This is a quality effort by Nintendo and Camelot. The series’ whimsy is here in spades and whether played solo or with friends, Super Rush offers hours of fun. Plus, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the killer golf uniforms that much (although sadly not all) of the cast is sporting. (Jakks Pacific should keep these new looks in mind for future toys.) There is something lacking when looking at the game as a whole, however, with the blame spread evenly across the small roster, limited course options, and underwhelming absence of online rankings and tourneys. Super Rush is no hole-in-one, but it hits for par at the very least and will only keep getting better as it’s expanded upon with DLC in the coming months.

Less than spectacular visuals can take away part of the experience a game can offer, but solid gameplay will always shine through and SpyHunter is a perfect example of this.

An okay platformer that left me ambivalent. For all of the things it does, it is too short and easy. It could be far worse, and it is certainly better than expected. The game is simply of mediocre quality.

While the game has a lot of room for improvement, it’s also the best Sanrio game I’ve played so far across a number of different platforms over the years, and a lot more thought was put into it than just “tap to the beat to march Sanrio characters down a path.” I say give it a shot and see if it’s for you, especially if you love Sanrio and have a good time with rhythm games.

Overall, I am very pleased to see the Pikmin series getting more attention and finding a larger audience. The slow and steady, steps-focused progression makes the game the app a great motivator for easy exercise. But Pikmin Bloom is best described as an app that gets you walking more, rather than a hit new game. It has plenty of thoughtful features that will likely have you checking in on it daily, but its various minor flaws leave me a little disappointed that the precious little Pikmin didn’t quite get the app that I think they deserve.

WayForward clearly aimed to put out something more than the cheap cash-in and in the process produced probably the best of the Thor games and one of the better movie tie-ins in recent memory.

Kokuga boasts masterful game design that can overcome the haphazard power-up system to create slow, tactical scenarios and fast, strategic boss fights. Why then, are most levels filled with minutes of burdensome crawl? With everything taken into account, Kokuga might just be worth it for the boss fights alone.

Fans new to the series will get the most from Sonic Origins, but even diehards will find plenty to love if they can get past the shortcomings. Here’s hoping SEGA eventually returns to Sonic Origins and makes it the proper celebration of the Blue Blur that it should have been.

In looking at Tanzia as a whole, there’s no question that this game is a labor of love for the two principal developers, a fact most evident during the closing credits. It’s also a game that left this reviewer wishing there was more: more spells, more potions, more places to explore, and more plotline, both in terms of the characters already introduced and the wider world of the game. The endgame does hint that there may be more to come, but for now this appears to be it. Still, what is there now is a lot of fun, and if you’re looking for 10 or so hours of RPG goodness you could do a lot worse. Worth a look.

Ultimately, I found solving Ghost of the Dusk’s mysteries to be a tad rote by the end. Still, despite some slight repetition, the mechanics here are soundly implemented and I rather liked my time in Jake Hunter’s world. There are multiple extra cases (which were formerly mobile releases in Japan) available to play, including a hilarious bonus that depicts Jake in a chibi form, which should keep players busy for a good, long time. Don’t sleep on Ghost in the Dusk; it’s a pleasant addition to the 3DS library of games.

Lego Marvel’s Avengers is a wonderful recreation of the source material.

It's always nice to see developers support Wii with quality titles, and certainly this fits the description of a quality title - Sid Meier's Pirates is arguably one of the best games of the last decade. At the same time, the Wii version is - despite the IR and motion controls - probably the weakest of the game's many incarnations, despite being the most expensive.

Monster Hunter XXL is tailored specifically for those who want a bawdy Choose Your Own Adventure with light RPG elements and lots of replay value. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll find it here, and at a pretty good price point considering the quantity of content. It’s not a game for kids, though.

Fans of strategy and deck building games are likely to enjoy DungeonTop. Its appealing visuals and huge customization potential gives it a lot of replay value. However, replay may happen sooner than you think due to the game’s base difficulty or bugs that force you to restart.

