Pato Box is a flawed experience but still fun. If you can live with the sometimes-uneven presentation, then the adventure segments will prove to be an exercise in tedium, especially with the small roster of enemies to fight. Then again, those fights bring back so many memories of the games it tries to emulate that you'll be willing to put up with walking around and doing odd jobs in between. Pato Box isn't exactly the spiritual successor to arcade boxing that many were hoping for, but it's worth a look.

If you love the photo puzzle subgenre, this will be a very enjoyable experience for you.

Brain Challenge is the kind of game that you can play every day or once a month, and you'd still get the same enjoyment from it.

As a whole, NHL 20 is still NHL like it always was. There are incremental changes, but there's still a lot more to be done. Be a Pro remains completely untouched, and the minor additions to other offline single-player modes are sobering. The presentation and animation take a small leap, and HUT seems slightly less grindy with the addition of Squad Battles and a more transparent model to receive card packs without being forced to spend real money. The new eliminator modes in CHEL are equally fun, but at the end of the day, this year doesn't feel as significant as the last. I'm curious where the franchise goes next year with the prospect of several new consoles on the horizon, but it has to step up things more than it currently does.

A playable, if uninspired game, and one that you should definitely pick up if you're in desperate need of a decent RPG for your DS.

The Driver franchise isn't quite ready for a bullet in the head, but it's definitely tired. Atari needs to let the series take some time off until there's a compelling non-financial reason to produce another installment, and Reflections should do some soul-searching to figure out which parts of the game work.

A rehashed, lackluster game hidden behind the high-energy, let's-kick-some-butt-and-chug-some-beer rock music blaring at you from the title screen.

Roughly equal parts frustration and stupidly compelling gameplay.

Even if you only slightly enjoyed the first game, you will find enough in its sequel that you should probably pick this one up, especially with the inclusion of a co-op multiplayer mode. If you hated Blinx before, Blinx 2 is basically more of the same.

If you enjoy arcade-like vehicle response, solid background music, and simplistic racing controls with heavy emphasis on air and abusive nitrous, then this title will meet all of your needs and more. If you're looking for something to replace "Forza" or "Gran Turismo," please look elsewhere.

Ivy the Kiwi? is a curious beast and certainly worth at least a rental, but it certainly isn't for everyone. Like Let's Tap before it, it feels more like an experiment instead of a tightly focused game.

What we have here is a game that tries to hit all of the bases and instead misses every last one. It doesn't measure up as a Monster Rancher game, it doesn't measure up as a standalone RPG, and it doesn't measure up as a worthwhile PlayStation 2 title so far into the system's run.

Tim Curry fills in doing the voice of narrator Lemony Snicket, and he does a fine job being dry, sharp-witted and, well... Tim Curry.

An interesting romp and a nice technical achievement; fans of Max Payne or anyone interested would do well to check it out - but should be warned that the game is not the end-all be-all of isometric shooters on the GBA.

It's more so bland than bad, with most of the game play revolving around finding keys and such. This coupled with the fact that there is really no reason to replay the game once you've beaten it makes the game average at best.

Even genre fans may be annoyed by the slow pace, "2 hip 4 u dawg" dialogue, and overall feeling of survival horror déjà vu.

Like much else in The Raven Remastered, the music is serviceable but feels like a missed opportunity to leave a stronger impression. That's probably a good way to sum up The Raven Remastered: serviceable but underwhelming. The title shows plenty of promise with its characters and story, but the sluggish gameplay, questionable acting, and mediocre audiovisual presentation drag it down. Mystery fans and avid Christie book readers will find something to like with The Raven's narrative, but the rougher edges make it a tough experience to recommend to all but the most dedicated and patient of players.

It shows off the dragged-out combat and its new 'rougher, meaner' attitude like a four year old happily waving around what it found in the cat's litter box, and all of the really good parts seem to go right under the radar. You have to actively work to get to the fun parts, in other words.

It's not very difficult, it controls great, and the graphics and sound – while not majestic in any way – are fine.

