A cute-looking minimal platformer whose simple looks belie its fiendishly complex puzzles and highly demanding action. Two players are pretty much mandatory, so bear that in mind before buying.

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is the endearing, heartbreaking tale of a kid who imagines himself to be a superhero. It's not very long at 2 hours tops, but Dontnod Entertainment uses this teaser for Life is Strange 2 to show they still have the stuff to tell a great story. Captain Spirit isn't really a complete story though and you'll leave this experience with more questions. Ones that will likely be answered in the next game.

If you're willing to hack it out in a musou game and you're a huge fan of The Legend of Zelda, Hyrule Warriors is a fantastic game. It's pitch-perfect musou and it wears the Zelda fanservice on its sleeve in bright colors. Once you're done unlocking all of the characters and their various weapons, you'll have an entire smorgasboard of Zelda action at your fingertips. Hyrule Warriors might only play a single note, but Omega Force has honed that note to perfection.

Does beauty alone justify a game? Can the novelty of swimming through majestic oceans teeming with life overcome an otherwise fairly by-the-numbers experience that never quite achieves the creative heights it so earnestly aspires to? I suppose that's down to the player, but as much as I wanted to love Abzû, the end result fell just short of brilliance. It's worth playing for the incredible presentation, but don't expect something profoundly new here.

Episode One: Awake of Before the Storm is a surprisingly promising entry for the short three-episode series. There's the right amount of callbacks to the series that made so many fans fall in love with Chloe and Max in the first place. While I still wish the dialogue wasn't as teenager cringe-y in a not-realistic way, there's far more of it this time around that plain isn't. Hell, even Chloe's eventual over-usage of "hell" is explained in a tongue-in-cheek nod to the future. For everyone who was worried about Before the Storm's authenticity under the reigns of a new developer: don't be.

Is Everybody's Gone to the Rapture a game, an experimental piece of interactive fiction, or is it perhaps even art? Whatever it is, the experience it delivers is a memorable one. It's gorgeous to look at, fantastic to listen to, and spins an intelligent and somewhat esoteric sci-fi mystery that's truly gripping through to its very end.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX is, without question, the best version of Kingdom Hearts to date. But it also serves as an excellent reminder that the things we love aren't always built to last.

With tons of content and a similarly expansive level of challenge, it quite impressively sidesteps the tendency of Mystery Dungeon spinoffs to feel slight and insubstantial.

The writing is excellent, though the overall presentation can feel a little dry at times. The new Warden class needs a second look as well, but overall Morrowind is an excellent welcome mat for new and returning players.

There are so many ways that Dragon Quest Heroes could have gone wrong. Thankfully, Omega Force does right by the classic franchise, and they take the opportunity to streamline their own formula as well. The story could have been better, and the repetitive gameplay comes close to wearing out its welcome, but otherwise Dragon Quest Heroes counts as another win for Omega Force.

Indivisible's unique blend of platforming and action-heavy monster fights will take some getting used to, but everything feels good once it clicks into place. Indivisible has some problems with its camera and map, but you'll be too busy marveling at its wonderful graphics to feel much of a sting.

Despite an uneven final episode, the bond between Chloe and Rachel cements the surprising prequel, sometimes even soaring above the heights of the original game. It still has all the faults of Life Is Strange as a series, but its domestic focus helps it resonate even greater than its successor. If Rachel Amber is the Laura Palmer of Life Is Strange, then Before the Storm is her much-deserved Fire Walk With Me.

It's a shame that Namco-Bandai didn't decide to pair Symphonia with a Tales game much more worthy of the re-release treatment, because Tales of the New World is disposable at best. But if you still want to play one of the best installments of the series, and don't feel like digging out old hardware, Chronicles could be an ideal opportunity to revisit Tales' finest hour.

A bold experiment in marrying passive and interactive elements to create a narrative game, Quantum Break almost succeeds. It looks utterly stunning, and it's fun to play, but overall the game doesn't quite gel with its TV show-style episodes to elevate its experience into something new. What we're left with is an enjoyable game and a half-decent TV show that coexist together, but don't feel like they're fundamentally entwined.

World of Final Fantasy is great. It's a bit on the linear side so far, and I haven't encountered too many situations that will tax a veteran of the series. But approach it as an all-ages take on the franchise, a Final Fantasy that works for both newcomers and old-timers alike (albeit on different levels), and it's surprisingly great.

