The developers' chutzpah regarding Shock Force's premise is admirable, and if you fall into the game's narrow audience, there may be a lot to like about it. [Oct 2007, p.59]

The anime and magna iterations of Black Rock Shooter are so enjoyable because they’re crazy, over-the-top Japanese awesomeness. Unfortunately, not much about the video game take on the series is all that awesome, or even very good.

Not an especially charming or friendly take on the genre, FortressCraft Evolved has a lot of depth and potential for the dedicated player.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has its moments of triumph, but they are few and far between. There’s still fun to be had in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, but this year’s entry feels like a stopgap while we wait for the next major release.

God Mode may be a shallow action romp that’s got the longevity of a fruit fly, but with a decent group of allies and some proper teamwork, there’s a good bit of run & gun gaming in there while it lasts.

As commendable its combat and enemy design may be, Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption‘s reliance on templates and tired tropes inevitably wears down what little (though effective) originality it houses.

There’s a real sense of wonder in observing the dinosaurs of Time Machine VR, but it needs a round of bug quashing and a better role for the player to rise above the crush of titles in the VR launch window.

DOGOS is mostly great and a little bit broken, but if you bring a giant helping of perseverance to its more troublesome sections there’s a fantastic, great-looking shooter trying to blast your heavily-armed experimental final-hope-for-humanity gunship into a smoking shower of red-hot shrapnel before you do the same to it.

With more fine-tuning and content, Lethal League could have been a home run. Sadly, it balks the opportunity.

The hardcore fanbase will appreciate MechWarrior 5 at its core as it feels like a game that wishes it had today’s hardware technology 30 years ago. The combat can be good, but becomes bland and redundant over time. Fan will also appreciate the story lore and how it progresses along with the strategy elements. Unfortunately, though, it feels like a game that could have used more time but had already been delayed. There are spots where it shines and most of this is experienced early on. But the more time spent with the game and learning how to do things just to progress becomes dull and ultimately you feel left behind as the game clock starts to pull away.

The game is still fun to play, and it's not difficult to pick up. It's definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re a fan of old school detectives.

Surprisingly effective it may be at crafting a simple-but-enticing loop of gameplay, Exoprimal‘s shallow variety and unclear methods of progression land Capcom’s latest in a middle-ground of being both entertaining and heavily flawed. If nothing else, the studio’s foray into this form and model of PvPvE multiplayer is not without some merits. A splendid assortment of Exosuit classes to discover complete with an overall tone and delivery via its setting and premise that seems all too aware of its own absurdity and happily running with it. The latter of which aiding immensely in convincing you that one, two or five more matches won’t hurt. And it’s that replayability and direction in tone that just might be this game’s saving grace. As it stands, a non-existent campaign coupled with limited variety of content means Exoprimal‘s fate — like so many — will live or die by its post-launch, mid-to-long term support. As sufficient the foundation admittedly is.

Though it pains to proclaim such a promising title as this — given how obviously ambitious its world-building stands, how undeniably strange-but-enticing its organic-mechanical aesthetic is or how inviting the otherwise isolating ambience of its sound design is — Hob may well be one of the more disappointing showings for the genre this year when all is said and done. What starts off in its first half as a platformer rife with engaging mystery and many an incentive to know more quickly devolves into a rehashed and seemingly never-ending loop of puzzles unlocking puzzles unlocking more similarly-deprived puzzles without fruitful meaning or purpose. Though it tries to maintain the facade and continually promise greater things to come, it soon becomes apparent that Hob is somewhat deprived of an end goal — interested solely in the long-distant allure than it is the up-close-and-personal meaning and value behind it all.

If you’re specifically looking for a non-traditional, colorful tennis game to play with your friends, then Mario Tennis Fever will fill the void. Unfortunately, the latest Switch 2 entry into the subseries does little memorable and enticing outside of this. It has solid gameplay mechanics, with a variety of characters and rackets to choose from, but there’s not much of note outside of this. It doesn’t help that the Adventure mode is a glorified tutorial. In the end, all Mario Tennis Fever amounts to is a short distraction with friends with minimal enjoyment outside of that.

