Those who loved the original Peggle will easily get their money’s wortht out of its sequel.

If given the choice between Gomo and another adventure game, choose the other one.

If you have a lot of nostalgia for Speedball 2, you’ll probably enjoy this HD remake for what it is, but those looking for a new arcade sports game should look elsewhere.

Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman’s Mine is a reminder that while games come in many forms nowadays, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a classic adventure.

Fans of the series shouldn’t hesitate – this is the Broken Sword you know and love – but I can understand other people being wary.

Nihilumbra is the kind of game that many will look over because they think they’ve played things like it hundreds of times before. It’s not. This is a project filled with incredibly smart puzzle design and an important message at its core.

With some more interesting puzzles and cleaned up controls, Tiny Brains would be an easy game to recommend to everyone, but as it stands it’s best avoided.

Playing it after experiencing Forza Motorsport 5 makes it feel like, well, going back a console generation. The mechanics and features are as impressive as ever, but now that we’ve seen what cars can look like on the current generation of consoles, it’s hard going back. Still, it’s hard to fault the game for being released too late and it remains another thoughtful, expertly crafted racing experience. - See more at: http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2013/12/06/review-gran-turismo-6/64753/#sthash.bsOa86kF.dpuf

At the end of the day, unless you’re an agriculture fanatic that is interested in the rush of cultivating and harvesting fields for hours on end, you’re likely to feel cheated by a lack of content, boring gameplay and unimpressive visuals. Ultimately, the farm life is exactly what I expected — a lot of hard work for very little pay off.

There’s a lot of good mining in the depths of SteamWorld Dig, and it stays fun from the basic beginnings to its chaotic ending. It’s not a bad little journey for a steambot that didn’t have a pickaxe to call his own when he showed up in town.

This game has no redeeming qualities, no ambition and no heart. It is nothing but a waste of your time and money.

With four modes, a deep interface and multiple activities, it’s clear that a lot of effort went into its development. Unfortunately, by combining classic Zoo Tycoon elements with those of Kinectimals, it lowers the challenge.

A Link Between Worlds is a delightful return to the classic game we loved. There aren’t a lot of improvements, but the additional world and new power are more than enough.

Simple fun will only get you so far and players who are looking for a truly “next generation” experience right now will find that Dead Rising 3 simply doesn’t deliver.

After such a long absence, this is a disappointing effort to say the least. EA has promised that they will remedy many of the predominately visual issues that plague it, but until that or a drastic price drop occurs, there’s simply no reason to own NBA Live 14 with NBA 2K14 in existence.

It’s truly impressive just how solid a game Ys: Memories of Celceta is. It has a lot of moving parts, and yet never once does it get lost in all its trying to do. Instead, all of its aspects feel polished, well-conceived and executed in tandem with a remarkable sense of precision. This is one of the Vita’s most prized RPGs, and realistically, one of its best titles.

It plays smoother, looks better than anything out there, and has a kick-ass soundtrack with a goofball announcer to boot. If you absolutely must recreate your childhood, then pick up the $40 pack, but most will be satisfied spending half that.

BandFuse: Rock Legends is the most technically impressive rhythm-game ever released.

SimCity: Cities of Tomorrow is a visually appealing addition that unfortunately only runs skin-deep.

Regardless, if you’re a fan of old school RPGs and have a couple bucks (and hours) to spare, Rainbow Moon is still an investment that should be sought out.

Crimson Dragon is an impressive game that falls short of Panzer Dragoon‘s lofty heights.

Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers feels like a rushed game with a very small budget.

Ryse has an interesting dilemma. It contains a fun combat system, a fine story and beautiful visuals, yet fails to make an impact. It’s damaged by being painfully short (under six hours), linear and repetitive, the combination of which proves hard to overcome.

Even looking fantastic wouldn’t save how inane, silly and not fun Twisted Pixel’s latest effort is. A generic voice and personality for IRIS, a weird twist in the form of Pablo, and tired vehicular combat do not make for a fantastic Xbox One debut.

Genuine unintentional hilarity like this is rare in games, and it’s worth experiencing. Maybe not at the asking price, but if you see this in a steam sale, snap it up and have a good laugh.

Simply put, if you own a Wii U and love Mario, then you should definitely pick it up.

