I’d heartily recommend this for KH fans, although I caution that perhaps they should wait for the price to drop. Newcomers to the franchise entirely should avoid this title until the first two anthologies are under the belt. This is definitely not an installment that is easy to jump into.

Destiny is a great prologue, but it is still just a prologue. It’s like telling somebody all about Middle Earth; the races, the lands, the set up for the story, but not telling them of Bilbo’s adventures in The Hobbit or the fellowship’s journey in The Lord of the Rings.

WWE 2K19 suffers from the same problems the WWE product does as a whole: a failure to move forward. The game is great and makes some very notable improvements, especially in MyPlayer and Showcase modes, but it also refuses to move beyond the dated engine that limits actual gameplay innovation.

Unto the End has a wonderfully minimalistic style and while I enjoyed much of my time exploring its world the combat did eventually start to drag. It’s unforgiving action can start to get tiresome even with the generous checkpoint system. If you’re a button mashing kind of gamer then it’s probably best to give this one a miss.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle offers a little of everything for everyone, and does so in splendid fashion.

A serviceable motorcycle road racing game.

Attempts to build upon the original in some smart ways, but the execution ends up being rather messy. The connected world doesn’t provide the player with a living, breathing world to explore, but rather it’s reminiscent of a diorama. One that attempts to fool the player into not seeing how shallow and lifeless things are outside of its walls. It’s a fun, but flawed, follow-up. One that ultimately feels like a tease, as it adds a few much-needed improvements, but not enough to push it over the edge.

MotoGP 20 represents an iterative upgrade over last year’s entry. Fans who skipped MotoGP 19 should definitely pick up this year’s release. The challenge is there for those who want it and taking care of the business side of being a professional rider can be its own reward. Taking a no-handholding approach will no doubt turn off new fans of the sport, but difficulty sliders help to ensure all but the most incompetent leaners will see a podium finish. There may not be many choices when it comes to MotoGP simulations, but thankfully what is here is choice.

Trials of Mana is an escape from reality many of us can use these days. The plot is easy to follow, generally lighthearted, and as mentioned combat is about as easy as it comes. The beginning eight hours or so are very slow-paced, but once the first chapter is cleared, things really pick up. The graphical overhaul leaves a bit to be desired, but the audio work makes up for this, even with the occasionally cheesy dialogue or overdone acting. While RPGs have come a long way since the ‘90s, Trials of Mana stays true to its roots as a game most everyone can enjoy.

Fans of the series or not, Persona 4: Dancing All Night has all the right moves.

While its brevity impedes the story, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is thankfully a lot shorter than the last few entries. However, its relatively slender figure only points out how the series has used quantity to overcompensate for its stagnation. This is laid bare in Mirage, as its stealth and open-world design all pull from eras that have long since fallen out of style — an unforced error that is mostly because of Ubisoft’s decade-long overreliance on that structure. Baghdad’s potential as a classic setting in the franchise has also suffered because of this and has been undermined by the artificiality of its blueprint. Mirage was designed to go back to basics, but it just ended up being too basic.

It’s really surprising that a game could be configured so well from PC to console and yet fail in so many other areas under the hood. InXile has the controls, menus, and navigation down pat for console, but it needs more tweaking in its engine before this game can be recommended to anyone. I hate giving this score for Torment, especially knowing that it’s a patch or two away from being a shining cRPG example on the PS4.

R.U.S.E. is a great RTS. It may not be as robust as some of the RTS's that are available on the PC, but this is easily the best RTS's you can find on the PS3.

PGA Tour 2K21 appears to be taking the series in a good direction, with a larger PGA license to boot. The presentation may be lacking, but the feel of the game is spot-on. Tuning up the graphics, expanding the license to include more pros, caddies, and the like, and filling out the commentary will really help to sell the immersion that games such as this rely on. Despite the issues present in the game, PGA Tour 2K21 is a solid golf game for fans of the sport.

