You may get a sense of deja vu as you play, but GRAW 2 is still a game that's worth having in your library. [May 2007, p.52]

It's an interesting evolution of the brawler, a neat implementation of DS controls, and a worthy successor to its notorious forefather. [Spring 2008, p.53]

Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 is a fantastic game, offering many great hours of game play.

This game is tightly designed and coded, contains tons of abilities to take advantage of, and is just downright fun.

Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 is a fantastic game, offering many great hours of game play.

Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 is a fantastic game, offering many great hours of game play.

BioShock has a surprisingly deep and vivid storyline. It doesn't just throw you a few curveballs; it refines how stories are told in gaming. [Nov 2007, p.50]

With its unique gameplay, addictive multiplayer, lively characters, and stylishly minimalistic visuals, You, Me & The Cubes is exactly the kind of game what the Wiiware scene needs more of.

Without a doubt, the raft of online features elevates Black and White to the height of pre-3DS Pokémon greatness. This is the biggest game in the series, and brings a wealth of tertiary additions that fans have been asking for.

In the end, though, it's a testament to the game's quality that even in the face of the imperfect camera and combat, the wonderful adventuring aspects manage to make up for whatever other shortcomings this game may possess. [July 2007, p.54]

Without a doubt, the raft of online features elevates Black and White to the height of pre-3DS Pokémon greatness. This is the biggest game in the series, and brings a wealth of tertiary additions that fans have been asking for.

Anyway, Mana Khemia has a solid story, hilarious character dialogue, and an engaging combat system, and it lets you make giant swords using only dirt, vegetables, woodchips, and household cleaning products.

It may have taken over five years, but the delays and development reboot was well worth it as Alan Wake is one of the top exclusives for the 360, and a welcomed new IP several years into the lifecycle of the 360.

If you love Contra games, chances are you already know that Contra ReBirth is worth the 1000 points. But if you’ve never played a Contra title, and want to see what the fuss is all about, Contra ReBirth is an outstanding example of why so many gamers consider Konami the masters of runnin’ and gunnin’.

Not only is Silent Hill Origins a strong handheld effort, but also a worthy entry into the beloved series. [Dec 2007, p.60]

This game is tightly designed and coded, contains tons of abilities to take advantage of, and is just downright fun.

Shift shows a lot of potential for the series and will go down as one of the best racing games of 2009.

In the end, though, it's a testament to the game's quality that even in the face of the imperfect camera and combat, the wonderful adventuring aspects manage to make up for whatever other shortcomings this game may possess. [July 2007, p.54]

In the end, don't think about what you're not getting in Overlord: what you are getting is a hilarious, complex, unique experience. It's an absolute must-have for PC gamers. [Sept 2007, p.66]

While the flow of battles are definitely slower by today's gaming standards, the strategic depth is still far better than most games released today. [Nov 2007, p.60]

In short, Assassin’s Creed 2 is the game that the original should have been

Whether you’re a skater (like myself) or simply a gamer who likes to virtually tear it up, Skate 2 offers a fairly complex control scheme that rewards those who dig into the moves with one of the most bold, creative, and downright fun games, like evar.

It's a unique experiment with a lot of depth for those willing to donate the time. [Vol 3, Issue 2, p.64]

In the end, Heavy Rain is a revolution in video game storytelling offering an emotional thrill ride. Unfortunately it doesn’t quite hold up on the gameplay end of things.

Teenage Zombies is pretty much the perfect platformer. [Spring 2008, p.52]

The formula may be a little over 22 years old, but Mega Man 10 shows that it’s still more than capable of delivering just as much fun as it did all those years ago.

Shift shows a lot of potential for the series and will go down as one of the best racing games of 2009.

The PC version won a number of awards and the PS3 version holds up quite well. [June 2007, p.60]

If you like tennis games and you have a Playstation 2, it belongs in your gaming library. [July 2007, p.62]

At 1000 points, Rage of the Gladiator brings just enough content and old-fashioned fun to warrant adding it to your WiiWare library.

With easy-to-pick-up controls and stunning graphics, Fight Night Round 4 is a fantastic experience with plenty of replay value and tons of unlockable content to keep any boxing fan busy for months.

I'm addicted. [Vol 3, Issue 2, p.60]

The formula may be a little over 22 years old, but Mega Man 10 shows that it’s still more than capable of delivering just as much fun as it did all those years ago.

In short, Assassin’s Creed 2 is the game that the original should have been

Whether you’re a skater (like myself) or simply a gamer who likes to virtually tear it up, Skate 2 offers a fairly complex control scheme that rewards those who dig into the moves with one of the most bold, creative, and downright fun games, like evar.