If you’re looking to spend some more time with the Wright Anything Agency, and maybe feeling a little nostalgic for some of the series wackier moments, Turnabout Reclaimed is well worth a look. It has some great characters and bright, funny writing. It may not be the best mystery, but it’s thoroughly entertaining. It’s also, you know, a case where you defend an orca in court. That should tell you all you need to make an informed decision.

Fighter Within could have been a demo disc for the power of the Kinect 2.0, but instead is an absolute mess that recalls all of the original sensor’s faults.

BlackSoul takes one step forward and two awkwardly-placed steps back time and time again. What could have been an impressive homage to the horror genre ends up feeling like a soulless bargain bin find.

Zumba Fitness: World Party is the next best thing to attending an actual Zumba class. This is the most polished iteration yet, featuring well-choreographed routines, impressive looking backdrops and a great lineup of hit and world music.

It’s a slog through and through, and with a lack of character customization, elements more shallow than a Gauntlet-like grind, and a startling lack of Adventure Time charm, it’s tough to recommend. Pick up the first couple seasons of the show instead.

Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition is the much-needed complete version of Injustice. With all the DLC included and all the costumes unlocked, Ultimate Edition is without question the version to play.

Stick with the mobile version and feel sorry for all the poor kids on Christmas morning who’s parents were fooled into thinking this was the must-have PS4 launch title.

Contrast is a mess. It’s ugly, tiresome, insipid and occasionally insulting. It aspires to be like other, better games, and wears that on its sleeve, but has nothing worthwhile to call its own.

It’s worth a replay if you’ve already got the PS3 version, and if you’ve never played it before, then there’s no prettier way to inaugurate your new console.

Just about every Vita feature is fully utilized and combined they offer a unique and engaging adventure. Unfortunately, the adventure is quite short and the replayablity isn’t there. Once you finish the game and find all the collectibles, the only choices are to start over or move onto the next game.

In the end, AquaPazza: AquaPlus Dream Match is a steal for its budget price.

Master Reboot is a game with an outstanding premise that is backed up by solid execution.

Intake is the arcade-shooter to defeat all arcade-shooters, both in play and style.

Knack’s not perfect, and shouldn’t be your first priority when picking up a PS4, but if you miss the old days, or want to share a bit of them with your kids, it may very well be worth your while.

Super Motherload does a great job of satisfying one’s inner miner, letting you dig to the heart of Mars and the bizarre mystery lying in its core.

Baldur’s Gate II is not a game to be missed. With an epic story, memorable characters, hundreds of hours of dungeon crawling, questing and adventuring, Baldur’s Gate stands tall among the classics.

Need for Speed Rivals proves how impressive a PS4 racing game can be by offering a fully realized product that blows past conceptions of what a launch title can offer.

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.

Killzone: Shadow Fall is not a perfect game. It has design flaws and the story is lacking, but it’s a whole lot of fun and a great showcase for what the PS4 can do.

Resogun is an incredibly fun game, but not much more than that.

When playing around in free-play, not worrying too much about the needs of your brain-dead guests, Adventure Park can at least prove to be entertaining. Unfortunately, it’s just impossible to play it – with all of its flaws – and not think about the vastly superior amusement park sims of yesteryear.

I love playing fighting games on PS Vita and I can’t say I didn’t have fun playing Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition on it. Unfortunately, it’s a criminally lazy port.

At the end of the day, whether or not you will enjoy Senran Kagura: Burst will ultimately come down to answering this question: do you pine to play a game where getting beat up means your character’s clothes become tattered, torn, or completely destroyed, revealing the half-naked body of an adolescent girl who just so happens to have absolutely titanic breasts? If you answered, “yes,” then Burst has a lot to offer: pulse-pounding combat, deep customization and a wealth of unlockables and content. If you answered, “no,” then all the best brawling mechanics in the world probably won’t make Senran‘s provocative, shinobi schoolgirl pill any easier to swallow.

So if you’re in desperate need of a Bejeweled-like to play on your 3DS, look no further. Otherwise, go for one of the similarly satisfying free alternatives.

Deadfall Adventures rises above its issues and somehow becomes an average bit of adventuring, and while that may not do it any favors during a crazy-busy holiday season, it’s still not a bad way to blow off a couple night’s gaming.