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.

The shooting and gameplay have added more frustration this year, but the paint play is the best the series has seen. There are some positives and some negatives to the new ProPLAY implementation, but a variety of presentation changes truly help to make the NBA games feel fresh. The biggest knocks remain with both the shooting frustration and the even bigger focus on microtransactions. After the strides made last year, NBA 2K24 is the first regression the series has seen on this generation of consoles. Plus, the PC version is still running on the previous generation version of the game, and even Madden had rectified that this year.

There’s an audience for Strike Vector, but that audience needs a lot of patience and a high tolerance for failure.

Yukie: A Japanese Winter Fairy Tale is a relatively short and unusual narrative tale that most players should be able to complete in three to five hours. Along the way they’ll hone their samurai senses as they fight enemies based on sound alone. They might get a little tripped up due to the storyline’s presentation at times, though. Fortunately, this isn’t a particularly complex tale. It provides a clear objective and a few twists and turns to keep the progression interesting. Those who find themselves intrigued may wish to seek out the Japanese legend of Yuki-onna as this game appears to be inspired by it.

Skelattack doesn’t know what it wants to be but despite this I did end up getting just a little more enjoyment than aggravation out of it. There were two areas I simply got through rather than explored, because they just weren’t worth the annoyance, but for the most part the story and characters carried it along. It didn’t hurt that the game is short, and I beat the whole thing in a single four-hour sitting, which meant that when any one section was in danger of wearing out its welcome another was coming right along to replace it.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are major classics in the franchise that still hold up well enough to be worth exploring for fans of RPGs and the series itself. On the other hand, as a new release of an old game, it's one of the most barebones releases possible and there's no good reason for it to not have at least something extra to justify it as a commemorative edition.

There’s still a plethora of content here to enjoy if you somehow are able to look past this crippling technical issue, but unfortunately it seems the transition to the open platform has failed to live up to certain expectations.

Tumble VR improves upon the original Tumble with all manner of new puzzles and a cute versus mode. It’s also a game which makes total sense for playing within the PSVR. There’s something about placing blocks with your own “hands” that just feels better than other puzzlers. The caveat, of course, is if your controller also exhibits the weird shakiness in-game from time to time, which makes it totally annoying rather than an amusing experience.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are major classics in the franchise that still hold up well enough to be worth exploring for fans of RPGs and the series itself. On the other hand, as a new release of an old game, it's one of the most barebones releases possible and there's no good reason for it to not have at least something extra to justify it as a commemorative edition.

Disgaea Infinite is the funniest visual novel I've played - even funnier than the Ace Attorney series, and is carried by the strength of its characters, dialogue, and voice acting.

Watch Dogs: Legion is a bold move with a few highlights here and there, but still a disappointment that will have you going back to Watch Dogs 2 instead.

While it's enjoyable at times and boasts some charm, it's ultimately an unfulfilling puzzle platformer that tries to go outside its box with limited success.

Lovers of the hidden object realm might be disappointed by a lack of sequences, but in either case, Mystery of Neuschwanstein offers about 3 hours of gameplay with its unique historically-tinged tale and setting.

There’s some charm and striking art to admire on one’s travels, but other than the well-crafted pixel aesthetic, the other half-baked ideas on show in Resolutiion fall short on delivering a world you feel adamant is both realized and worth unraveling.

Neat set design aside, The Suicide of Rachel Foster‘s middling, unremarkable progression (not to mention some odd characterization in parts) don’t quite gift the experience with the tension and unease it’s so obviously seeking.

Firegirl: Hack ‘n Splash Rescue isn’t necessarily a hot mess or a dumpster fire, but it is a rather unstable experiment made of promising elements that went up in smoke. The basic platforming and firefighting action is enjoyable enough, but the rest of the possible enjoyment is buried under a mound of RNG, bad procedurally-generated levels and a lack of good progression. Unless you’re up for a big challenge, this is one title likely to leave you cold instead.

