If nothing else, come for the combat. With TERA on the horizon it's refreshing to know that the future of the action MMO isn't restricted to just one title. There are a lot of things that Bigpoint Games have done well here. It may not be the game that occupies you indefinitely, or even for that long…but I defy anyone to try it out and claim it was a waste of their time.

In the end, the DeepWorld is that of the post-apocalyptic survivor. You are almost alone in this world. You travel and gather resources, you find remnants of civilizations and you encounter the buildings of others. I only wish there was some way to leave them a note. A chalkboard you could build for a visitor to say. "Leroy was here, friend me?"

There is no question that Van Helsing II is head and shoulders above its predecessor in terms of game play and in the replayability factor that the additional two classes bring to the game. It's a solid entry into the aRPG market and one that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy. It's a fantastic bargain and quite a lot of fun to play.

There’s promise in Integrity and Faithlessness that Star Ocean’s next incarnation could be really something special. Right now, it’s just not quite there in this edition.

The overhaul to a single-player game with optional multiplayer still has an echo of the MMO design it once aspired to be. The expansive world, character archetypes and end game loop are all remnants of what was, and yet Airship Syndicate has managed to twist the formula just enough to make it worthwhile for solo and co-op RPG players. While some systems may be as dense as the Gloom itself, Wayfinder ultimately lights the way to an enjoyable and rewarding adventure.

Lords of the Fallen is a very capable, if not fully realized and polished RPG. Its story and adventure are linear, but your path towards completion is Zelda-like in that you’ll revisit old areas and uncover new secrets. So a small world is made compelling by having it layered and fraught with danger. Deck13’s game is the sleeper hit for me of this year. I did not expect to like it as much as I did, and it certainly is a “Dark Souls Clone” much in the same way there are now “Diablo Clones” in the wild. Yet Lords of the Fallen proves there is plenty of room for more difficult, deep, and engaging RPGs in the world and does enough different to stand out from the pack. I sincerely hope we get a sequel, as I feel like Deck13 is only just beginning to build this world and carve a niche in the genre.

In the end, I found myself staying up late for strategy not story. That’s the heart of Hard West. It’s not the richest game out there, but it is a great entry point for players new to tactical RPGs. When I finished the game, instead of going to bed, I immediately turned to Steam to find more of what Hard West had to offer. If that’s not a sign of success, I don’t know what is.

In the end, the only thing that really matters is whether Shin Megami Tensei Imagine is worth playing. If you're a fan of the series that loves online games then the answer is a definite yes. The dark feel, amazing music and robust demon system that make Shin Megami Tensei are all here for you to share with others. If you're an MMO gamer who is a fan of the Pokémon-like idea of catching them all, then the demon system may also hold some appeal for you. For everyone else it comes down to a question of whether you can enjoy the lackluster graphics and the grind and repetition that can come at higher levels. Even if the answer would normally be no, Imagineis both free and a relatively small download so it may be worth a try. See you in Tokyo.

If you liked the original Shadowrun Returns campaign you are going to enjoy Dragonfall. It takes everything you liked the first time around and refines it. While your character may be the protagonist of the campaign you are certainly not a hero. This is made abundantly clear in side missions like Loose Ends. You are hired to break into a corporation and kill the last surviving member of a Shadowrun team hired by your employer before he can be tortured and sell your employer down the river. Dragonfall doesn’t waste your time with a brand new tutorial either. Your PDA has all the info you need. While this game is far from perfect, the thing it does the best is capture the feel of what Shadowrun should be and that is a world I want to play in.

Legacy of Romulus is a welcome expansion to Star Trek Online. With a totally original story, a new faction, new ships and the option to start as any faction, STO has been improved significantly.

Multiplayer online games rarely, if ever, emerge from the developmental womb spit shined and bug-free. That doesn’t mean that Marvel’s Avengers gets a pass for releasing a multiplayer game with poor multiplayer, but it does mean that, as with most MOG’s, the game will only get better. Right now, Marvel’s Avengers is in its baby Hulk infancy, but it has a bright future as a World Breaker.

In short, ArcheAge does a whole lot of things most MMOs never would dare dream, but the sad truth is that it’s not exceptional at any one thing. And that, unfortunately, makes the grand idea that is ArcheAge a little underwhelming overall.

The Crew isn’t a revolutionary MMO, nor is it a revolutionary racer. It is however a fun racing game that happens to be in a persistent online world and has a ton of replayability. Simulation fans won’t necessarily love it (cars magically heal as you drive, for Pete's sake), but fans of Need for Speed, Test Drive Unlimited, and so forth will find a lot to like. Ubisoft claims they have big plans for the game’s future, and even more for additional entries down the line, and I’ll be watching. Ditch the lame story, work in more customization and more exciting races, and The Crew is solid roadwork for what could be a fantastic MMO ride.

