It may not be perfect, but Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is certainly a game worth playing. There is plenty of value to be had, no matter if you are a Gears fanatic or someone who is brand new to the series. Just make sure to experience it with a friend at your side.

It seems more focused on addressing complaints and shoring up weak points than it does in reinventing the wheel. It largely feels like an excuse to introduce the Star Wars juggernaut to the franchise, and it's certainly a good move. The Star Wars characters and play sets alone make it a worthy purchase for young fans of the franchise. Having Tony Stark and Han Solo team up to beat up Syndrome is just icing on the cake.

But while Journey fostered a connection with others, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture left me feeling completely alone as a player and desperate to find out why. The answers came slowly, and they might not be utterly satisfying at first, but that's what can happen when you go where everyone is not.

Submerged tries to go for the same vibe as Journey but falls short.

It's a surprisingly adept blend of various types of nostalgia and does a good job of capturing the feel of SNES-era style RPGs without overstaying its welcome.

It's a near-perfect adaptation of an average slasher/monster film. It's a fun romp through a horror movie, and the tension of all characters being able to live and die contributes well to the overall feel. At the end of the day, though, it's not exceptional and lacks replay value. A $60 price tag is too high for the experience, especially with companies like Telltale Games and Dontnod Entertainment offering similar experiences for lower prices.

Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library and the Monster Seal is a perfectly fun dungeon crawler.

The Adventures of Pip is an example of a perfectly fun platformer. It doesn't do anything exceptionally well, but it's a solid and well-made game.

Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess is a surprisingly sadistic guilty pleasure.

Ultimately, Rare Replay is a must-buy title if you have even a passing interest in a handful of the included games.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour isn't a bad game; there's just not enough of it.

J-Stars Victory Versus+ has a lot of heart, but that heart doesn't guarantee good gameplay.

The license is used effectively for a solid presentation, and the extra flourishes are a nice touch.

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos promises two things: fan service and zombie killing. It delivers on that but not much else. XSEED's lively translation and the sheer fun of zombie killing make it an enjoyable enough romp, but low production values and repetitive gameplay really drag it down.

In the end, No Time to Explain is hurt by inconsistency.

Game of Thrones: Episode 5 - A Nest of Vipers reinforces the idea that happiness doesn't last. All of your victories in the previous episode — and the much smaller ones here — are easily reversed, and you get the feeling that the final episode will end in a Pyrrhic victory.

At the end of the day, God of War III: Remastered is God of War III again.

As the game stands right now, it kills time, and that's about it.

Like the other Marvel-related tables before it, Ant-Man is pretty solid.

Batman: Arkham Knight has been billed as the most complete Batman video game experience in existence, and it lives up to that billing in spades.

When it comes to the actual racing, the game gets top marks primarily because of how deep the handling model feels. It also does a fantastic job of giving the player every possible option to tailor his or her experience to their liking. However, everything outside of the racing, such as the career mode, is mere window dressing.

Though not as thematically strong as its predecessor, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood still provides solid gameplay.

The improved combat and predator systems are worth the cost of entry, and a lot of the core combat mechanics are still the best in the genre. Unfortunately, it's held back by a somewhat weak Batmobile mechanic and a lackluster plot.

When all is said and done, LEGO Jurassic World is still going to appeal to fans of the LEGO franchise, but it's not going to impress them.

The game is appealing to both casual and hardcore players, seamlessly splitting them into different player groups. If you've never given a MOBA a try, Heroes of the Storm is the perfect entry point.

Sayonara UmiharaKawase+ is a fun but ultimately divisive game. The level of difficulty is certainly up there, and it escalates quickly, so you'll hit roadblocks very early

Portal Pinball is another in a long line of excellent tables for Pinball FX 2. The table is rather challenging, and the multitude of ramps and pathways means you need some great mastery over the ball if you want to get some high scores going.

Shovel Knight is a modern classic that takes the 2-D platforming genre and modernizes it.

It has its strengths, including some pretty cool monster design and fun puzzles, but by and large, almost everything it does has been done better by another RE title.

Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas is a pleasantly surprising homage to a classic adventure series.

It is easy to pick up and play, and there are enough varied elements to keep veterans of the genre interested, but it doesn't break any new ground.

Although the modes in Age of Ultron aren't as over the top as other Zen tables, the core gameplay is solid and finely polished.

