And if you happen to enjoy your strategy mixed with a little absurdity – like a scarecrow armed with a pumpkin launcher specially tuned to stun alien brains – then all the better.

This short series ought to be all about its mesmerizing heroine and her struggle to harness her regrets. Instead, it seems to be shaping up as a short-form version of a story we’ve already seen plenty of times over.

It’s an early, serious, and unexpected contender for my list of the top 10 games of 2014.

Star Fox Zero is a frustrating experience because it has the potential to be a great game – a fantastic game, actually – but fundamental flaws not only hold the game back, they make it downright unplayable at times despite relatively easy fixes.

Sea of Thieves is wholly dedicated to keeping players on equal footing. Someone who’s been playing for a day can crew up with someone who’s been playing for months, and neither will have an inherent advantage — save, of course, the latter’s experience with the game. It’s a bold move meant to keep the entire community playing together, and early indications suggest it works.

Even a remastered version of a more or less forgettable prequel from the franchise’s heyday is infinitely preferable to what Capcom gave us in Resident Evil 6. It’s got its fair share of issues and isn’t the nostalgic walk down memory lane that was Resident Evil HD Remaster, but at least it’s a bit more of what this Resident Evil fan really wants.

It’s more pain than pleasure.

While most modern Lego games follow a similar formula – basically, exploiting and parodying some of the biggest pop culture culture properties around – the latest Lego game, Lego Worlds, completely eschews Batman, Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, and the rest of the franchises that helped make Lego games so popular in the first place. Instead, it focuses on facilitating the joy of pure creative freedom.

If killing the undead in a Russian oven heated by fire’s breath sounds appealing, you might give this DLC some consideration. Otherwise, feel free to take a pass.

This is a polished, full-fledged, very fun game. You’ll buy it for your kids so they don’t feel left out of the next-gen joy, but once they go to bed you may well end up spending as much time designing your dream zoo as they do...Maybe more.

And the sad truth is that those who can’t play for scores upon scores of hours and refuse to spend more money to get the game’s best stuff will likely feel the consequences in online play as they go up against those who have. This could potentially put a serious damper on online fun as time rolls on.

Battleborn has laid the groundwork for a decent online cooperative and competitive shooter, but most players would do will to hold off until it rectifies its balancing issues and dearth of content.

The better the game, the more money the company made; the more money the company made, the better games.

Rollers of the Realm aimed for the big points and, while it might not be dead centre, they’re mostly on target.

Outlast II is, in the end, a case of wasted potential. It revs up its scare engine to maximum RPMs in the moments after its opening crash sequence, then quickly fizzles in the first major encounter, which I suspect will leave most players cursing at their screens in frustration as they die half a dozen times without any idea where they need to go or what they must do in order to not die a grisly death at the hands of a crazed woman who enjoys nothing more than repeatedly killing us with a sharpened crucifix as we blindly stumble around in the dark...What, that doesn’t sound fun to you? Me neither.

A sloppy camera, meanwhile, adds frustration to the proceedings. Players rarely have a good handle on distances involved in jumps to swinging platforms or teleports through 3D mazes or any of the other dangerous maneuvers frequently required. Expect plenty of aggravating deaths.

Gotham Knights isn’t really broken, it simply falls short of what has come before. Superhero games come with lofty expectations these days, and it’s unlikely this entry will meet them for most players. It’s safely skippable for now, but maybe check it out once it arrives on your favourite subscription service.

I had fun with it for maybe a dozen sessions spanning a total of a couple of hours.

So there’s definitely no shortage of stuff to do. The campaigns alone will fill at minimum a few weeks of nightly play...The question is whether it’s any fun.

The Walking Dead: Michonne ends up an entertaining, if not quite as satisfying, addition to Telltale’s slowly evolving series. At its worst it simply provides more of the same action and difficult decision making that fans seem to love, and at its best it delivers fresh canonical insight into one of The Walking Dead’s most interesting characters.

A special kind of frustration swells up from playing a game that delivers pristine action mechanics set within a creatively vapid world.

Much as I hate to admit it, strong storytelling – which is so rare in big games – is often only half the battle. It’s a shame to see it tarnished by mediocre action.

Just seems kind of small and limited to me. I think people might expect a little more from an Animal Crossing game.

This may have stood a minor chance in the bone dry days of summer, but with so many truly remarkable open world experiences currently on offer at the moment, it’s tough to see why anyone would opt for Elex II.

Sunset is that rare game that endeavours to challenge players to be entertained by something other than action.

Civilization Revolution 2 isn’t a terrible game by any stretch, but I’ve a feeling it will be long forgotten within minutes of sinking my teeth into a full-featured Civilization game set in space.

It might be the closest the game industry has yet come to imagining the mix of tension and monotony of routine life in a world of undead.