Azure Striker Gunvolt looked like a second coming of Mega Man Zero. It's not, and that's no bad thing; it works on its own terms. However, between a lack of variety and some wild variances in difficulty, you get the impression that IntiCreates needed considerably more time and budget to invest in Gunvolt.

FuturLab demonstrates a fine understanding of what once made puzzle games so great. If you own a Vita, you should buy this -- particularly at such a generous price point.

Arms has a lot to love, and unfortunately, a lot to forget too. After a year of planned updates, I imagine the Arms we see a year from now will be a drastically different game. A fuller one, at that. In the meantime, though, while it has potential with layers of depth, the core game simply doesn't have enough variety among its many arms and fighters to keep the experience feeling fresh for long.

NHL 17 has some real strengths, but it still feels like it hasn't quite made it out of the previous generation. The gameplay is strong but increasingly dated; the feature set feels haphazard, and there are lots of niggling quality-of-life issues. It feels more and more like the series is stuck in a rut, and it's hard to say where EA Canada should take it next. For now, NHL 17 is another decent outing, but the next step remains elusive.

There's scope for additions and improvements in future updates, of course, but right now Eldritch feels more like a game with a lot of potential than the next big thing in roguelike-inspired games -- a game worth playing, for sure, but one which could perhaps use a bit more time in the otherworldly oven.

While the core game has changed very little since its original appearance on Wii U a little more than a year ago, Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World giveth, and it taketh away. If you don't mind the visual downgrade and the loss of cooperative play, you'll probably enjoy the new additions on tap here (most of which, unsurprisingly, revolve around Yoshi's canine companion Poochy). At its heart, this is the best follow-up to Yoshi's Island to date, so it's absolutely worth your time if you missed it on Wii U.

Fantasia brings something completely new to the music/rhythm game genre. It's fun - if somewhat tiring - to play, and packs a broad and interesting array of tunes that you can remix on the fly. Very clever stuff - but will it be the last of its kind? Only time will tell.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare comprises a trio of game modes that are all very well produced and enjoyable to play through – but largely tread familiar ground in terms of their design. The spectacular-looking, well-written campaign packs strong characters and plenty of over-the-top moments, while Zombies in Spaceland is an enjoyable shoot 'em up romp that's best played with a team. The multiplayer mode is perhaps the game's weakest element. It's slick and polished, but feels a little too much like a remix of Black Ops 3.

XCOM: Chimera Squad retains much of what makes XCOM such a special tactics series, in the process adding in some genuine improvements to its already excellent formula. But these improvements are undermined by some strange art choices, as well as a general reluctance to maximize some of its bolder changes. All in all, an interesting experiment, but one that still has a ways to go before reaching its full potential.

While it still carries some common adventure game problems, Kathy Rain acts as a nice update to the genre that still looks like a product of the '90s. Adventure game veterans and newcomers should find a lot to love with this one.

NHL 20 isn't a huge update over last year's version, and its graphics continue to lag behind the competition. Still, it brings with it plenty of solid refinements, and its franchise mode continues to stand out as a strength. Returning players may be disappointed by this year's features, but if you're a hockey fan who hasn't picked up the series in a while, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

If you haven't yet entered the deadly world of Hitman, IO Interactive's newest installment makes for the most approachable take on the series yet. The amount of content may seem undersized for an episodic series, but the sheer amount of ways to approach each level will have you playing them over and over again to perfect the art of murder.

Aviary Attorney might look like nothing more than a silly riff on Ace Attorney, but thankfully, there's a lot more to it than that. The era-appropriate illustrations and music set the perfect atmosphere, while the short cases with multiple endings provide a great incentive to jump back in and shoot for happier resolutions. Aviary Attorney doesn't quite hit the heights of Capcom's own series, but it's still a fine way to kill an afternoon.

After the pure RTS of Dawn of War and the RPG leanings of Dawn of War II, Relic Entertainment decides to settle in the middle ground with Dawn of War III. Base-building returns, heroes get an overhaul with Elite units, and combat becomes more aggressive and faster-paced. Dawn of War III is a game that pulls from its past, while taking some elements from modern day gaming to make something new in the franchise.

The Foundation wins in filling out the world of Control. The additional lore and answers about various facets of the Oldest House like Control Points and Power Boxes is exactly what I want from Control. That was what pushed me forward, deeper and deeper into the DLC. Of the two major new powers, Shape makes you feel like the superhero you are, while Fracture is a pretty boring addition. I just wish those powers could be brought back into the base game, for further new combat or exploration opportunities within the Oldest House. If the world of Control is your thing, the Foundation delivers.