The gameplay, as I said above, is fast-paced. It actually feels a lot like old school NBA Jam in execution. [Sept 2007, p.68]

Infamous is everything you could want in a single player experience, from its beautiful graphics to its amazing gameplay.

It's not a game to be entered into lightly: once you start, it may not be possible to stop. [Mar 2007, p.60]

In short: come for Balthier, stay for the solid gameplay. It's a win-win situation. [Dec 2007, p.63]

Do not dismiss Borderlands as “just another shooter.” Co-op play is all the rage in FPS games these days, and not only is it featured here, but it is encouraged.

A lot will depend on how the endgame of Lich King develops, and where we go from here. Right now, Lich King is a solid foundation to build on, with a lot to keep you occupied.

With easy-to-pick-up controls and stunning graphics, Fight Night Round 4 is a fantastic experience with plenty of replay value and tons of unlockable content to keep any boxing fan busy for months.

Excitebike: World Rally, like its predecessor, seamlessly merges simplicity with fun.

The majority of this review may carry a negative, disappointed tone, but allow me to stress that Ninja Gaiden II is not a bad game, nor is it a broken one. It's actually one of the best that the Xbox 360 has to offer, and easily worth your money.

Looking back over my experience, I can safely say that Yuji Naka delivered once again at creating a simple, fun, and challenging platforming game.

Crashday: Redline Edition is an excellent pickup for anyone who loves intense racing action. It combines core racing with car combat and it’s surprising how well everything meshes together. There’s a healthy number of modes available and everything controls well, with a surprising amount of precision with things like gunplay and missile usage — even when you’re speeding around the area. It isn’t a visual tour de force, but remains a good-looking game consistently and never slows down even if a ton of stuff is blowing up all around you.

Plants vs. Zombies is a huge game with a great sense of humor, and while it tends to play itself once a strategy is completed and the field of fire constructed, putting it all together and experimenting with the possibilities stays fun for a long, long time. [Summer 2009]

The Coalition has gone all out to create one of the best Xbox Series X launch titles, which is both great and sad about the state of things. It’s no system seller like a Gears game should be, but it allows those who experienced it last year to marvel in its glory once more and introduce new players to the world of Sera in the most vibrant way possible.

It's a unique and fun shooter boasting a far more vibrant color palette and better default soundtrack than Beat Hazard. Vertical shooter fans will adore it, as will those with extensive music collections.

There's a giant world to explore here, loaded with details and fantastically pretty. Whether you're stealthing your way through a ramshackle outpost or climbing a radio tower on top of a mountain, it's always engaging, pulling you effortlessly from one scenario to the next and hitting all the right notes along the way.

Possibly its best home game to date. It wears its 8-bit roots on its sleeve and delivers exciting beat-em-up action most of the time. The overall package is hurt by occasionally clunky controls, iffy platforming and a lack of online play. Longtime fans of the series will be right at home with the overall package, though. The core gameplay is rock-solid and is well-worth checking out for longtime fans, while newcomers will find out exactly why the franchise has been so beloved over the years.

All in all, Total Extreme Wrestling 2013 is a beast of a simulator.

If you're up for the challenge, They Bleed Pixels is a fast and fun action-platformer that will put all your reflexes to the test. It's utterly unapologetic about killing you, and because the controls are so smooth and precise every single failure feels exactly like it should- as something that could have been avoided if only you'd played better. It's not a game to play when you're looking to wind down at day's end, but bring all your skill and a load of patience, and They Bleed Pixels will make you feel like a magician with a gamepad.

Battle Chef Brigade’s gambit when it comes to its unorthodox blend of ingredients pays off well, resulting in truly stellar duels that reward combat skills, proper planning and strategy, with success not only delivering dishes to make one salivate, but also truly fun gameplay on all fronts. It’s one of the most unique games to pop up this year, making for an experience with a lot of charm and energy that is not to be missed.

Mario Strikers: Battle League is the most stylized and chaotic Mario sports game to date, with quick, intense matches that reward strategic and aggressive playstyles. Next Level Games’ adoration for each member of the roster shines through both mid-game and during cinematics, making each contest a joy to play and watch, even with the minor but apparent online issues and the modes and unlockable gear not being deep enough to justify the full-priced title. Longtime Mario Strikers fans will get a kick out of the refined and engaging gameplay, while casual soccer fans and first-time players won’t need long to understand the compelling mayhem of the Mushroom Kingdom’s take on soccer.

