An outstanding game, although it's on the brink of trying to do too much at one time. The motorized vehicles, lame goals, and other non-skating novelties can all take a hike.

Mighty Polygon unabashedly stands on the shoulders of giants with Relicta. The wheel is not reinvented but rather pleasantly spun around and flipped on its head. While further investment into the artistic aspects of this game may have helped clarify some of the issues with sameness and emptiness, the gameplay and narrative overpower these concerns. Puzzles pose just enough of a challenge to keep the player fascinated while the narrative, strong character, and world give the player incentive to progress. Throw in collectibles to round out the details, and you've got quite the adventure for the curious. With a $20 price tag, Relicta may have its shortcomings, but it's challenging, narratively compelling, and — dare I say it? — magnetic. If you enjoy the likes of Portal, get this game.

Have you ever been rewarded for ripping 250 guys in half with your bare hands? You will be while playing this game, and if that's not reason enough to buy it, then I really don't know what is.

While I wished the Core Combat expansion was in use by more of the player-base, I'm confident the devs will perform the necessary tweaks to draw more players in, because the idea of the subterranean combat is exciting and Core Combat provides a great foundation.

It takes out some of the frustration that makes the genre so inaccessible without sacrificing the challenge and accomplishment that make it so fun.

In spite of the story mode never quite syncing up properly, everything else included in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker more than makes up for it.

A flawed masterpiece. When it is on, there is no other game like it, but it's frustrating when it fails. The story line is simultaneously clever and too impressed with its own cleverness, and the gameplay veers between some of the most exciting you'll ever play and being workmanlike and tedious. The failures in Infinite are mostly from setting such a high standard that it is disappointing when some moments don't live up to it. This is a rare example of a good game that disappoints because it could have been even more.

The graphics are first rate, the dialogue was tight and witty, and most importantly, the story is fantastic and the game plays out like a well written book.

Ys: The Oath in Felghana is another incredibly strong entry in the series, and it's a great option for PSP owners looking for an RPG fix.

The variety of mission types and the addition of multiplayer co-op mode definitely make this a worthy sequel to the original "Katamari Damacy."

With its many surprises, Darkwood is a title with immeasurable depth that will keep horror fans gripped until the very end. An important focus on narrative-driven gameplay kept me hooked and desperate for answers. A horrifying aesthetic with spooky soundscapes plays with our instincts and terrifies the senses. When the title boasted "a horror game without jump-scares", I initially rolled my eyes. Most titles incorporate some kind of jump-scare to get a cheap reaction out of players. Even tastefully done jump-scares feel cheap to me because I'm not actually "scared," I'm just surprised. Darkwood succeeds where many other titles fail. It's a heart-racing experience that any horror fan worth their salt should attempt to survive.

Sin & Punishment: Star Successor does exactly the same thing the original game did: Provide a devilishly fun experience under the guise of a simple but difficult shooter.

This is the kind of game where you could wipe out days of time paying attention to one piece of the greater story, with the true joy coming when you get to take a step back and see the story you've built.

Overall, Legends of WrestleMania is the best romp through the WWE I've had the pleasure of playing in years.

It's far from a perfect package, but whether you're a veteran who remembers the series' heyday back on the Sega Genesis or a newbie looking to dip your feet into the series, you won't be disappointed with Sonic Rush Adventure.

In the long run, although you'll find yourself bothered by the control scheme, the just-above-average graphics, and the minor sound quibbles, you'll forget it all as you get sucked in to the story of Indigo Prophecy.

Heading back into the meat grinder with Bad Company 2 is a battle worth waging.

The graphics are amazing and definitely deserve special recognition, as does the sound. The multiplayer seems a bit slow at times, but taken with the pros and cons, the pros definitely win out in this game.

The good news is it's deep and complicated in the way it should be: learning the subtleties of the game and becoming successful, not in just learning how to play the game.

You should play the first episode anyway because it's great, and this edition only continues the winning tradition.

Though it's not flawless, Isolation is certainly one of the best games in the franchise, and I'm damn impressed with what The Creative Assembly has managed to pull off.

