The developers took out the Creature vs. Creature combat, but villagers are less helpless and can do things like get their own food and take care of their most basic needs without your constant supervision.

Despite some thrills in the early going and the novelty of encountering new gangs, Pursuit Force depends too heavily on the clock to maintain excitement, eventually becoming a casualty of its own simplicity.

All in all, ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! is as solid of a remake of the classic title as you can hope for. It plays the same, sounds the same, looks better, and has a fair amount of new content. It's fun and accessible, and it's a solid roguelike for players of all ages. Nostalgic fans of the original will find a lot to love here, and newcomers should enjoy this retro trip back to the radical '90s.

Despite the control issues that can crop up, WarioWare: Move It! remains a fun title for those who love the speedy and random nature of the series. The sheer ridiculousness of the microgame themes combined with the equally silly motion control poses make for a hilarious time, and the game works best in short bursts at gatherings than compared to the longer sessions you'll need to spend with a Mario Party title. It might not rank highly when compared to the rest of the series, but it proves that the formula is still fun enough to check out.

Like many of Bloober Team's titles, The Medium isn't a horror game made for all horror fans. The lack of jump-scares can be refreshing, but some will be turned off by the lack of combat and danger. The game's relaxed pace, its linear nature, and the ease of its puzzles can erode the tension of the mystery. The strong atmosphere, grounded characters, and solid storyline will attract horror fans who are looking for something other than grotesque monsters to hunt down or run away from. For those who value plot over punch, The Medium is a journey worth taking.

One thing that stands out first and foremost is the music for We Love Golf. The music sounds a bit too simple and happy when you start the game, but it's passable. However, when you get on the green and putt for the first time, the music becomes tense and more focused.

All in all, MK11: Aftermath is a fun reason to revisit an aging game. The new story is enjoyable for Shang Tsung alone, and the new characters add a bit to the game. However, if you've been keeping up with MK, then the $40 price tag might be too heavy for the amount of content that you get. Once the price comes down, it'll be a worthwhile way to round out Mortal Kombat 11's story. You'll get to arrest evil sorcerers as Robocop, and isn't that what we've all wanted to do?

The computer AI is also much improved over the console version. The hunters can be quite cunning at times. Just when you think you’ve gotten away from a group, they split up and outflank you.

I've played my fair share of Soulslike titles, and Lords of the Fallen is currently far ahead of the pack. It provides the standard gameplay anyone would expect from this kind of game and adds enough interesting gameplay mechanics to be distinct and worthwhile. Sure, there are some frustrating design decisions, and it struggles to establish its own visual identity, but it innovates, and it looks good while doing so. If you're interested in these types of games, Lords of the Fallen is certainly the best of its kind that I've played this year.

Despite my perceived flaws of Ghostwire: Tokyo, I'd still recommend it as something to experience to players of all levels, simply for the fact that I did enjoy playing it and learning from it. Also, I wanted to give respect to Tango Gameworks for heading in a somewhat different design avenue. It's a ghostbusting romp through Tokyo, and if someone asks if you want to play it, say yes.

In the end, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate takes the familiarity of Hades and gives it a more familiar skin. The gameplay differences between the brothers provides an incentive to try all four characters instead of sticking to a favorite. The slightly lower difficulty means that upgrading your crew is faster than expected. Considering the large number of roguelikes on the PC, multiplayer — even though it's imperfect — gives this title a leg up on the competition.

Griping aside, Hard Corps: Uprising is a game that delivers exactly what it promises. It isn't going to be for everyone, but for those who appreciate the challenge of old-school gaming, it's a must-buy. For the rest who are going to whine that "it's too hard," go play Black Ops. This game is exclusively for the hardcore.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfareon the NDS is a title that will forever stand in the shadow of its current-gen siblings, but it manages to be an enjoyable experience in its own right. Shamefully, it bursts at the seams with unfulfilled potential, but maybe future sequels will rectify that.

A quirky title that can be fun, the first time around. Not being an avid collector of clothing for the girl in the game, I got bored with the game once I had beaten it the first time through.

Your enjoyment of Mafia II will come down to what you're expecting from the title, DLC notwithstanding. If you were expecting a modern sandbox experience set in an older time, then this isn't the game for you.

The storyline is maudlin at times, but it is told in better fashion than most games.

Stick It to the Man is a charming and delightful little adventure game. It doesn't have the most content, but it's a fun experience.

Twisted Mill games has come up with a City Building Sim that follows in the rich traditions of its predecessors, adds new depth and complexity, a superior graphical presentation, and a more realistic AI model.