All in all, Brakes Are For Losers is a fun retro-inspired arcade racer. It doesn't excel anywhere, but it doesn't have to. It's a decent enough experience at a very low price point in case you're craving an isometric racing frenzy.

Unfortunately, it all adds up to be a less-than-stellar experience for Battlefield 4. There is little doubt that the game will see patches to address some or all of these issues, but as it stands, it has an underwhelming single-player campaign and an unstable multiplayer mode that severely hampers enjoyment.

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.

The game's very playable, but it's just not very much fun. More imaginative level concepts and a better implementation of the rolling game mechanic could've resulted in a brilliant title.

If you loved doing Fed Ex quests in World of Warcraft, imagine having to do nothing but those from beginning to end, with uninspired, sometimes annoying characters and overly clichéd performances throughout, and that's Jack Keane.

Most importantly, the Master Class is hard as hell--but if you wish to be at all proficient at this game, the Master Class is required. This is where most people fall off the bridge—yours truly included.

NBA 08 is roundly good at what it does; it just doesn't do much. In today's top-tier sports games market, it's not a bad game. It's just, save the engaging Upside Progression System and unique Games of the Week challenges, behind the times.

All in all, I think that Shortest Trip to Earth has a niche appeal. It's extremely detailed and management-heavy, so if that sounds good, you may enjoy it. There are tons of modules to experiment with, a variety of resources to trade and manage, so many crew members with different skills, and what seems to be a longer campaign than FTL featured. They have certainly added a lot of stuff to the basic format, but it feels rather unpolished. Too much of what was added feels like busy work instead of interesting decisions, or it creates so many choices that the game can slow to a crawl as you sort through the options. The game begs for better ways to manage the management and display options to the player.

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

The character’s irrational beliefs make the story impenetrable, and the rest of the game doesn’t hold up well in the face of the PS2’s RPG library.

With overly long levels, it's built for road trips, but will quickly become played out within a few days. If you have to buy a Harry Potter game for the road, consider getting the DS rendition of Goblet of Fire.

Delivers a simple, action-oriented, fast-paced "RTS light" experience.

Only true strategy nuts should get Panzer Tactics DS, since they tend to prefer gameplay over graphics and other niceties. For a PC-era game, it doesn't translate over to the handheld all that well.

Overall, Hood: Outlaws & Legends is a strong effort that has a lot going for it. It's different and often fun, and when it works, it works. The current experience is dampened by a lack of meaningful content and a few balancing issues that frustrated me to a point where I had to stop playing — but I always came back for occasional matches. If Sumo Digital manages to keep the momentum going with much-needed updates and additional content and if the community stays active, Hood could be a very fun multiplayer title across the board. Until then, I'll wait to see which direction Hood takes over the coming weeks.

With the frame rate issues of previous versions truly fixed, this is about a good a tennis sim as the system is capable of providing. Given the limitations of the controls, though, I would suggest you leave the racket sport to the living room. Or Wimbledon.

Fans of realism in the sport may enjoy it, but even for them, it's basically a retread.

The game is stable and generally fun if lawn games are your thing, and you overlook variety in the game types not yielding much diversity in their style of play.

If not for issues with the touch screen, and especially the simple yet deep problems set off by Shin'en's camera angle choice, I might have gone as far as to write my letter of recommendation for Nanostray to sit in non-Japanese shmup classic status, along with Amiga greats like Apidya.

Even as a party game, KR Country doesn't have the staying power of Party, the single genre restriction being more suffocating than it would appear to be at first.

Barnyard marks one of those rare occasions where the game totally outclasses the film upon which it is based. Despite heavy repetition, you have to believe that children are going to get a kick out of the game.

The load times have the added effect of killing a lot of the joy that can be gained from playing this game.

TimeShift frequently faced me with challenges that were initially incomprehensible, and then too easy to overcome once I had some idea of what the hell I was supposed to do.

It might not seem like it right now, but Forspoken had some very good ideas, and I ended up still having some fun with it. It feels like it needed a little more time to figure out its real identity instead of its disjointed little-of-this, little-of-that experience. I think it's true form, which it hinted at, is as a young-adult, Bayonetta-adjacent ass-kicker, that needs to pick a tone and lean into it. If that's what it had been, we'd be onto something.

