NBA Live 16 is the best game in the series since Live 10, but that’s not saying much.

Just Dance is a series that’s hard to hate as it genuinely wants players to have a good time, but 2015 is a misstep. Hardly anything has changed and practically nothing has for those who don’t partake in the online functionality, some features are missing and the interface has become too basic.

An Oath to the Stars needed some gameplay balancing, a better scoring mechanic and a complete rewrite of its story to become a really good shooter, but without that it’s just a semi-decent way to blow off an hour or two before playing something else.

Harmonia is a bite-sized taste of what VisualArts can do with the visual novel genre. It is not the most emotionally intense of their releases, but still packs a punch in just a few hours of storytelling.

Yes, Petz Beach is a game that Dateline could use to lure prospective predators. And yes, it looks like its been dipped in a vat of acid. But for all its faults, Petz Beach offers some of the same relaxing screen-tapping you’d find in Animal Crossing or Disney Magical World.

The only thing complete about this is the amount of content stuffed in this small package. Complete comes with everything you may want from Disgaea 6, but what this has done to the franchise has been a huge disappointment. At least you can recruit some of the members of Hololive on your team.

Fairy Fencer F should serve nicely for those who don’t want anything too complex or something that will force them to think, but those hoping for something with a serious, epic story and meaningful exploration will want to look elsewhere.

Strand is fabulous, some of the campaign missions are truly masterful, and the game remains genuinely fun, but these can’t offset Destiny 2: Lightfall’s shortcomings. Destiny 2: Lightfall is just another filler expansion on the pathway to the final showdown.

Hitman – Episode 4: Bangkok has a lot of good going for it, but doesn’t quite live up to the excitement that has been established in the past.

Super Comboman is a fairly well-made brawler that reached for the stars and fell a bit short. While it nails the light and heavy attack combo system, there isn’t much depth to it.

Missing: An Interactive Thriller – Episode One feels a little incomplete, even for an episodic series.

It’s not the worst way to spend your time and money, but there are also much better local multiplayer games you could be playing instead.

When Full Metal Schoolgirl is at its best it's easy to see the game it could have been, with a good mix of enemies and behaviors making the rooms feel satisfyingly challenging. This can frequently go on for a couple of rooms at a time, but soon enough the enemy mix will lean towards unmanageable, packed with ground-based cyborgs, flying ones with guns, a turret or two or maybe missile-launching dog-bots and a couple spider-bots for good measure. Sure, the weapons make short work of each individual enemy, and if you could see everything all at once, the tools are there to avoid damage, but that's just not possible. Health goes down, batteries are used to replenish it but there's only so many, and the run is over. Dying isn't a problem, but losing a notable percentage of health from off-camera enemies, when you're at floor nineteen of a twenty-floor run and you used your only key to get there, and on defeat need to re-do the lower floors that were interesting when you were less powerful but now have the health, energy, special moves and experience to blow through just feels like busywork. A good run feels nicely satisfying, the combat can be great fun once you lock into its flow, and the variety of encounters means it's not too bad when there are twenty floors between one checkpoint and the next, but when a run feels bad due to elements you can't react to and the punishment is wasted time in areas you're done with, it becomes easy to find anything else to do.

There is some initial appeal in Squids Odyssey and its simplicity is mildly entertaining if played in bite sized sessions.

Void Invaders is a fun little snack of a shooter, quick and pleasant and sugary, but you’ll be hungry for more than it has to offer fairly quickly.

The races can be fun under the right circumstances, but it will get repetitive fast and the annoying menu music will never get any better. It’s likely that many things will be addressed such as the lack of variety in tracks as it seems possible more will be added down the line. Right now at release, however, Chocobo GP is utterly barebones and pales in comparison to so many other kart racers before it. It’s a disgrace to see this title even released how it has, especially when Mario Kart 8 is getting a DLC expansion that’s half the price in a little under a week. To give credit where credit is due, Ben the Behemoth is a cute character that would probably have an adorable plushie worth buying, but it’s not enough to make Chocobo GP worth picking up for anyone.

It’s not that Teddy isn’t cuddly; it just really needs to be restuffed.

