It falls just short of its goal of being a Bomberman killer, but just short of Bomberman is still a pretty good place to be, and Dollar Dash is definitely worth looking into.

It stands out the least of the Johnny ____ series, and is hard to recommend given how few things it does well compared to other games in its genre.

You’d think two games packed into one bundle would hold your attention for quite some time, but the Prototype Biohazard Bundle will find a way to burn you out before you even transition to the second game.

It’s a complete train-wreck of a game, only suitable for those with an appreciation for the amazingly awful.

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.

Morphies Law is the rare multiplayer game these days where the offline mode is the vastly superior option. While one may be able to recommend the game based on solo strength alone, the online issues need TLC. But even outside of that, a small number of equally small maps hinders what is otherwise a unique premise that has the potential for a fun and insane shooter with a ton of customization options. There’s enjoyment to still be had here, but you may be wishing for the game to morph into something better.

Those Who Remain deserves major points for creativity of ideas and premise. The title holds a lot of promise, but ultimately fails to deliver a memorable, cohesive performance. Because puzzles force players to run back and forth to find solutions which can take time away from immersion into this world. Those Who Remain is a title committed to psychological horror, but has self-sabotaged with mediocre gameplay. It lovingly sets up a thrilling ambiance, but doesn’t allow players to fully experience the title. The use of various ideas like alternate dimensions and ever-persistent shadow people are great, but aren’t executed well. Additionally, characters are not uniquely fleshed out and don’t support the flat story that held a lot of promise. Characters feel generic to the point where it’s difficult to even like them. Edward is truly an everyman but doesn’t have enough uniqueness to capture attention. Even the “choices” made don’t ultimately make drastic changes you may have been hoping for. I wanted to like Those Who Remain, but it failed to capture my attention as a standout indie horror.

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.

With solid shooting mechanics, well-designed environments and a tense atmosphere, it’s a fine first-person shooter, but its repetitiveness, glitches, substandard graphics and insubstantial story make it a far cry from anything close to matching the prestige of James Cameron’s beloved film.

Those who enjoyed past entries will enjoy this one and get a kick out of the new right-stick jumping and aiming mechanic. Beyond that, there hasn’t been much added to the mix beyond superficial customization options.

Phantom 8 Studio shouldn’t be discouraged from future attempts at delivering a cinematic experience of a game on par with triple-A output, because they still have some neat ideas and directions to take. But there’s no getting around the fact that Past Cure is a massive flop right out of the gate. Bland combat, bland environments, bland performances, a plot that doesn’t go anywhere and an attempt to master multiple genres ends up creating a juggling act that drops all of the balls. Sadly, it appears the only medicine appropriate for this game is a full dose of strychnine.

While a lot of focus on VR games comes from playing games in a first-person view, it’s great to have a change of pace with a real-time strategy game that includes an FPS element. On the outside, Out of Ammo doesn’t look inviting. Once you’re plopped in to the battlefield and realize all the small things needed to win on top of managing a base, though, it’s enthralling. The controls take a while to get comfortable with, but you’ll notice your own progression. As great as Resident Evil 7 or Gran Turismo Sport are in VR, Out of Ammo is the most fun I’ve had with PSVR. Just make it so players can retry a mission and not force them to exit out.

Ultimately, Bladestorm may not be Omega Force’s finest hour, but it’s a good one just the same.

Randall should be better than this. It’s got all the elements in place to be good but they just don’t work right. There are some clever jumping puzzles that require the player to have pinpoint accuracy and consider jump height and how it relates to distance and not bouncing off the ceiling. The combat moves are well thought out, Randall’s abilities are used constantly in every area and the level art looks great. If Randall had the controls to match then this would be a nice little sleeper, but the pieces never come together to make it fun to play and the bugs drag it down even further. There are a lot of ways Randall could have been good, but without a character who can keep up with the action, it never manages to rise above being just plain bad.

As far as licensed games go, it isn't too offensive, but it could have been so much more.

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.

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.

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.

If you’re looking for a squad based strategy game on PC, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is currently priced just $5 more than Line of Defense Tactics, and that would be a much smarter and more enjoyable way to spend your time and money.

Overall, Flip's Twisted World isn't a bad game and is definitely better than a lot of the platformer shovel ware the Wii gets, but the main selling point of the game – the ability to manipulate gravity – quickly becomes unexciting.