Chariot is a great addition to my co-op game library, but alone it becomes tiresome.The physics are really new and figuring out the puzzles is entertaining.

As I came away from Ghostrunner and started writing about it, I realized that I genuinely wished there was more game to play. That’s not a comment on the game’s length, which is very well paced, filled with bonus collectibles and perfect for speedrunners, but more a comment on how much potential there is here. Give me more levels, more platforming gauntlets, more cybernetic abilities to use, just give me more Ghostrunner.

I think Luqui and Saiki at Regular Studio did something pretty dang cool here, and Top Hat Studios — for their part — are doing a pretty dang good job of finding and giving small devs shots at getting interesting games out there. this is something that I’m always grateful for, especially since they’re at least partially responsible for one of my favorite games of last year, Labyrinth of the Demon King, making it onto “shelves.” They’ve also published and are publishing quite a few titles, all of which look pretty unique. For the time being, however, MOTORSLICE is a pretty dang interesting parkour platformer, and I would genuinely suggest checking it out!

WRC 10 is a safe entry, celebrating the long, rich history of the World Rally Championship, while taking care to not break anything that was already working well. If you missed out on WRC 9, you may be content with picking that up for a bargain (assuming you have a disc-based console). If you want the latest and most up-to-date rally racing simulator, though, then WRC 10 is more than competent at providing a ton of fun for rally fans everywhere.

An empowering, open game, with plenty for everyone to love, and perhaps most importantly, it’s just a ridiculous amount of fun. Unfortunately a number of small bugs and a short campaign length put the brakes on this fun experience a lot sooner than I would have liked.

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is worth the price of admission. Whether you’re in the mood for some battles against the CPU, running an endless match in solo play, or willing to go to bed grumbling about your significant other somehow getting all the speed buffs and ruining your perfect Tetris, it’s a great game to pick up and play.

Despite some of its difficulties, Tropico 6 is a perfectly adequate port of an impressively layered and comically disarming PC experience. It isn’t going to be lighting the world on fire, as far as innovation is concerned, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see El Presidente try it on the forts of his opposition. If you’ve been hankering for the next chance to embrace your inner fascist, this should be a fantastic way to satiate the bloodlust.

10 Second Ninja X is one of gaming’s simple joys for those who relish repeated challenges in order to shave fractions of a second off of leaderboard high scores. The downside is that it fails to cater to the players who don’t immediately appreciate that level of challenge, shutting the door to them pretty quickly.

While Into the Nexus is short, there is a lot of replay value, some decent challenge on the harder difficulties, and a lot of stuff to unlock.

Golf Club: Wasteland has a great vibe for its somber and solemn story about the end of the Earth, and I loved the concept behind its world. But it’s burdened by a golf game that is simply not all that fun (granted, perhaps it shouldn’t be fun to golf on the headstone of humanity). Occasional moments that seemed to portend exciting new golf puzzle mechanics were quickly followed by more lobbing to almost out of reach platforms, made intolerable by frustratingly simple mechanics that seem to have an air of randomness and luck. But while I won’t be subjecting myself to Iron Mode, I did thoroughly enjoy the story, art, and music throughout as it plainly commented on the state of the world, making at least one round of golf on this post-apocalyptic world very cathartic indeed.

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is a relaxing game where players can spend hours tending their farm without even realizing it. The experience never gets frustrating but there are a few design decisions that stop it from being great, mainly the machines that become time wasters while players wait for resources. The residents of Olive Town could be more interesting, but then the point of the game is to build a farm rather than socialize into the night. There are far worse farm sims out there, but this isn’t the best of them either.

I enjoyed my time with Atelier Ayesha Plus: The Alchemist of Dusk. From the fun, turn-based combat system to the deep crafting and alchemy system, The Alchemist of Dusk offers many hours of gameplay. Not only that, but the PS Vita version of the game looks surprisingly nice and has a lot of extra content, although that sometimes can at the cost of the frame rate, which does drop significantly in certain areas.