Game of Thrones: Episode 4 - Sons of Winter is the first episode to end with both intrigue and satisfaction.

If you're an RPG fan, you owe it to yourself to give The Witcher 3 a shot. It rivals the best that Bethesda and Bioware have to offer, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better RPG this year.

L.A. Cops is a sloppy game. The controls lack finesse in almost all areas, and the shooting is randomized enough to feel unsatisfying.

Story of Seasons is a solid entry into the Bokujou Monogatari franchise. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's full of content, and almost all of it is fun.

All in all, Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed is an uneven experience.

ManaCollect embodies the definition of niche game. The core inspiration, a battle version of Minesweeper, can be pleasant, but it can only excite those who have very fond memories of the simple game.

Armed Seven is a solid old-school shooter with some new mechanics.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse is a game for the fans. They're the ones who will appreciate seeing the well-known story arcs through different perspectives and being able to play them out in unconventional ways.

Jet Car Stunts had the potential to be something good, but there are too many issues to give it any sort of recommendation.

Postal 2: Paradise Lost is an expansion pack that's meant explicitly for fans who love the idea of a first-person adventure title and don't mind its broad and potentially offensive humor. The fans should also be able to deal with a litany of bugs to get to a game that lets them do almost anything they want and play any way they want. For that audience, the pack is certainly worth it, warts and all.

The presentation could be better, but the mechanics are so solid that most players won't mind the flat appearance and audio. For those looking for a punishing version of Puzzle Quest, Ironcast is it.

With all of its content and features, Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker is the definitive version of the game.

In the end, Guns, Gore & Cannoli is a pretty good side-scrolling shoot-em-up.

In the end, Paperbound is a good game if you enjoy local multiplayer action.

The PC version may not have any new content, but it hits the platform in an extremely polished way. It won't change your mind about the game if you've already played it on another platform, but it certainly cements itself as a fantastic version of an entertaining game.

Tower of Guns is a nice application of the roguelike formula to the first-person shooter genre.

While there is no shortage of puzzle platformers on the PS3, Teslagrad is worth checking out.

For a fan of the series, Battlefield: Hardline can be met with two reactions. Some see it as a series taken in a new direction, while others see it as a mere cops-and-robbers re-skin for Battlefield 4 (which, let's face it, was just a tweaked Battlefield 3). Ultimately, both of these things are true because despite the new thematic elements, the game plays much the same way

Overall, Mortal Kombat X is great. The small improvements in the fighting system make a huge difference for the better, and the new fighters feel like they fit perfectly with the old cast.

Blue Estate is surprising in both good and bad ways. On the one hand, it delivers some good action with a surprising amount of cinematic flair. It also shows that the lack of an actual light gun can work quite well. On the other hand, the rather short game can feel too long, and the humor fails at being funny. If you can live with those shortcomings, the game is worth checking out for light gun fans who are jonesing for a new experience.

Some minor flaws aside, Atelier Shallie doesn't break the mold and is an excellent ending to the Dusk trilogy. While the presentation lacks a little polish, it has the most refined and enjoyable version of the core franchise mechanics to date.

Mushroom Men: Truffle Trouble can be best described as a game with a good idea that's buried under sloppy execution.

DmC: Definitive Edition lives up to the name. Almost every change is for the better, and while there are a few things to quibble about, it's rare to think of a single port that has had such a significant impact on the core gameplay.

Ori and the Blind Forest had the potential to be a game that appealed to all gamers, casual and hardcore alike. Unfortunately, the difficulty spikes (and the aforementioned bugs) keep this one solely in the realm of core gamers and speed runners.

Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries feels like squandered potential.

In the end, Axiom Verge is an excellent homage to Metroid that also brings some interesting touches to the table.

Judged as a stand-alone budget title, Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious is surprisingly robust and worth playing. As a piece of Forza Horizon 2 DLC, it's a harder call.

Etrian Mystery Dungeon is a solid game that conveys the strengths of both franchises involved.

In the end, ScreamRide proves to be fun in short doses.

Pinball FX2: The Iron & Steel Pack is a great addition to the Pinball FX 2 collection. Both tables offer a nice balance between ambitious and traditional elements that make them pleasing to a wide range of pinball fans.

RTS fans will find it too simplistic, and Warriors fans will find the pace to be too slow. It doesn't hit the correct buttons to competently fill either role.