Thankfully, the enhanced, head tracking New 3DS easily resolves this issue and makes playing either version of Assault Horizon Legacy with the 3D turned all the way up a much more accessible and enjoyable experience.

Late Shift is the latest example of just how far the FMV genre has come since the days of the Sega CD: the production values are insanely impressive, the narrative is interesting and the acting is strong. There are also incentives to revisit the game, making it a deeper experience than other options on the eShop. Players looking for a more hands-on experience will likely want to steer clear, but fans of the FMV genre will find that Late Shift sets a new standard.

At the very least it’s very easy to share a level, and being able to do so extends the replay value of the game by quite a bit. It’s possible to go on and snag new creations from fellow fans as well as Atooi itself. That’s a great bonus, especially for someone like me who’s much more prone to play a game than make one. Overall Chicken Wiggle is a wonderful inaugural release for the folks at Atooi. Sales have been low on this one, but with millions of 3DS and 2DS handhelds on the market there’s no excuse for that; go support the game and give it a download!

Once again, I still enjoyed Astor: Blade of the Monolith’s combat and gameplay. Given the small team that it was made by, they have done a nice job delivering an entertaining experience. It just falls short by trying to be too many things in its gameplay and not having enough depth in its story to deliver the best experience possible. So, it is not that Astor is a bad game. It just feels like the developers kept having moments where they wanted to add another and another feature, until individual features were not incorporated enough to feel worth being there. With more attention to storyline and fewer, but more utilized mechanics, Astor could have been great.

Sweet Shop is a step backwards in some ways, but it’s a classic example of less being more. As a result, it’s also a strong jumping on point for new and lapsed fans. It’s good fun, there are a bunch of recipes to complete, and the charm of Mama as she guides players through the game is wonderful, as always. Sweet Shop should by no means be a swan song for the series; instead, it’s a rallying cry.

As I stressed above, the question of Ultra‘s worth is hard to peg. Some might be thrilled to have yet another iteration of Street Fighter II to tool around with, while others will be less than pleased to play this decades-old game once more. In my opinion, Ultra is a solid experience, boasting gorgeous visuals, tight controls, and some fun pickup-and-play multiplayer, whether online or off. Hardcore tournament competitors will most likely get the least amount of enjoyment from Ultra, but for everyone else this is an excellent entry point for newbies and a fine return for old school players. Though the extras on the cartridge are hit or miss, this is an overall wonderful addition to Switch’s library.

The thing is, while this version of Skylanders SWAP Force certainly gets the platforming job done for a little while, it just doesn’t live up to the golden standard the console versions have set. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad game– it’s pretty decent, and serves as a great vehicle for its eponymous Skylanders. But with simple platforming and no multiplayer, it could be much better.

Despite some of the aggravations, Smoke and Sacrifice is a fascinating entry into the Switch lineup, and is worth a look for players pining for a crafting-based action RPG on that system.

It’s a beautiful throwback adventure that is, overall, quite enjoyable once it picks up steam, but its problems are hard to ignore. Simply put, the janky hit detection from decades-old games is a flaw that breaks up the flow of otherwise smooth controls, forcing the player to spend their first few hours with the least enjoyable transformations, leaving a poor first impression.

Like, it all feels like one of those LEGO-type adventures that I've heard so much about, only with more charm since it's got Scoob's and my personalities and all of the gang here to help out.

With monotonous levels and repetitive action, one can’t hope to play this title for more than an hour at a time.

It may not be perfect, but games like Ping 1.5+ prove that there are great eShop games out there for Wii U owners to experience.

Ultimately, Skylanders: Giants isn't going to convert many gamers my age as I think we might be a little too cynical for a game that's so blatant in its "pay-to-play" model.

Toki Tori 2 won’t be for everyone. The pace is slow and the price tag will keep away a lot of people on the fence. But for those that enjoyed the original, or puzzle fans that might have missed the boat, this is a very unique and cerebral experience that shouldn’t be missed.