N+ is exactly the kind of game that's tailor-made for the DS, and I don't mean that it uses the touch-screen. Quick and simple, this is the kind of distraction that can easily be picked up for five minutes and put right back down again, making it ideal for killing those last few minutes of a lunch break.

Though these issues hamper the experience, NCAA Football 12 still stands as one of the strongest recent entrants in the series.

Have you ever been rewarded for ripping 250 guys in half with your bare hands? You will be while playing this game, and if that's not reason enough to buy it, then I really don't know what is.

Though these issues hamper the experience, NCAA Football 12 still stands as one of the strongest recent entrants in the series.

All this whining and pining for bygone days aside, Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection is an entertaining game you'll pick up and put down, quite possibly for years to come.

It is quite obvious that Sony took all the criticism leveled at last year's game and used it to craft MLB 08: The Show, an extremely fun and addicting title. Nearly all of the bugs have been fixed, with only the occasional AI problem, poor base running, and cumbersome career progression besmirching an otherwise incredible game.

I'm pleased to say that this year's Madden is one of the best entries into the franchise in several years

While many Atlus games tend to only appeal to niche audience of hardcore RPG gamers, Crimson Gem Saga is one of those approachable, fun and rewarding games that will appeal to hardcore players and more casual RPG fans alike.

As an adventure game, Rise of the Tomb Raider is up there with the best of them. The story feels like something right out of Indiana Jones, and the game nails the atmosphere that you'd expect from a Tomb Raider game.

My one complaint is that sprinting requires you to hold in the left thumbstick while pointing in the direction you need to go, which can get a little uncomfortable.

The soundscape may be imperfect, but the sheer sense of writing quality makes up the difference.

A blast from start to finish, offering up an excellent portable iteration of one of the best console franchises of the last five years. It may end a little shorter than expected, and the online play is unlikely to draw a significant following, but the single-player adventure is well worth the price of admission.

Moss is a gorgeous virtual reality experience that combines the eloquence of a theatrical play, the cuteness of smaller-sized subjects and making their scale feel grander, and the enjoyment of playing video games. I have never experienced something quite like Moss, and although it is partially due to the VR headset, it's more than equally due to how the developers used the technology to create a genuinely enjoyable experience. Moss is probably my favorite VR game yet, and I'd expect that sentiment to be echoed by many others.

A tremendous sports simulation, so if you have any love for hockey, not owning this game is downright inexcusable.

Sure, it's not the second coming of extreme sports games, and some people might even be a bit disappointed, but if you've never played an SSX game before, this is definitely a great starting point.

With great controls, gorgeous graphics, awesome sound, and a perfect sense of speed, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a very exciting kart racer and the closest that anyone has come to matching Mario Kart on a portable Nintendo system.

If you still have a sneaking suspicion that the Xbox 360 version suffers from the inferior control scheme of a controller, think again. After a few minutes of adjusting, you'll find that it's just as easy to perform at your peak on the Xbox 360's controller as it is on a keyboard and mouse setup on a PC.

It looks awesome (even on the PS2!), uses cutscenes to its advantage, and didn’t forget to include great gameplay.

This is a title that fits perfectly for those who are a little too sophisticated for the Wii, but yet wouldn't fancy themselves a game of Halo or Call of Duty.

Tetris Effect checks all the boxes, and if you're into music and puzzle games that are as challenging as they are meditative, look no further. Tetris Effect is truly the best version of Tetris I've ever played, but at the same time, it is "just Tetris." It pushes the gameplay into interesting directions without actually changing any significant part of the core gameplay, and that's the beauty of it.

For $10, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is a fantastic remake of a classic game.

2064: Read Only Memories INTEGRAL is a charming and captivating visual novel. It's a title that fits seamlessly with the Switch and makes clever use of the console's functions. The added touch of HD Rumble and touch functionality offer deeper gameplay options exclusively for the console. Additional exclusive content makes this the best version of ROM for first-timers or veteran fans of the title. While the core game is untouched with its gameplay flaws, it still brings a lot of love and attention to detail to the visual novel genre.