With better controls, it would be an incredibly solid WiiWare title, but as it stands it’s simply a good puzzle game that will keep you entertained for a little while.

SaGa games have always felt like the odd man out in the world of JRPGs and Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song is no exception that statement. SaGa games have always tried to be innovative, often times feeling like they’re prioritizing experimentation over making an enjoyable game, and Minstrel Song is one of them. The battle system is one of the more interesting features with the different elements such as durability points for weapons and life points for characters making many of the most basic battles feel like they’re a high-stakes encounter. The lack of structure in completing the main quest and side quests is a double-edged sword. It’s nice to have the freedom to explore Mardias and address quests in whatever manner the player feels, but the low emphasis on story and a rather bland world didn’t offer much encouragement to do so. Hardcore SaGa fans will likely chalk that up to just being the quirks of a SaGa game and have a great time with this. Fans of more conventional JRPGs are less likely to find what they want here.

Olija doesn’t do enough to be regarded as generally good, but at the same time doesn’t frustrate to the point of truly damaging the experience. Had Olija been without its frantic, harpoon-wielding combat, the story might’ve been different. Then again, the similar emphasis on a story and a world that feels neither purposeful nor refined, could’ve had the result land in more promising waters too. Perhaps this middling indecisiveness is the real conclusion to draw from a game like Olija. A short, platforming-of-sorts release that doesn’t commit to any one definable trait and ends up a scatterbrain of ideas that don’t gel or add up to anything remarkable. At the same time, providing little to evoke any manner of meaningful investment. That’s not to say there isn’t enjoyment and moments of delight to find here, but there’s something equally dispensable about Olija‘s design and equally “seen before” with its tone, that doesn’t hit home as effectively as it may want to.

What could have been the definitive entry in the Assassin’s Creed series is actually the definitive example as to why releasing an unfinished product is always a bad call.

It’s both an astonishing and exciting time in gaming to see Nintendo willing to dig into their archives and bring back a retro adventure title. It’s even more exciting that they took the time to release a full-on remake. With that said, there are still elements of the game such as the menu control that feel antiquated today. So much so that it will likely turn off players who weren’t expecting it or have no familiarity with this era of gameplay. Those interested in playing an older style adventure game will be pleased with Famicom Detective Club’s twists and turns.

This game feels as if Konami wanted to do a Bomberman RPG, but they didn’t fully commit to that idea. Instead, you’re given a mediocre title that can’t seem to decide its target audience. Super Bomberman R 2 does at least provide a lot of couch cooperative fun in an era that still craves local/offline play. If players can look past the bland and tedious story, Super Bomberman R 2 still provides the great party play that the series has always been known for.

It’s both an astonishing and exciting time in gaming to see Nintendo willing to dig into their archives and bring back a retro adventure title. It’s even more exciting that they took the time to release a full-on remake. With that said, there are still elements of the game such as the menu control that feel antiquated today. So much so that it will likely turn off players who weren’t expecting it or have no familiarity with this era of gameplay. Those interested in playing an older style adventure game will be pleased with Famicom Detective Club’s twists and turns.

Everyone else should probably steer clear. The simple truth is there are better Ys games out there, ones that are already on Steam even. So check those out long before Chronicles+.

Raw Danger is a decent, if somewhat slow-paced, adventure, and its "real-world danger" aspect makes for some truly fearful moments. [May 2007, p.60]

The return to smaller battlefields away from the open-world approach is a step in the right direction, but every battle feels formulaic. Even with the individual differences in objective and battlefield events the exact same formula can be applied in each battle which can get too repetitive. But in spite of these criticisms, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires still delivers the type of experience fans have come to expect, and while it doesn’t do much to to distinguish itself from the previous entries, it can still be a lot of fun for those who still enjoy the one-versus-a-thousand style game.

While Mouthwashing has an incredible story and nicely disturbing and surreal visuals that could make it worth checking out, the shallow gameplay sadly hinders it, with dull puzzles, annoying chase bits and repetitive bits weighing it down. The twisted tale of the Tulpar is captivating, but if you're in the mood for a quick horror title, you can likely do better.