Ultra die-hard series addicts will find some reward in a handful of lively but short cutscenes, but overall this licensed title lacks the joy and entertainment of its source material.

Even if Peggle 2 works best as a solitary pursuit, you can fully expect 12 bucks to buy you innumerable hours of absorbing amusement.

Still, this is a smartly executed return to the kind of gameplay that made Castlevania great, and we'd love to see it grow into something more. [Jan 2014, p.85]

A survival mode and a handful of inventive multiplayer scenarios add some replayability, but considering that they suffer from the same issues that plague the core game, you're probably best leaving raider in the bomb. [Jan 2014, p.76]

With a semi-open layout that requires return visits to a base camp to resupply and save, it's unlike any other mission in Last Light, and more than worth the $5 all by itself. [Jan 2014, p.70]

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]

Finally, the Chronicles pack offers three short-ish missions, each centering on one of Last Light's supporting characters. [Jan 2014, p.70]

If you've run the first-person gauntlet before, Magrunner's slight tweaks on the formula make it worth checking out. [Jan 2014, p.71]

Disappointingly, the experience becomes a painful chore if you play solo. [Jan 2014, p.69]

While BandFuse evolves the music game genre by allowing you to use real instruments, with so many oversights and foibles, sadly the progression stops there. [Jan 2014, p.69]

Together, this mix of realistic physics and wildly imaginative board design will keep you coming back until...well, Zen releases its next batch of tables. [Jan 2014, p.67]

2012's edition of Rocksmith suffered from some slight latency problems, making it hard to hit notes accurately. This year's release fixes that. [Jan 2014, p.67]

Appalling.

A stunner, refreshing the tried-and-true formula with fantastic visual pop and engaging new modes.

The improvements and additions to one of 2012’s best games make XCOM: Enemy Within’s second quest every bit as alluring as first contact.

Despite simple visuals, the game curiously looks much crisper on Xbox One; the other next-gen advantage comes from a biweekly Challenge objective to tackle. But on either platform, Angry Birds Star Wars should have been a $10 download, and paying much more might make you feel like you've been taken for a ride — and we're not talking about the Millennium Falcon.

While it’s one of the most attractive and polished fitness games we’ve ever played, we can’t help but feel like Zumba Fitness World Party could’ve been so much more. Its breadth and depth of content make it an interesting destination to explore, but when we need to push ourselves, we’ll stick with our copies of Core and Rush for now.

There’s more to Ryse than its glossy exterior suggests, and Marius’ tightly told tale makes for an entertaining journey filled with its share of surprisingly considered carnage, but as the credits rolled, we dreamed about what a sequel might be like. Take it off its rails, inject more variety and depth in its systems…now that’s a game we absolutely want to play.

Dead Rising 3 is undoubtedly fun, and cleans up a lot of the messiness found in previous Dead Risings, but it’s still not the complete antidote to the series’ slowly decaying zombie antics. It also doesn’t take much advantage of the new hardware. Don’t blame the Xbox One, though — this launch-day release is limited primarily by the constraints set by the original’s creaky mechanics and gameplay clichés way back in 2006.

So while a handful of dings and scrapes will unquestionably set some teeth on edge, Forza Motorsport 5 remains a fantastic opening salvo in the battle of the Xbox One racers.

Given its feel as a challenging, enjoyable homage to gaming's past, we relished Crimson Dragon for serving hard-earned silver linings to those wiling to stick with it.

Hardcore fighting fans looking to dive back into a franchise classic should take note: this probably isn't the exact version of the game you remember. The core gameplay, for reasons unknown, is based around the European PAL release, which had a few distinct elements that were changed for the North American version. Casual players won't care, but diehard competitive players will find some attacks are much nastier than they remember.

With its charming, colorful sandbox of tools, there's definitely a micro-managing itch that Zoo Tycoon handily scratches - we just wish the thrills stuck around a bit longer.

Powerstar Golf has its enjoyable strokes, whether playing solo, with local buddies, or while challenging an online rival's best score in an asynchronous mode, but truly head-scratching skill and progression choices diminish what's already an uninspiring clone.

The new Killer Instinct succeeds at stoking nostalgic fires while updating the action. However, a piecemeal season-based approach means that the initial incarnation is extremely light on content, revealing a fighter that’s as packed with vibrant combos as it is unfulfilled promise.

It’s not the most standout piece of work in Xbox One’s launch lineup, nor does it pull off any amazing technical tricks — but it’s a fun, cheap ride busting at the gills with an absurd amount of charm.

Though its missteps won’t have you eagerly trading Lego Marvel Super Heroes around with your friends when you’re done, leafing through its open-world NYC still succeeds as a goofy, absorbing time sink.