For those who like the series, though, it doesn't get much better than The Sims 3.

I found Crush to be an innovative twist on the platform/puzzle genre. The game is suitable for all ages and includes a hint feature which you can enable or disable in the options menu. My only complaint with the game is that it feels a bit short with only 40 levels.

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is an easy recommendation for Life is Strange fans as well as for those who have never touched the series before. Clocking in at 90 minutes, the episode can easily be completed in a single sitting; the episode's characters, on the other hand, will stay with you long after you put down the controller. If you have a free afternoon and some space on your hard drive, you have no excuse: Give Captain Spirit a whirl. It's free.

Control Ultimate Edition is a great title, especially since the DLC adds more enemies and gameplay mechanics into the mix. If you rush, the complete bundle will take you about 18 hours to complete, but if you take your time and explore and complete side-quests, you'll take at least 25 hours, which is quite meaty for a game of this caliber. If you have yet to experience Control, Ultimate Edition is the best way to do so on the PC. The combat is tight, over the top, and satisfying. The premise is so good that you want to dive deeper, but it doesn't always come together. While it's a great game to play, Control could have been an even stronger experience, and that takes away some of its thunder.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered on the Switch is a great port of a very good JRPG. Its stellar presentation and unique mix of known JRPG systems make it an engrossing experience that every fan of the genre should experience at least once. It isn't perfect, with some frustrations around its combat system and AI, but that doesn't detract from everything else it does as well or better than many other JRPGs in recent memory. If you have a Switch and are intrigued by Ni No Kuni, you cannot go wrong with this game.

Its "Teen" rating is dead-on – though the game has violence, light vulgarity, and sexual themes, it never crosses the line to become an adult experience. Bully is an open-world, story-driven, high-schooling experience unlike any you have played before.

The final verdict is that Okami for the Wii is an excellent offering and a fine addition to your library if you don't already own the PlayStation 2 version. The small complaints are a small price to pay for such an exquisite adventure, a title that really proves that quality third-party support for Nintendo is much more than a dream at this point.

The audio department has always been a strong point for all of the TH games, although this go-round was my favorite. The soundtrack is awesome, with bands like The Doors, Motley Crue, and Dead Kennedys.

A brilliant, challenging and rewarding game.

While it has some story pains, make no mistake: It Takes Two is a fantastic game and a welcome 2021 surprise. Grab a friend or loved one; find a co-worker or bridge buddy. Regardless of who you pair up with, this is one adventure you'll want to share together.

The biggest draw of F1 22 may likely depend on if you are interested in the VR support, as the game's implementation of VR is quite good. Beyond that, unless you are a Formula One fanatic and need to keep up on the current season, the other new main features are best left ignored. It is still a solid racing game, and no other game delivers such a comprehensive F1 experience. Beyond VR, it's unfortunate that every new feature added to F1 22 is a misfire.

If you're willing to put up with the infuriating AI and lack of courses, then you'll find a lot to love about Split/Second.

Splatoon 3 is very light on content additions, but it is easily one of the best online multiplayer games I've played. Its weird concept and fun gameplay across a variety of modes and maps are as fun and addictive as it has always been, but it lacks a big new feature. Instead, Splatoon 3 focuses on streamlining the existing experience by removing a lot of the hurdles that Splatoon 2 had imposed. While the online experience was a bit shaky during the first days, with two years of guaranteed updates on the horizon, Splatoon 3 has a mighty journey ahead, and it can only get better and more interesting from here.

It’s got its share of issues, but they’re something you don’t have much time to think about between waves of hostile undead. I’d recommend it to any console owner who enjoys a good FPS.

An exquisitely produced and incredibly fun first-person romp through the Star Wars universe with a blaster rifle in hand.

A great start for what will hopefully become a style of console gaming that will grow, meet many improvements, and finally show the world that art and videogames can, indeed, be one.

Some of the subject matter might be a little risqué for the younger audience, but for those who are of age, this title is a solid adventure with a great sense of humor.

An awesome game and earns a great deal of respect and admiration, but doesn't quite earn what I wish it would.