The overall strength of Test Drive Unlimited on the PS2 isn't in its presentation — these sights and sounds are far better on other consoles — but the scope of what it set out to do in the first place, which was to really bring about the next evolution in the genre.

In a gaming age where titles like Fallout 3, Far Cry 2 and GTA IV are doing their level best to push the average length of games to well above the 30-hour mark, it's refreshing to have an original, charming and memorable game that can be polished off in a relaxing few hours, without the fear of redoing huge sections or having to perform gamepad miracles.

River City Girls 2 is pretty much everything you'd expect from a sequel: more enemies, more allies, more moves, more areas to explore, and more everything. It doesn't veer too far away from any of the original's design choices, and the result is a comfortable, if safe, sequel. The boss fights feel a little less tightly designed than they did in the first game, but it's a small complaint at best, and there's still plenty to enjoy here. If you enjoy quirky comedy with a fighting game twist, River City Girls 2 has a lot to enjoy. It's also way too cool to body-slam folks as a muscular, super-cool version of one of gaming's most famous damsels in distress.

BattleForge largely succeeds in trying to blend together RTS and card games. It's a fast-paced RTS that really rewards players for being able to adapt quickly in the middle of battle.

All in all, Patapon 2 Remastered is as bare-bones of a remaster as you can get of a fun game. It has nothing in the way of new features, and the lack of compensation for input lag means that like many older rhythm games, it can be borderline unplayable on some modern televisions. If you can get past that, you can find a lot to like in this adorable and surprisingly difficult little game. Just don't blame us if you hear "pon pon pata pon" in your sleep.

Elebits definitely has its moments, but they are few and far between, often buried between lengthy spurts of tedium.

With WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2011, the series is starting to show its age. Despite being a recent release, the graphics and the sound start to feel old, and major gaffes have remained in those areas despite being singled out in several reviews.

The combat system is not only intuitive and very fluid but is chock-full of "Did you see that?!" moments, and not only takes the hardcore feel of the original title but expands upon it with additional weapons, attacks, and techniques.

AquaPazza: Aquaplus Dream Match is a fun but very flawed fighting game that resonates most with those who are already proficient in the genre.

Despite The Evil Within's attempts to mimic RE4, it plays like a game that preceded RE4 instead. It has many minor flaws, annoying problems and nagging issues that its spiritual predecessor didn't have.

Folklore, presenting a tale of legends, aspires itself to the status of a legendary game. Alas, the title is flawed by various shortcomings and poor design decisions, placing such grandeur beyond its grasp. But, however lofty its unfulfilled ambitions, Folklore is certainly not a bad game; indeed, it's a reasonably good game.

Gamers who are tired of being one-man armies and want to play in a more team-based environment will find that Frontlines: Fuel of War is exactly what they've been seeking.

If you spend most of your time doing RvR, there are no significant upgrades to the RvR system here and it's still unknown how much of an advantage the higher Master Levels bring to RvR.

It's almost impossible to play Me & My Katamari without the Prince developing a bizarre drunken stagger, veering constantly to the right or left as you play. As Me & My Katamari retains the occasionally-unforgiving time limits of the original game, this can lead to a lot of frustrating retries.

Acclaim did make some nice improvements to this series this year, but they could not match the great strides that EA has made with "MVP." MVP's pitching and batting system is simply better, and its gameplay is a lot more fun.

The Night of the Rabbit is certainly one of Daedelic's better games. The gameplay is faithful to the point-and-click adventure genre blueprint, but only with a few obtuse puzzles.

Marvel's Midnight Suns: The Good, The Bad, and The Undead DLC might scare off people with its $15 price tag for one new character and three new missions. The price is steep, even if the new enemies and Deadpool pop up in other side missions. The content is good and fits well with the established mechanics without getting too chaotic, and it is a nice introduction to a new story arc. For now, despite the score, you should probably hold off on this unless you already have the Season Pass or you're a huge fan of the Merc with a Mouth.

Get Even doesn't have one strong suit from a gameplay perspective. The shooting is serviceable, the stealth is partially broken, and the investigations are almost too easy unless you're not very observant. At the same time, the story is absolutely bonkers enough to keep you glued until the end, and the presentation certainly pumps up your adrenaline even if there isn't a scare to be had. If you're the type of gamer who cares more about narrative than action, Get Even is worth checking out.