In Too Deep isn’t bad, nor does it fully suggest that The Walking Dead: Michonne will be a letdown. But if this helping was any indication, it would appear that splitting this side game up into an episodic adventure was a bad idea.

Fight Crab is one of the more ridiculous games of 2020. The level of ridiculousness works to its advantage, as the game mechanics themselves are rather mediocre the absurdity makes it interesting. It’s not the deepest fighting experience by far, as the gameplay didn’t hold my interest so much as wanting to see what the next bizarre arena would look like. A game this ridiculous is best enjoyed with the company of friends to revel in the absurdity or may even be one of those rare games that might be more entertaining to watch a streamer play it. Fight Crab is a novelty title, and while it’s an amusing one, the gameplay doesn’t do much to prolong the enjoyment after the novelty wears off, but prior to that the game does provide many authentic chuckles.

If Wizard Fu set out to make the most faithful of homages to the original Legend of Zelda specifically, Songbringer fits the bill with its hands-off approach to exploration-driven adventure. Unfortunately what the game initially builds up with its environments and keen visual style is partially swept aside by some unruly technical aspects.

With The Official Videogame 6, The Monster Energy Supercross series from Milestone continues to feel like the pot on the back burner of all the racing series they develop and publish. They have the license and claim a bunch of updates every year, but the core racing experience remains troubled and inconsistent, especially in comparison to the MotoGP series of games. Having said that, I still feel this is the most fun I’ve had out of all the games in this series and that may be thanks to the AI changes and removing any assists. Still, each game comes out a year behind in its roster and track updates and it just doesn’t do the best job of replicating the sport. The Rhythm Attack and new Supercross Park are both welcome additions and cross-play will allow for bigger racing rooms online, but the fact that Milestone still sells the game for $10 less than normal retail won’t help justify it in the current generation as that price is now $60. They need to take a year off and develop specifically for current generation hardware and catch up its calendar year to the same year that it’s released.

The Show 17 is fundamentally sound, but doesn’t move the sports genre forward. It will appease longtime fans that flock to it year after year, but until the series does something remarkably different, it’ll fall short of being able to stand out of the pack. This year’s version of The Show does a lackluster job of making it seem like anything more than a yearly roster update built upon the same foundation of last year’s game and that is by far the heaviest critique that can be handed down to any yearly sports title.

Like many of the B-movies that inspired it, Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed isn’t something that will be considered great by a general consensus, but does have a certain appeal to the right audience. The game makes many attempts at subtle and not-so-subtle innuendos and while the intention is humor, many of them fall flat. Not because they’re offensive, they just mostly go for the low hanging fruit which may have been more risque in 2006, but nowadays just doesn’t seem that creative. There are sections of enjoyable gameplay, but these moments come as part of a greater narrative that’s difficult to care about. Fans of low-budget sci-fi are clearly the target audience, and for those this will probably be a good time, but there are better options available for the rest of us.

It would probably be cheaper to buy a used Gamecube and used version of an older Monkey Ball game, as you’d get better controls and save a little money without missing out on very much.

It’s not Suda’s best, but it’s ambitious, and there’s a lot to be said for that. If you’re looking for your next unique and obscure experience, you’ve found it.

OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes has all of the makings of an astounding beat-’em up thanks to its fun and action-packed combat, as well as a style and flavor in all areas that perfectly matches the show and is guaranteed to please fans. Sadly, it does not have the makings of an astounding RPG, though, and the bare-bones quests and overall story that goes on for too long renders the whole deal overly repetitive. Fans of the animated series may still get a kick out of it for a while, but in the end, it may just be better to marathon several episodes in its place.

Technical issues notwithstanding, Saints Row is not without its shortcomings, but it succeeds more often than it doesn’t. Even with the release date pushed back it still doesn’t feel finalized. The tech issues can hopefully be ironed out in a patch or two, but the characters could have also benefitted from further development and being more fleshed out. Santa Ileso is a great open sandbox to explore, but it seems like a greater emphasis was placed on repetitive criminal venture activities and less on the more exciting story missions. Still, what Saints Row does well is it does very well with memorable missions after the Saints have started to establish themselves. The banter between characters is generally entertaining and a lot of the humor is derived from this series never taking itself too seriously. There’s a lot of potential with this reboot and new cast of characters, but it doesn’t seem like it was fully realized in this title, making it a game that’s fun for Saints Row fans, but isn’t the spectacular reboot we were hoping for.