Play it with a few good friends or family members and it can be the video game equivalent of a bowl of soup for your soul, leaving you smiling, content, and just generally feeling pretty good.

Ultimately, Liberation features a fantastic premise with an evocative heroine that sadly doesn’t measure up to any of the games in the main series. If you are an Assassin’s Creed nut who really wants to see the fictional universe from another perspective, give Liberation a whirl. If you are just looking for some more Assassin’s Creed action, the other six games are better than this one.

NaissancE is a beautiful game, but without much direction it can feel like a never ending mire of running, jumping, and falling. That being said, is the game worth spending $20 on? Certainly.

It may not be more than the sum of its parts, but it’s still a fun action adventure and definitely a worthy sequel to Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Just don’t expect to be blown away by the sometimes convoluted story.

Elegy for a Dead World may have its issues, but it provides the spark and kindling for a blaze of creativity. It ought to prove plenty of fun for anyone who chooses to keep feeding the fire.

I can say, though, is that it feels very similar to the Dynasty Warriors games I remember playing a decade or so ago. I don’t feel like I’ve missed a lot. I’m not blind to the fact that there is an outrageous amount of content here, including a huge array of playable characters, multiple campaigns to work through, and even a camp-building mode that gives some creative purpose to your killing. I suspect the right player could invest scores of hours in this game and still find more to do. But I’m pretty certain that player isn’t me.

A pretty big disappointment.

Unrest is a bold, powerful, and interesting game. I’m just not sure how much fun it is.

For a moderate increase in price, you end up getting a lot less in terms of content.

The Xbox One edition I tested stuttered noticeably about once or twice per race, sometimes more. Even the slightest frame rate hiccups in racing games can result in collisions with potential to send you from first place to last in a blink – especially if they happen on a corner versus a straightaway. Frame hitching cost me a number of races in Need for Speed, and each was a maddening experience.

Mario Party fans will likely find themselves wishing for something more.

This high-priced Dr. Mario clone is still loads of fun – especially in groups – and serves as an effective prescription for anyone suffering a deficiency in accessible, competitive puzzle play.

Any kid who can play this has the chops to play a Mario game, and I’d be shocked if they ended up preferring this substandard adventure to just about any Mario platformer released on any recent Nintendo system.

Serious golf fans looking for a game capable of scratching their itch to hit the links through Canada’s long, cold winters aren’t going to find it here.

Saints Row IV: Gat Out of Hell is basically a sandbox with only a couple toys. It’s fun to drive a yellow dump truck into castles you made with a pail a couple of times, but it wears thin – and quicker than you’d like.

There’s no denying The Golf Club needs some sort of proper career or long-term competition to help retain players’ interest...But if there’s ever a sequel – and I hope there is – then perhaps HB Studios can add this one last missing piece of the puzzle to what has turned out to be an excellent golf simulation.

If you have a crew of friends ready to do some co-op puzzling, Tiny Brains is probably for you; you’ll have a good time, even if you want to punch your buddies by the end...If you’re going it solo, maybe take a pass.

Just as I’m reaching the meat of the game, I’ve discovered that the promise of endlessly varied player-made castles isn’t being realized, and that the grind is far more intense than I’d like...I just don’t see myself sticking around.

You soon realize that control, like your city, isn’t all its built up to be. So much has been smoothed out that it doesn’t always feel like you’re running the show.

Starships may lack the complexity and nuance of other strategy games, and it feels a bit rough around the edges in places, but its accessibility, terrific turn-based combat, and bite-sized duration combine to create a tempting alternative to a multi-evening marathon campaign.

The Crew is far from a bad game and if Forza Horizon 2, the current top open-world racing game on the market, didn’t exist, I probably would have enjoyed it much more. Unfortunately, despite everything Ivory Tower’s latest title does correct, its lacklustre visuals, rubber-band AI, and disappointing story is difficult to ignore.

Arguably the main theme of the game is revenge, like many of the games in the Kill The Past Series, but it’s wrapped in an incomprehensible package.

I can’t help but think, though, that Sacred Citadel would have failed to maintain my interest had it not managed to induce such strong Golden Axe nostalgia.

It feels a bit like a Metroid Prime game – no surprise, since Armature employs some of the same people – but with better controls and a (slightly) more intelligible story. It’s not exactly bursting with new ideas, but it does a good job breathing fresh life into old ones...At least when it’s not making you want to pull your hair out with its technical issues.

I can’t deny that I enjoyed it. It proved a fun little distraction perfectly timed to kill a drying cycle in the laundry room on a Sunday afternoon. And I’ll gladly play the next episode, whenever it arrives.

In general, The Order: 1886 reminds me of almost every super hero film franchise. The first movie is frequently decent but has a few significant issues, and it’s not until the second entry in the franchise that things get more polished and interesting.