There is more than enough variety to keep players coming back and having fun for months, just with the solo and collectible game alone. If you’re an extreme sports fan, Riders Republic is a no-brainer. For MMO fans looking for more than a madcap mass race challenge, I would let the game mature for a few months longer before picking this one up.

What does it do well? It does a number of things right. Necore nailed the look and feel of 40K. The many weapons and gear pieces are accurate in name, description, and functionality. The enemies, factions, and lore details is immaculate. If any game deserves a “10” in this area, Inquisitor does.

Despite its shortcomings, Styx: Master of Shadows is an enjoyable hardcore stealth game with the light trappings of its RPG forebear. At $30 and offering around 15-20 hours of sneaky goodness, if you can overlook the poor combat and budget animations, chances are you’ll find a lot to like in Styx. The PC port controls are actually solid, though I still wound up playing the game mostly on the 360 controller, mainly because it was more comfortable. Just keep in mind there’s a reason he’s called the Master of Shadows, not the Master of Fighting, and you’ll likely be very pleased with your purchase.

Conquer Online by TQ Digital Entertainment is an Asian F2P MMO that was released in 2004 and exhibits many of the typical features such as steeds, in-game marriage, PvP and purchases of potions – health, mana, XP, buffs as well as basic crafting components and additional bank and inventory space. There isn't a background storyline but a setting – ancient China as evidenced by the buildings, but there are also green-skinned orcs. There is also a form of "automatic play" in Conquer Online in the automatic pathing as well as in-game training that I shall elaborate on. And now it's ported to the iPad, and works amazingly well.

The shooting is tight, the experience exciting, and the interplay between games a joy to behold. There are definitely a few months of refinement ahead, but Eve Online players can enjoy another facet to their universe and PS3 loyalists can enjoy a great shooter for nothing.

Perhaps it's a love of the ugly retro duckling, or just because Taern's developers White Moon have dared to try something different - whatever the case may be, I just like this MMORPG. Its narrative, its traditional vibe, and its naivety, just make it a game you can't help but foster nice feelings towards.

If you’re in the mood for a decent top-down shooter with some solid ARPG elements in character building and load-out tweaking you could do a lot worse than the budget-priced Livelock. If you’ve got a good friend or two to play with, even better.

Dying Light has some issues when compared to its forbears, but it also sets itself apart in some remarkable ways. The parkour really is as good as you’ve heard and is the first bit of innovation we’ve seen in the zombie genre in far too long. The RPG systems definitely allow you to hone your character in a natural fashion, but it would have been nice to see some extra classes for variety. Night play isn’t for me, but I won’t knock it for that. Techland never hid its brutal nature. As a piece of zombie fiction, Dying Light isn’t the most original tale. As a way to experience the undead apocalypse first-hand? It’s hard to beat.

Haven does very well in most categories, and still maintains a good overall score despite the setbacks. While I wouldn't link this to anyone as their first MMO experience, I would give this to someone looking for something new and entertaining in a sandboxy package.

No matter how elaborate a review is, there is one thing that numbers can never really convey and that is whether a game is fun. The simple fact is that Digimon Masters Online is a fun game. It's not perfect and it has a few obvious flaws, but the game is entertaining. For a child making their first foray into the digital world or for a long-time fan returning to the memories of youth there is nothing quite like watching your Digimon evolve for the first time.

None of us will ever be as questionably cool as neighborhood otaku a**hole Travis Touchdown, nor have a world that sings and flashes to his tune as we dance around swinging a laser katana. Nor will we be flooded by such an incredibly preserved imagination of cool 80’s and 90’s nostalgia. But we can pretend for a few minutes! That’s the fun of a video game like No More Heroes 3, right?

Naraka: Bladepoint does have a lot of cool and unique ideas for the battle royale genre. I love its melee-focused combat, I love the varied weapon selection, and I dig the durability system replacing the "limited ammo" functions of other games in the genre. However the game's longevity suffers due to becoming stale quickly, the lack of variance in the core gameplay loop rearing its ugly head quickly. It's the kind of game I would absolutely recommend to a friend, but only for one or two matches at a time. For long marathon sessions, there are far better options.