Dreambreak may look pretty on the outside, but peeling back its pixelated style and impressive music reveals the dull story, flat characters, lack of substance and clunky gameplay within.

Make no mistake, this is a Harvest Moon title only in name; everything else will feel foreign to the longtime fan.

Party Planet succeeds at offering a lot of variety in one package, but the quality of the games wildly varies. While many are good — but also derivative of other games — others simply aren’t worth playing often due to a limited concept. Still, if you’re looking for a product to please not only yourself, but a group of friends either casually or at work, this will do the trick. In fact, it’s better-served as a break room game due to the super-short nature of some of the games. While some of the games support up to four players — each with their own Joy-Con — having them all playable with a single Joy-Con is impressive and ensures that, at worst, folks just have to take turns in a larger setting to enjoy the games.

Desert Child eagerly attempts to pay homage to these influences and while isn’t so indulgent it wanes on the delivery of the gameplay itself, sadly what offer of gameplay there is ends up both repetitive and eventually drab to the point of boredom. Helped little by the disappointing lack of explanation or context for many of its objectives. And even at such a brief run-time of around four to five hours, Desert Child still ends up taking far too long at delivering what is, in actuality, so very little.

Gravitronix is a novel game with a distinctive control scheme that matches the gameplay perfectly.

Inmates is a textbook example of untapped potential. It’s obvious what the developer was trying to accomplish, but was only partly successful. The ingredients for psychological horror are present but they just never come together in a meaningful way. Inmates features the grand environment that is perfect to get under one’s skin but slow gameplay, linear progression, predictable storyline and reliance on jump scares takes a promising premise and leaves it mired in mediocrity. It’s a short time investment and inexpensive, so if it sounds interesting, there is some enjoyment to be had playing through it but there’s better options for those looking for a cerebral fright fix. It’s impressive for a technical project accomplished by one person, but unfortunately that is not something that factors into how enjoyable a gaming experience is.

POed: Definitive Edition is an excellent version of a middling game, with only some of its problems due to it being early days for the FPS. It's hard not to feel affection for what it's trying to do, though, and you can see as you play how it fits into the evolution of its genre. It would have been nice if the game had figured out an identity, either leaning into the weirdness or going for straight sci-fi action, but it's almost thirty years too late to fix that now. POed's legacy was almost nonexistent, that of a kind of ok-ish game that landed right in the middle of the FPS genre figuring itself out, and from a gaming history perspective that's more than a good enough reason to check it out.

Fear Effect Sedna is a flawed return for the late PS1-era classic, with its combat occasionally being a bit clunky and not utilizing the tactical elements as well as it wanted to. But the creepy descent into Inuit horror, stylish graphics, and challenging puzzles and gameplay may still provide you with enough reasons to take a peek at it.

It innovates from the usual set of strategy titles in so many areas without falling flat on its face, and it’s a meaty title besides.

From the technical production to its desired visual direction alike, you needn’t take one step into any of its lackluster dungeons to find something both unpleasant and unappealing to invest in. And once you do, you’ll find a core loop unashamedly insistent on dragging its heels all in the name of a loot grind that itself isn’t all that exciting. To say the dismal failings on its loot aspect — and perhaps, even its live-service ecosystem on top — isn’t even the lowest moment should give you a clearer picture on how badly PlatinumGames and Square Enix together have missed the mark here. It might then end up strangely poetic come year’s end. That after seeing what might arguably be the year’s best offering release in recent weeks, Babylon’s Fall by contrast, could very well stand as its worst.

It feels like Spike Chunsoft was either too eager to cash in on the Attack on Titan fever sweeping the globe or too scared to stray from the events of the show to take any real chances on this game. Whatever the reason, Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains is a beat-for-beat replica of the source material that somehow misses the action, suspense and tenacity that define the anime and manga.

At $29.99, the game could be a fun purchase for those primarily into multiplayer, but its current price-point and lack of significant Wii U GamePad functionality add up to a release worth skipping.

Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back may not be perfect, but it’s easily the best Bubsy game ever made.