With already shaky matchmaking, and the chances of regularly rounding up four or five spare Xbox controllers (let alone willing playmates) in the same living room rather slim, however, some of Knight Squad’s potential is sadly squandered.

Crash Team Rumble builds out a fun and engaging skeleton for a Crash-inspired multiplayer game; it just doesn’t have enough meat on those bones to keep the experience engaging. This is one Bandicoot you may not want to unleash.

There’s a certain charm Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 has that will no doubt resonate with fans; it’s just too bad it’s put together in a less-than-optimal package.

Unfortunately, Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection is yet another rough launch. What should have been an easy win on paper is regrettably hampered by technical issues, of-the-era design decisions that impact the experience today and a lack of significant updates. Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection is a straight-up port whose simplicity would be charming if not for the technical issues or the wide availability of the original games without these issues on Xbox and PC, with the latter getting the remaster treatment via mods. At their core, both Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Battlefront II remain fun to play even with the remaining jank from the era; it's just unfortunate that the collection they're in lacks polish. Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection scratches that nostalgia itch but doesn't elevate itself beyond that.

There are genuine elements of greatness in Beyond Light, including an intriguing subplot that should have been the main campaign and a great raid, but it’s not enough to replace everything we’ve lost. Destiny 2: Beyond Light is another enjoyable Destiny adventure thanks to the lore and gameplay, but it does little to move Destiny 2 beyond the status quo.

Ancient Space doesn’t live up to its marketing and could’ve benefited from some additional time and testing; it is, however, playable and cheap.

It might have benefited Dead or Alive 5 Last Round to be issued into Steam’s Early Access program as, in its current state, is a lacking experience that’s below its console counterparts.

Always Sometimes Monsters is a unique and distinctly powerful experience, but it is also deeply and undeniably flawed.

Bombing Bastards serves its purpose well, which is to be a Bomberman game in everything but name — and even there couldn’t steer clear of the influential series completely.

There’s a lot of enjoyable gameplay in Kao the Kangaroo. The level design is easily the biggest highlight, and while combat is simple, it’s fun and accessible for all ages to get a kick out of. The downfalls of poor voice acting and a forgettable soundtrack are easy enough to overlook; the only thing Kao really needs are fixes to the aforementioned glitches and bugs that are the sole things holding it back from being a solid and enjoyable experience all the way throughout. Assuming these all get fixed, however, Kao the Kangaroo would be worth picking up for those looking for a fun and nostalgic platformer that hearkens back to the early 3D days, but with nice modern modifications.

If you like challenging platformers with some minor puzzle elements thrown in, you’ll probably love Alien Spidy. The control issues make it hard to recommend at full price, but it’s an easy recommendation to try out when it goes on sale at some point in the future.

As it stands, initial appeal wears thin rather quickly, and like real squid, the whole thing starts to stink after being flung around for too long.

Much like Contrast before it, We Happy Few shows off plenty of potential with its original and engaging world from a team whose passion and heart clearly shines through. Unfortunately, the random nature of the world ultimately hampers this ambition, and is held back further by lackluster stealth and inconsistent dialogue.

Less a case of biting off more than it can chew, Immortals of Aveum instead serves up a mixed bag of notable creativity, dragged down by issues both narrative and technical alike. While future patches may go some way to iron out the uneven frame-rate and inconsistent visual quality, the same can’t be said for a brand of writing that’s at best tolerable and at worst, potentially off-putting. Minus one or two secondary characters you’d be happy to see stick around for longer, yet are sadly ditched in service of a plot with brief but ultimately unfulfilled promise. If nothing else, Ascendant Studios could’ve done a lot worse given the tone and the design intentions placed here. What’s left is a game that while doesn’t always put its best foot forward, eventually finds a way to loop back round to feeling curious as to what it has tucked away out of shot. Though it may trip over itself one too many times, Immortals of Aveum‘s rewarding level design, puzzle-solving and potential for custom builds still offers a sufficient amount to carry this “magic-shooter” pitch through to credits’ end.