When it comes down to it, Pure is fun. It's simple, it's effective, and it perfectly captures that "just one more race" factor.

Final Fantasy XIII may not live up to the hype, but any fan of Japanese-style RPGs will find a lot to like here.

I suspect that many players will have an uneven time with Planet Zoo. At times, it's pretty straightforward and provides the player with plenty of feedback so they can improve their zoo. Other times, the game has you digging around in areas that are unnecessarily tough to figure out, with tutorials that barely touch on the feature (if at all). The thing with Planet Zoo is that it is so charming and appealing that the fun parts outweigh the frustrating ones. It's not a perfect game in the genre, but it is one of the best ones you can play right now.

I love Super Mario Odyssey, but it isn't flawless. The kingdoms are mostly open and varied, and they encourage fun exploration. However, the main story and beginning of the game are a bit of a letdown. The postgame is where experienced players will find the most enjoyment. This is not the best Mario title, but it pushes Mario in a new and refreshing direction, and it may even develop into a Switch evergreen. There are plenty of things that I'd like to see rectified in the inevitable sequel.

Oh yes. Also, you can install this game, put the CD away, and run it without the CD in the drive. Thank you very much, developers. With companies bending over backward to install broken copy protection schemes left and right, the lack thereof is refreshing.

The new characters, weapons and other goodies — like new songs and commentary on the radio, new TV shows and even a brand-new stand-up comedy gig — all make the title well worth the $20 price tag for fans.

Obviously, there are a couple of rougher edges in this "reboot" of the Forza Motorsport series, but there is quite a solid game to be found. The PC version seems like it could use a patch or two to bolster the performance, and the AI doesn't seem to respect that you also exist on the track. However, this is a game that absolutely delivers if you are the kind of person who finds their peace while taking a vehicle on track and trying to find its absolute limit.

I feel confident in saying that Super Swing Golf: Season 2 is by far the best golf title on the Wii. While the game doesn't really break any new ground, its execution is nearly flawless.

I very much enjoyed Death Stranding on the PS4, and that hasn't changed after playing through Death Stranding: Director's Cut on the PS5. It's not perfect in its overall story and gameplay execution, and it isn't a game that everyone will enjoy. If you can get past that, it's still is a uniquely rewarding experience that looks and plays better on a PS5, and it's one of the few PS5 titles that doesn't demand a fortune to upgrade for existent owners. At the same time, the content additions are a bit thin and don't add a lot to the experience, so the upgrades in visuals and performance are likely the main reason to upgrade your version.

When all is said and done, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is a great example of fan service done right. It's not perfect, but it's close and it fills a niche that has been long underserved on the Wii.

Overall, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is one of the best entries in the franchise. It's the technically most advanced and includes many improvements that significantly enhance the experience while also telling a gripping and satisfying story. It's not perfect, with a sometimes slow progression system and a few hit-and-miss additions in the side content. Some fun additions from previous iterations could've made Kiwami 2 even more special.

What a wild ride it is. I didn't want Yakuza: Like a Dragon to end. A part of me wonders if I grinded out battles and business minigames more than was intended, simply because I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Ichiban and friends. Fortunately, the story wraps up nicely and leaves the door open for a possible sequel — even though it wavers a bit near the end. This isn't farewell to Ichiban. With a new cast of charming characters, Like A Dragon feels like the start of a new saga in the Yakuza franchise. Until next time, Kasuga-kun.

Jagged Alliance 3 nails a lot of what it is trying to do. Gripes about financial pressure and perk points aside, the majority of gameplay is a ton of fun. It rewards tactical thinking, and with a skillful approach, you can watch your mercs absolutely rain hell down on a superior enemy force. Considerate use of special abilities and equipment is important as well, and rarely is any fight just an easy shootout. The execution isn't perfect, but Jagged Alliance 3 is simultaneously a love letter to the tactical games of old while also proving that their gameplay can still feel modern and fresh decades later.

