There isn't much reason to play Escape Dead Island. The narrative has a few standout moments and you'll occasionally meet an enemy that will throw you for a loop. Those moments are, unfortunately, needles in a haystack of monotonous gameplay that's ultimately boring.

The first episode of Telltale's Game of Thrones series isn't exactly groundbreaking but it successfully draws you in to learn what happens next to the Forresters. The art style and the vocal talents are superb and the new characters feel ripped from Martin's pages, for better or worse.

Warlords of Draenor provides a new look and feel to an old franchise. It may disappoint some of the hardcore in its apparent simplicity, but for the regular and new players, this expansion shows a lot of what made the game so appealing when it launched 10 years ago.

Assassin's Creed Rogue is gameplay-wise more or less an unofficial sequel to Black Flag, in that it inherits virtually every enjoyable element from last year's title. The combat can be a bit repetitive, which is particularly true for those who played AC4 extensively, but it's a solid last-gen entry in the series all the same.

Mechanically, Far Cry 4 is an excellent shooter. It adds further polish to the open-world and action of its predecessor with even more involved and dynamic gameplay, and is loaded with rewarding side content on top of featuring a huge game world you'll spend hours exploring. The narrative isn't quite as solid, and falls through in several places with some aggravating characters and a lack of context to drive your actions.

BioWare has created a role-playing game which feels like a massive monument to our culture. Inquisition is an absolute blast to experience for one hour or 150.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare upholds the status quo and aims no higher than that. Its sci-fi trappings are but shallow appeals to progress, and while the multiplayer is still able to provide some entertainment, the CoD formula feels anything but "advanced" these days.

Lords of the Fallen, a shameless and sloppy copy of Dark Souls, shouldn't be as enjoyable as it is. Somehow, through all its imbalance and oddity, it remains a surprising amount of fun, even if its propensity to make the player laugh is a sheer accident.

Sentinels of the Multiverse: The Video Game is a faithful adaptation of the card game that maintains much of the fun of the original, while alleviating some of the issues with handling the math. Its UI can be a little confusing to navigate at times, but its one real flaw is that it doesn't maintain the cooperative nature of the analog version that makes it so enjoyable

While its commitment to madness can be maddening itself, Sunset Overdrive is an energetic, fun-focused adventure. The jokes don't always hit home, but this is a game that loves being a game, and you can't hate that sort of honesty.

Samurai Warriors 4 is a faster, greatly expanded addition to the series. Each character feels fresher, and there's a ton of stuff to do. I just wish the online play would actually be something acceptable for the modern day.

An overall solid turn-based strategy game that suffers from information overload resulting in analysis paralysis for the player, Beyond Earth has a few really interesting systems but ultimately doesn't transcend those mechanics into something unique or awe-inspiring.

Bayonetta 2 may be nonsensical, tacky, and visually anarchic, but its got some of the finest combat an action game could offer. It's packed with style, looks magnificent, and is as elegant as spectacle fighter as you could hope for.

The Evil Within is a noble attempt at bringing back classic survival horror, but it could have learned a thing or two from games that aren't almost ten years old. It has its moments of brilliance, scattered through periods of antagonizing design.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is a funny cartoon shooter that compels you to keep playing and score more guns. Just like the last two. Laser weapons and moon bouncing add a little extra flavor, but if you don't like Borderlands by now, this won't change things.

Still a very good game, but it's on the more pointless end of the rerelease spectrum, and they really should have fixed those bugs.

Arrowhead made a very true-to-source Gauntlet game, no doubt, but the source is 30 years old, and could use some modern accouterments. Gauntlet is as much fun as it has ever been, but it'll get old fast for those who still remember slogging through the original.

Alien: Isolation can be frustrating, but it's mostly terrifying in a near-perfect way. The Alien is scarier than it's been since Ridley Scott first showed it to the world, and the atmosphere is thick enough to cut.

Trap Team delivers a new gimmick on top of an old gimmick and does it damn well. The strong scriptwriting and voice work keep both adults and children interested in the story, even if you have to spend a lot of money to get the full effect.

A good little story with a bleak atmosphere that nonetheless provides some relaxing puzzle solving.

While designed for your pocket, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS does not skimp on the features. A full-fledged Smash game, packed with stuff to discover, and boasting a roster of familiar and thoroughly inventive new characters, this is a beautiful fighting game than everyone can enjoy. Just a shame that the online isn't that hot.

As an open world game set in Middle-earth, Shadow of Mordor delivers unique emergent gameplay, finely-tuned combat mechanics and a story which avoids typical fantasy fare. While the main storyline can be finished relatively quickly, there is a lot of content in Mordor for you to pursue however you like.

Defense Grid 2 is a fairly typical Tower Defense game at its core, but the layers of complexity give it a lot more staying power and replay value than you are likely accustomed to. With 21 campaign levels, and plans to offer countless more as downloads, there is no end to how much time you can spend with DG2, and that's not even counting fighting for placement on the leaderboards... or multiplayer. DG2 is a shining example of Kickstarter done right.

As a children's game, Disney Infinity 2.0 definitely delivers an adorable casual game experience. But as a game solely for grown-ups, it's a little lackluster due to repetition and lack of online play in the current Play Sets available for Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes.

D4 is ridiculous. It's weird, and silly, and makes very little sense. It's also hilarious, and packed with some of the most engaging motion-controlled sequences I've ever played. Coming from someone who generally doesn't like the Kinect, that's a damn big achievement!

Omega Force superbly balances the beat 'em all combat of Dynasty Warriors with the enchanting world of The Legend of Zelda. With a meaty combat system and tons of stuff to uncover, Hyrule Warriors is a mad idea that should logically get old after an hour, but never does. It's a novelty that can't quit being novel, and I love it to death.

With an remarkably robust spell crafting system and spectacularly entertaining combat, Lichdom: Battlemage finally brings the glory to the magic user that it has long deserved.

With its banal universe and flavorless style, Destiny is packed with content, but just ... well ... content. There's a great PvP mode, and the leveling system can be rewarding, but nonetheless this is a pretty, rock-solid, ultimately pedestrian product.