With routine patches and dedicated bug fixes, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could end up being a transcendent moment in franchise history. The ambition of its branching paths, the size of its open world, and the selection of different Pokemon available are all massive, signaling that Game Freak and The Pokemon Company wanted this to be a flagship moment for the series. Unfortunately, all of that ambition is marred by the technical trials left in its wake, creating some truly infuriating moments during a game where I should be adventuring with a smile on my face. The foundation of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is strong, but there are too many technical shortcomings in the experience to truly call it great.

With routine patches and dedicated bug fixes, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could end up being a transcendent moment in franchise history. The ambition of its branching paths, the size of its open world, and the selection of different Pokemon available are all massive, signaling that Game Freak and The Pokemon Company wanted this to be a flagship moment for the series. Unfortunately, all of that ambition is marred by the technical trials left in its wake, creating some truly infuriating moments during a game where I should be adventuring with a smile on my face. The foundation of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is strong, but there are too many technical shortcomings in the experience to truly call it great.

It is hard to articulate just how detrimental the Chaos Portal section of Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning - Fatesworn is to the rest of the new content. Until those portals opened this felt like a story worthy of Amalur, with a few twists and turns and Agarth acting a fool (as is tradition). Then the brakes were pumped, and I was buried in purple Chaos energy for far, far too long in the main arc. If there's one lesson I hope any prospective sequel developers take from this big adventure, it's this: leave the Chaos Portals out of this and just make the game you know you can make. As the rest of the adventure proves, the Amalur franchise can still hold its weight.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is best experienced for yourself, not spoiled by a friend or watched on a YouTube channel. To fully understand what it's trying to do, you need to hear those voices for yourself, feel that anguish and pain as it happens, and continue to press on through it. It's a powerful game with a powerful message, even if some parts of it aren't as engaging as the rest. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 requires your patience; if you provide it, you will be rewarded handsomely.

This drastic change in tone and structure from the Rainbow Six: Siege we've all come to enjoy is cool…for a time. The different alien types--while seeming overly familiar compared to other video game monsters--are fun to fight and strategize against. The objectives are fun and tense, and the "do we continue or leave now" choice is always filled with tension. I just wish there was more of this game to play, and that the repetition of the game didn't set in so soon. Extraction is certainly worthy of the Rainbow Six moniker, I just don't know if it will be laying Siege to the other game's fanbase anytime soon.

Kyn’s mission-based gameplay means you can take an hour at a time and feel like you’ve done a lot. The RTS/RPG style combat is a novel invention and the puzzles are very well designed. Just don’t expect anything earth-shattering here.

Dragomon Hunter Online is fun. There are no two ways about it. The graphics are decent, the game play is solid, the defeating of Dragomon and having the at-time horrific RNG go your way and getting it for a mount is terrific and some of the little touches are welcome. It is, I believe, a diamond in the rough. If enough attention is paid to cleaning up gold sellers, making item shop prices more reasonable and some of the forced quests in to optional ones, it could be a real gem over time. Kids and anime fans will enjoy their time as one of those games to pick up now and again.

I looked forward to the tiles where enemies spawned in big groups rather than trickle in individually. Those moments made me feel the most challenged and rewarded. The game has a lot of fun in it for what is a decent tabletop game turned board game turned video game. All for a cheap price.

Creatively Assembly has made a good, solid game. Total War: Pharaoh offers a fun experience for anyone interested in the time period surrounding the Bronze Age Collapse. The technical issues I experienced were few. Out of the various gameplay systems, I particularly enjoyed the Royal/Hittite Court intrigue. But while the initial experience was great, some players may find the mid to late game lacks depth.

Fallout 76 is the series’ Freshman introduction into the world of online, multiplayer games. As a result, we are experiencing all of the awkwardness and clumsiness associated with that season of life. It is imperfect and a bit uncomfortable, but I see opportunity for Fallout 76 to be more than it presently it - to be a truly great, rich Fallout experience.

While it’s clear that Lost Ark isn’t necessarily an ARPG, but rather a traditional Korean MMORPG with an isometric view, Smilegate is very clearly looking to cater to a specific audience. Lost Ark finds itself focused on a never-ending gear treadmill, and it does an extremely good job at it. Unfortunately, casual players who want to explore an interesting world or want diverse or more dynamic content will likely be let down. And while Lost Ark is fun, the arduous leveling process and repetitive endgame will likely lead to polarizing opinions about it, with most players either loving or hating their experience in the end.

Green Hell is a survival game set in the Amazon jungle where I played as a man lost trying to figure out what was going on while searching for his lost wife and making sure I didn’t die of dehydration along the way. At the normal settings, the survival aspects of Green Hell were harsh enough to make me wonder whether I would actually finish the story. However, after some tweaking, I was able to enjoy most of the game. Though, in the end, I was left wondering whether the experience was worth it in the end.