Overall, Radiohammer doesn’t stack up to the other strong offerings in the rhythm game genre on the 3DS, such as Project Mirai DX or Theatrhythm: Curtain Call, but those games also aren’t $5.99 like this one.

Taken on its own, the game is fairly enjoyable — albeit pretty limited — but with games like Smarty Pants on shelves, I really can’t recommend TV Show King.

Dark Rose Valkyrie is a bit of a mixed bag. The hybrid of the visual novel inspired interview system mixed with a traditional JRPG is an interesting idea, and that the traitor is never set does give reason to play through the story more than once. The downside to it is like most JRPGs this is not a short game, and there are enough issues with the gameplay where tackling it once would be enough for most people. The pacing makes it difficult to fully get immersed into the story and outside of the interview portion, the gameplay does not live up to its potential, especially in battle. The result is an overall good but unremarkable JRPG. Compile Heart’s signature charm and humor is present throughout, so fans of their other games will likely be able to forgive its shortcomings and enjoy this title for what it is.

What feels like the foundation for something ideally more substantial lying in wait, Arkanoid – Eternal Battle can only muster up a competent, but unimaginative, spin on the Taito classic in Battle Royale form. That’s not to say that its core mode doesn’t at least find a way to tempt you back for another round umpteen times over, but eventually the more you repeat its disappointingly shallow progression — and worst of all, its egregiously-difficult and frustrating final face-off — the more you feel your time is spent not cunningly plotting a course to victory, but instead merely wasted on a concept that should be better fleshed out. Eternal Battle is not without good ideas in spots, and while the effort on bringing another retro classic into the BR fold is appreciated, it’s far from the most emergent or compelling of takes in the sub-genre.

Overall, Lost on Mars does have several moments of amusement, and while it might not achieve a true level of greatness it is entertaining enough to warrant a visit to Mars when someone needs a change of scenery from Montana.

Drive!Drive!Drive! ticks off all the right boxes on the Awesome Arcade Racer checklist, but somehow never rises up to become the game that it could have been.

Not only does it look perfectly like a modern iteration of the classics, it also provides fast, frantic tank gameplay. The single player mode gives a great space for players to practice before taking a shot at helping others out online. Unfortunately, an already middling amount of server activity makes this mode’s future worrisome.

With some modifications and continuous work, State of Decay 2 could be a great and meaningful experience, but in its current state, it’s far from the best zombie game out there.

Hitman Episode 3: Marrakesh is the least impressive installment thus far, but it still holds up as a decent distraction.

Those looking for a genuinely exceptional JRPG that stands out from the Final Fantasies and Dragon Quests have better alternatives — even within the dungeon crawler niche — to consider first.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants is a decent addition to the collection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games. It succeeds by playing it safe. The two original arcade games are regarded as great arcade brawlers in addition to being some of the better Turtles games, and the gameplay of Wrath of the Mutants is heavily patterned after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. Fans of the franchise and genre will undoubtedly enjoy playing through the game once or twice, but outside of collecting all the trophies, there isn't much incentive for repeated playthroughs. There are no different game modes, no collectibles and the only difference in difficulty levels is the number of lives. Even with the additional content, it takes only slightly more than an hour to put an end to Shredder's plans and rescue April. It's fun enough to kill some time on a boring afternoon, but even the most hardcore Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan would hesitate to say this game kicks some serious shell.

It’s undeniably fun to bolt together some sort of “airplane”-looking thing and watch it crash and burn, but once the novelty of failed construction wears off, the game doesn’t offer an easy or gradual method of entry into the decidedly non-simple world of aerodynamics and practical flight design.

Overall, The Phantom Fortress is a surprisingly captivating portable game, that does well to live up to its popular name.

