The story itself is a highlight thanks to the insane villains, although it takes a few chapters before things pick up. It’s disappointing that the remaining activities are so repetitive and lack the imagination of what Volition is known for, and with a myriad of technical issues, it feels like Agents of Mayhem was shoved out the door earlier than it should have.

Although shifting to a pseudo-isometric viewpoint, not much has changed here and it remains as addictive as ever. Unfortunately, the very thing that makes it appealing also holds it back. There’s nothing new here versus the many other Bomberman games and although polished and featuring a colorful story, there isn’t a major reason to return. Addictive as it may be, there’s not much content here and camera angle and control issues strain things further. That being said, it’s still a blast (pun fully intended) and can easily make for a great party for those looking to be social with their new console. A perfectly good “B game” for Zelda, Super Bomberman R is a cute ball of fun, but could have been more.

Though there’s an air of nostalgia and goodwill towards Rebellion and their continued efforts to keep this IP as entertaining as it remains, Sniper Elite V2 Remastered seems primarily focused on touching up the most selective of visual and graphical assets, and little else outside of it. Immediate access to the game’s arsenal of weapons, though appreciated — and opening up a welcome extension to the core tactical prowess the series has flourished on — the continued presence of issues from the original and the game’s now-aged design end up working against it. Moment-to-moment marksmanship still as delightful a spectacle to watch, as much partake in, as a proclaimed improvement on the original, V2 Remastered falters just enough, unfortunately, to fall short on that achievement.

There’s still a lot to do — so far as amendments to the overall flow, as much base content to warrant the grind to get there — but Hood: Outlaws & Legends has at least found a way to fit sufficiently, if not entirely successfully, into the PvPvE mold.

Super Hexagon and still need your twitch fix, you might get some real enjoyment out of Velocibox‘s stiff challenge; anyone else can safely give this a pass.

Empire Divided is a fun change of pace from the standard Rome II fare. It has decent replay value and a ton of flavor for history buffs or just people interested in history that encourages the player to do some research to understand this interesting historical period.

It doesn't redefine what it means to be a quality budget title, but UberSoldier 2 makes good use of its premise.

The only ones that should give this a look are those who have exhausted all of the other games of this genre and are still clamoring for another traditional monster-gathering RPG.

As it stands, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days proves to be the perfect weekend rental. In that weekend you can plow through the campaign with a friend in an afternoon, and get as much as you want out of the multiplayer.

Dangerous Driving hits the perfect melody at certain points when focusing on what the team set out for it to do: be a spiritual successor to Burnout. At its peak, it feels like a Burnout game. The controls and visuals are fantastic and are properly tipping the cap to late 1990s arcade games along with the Burnout franchise. Collisions are massive and there’s a good bit of variety of cars and game modes. What the game does bad really hurts the experience. The AI lacks basically anything and the return rewards of unlocking new modes and cars feels all for nothing.

Despite its gameplay and audio flaws, WireWay manages to deliver a satisfying experience that should please anyone who likes either platformers or puzzle games - more-so the latter, as the platforming element is secondary to puzzle-solving.

Neon Struct isn’t a perfect game, and technically its main gameplay focus of stealth is fairly simplistic. Enemies aren’t that smart, darkness is overpowered and once you’ve learned its rhythms it’s very easy to remain undiscovered, or at least not get caught if you’re seen. It makes up for this by being excellent in many other ways, most notably in the level design and world building.

Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice has a forgettable story and some rather tedious, but optional, side missions. While the main 2D levels can be fun, they start to feel repetitive before long.

If you like strategy games at all, let alone grand strategy variants like Generation of Chaos, then the last thing you want to be playing is a game that simply hands you victory. [May 2007, p.64]

Some of the minigames are fun but the board game that frames the whole experience relies far too much on chance. [Vol 3, Issue 2, p.58]

The strange thing about The Lost Child is that, despite its many, many flaws, it still manages to be entertaining by virtue of being a bog standard, but competent, first-person dungeon crawler with a great pace of progress. It’s not worthy of scorn, nor praise, managing to cut right down the middle of the road.

Orgarhythm surprised me in a lot of great ways. I expected to be terrified of an RTS/rhythm hybrid going in, but its user-friendly nature made it easy to learn. The fast pace is great for people who have avoided RTSes due to slow pacing, and it winds up creating a fantastic gateway game for newcomers. It may be rough around the edges visually, but the outstanding soundtrack and incredible controls (for something that is largely touch-based) make it a must-buy for anyone remotely interested in the genre.

Monsters of the Deep is a beautiful tragedy in terms of a VR experience. The visuals are stunning and it could have been a great fishing simulation, but ends up being lazy and broken. A fishing VR game is a good idea and the controls may be better with the motion controls, but trying to fish is a hassle even when a sense of consistency is established.

If its use of nostalgic video game styles had been more deliberate and integral and some of its puzzles more essential to telling the story, Between Me and the Night’s art and atmosphere could have carried the experience.

It’s astonishing to see just how far off the mark Disintegration is in terms of how it looks and plays. An astonishment made painfully evident across both of its equally-unflattering, technically-flawed game modes devoid of any quirk, personality or lasting impression. Impressions that are of anything but the feeling of eliciting a smoke-screen so as to mask the game’s evident lack of ingenuity or creative endeavor. It’s more astonishing that, in a vacuum, the design philosophy underpinning its gameplay mechanics feel oddly “complete.” That the conceptual attempt to mix a decade-old mentality on “cinematic” shooter campaigns with some occasional strategy are on show. Showing us that yes, this concept appeals to neither camp — the shooter fan and detractor alike. But it’s the utter lack of care with its narrative, world, progression and above all set-pieces that stings most. Whittled down to the lowest common denominator in such a way you can’t help but feel this is a game ten years too late. One can only hope V1 Interactive can move on and lay claim to greater things in the near future, because Disintegration is a shockingly empty attempt at standing out.

While the PC port is a little janky, the actual game of Little King’s Story is as instantly likeable as it’s ever been.

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.

What truly holds Concord back is its lack of identity. A story or campaign would have been a great way to showcase the world, its characters and lore, yet all of that is stuffed into the Galactic Guide that few players will probably ever read. The Freegunners and game modes are fun and mostly balanced, though feel derivative when stacked up against the already established competition. Meanwhile, map design feels safe with layouts that don’t encourage much experimentation. Concord is a good, fun game from a brand-new studio that’s currently missing its identity. It may be a bit lost in space, but Concord checks off enough boxes to hopefully chart a path forward.

The Old City: Leviathan wants you to think, but it doesn’t give you anything to think about.

Legend of Kay Anniversary reworks a solid PS2 game onto more modern hardware, but doesn’t do much with the hardware to make the game better.

While the PC port of One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 is weak in technical terms, the game itself is very playable.

If you’re smitten by the style and want a casual dual joystick shooter to plow through in an afternoon, AIPD isn’t a bad purchase. But if you’re hoping for a shooter with some real meat to chew on, AIPD will leave you wanting.

The poor dialogue gives way to poor pacing, which leads to confusion in story and puzzles, taking I fell from Grace from bad to awful.