For all its good looks, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- is ultimately disappointing. What the game does, it does very well, but the sum total feels lacking.

If the Xfinity-branded hypercar race a few hours in is anything to go by, The Crew is an overt attempt to capitalize on the popularity of modern car culture, and it would seem entirely cynical if not for a few redeeming design decisions. In the world of modern racing games that's just not enough to earn a victory lap.

A severe disappointment. The chain wrestling mechanic is tiresome, and online play is a chore. A dearth of customization options across the board tear away at what made the series special.

Assassin's Creed Rogue is not a bad game, but it is a derivative game.

Assassin's Creed Unity is the best and worst of Assassin's Creed. It's hard not to appreciate everything that it gets right, and you'll have a good time if you can wrangle some friends for co-op, but it's impossible to ignore where Unity falls tragically short.

There's definitely satisfaction to be had with Lords of the Fallen, but there comes a point at which it has no more tricks up its sleeve. In the end, the worst enemy in the game may be the game itself, and there's nothing hiding in a chest somewhere to fix that.

Platinum Games may not have made a Legend of Korra game that plumbs the same well of soul that the source material does, but they've made something elementally entertaining all the same.

As a shoot-'em-up, though, A City Sleeps feels half-baked. The foundation is solid, but since it only includes three levels, it has to ramp up its difficulty too quickly, and it becomes overwhelming and frustrating as a result. With a more measured approach to difficulty and more levels to give players time to acclimate to its mechanical quirks and control issues, A City Sleeps could be exceptional.

Costume Quest 2 is a lot like the bags of candy Wren and her fellow Halloween heroes collect: often sweet, sometimes sour, and (for the most part) worth the occasional tummy ache.

Evil Within just plain doesn't give you a fair chance to succeed. It doesn't provide enough information for you to make good decisions and it handicaps your ability to fight well. It requires so much repetition that it can't possibly maintain any sense of tension or unease, and its story is told so aimlessly that you'll likely forget the plot between scenes.

The Pre-Sequel is missing just a bit of soul, but it has plenty of heart – hearts exploded by laser rifles.

Driveclub is a well-made, sometimes irritating juxtaposition of the old and new.

The illusion it maintains is easily broken by the lack of interactivity and a plot that doesn't always manage to keep its hooks in you. Where and when Neverending Nightmares fails, the effects are noticeable and jarring. Still, Neverending Nightmares is an atypical horror experience and, when it succeeds, it's one you won't soon forget.

Despite its many worthy additions, Skylanders Trap Team is the first game in the series to disappoint me. The new villain characters are charming - seriously, who could hate a floating, magical vegetable named Broccoli Guy? - and the talking portal accessory puts a fun spin on traditional series elements, but the uninspired level design really drags down the overall experience.

Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes features more variety than its predecessor, but the campaign content included in the base set is still quite repetitive.

Wasteland 2 is so packed with stuff to do and things to see that the game demands multiple plays, yet its story options are so intricate that replaying the plot never seems like a chore. But all of that is overshadowed by omnipresent bugs.

Danganronpa 2 is wildly uneven, with an engaging story and disjointed action elements, but solving its mysteries provides more than enough satisfaction to make putting up with the bad bits worth your while. It's weird, aggravating and gruesome, but it's also undeniably charming.

I like The Sims 4, although I fully recognize that it's not nearly robust enough yet for series fans. If you're new to the franchise, it's a great place to start and explore the possibilities. The Sims 4 certainly feels like more of the same game we've known for over a decade.

Hatoful Boyfriend is great at setting a tone and building a strange bird universe pockmarked with bits of broken, human-constructed items. These objects are eerie in such a happy-go-lucky world, though the creep factor is welcome in a game as ridiculous as a pigeon dating simulator. We'll call it the peep factor.

Infamous: First Light is everything Infamous: Second Son should have been, it's just too bad it only arrives now, in this anemic form.

The ending, and therefore the episode, may please many players. However, from a storytelling standpoint, No Going Back falls flat.

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright drags on too long, but even towards the end it's enjoyable at its basest of levels.

The core gameplay of sneaking, assessing the situation, downing enemies, disabling cameras, pilfering plans and occasionally snapping necks is great fun. Setting up a string of sticky bombs for a connect-the-dots series of explosions is especially satisfying, but delights like these are weighed down by CounterSpy's random structure and, in particular, its "more more more" approach to difficulty.

Hohokum offers more than you'd expect but less than you'd want; without gameplay depth to back up its visuals, it sparks the imagination but doesn't kindle it.

Gods Will Be Watching bleeds into your thoughts, even if the toll feels steep and caustic. The cost can feel too high, the enjoyment too strange and poisoned at times. But ... it's brilliant and different, you know? I just hate it, that's all.

Wayward Manor has charm for the adorable-goth market, but not so much for puzzle game enthusiasts. It's simple, slightly janky and kind of cute, with an OK story and sub-par game design.