Anyone who loves runners will adore this since it’s got far more depth than most of that genre’s offerings and makes trick-chaining easy to learn. This is still a very challenging game, but it’s a fair one that is well worth its price tag.

Metal: Hellsinger is the first-person shooter/rhythm game mashup I had no idea I wanted. Being a fan of metal helps as metalheads are clearly the target demographic, but the developers didn’t use metal as a gimmick to sell an unremarkable game. The gameplay in Metal is fast paced and unforgiving where the player constantly has to fight for their own survival. This a great first-person shooter regardless of what an individual’s taste in music might be. Metal: Hellsinger combines great FPS and rhythm game mechanics in way that brings challenging and rewarding gameplay to a hellscape any metalhead would love to visit.

Whether or not this brief glimpse into the future of Metal Gear Solid is worth 20 or 30 bucks is up to you, but I can say without any hesitance that Ground Zeroes displays the biggest evolution of the series seen since the original Metal Gear Solid on Playstation, even if that evolution only lasts for a short, fleeting instant. Bring on The Phantom Pain.

There should be no doubt that Valkyria Chronicles is a modern classic that has earned each one of its fans and accolades. As the game rolls on, the battle system shows itself to be both complex and intuitive, with enough depth that hours can be lost in a blink. While some might be put off by ponderous exposition, the overall package is sublime. Players who have not experienced it before really should give it a shot, but as there is no brand new content to be found in the remaster, those who have played the original to death need to decide if a graphical upgrade and trophy support is worth purchasing again.

Lumo is a wonderful little thing, gorgeous and intricate and tricky, and a perfect example of what a game from the past made for the present can be.

Serious Sam 4 is easily the richest game in the series, expanding on the character and his world while not holding back on the action that’s been the major draw from the earliest days. While it starts off gently and takes a bit to ramp up, soon enough rampaging werebulls charge in with a swarm of kleer, backed up by big green four-armed reptiloids tossing homing-spheres, plus a nice variety of new enemies to fill in the herd.

The Xbox Series X version of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes advantage of the extra horsepower, showcasing a native 4K resolution while running at a targeted 60fps. It will sometimes dip below that, and there aren’t too many other next generation features present, like Raytracing, but otherwise it’s the best way to play the open-world title. Taken on its own and judged on its own merits, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is an enjoyable opportunity to vicariously raid and pillage the English countryside.

Deadlight is a mix between storytelling, side-scrolling, puzzle solving, and good old fashion survival horror. It reinvents nothing, but it successfully integrates components from each genre.

Aside from the simple fact it exists, the biggest surprise about The Mummy Desmastered is that it’s actually quite good.

Despite having a few superfluous levels, Alien: Isolation ends up being a game Alien and survival horror fans can hold in high esteem.

The multiplayer brings back the arcadey, fast-paced action missing from the past two years and takes numerous systems back to basics for the better. It's unfortunate that a lot of Infinity Ward’s poor design decisions infect so much of the experience, but the core gunplay, Omnimovement and about half the maps still help make this feel like a proper Treyarch Black Ops experience. Zombies is back to round-based and is helped by Omnimovement and smart map design to create a thrilling experience. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 carries on the legacy of the Black Ops franchise well and is a strong return to form for the long-running series.

With a pedigree of the original Chaos, plus chess, poker, X-Com and Hearthstone in its DNA, Chaos Reborn still feels like a refreshingly different type of strategy experience.

Even if our first follow-up to one of the most legendary games ever made is a more relatively small-scale PlayStation VR game, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is still an absolute treat indeed, and a must-play for anyone who owns the peripheral.

An exceptional expansion that unfortunately refuses to take any risks.

Assault Suit Leynos is exactly what a remake should be. It takes everything that worked about the original and improves upon it with modern flourishes.

Amnesia: Memories has a great many strengths which include its fantastic visuals, high quality voice acting and tremendous replay value.

There’s a couple of fun new features implemented in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and it’s the definitive edition for newcomers, but overall there’s not enough to make it worth playing through again for veterans.

While a different game from its prequel, Mothergunship: Forge is a great arena shooter with a strong challenge level. It takes practice to get past that first boss and into the more ornate areas, but along the way you’ll unlock perks and new weapon parts to help each run get farther into the heart of the ship. As the rooms get bigger the amount of area to keep track of grows as well, requiring you to constantly be aware of what might be coming outside the field of view. The enemies spawn in waves and don’t let up until the room is finally complete, each area a bite-size challenge that in total grow to a sizeable quest that can easily leave you sweating with the effort of keeping an eye on everything while actively dodging what you can’t step out of the way of. Destroying a mothergunship is by no means easy, but with the right weapon construction plus inhuman situational awareness the mechanical invaders might just get shot, blasted, lasered, exploded and beaten into much less-threatening piles of scrap.

