The fact that I want to go back and grind some missions to level up my less developed characters speaks to SteamWorld Heist's longevity and satisfying appeal. Image & Form has another retro-inspired gem here, and has further established that like its denizens, SteamWorld stands for piecing together something great from a box of spare parts.

It is a Picross game at its core, but Nintendo has found enough ways to integrate the Pokemon mythos that it feels fresh and new. While it's certainly strange that you're essentially penalized for challenging yourself, and the asking price to access all the content may feel too steep, it is a creative take on the classic puzzle type. For Picross devotees or Pokemon fans, it's certainly worth exploring.

There are immensely satisfying moments for those that choose to stick with this game, but those moments need to be earned. Nothing will come easy, but nothing truly worthwhile ever is.

A welcome addition to the Just Cause family. There is plenty of destruction to cause, and plenty of room to explore the world however you want to. It’s a welcome amount of freedom from the action-packed linear games we seem to have gotten used to, and I’d easily rank it among the best of the open world games that the current generation of gaming has to offer.

Star Wars: Battlefront is everything a Star Wars fan could want. The game’s locations feel iconic, complete recreations of the beautiful settings introduced to us in the movies. But the game’s casual attitude towards weapons, and the limited number of locations to explore make Star Wars: Battlefront sizzle out far too early. Top that with an exorbitant DLC offer, which features content that feels like it could be in the base game, and EA has already done a great job of freezing Star Wars: Battlefront in carbonite before it’s even had a chance to live a fulfilling life.

It isn't a terrible game by any means, and I'd rank it much higher on the totem pole than the previous installment, Assassin's Creed Unity. But that doesn't change the fact that Ubisoft's latest assassin-centered story is only a few shades above mediocre.

Knight Squad suffers from a couple of problems, but overall, it's good for what it is. It's a way to get friends together to slash them to ribbons and, barring that, it's a quick way to kill some time in the online space.

Mario Tennis' transition to the Wii U feels like one step forward and two steps back. The addition of Mega Mushrooms is clever enough, but the game doesn't commit to the idea of power-ups enough to sustain it. Meanwhile the no-frills package feels so anemic that I was burned out on the experience after only a few hours. If you want a great Mario Tennis game, stick with the better, cheaper, and more complete 3DS version.

The season does end on a strong note, with plenty of bloodshed, and a special mystery with what Gared finds in the North past the wall. It's too bad that the some of the season's highest points are little more than a setup for the next season. I admit that there were a few intense situations, like poking a guy's eye out, but they are overshadowed by the fact that my choices generally didn't much matter in a game with the primary focus on decision making--underscored by how the same one eyed-man still talked crap to the cripple that beat him up.

While the 2013 reboot was growth for the sake of survival, Rise is more about growth on a more personal scale. Between a fantastic story that introduces some fascinating characters, its vast open world filled with hidden elements and wild game, and a greater emphasis on solving problems with brains as much as bullets, Rise of the Tomb Raider proves to be a remarkable follow-up to Lara's origin tale.

Fallout 4 is exactly and precisely more Fallout. Its couple of new gameplay elements are well-executed and enrich the experience, but they don't make this feel especially different than the Wasteland we were exploring almost a decade ago. If you enter looking for a heaping helping of the Fallout action you already enjoy, and an enthralling romp through a newly realized portion of the Wasteland, this certainly fits the bill. Just don't hope for another revolution, because like war, the Wasteland apparently never changes.

While the campaign story itself feels silly, co-op is a marvelous addition and a far better way to experience the narrative for those that don't feel like killing zombies. Meanwhile, multiplayer feels like a huge difference from previous CoD games and much of it is for the better. With a faster pace, more fluid movement, and cool Specialist abilities, it feels like a refreshing twist on the CoD multiplayer formula.

While Ventura Bay looks good and the game has plenty of missions and side missions to complete, the constant distractions I felt while playing it kept me away from enjoying it as much as I have previous iterations of the franchise.

Halo 5: Guardians isn't 343's first Halo game, but it's the first that really makes the series its own. This isn't a reflection of Bungie's efforts, or a remaster, or stage-setting. The studio has put its own identity on this Halo game with smart moves like a more identifiable story and a wider array of multiplayer options, along with increased polish like Guardians' incredible visual punch and impeccable multiplayer balance.

I'm fine with the endings for Max, Chloe, and everyone else. It disappoints because of the path the game took in getting there. The ultimate result is a letdown and it leaves a sense that Life is Strange could have been such a more memorable experience than it was.

FreeStyleGames has taken only the most fundamental pieces of what Harmonix and Neversoft introduced and instead put their own unique stamp on Guitar Hero Live. In many ways, it's for the better, especially in GHTV. In fact, GHTV might even have some players wondering why that wasn't the whole game. It certainly makes the live action concert element feel superfluous.

As a story-based game, it features some of Telltale's best writing to date and its humor separates it from the developer's more recent efforts. It also features a shocking amount of replay value and actually made me want to play the finale more than once to see the various character interactions, as well as find any little things I might have missed.

Hearts of Stone is a great addition to The Witcher 3 if all you’re looking for is more of the same. If you’re expecting something game changing or different, then this isn’t a DLC worth your time.

While Dragon Quest purists may not enjoy the action-RPG feel of Dragon Quest Heroes, I still was able to enjoy the experience a great deal as a long-time fan of the series, regardless of the few issues I had with it.

Like any good jawbreaker, it's worth sticking with and savoring its flavor. With fresh concepts introduced in each stage, lots of collectibles, and creative level and boss designs, Yoshi's Wooly World stands as Yoshi's best outing in a long time.

It's a testament to its stage design, though, that I came away feeling utterly satisfied despite the game so constantly getting in its own way. Chibi-Robo may not be destined for Nintendo stardom, but Zip Lash shows how the tiny robot still has plenty of room to grow, experiment, and find what works for him.

It's a return to form, putting the focus back on four-player fun without any overly-complicated mechanics. The new additions all focus on just letting loose and having a good time and even those mechanical additions aren't forced. The DLC situation is something of a mess, but those willing to bear through it will have a sure-fire party gem on their hands.

I ultimately concluded that it's not meant to be that deep. It's just a boring game.

Charging an admission fee for what is essentially an explainer reel with jumbled tidbits of mundane unfinished game ideas is ludicrous, even in the name of thinking outside the box in terms of game design. Play The Stanley Parable instead.

While the Uncharted series does have few bumps and bruises, and Drake’s wrinkles have deepened over time, fans of the Drake’s story, and action adventure games alike, couldn’t have asked for anything better.

The graphics are two console generations old, it suffers bad level design, and missions are uninspiring throughout all stages. What makes this whole experience sting even more is the fact that this bad game has so many obvious issues, that even getting through it for the sake of a review was difficult.

Heroes 7 has a number of problems that completely ruin the experience.

It's not the greatest concert you'll ever witness, but Persona 4: Dancing All Night gives a solid performance, one that does its catchy soundtrack proud.