Light reaches for greatness, but ends up merely serviceable; nothing breaks or falls apart within its mechanically sound design, but nothing inspires the game to step out from the shadows of better games.

In some respects – particularly in its graphics and slightly more refined shooting – Sniper Elite 3 is a better game than its predecessor. That said, it's grandfathered in a lot of Sniper Elite V2's AI issues, while also forcing players to micromanage too much when it comes to sniping.

If you want to work your brain for a few minutes, MouseCraft is a good choice (especially on Vita).

Like any athlete with a thirst for victory, EA Sports has a great opportunity to create something special with this brand. It's just not quite ready for its title fight yet.

Entwined has clear objectives and an overall goal, but the reward for "beating" it isn't points or a trophy, it's a sense of serenity and peace. It's certainly not for everyone, but to those who find the idea appealing, it utterly succeeds.

Tomodachi Life wore out its welcome for me quicker than any Animal Crossing game ever did, due to its comparative lack of structure and progression, and its brilliant spark of creativity fades much more quickly than you'd like.

With some truly great ideas and some unfortunate choices, Murdered: Soul Suspect and its ghostly hero is neither heaven nor hell, but something in between.

It's passable and functional, but doesn't elevate the franchise or add the magic that'll bring El Presidente to a wider audience. It is what it is: Another evolution in a franchise that needs a revolution.

Like the combat, the story starts off strongly, intertwining threads about Red's past, the history of the Camerata and the true purpose of the Transistor, but it doesn't come together in a satisfying way.

The greatest problem in Wolfenstein: The New Order, then, is a jarring inconsistency of tone and cohesion... It's almost as if there's a tug of war going between the big dumb shooter and the attempt to be subversive, with the result being a game that's not really slick enough to be an action classic, and not dramatic enough to draw you in.

If you're a fan of the noir genre or '90s adventure games, you're gonna like the cut of its jib.

It's hard not to feel that the game would have been better served by slightly slowing down the pace of its basic shooting elements. At times, it feels as much like a spatial puzzle as it does a test of your reflexes. The best spatial puzzles, though, allow for a measure of patience and consideration. As a twitchy shooter, Super Time Force never lets you catch your breath and stand firm in time, leaving you under ceaseless pressure.

2014 FIFA World Cup is a reliable on-field game, and its depiction of soccer is as superb as that of FIFA 14, but it's only valuable to the sport's biggest World Cup fans. It behaves more like a one-off version of the sport, one that's not particularly worthwhile with another main entry in the series just months away.

A little panache and daring can go a long way towards standing out on the real-life fairways, and it would've done so here as well.

It's a shame, because there are moments when Daylight's ominous ambience is pitch perfect, but ultimately it's undone by ho-hum gameplay and a dull story. The witches are truly unnerving, but they're never a real threat, and the reward for your survival is disappointing.

There's simply no soul in Child of Light, no emotional attachment to keep you pressing on into the darkness. There isn't even a good addictive hook – the story makes a few feeble tugs at your heartstrings, but doesn't create any great mysteries that you'll be desperate to solve, and the combat, while solid, never quite achieves "just one more round" status. It's all lovely and pleasant and well-crafted – and hollow.

Challenges tend to strike the right balance of brevity, the game library is varied and mostly wears its age well, and the Remix stages offer a much more interesting and enjoyable bag of tricks than before.

It tries to combine artistic vision and depth with traditional game objectives, and ends up being weaker for it.

What ultimately brings down Conception 2, however, is that none of its elements manage to rise above a general feeling of mediocrity. The combat is too dull and repetitious to ever be addictive. The dating sim, jiggly boobs and all, is interesting, but too limited to carry the game on its own.

Taken by itself, it's unsatisfying and half-missing, but of course it's not meant to be taken by itself. It's the centerpiece of a larger whole, the lock that will let everything eventually make sense. Crooked Mile has a hard job to do, and has the bruises to show it.

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z knows it's a stupid, flashy arcade action game, and rolls with it. It doesn't try to be clever or witty, or even ironic and self-effacing. It's not deep or customizable, and it's clearly running out of ideas past the halfway point. It isn't perfect. To some people, it won't even be considered good.

The undoubtable quality of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes feels carved from a bigger, better game, and perhaps that makes it a better showcase for players who don't know their Snakes from their Otacons. Too good to be a cash-in, too calculated to be satisfying and too intriguing to spurn, Ground Zeroes is a fiscal test of patience.

If you're well-versed in South Park history and can imagine cookies as a "health potion," you're off to a good start. If you can also forgive the repetitive nature of combat and some uninspired quests, it's worth taking up arms – or dildos – for The Stick of Truth's hilarious, disgusting adventure.