L.A. Noire remains the best detective game around. Combing crime scenes, interrogating suspects, and catching them in lies with evidence to back up accusations is just as rewarding as ever. This port has allowed the game to age a little better than the original, however, it doesn’t look like a massive upgrade was made in terms of graphics.

I’m going to level with you, reader: I went into Mafia Definitive Edition expecting to be underwhelmed. What I ended up playing was far-and-away, infinitely better than I was expecting, featuring fantastic storytelling, compelling, yet immensely flawed characters (in a good way), and a world that is teeming with life. You don’t have to be a fan of the original game in order to feel like a member of the family. Don’t worry! There’s more than enough hot lead to go around.

Bluntly put, I found Madden NFL 20 to be a fairly vanilla entry in the franchise.

You would think that borrowing elements from two of the greatest games in the last decade would make for one awesome experience, and while it feels mesmerizing, it doesn’t live up to either predecessor.

Bugs aside, Werewolves Within is an incredible social experience and the first online game to really make it feel like you are sitting around the campfire with seven other people.

While the twists and turns wind up going down a sci-fi heavy route in its back half, Chaos;Child never forgets that the main issues are societal. This is a visual novel that’ll leave you thinking long after the ending has occurred.

It’s visually striking, earns its laughs, and gives plenty of reasons to re-explore both the living and dead sides of Penny Doewood’s little town.

At first, playing Candleman will be an unsatisfying, slow-paced act of just going through the motions, but if you stick around, you’ll discover some magic by the end.

The Alto Collection console release is more or less a straight port of the mobile titles made to work on a big screen with a controller. That’s not a bad thing at all, as the mobile releases were deservingly award-winning games, but it’s a missed opportunity to make some slight UI and gameplay optimizations that could have really polished the experience on console. Still, The Alto Collection is deserving of your attention, a peaceful mountain adventure that’s designed to be played in short spurts, but almost impossible to put down once you get going. “Just one more run,” never looked so beautiful or felt so zen.

Scott Pilgrim EX is filled with a lot of charm, depth, and ambition. While not every choice is a home run, it’s a blast more often than not, and its multiple endings and secrets will keep you playing for far after you roll credits the first time. Tribute Games continues to experiment with beat ’em ups, and this is another strong one from the studio.

A safe entry in the franchise...Still, with solid combat, a very fun grappling hook gun, a wonderful recreation of Victorian-era London, and a pure focus on the single-player campaign, Assassin’s Creed has returned to its roots, and hopefully this has set the stage for something epic as the series used to be known for.

The story itself may not make you shriek in excitement (remember that grandma from Twisted Metal II that only wanted to watch her soap operas?), but the multiplayer certainly will.

Over 20 years since it initially released,Windjammers is finally getting its chance to shine as a competitive game. It’s got the accessibility and depth to deliver memorable play sessions, and while the online play can sometimes be disappointing, I’m largely left impressed. Few multiplayer games have made me scream (and make some strange primal noises during the heat of the action) like Windjammers, and it’s simply a blast when played with friends.

The Vita version does have a little more to offer for owners of the PS3 version, but as a standalone game, still offers an incredible, in-depth baseball experience that will keep even the most hardcore of baseball fans interested for quite some time.

The story is the star here, and Witching Hour Studios have crafted a narrative they should be proud of.

Control: AWE is good in that it’s more Control. But it feels like it was leaning a little bit too hard on being a teaser for its Alan Wake connections and the Remedy Connected Universe, which hurt its ability to be a really fun and engaging expansion for the Control side of things. For as brief as the expansion is, much of the runtime feels like it’s just spinning its wheels and never really going anywhere. I’m always happy to step into the shoes of Director Jesse Faden again, but AWE never gains its own identity as anything more than an interactive MCU-style post-credits scene; a lot of set up that we’ll need to wait years to see payoff. But hey, now you can replay the Ashtray Maze while you wait.