Reservoir Dogs is a classic movie that deserves a better homage than Bloody Days for its 25th anniversary. The only equivalent would be if your dog died and it got replaced with a turtle. This was not an enjoyable experience and feels like an even sloppier cash-in on a movie franchise than the latest Ghostbusters game did. At least that had some depth. On paper, the idea of a Reservoir Dogs game coupled with what Big Star Games is pitching would warrant a purchase, but the annoying Time Rewind feature and complete lack of connectivity to the actual movie makes this feel like a trip to the dentist. Although at least with that you’d come out with clean teeth.

With such a bizarre premise, the one thing Mart Racer desperately needed was fun and enticing gameplay – something that it severely lacks.

Lacking a single inspired trait, 007 Legends is the kind of game released simply to bilk $60 out of uninformed gamers before a swift trip to the bargain bin.

Eight dollars seems too high, especially since the experience is pretty short, and while smashing things has some entertainment value, the overall feeling coming out is “that was really annoying.”

It gets points for creativity, but most of Project Root is either awkward or dull, and sometimes, both.

Fans have waited a long time for Rodea the Sky Soldier, but unfortunately the final experience never comes within range of Yuji Naka’s past masterpieces.

The end result is a cluttered mess that constantly tries to keep you active with something, anything at random, in order to distract you from the poor design.

Balan Wonderworld presents itself as having a world filled to the brim with imagination, ambition, whimsy, emotion and more. And while the game’s world has a lot of that, the actual game sadly does not. It lacks a solid narrative, satisfying gameplay and a good amount of variety, instead containing uninspired levels, awkward controls and a progression system that feels more like it rewards grinding. Fans of early 2000s platformers may be tempted to try it out, but there are far better alternatives to pick up instead. If this is supposed to be an ode to musical theater, then this is Balan Company’s Turn Off the Dark, and Balan Wonderworld is going to need a massive revamp in order for the franchise to survive.

Despite its ambitious stride to tell a gripping tale of a father/husband striving desperately to look for his missing family, Husk‘s end delivery is anything but. With a host of mechanical and structural oddities breaking numerous points of immersion where it’s seldom gained — both before and after post-release updates — across environments that, though blended rather well into one another, could very well be found in ample other titles using horror as an attribute, Husk is a frustrating game to recommend. Marred by technical difficulties that come to question just how “finished” this game truly is/was, Husk is another example of a studio that have mistaken basic nostalgia for the wealth of enjoyment.

As far as licensed games go, it isn't too offensive, but it could have been so much more.

To put it bluntly, Bombshell is a dud. What once began as something that had potential to become a so-stupid-it’s-awesome classic ended up being merely…well, it isn’t even really that stupid as a whole, just dull.

I'll be honest here: Data Squad really isn't going to make a lot of converts. [Oct 2007, p.60]

Quantum Theory has a lot of problems, which is a shame, because there is certainly the workings of a great game here, even if it is derivative.

They wanted to give the IP as much space as possible from this train wreck, and I’d suggest you give yourself the same.

There's very little consideration for the platform it's been ported to, and even the small handful of DS-specific tools are liable to be useless or buggy.

Those in the mood for a fast-paced experience that won’t require a massive investment of time for a play session should give Funk of Titans a shot.

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.

WWE 2K20 can’t be recommended in its current state and something like this should have never been released. There are less than a handful of bright spots and if they had just launched with 2K Originals and more importantly The Fiend, the most over WWE Superstar right now, it would have helped. What you get is a buggy experience and one glaring issue hampering an enjoyable experience in each of its different modes. MyCareer would be worth progressing through if you can stomach the awful loading times and Showcase would be great if the gameplay didn’t hinder actual advancement through the mode. In the end, it’s still a WWE game and Visual Concepts is promising patches.

Scar-Lead Salvation has a lot going for it, but it's far from perfect. It features a bland story, mediocre enemies and passable passive abilities for your character. Many of the in-game animations are floaty, and at times, stiff. Combat animations in particular, such as shooting while moving, look jarringly odd when in motion. Losing clothing while you take damage during your run is unnecessary and doesn’t add anything to the overall gameplay; if anything, it takes away any charm the game could have. There's a lack of enemy variety, making each run through the facility bland and uneventful. What could have been a challenging and interesting new game in the genre falls apart as it becomes a mix of all the wrong mechanics in a singular game.

One Piece: Romance Dawn is a great idea that was poorly executed. While fans and newcomers will appreciate the story, the gameplay feels like an afterthought. It becomes bland after mere hours and starts to feel like you’re going through the motions. This is not the reaction you want in an RPG, especially a long one like Romance Dawn.