Thankfully, even when the blades are dull, the writing is sharp. Even so, many jokes are of the family-friendly sitcom variety, and play off of RPG tropes. If you've never laughed at the convoluted plots, overdramatic heroes or NPC behavior seen so often in the role-playing genre, this weapon may not be for you.

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy feels like as good a way to sign off as could be expected.

A solid hunting adventure, but hardly a departure from the monster hunting genre.

Though it plays it safe in terms of mechanics, TxK is challenging and thrilling throughout. It's a treat for anyone who enjoyed any previous version of Tempest, and it's especially worthwhile if you missed out on Tempest 2000.

There's little power to the bland gameplay or awkward, convoluted story. Laika is a tragic figure whose real-life fate is depressing, but the Laika of The Sun at Night doesn't make me feel anything at all.

Not unlike a cartoon, Octodad: Dadliest Catch shines brightest when it allows you to revel in the insanity of its premise, but every running joke has a limited shelf life, even when the gag is this good. If you can forgive that, and the sometimes incongruous challenges, Octodad's charm may just win you over.

If your goal is simply to be more active, of if you're just starting to dabble in dedicated personal fitness, Wii Fit U will probably fit the bill. If you're willing to put in the legwork to create a regular regimen and stick with it, you can definitely get a good workout. Anyone seeking detailed fitness guidance and structure should look elsewhere.

It's a noble and sweet idea, held back by monotonous grinding and technical issues. And by "technical issues" I mean "the camera."

Peggle 2 remains a foregone conclusion for existing Pegglers and puzzle fans alike, even if it doesn't quite live up to the addiction that destroyed everyone's work ethic back in 2007.

It's accessible and adorably illustrated. It has a streak of dark humor embedded in its cast of Frankenstein furballs, and it's just relaxed enough to let its physics-driven puzzles slide out of control every once in a while, giving its challenges a spark that chores don't have.

Crimson Dragon isn't bad, and there's plenty to do if you simply must unlock and evolve every dragon, but it runs out of ideas long before it runs out of missions.

Ryse: Son of Rome falls into the trap of your typical launch game: it does well to show off the power of the system, but it's slim on substance. Production value aside, Ryse is short, easy and lacks the punch of other action games. For all of it's pomp and flash, Ryse: Son of Rome is a shallow bore.

Tearaway is cheerful, clever, and colorful, but never quite attains the masterful blend of art and gameplay exhibited by developer Media Molecule's previous efforts, the LittleBigPlanet games.

As much as Killer Instinct is a sound and inviting fighter mid-battle, it's an experience that ultimately feels hollow everywhere else. Online play – as spare as it is – may present a limitless well of competition to draw from, but with only six fighters to master and very few modes of play, Killer Instinct lacks the value and staying power offered by most other modern fighting games.

It knows that all you really want to do is discover and create new playthings to dismember the undead. As a vehicle for that, it's a comfortable ride.

There is a certain purity to admire in Contrast, spotted throughout its dream-like world and theatrically contrived platforming, but it's just a little too concise and a little too thin, like a fleeting shadow.

Killzone: Shadow Fall loses its sheen at times, usually when pursuing moments that are cinematic but not sensible. As a shooter, it's better at thriving on eye-catching environments and supportive combat abilities that don't just come for free.

Call of Duty: Ghosts is a solid installment, but it lacks creativity and innovation. Its new engine already looks dated in the face of the competition, and it eschews many of the solid concepts seen in Black Ops 2.

The critical path through Gotham City is feeling worn, even if tread by different, younger actors.

The delta between the bosses and the moment-to-moment gameplay make Blackgate a frustratingly inconsistent experience, but the good parts are truly impressive.

Its gameplay variety is appreciated up to a point, but Sonic: Lost World misses the mark more often than it succeeds, as frustrating level design and unimaginative boss encounters are enough to overshadow its fleeting moments of brilliance.

Unfortunately, Lost World tries to pack in so many mechanics that it suffocates the rapid-fire platforming segments, which are breathless when all the mechanics are suited to Sonic.

Though it uses the language of both games and movies, it's usually the most interesting when it abandons big-screen bluster to focus on minor dilemmas that strengthen the protagonist as a person. Beyond that, you're just the ghost in a ghost story, only appearing when the scene calls for a cheap scare.

As a work of art, Rain masterfully captures and maintains a mood that will speak to players, but as a game, it's soggy and unrewarding. It's also quite short, so if you'd like to explore which side of Rain appeals to you more, you can do so in an afternoon – rain or shine.

As a game full of puzzles that just happen to star DC characters, Unmasked isn't as fun as last year's Unlimited, which I'd suggest over this release for those who want the best Scribblenauts experience.

Unless Pokémon are an essential part of your toy-based video game equation, you'll find better, more engrossing options in the Skylanders series or Disney Infinity.