Forced is a gleeful return to form for cooperative play and a nuanced single-player adventure with trials you’ll be scratching your head over for days. It can become needlessly difficult and frustrating at times, but in the end you’ll feel all the better for sticking with it.

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus is a short epilogue that may leave dedicated fans of the franchise a bit disappointed. Those that look past its length, however, will find an adventure worth having. The writing, humor and beloved characters are all there along with addicting classic Ratchet & Clank gameplay. Even with its flaws, you can’t really go wrong with this finale considering its low price tag.

Like The Walking Dead before it, The Wolf Among Us is at once a faithful adaptation and a great original story in its own right. Fables fans will be delighted to see more of the characters they know and love, and newcomers will find this to be a great jumping-off point into an expansive and fascinating universe.

If you already have a Beyblader in the house, there’s a good chance they’ll like Evolution, but the learning curve is too steep for newcomers to get much enjoyment out of it.

Pokémon X and Y makes the classic series feel brand new.

Pokémon X and Y makes the classic series feel brand new.

Journey of a Roach is a bog-standard adventure game built around a single kind of nifty idea.

Those who can get invested in learning and mastering a deep combat system, however, will find a lot to like in Final Exam.

The single player is disposable, albeit fun, but it’s irrelevant as there’s enough content in multiplayer to keep gamers busy for hundreds of hours until the next Call of Duty comes out.

Deadly Premonition is a mechanically stiff game that’s fortunate enough to have a compelling and intriguing murder mystery backing it up. Unfortunately, the PC port is mired with issues. It’s not the lackluster visual, repeating animation or the slow and unappealing gameplay that’s the problem; it’s the multitude of technical issues that will push players away.

If you’re already a fan of the series, it’s impossible to recommend a bare-bones expansion like this at its current price point. If you’re not… well, I have a hard time imagining that you’d enjoy the third installment at all.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is the very definition of escapism, offering a mindbogglingly large amount of content. One could spend upwards of fifty hours exploring the world without completing more than a few introductory missions in the main story — which itself can offer over twenty hours of gameplay.

If you haven’t been fully committed to the series before now, however, this is a terrible point to jump aboard as there aren’t enough good features to attract non-fans of the show.

It may be a departure from previous titles, but Sonic Lost World is an enjoyable new take on the Speedster.

With improvements and additions to the tried and true formula, the lackluster single-player can’t hold the game down — the explosive multiplayer playground simply must be experienced.

The Metroidvania formula will forever remain one of gaming’s best, so whenever a modern 2D (or 2.5D in this case) version is announced, it’s cause for excitement. Blackgate doesn’t exactly do anything new and is derivative of practically every predecessor in its “genre,” but that doesn’t mean it’s not a whole lot of fun.

While technical hiccups are a shoe-in with any game as complex as Rocksmith, the ones found here don’t mar the experience much. Since every facet of gameplay has been given a nice thick coat of improvement in Rocksmith 2014, issues that the original title was known for have either been removed entirely, or overhauled beyond recognition.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes may be rough around the edges with a shaky sandbox setting, screen tearing and generic music, but it does right by the Marvel universe and offers an experience that can be loved by both devoted fans and children alike.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate HD presented MercurySteam with a chance to correct many of the original release’s problems and glaring issues. What we ended up getting was an airlifted port with the only new addition being online leaderboards. Sure, the gameplay is tighter on a controller, but that doesn’t make this lazy port any better than the original release.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Dual Destinies is a success. Yes, it feels like more of the same, but for a series that has yet to put out a bad title, that shouldn’t be viewed negatively.

It’s not perfect, but it’s as close as it’s going to get for this Deus Ex, and that’s impressive in its own way.

The only way I could possibly recommend this game to anyone is if you have a blossoming interest in both breasts and fighting games, and are trapped on some sort of desert island with a PS3 that only has Girl Fight on it. Everyone else is going to want to look elsewhere.

Batman: Arkham Origins doesn’t seem to realize its true potential, and because of it, falls short.

The Guided Fate Paradox is a niche game, but that shouldn’t scare off anyone who has a taste for Japanese RPGs.

There is nothing wrong about the game, though, and if you like tower defense games then Defense Technica might provide a suitable distraction for a couple of days. The experience isn’t bad, but it is one you will forget almost as soon as you finish playing it.