What makes FIFA 23 so great is the product on the field, but the lack of change in the locker room brings it down a notch.

Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery has all the makings of a top-notch narrative-driven tactical RPG. It has amazing art, sound design and unique options for making each mission victory feel personal to the player. All of these fit in well with the vision of how Girls' Frontline operates, and the developer is respectful of its origins while still moving on to create something new. This is a rich experience, and while it might be lacking in the ability to challenge veteran tactical RPG players, it's a fantastic place to start for newcomers of the genre.

The web swinging is better, and the combat system is much more effective (not to mention some awesome Signature Moves).

Darkest Dungeon II brings fresh ideas to an already stellar series.

There’s a couple of fun new features implemented in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and it’s the definitive edition for newcomers, but overall there’s not enough to make it worth playing through again for veterans.

SpellForce 3 adds another entry on an already impressive list as the year comes to a close.

Cosmophony blends the runner and shooter genres together just about perfectly.

Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium shows that Capcom has created so many memorable arcade games that it takes more than one collection to hold them. The variety of games that span decades and genres provide something for everyone, though fighters and shooters seem to occupy most of the real estate in this arcade. Whether this collection is used to revisit childhood favorites or discover games before one’s time, there are opportunities for dozens of hours of entertainment. Options like being able to adjust to the display to either fill the television or create the illusion of an arcade cabinet are nice modernizations, as is the ability to adjust difficulty and other settings of each game. For retro gaming fans this collection is the next best thing to having a dedicated room filled with arcade machines.

Freedom Cry is simply a great addition to an excellent game, offering a story worth experiencing across a setting worth exploring.

The gameplay flows nicely from combat to exploration and back again, and the regular bosses and mini-bosses provide a strong challenge with only the occasional overpowered one in the latter half of the game turning into a task similar to chopping wood in a hailstorm, endlessly hacking away at a massive health bar while dodging its bullet patterns as best possible. The regular flow of new abilities keeps the lengthy playtime from growing stale, and there’s always a new area to explore as the world map keeps growing with freshly-discovered biomes. Top it off with the detailed pixel art and a strong soundtrack, and Tevi is a must-play for anyone who’s ever loved a little bullet hell in their fast-action combat metroidvania.

Even after nearly seven years, Vanquish still has some of the best combat of any action game. It’s fast, it’s intense and most importantly, it’s downright fun. Unfortunately, variety isn’t the game’s strong point. From an artistic perspective, not a whole lot changes from the beginning of the campaign to the end; everything has a sterile mechanical look to it that refuses to change. It’s also criminally short, coming in between five to six hours. Granted, it’s non-stop action, but you’ll have a burning desire for even more as the credits begin to roll. Regardless, Vanquish’s strengths are in its gameplay mechanics as skating around on your knees and taking down enemies with the unique arsenal is highly engaging. It helps that the PC port, outside some oddities, is done with care, with optimization being a positive component, and keyboard & mouse controls feeling natural. In the end, Vanquish isn’t a perfect game by any means, but its high-octane combat makes it a must play for any action fan.

Twelve Minutes features a compelling time loop story with strong performances that will keep players hooked, even when the lack of guidance brings that momentum to a halt. The mysteries of both the plot and gameplay will reward players who are willing to think outside the box, while the intuitive controls ensure that anyone can attempt to help the husband and wife escape their destinies. Fans of adventure games or anyone looking for a memorable story will find plenty to appreciate in the repeating world of Twelve Minutes, and the clock has already begun ticking on the wait for the follow-up to Luis Antonio’s impressive debut title.

Yomawari: Midnight Shadows is wonderful, strange, scary, sad, creepy, startling and cute in equal measure. It deftly juggles a large number of emotions from one moment to the next, and if the story progress is frequently interrupted by exploring the town or getting killed while figuring out the next challenge, it never takes too long to get to the next part to be a serious interruption. If you played Night Alone you can jump right in with no learning curve, but if you missed the first one there’s only a small connecting point between the two games that’s more for fun than any level of necessary continuity. One of the things that took me by surprise with Night Alone is how the game stayed with me after it was done, getting better in memory than it actually was to play thanks to a story that made the rough parts worth fighting through. Yomawari: Midnight Shadows clears those issues away and looks good doing it, effortlessly turning a quirky one-off into one of the best new horror series in a long time.