The Disney Afternoon Collection makes it easy to re-live the part of the '90s that's worth re-living, i.e. the part that has doesn't involve neon shoelaces.

Once again, SWERY injects a detective story with his patented brand of weirdness, though this time he's finally free of the technical limitations that hampered his past work. D4 isn't a flawless experience, but, as with Deadly Premonition, it offers a world and set of characters you won't want to leave behind.

If you enjoyed the first season of Batman: The Telltale Series, the first episode of The Enemy Within is a great start to this season. The inclusion of one character feels a bit forced, like widget just placed to take the spot of an outgoing character, but all in all, the relationships you have to contend with here feel believable.

Destiny feels like it wasn't ready, but it was shipped anyway. It tantalizes with glimpses of brilliance, but then confounds with clunky design decisions and baffling oversights.

I liked Tacoma though, even with its fumbles. I felt more engaged watching (and rewinding, pausing, fast-forwarding) how things played out than I had in a lot of games like it. That's likely because it's the rare game where the player is in direct control of what, when, and how they see everything.

Trials of Mana is a strong remake of the classic 2D Super Famciom RPG that Western fans pined after for so very, very long. Its story is a bit weak, Charlotte's English voice acting might make you retch, and there's some notable repetition in the game's environments, but fighting through enemy hordes feels great. It's a considerable step above the 2018 revamp of Secret of Mana, so no worries there.

While its overly long story mode amounts to a tragic waste of resources, Persona 4: Dancing All Night's strongest qualities can be found in just how well the series' pop art aesthetic meshes with the rhythm game genre. This might not be the most complex or inspired take on rhythm games to date, but DAN certainly knows how to have a good time.

Master x Master is a damned good time. It's not the best at any one thing, but it offers such a variety that you can't help but find something to enjoy.

If you pick up Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition, know that you're essentially getting a prettier version of a 2008 experience. That may sound extremely obvious, but, over the last seven years, character action games have changed greatly, making some of DMC4's choices feel absolutely dated.

Sadly, Strider falls somewhat short of the original. Despite its failings, though, it manages to be the best Strider game that old coin-op. With a little more polish and creativity, this could be the start of something great.

This debut episode of the final season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead is impressive, if a little formulaic.

Grand Kingdom has a lot of really great ideas: its map setup, its use of obstacles to force you to think tactically, and its online integration are all great. But once you get past the game's second layer, it starts to plateau, which is disappointing. Whether it's more unique enemies, multi-layed class synergy, or more consequential online wars, Grand Kingdom feels like it's missing that little something extra. With that, I really hope there's a sequel. I'd hate to see all these great ideas go to waste.

With The Beginner's Guide, creator Davey Wreden starts with a brilliant premise, only to waste it with his insistence on telling rather than showing within his barely interactive worlds. Games don't necessarily need to be fun to work, but they should at least be engaging—something The Beginner's Guide can't maintain during its 90-minute running time.

Pokken Tournament is fun for a bit, but I'm not convinced that it has any staying power as a fighting game. It's further hurt by its thin single-player mode and limited roster, which hurts its potential with casual fans. As attractive and faithful to the license as it is, it has plenty of room for improvement. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel.

While Syndicate isn't AC II, to Unity's AC, it's still an improvement over Ubisoft's 2014 offering. The pair of protagonists work well, some stealth options return, and there's more ways to get around. London is a worthy playground for the Frye twins... and for players.

Don't let Yo-Kai Watch's kiddie appeal fool you: It might not be as deep as your average, adult-style RPG, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Level-5's gradual evolution of their "house style" has amounted to a true successor to Pokemon—one entirely free of its predecessor's 8-bit baggage.

The minigames of Super Mario Party are great, taking advantage of the Switch hardware in unique and creative ways. It's the dialed back board game and its lackluster extra modes that let the whole package down though. While it's still bound to be a great party game to break out when friends visit, it lacks the drama of the best in the series.

By shoving the story aside and doubling down on its great battle system, Paper Jam smartly emphasizes what the series does best. Some of the padding can be a little annoying, but the way paper-thin characters add new angles to enemy encounters makes this crossover more than just a simple gimmick.

World of Tanks is an entertaining and enjoyable tactical shooter with a surprising amount of depth. If you're not prepared to pony up some cash, it does become a grind eventually – but if you reach that point and you still want to play, spending some money is very likely a worthwhile investment.

Smaller in scale than last year's epic adventure, The Old Blood treads familiar, blood-soaked ground and doesn't offer much in the way of new ideas. However, it's very well produced, has some great moments of dialog, and offers a ton of Nazi-slaughtering action that's somewhat relentless, but still plenty entertaining.