It falls completely on its ass in every category. Generic shooting, incredibly poor artificial intelligence and glitchy bug-ridden gameplay amounts to nothing more than a meager attempt to cash in on next month’s film.

Only try out Time and Eternity when someone offers you money in exchange for playing it, or if you want to see what happens when a development studio doesn’t do any kind of QA testing. For no other reason should you waste your time playing it.

Unless you love BlazBlue and short-burst, super basic brawlers enough to drop $5.99, this will be far too superficial an endeavor to warrant a purchase, even with its charming art design. It’s not an offensively bad game; it’s just for lacking in content and value.

Clan of Champions is far too stripped down, generic, and forgettable to ever recommend.

The gameplay is bad. The story is bad. The visuals are bad. Everything is bad. There is no fun to be had here, no entertainment to be gleaned no matter how hard you try and scrape some out.

The RPG elements and distinct visual style do present some life, but don’t go in expecting this to be a mechanically sound game.

Those devoted to the genre with a lot of patience may enjoy its meaty campaign, but anyone else would be better off buying one of the many superior entires in the Rapala series.

Slain! gleefully comes off as the fever dream of a drunken teenage Iron Maiden fan, but unfortunately comes off as having been designed and programmed by a drunken teenage Iron Maiden fan as well.

Everything is just far too repetitive (not to mention tiring) to get folks through the campaign. A co-op mode didn’t even make it out in time for launch, which could have at least added some reason to keep playing. Ace Banana may be technically sound, but it’s plainly uninteresting when compared to the rest of PSVR’s launch lineup.

Johnny Hotshot is a good pickup if you're in the mood for a light gun game on the 3DS, and as a bonus, it has a little side-scrolling shooting in there too.

Unfortunately, Doors fails — as a finished product — with so many of its critical aspects.

Even with its low asking price it is hard to push out a recommendation for this party.

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.

The Quiet Man is nothing short of a shoddy, broken, incomplete, tonally-deaf chore of a few hours. Even some of the worst releases this year alone could, arguably, be deemed more ambitious and more focal to their aims (regardless of the end product/direction), but The Quiet Man doesn’t even rustle up the effort to at least try and explore its prime concept of a deaf protagonist. Worse, it doesn’t respect the players’ very presence and instead strips most of its reasoning and room for exposition away, leaving us with some of the most indulgent and confusing storytelling you’re likely to bear witness to.

Had there been some polish in some of the controls, an added depth to the story mode and more matchmaking online, Scourge: Outbreak would have been one of the biggest downloadable surprises this year. Still, for around $10, it’s worth playing — especially with friends.

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.

Titles like Senran Kagura or the Hyperdimension Neptunia series are incredibly dumb, but are also entertaining. Despite their glaring flaws, they warm this cold heart in my chest. Drive Girls drops the ball on every front that could redeem it. It squanders its concept with poor stage design, ruining the sense of momentum. It takes what should be a simple hack and slash action game and complicates with the most poorly considered control scheme this side of playing Dark Souls with a Guitar Hero peripheral. Even the story, which could have been a redeeming factor by way of just being amiable nonsense, is tedious and dull. If Senran Kagura is the one that gets too drunk at a party and embarrasses itself to the amusement of onlookers, Drive Girls is the one that pukes on the host’s pets and is confrontationally annoying. It’s unpleasant for everyone and people just want it to be gone.

Attack of the Movies 3D is just plain bad from start to finish, and while that can be fun in the right movie, it’s just painful in a game.

Unfortunately, Ju-on can be finished in mere hours, but if the characters could actually run, I’d reckon it could be completed in around twenty minutes. In other words, it’s way too short to warrant the price tag.

This game is a total waste of time and money, and the best I can really say for it is that it doesn’t waste much of either. In fact, in a day or two, you’ll probably have forgotten it entirely.

Thor would have been a lot better with some more time and resources at hand. The problems of the game are plentiful and while some are forgivable considering what the game is, it still doesn't add up to a product worthy of Thor's prestige.

Only If, for all of its conflicting ideas, is still worth playing, and considering it’s free to play on Steam, you really have no excuse not to. Just try not to think of what could’ve been.