Telltale’s Game of Thrones series, now over halfway through its first season, has been a huge disappointment so far, but it’s been improving steadily, and Episode Four – Sons of Winter proves there’s real potential in the concept, even if Telltale might not have been the right candidate for the job.

Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return Special Edition is a decent way to experience a unique but flawed platformer from the original PlayStation era. As a simple port with basic features, it doesn’t do much to uplift the experience. Nonetheless, its heart is intact and for anyone curious to play the game, this is a good way to do it.

As pleased fans will be to see Gradius and company (most of said company anyway) return in pristine, faithful fashion in such a welcomingly retrospective admiration — add to this the barebones features and basic presentation — beyond the most embedded of shmup enthusiasts, the Konami Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection doesn’t quite come across as celebratory as you might think.

What it boils down to is that if you have two or more controllers and the appropriate amount of friends to play with, then you should check out Overcooked, but if you’re looking to dine alone, then you had best move on.

The bad part is about Damascus Gear: Operation Tokyo is that there’s just not a lot to sink your teeth into.

Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection comes off more like a series of up-ressed ports than a definitive collection of classic titles. It’s a good thing that the three included games are fun because Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection isn’t that masterful.

BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites features great-looking animation and creative level designs, but is hindered less-than-stellar game mechanics. No matter how good the style might be, style over substance is generally not desirable. That’s not to say there isn’t fun to be had here as BloodRayne fanatics are bound to enjoy the remastered retelling of her most recent adventure. Fans of the genre are also likely to enjoy this though some of the control issues may hamper the fun. For players looking for a good challenge that offers platforming and beat ’em up combat, Fresh Bites can be a good title to sink your teeth into if you can forgive the technical shortcomings.

The Technomancer in the end, if ambitious, doesn’t quite meet the standards of its seniors it so desperately vouches to meet.

In any case, VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action is still worth a look for the colorful characters it brings to the table and that’s something it gets just right.

As part of the collection for Danganronpa Decadence, Ultimate Summer Camp is a nice bonus in addition to three solid titles. On its own as a digital title it may not necessarily be worth picking up unless players don’t mind the long grind that awaits them along their journey. The biggest single addition this spin-off could have used would be adding some sort of multiplayer support so at least players wouldn’t feel burdened by going at it alone and could instead take it on with a few more friends. It’s still a fine enough experience, but it’s just a shame there’s not a lot here outside of the board and continual fights. The unique little story scenarios are kind of interesting at first, but it’s quickly apparent that they don’t have a ton of actual substance to them either. Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp has a lot of charm at first, but it falls flat when it comes to the actual lack of interesting gameplay it offers.

Although Conclave does require an unusual amount of hard work on the player’s part, as well as the patience of a saint, the expansion is still mostly worthwhile (many of the bad changes were in the free patch, so there’s no way to avoid them without reverting to a previous version).

Mutant Mudds is a well-executed that falls short in some crucial areas. Given the relatively low price, Mutant Mudds is worth owning if you're seeking a tough platformer with some twists to it. Unfortunately, some may find its high difficulty more frustrating than fun. The old-school graphics work well, with the bold outlines making the far-off gameplay easier to make out, but the music and depth issues often suck enjoyment out of an otherwise breezy experience.

Raising a game from the realm of the dreadful into the world of the okay is something that should be applauded, even if the final product isn’t something that you’re going to flock to anytime soon.

With a patch to clean up the technical issues, The Bard’s Tale: Remastered and Resnarkled would be an incredible value. It’s a classic title that too few people played when it was new, cleaned up just enough to be visually acceptable, sold at a reasonable price. The game itself will take around twenty hours to polish off, depending on the difficulty level chosen and the dedication employed for finding the stat boosting tokens. When approaching this title, I was fully expecting to sing its praises for being the unappreciated gem that it is. It this edition’s current state that cannot be done with a clean conscious. Hopefully, InXile will take the time to address the bugs. Should they do so, this would be a title worth recommending to any one with a sense of humor and a desire to play a protagonist that deserves every piece of grief he receives.

