors may sadly dim towards the end, but it’s worth checking out alone just to experience Haven Springs, with its gorgeous scenery, terrific cast of characters both major and minor, and an intriguing mystery that requires quite a bit of fun gameplay.

An experience housing enough content to validate repeated play-throughs, Brut@l — despite its stripped approach to crafting and indeed to leveling-up — manages enough in its generative structure to add a distinct level of spice to make even the most minimal-looking of scenarios feel both exciting and enticing.

Despite a few issues that prevent the game from being a wholly immersive open-world exploratory experience, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter packs an impressive punch.

Madden NFL 23 takes a few good steps forward, but seems to forget other aspects that will hopefully be addressed in the future. FieldSENSE is a good change that goes along with the other recent additions in the series. The Freeform Passing is a huge and fun change and the new hit animation engine is nice, but it can leave the occasional strange animation and outcome. The defensive coverage needs to be addressed as there seems to be glaring issues. The visuals continue to improve to bring a more realistic approach and the change to the presentation is a nice touch. Franchise Mode players should enjoy the changes to scouting and the offseason even though the in-season portion remains largely unchanged. The mode still needs a better attachment to the storyline of the season. While the changes are good, there’s still a good bit left in the dust. Ultimate Team returns with new ways to earn rewards with Field Pass. Couple that with an unchanged Yard, a largely unchanged Face of the Franchise, online play and the Franchise Mode, and there aren’t a lot of options for play here. The changes will appease Madden fans looking for gameplay and Franchise Mode improvements, which is mainly the community that provided the feedback.

Quite simply, there is more value to be found here than in many sixty dollar titles that line store shelves.

The shining spot for this year’s game is the defensive gameplay and the ability to truly challenge shots and defenders, especially in the paint. It’s extremely satisfying. While a bit of the game remains, NBA 2K22 still offers the closest television experience in a sports video game to date. However, that shot meter is still frustrating as the game remains geared toward its hardcore community who prefer grinding.

Having the ability to change from a split screen to a shared screen in single-console multiplayer would have been nice too. Other than that, Mario Tennis Aces looks and sounds great, and is something any Mario Tennis fan will enjoy.

Gunslinger is one of the best downloadable shooters on consoles and easily the best entry in the series.

Hyke: Northern Light(s) is a vibrant 2D action game with a good variety of playable witches and stages to explore. Though its repetitive story beats and easy boss battles are underwhelming, the general feeling of journeying along with Hyke and the girls is positive and an experience worth giving a try.

If you’ve been looking to get in on Company of Heroes, then this is the place to do it.

New players should choose Re;Birth over the PS3 original, while fans who haven’t yet worn out on the series’ charm should jump back in. The new Plan system and revamped battles make Re;Birth a much better game than its predecessor.

Most importantly, NBA 2K25 is a lot of fun and a great basketball experience to play with friends and experience the current and past NBA.

The inability to roast anything on two legs from an overpowering distance away aside, Divinity 2 is a solid RPG if you are looking for a nice real-time romp though a fleshed out fantasy world.

The debut of the Fox Engine signals exciting things to come for the series, already showing off some unique and realistic physics here. With improved player handling, new collision detection and the best visuals of the series, PES 2014 is simply another great soccer game.

Hotline Miami is an outstanding title that manages to stand out despite both retro-styled games and overhead shooters being crowded genres.

One Finger Death Punch 2 is an epically huge arcade two-button brawler that shouldn’t be anywhere near as good as it turned out to be, but if stick-men are going to die by the thousands for our personal entertainment, they’re determined to put on the best show possible while doing it.

Atelier Escha & Logy is a lovely RPG that should easily succeed in its goal of pleasing both series and standard RPG fans, with pleasantly deep systems and an inviting world to explore them in.

Patapon 1+2 Replay brings back a classic Sony IP to modern devices, even allowing it to reach audiences beyond PlayStation. It’s just as good a time to enjoy these two games as it ever was, as they prove unique and capable of standing against the trying passage of time.

A visual improvement over the original, but beyond that, it’s still the same old game.

In essence, though nothing beats being in front of the actual machines and feeding in a quarter to square off with it, Pinball Hall of Fame – The Williams Collection is about as close as the video game medium allows for.

It may not have the best soundtrack, but Dance Central 3 is polished, packed with content and utilizes the Kinect better than any other dance game.

Shadow Warrior has big guns, deadly blades, enemies ranging from small to enormous and enough explosions to satisfy even the most pyrotechnically enthusiastic gamer.

At the end of the day, however, it’s the multiplayer and gameplay that make or break an RTS game, and Halo Wars 2 checks those boxes. If you’ve ever had the itch to command an army of UNSC soldiers, Halo Wars 2 will easily scratch it.

Lies of P is a worthy entry into the soulslike genre of gaming, particularly when the game allows its own unique elements to truly shine, such as its unique spread of weaponry and combat mechanics or its impressive story twists that can have you rediscovering what it means to be human. Top those parts off with large, well-designed levels with a ton of stuff to discover and terrific visuals in both beautiful scenery and terrifying monsters, and you have a great game in general that, despite occasional frustrations, is worth checking out, and that’s no lie.

Dance Central is obviously the first of future iterations of a new franchise, with very slim pickings when it comes to features. Don't let that throw you off though, as it's one of the must own game of 2010.