Word search aficionados and casual fans alike would do well to purchase Word Searcher, but anybody who hasn't enjoyed them in the past will likely not experience anything to change their mind.

If you absolutely need another platformer for the PS4, which is currently lacking in them, then you could do worse than choosing this game. However, be warned that it is quite the challenge which can make it more frustrating than fun.

Attack of the Movies 3D is just plain bad from start to finish, and while that can be fun in the right movie, it’s just painful in a game.

The stealth BK game "Sneak King" is actually more of an entertaining game than Vampire Rain is. [Sept 2007, p.70]

Thor would have been a lot better with some more time and resources at hand. The problems of the game are plentiful and while some are forgivable considering what the game is, it still doesn't add up to a product worthy of Thor's prestige.

The experience of playing this title is one of roller coaster highs and lows. At first, it seems like the new bad game everybody should check out. It’s so gormless in its stupidity that it’s endearing. Through extended play, those scales drop from the eyes and the blissful ironic joy gives way to tedium as the player prays to their deity of choice that they don’t run into a bug that renders the scenario unwinnable. With fixes to the pathfinding and spawning, Heavy Fire: Red Shadow would be an honest to goodness hilarious arcade style classic, intentionally or not. As it stands, only the most patient should climb behind the gun.

Perhaps Godzilla will get a decent game by his hundredth anniversary, but this isn’t it.

Quantum Theory has a lot of problems, which is a shame, because there is certainly the workings of a great game here, even if it is derivative.

Dementium II comes as a bit of a disappointment. While a lack of competitors made this a standout horror title on the DS, all of its flaws and shortcoming become magnified tenfold when it makes its way to a platform with a surplus of great horror titles.

With so many narrative, technical and gameplay issues that pop up at almost every turn — all wound up within some of the worst third-person stealth mechanics imaginable — Left Alive is both a horridly-conceived experience and a fundamentally unenjoyable product to even attempt to immerse one’s self in.

Ultimately, the game is so bad that even extremely fond memories of the original cannot redeem the wretched controls and dull character design. Do yourself a favor and don’t go anywhere near this catastrophe.

At this point gamers are simply looking for more sophisticated experiences with their expensive headsets. Crystal Rift might keep players exploring for a while, but it feels like a prototype for a better game which doesn’t yet exist.

The one or two tense moments that The Flock provides might be mildly thrilling, but the overall package is about as weak as it gets.

Alekhine’s Gun is a title where the ambition of design outmatches the execution with gusto.

Arc of Alchemist is a flawed, but fun experience. The action RPG mechanics are rewarding and make tough battles even more thrilling to win, while the overall gameplay loop needs a bit more variety. Luckily, the story is interesting enough to make the repetition worth it as you find more about the world and how it has shaped everyone you encounter. It isn’t the best-looking game in the world and suffers from muddy textures, but does sound great with a top-notch soundtrack and impressive voiceover work.

Z-run’s combination of zombies and endless runners was undoubtedly a brilliant idea. Unfortunately, the game design, fun factor and replay value were all poorly executed.

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.

If you are considering Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga at all, chances are you simply want a Wii-exclusive online RPG, and if that's the case then do yourself a favor and wait for Monster Hunter 3.

Outside of the cheese factor, everything here is just dull. Loads of banal conversations, wooden acting and obvious advice abound for every one moment you can laugh over Richard deciding to grab a girl’s rear end in what can only be described as a video game in the loosest sense of the term. This might be a weird thing to hear from a critic, but just wait for the highlights to go up on YouTube instead. You’ll get the same chuckle-worthy stupidity and save some money in the process. It’s a game about being a pick-up artist that you should in no way consider picking up.

Fireburst is mediocre at best, playable whenever you have friends over, but not necessarily a first choice in anyone’s library. With the lack of any real story or campaign mode and busted online features, there are games that do a lot better than this offensive, boring and buggy arcade racer.

At $2.99, RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile isn’t a smart purchase, especially considering it’s an extension of a series as robust as RollerCoaster Tycoon. There are plenty of similar tapping games out there that are absolutely free.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum crafts a compelling story around Gollum and Smeagol, but it fails to craft a polished, stable or enjoyable gameplay experience. Unfortunately, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum isn’t the Precious we’ve been searching for.

With all of the wasted potential and the abuse of a cult-classic property found here, Overlord: Fellowship of Evil is not good.