The Conan Exiles: Isle of Siptah DLC is fun. I would have liked to see the area somehow attached to the main map, but I understand that there are, likely, technical limitations involved. To my knowledge, there is still no word on when server transfers will become available. The more I played this DLC, the more I have enjoyed it. But the remaining technical issues and visual bugs hold it back from being a fully immersive experience in the Conan universe. I am glad the developers have added more PvE elements to the new map. Though your mileage may vary at times. I played for hours without a single program freeze two days ago. Whereas yesterday I had two within a few hours. I initially enjoyed Conan Exiles' original map but became bored quickly. The Isle of Siptah DLC, with its various improvements, now feels more interesting to me in comparison.

Sea of Thieves has made enough improvements that I will likely rally the sea dogs I used to sail with back together to complete both adventures and have some fun. With the PS5 release, I can also make some new friends in the game. The biggest hurdle overall to the PS5 release is that this isn’t anything special for anyone who has played this on either a PC or Xbox.

ll in all, HeroWarz is a decent little ARPG for those who want to jump in, grind out a few instances, and jump out feeling as if something was accomplished. With a bit more attention to keeping players engaged through the addition of new features and events, it’s quite possible that HeroWarz will find its niche with its western audience.

Zenless Zone Zero achieves the flash and thrill of a modern fighter built for players of all skill levels. The fantastic combat can often get hampered by the pacing of story, and the mismatched feel of the world inside the Hollow and the slow-paced life outside of it. There are a lot of great game modes, some unique characters to collect, an enticing story and a fun arcade diversion that updates some retro classics. It’s obvious from the quality this is a Hoyoverse game. For the introductory price of free this is well worth your time, maybe even more than other Hoyoverse titles that require a higher cost investment. However, Zenless Zone Zero feels like it’s a Hoyoverse game that needs a little more time finding itself.

Between the flat power curve, unexciting items, and unlocking all your abilities by level 20, Torchlight 3 ultimately suffers a dire pacing problem. Getting to the end game is a fairly non-exciting and long grind and not enough changes with the experience at the end game to keep me playing. I think the developers could get there with a few good patches that make items exciting, enchanting less painful, and skills synergize better together but they have to recognize the problem exists to begin with. The groundwork is there for a great Torchlight installment if they would listen closely to player feedback and fix these pitfalls. Until then I’ll keep checking in with the patch notes and hoping for a No Man’s Sky-esque comeback but for now if someone asks me how Torchlight 3 is I’ll simply respond with “Eh, it’s okay”.

The Ascent equally frustrates and impresses me, one moment dropping my jaw with the city's neon-soaked beauty and the next making me clench my fists in anger. Veles is a brutal, unforgiving world, but it's one I enjoyed blasting my way through...when the game was being fair about it. Navigating the menus is a chore, but building a character is fun and the story is interesting enough that I don't mind the technical issues that pop up. It's not a perfect game, but if this is the beginning of a new franchise then it's a solid foundation from which to make its Ascent.

Unfortunately, I have to consider the entire game while I review Suicide Squad. Its incredible storytelling should cause you to give it a chance, but don’t be ignorant of its matchmaking issues, the highly repetitive nature of the campaign missions, or the fact that the end of the game comes off as super confusing. It may be worth waiting for a sale for anyone other than the most dedicated DC fans out there. Suicide Squad had great potential, but for me, it ultimately fell short.

If Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is any indication, the core philosophy of the game still works in 2024. Running around the mall with an array of silly weapons is still brutal fun, the time restrictions of 72 Hour Mode make each decision heavy and important, and the Willamette Parkview Mall has never looked better. However, there's some jank under the hood, a few key improvements are missing, and the story could have used a small adjustment or two for modern times. None of these problems, however, serve as mortal wounds; like the zombies, our enjoyment with DRDR keeps coming back whenever those issues turn up.

I’m enjoying my time in Hood when I can get in the right environment. It’s fun to take down a whole team in a string of headshots with Robin, or assassinations as Marianne. But that fun is incredibly dependent on whether I’m playing with my friends or not. At its very core, Hood: Outlaws & Legends is a good game, it just requires good people around you to make it so.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is a good game and has the potential to be an excellent game with more patches and polish. It could become a very exciting title if the Questline development team eventually adds more depth to character-build mechanics through DLC, item design, or expansions. In its current state, it is a worthwhile experience if you are looking for another open-world RPG with an interesting storyline, lots of interesting areas to explore, and, at times, a spectacular-looking world setting. But don't expect a fully polished and bug-free experience.