Azure Striker Gunvolt 2's offers a unique method of taking down bad guys, which is enough to differentiate it from the Mega Man Zero series that indirectly spawned it. Tagging and shooting foes is tons of fun and the ability to play as Copen is a nice addition, but Gunvolt 2 still has notable issues with repetitive level design. Still, if you enjoyed the first game, there's no reason you won't have a blast with this one.

A clever, abstract take on a bullet hell shooter that breaks the action up into very short bursts. It's challenging, fun to play and very addictive. A great indie game to play between AAA titles.

Light and breezy, Ever Oasis makes for a pleasant little snack while waiting for the next wave of 3DS RPGs. Some of its core concepts could have been taken further, but it's still a well-executed RPG from a long-standing veteran of the genre.

Heaven's Vault may have one of the most well-realized video game worlds ever, with your curiosity and personality molding your story through the Nebula. Whether you're fascinated by history or just by a personal sense of duty, there's a lot to love about Heaven's Vault, even if the clunky movement and frustrating sailing sour the overall experience.

Despite some combat balancing issues and some occasionally too-linear design, 7th Dragon III offers a top-class portable role-playing experience. Thankfully, you don't need to be familiar with the unlocalized earlier games in the series to grasp the story, and its wealth of customization options make for a fairly breezy RPG experience... at least until you get to those brutal True Dragon fights, anyway.

Although the emphasis on bow hunting and woolly mammoths can give a bit of a Skyrim vibe, that quickly fades as you gain full mastery over the protagonist's ability to summon a variety of deadly beasts into combat. The writing fails to make its primitive heroes anything more than one-note lunks, but the primordial nature of the game world complements the action and ultimately makes up for the underwhelming story.

Super Mario Run's lack of offline play is a bummer, but otherwise it's an engaging experience that demonstrates Nintendo understands what makes for a good mobile game. Even if you're not a fan of mobile titles, it's worth a try: The initial download is free, and you can pay for the additional levels if you like what you see.

Episode 2 is effective in picking up where Episode 1 leaves off, but is content to mostly move the pieces around the board in an effort to setup the rest of the story.

Carrion is an energetic and taut game that flips the tables on The Thing, putting you in command of the alien creature and tasking you with simply going to town on the hapless humans surrounding you. The loose physics-based gameplay is satisfying to play, and the enigmatic creature's bloodlust is crucially never too powerful to render the armed humans that challenge you entirely helpless. Although Carrion's story falls largely flat, it's a very satisfying slaughterhouse of gnashing teeth and tentacles.

Garden Warfare's bright colors, cartoon graphics and humorous approach are the antithesis of most first-person shooters. But don't be fooled. It's as good as any out there - and very likely an awful lot more fun.

Like its predecessor, Smoke and Mirrors enjoys great writing, excellent voice acting and a lead who is likeable in all the right ways. That said, the second chapter in The Wolf Among Us feels somewhat too short -- like a build-up, a segue to bigger things. There are also moments where the writing trips, leaving players to wonder if Bigby's been hit on the head one too many times.

Panzer Paladin adopts a bit of every NES platformer you played as a kid, and the result is a little chaotic, but a lot of fun. Panzer Paladin's degradable-weapon mechanic adds a unique element of strategy to the mix, and playing as Flame outside of her Panzer suit lets you discover some cool secrets. However, there are times when the instructions are vague and the lives system doesn't need to exist in this day and age, but it's hard to stay mad when you're surrounded by this much 8-bit beauty.

The fundamental gameplay is strong. Matches are fast and enjoyable. The characters are visually wonderful and mechanically distinct. But the overall experience just needs more. More Guardians, more maps, more modes. The heroes feel like they're in the right place, but the rest needs to be pumped up over time for Gigantic to truly stand tall among its competition.

As a continuation of Marvel's Spider-Man for PlayStation 4, The Heist is okay. The Black Cat is the focus, as the rest is remixed mission and challenge types, and three new costumes...If you're in too deep with Spider-Man, it's worth picking up, but I do wish The Heist was a bit meatier overall. If my speculation is right, the later DLC releases will build upon what's found here, offering a satisfying expansion once all three updates are out.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is one of the best Call of Duty games in years, with vibrant new gameplay additions and robust multiplayer offerings. Despite that, it still feels hampered by aspects of its approach and tone that would have better been left in Call of Duty's past.

The core gameplay is great, but everything surrounding it is problematic.

