Most games based on movies are cheap shovelware that are released to capitalize on the popularity of the franchise they're based on. The Bourne Conspiracy, however, is clearly a labor of love.

Taito didn’t add anything new to the formula, but Arkanoid Plus! will provide straightforward arcade entertainment in short bursts, as long as you don’t go in expecting a revolutionary experience.

With so many Assassin’s Creed games being released, the franchise has lost some its luster in recent years, but this collection is a great way to remember how this series became as popular as it did in the first place. This is also highly recommended as a good starting point for people who have been interested in Assassin’s Creed but haven’t got around to actually playing any of the games, as well as anyone who wants to revisit Ezio’s saga.

It may sound like I’m being tough on Onimusha: Warlords, but it’s still a solid experience with entertaining mechanics; just don’t go in expecting a whole lot.

All that being said, Driift Mania is an ambitious product that suffers only from lackluster solo play and some unfortunate graphical decisions.

As should probably be expected of what’s basically a port of the Wii U version, this iteration of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water offers a decidedly average horror experience. The story of Mt. Hikami and those tied to it is rather intriguing, and it is able to create a heavy, disquieting and even chilling atmosphere at times.

The scale of one’s enjoyment with a game like B.I.O.T.A. depends entirely on what kind of game you’re expecting and more importantly, what area of game you end up gravitating towards coming out of it. For those in the Metroidvania camp, the game is an inoffensive if not entirely unique interpretation on the template. But on the platforming side, fortunes are far more favorable, playing host to sequences that are both well-executed and challenging on top. The fact these bright spots are so tucked away, though — caught between needless back-tracking and a general world design that can feel too linear — can lend itself to B.I.O.T.A. feeling too uneven and demanding on one’s patience to warrant seeing it through. Even so, it’s these precision platforming sequences, working together with the hyper-retro leanings, that just about pulls it from out the doldrums. It might not be posing any original ideas, but for better or worse, B.I.O.T.A.‘s know-how on old-school traits just about keeps it afloat.

What hurts Destiny 2: Renegades the most is that it is just an Episode masquerading as an Expansion. There are no new Strikes, Crucible maps, Gambit maps, and for the first time ever in any $40 expansion, no new Patrol Zone and no new Raid. On top of that, some of the most desirable loot, including the White and Purple lightsaber crystals, are held ransom in the Eververse Store. As Kylo Ren once said, "it's time to let old things die," and it's hard not to think that about Destiny 2 after The Edge of Fate and Renegades. After 2025, it's time for Bungie to take a break, regroup and finally release Destiny 3.

Anyone looking for a new excuse to smack down thousands of enemy soldiers per battle should check this one out.

As-is, it's a very, very pretty demo of what the SIXAXIS can do. [May 2007, p.69]

Vector Unit has made yet another outstanding aquatic racer and anyone who enjoyed Wave Race or the Hydro Thunder franchise should give it a shot. It’s thrilling, controls like a dream and looks excellent.

Dawn of Ragnarok is the most ambitious Valhalla DLC and arguably the most ambitious DLC out of the three new Assassin’s Creed games. This is the biggest thing it has going for it, but it may also be too ambitious for its own good. The new additions offered in this content breathe fresh air into the game, but despite these additions it’s still even more Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, a game that can last over 100 hours without any of the additional content. On one hand if someone were to only play one piece of expansion for Valhalla, this is the one to be prioritized, but after playing through the main game and previous expansions, it’s hard to find the motivation to return to Ravensthorpe.

If you grew up in the '90s, you'll easily get $15 out of it just for the trip down memory lane. Younger players who like open-world games and have an appreciation for that time, even if it's just for ironic purpose, will like it as well.

Even with those qualms, Lost Dimension is a quality title that some may feel is greater than the sum of its parts.

