The premise behind Code Name: STEAM is so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but enjoy myself the more I played it. It doesn’t go very far beyond a “there are aliens at this location, get rid of them” type of story, but its gameplay, as brutal as it can be at times, can be rewarding when you figure out just the right combination of squad members to use during missions.

Moon Studios has a cinematic marvel on its hands, knowing exactly where to balance the light and the dark, both visually and narratively. It's a short game, coming in at about 7 hours for me, but it's worth every precious second.

Even though Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars isn’t a “full” game in terms of what it offers and its pricing, it still has lots of potential. The end product is a puzzle game that is easy to play, but difficult to master.

Helldivers is the kind of game all co-op titles should strive to be. Not only does it offer a very rewarding top-down twin-stick shooter experience, but it's co-op goes beyond your own game.

Although the game is very challenging, and I never made it to the final boss, at no point did I feel that the game was impossible to overcome. Oblitus's dark atmosphere and artwork also offer incentive to soldier on, just to see more of world, even after restarting the game a dozen times over. If you don't mind the Sisyphean struggle, Oblitus is definitely a game worth checking out.

The Order: 1886 feels like the perfect balance between story, gameplay, and atmosphere as Ready at Dawn has struck gold with its first attempt at an original IP. There may not be much to do after the credits begin to roll, but once they do, you’ll be met with a unique story told within an absolutely gorgeous game.

Grow Home gets high points for creativity and providing a relaxing, almost meditative, experience. Except, the game is designed around a mechanic that's often more tedious than fun, and uses a robot that's prone to random spasms and collapses. Still, it's a nice distraction from action games.

By its very nature, it feels more at home on a handheld. Just in this case, it's a handheld system that's tethered to your living room console.

I do wish that you could do something unexpected to help break up the monotony, like start a prison riot. Or form dance troupe with your fellow inmates.

A great addition to the series thanks to its impressive combat mechanics, its highly-detailed and locales, and its ability to be challenging, but not impossible to beat. Even though it still has some aspects I thought could be improved, it's still a game that I ended up enjoying way more than I initially thought I would.

Phantom Breaker's best features are its multiplayer modes, especially the cooperative ones. While it's disappointing that the game doesn't have online play, the chaotic fun of throwing multiple fighters into the mix makes up for it.

In a world of overcrowded shooters, I've grown to enjoy Evolve and the uniqueness it brings to the table. One item that should be noted, though, is the shakiness of the game's shooting mechanics. While I mostly embraced the Assault class for a chunk of the review, that only made the iffy physics surrounding aiming and firing that much more apparent. Aiming doesn't get much easier with the monsters and when Goliath's arsenal contains a "rock throw" ability, not being able to reliably aim is a killer.

By most standards, Grey Goo is an excellent real-time strategy game with fantastically unique factions and stunning graphics. Its campaign undermines some of its positive aspects with a steep difficulty curve, some annoying "gotcha" moments, and maps that can make it difficult for expansion.

Majora's Mask 3D is just as much an oddity as it was fourteen years ago. While some aspects of it haven't aged well, Nintendo has made enough smart changes to make this remaster worth a second look for those like me who left the original undone. It's nicely presented, shows some real growth of the seeds planted in Ocarina, and is easily among the most unique games in the franchise.

Volition knows exactly what the Saints Row series is. It's dumb, enjoyable fun that's not to be taken too seriously. Gat out of Hell certainly fits that criteria and though it's a smaller package this time around, it's still nice to take a short weekend trip to hell. Just don't expect to stay very long.

As someone who enjoyed both Dead Island games, warts and all, Dying Light certainly feels like a vast improvement...Unfortunately, Techland is still unable to deliver a story worth telling. I didn’t feel any emotional attachment to any of the characters, nor did I care if they ended up surviving or not.

The combination of story, presentation, and atmosphere come together in perfect harmony to offer arguably one of the best point-and-click adventure games ever created. With that said, I was a bit disappointed to see the Grim Fandango not get the full remastered treatment I feel it should have received.

Although Citizens of Earth has its fun moments, I can't say that any part had me rolling in laughter. Its cast of characters may be cute and entertaining for a while, but relying on stereotypes and characters makes them forgettable. As a consequence, the entire game ends up being forgettable.

Lara Croft's latest dungeon crawler is a decent way to pass an afternoon with a friend or two, but its limited gameplay elements and story make it little more than that.

Escape Dead Island disappoints on multiple levels, from its lackluster gameplay, to its awful storytelling.

The open-world aspect is one I found myself enjoying more often than not as having an entire nation to drive across was thrilling and quite memorable. On the other hand, unfair AI, an online multiplayer that is far from fair, and a spec system that kept me from wanting to experiment out of my comfort zone were just some of a few things that I felt are holding back The Crew from being the next great racing franchise.

Rollers of the Realm, by most respects, is an excellent pinball and RPG hybrid. However, it takes a great amount of skill and no small share of luck to get through it.

But when 50 percent of all Pokemon games are remakes and the rest feel like remakes, it just makes me wish my favorite game series would stop dwelling on the past.

Geometry Wars 3 brings the tight twin-stick feel of the series to the modern gaming era while also paying homage to the series’ roots. Just steer clear of its online multiplayer game modes.

Top to bottom, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a delightful little treat of a game. It shows a purity of puzzle design that few studios can match, and it wraps it all in a sugary-sweet presentation that only the most jaded could refuse.

The online component for Smash Bros. is astonishingly smooth.

I disliked Assassin's Creed Rogue on almost every level, from its numerous game-breaking bugs, to its terrible free-running, and (worst of all) its ruined assassination system. Not even the plot, which fills in the gap between Black Flag and Assassin's Creed 3 while recounting the fall of the North American Brotherhood, is very satisfying.

While it offers much of the Persona experience fans will enjoy, such as the deep and challenging combat system, ability to fuse Personas, and unpredictable story, there are still some things fans of the series will certainly miss. The inability to randomly explore your surroundings or to take one of your friends out for a bowl of ramen in order to improve your bond with them is one I missed greatly while playing Persona Q.