Graceful Explosion Machine is a white-knuckle shooter that barely allows for a moment’s rest as swarms of weird alien creatures arrive one after the other to crowd you off their planet, never quite realizing that the denser they swarm, the higher the multiplier can get. They’re not too bright that way, but with a little careful weapons management, it will all work out fine.

While it ends up feeling a bit like the weakest game in the series so far, even a weak Zero Escape game is still an absolute delight, and Zero Time Dilemma is no exception. Between the magnificent and bizarre mystery that keeps you captivated, the colorful cast of characters and the nicely perplexing puzzles, this is one for visual novel, puzzle and adventure game fans alike.

The new levels are a treat to play in with eye-popping visuals, the humor is as chuckle-worthy as ever and the increase in options when it comes to boulders and units to work with allows for deeper strategy and more insane skirmishes, be it against the AI or a friend.

Thankfully, 3D Dot Game Heroes is a memorable game that winds up being more than just an homage to the past. It takes the top-down Zelda formula and expands upon it.

Despite some minor rough edges, the spot-on emulation of both games makes this an easy recommendation for fans of either game.

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd isn’t for everyone. It appeals to a very specific sect of gamers, but those who find themselves within its territory will quickly become spellbound by the polish, challenge and sheer volume of content offered.

Everything that happens inside the octagon in EA SPORTS UFC 5 is the best adaptation of the UFC that has been seen in a video game form to date. The game is violently beautiful, playing quick and tight with adding new ways to improve the gameplay of the series. There are a ton of UFC fighters to choose from so players can set the stage in the biggest arenas in the sport to mirror what’s being shown on television. The amount of detail that has been implemented into UFC 5 uplifts the realism to unseen levels in the series. The fight atmosphere does everything right as playing with friends and creating cards and tournaments will keep things going for hours. Outside of a straightforward Career Mode and an 0nline mode that has occasional hiccups with connectivity, however, there isn’t much to do for a single-player experience. One can train and spar and focus on playing online or taking their created player online with a few different match options, but that’s about it. The focus is the fighting, as it should be, and this is where UFC 5 brings home the gold. If there is one UFC game to get, this would be it.

Rezrog will no doubt stand as one of the lesser-talked releases of the year, yet one that poses a quite resonant and important question on the principle of planning/thinking before one acts. All this, after the most baffling and head-scratching of introductory openings — an opening that immediately places all its potential systems on the player’s shoulders, coming off initially as an uphill struggle with little leniency. It’s a testament then to how well Soaphog manage to marry the charm of its art-style to the sophisticated yet inevitably accessible delivery of its mechanics. Look past the out-of-character presence of difficulty at the start or perhaps the limitation of its procedural dungeon design and what you’ll find is a strategy RPG with as much charm, personality and character to carry through the same manner of grand adventure any fellow RPG might invoke. Reflecting more so the best and perhaps worst in a player’s ambition for all-round victory — that in itself, perhaps, Rezrog‘s true lasting appeal.

While the start of Into the Pit is unquestionably rocky, the follow-through is a blast, with fast action and serious pyrokinetics as monsters turn into blood splats decorating the walls. While the overall theme could have been dark and gloomy, everything lights up and the darkness becomes the backdrop for the neon-magical lightshow to illuminate. The variety of enemies and level types helps each run stay engaging, and while fifteen sets of levels plus the final area can feel like a bit much, there’s no need to try to blow through it all in a couple of days. Into the Pit is about action, after all, with only just enough story to get things moving. There’s a village in trouble and a ton of monsters to destroy by way of magical annihilation, and if it takes a bit to rescue everyone they’ll be fine waiting for a combat mage to do a run or two a day until the evil is finally dispelled.

The story isn’t anything special and chocked to the brim with cliches, but a solid voice cast combined with great level design will keep you playing the entire length. While playable solo, Sackboy is best when played co-op, and unfortunately at launch, co-op options are limited. As a complete experience, though, Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a fun platforming adventure that’ll leave you with a smile on your face.

Just as the titular Mr. Sun is shocked over how many people you send to their death in pursuit of his hatbox, players might be shocked over how fun and addictive Mr. Sun’s Hatbox can be. Impressive stealth platforming with a ton of options makes for a great time, while the colorful, pixelated art plays host to lot of nicely-comical details. Mr. Sun’s Hatbox is an impressive take on not just stealth and warfare, but the Mother Base formula in general, making for one enjoyable romp that’s all wrapped up in a nicely-crafted box.

For those who love everything Hatsune Miku, it’s a great pickup and even for those who just don’t “get” it, check it out because it is something that can convert you into at least seeing the merit behind the concept.