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 may benefit by being on a system that still doesn't have many good 3-D platformers, but overall, it is just a decent game.

Dead or Alive 5: Last Round for the older generation of consoles is still a solid fighting game, but it is certainly not as definitive as Koei Tecmo would like you to believe.

Game of Thrones: Episode 3 -The Sword in the Darkness puts the series in a good spot.

Bloodborne is easily an early contender for game of the year, and it's the best PS4 exclusive to date.

Battlefield: Hardline might not help the series evolve, but it is a solid game.

Though it is a much better effort than the prior game, Power Rangers: Super Megaforce is a game that is fine with being mediocre.

In the end, Grey Goo is an interesting attempt at a simple but effective RTS game.

In the end, Battlefield: Hardline is its own worst enemy. There are some great ideas here, but they aren't fully realized, and the game suffers for it. It's not a bad game, but it's also not an exceptional game.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is a hard game to judge. As a PSP title, it's impressive and contains a bunch of content that clearly pushed the tiny system to its limits. However, released four years later as a full-priced $60 console title, it's lacking. It's still a solid game, but it demands that you remember its roots and overlook some of its foibles.

The core gameplay isn't strong enough to reach anyone who isn't a fan, but DBZ fans will be quite happy with the final game, warts and all.

There's a good game in Harold. The frantic pace at which environmental manipulation can be done and its use in sabotaging the competition breathes some life into an otherwise straightforward genre.

Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires breaks Omega Force's streak in releasing games that can change the minds of series critics. By reverting back to basics with so few modes, the title returns to something of a monotonous grind if you aren't playing as the kingdom leader.

Evolve has rare highs hidden amongst tedious lows. When the title hits its stride, it is easy to see why it was designed in this way

Samurai Warriors 4 is probably the most fleshed-out realization of a portable Musou game yet.

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.

Flyhunter Origins could have been a decent way for young players to spend an afternoon. The stages may not be expertly designed, and the enemies are way too easy, but the game is short enough to feel fulfilling without dragging on and the mechanics are solid enough.

Zombeer is bad. The humor is scattershot and groan-inducing, while the gameplay is barely functional.

At the end of the day, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate doesn't reinvent the wheel. It has more content, more polish, and more of the same gameplay that people love. It isn't going to convert anyone who disliked the formula, but it might bring newcomers into the fold.

Evolve has some of the best ingredients to make a good multiplayer experience, but it's up to the community to make this a game that's constantly in rotation.

Criminal Girls: Invitation Only is a title with a very, very, very specific audience. RPG fans will find the combat tedious and the plot generic, and those looking for a dose of scantily clad anime girls will probably be turned off by the whipping and electrocution.

There's a lot of interesting setup in the first episode of Life is Strange, and this is a great start.

Game of Thrones: Episode 2 - The Lost Lords is like the first episode in that it feels like a prologue to something bigger.

For all of its polish in some areas, it has obviously unrefined aspects in others. For all the aspects that let you tell a story about the game, there's little to allow you to create in a story within it.

Dying Light is easy to write off as a Dead Island knockoff, but it is anything but. It has a completely different feel, with intense mobility and speed mixing with far more deadly enemies. It's also more tightly designed and more fun to play and is an overall improvement over Dead Island in almost every way.

With just the right technical proficiency behind it, Roche Fusion is a very good traditional shooting game.

Kalimba is a solid puzzle platformer that is trickier than expected.

Swords & Soldiers remains a great real-time strategy game for the Wii U.

The Talos Principle can easily be called the next big puzzle game in the same vein as Portal.

Pinball FX2: Venom isn't exactly the most accessible table due to the design and heavy focus on missions.

Funk of Titans is a game that sounds fine on paper but falls apart in the execution.

It's got some serious RPG chops, too, so if you're a fan of lighthearted RPGs, you'll enjoy Citizens of Earth.

Atelier Ayesha Plus is one of the best Atelier games available.

Though imperfect, Resident Evil HD Remaster is a good update to a now-classic remake.

Aside from the short play time, it's rather engaging, and while it is way too early to say whether The Detail ends up being a great adventure, the first episode will certainly whet the appetites of those who love a good police procedural.

Fantasy Hero: Unsigned Legacy is a decent action RPG but nothing more.