Full Throttle has a great cast of characters and atmosphere, but with its remaining irritating action and timed sequences, bland puzzles, and an unnecessary fresh paint job, the game carries its old flaws to a new generation, and ushers some new ones in as well. Luckily, with the seamless swap to its already-fantastic original pixel art (whose immense detail is commendable, even in 2017), clicking through Full Throttle's charming love letter to wheels is still pleasant.

Hyrule Warriors is basically a one-note experience, but it hits that note with perfect pitch. The Zelda universe works better as a musou button-masher than you might expect, and much of that success is down to Tecmo's obvious love for the subject matter.

Make no mistake: Some of Color Splash is best-in-class material. But some of it is just awful. As much as I'd like to be able to give it an unqualified endorsement, I really can't. The excellent visuals, music, structure, and writing sit at odds with the toilsome combat system and the addition of far too many gimmicks and gotchas. The game is as irritating as it is inspiring — and while there's much to love here, be aware that finding it requires slogging through some truly rocky moments.

Forgotton Anne's absorbing world of forgotten things imbued with life—from baby blankets to an old piece of luggage mourning his crystallized companions—is one I was happy to trot through more than once, even just to see the slightest character interactions change.

Firewatch doesn't provide the same emotional heights or satisfying conclusion you'd expect from such a story-heavy game, but Campo Santo definitely shows promise with their debut project. Even if it won't have you reaching for the tissues by the end, this woodland walking simulator still provides a pretty great way to burn through an otherwise unoccupied afternoon.

Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia aims to focus the Total War series. Instead of a grand chunk of history to explore, it drills down to some specific decades, with a much smaller map. At the end of the day though, you still need to love the real-time strategy play for the Total War series. If you do, Thrones of Britannia is an experience that tries not to suck up all of your time and energy.

If you're looking for anything measurably different than your prior experiences with the series, though, The Pre-Sequel won't satisfy. And this lack of ambition only serves to disappoint: there's a fantastic game buried in here, somewhere, if only its caretakers would perform a serious overhaul.

The story campaign is a wonderful starbound adventure that'll make you feel like the starship captain many of us have always wanted to be. Unfortunately, it offers a done-in-one kind of 30+ hour adventure, with a lack meaningful choices.

Despite a new developer at its helm, Shadow of the Tomb Raider ends up feeling like more of the same. The new additions to stealth are great; the bow continues to be one of the best in all of video games. Then guns enter combat and the self-reflective story falls flat, making Shadow sometimes a chore to get through. The puzzles in those tombs are pretty spectacular though. I guess she really is the Tomb Raider now.

The Surge 2 is a better game than its predecessor in many ways, and shouldn’t be overlooked in a growing crowd of soulslikes. Pathfinding can still be a bit vague like its predecessor, but the dense environments are fun to explore and complement its weighty combat and robust gear upgrade system. Deck 13 polished what made the first Surge a decent B-tier game and doubled down on what it's good at, showing us how a good developer can learn and evolve from release to release.

Mario Tennis Aces has a lot more in common with fighting games than anything else. Zone Shots and Special Shots are basically the equivalent of an expertly-executed combo or special move, and consequently, can render a point to feel cheaply won in a flash. With no ranked mode available or cosmetic rewards to earn, there's not much to really keep players coming back to it either. Online Tournament and Free Play are fine and scratch the tennis itch, but fail to incite a competitive spirit. Overall with Mario Tennis Aces' lackluster (though sometimes exciting) Adventure Mode, finally-stable online modes, and the unique characterizations of every character, there's a solid package here, even if it doesn't feel like it has legs for the long term.

Hohokum is a different kind of game that prizes aimless interaction and exploration above completing specific objectives. It's a title that brings together a cute, minimal art style and a great soundtrack to create a zen experience. It's worth a play, but not everyone will appreciate its strengths.

Absolver comes extremely close to being an amazing game with its deep 1v1 melee combat and unpredictable player encounters, but where it falters is in, well, nearly everything else. The world feels lifeless. When more than one fighter joins a battle, battling becomes frustrating and clunky. There's a lot of potential with Absolver. But unfortunately, it's not 100 percent of the way there yet.

Ground Zeroes is definitely fun while it lasts, and it offers an interesting taste of what is to come in Phantom Pain. As appetizers go, it's terrific. Just don't expect a full meal.



IO Interactive continues Hitman's reboot with another sprawling level that doesn't disappoint. Even if its episodic nature doesn't feel completely necessary, each dose of content will keep you plenty busy until the next one arrives.