While The Old Blood could have definitely either turned up the grindhouse factor in part two, or stayed more true to part one, it still had incredibly fun combat and satisfying Nazi killing.

A good game for kids, since its never very challenging or frustrating, and it makes for simple platforming fun.

The difficulty alone is enough to keep you busy for a long time, even despite there being three sectors. But if you're a glutton for punishment, you could give a go at topping the leaderboards. Aside from that and few cheats that let you change the visual filter, there's really not a lot of replay value here.

A pleasant and often challenging run through a fascinating world that ends much too soon. While the game doesn’t present anything innovative or bring anything new to the Metroidvania genre, it’s still quite an enjoyable albeit disappointingly short experience.

There is a lot to like about Minutes and its most egregious flaw is that it ends so soon.

Feels like a solid follow-up to an already promising new franchise. Unfortunately, though it attempts to correct some of the series’ deficiencies, it still fails to deliver a cohesive single player campaign.

Dying Light 2 is probably exactly what fans of the first game wanted. The story may not be particularly motivating, but combat is fun while the PS5 powers a smooth experience. A few questionable tweaks by Techland will not be appreciated by all players, but co-op will make it easy to forgive some of that. If you’re not completely tired of zombie games yet, give Dying Light 2 a try. There’s plenty to see and do, and you’ll likely enjoy your harrowing stay in Villedor.

Even on the easy setting, the game is very unforgiving and style and technique trump power and speed. This is a fairly true simulator that should end up trackside in a fancy setup with a rumble seat and steering wheel. Driving with a controller is very touchy and a decent wheel would be the choice way to play.

When I wasn’t cursing at my television screen upon dying on the same puzzle for what seemed like 20th time, I was recognizing how brilliant Expand‘s design was. It’s rare to see a game this fully realized, one that sees all of its mechanics fully fleshed out, and when I finally escaped the maze after hours of play, it felt like a genuine victory. Expand may take joy in frustrating the player at times, but the true feeling of jubilation comes from overcoming its trickery.

You can tell that Marble It Up! Ultra had a great foundation to build upon, as it is as polished as the marbles you roll around inside the game. The difficulty curve is satisfying, and it’s genuinely fun to improve and start lowering your times in search of unlocking more bonus levels. While it’ll appeal to players that love time trials and a challenge first and foremost, there’s a lot of charm and fun to be had for any fan of platformers.

In terms of exciting moments and fun, varied competitive combat, LawBreakers has a great lock on what makes players want to play, both from the fast-paced competitive side and the specialized character side.

Far Cry Primal evolves the series through devolution, bringing an incredible prehistoric landscape to gamers in 2016. Consequently, the focus on authenticity draws a disconnect from the player and fails to offer relatable characters or a meaningful narrative.

While the difficulty level has been ratcheted down noticeably in the name of accessibility, the harder modes should suffice for those looking for a challenge.

When you consider that Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden came out of nowhere, the insanely polished tactics gameplay and charming characters are absolutely remarkable. If you’re looking for a darkly charming way to burn hours over the holidays, look no further than this apocalyptic hellscape. Who knew that the end of civilization as we know it could be so damn entertaining?

There’s a decent serving of 55 characters. The action has been sped up considerably with the new Hyper moves.

The amount of teams to choose from is actually very impressive and should give everyone a great choice of selection.

SMT 3 Nocturne HD Remaster is a trip down nostalgia lane, one new and returning players will sink hours into for the full experience. Whether you stick to the main story or chase down every side quest in pursuit of power, you won’t be disappointed.

Once again, the developers at Telltale Games have proven that they are the masters of episodic gaming and point-and-click adventures.

Klaus is a subversive, ingenious little puzzle platformer that shouldn’t be missed by anyone who claims to be a fan of video games.

While The Heist has a strong story—or at least the start of one—it doesn’t fill out the world or give Peter any additional gameplay growth.