Be forewarned that you need to have patience to play this game. Your matches are long, and the gameplay can sometimes seem slow, but any fan of collectable card games should definitely pick up this title because I've never seen the genre represented so well as it was here.

A good start for the series on the PS3. The graphics could be cleaned up a bit, but it's as close to a faithful anime reproduction as the system can get. The sound is great, and the controls are tight.

Concrete Genie is far less than the sum of its parts. A strong early game is lost by a bizarre late-game twist that undoes a lot of the charm. If it had just focused on the genies or had been about combat from the start, Concrete Genie would be a much more cohesive experience. Instead, the game has a lot of good moments but ends on a particularly dissatisfying note. There's still a lot to enjoy, but the flaws stand out as brightly as the strengths.

Overall, Autosport does things well enough and offers a decent compromise of customization versus accessibility without going off the deep end for serious gearheads the way Gran Turismo does.

Although it is formulaic at times and some of the set missions such as protecting a boat with a helicopter gunship while it catches sharks for a restaurant are a bit cheesy, the challenge of making more money, spending it and gaining greater power are as addictive as the white substance that makes its way up Tony's nose.

It doesn't reinvent the genre or bring anything amazingly new to the community, but as Tiger Woods has done for golf titles, Top Spin does for tennis.

All in all, Sword of the Stars: A Murder of Crows is a worthwhile expansion to those who are already infatuated with the series, but it doesn't alter things enough to convert non-believers.

In the end, Table Top Racing: World Tour is fine. The physics can be wonky at times, and the upgrade system is laughable given the large coin payout per race, but the racing itself is solid enough that a few people will be able to overlook those flaws. It's a solid single-player experience due to the game's overall length, but with inactive multiplayer community, it becomes a tough sell. It's cheap enough that people who don't normally play multiplayer in their racing games won't mind anyway, but for those looking for a more complete arcade-style racing experience on the Xbox One, World Tour falls squarely in the middle of the pack.

Despite the lackluster combat options, the overall story and characters of Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love were more than enough to keep my interest over the course of the game.

Quake 4 might not be broken, but it sure is boring, and if it is boring, then fix it. Id should save their tech demos for clients and think about how they can evolve their gameplay experience, not their rendering capabilities.

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

As far as children's movie tie-in games, Kung Fu Panda a rare title that reaches the top of the barrel. It's well-designed, keeps the gameplay fresh, looks and sounds great, and appears to be a game that the developers actually tried to make into something fun, rather than selling it because the cover boasts the mascot of the week's popular cartoon character.

Kingdom Hearts fans will find something to enjoy here, but anyone else would be better off picking up the cheaper, and more enjoyable, PS2 games before diving in to this game.

Whether you're a longtime Sly Cooper fan or new to the series, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is really enjoyable. Story-wise, the game gets you up to speed if you missed the first three games, and the gameplay is intuitive and easy to pick up and play. It certainly left me wanting more Sly Cooper in the future, and I think you'll feel the same way after playing this title.

Truly an enjoyable game. Yes, it is mostly mini-games and simple card battling, and a lot of the game may seem childish, but it proves to be a fun time, especially for Final Fantasy fanatics who will appreciate all the of character references and song throwbacks.

The atmosphere is somewhat ruined by lackluster music, sometimes shoddy level design, and repetitive battles, but if you don’t overdose on the game, you’ll have a lot of fun.

The absence of any multiplayer component is disappointing, sure, but I’d much rather have the option of picking up Burning Horizon for a reduced price, deciding if I like the game, and purchasing the online enabled original if I do.

As was the case with the PS4 version of the game, your enjoyment of Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. is going to be dependent on what aspect of fighting games you enjoy the most. If you're more of a competitive online fighter, you'll appreciate the focus on that scene, but you will lament the lack of cross-play, as PC fighting game players tend to be a smaller community. Those who enjoy local versus play won't find any mechanical differences, while single-player fighting game enthusiasts will feel the sting the most since the game feels quite sparse in this area, but this is saved by the fact that the core fighting mechanics are so strong. As a stopgap measure to a completely new Virtua Fighter game, R.E.V.O. does a very good job in introducing PC players to the series and keeping them sharp in preparation for the new game's arrival.

There is fun to be had with Acid. It takes some patience to get there, but once you do, it feels like everything was worth it.

If you can get a few friends to play the game with you in a cooperative effort, it's as fun a Crystal Chronicles experience as you'll ever find.

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.

With wonderful writing, gorgeous graphics, great voice acting, and realistic sounds, Still Life proves that macabre adventure games are finally coming into their own, although there is still room for growth.