Lost Sphear is a good JRPG from Tokyo RPG Factory that falls short of being great. The refinements made to the combat system from I am Setsuna are a welcome addition. The additional colors in the environment also spruce the game up a bit. However, no matter how strong the overall story arch is there are some deep lulls in the early game that are hard to push past.

Riding along the Oregon mountain side is pretty fun if you aren’t on chase missions, and there’s nothing more satisfying than the instant stealth kills, watching Deacon dig his knife into the spine of a freaker and pull it straight down. If nothing else, Days Gone is a good game that’ll hold you over while waiting for that next game.

As a fan of Destiny 2, I am enjoying Lightfall. It definitely had a bumpy start, especially if you’re a big story buff, but almost everything after the campaign has been solid. I wouldn’t say anything blew me away, but nothing has been horrible either. They stuck to the tried and true formula that has worked for them for quite a while now, and while I hoped for a bigger spectacle around some characters, Neptune itself, or even the raid, I am wanting to play more and do more.

In the end, Wildgate doesn’t try to hide what it is; what you see is what you get. If the trailer looks exciting to you then it’s really not that expensive to give a try. The PvP content can be quite intense and is really fun with a group of friends, but on the other hand the exploration and PvE combat is pretty shallow. One of the problems with space-focused games is that there’s a lot of room to travel but often very little to do, and Wildgate is no different once the initial appeal wears off. Thankfully, there is a roadmap that promises seasonal content drops and I do hope the developers are able to expand to game into something more.

More than anything, I'd say Portal Knights felt mostly pleasant to me. A relaxing push forward, the visual asthetic along with the relatively unthreatening enemies (barring a few surprises) it seems like despite the push forward, the game is more encouraging of players willing to stop and smell the roses; and then build a huge castle on top of them.

Medieval Dynasty isn’t meant to be rushed, rather, to be an experience and a personal challenge for those that want to see how long they can rule and keep the peace within their kingdom. While there are still clearly some stark improvements that can be made, I think that Medieval Dynasty succeeded in bringing something new to an already saturated and stale genre, and can be a lasting favorite, as long as they continue to make improvements and provide updates.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis is the most impressive game in the series. Opening up the world, streamlining the classes, and introducing features slowly - like augments, upgrading gear, and multi-weapons, will go a long way to ease new players in to PSO2. Fans of the series will surely find a lot to love, but with a short story, limited questing, and a monotonous level grind that doesn’t provide much in the way of variation, I can see many players hopping back to the legacy PSO2 servers, or moving on to something else, until new content updates roll out over the course of the year. New Genesis is full of potential, and I’m PSE-Bursting at the seams to see what they have in store for us.

The Claws of Awaji expansion offers plenty of new content for Assassin’s Creed Shadows and satisfyingly wraps up the cliffhanger in Naoe’s story that was hinted at the end of the base game. The expansion’s pacing with Yasuke is better, too, but it’s a shame that he didn’t get a new weapon while Naoe did. Still, Claws of Awaji is a worthy send off to two of the best Assassin’s Creed characters in recent memory.

Crash Team Rumble impressed me more with every completed match. Those hoots and hollers from SGF make a lot of sense now, as it's one of those games where one late-game maneuver can spell victory for your team, and it can happen in an instant. Not being able to connect and play the fun game was frustrating – almost as much as connecting, playing one match, and then watching the game crash – but once I was in, I was having a blast. If Toys For Bob and Activision continue to support this game through building its roster, adding new modes, and offering more silly cosmetics, I can see this game enjoying a long and successful run. They just need to make sure we can log on to play it.

Atomfall is a really fun time that suffers from several flaws. They’re not quite enough to hurt the experience too much, but they’re noticeable. If what you want is a new survival experience, and you’re willing to put up with them, though, then I think you’ll be very satisfied, especially with the upcoming DLC.

Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream delivers a great deal for the franchise, offering an engaging story and the chance to team up with beloved characters. While I believe it stands as the best Sword Art Online game to date, elevating the series to new heights, its repetitive gameplay and lack of content variety may hinder its long-term appeal. While its nostalgic charm shines, whether this can sustain players' interest long-term remains uncertain. Still, I'm optimistic that future installments will build on the strengths Fractured Daydream has introduced.

Once you distill it all down I did have fun in Destiny. I just wish the ride would have lasted longer. The endgame grind is not what I was hoping for and has turned me off completely. Bungie has stated repeatedly that the game really starts at 20. If that is true then this game will have a very short shelf life. The grind just is not fun. Hopefully these special events will keep the game fresh and new for most players to drop in and out of and get more value for their dollar.