Donut County is an excellent concept executed with pizzazz, personality, and an unexpectedly salient message at its core. While the end came abruptly and left me wanting more, like an endless mode or bigger levels to swallow things in, I can't deny the great time I had with what's there.

It's a bit of a shame, then, that GT Sport feels more like one of the old Prologue releases than a full-on entry in the series. Like I said at the top of this review, the game is fabulous, but there's just not quite enough of it. I'm sure that Polyphony Digital will add new cars, tracks, and events going forward, and it'll be interesting to see how Sport Mode evolves over time, but the bottom line is that right now, GT Sport feels more like an appetizer than a main course. It's exquisitely-crafted and phenomenally tasty, but leaves you wanting more.

Episode 1 is all intro, giving you a look at Max's powers and her supporting cast, but not much else. There's hints of bigger things on the horizon, but neither issue is immediate within Episode 1. I'm intrigued, but Episode 2 needs to give me a stronger reason to finish all five episodes.

The effort that DICE has put into the visuals pays off in one of the best-looking games of the year. But every facet of the game is hurt by the lack of variety in the environments, vehicles, weapons, and even enemies. It's a startlingly limited package made more disappointing by the fact that the actual gameplay is really fun. It may reach its potential in a year; but for now, it's one more potentially great game sabotaged by what appears to be a cynical marketing plan.

Onrush makes a bid to revive the arcade racing genre with this wonderfully unique title. It's a little bit Motorstorm, a little bit Burnout, a little bit SSX. It's a beautiful game, with a selection of amazing tracks full of jumps, drops, and takedowns. Onrush is at times too chaotic and busy, but in the end it's damned exciting.

If you're an anime or Aquaplus fan, this game is pure fanservice on a disc -- but even if you're not, this is still an enjoyable and accessible fighting game, albeit one that lacks a good training mode to ease newcomers into its quirky ways of doing things.

Overall, the Evil Within is solid and it definitely has some great moments, but poorly-implemented mechanics and a bland story bring down the overall package. Survival horror fans should pick it up, but others may want to wait until the price drops a bit.

Concrete Genie is certainly easy on the eyes and ears, with brilliant colors popping out of the screen and a light, airy score to coaxe life out of your paintings. It even successfully switches around the perspective of a strained parent-child relationship compared to what we've seen in other games. Unfortunately the monotonous nature of everything in between creating Genies, from dodging bullies to dousing Denska with Super Paint, drags it down.

Like Roll7's first game, Not a Hero is light on overall mechanics: It's a cover-based side-scrolling shooter stripped down to its bare minimum. That helps the game rip along, as you and the BunnyLord slide and murder your way into power. The humor may fall flat for some and there's a bit of repetition, but Not a Hero is a ton of fun.

Night School Studios have made hell intriguing and complex, with punchy dialog and relatable characters, be it human or demonic. The humor and writing is where Afterparty shines the most, breathing life into every character it touches—be it short and sarcastic, or emotional and reverent. Like the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right (To Party)," what seems like dumb entertainment can evolve into something a lot more meaningful if you're willing to look beneath the surface.

GRID Autosport combines interesting cars, entertaining tracks, excellent AI, and a quality handling engine to deliver a terrific racing experience. Unfortunately its career mode lacks depth and isn't particularly engaging.

Push Me Pull You is a simple, yet effective local multiplayer title that's a breeze to pick up and play. Its bizarre, yet competitive gameplay quickly gets players yelling at one another - whether they're friend or foe - making it an ideal, and potentially noisy party game. The lack of online multiplayer and single-player mode does limit its appeal somewhat, but if you're the kind of person who often hosts gaming parties, check it out.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 might not move the series forward, but, at the same time, it isn't at all the cheap cash-in it easily could have been.

Although it's slightly rough around the edges, and packs the occasional bug, Sleeping Dogs is nevertheless a gripping and thoroughly entertaining Hong Kong action movie in game form.

Shovel Knight Showdown takes the popular indie platformer series and turns it into a four-player arena battler, with great results. With a large amount of unlockable content, in-game challenges, and solo modes, it's a deceptively robust package that has the potential to be a long-term party staple. Shovel Knight Showdown is great even if you've never played the original games.

Modern audiences, though, will still have to overlook some serious rough edges to find out what the big deal is.

Observation has no trouble grabbing you from the go, with gripping central mysteries and questions that demand answers. Painstaking progress through even the simplest commands and instructions counteract any sense of progress in Observation, and ultimately dilutes and cheapens the experience.