With a handful of infuriating exceptions, Blood of the Werewolf's challenging gameplay generally feels fair and rewarding, and its increasingly lethal, lightning-quick action is well paced. [July 2014, p.78]

EA's newest iteration of FIFA features improved play on the pitch, but doesn't provide enough gameplay modes to justify a $60 price tag unless you live and breathe the World Cup, or want to play as every country FIFA recognizes--including American Samoa. [July 2014, p.73]

Blackgate succeeds in channeling Arkham's open-world structure into a 2.5D format, but runs into pacing issues and hackneyed dialogue along the way. [July 2014, p.70]

There's a strange charm to Bound By Flame that helps paper over the performance issues. There's a well-acted but profoundly bewildering script, a baroque crafting system, and drawn-out boss battles. It's not great, but it's fairly... interesting.

Offering a serviceable but somewhat bland alternative for core card-battlers wanting to play with friends(but unable to organize an in-person match), Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium Duels is a bit of a slog for all but super-fans. [June 2014, p.80]

Eutechnyx's third kick at the NASCAR can keeps hitting singleplayer and multiplayer speed bumps that diminish the overall racing experience. [June 2014, p.81]

Rough visuals and a lack of polish hurt, but Pro Hunts offers adequate hunting action without too much artificial bombast. [June 2014, p.80]

We had fun with Last Agent's streamlined story and missions, but navigation issues and faults left over from other episodes make it unworthy of the series' legacy. [June 2014, p.78]

Strike Suit Zero still has its issues, but the Director's Cut does a much better job of accentuating its strengths while hiding its weaknesses.

While Kinect Sports Rivals amuses and impresses in spots, the overall package fails to show significant improvement in the realm of motion gaming, making for an ultimately discouraging early showcase for Kinect 2.0.

The world's first bona fide videogame mascot deserved better than to have five failures trotted out alongside four dirt-simple classics, and the inflated price of admission doesn't do his flawed exhibition any favors. [May 2014, p.83]

Far Cry Classic exhibits many of the ideas that came to define the series, but this decade-old shooter doesn't hold up very well thanks to antiquated design and a spotty porting job. [May 2014, p.82]

Gearbox piles on the wit and humor more thoroughly than it has with its other holiday-themed DLC, but the lack of Valentine's Day-themed environs leaves it feeling too much like the base game. [May 2014, p.77]

While we would've had the first female Dead Rising hero headline a full length game, Fallen Angel is a nice add on with excellent storytelling beats and a beefier adventure than Broken Eagle. [May 2014, p.77]

Dead Rising led by unrepentant killer could be perfect, but Chaos Rising sinks like a stone. [May 2014, p.71]

Constant C’s certainly not for the easily discouraged, but its cleverly designed puzzles and surprisingly engaging story are a treat if you don’t mind a little (okay, a lot of) punishment.

It's one of the brighter spots in this somewhat patchy DLC set, but serious online players needn't shrug off a welcome injection of variety. [April 2014, p.73]

What it does deliver is a clearer, darker look at Wolf’s depressingly downbeat landscape, complete with trolls shooting smack and corrupt, greedy bureaucrats. It’s as mesmerizing as it is glum, using the series’ stark, black-and-neon backdrops as visual clues to Fabletown’s — and Bigby’s — split nature.

However you play, the button-mashing combat proves crushingly simplistic and repetitive, and moving around the stages is awkward and disorienting, with a dizzying camera that makes Battle of Z a pretty ideal motion-sickness simulator.

Thanks to its engaging combat and spectacle, Lightning Returns manages to distract somewhat from its overarching design issues. As a game, it's notably flawed but has its moments. [March 2014, p.76]

Given the scope of what it tries to cover, Liberation HD could’ve easily been as complex and lengthy as its home-console siblings. Instead, this somewhat-confusing adventure gets you to love it, and then leaves you yearning for more.

It’s over far too fast (we explored a bit and finished in roughly 90 minutes) and it’s missing two major Dead Rising staples by omitting co-op play and "psycho" battles. While the single-player focus applies to all Untold Stories, we’re left hoping the other three heroes of Los Perdidos have longer, crazier adventures in store.

Though Spartan Assault boasts many of the aliens, armaments, and well-worn plot wrinkles we associate with the Halo universe, it lacks the polished sheen that just about every other game in the series enjoys.

Despite its literary ancestry, The Raven is uneven in its narrative delivery. Whether stuck on the Orient Express or relaxing on a Venetian cruise ship, The Raven’s cast of well-heeled socialites is deftly drawn, with sharp dialogue and expressive voice acting to match.

The Raven might test your patience in more ways than one, but Zellner remains as endearing a protagonist as we’re likely to encounter.

Like Dawn, Contrast sometimes misses the leaps it strives to make, but when its simple, quiet story and uncomplicated platforming perform in balance, it transforms into a beautiful indie experience that manages to stand on its own. [Feb 2014, p.71]

If you don't care so much for story and just want grindy, hard-as-nails combat, the Tower pack features a succession of difficult shootouts against waves of enemies in diverse areas, with a combat-simulator conceit that allows for deviations from realism. [Jan 2014, p.70]

The Developer Pack, meanwhile, gives us a behind-the-scenes museum in which to try out every firearm and safely examine the game's monsters and human characters up close. [Jan 2014, p.70]