Despite its issues, Alone in the Dark is interesting enough to be worth completing. While much of the story overlaps between Emily and Edward, there are a couple of unique sections for each, and apparently if you uncover all of the hidden items there’s a secret ending available. With that in mind, Alone in the Dark can be completed in around 5 hours the first time and about half that for subsequent playthroughs because the puzzles don’t change depending on which main character you select.

Neverwinter is worth a visit by anyone who is a fan of both MMOs and of action-RPGs. Despite some glaring issues, including the lacklustre PvP and the Zen Market, the game is wildly fun and is a worthwhile detour on one’s journey through the MMO space today. It remains to be seen what Cryptic does with the feedback it has received from the players during the past month, but Neverwinter is one to keep an eye on as time goes by. As the title says, Neverwinter is an Astral Diamond in the Rough.

If you're a fan of the newer, more lighthearted Like A Dragon titles and enjoy quirky pirate adventures, then Pirate Yakuza is worth your time. However, if you’re looking for the grittier crime drama of previous Yakuza titles, you might find Pirate Yakuza is too wacky of a departure for the franchise.

Despite the optimization issues and random difficulty spikes, I do think that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is ultimately good – it just could have been so much better.

Ultimately, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle comes out greater than the sum of its parts. The story kept my interest throughout, no doubt aided by the stellar voicework all around. Exploring these big areas and searching every nook and cranny for a hidden tomb or lost relic is a ton of fun, and solving puzzles gives your brain a challenge at the same time – jank and all.

Even with Death end re;Quest 2’s visual issues the combat and skill system keep the gameplay enjoyable. It’s quite fun watching monsters smash into each other and bounce off the arena walls like taking a part in a game of Beyblades. Just be sure you know what you’re getting into because there are several periods of downtime when experiencing the beautiful visual graphic novel portions of the game.

Sword of justice, while fun and heavy on exploration, falters with the amount of menus and systems it throws at you. There is a lot to experience and as leveling did not take long, you get hit with a lot of content all at once in a bit of a disjointed way. Still, Sword of Justice is fun. The story itself hasn’t really hit the mark for me yet, but with branching paths and minimal bugs, it's been great being able to go back and make new choices. Overall, as Wuxia MMORPGs have been few and far between in the west lately, I will say Sword of Justice is a pretty good entry as long as you are okay with playing casually and are not a hardcore player.

Current lag issues notwithstanding, I would recommend Shadowrun Chronicles to anyone who enjoys the Shadowrun universe and enjoys turn-based strategy games. If you liked Shadowrun Returns, you'll probably also enjoy Chronicles, although you won't find the same depth of story just yet. The developers at Cliffhanger promise much more story that will be molded by the players as time goes on.

Absolver is a great combat game, and a fantastic blend of genres. It’s just sad that the PVE side of things is so short, because I’d really have enjoyed the game if there was more of an adventure to play through. Still, if you’re an old pro and fan of fighting games then Absolver may very well be worth the buy. It’s unique blend of ARPG and traditional kung-fu mastering is a whole lot of fun.

In the end, I came out a fairly happy camper. Just like any other game, War of the Immortals has its ups and downs. However, unlike any other game War of the Immortals is going to provide you a unique experience that you really will only be able to understand once you check the game out for yourself. If you're looking for a new MMORPG or are in the market to try out something you may have not played before, it is definitely worth giving this game a shot, because you may come out more satisfied than you came in.

The graphics won’t blow you away and it won’t be making too many “best graphics of the year” lists. But it’s a loving tribute and beautifully recreated edition of a much-beloved classic. There’s a lot to like in this remake, and if this is the building block for what’s to come in the franchise, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

Will I keep playing Blade & Soul Neo? Probably. It’s a way for me to relive the summer of 2014, hunkered down with my laptop, next to my partner, coordinating how to duo a boss we had no right fighting. And if I stick around long enough I might even get the chance to check out classes that were released by the time I dropped the game. I just can’t see the revival of this MMORPG being a particularly large success for NCSOFT, even if I wish it would be.

Just like a visit to the carnival, even though it wasn’t the greatest experience ever, I haven’t ended a day playing Elyon feeling like I had a bad time. The bigger question for me is how long this carnival can last? We’re only a month past launch, and if you aren’t online for the daily reset, finding a group to run dungeons with can be difficult. The same can be said about finding a match for the various types of PvP. The fewer players there are, the harder it will be to turn a profit, so it won’t be long before the financials start to dictate what items go into the cash shop. And when that happens, the player base will shrink even further. So I guess I’ll keep on riding this roller coaster until it breaks down. Aaaaand, it’s gone!