Fragile Dreams’ premise of a young boy having to fight his way through a dead and lonesome world has some weight behind it, and walking down a desolate hallway with nothing but your flashlight to guide you does have its particular merits. However, with the clunky combat, overly punishing weapon system, and hollow writing the game never really builds up any steam to keep you going.

Sure, this isn’t the broken mess that Assassin’s Creed Unity was, but in some ways it’s more of a blemish than its predecessor. After all, this is a functional game that simply isn’t all that fun to play, which is far more damning than any technical glitch could ever be.

Diehard fans of the series will get a kick out of this, but most others (including music game fans) can feel confident in skipping it over. There are both better rhythm games as well as better Senran Kagura titles available on Vita.

Those looking for a truly rewarding challenge are better off looking elsewhere.

The Mean Greens has a strong core concept, but wrapped around it is a game that feels a few major patches short of its potential. Levels are clever and gameplay modes are varied, but the shooting is imprecise and lackluster and without specializations or level incentives, there isn’t much reason to keep playing.

There’ll always be a time and a place for a game like Syberia 3. While not all of the tradition of its previous mid-2000 ventures have translated well into the modern age, Kate Walker’s third outing in this subtly steampunk universe, if sporting a few technical faults and some fairly sub-par voice acting, holds up well enough in its gameplay to warrant a playthrough. Microïds may not be looking to radically shift the formula from what came before all those years ago and while at points its controls clearly show an unpleasant age to itself, the charm of its aesthetic not to mention the design of puzzles in parts keeps Syberia 3 firmly away from the gated-off litter of games often referred to as sequels we never asked for. There may not be as huge or as lucrative a demand here, but the adventure undertaken — after fourteen years of wait for some — is a satisfactory but modest one all the same.

Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons tries to update the formula of the series with new ideas that are very popular in the indie sphere. While the concept is interesting, the end result is actually much more frustrating than anything else. Repetitive and artificially padded, the ideas end up not shining as bright as they should, though fun can still be found by understanding its limitations from the start.

Visual novel readers who enjoy relaxing with a slow-paced, sweet tale may find A Sky Full of Stars a worthy next read. Its astronomy-focused tale provides an unique take on the slice of life genre and provides characters who care about something other than the protagonist. Those opposed to censorship, however, will likely need to skip the game entirely to get their message across. With so many of MoeNovel’s peers taking the route of optional restoration patches, it’s becoming increasingly tougher for MoeNovel to justify their stance.

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.

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.

Cat President ~A More Purrfect Union~ gives us all a chance to step back from potential fears of the actual impending election and have a laugh at the whole process.

Overall, Rubble Without A Cause is a disappointment. The first chapter was great, but the tonal shift and structure found here just doesn’t hit the right notes.

Kirby Battle Royale is by no means a bad game overall, but it just has so little content that it barely warrants a lengthy play session, let alone a purchase. The mini-games themselves are fun and well-designed, but the overall package doesn’t do any of them justice. If you need a dose of classic Kirby action, you’d be better off waiting for the upcoming Switch game, because this is one party that you can safely skip going to.

It is hard to recommend Backbreaker since there are so many problems with it, but dig deep enough and you may find a fun gridiron game at its core.

The story is dreadful and short with no personality, charm or consistent tone. The Wasteland is vast but feels empty with repetitive side activities and large sections of the map underutilized. There’s a lot of great ideas and ambition here, but the excellent combat never quite gels together with the game’s other elements. Rage 2 kicks off with a bang of explosions and personality but ends with a whimper.

If you’re dying to play Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones, you’ll certainly be able to get what you’re looking for here, but bear in mind that it’s not even close to being the definitive experience.

The daemonic theme took over far too much of the story’s focus. When coupled with technical issues, it has reinforced that The Council has lost potential written all over it. Despite the many negatives, there are positives to take away from the experience. Gameplay is engaging from start to finish, with its RPG mechanics reinventing an episodic experience. Big Bad’s multiple endings offer plenty of reason to revisit not only Checkmate, but also the first four episodes and see the different outcome from making a major choice. Once the finale is all done and dusted, either the player or Big Bad will utter one simple word depending on the final outcome of the story. That word is none other than checkmate.