I figure in about five years, Shadow of Rome will start showing up in magazine articles about “cult” games, or the best-kept secrets on the PS2.

Like a good number of story-based indie platformers before it, Lost Words: Beyond The Page has the potential to stick with you long after you reach the end credits. The game looks and sounds wonderful, and the gameplay feels novel, even if it isn't challenging. It is the story that you will remember the most, especially since the different perspective gives the tale even more of an emotional impact. For those who crave story, Lost Words is well worth checking out.

I never thought I'd see the day when I would give a Nickelodeon-based game anything higher than a 6, but here we are. And I'm very, very glad for it.

Overall, Monster Lab for the NDS is a decent little game that's worth the price of admission. It's clearly been given some real polish and shine, and the effort put into the various modes of gameplay is significant, even though they don't mesh together terribly well.

Ode is one of those games where you may only play it once, but the experience sticks with you for some time. There's simply a sense of joy as you go through these levels and make music organically; you see the tunes start from humble beginnings before transforming into a full-blown melody that you can enjoy before trekking to the next stage. Ode looks and sounds beautiful, and although it can be finished very quickly, you'll be glad to have given this game a spin.

As a setup episode, Game of Thrones: Episode 1 – Iron From Ice has all the right hooks to keep fans enthralled and newcomers interested.

Bloober Team is no stranger to making games that feature concepts with immense potential, like Blair Witch or Observer. The Medium is probably my favorite of theirs to date. It's got a couple of warts, but it's easy to get lost in its world (both of them), even with its pitch-black narrative overtones. It makes it feel important, though perhaps not something you'll feel compelled to play on repeat.

Unless having a portable Street title is absolutely necessary for you for some strange reason, do yourself a favor and stick with Vol. 3 for now.

Dead Nation: Road of Devastation will only appeal to you if you love going for scores since this doesn't tie into the main game's plot.

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. It serves as a really solid follow-up to Tiberium Wars, and it's one of the best RTS titles available on the 360 today.

There is no "immediate" reward in the series, but solving puzzles create a wonderful feeling of accomplishment in a player who desires more from the gaming experience than blowing away Ewoks.

Strong level design, good graphics, excellent action and tactical controls and considerable depth all add up to something worth buying. Even subtracting the wonky first-person shooter controls, grade A bugs and iffy AI still isn’t enough to knock the shine off this diamond in the rough.

Dungeons III is a good hybrid of real-time strategy and dungeon management. The quests are fun, the simple mechanics are tight, and the humor is nice, even if it can be grating at times. Its lack of difficulty will turn off anyone looking for a challenge, and the lack of a community means that those who like playing with others will find nothing here. The whole experience is worth it if you like what's on display here.

Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection is an excellent package and a fantastic way to play what is probably the most overlooked of the various Mega Man sub-franchises. The games have their rough spots, but they're still darn fun action-RPGs that continue the legacy of the Battle Network games. If you enjoyed those games and want more or if you think the concept looks enjoyable, there's no better way to play the Star Force games than this collection.

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie feels like a game that works best for players who are curious about the visual novel genre but want more recognizable game mechanics and a few restrictions to help them along. The Augural makes choices simple enough if you're trying to go for a specific outcome, but the story and character reactions make you second-guess your approaches. The game looks and sounds wonderful compared to many of its contemporaries, and while it might not make you a convert to the genre, it is an interesting adventure that you'll want to go through, provided you can get over the constant world-flipping and a few story quibbles.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is everything that retro first-person shooter fans can enjoy, even if they have no love for the grimdark space setting. The action is constant, and the gore is plentiful, but the game forces you to play smart, even at the lower difficulty levels. The gameplay loop doesn't deviate from the classic key-finding formula, but the levels are larger, which means more enemies to shoot and a higher chance of getting lost, whether or not you're trying to find secrets. The game is long enough that multiplayer isn't needed, but it also never feels tiring despite some things that may be irksome. Boltgun is a solid piece of work and one that we'd definitely recommend checking out.

No More Heroes III feels like a sequel to the first two games in every way, for all the good and bad that entails. It's creative, clever, charming, and delightfully weird. The combat system is simple but fun, and it doesn't overstay its welcome thanks to a wide variety of creative boss fights. However, everything outside of those elements feels a bit dull. Thankfully, like the first two games, No More Heroes III has enough interesting stuff going on to overshadow the flaws. Newcomers would probably be better off trying the cheaper No More Heroes titles on the Switch to see if Suda 51's specific eccentricities are to your taste.