While still supernatural, Tell Me Why provides more of a mature tale overall than Life is Strange. It’s surprisingly dark, but uplifting at times as well. This game takes chances with the cast of characters in ways that are mostly a resounding success. It’s exciting to see a LGBTQ lead character and a storyline that doesn’t plunge headfirst into tropes. Here’s hoping that this is a sign of where Dontnod will go in the future, because Tell Me Why is a step in the right direction.

Bugsnax is a relatively short title, taking roughly around ten hours or so to finish depending on if players go for full completion or not. Despite this, it contains a wonderful and charming story with the puzzles being so wildly creative it makes it fun to find and collect the many different Bugsnax.

River City: Tokyo Rumble takes everything good about River City Ransom and improves upon it.

If you grew up in the '90s, you'll easily get $15 out of it just for the trip down memory lane. Younger players who like open-world games and have an appreciation for that time, even if it's just for ironic purpose, will like it as well.

Moss: Book II is an excellent title to close the book on the original PSVR with despite hardware limitations coming into play. If you loved the first title, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy the sequel.

Star Wars Pinball VR is a strong collection of tables that all play differently from each other, whether it’s the large dominating loops of Rogue One, the small spiral tower of Classic Collectibles or the dark and light holocrons of Masters of the Force. The tables revamped from standard-screen play were already a good pinball time and the two new ones complement them well, plus the move to VR makes any digital pinball better. Standard flat-screen digital pinball is always a compromise of viewpoints, trying to find the least-unsatisfying angle, but VR pinball is as close as possible to playing the real thing. Being able to track the ball with your eyes and focus on a section of the table, or lean forward or around to get a better view of an otherwise-obstructed shot, just makes it so much more playable than it would be otherwise. Add in the Star Wars theme, complete with the fantastic soundtrack, and Star Wars Pinball VR is easily one of the best VR pinball collections available.

Will Fight For Food is a charming mix of an RPG, a point and click adventure and a belt-scrolling brawler.

The Pact provides a highly compelling, Bruce Wayne-focused episode that continues to push the momentum of this season forward at a fast pace. The lack of common Telltale features may be a bit off-putting to some fans, but those eager to see Gotham’s diverse cast of characters at their best will find plenty to enjoy with The Pact.

With fluid combat, huge areas to explore, dungeons to conquer, loot to lust over and friendships to be strengthened or destroyed by an able co-op mode, it’s surely the best of its kind on consoles. Diablo III was good when it launched in 2012. Now, it’s great.

Despite Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix being a little rough around the edges, it’s still one of the best HD collections around. Things like the controls do take away from the overall experience, but these are fairly minor next to the value you’re getting. The updated graphics make it a must for fans or eager newcomers to experience.

With its wide array of diverse locations, nice visuals, engaging quests and interesting PvP, The Elder Scrolls Online has a lot to offer despite its lack of freedom and exploration; with an absurd amount content, you’ll be occupied for a long time.

It’s hard to think of another Big N game that has its heroine munching on monster flesh, so here’s hoping that Nintendo recognizes what a fantastic action-roleplaying experience they missed localizing and gives stateside players more of this kind of mature title in the future.

Contra: Operation Galuga is a refreshing return to Contra's roots. The story might be lacking, but the high-octane run and gun action that made the classic games great is back. Contra: Operation Galuga relies heavily on nostalgia to appeal to Contra fans by incorporating several classic level designs and boss fights. It can get away with this by adding enough variety to the gameplay and some fights where the end result feels like a proper re-imagining and not simply a hodgepodge of random past Contra highlights. It does have its shortcomings with dated-looking graphics and an inconsequential story, but when it comes to delivering the classic run and gun Contra action, Operation Galuga is the title fans have been waiting for.

Metro Redux doesn’t provide enough new content to be worth repurchasing except for the most die-hard fans, but if you haven’t experienced the masterful adaptation of Glukhovsky’s series yet, fix that mistake and get Metro Redux on the double.

See No Evil is a rewarding and enjoyable game to play, hear and see.

Super Meat Boy Forever asks a lot of the player but also makes sure that they’ve got the tools to master its challenge while also being considerate enough to make each one approachable in bite-sized chunks. A perfectly-run level takes less than a minute and is divided up into sections that are rarely longer than ten seconds, but each second requires focus. And if that focus slips then a retry is instant with little time lost, making it easy to try again, and again, and again until Doctor Fetus finally realizes what a terrible idea it is to antagonize the Meat Boy/Bandage Girl family.

While a little more realism would make American Truck Simulator more fun, paradoxical as that may sound, there’s no escaping how fantastically playable it is.

A story that is engaging, intriguing yet thoughtfully structured, complete with another grand cast of new characters, even when it risks of becoming too pedestrian, Judgment predominantly finds the means to keep players fixed on the events unfolding. Fans of the Yakuza series may be quick to filter out what’s genuinely new from everything else, but for a game as packed and as entertaining as this, what it may lack in pure originality, Judgment more than makes up for with a game that is as fun to engage with as it is to just sit back and watch as the now-commonly bizarre antics of Kamurocho play out to delightful and convincing effect.

Moros Protocol is a fun and satisfying run into the alien-infested depths of a mission that's completely spiraled out of control, dismantling everything in your path with every weapon you can scrounge to get answers as to how it all went so completely and thoroughly wrong.

As a next-gen launch title, the presentation delivers excellent lighting and effects across its campaign, but multiplayer does get hit with a visual downgrade. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a reliable package that brings the Black Ops franchise back to its roots. This Call of Duty is safe to declassify.