Anyone looking to turn off their brain for several hours and spam some buttons as a ridiculously powerful Force user will do fine. Those who respected the first game for its story, or are looking for quality presentation, combat variety and the feeling like they didn't just get two-thirds of a full-priced product can find better games now in a galaxy much, much closer.

It's one of the most frustrating kinds of games that a company can possibly release: The disappointing thing about PowerUp Heroes is how much I like playing it, and how very little there is to play.

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

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.

Though it struggles with this repetitiveness at times, The Journey's wonderful vistas, heartwarming character and inventive use of the Kinect offer an experience that is blissfully pleasant, even soothing.

It's disappointing to see the once confidently subversive Wario brand perverted into a desperate, flailing mess like Game & Wario.

Kinect Sports Rivals feels cheap. A few of the multiplayer games – namely tennis and water racing – are fun in short bursts, but other games – bowling and target shooting – are duds, even with another person. The biggest challenge in gameplay is often hassling with the Kinect and, overall, the games themselves are insultingly simple.

Ultimately, one of Hunted: The Demon Forge's biggest strengths is also its biggest weakness -- there's just not much there. Yes, its constituent components are polished and impeccably streamlined, but after a few hours, there aren't any surprises in store.

A hell of a single-player challenge, which should only be taken on by the sort of sadist who one-credit-clears Cave shooters. For the time being, however, even as Moon Diver hardly feels like a modern-day Big Damn Deal, it is at its best when posing as the over-serious side-scrolling equivalent of a party game.

Some of its one-note elements cry out for variety and it can't hold a torch to the senses of immersion and depth that make a game like Arkham Asylum stand out so brilliantly. But as far as movie-based games go there are plenty worse -- and just like a popcorn flick, there is enough fight and flash in the Captain that you may end up having fun in spite of yourself.

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.

Maybe the issue here is whether or not a remake was a good idea, because the new Karateka has too many issues and too little substance to compete against current peers.

The single-player mode doesn't do anything that Rock Band or other karaoke games haven't already done, and the rigid competitive structure of Team mode limits the usefulness of its dual-screen display.

Levels all feel constrictive, and the dour color palette doesn't help the dull nature of its locations. The start-to-sewer time is awfully short on this one.

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.

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.

The water isn't even as impressive as you might expect.

With NHL 15, EA Canada has taken its secret weapon and buried it under a thick sheet of beautiful, glistening ice...Though there's some enjoyment to be had on the ice, NHL 15 feels like the first major misstep the series has made in years.

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.

Look: This is a game about punching perplexed paper dolls until they explode with blood, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. But it is so very much about that -- and only that -- that, unless you're in love, it's far safer on this side of the looking glass.

The gap between concept and execution has rarely felt as wide, and the Mad Doc's redemption has only come closer by a smidge.

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.

All the elements of a great game are here: gorgeous graphics, stellar controls, a robust move set -- yet Krome seems content to settle for mediocrity when placing them into a cohesive whole.

Gladiator Begins' smaller successes still can't compensate for its significant problems, and the game as a whole never quite gels in an effective way. Brutality, splashes of blood and gigantic swords might look and feel great, but I feel like Caesar wouldn't have mercy for this fighter's incompetence and missed marks.

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.

There's nothing wrong with a short game that feels complete, but Dark of the Moon feels half-finished.

Truth be told, its an extremely challenging side-scrolling ... well, it's part shoot-'em-up, part submarine simulator and part strategy game. The sum of these parts is actually a lot more compelling than the game taken at face value.

The one aspect that most defines Silent Hill, story, is lacking here in both presentation and content, again providing a missed opportunity for material to lure me back in.