Lichdom: Battlemage is a fun, if shortsighted RPG with some fantastic upsides. Is it worth the asking price of $40? I’d say no at this point, and hold out for a Steam sale. It’s definitely something fans of the old Hexen will enjoy, but fans of open ended RPGs will find Xaviant’s game lacking. A solid effort, but not quite what I’d hoped for after seeing the game at PAX East this year.

The bones of Worldslayer are excellent, but the story and end game content are greatly lacking.

The Age of Wonders IV: Dragon Dawn content patch feels like a natural addition to the game. The developers at Triumph Studios have done a great job implementing it. It adds an extra ruler type for players to explore and a dragon thematic line of spell tomes. If included in the base game, it would have easily bumped my original review score by 0.5 or even a 1.0. As a stand-alone content pack for $9.99, a few more minor additions to the new features would have gone a long way in fleshing it out. It's a good value, but not a great one.

There are a lot of enjoyable aspects to Immortals Fenyx Rising, but very little feels new. Instead, it’s similar and safe, like I’ve done this all before. And I have but with a different main character and color palette. Its biggest sin is being entirely forgettable once you move on to the next game.

While I wouldn’t ever call it a masterpiece, I had hours of fun and laughter as I found the joy in killing orcs. One of the most satisfying things to do was to launch a grenade into a group of low level orcs and watch them explode with orc guts flying all over the place. It was humorous. It was satisfying. It scratched that itch to just sit down and shoot something especially after a bad day. My hope is to see OMD!3 come to the Nintendo Switch and/or Steam where the internet issues I experienced with Stadia won’t be a factor. All the same, if you’re a Stadia Pro member, I do recommend giving it a try. You just might find that you too get a kick out of killing orcs.

Far Cry 6 has some explosive action, but in my 25-or-so hours of gameplay the stretches between the most explosive missions bring the experience down. Yara is huge and full of things to explore, but exploration should not mean "walk 1000 in-game meters to get an objective that sends me 2000 meters in the opposite direction. Every character is expertly portrayed--not the least of which is Giancarlo Esposito, whose Anton Castillo ranks right near the top of best Far Cry villains. The world and the people in it are interesting, interesting enough to overcome the monotony, but getting there can certainly be difficult. Far Cry 6 doesn't move the needle at all, but it still holds its own amongst the other shooter games available.

Let's get one thing straight: I do enjoy playing Dying Light 2 Stay Human. The story is great and warrants additional playthroughs thanks to multiple endings, the combat feels awesome, and there's a ton of stuff to do in this sprawling city (500 hours worth, apparently). It just needs to clean up the technical issues and stop spawning the final boss inside the platform he's standing on, among other things. If that happens, the impact--much like the game itself--will be night and day.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed my play through of Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior. The replayability is there with the time objective to try for a better time, with different modifiers and different spells. Lysfanga has challenging arenas, but it feels so rewarding when earning that victory. The story doesn’t stick out particularly strongly with the plot, but the gameplay along the way was pretty fun.

Overall, the expansion is good. The graphics still hold up, combat is fun, and the new zones are interesting to explore. The developers did a great job with the story, and while the ending was a bit of a letdown it leaves enough open story threads for hopefully something interesting in a future patch. Everquest 2 Visions of Vetrovia kept me engaged and rekindled my interest in EQ 2 to the point where I have started a new Monk and am already level 50.

Fire Emblem Engage has a lot of great elements, from its striking visuals to the classic Fire Emblem turn-based strategy gameplay. The story being told, however, does not live up to the bar set by other games in the series, while some battles drag on to the point where I'm fighting off a nap just as hard as I'm fighting the enemy armies. I enjoy the game in spurts, but before long I find myself wondering when I can stop engaging with this Fire Emblem. There's enough here to enjoy Fire Emblem Engage, but only the most dedicated will be able to see this through to the end.

While there’s no doubt that AoW has levels of intricacy that are unusual in MMOs today, those intricacies are numerous, and the localization an ongoing effort, making the whole experience difficult for many. Not everyone has the time or the patience to read through scads of text, assimilate and apply those many, many lessons. For those that do, power to you. Here’s hoping you find plenty of gold at the end of that complicated, text-heavy rainbow.

I think this game is going to be a sleeper. For me, the only thing that might make TMI’s silly aesthetic even better is if they replaced the grown-up sound effects with recordings of gamers going, “Pew! Pew! RAWR! Crash!” But as I said, it’s still early yet. The Missing Ink is one to watch.