Boring, long narrative and bad voice acting aside, what we have here is the most balanced SRPG for those who would like to become serious fans of the genre.

Balanced, a little hasty, and enjoyable, King of Fighters XI is what people were expecting: an enjoyable game with new features and a stylish look that keeps in line with the rest of the series.

Beatbuddy isn't a flawless experience, but it's definitely something that PC players should check out.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Silver Lining wraps up a story and plants seeds for a possible sequel. These are important points since this episode doesn't introduce new mechanics beyond giving you some meaningful content if you've already finished the main campaign. In the end, it's good enough to keep you entertained if you need more web-crawling action.

South of the Circle is the equivalent of a good book. It's fun to sit down, experience, relax, and have the story drift over you. It isn't particularly interactive, and the ending feels a little unsatisfying, but beyond that, it's well told and well executed. You shouldn't pick it up if you're looking to decide who lives or who dies. You get to experience the story as it is told, with a few button prompts for flavor. If that sounds good to you, then you'll enjoy South of the Circle.

Dead Island 2 surely went through a few levels of development hell, so anyone following its path would reasonably suspect that the game might have issues. I can't say that it does anything exceptionally well, but it has enough life in it to avoid major stumbles. For better or worse, it is a by-the-numbers zombie basher that doesn't do anything terribly distinct. Its humor makes it compelling and fun, and it's at its best whenever it relies on that strength.

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.

A very fun XBLA title and is a prime example of why gamers love the advent of XBLA so much.

In a medium that so desperately craves additional content, Phantom: Covert Ops isn't a bad purchase for VR owners who are hungry for more games, but it's by no means a banner release for 2020. With games like Boneworks, Half-Life: Alyx, and The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners this year, the bar for VR games has risen exponentially. There's an exhilarating VR experience struggling to break the surface of this title. Phantom is holding itself back from breaking loose and taking the excitement to the next level. Hopefully nDreams has enough success with this game to carry its vision into a sequel.

With a solid technical background and good multiplayer, Hydro Thunder Hurricane shows the capabilities of the Xbox Live Arcade.

All in all, Broken Sword 5 is a good adventure with good visuals, a good story, and enjoyable puzzle segments. It's not the hardest, it's not the best, and it certainly comes at a price point many won't find acceptable, but it's an enjoyable experience nonetheless.

The game definitely passes, but it belongs to a niche favorable to genre-addict gamers.

It's a solid localization effort, and there is deep character customization, challenging combat and an entertaining, if riskless, fantasy tale.

Overall, I really enjoyed LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. Even if you're not a huge fan of the LEGO titles, it's hard to deny that Traveler's Tales has managed to refine the formula of what makes these games work. Toss in the standard co-op mode, which is always a lot of fun, and you've got a great time-waster on your hands here.

A game that has a mature storyline, bloody, and gritty action and some wide-open fun in a scary game world.

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.

A wonderful idea bogged down by lousy execution.

It's too easy, it's too short, and the overall gameplay is repetitive and highly derivative from what had come before.

The core game play didn't really strike me as anything too special. Running and jumping, endlessly swinging my dagger in levels that could use some better design, eventually got on my nerves.

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.

Your enjoyment of Event[0] is going to depend on whether you like chatting. Conversation with AI is the real focus of the game, and even though it is flawed, the system works effectively if you give it a little effort. While the presentation holds up its end of things, the gameplay outside of typing feels stunted; the easy puzzles and very short playtime encompass a story that ends right before it goes anywhere interesting. While it's not the best in its field, Event[0] is still worth trying, so long as you know what you're signing up for.

Carrion is a fun one-and-done game and not much more than that. The concept of playing as the monster in the vents is a cool one, and Carrion executes the fantasy fairly masterfully. Unfortunately, it runs out of tricks before too long and is only saved from tedium by the short game length. It's worth a playthrough if you like the concept, but don't expect anything genre-defining. There's a lot of potential in the concept, and perhaps a Carrion 2 will give us something with more meat on its … amorphous horrifying frame.

It's very easy to see Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions being a love-it-or-hate-it kind of game. It's a fun representation of the insane, over-the-top action of a sports anime, but it's not a very good soccer game. Despite having multiplayer modes, it's unlikely to hold your attention unless you're deep into building up perfect teams of talented misfits. Still, fans of the anime should enjoy it, and newcomers wondering about Tsubasa will probably find it to be a fine introduction to the franchise.