Still, it’s worth checking out if the concept intrigues you as and it’s a fine gateway game for those who are intimidated by the survival genre.

Eldritch is brutally tough until you learn it, and then settles down to be pleasantly challenging, It’s a big random first-person dungeon crawl dripping with atmosphere, evil and fun in equal measure, and as a bonus you get to be a librarian reigning in the power of dark tomes of terrible knowledge.

Goodbye Deponia sends off the series in the most profoundly memorable way. While there are some pacing concerns and minor technical issues here and there, these are overshadowed by the comical story and clever puzzle designs.

The Stanley Parable is many things all at once, and all of them are clever and fun. It’s a story made of stories, an exploration of the limits of freedom in gaming, a battle between narrator and narrated, and a giant self-referential meta feedback loop.

Top notch platforming mechanics combined with a brilliantly captivating soundtrack that seamlessly meshes with the unique visuals and gameplay turn it into an experience that shouldn’t be missed. 140 is gaming minimalism done right — just don’t expect it to last you very long.

With senseless puzzles that destroy any potential feeling of accomplishment, incredibly frequent glitches, a total lack of coherent storytelling, boring gameplay and sluggish pacing, there’s not much Montague’s Mount offers that can’t be found elsewhere in a more attractive package.

As a result, fans of action-RPGs will want to check out Valhalla Knights 3, while those who don’t enjoy the genre won’t find anything here that will change their minds.

These types of games are, sadly, what we’re relegated to in a post-Guitar Hero world, but they’re not bad for what they are. The singing is pretty useless, since you could just sing along with any song in a similar game if you really wanted to, and the dancing is middle-of-the-road.

Soundodger+ is a lovely and brutal exercise in pure arcade music gaming.

All-out warfare has come to the Vita, and the excellent Worms series continues. As long as we don’t have to deal with another Worms: Ultimate Mayhem. That was reprehensible.

The term "interactive film" is thrown around often, but this is the first game to actually feel like one. Carefully maintaining a balance between its social context and supernatural elements, the game refuses to give into standard video game tropes and remains a mature and thoughtful story throughout. It’s poignant, thrilling and even a bit frightening at times.

Dependable as ever, Just Dance 2014 is another solid entry into the hit dance series that simply wants players to have a good time.

As it stands, A.R.E.S Extinction Agenda EX is a highly polished 2D platforming shooter that is able to seamlessly blend influences from three great franchises and turn it into a fun and unique experience in itself. A.R.E.S. doesn’t redefine the genre, but it doesn’t have to because of how well-executed it is.

Card Hunter folds the best of card games and video games into a single experience. The combat and aesthetics all gel together in a unique browser-based game. Try the game, even if you’re not into board games, as it a should scratch the itch of anyone who is missing a polished turn based experience.

Saturday Morning RPG has a few issues, but none are glaring. The writing occasionally falls flat, and at several points a glitch caused my view to be obstructed while using a timed button-press attack in combat, but the game remains wholesomely charming and fun throughout.

Few games in recent years offer the immeasurable amount of content offered in Disgaea D2. With a 35 hour campaign, multiple endings to complete, side-missions, an expansive and randomly generated item world, thousands of character customization options and endlessly replyable levels, the series didn’t really need to make many improvements or changes to remain a true value.

There’s the potential for a beautiful journey here, but Rain seems to be too content to wallow in its melancholy to create any real engaging gameplay. All the set pieces are present for a new nonviolent darling, but with the plodding narrative, uninspired gameplay, and often frustrating camera tied to environmental puzzles, Rain combines a string of mishaps rather than a heartwarming journey to save a little girl in need of a helping hand.

Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi is an excellent example of how to pen a visual novel without a horrific female lead, and an intriguing tale to boot. This is a gripping read, with the mystery surrounding Chizuru’s father taking center stage rather than the romance plots.

Though it doesn’t navigate through every hairpin turn with perfection, F1 2013 still manages to cross the finish line with an impressive lead on its competition.

It may not be the best 3DS roleplaying experience, but it’s a darn fine one all the same.

It’s a marginal enhancement over Armored Core V, but it’s enough to keep its core fanbase invested in the game. It’s just a shame the series is so unwilling to expand past it.

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