I’d be remiss if I recommended Whispering Willows to anyone without letting them know that, though it tells a nice little story, it comes up mightily short as an entertaining game.

Pneuma: Breath of Life wants to wedge its way into this lofty club, but it’s simply not as elegant or consistent as the best games of its ilk. The observer theme makes for some memorable puzzles the likes of which I’ve never quite seen before, but others are either frustrating, unfair, or both.

I’d say it’s a little bit better. It has the best graphics, you can hear your puppy talk, and you can go on a little adventure. There’s no buggie, in case I haven’t mentioned that, but it’s still pretty good.

Crush Your Enemies engaged me enough to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon. The missions are so short that it was easy to just keep clicking one more without paying any attention to the clock on my desk.

Does this game deserve a 10/10 because of its ingenuity, or should it be scored a 7/10 because it lacks modes and variation? Is it a 5/10 because it’s not really a game? Or is it a 0/10 because, really, who would pay good money just to run around as a digital goat? In the end, Coffee Stain Studios delivered what it promised, a ridiculous game featuring goats and explosions.

It would have been nice had the game connected all five of its activities in some broader way, perhaps a story or multidisciplinary tournament. Alas, the only thing tying them together is a card collection activity. You’ll earn coins in each event as you play, and those coins can be spent on blind card packs that gradually flesh out an album of cards sorted by rarity. Collectible cards have become trendy in games, and they can act as an enticing carrot – if they provide in-game advantages. But the cards here don’t seem to do much at all.

Nebulous will help you kill a lazy Sunday afternoon, but not much more.

Even without multiplayer, though, there’s a good 20-plus hours of action packed into this fun little childhood throwback – more than enough to keep strategy fans occupied until the end of the summer.

In buying a game like this we’re rewarding Techland for maintaining their own status quo and, worse, encouraging what might be a talented studio to just keep making the same mistakes.

The best I can say of it is that it’s left me curious as to what might come next. If nothing else, it illustrates how the unparalleled immersive properties of virtual reality make possible some truly unsettling interactive horror experiences...Now someone needs to create a horror game that’s not just scary, but also fun to play and has a good story.

If you imagined the Wii U’s excellent Lego City Undercover and the Nintendo 3DS’s Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins as actor siblings, the former would be Alec Baldwin to the latter’s Daniel...Not Stephen, and not even William...Daniel.

use is a strong foray for Insomniac. It’s the Ratchet and Clank/Resistance developer’s first game that isn’t exclusive to Sony systems, and is a polished piece of software.

If you decide to pick up the latest artistic experiment from Tale of Tales keep in mind that the game’s subject matter with a little bit of background can start to make a lot of sense. It just requires you to think outside of the video game medium.

If you’ve yet to try Forza Horizon 2, this standalone expansion might prove a good way to figure out whether you want to – especially since it’s free through this Friday, April 10th. I’m not sure, though, what existing players will get out of it that they didn’t get playing Forza Horizon 2.

It delivers a cleaner, breezier simulated golf experience that runs more quickly and looks lovely – especially during those morning rounds – without losing the series’ robust core mechanics...However, the overhaul has come at the cost of significantly reduced content and some missing features.

As is, it’s hard to recommend spending $80 on this quirky but erratic crime saga. There’s fun to be had, but best wait for Saints Row to make its way to your subscription service — and maybe receive a few much needed patches in the process.

It grows repetitive, but the dodging, blocking, parrying, slashing combat — while a bit overly complicated at times — should prove challenging and gratifying enough to keep fans of this sort of game moving forward. The slightly gaudy next-gen visual spectacle is just gravy.

From the character designs and the narration, to the tactical game play and challenging difficulty, there are few games out there quite like what the Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation has framed for us. You’re not quite at the level of M from the James Bond universe, but this might be as close as you get.

The sad truth is that Cyberpunk 2077 is awash with problems. Which makes it all the more miraculous that we were compelled to plod through its litany of tribulations simply to keep experiencing the story, characters, and world that CDProjekt Red has created. Clear away the grit and there remains something special here that’s bound to light up the imaginations of cyberpunk fans. A better option for console players, however, would be to wait for the next-generation versions, which will likely (or should that be hopefully?) look and perform better, and could benefit from whatever retrofits and patches CDProjekt Red sees fit to release based on player feedback in the coming months.

Traverser is a game with a few alluring elements that never manage to fuse into the sort of smart and memorable 3D physics puzzler Gatling Goat Studios intended.

It’s a busy game that’s a failure in many ways, but its art direction and story perfect the eerie atmosphere of the genre, and make the experience tolerable, even when the writing and game design let it down. Like the crack of moon through a black-cloud storm, White Night is a game as fragile as the light.