Much like the hero himself, The Knightling might seem small and unimportant, but it can produce great results when it needs to. Exploring the colorful environments is an enjoyable time. There's a ton to see and do and the game invites players to make the most of everything it has to offer. It can be challenging, but it's never frustrating. The light puzzles break up the combat and exploration, and the combat allows the player to find solutions to encounters that fit their preferred play style. Traversal is the true star of the show, especially after all of the abilities have been unlocked. Putting together strings of moves to zip across a region is extremely satisfying. It all comes together to create an action platformer that isn't flawless, but proudly owns its B-tier status. And it should be proud.

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.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is an unbalanced experience. It’s an incredibly ambitious game with a colossal scope, but it doesn’t always hit the right notes.

You need to provide a seriously great experience to make it worth the strain and The Climb simply doesn’t manage to provide compelling gameplay for even the most die-hard virtual reality fans.

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.

In general, the good in No Man’s Sky outweighs the bad, but there are enough minor annoyances and curious decisions here to hold it back from being something special.

It’s an inventive game that skillfully captures the perils and intrigue of space exploration, wrapping it up in an endlessly replayable package.

The King’s Challenge is a serviceable old school point ‘n’ click adventure that should appeal to fans that found the recent remake by Sierra a tad too removed from the spirit of the original.

A few bugs aside, Beat Cop is a highly engrossing and addictive adventure, a cross between classic ’80s action and routine cop duty that makes for some extremely interesting gameplay as you get sucked in and even get attached to everyone in your little part of Brooklyn. Proper management and investigation skills are rewarded with satisfying results and advancements in various intriguing narratives, and the gameplay is the kind that’s enjoyably simple to learn and fun to work with. Long story short, even if this is more of a tribute to the like of Harry Callahan, it’s Sonny Bonds who should feel proud that Pixel Crow made an enjoyable game about police work that does his legacy justice.

Summon Night 6: Lost Borders excellently brings together visual novels and tactical RPGs. Fans of the visual novel portion may be turned off a bit by the English voice-over work, but the story itself is amusing. It may not be the most memorable out there, but it works as a slice of life with a supernatural twist. The tactical RPG portion of the game is its strongest point — and good enough to where any fan of that genre should consider Summon Night 6 to enjoy that alone. It has a much brisker pace than most and keeps the action moving when other games would have a lull. The graphics are strong — especially given it being a Vita game at its core — and the overall audio work is great thanks to a well-crafted soundtrack and strong design.

The amount of criticism dished out here may paint a negative picture, but White Shadows is by no means a terrible product and so evidently houses a clear visual style and competent-enough execution of puzzle-platforming. Yet for how little it attempts to break from tired conventions or do anything that doesn’t border on aggravating with its pacing, it’s what the game doesn’t do where most of one’s response will likely linger. Maybe the conclusion that it’s all too ordinary and forgettable is bizarrely what is most poignant. That little is offered in the other direction that’s in anyway damaging to the experience or worthy of ridicule, yet neither does anything warrant an expression any better than a figurative shrugging of the shoulders. In the end White Shadows, in all its many off-kilter interspersing of music pieces, plays things safe. A fine, if by-the-numbers entrant whose uninspired delivery we’ve all found ourselves tiredly accustomed to.

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is an enjoyable romp through a demon-infested castle. It’s not without its shortcomings as the gameplay is simply good but not exceptional and the story seems like a generic anime demon-hunting affair. Its shorter playtime works in its favor, though, as it never gets a chance to overstay its welcome. It can be completed in roughly six hours or so, but completionists will be able to get more time out of it by exploring every nook and cranny and unlocking all three endings. Shortcomings aside, this is still a well constructed tribute to Castlevania and scratches the itch for fans wanting a new entry in that series.

Detective Pikachu is simply a delightful time and shows that there is a lot that can be done with the Pokémon world outside of training to be the very best.

By the end of What We Deserve, Michonne and her companions find themselves basically right back where they started, right before the credits roll with a song that actually fades out before all of the names even finish rolling, creating an uncomfortable silence. Yes, this episode almost literally goes out not with a bang, but with a whimper.