If you’re looking for something new and fresh in the world of strategy games, this might not be the game for you. But if you’re looking for technical, celestial battles with lots of tiny details to optimize and organize, you might end up falling in love with this behemoth of a game.

If the developers went back to the drawing board and designed a strategy RPG from the ground up and implemented the systems present in PXZ2 they would be off to a great start. However an overly long introduction that becomes boring after a few hours distracts from what is otherwise a decent game. If this game had a tighter story, trimmed up the dialogue, and improved upon its technical performance by reducing slowdown, it would be something special.

Risen 3: Titan Lords sets out to cater to a niche of the RPG market and does so, for the most part, successfully. The pirate setting differentiates it from other, similar, games on the market and the open and explorable world is vast and potentially very dangerous. The game is crippled somewhat by a lack of graphical shine, and the storytelling leans heavily on lazy cliches and trades mystery for clarity and motivation. Despite those problems, players looking to plunk a parrot on their shoulder and slap a patch over their eye then head off in search of buried treasure will find a lot to enjoy.

Despite its missed opportunities and forgotten promises, I’m still glad I dropped the money to experience No Man’s Sky. It’s something unique in a world where most of what we get are sequels or off-shoots. Fortune favors the bold, and I hope this is just the beginning of the type of innovation we can expect to see from Hello Games. And frankly, I hope they take all the time they need with their next game.

What could have been one of the greatest features to this game turns out to be one of its biggest weaknesses, the DM Mode.

For all of the things that it does well, Forge feels like it needs more time in development and beta to achieve its potential. I really like the game's model of instanced PvP, and enjoy Forge's dynamic third-person combat. The overall features feel unfinished, however, and while it looks like Dark Vale Games is aware of Forge's missing - and necessary - elements and is working to include them, the game in its released state requires a bit of faith in the developers to make it what it should be. The core gameplay experience is fun and frantic, but Forge will need to attend to a more robust feature set to encourage the dedicated community it requires to succeed.

Order & Chaos is a novel, interesting, and intriguing application. Being a truly fully-fledged MMORPG on the iPad makes it very endearing to a goblin-loving veteran such as I, but there are some glaring problems with the game to overlook before you can truly enjoy it. A WoW clone until the end, but for the price of admission, and the amount of "I Can't Believe It's Not Azeroth" fun you can have, you might just forgive it.

You will find great value for the cost of nothing with Prime World. It’s also a fairly small download, currently clocking in at 1.36GB, so there’s no real reason why you shouldn’t try the game if you’re a fan of the MOBA genre.

Devilian is free to play, and is infinitely better than most other imported MMOARPGs on the market right now. If not having an MMO world isn’t a deal breaker, you might be better off with Diablo 3 or Path of Exile. But if you’ve always wished TERA and Diablo would just make a baby and let you have a Corgi pet, then this is the game for you.

In the end, Age of Empires Online works well as a demo rather than a F2P game. There just doesn't seem to have been enough thought about what each element from the MMO and RTS genres bring to the party. Instead, they've just been thrown together.

There's quite a bit to see and experience in Spirit Tales so it's worth your time to at least give it a try. Just be mindful that the game, while cute and pretty, falls short in certain areas and still needs a bit of improvement.

Defiance is a really fun game despite its numerous rough edges. But can that fun overcome its mediocrity? That would likely be up to each individual gamer. If you’re hankering for an online PvE-centric shooter that’s out of beta, Defiance may be for you. If you’re a mega-fan of the show and like to game, it’s also probably a no-brainer. But if you’re looking for a polished and complete experience to rival other MMOs on the market, you might be better off waiting to see if Trion can remedy the problems marring Defiance’s launch. If the blogs from the studio are any indication, Defiance could wind up being a diamond in the rough. But it’s going to take some time to get there, and hopefully it will before we all forget it exists.

What it really boils down to is this: if you really enjoy Star Trek, especially TNG, then you’ll likely love the story being told in Resurgence. As a Star Trek story, it’s fantastic but as a game, it’s terribly buggy. So be aware that this Star Trek gem is not perfect before you decide to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Chimeraland by Pixel Soft is an unpolished experience with minor bugs, but it is still weirdly fun. Player races and various creatures are some of the oddest things I have seen in any MMO. The layout of the UI for PC is not intuitive compared to mobile, and there are localization issues. Players may be turned away by some of the graphics and the initial learning curve. But if you can get by these issues, there is a lot of game here for players who enjoy exploration, survival building mechanics, and pet collection/evolution. While many of Chimeraland’s systems at a base level can feel familiar, it is a unique experience.