Even though SoulCalibur IV has a lot of graphical and gameplay polish, it's still nowhere near a perfect game. A stunted Story mode and the completely unfair Apprentice character detract greatly from the single-player experience, and as it is, the online multiplayer is literally broken.

It's not the biggest expansion for Sims 3, but if you're trying to build an interesting, dynamic world for your little pixel people, it may just be the most important.

In a sea of look-alike poker game clones, WCP2 stands out as the one that feels most like playing an actual game of poker against actual people, for better or worse.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World is a great follow-up to the GameCube classic and is possibly the best RPG for the Wii.

Dead Head Fred is genuinely funny, well written and simply fun to play.

A solid game built by loving hands. Obviously, the developers, when deciding to port this title to the Xbox from the PC, took their time and studied what could be done to improve the gaming experience.

Incredibly well done. It may even be considered better than "Disgaea," at least on the game-play side.

On the plus side the Pacific theatre of WW2 is a fresh view of that same old war, everything is about as authentic as it can get without sacrificing playability, and the new features do well to break up what easily could have been yet another WW2-themed FPS. However, the clipping errors, other aggravating issues, and rather weak-sounding weaponry do detract from the overall experience.

In spite of Skate 2's flaws, it may just be time to crown the Skate franchise as the new king of the skate park. The game manages to be thrilling while eschewing some of the more ridiculous aspects of the Tony Hawk titles (grinding a telephone wire, really?) , and the motion-based trick system is much more immersive than pressing buttons once you get the hang of it.

If you don't care what era your action takes place in, then Call of Duty: World at War manages to be an exciting addition to the series.

With the deep character growth system in place here I could have been content with twice that amount of game time.

So long as you don't mind a short, but sweet, experience, it's worth checking out. Just don't expect a revolution.

It's been a great run; court is adjourned.

Had the game broken the 20-hour mark and cut down a bit on the stealth sequences it could have been an amazing game. As it sits, BG&E manages to remain highly entertaining throughout but ends far too soon.

Double Dragon Neon is a game that fully understands the job it came to do and fulfills it admirably. It holds up to the classic games, even surpassing them in some respects, while being tons of fun to both play and watch. While it leaves you wanting more, it does so in a relatively good way. While Neon has a few obvious flaws that arguably should never have happened in the first place, the overall product still knocks it out of the park while bursting with pride in everything that it is.

The sheer expansiveness of the X3: Reunion universe will draw you back again and again, each time offering something new and exciting. You’ll never run out of goals to meet.

For $10, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is a fantastic remake of a classic game.

Instruments of Destruction is a very simple idea that's been executed well. Breaking stuff is fun, and it's even more fun when every bit of that debris is fully reactive to physics. The different game modes offer completely different ways to play, and then there's a full Sandbox mode where you can use any vehicle on any level you want. While the game can certainly challenge you at times, it's always fun to wield your vehicle and decide that a building shouldn't exist anymore.

Pitfall's main game is very short, as I blazed through it in seven hours. While it does have a few secrets, such as the ability to play as Nicole and the unlockable Pitfall games you can find in a shrine near your starting point (complete with a giant Mayan monument to the Atari 2600), Pitfall is still a bit on the brief side.

Be warned though, in order to properly play the game you’ll need a Dual Shock caliber gamepad and plenty of patience to overcome its trying difficulty curve.

The game is occasionally frustrating and is prone to a few bugs, but it's also easily one of the deepest, most immersive titles to come out on the system for quite some time.

The blessing and curse of Battlefield 1 is that it is another well-polished entry in a series that clearly follows a sacred gameplay formula. Fans who have enjoyed the series thus far will find the same enjoyment in this latest entry, and aspects of World War I have clearly been carefully curated and incorporated into the game. However, it does feel that the series is playing things too safe. As good as the multiplayer is, I'm hopeful that future entries will take more risk. In the meantime, Battlefield 1 is another great offering that follows the series' enjoyable gameplay template.

One of the most solid expansions I have ever played.

Not only did Kingdom Under Fire: Crusaders come out of nowhere, but Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes also came from the exact same direction and still remains an excellent title to have a great deal of fun with while using one's strategy bone.