The game’s combination of gameplay mechanics set it apart and its execution, while simpler in some aspects than its constituents, is excellently accomplished, making it one of the more polished games in the genre.

Despite an excessive amount of loading screens which will have you questioning the 3GB mandatory install, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 oozes with a vast amount of Chakra.

An incredibly charming survival game. Even those that don’t tend to love the harsh genre will enjoy the visual flair and fantastic soundtrack on offer.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a return to form for the franchise sub-series. While perhaps not as visually splendid as last year’s Modern Warfare, it gets the Black Ops series back to boots on the ground, introducing new characters and elements while lending adequate time and attention to series favorites. Treyarch expertly steps in to continue the recent interconnected Call of Duty franchise shift, exploring and evolving the series while still creating a game that not just retains but oozes that signature Treyarch style. Perhaps more than any Call of Duty game before it, I’m more excited than ever to see where it goes in the future.

Evolve has a hint of greatness, but a lack of content at launch and a jarring amount of premium launch and planned DLC hold it back. What we have here is an evolution of the Left 4 Dead formula, not a revolution.

Atelier Shallie is a game both fans of the series and traditional RPG fans can enjoy alike. As someone new to the series myself, I most certainly did so.

F1 Manager 2023 is a great sequel that improves on every aspect of its predecessor. While the sheer amount of options can be overwhelming, they all serve their purpose and wind up adding to the overall experience. Some smart changes make the actual racing more thrilling than last year’s game. This is a game built to last, and I can’t wait to see how Frontier continues to build this simulation in future installments.

Madden NFL 25 is the epitome of what makes Madden great. It’s a refined experience, slightly improved in every way—just as it is each year.

The Magic Circle will appeal to anyone who can laugh at themselves.

If someone is a visual novel fan, then Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen’s story will definitely be reason enough to devour this feast. If someone is considering it because they enjoy strategic RPGs and are hoping for something challenging and new, they’ll likely find themselves disappointed. I would say the saga is strong enough that it makes enduring an occasional, brief battle every once in a while, but people who feel like they need more would be justified in not helping Hakuowlo pick up the pieces.

All in all, it was a hard game to play through because I felt like I had done it all before. That isn’t to say that Arkham Origins is a bad game, not by a long stretch. On its own, Arkham Origins is a good game. But Origins is a good game because Arkham City was a great game, and it does nothing to create its own identity.

Evasion is another example of a fast-paced VR game that doesn’t seem like it could work in theory, but has been executed with a care and precision befitting of a developer that has a lot of expertise in the VR field.

A ridiculous amount of collectibles is distributed all throughout this, and it's enough to keep the most dedicated fans busy for a long time. Unfortunately, those are the only people that will last through it all, since most will be deterred soon after the end of the campaign by the monotonous gameplay, a lackluster 'plot', and somewhat redundant bonus missions.

This is a rare game that tackles strong morals and emotions under the guise of a beautiful walk through the wilderness that always manages to keep you on your toes, a walk you’ll be hard pressed to ever forget.

Sports Champions is to the PlayStation Move what Wii Sports is to the Nintendo Wii. It serves as an easily accessible, enjoyable way to show off the motion tech, while offering up some competition using sports that most people will be familiar with.

Mary Skelter: Nightmares is a surprisingly effective little dungeon crawler. I enjoyed its creepy, Lovecraftian world way more than I ever expected to, even if the characters lack depth and the lore can get a little goofy in its race to be dark and edgy.

Even with Dead Space 3’s minor faults such as the psychological, personal terror being nowhere in sight, the human enemies being a terribly executed addition, and the graphics not making a huge leap, the game is simply fun.

.Hack//G.U. Last Recode is a JRPG history exhibit, and it’s well worth the price of admission.

The perfect hit of nostalgia. Whether you pick it up digitally or treat yourself to any of the physical goodies on the way from Limited Run Games, this game isn’t a cult favorite without reason.