Somewhere along the line, Nintendo Co. Ltd. reckoned there was enough to Intelligent Systems’ collection of 16 mini-games to turn it into its own full-blown and nearly full-priced ($39.99) retail game...As it turns out, this may have been a questionable decision.

Kinect Sports Rivals isn’t quite the revolution in motion-controlled sports gaming that we might have hoped for.

This is all fun enough stuff. There’s a nice mix of split-second tactical thinking and deep brutality – I could almost feel each blow through my controller.

None of it is essential, nor is it inspired.

Problem is, even the spectacular action grows tedious in short order thanks to lazy mission design. It seems nearly everything we do is based on simple math. Kill X number of bad guys to make them retreat. Blow up Y number of power sources to unlock a door. Destroy Z number of this type of facility in order to draw out the next boss. It’s about as basic as it gets.

If you are looking to play this game without having to go through the story, the Magnagate feature is a great way of hopping into a dungeon just for fun. Be sure to have good lighting, though, otherwise getting the feature to work can be a little hit or miss.

Even a bit of appealing Amiibo functionality isn’t enough to make Zip Lash a must-have for anyone, save perhaps the little guy’s biggest fans. If you want to play a platformer, plenty of better options exist on 3DS. And if you want to know what Chibi-Robo is really all about, best go back into his quirky past and do a few household chores or give life to some park plants.

Despite being instantly engaged by Aaru’s Awakening‘s artistry and intrigued by its innovative teleportation mechanic, I came away frustrated. I had no desire to keep playing, no need to better my times or scores. Each completed level led to a sense of relief rather than satisfaction, and if all I was after was a sense of relief I could achieve that by taking an Aspirin rather than subjecting myself to scores of irritating virtual deaths.

Mars: War Logs is an ambitious game with a lot of good ideas, and the execution is decent even if the story is a little contrived. For all the time I spent with the game, I felt like it was a good diversion away from the other typical Mars-based games like Red Faction: Guerilla.

Trion Worlds’ game, on the other hand, seems simply to offer yet another big open world filled with weapons to collect and creatures to kill. I won’t deny that I’ve had moments of fun blowing holes in Hellbugs over the last week, but it was of a flavourless variety I could have derived from any number of other third-person shooters.

EA was so focused on making the gameplay a superlative experience that the company forgot to include a lot of the things that make the series so special. If you’re buying your next-gen console just to play NHL, maybe wait a year. If you already have the console, well, hockey’s hockey, right?

Movement is painfully slow. I must have spent nearly a quarter of my time walking at a snail’s pace down dark and empty hallways with nothing to do except brace myself for the occasional startle courtesy of a cheap jump scare destined to go unexplained.

Sadly, Entwined never manages to deliver much beyond art and beauty.

Tennis fans should wait for Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash to hit the bargain bins. Everyone else can safely skip it, and hope Nintendo takes our collective refusal to purchase as a message to fatten up future versions of its Mario sports games.

At best, 1-2 Switch should have been packed in with the console to give the early adopters something to do when they get home and better acquaint them with their new hardware. At worst, it should have been sold alone at a budget price of around $20...1-2 Switch is, in this humble reviewer’s opinion, a throwback to the reviled and little-played party games of the Wii era. I’d have thought that was a time Nintendo would have rather left forgotten.

The very definition of a mindless shooter, EA Montreal’s latest — the third in the middling Army of Two series — is a stripped down, by-the-book, bereft-of-imagination bang-bang that left me less satisfied than a parched man served a salt lick and an empty glass.

It’s not a bad game so much as a small one hardly worth the price. Unless you (or, more likely, your kids) are diehard Kirby fans who feel compelled to own every game in which Nintendo’s pink puffball appears, there’s really not much reason to invest.

All I can really say is that Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris is sufficient for someone like me, an admittedly casual Destiny player. I’ve found it worth the price of admission, and satisfying once consumed. If all you want is sufficient motivation to jump back into the blessedly refined firefights in Bungie’s online shooter for another week or three, Curse of Osiris probably won’t disappoint.

As a spiritual successor to The Neverhood, the game succeeds on all levels, but somehow I don’t think it will gain the same kind of cult following this time.

It’s an astoundingly basic game.

With the storytelling of Mass Effect, the fighting system of the Witcher, and environments taken right from Dragon Age and the Elder Scrolls, Bound By Flame is perhaps the least original game ever made.

About 60 per cent of Trials of the Blood Dragon is wicked barmy brilliance...Alas, the less said about the remaining 40 per cent the better.

The controls are too tricky, the action too dull, and the time spent preparing and waiting to actually play is too long.

The Drowning is free to play, but the unrelenting focus on upgrades aggressively pushes players to buy virtual currency so they can upgrade faster...Kudos to the new controls, but the overall experience left a bitter taste in my mouth.