Mechanically, A Machine for Pigs deviates significantly from The Dark Descent, and this is where it's most disappointing. The Dark Descent employed several mechanics that ratcheted up the fear and tension, most notably the insanity system.

Looking only at its core mechanics, Project Diva F is about as basic as a music game can get. It's not that it makes any huge missteps; more that it simply fails to do anything particularly interesting in a very well-trodden genre.

On the ice, NHL 14 is the best the series has ever been, and that alone will be enough for many returning fans. I love playing it and I'll keep playing it. Between the face-offs and outside of the rink, however, NHL 14 shows a laziness that is not befitting of a franchise that proudly touts its accolades on its sleeve.

While it's hamstrung by flaky multiplayer functionality and a lack of new ideas, it is impressive just how well the first-person action of the Killzone franchise has translated to the Vita. As competent as it is, however, Killzone: Mercenary is teetering on the edge of being something truly great.

The silliness of turning history into a tactical land grab is worth mentioning in order to point out that the Total War series, and much more Total War: Rome 2, won't appeal to everyone with its tedium exchange.

If it had greater enemy variety and required players to utilize their full arsenal of abilities – and if its technical issues were ironed out – it might have really been something special.

Perhaps the biggest source of frustration, however, is the antiquated user interface.

Its combat is neat if still a bit limited, and its dark direction and weird narrative a bit tainted by self-indulgence, but this is still a Grasshopper grindhouse romp worth most of its issues. The danger, I guess, will always be one drink too many.

Jim Peyton's story as played in Lost Planet 3 is a mixed proposition, in need of trimming to the monster-shooting tedium, yet anemic at its core interactions.

If anything, I'll blame DuckTales Remastered's shortcomings on the current state of digital pricing. It's unfortunate that a short but near-perfect game had to be weighed down with so much extraneous material, seemingly for the sake of padding out its length to justify a premium-priced digital release.

Dream Team does a lot of things right, and is a satisfying detour for a franchise that is risking too much predictability it its main guise. It's hard to shake that feeling of a missed opportunity, of a premise not fully realized that therefore exposes some comparative shortcomings.

Beatbuddy's incorporation of music into its gameplay is truly wonderful, but the repetition of its challenges holds the experience back.

It's hard to tell where the punk lifestyle ends in Charlie Murder, whether in the game or with Ska Studios itself, and the game's insane, patchwork gameplay is a thrill.

It's good, silly fun, and nails the experience of the original just about perfectly, but it's also a reminder that not everything from those early days of run-and-gun deserves to be celebrated.

As a whole, NCAA Football 14 is boom-or-bust; with all of its big gains this year, it missed some opportunities to be truly excellent.

It embraces and relishes in the legacies and identities of the companies, characters, and worlds it encompasses. If you don't know or care about a lot of the cast, then this will do nothing for you. For others, engaging with characters from the unlocalized Valkyria Chronicles 3, or seeing Tron Bonne after the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3, will hold a unique significance. Project X Zone may be a poor strategy game, but it will still be a very special experience for many.

It's not a bad way to pass some time but it's really more of a curiosity than a must-play game, a relic from a time when the thought of a video game character dropping an f-bomb was simply beyond consideration.

It was a great game in 2006, it's remained a great game since, and now this sequel is roughly more of the same. But after seven years and with a $60 asking price, I'm also left asking, "Is this all there is?" It's the Eastern Front, after all. It seems like there should be more to it.

Better to take it as an unvarnished comedy, then, because Deadpool self-destructs when you read so deeply (and madly?) to see satire. That's okay, bearing in mind there are better games in which you slice people up for points, and that everything Deadpool the man revels in – the bullets, the blood and the babes – are sincerely sought and embarrassingly commonplace in the marketplace to begin with.

The technical hurdles are very steep at first, but once I put about five hours in, the sting started to dissipate. These flaws mar the atmosphere that State of Decay tries to create. If you can stomach them, however, the game's sense of urgency and its mountain of tasks and systems will be a nice vacation away from the societal constraints of your everyday, zombie-free life.

As you can see, Remember Me inspires excuses and an attempt to polish up the parts that are capable of shining, even after making a case for mediocrity. The anxiety over homogenous AAA games is only growing, making us latch on to the odd ones that dial down the shooting and make way for smart heroines. If only that alone was enough to deliver excellence, and not just the kind of game that ought to be remembered for trying.

Grid 2 has its moments, but every racing game comes down to the relationship between car and driver, and here it is almost exclusively an adversarial one. Were the cars more fun to drive, the events more coherently constructed and the AI given a sense of a self-preservation, Grid 2's best moments could have been the norm, instead of the exception that proves the rule.

Despite the frustration of the damage indicator, the worsened duel mode and a story that sort of loses its way near the end, Gunslinger is still an enjoyable experience. It's exciting and challenging, whether you're mowing down banditos in slow-mo with an engraved six-shooter or racking up 80 kill combos in arcade mode.