As a casual pick-up-and-play experience, Zen Studios’ latest obviously isn’t going to set your world on fire, but it does what it does very well. The core mechanics are solid and contain just enough variation to keep things exciting, and the progression system provides just enough incentive to keep you busy across all the different modes. A little polish and pizazz on the visual front would have gone a long way here, but again, it’s good for what it is. If you’re looking for a fun take on the pastime, Infinite Minigolf is a pleasant, surprisingly addictive little game.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 subtly improves on a winning formula. It’s no real surprise that the multiplayer gunplay is the best in the series to date, but considering this is coming from the team that started this craze to begin with it’s to be expected. While the campaign may play it mostly safe, it features an enjoyable challenge, with a couple of interesting survival-type sections that almost turn it into another game entirely. There’s little doubt most Call of Duty players will feel right at home playing Modern Warfare II as it’s a solid entry and seemingly the shooter to play this holiday season and beyond.

Pure Pool is, more or less, everything a billiards fan could ask for. It is pure simulation at its best. The physics are spot-on accurate – any missed shot is entirely the shooter’s fault. The ambiance is entirely convincing, with a soundtrack to match.

It's comfort food for seasoned Tomb Raider fans, and yet it will still be appetizing to newcomers.

It still has the occasional poorly-placed camera, and the graphics have not aged too well, but overall it’s a high-octane mix of platforming and combat interspersed with the occasional puzzle. Pick it up if you want your action fix.

If you’ve been pining for an arcade flight combat game that will test your skills, Strike Vector EX is going to sit right with you. Controls are tight, though they do have a decent learning curve and a new way of thinking about an aerial combat game.

Despite the game’s length, you’ll no doubt find yourself lured back in time and time again, and if you’ve yet to play it, there’s really no excuse… do it now!

I feel like every gamer should find a way to play SUPERHOT VR, but they should really look to play the Rift or Vive versions if they can. While it still provided some of the coolest moments I’ve ever experienced in a game on PlayStation VR, it also provided some of the most frustrating ones. It’s truly a masterpiece that is marred by being on a platform that just isn’t technically up to the task.

Perhaps most important, for the first time, I actually felt like I understood the Souls genre with The Surge 2. It’s the first one that made me actually feel anything other than annoyed and confused and that I wanted to actually stick around to see the end of. It still has issues, and I’d love to see more enemy variety, but I can safely say that I’ll be back for whatever Deck 13 has planned next.

There’s a little something for everyone here and even if you don’t particularly enjoy online shooters, you ought to give this one a shot.

So, in the middle year of EA’s much-ballyhooed three-year redevelopment of the NHL franchise, things are coming along nicely. New players will have to work to get up to speed, as much as the game tries to help them out, but hardcore puck nuts will find themselves going deep into overtime with this one. The almost overwhelming numbers of ways that the game can be played means that it’s one that will definitely keep you going way past the finals.

Unfortunately, this review isn’t for the full combo with Gat, and by itself, Saints Row IV Re-Elected doesn’t fully justify its campaigning for another term. If it’s your first time in office, however, then this is a great opportunity to jump in and take part in what is a pretty awesome open world super-powered (anti)hero game.

Besides dealing with computer-controlled submission attempts, I largely feel that EA Sports UFC 3 is the best playing mixed martial arts game to date. That’s why it was so disappointing to find out that so few of the modes managed to capture my interest.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season is a great start, and is hopefully a sign that fans will receive the finale the series deserves.

A game that can successfully and constantly challenge the player with so many vastly varied ideas is pretty impressive. I don’t even want to use the word “puzzle” to describe any part of this game.

Rather than a true piece of DLC, The Taxidermist feels more like a deleted scene from the game–something that the developers began to work on, but, for some reason or another, never quite finished.

I looked at Sega Genesis Classics with rose-tinted glasses. Nostalgia is a hard card to play right. The menu effectively creates that feeling of being a young kid gaming again, but the games themselves rarely managed to recapture the magic my 10-year-old self saw in them.