I like the "Jackass" show. I really do, and I don't like coming down on the video game interpretation of it, but without a true director mode, it lacks depth, and once you get your laughs out of the minigames once or twice, you'll be ready to move on.

It’s sort of like saying you loved a really bad movie (like "Plan 9 From Outer Space") or saying you really hated a great movie (like "Gone With The Wind").

A completely average experience that ends up being more work than fun.

Blue Fire is a fun and surprisingly engaging game, and fans of the 3D platforming genre will enjoy the challenges it provides. Adventure and open-world exploration fans, on the other hand, might not find the repetition that endearing. If all you want is to hop and dash around, smash objects, and swing your ridiculously oversized swords, Blue Fire is worth a try.

Its shady camera and controls (both of which are downright angering at times) make this a strictly a rental at first.

Games may not be art, but if they were, X-Men: The Official Game would be like one of those posters of a wizard and a dragon locked in a magical duel to the death.

Standard fare, neither horrible nor amazing.

Appeals to a more dedicated fan of this genre. It requires some reading of the manual and experimentation. There are many nuances and frustrations that will lead the casual gamer to frustration and ultimately to other games.

All the elements of a good shooter are here. Good graphics, good sound, good depth, bloody gameplay...it just doesn't add up. There's a stubborn sloppiness to the game that makes it tough to recommend.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is a massive experience for fans that is fun to play and packed with content. On the flip side, the combat can quickly get repetitive, and the need for grinding doesn't help, either. Add a few technical hiccups, and the Nintendo Switch version is the least desirable one of all. It's still playable and enjoyable on the hybrid device, but it's not as good of an experience as on the other systems. Some may prefer the mobility of the Switch system over the downsides, but if you have the choice and don't care for mobility, I'd highly recommend picking up the PC, PS4 or Xbox One version of Xenoverse 2.

It's like a Tootsie Pop, only the sweet chewy center is covered by the bitterness of gameplay mechanics and camera troubles.

Does a lot of things right, yet for some reason, they tend not to matter as much because it's just so hard to get into the game and stay there enough to appreciate them.

It’s fun, but it’s basically the same game from five or so years ago which was basically free with Half-Life – that is to say, innovation isn’t exactly seeping out of the sides of this game.

As a karaoke game, Party is the best available, even if it's presented in the worst way possible - a way that, again, you might love if you own the "Best Of" collection for American Idol.

While retro fans are sure to appreciate its nostalgic sense of game design, the simple-minded combat and primitive graphics severely take away from its entertainment value. And since the main selling point of Ys is that it plays just like old games... well, why not just put this game down and go play some actual old SNES RPGs?

Ultimately, Star Trek: Legacy is remindful of the story of the Enterprise herself — a pristine, well-manned, well-intentioned vessel that sets out to break new ground for gaming but ultimately encounters strange nebulae and forces that disable her systems from time to time.

Those who have never laced up and assisted on a one-timer in real life might be able to look past all the faults of NHL 07, but you'd have to be blind to ignore them all. With any luck, this franchise will move on to the PS3 and improve, and never look back.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the video game equivalent of a Michael Bay movie. There's a lot of flash and not much substance.

It's by no means terrible, and by no means as bad as you might expect, but by the same token, it's not as good as, after the opening game sequence, you begin to hope it might be.

I've struggled to properly rate Sherlock Holmes Chapter One. On the one hand, it does some great things in terms of the cases and the provided tools to solve those cases. I enjoyed that it never gave me an answer, and I had to arrive at my own conclusions given the evidence I'd found. On the other hand, the game is in a rough technical state with frequent frame rate issues on the PS5, basic animations that feel robotic, an empty open world, and voice acting that can pull you out of the experience at times. Fans of Sherlock Holmes or adventure games can check out Chapter One, simply for everything that it does right.

Sure it costs a bit more than a deck of cards, but it also provides you with digital opponents, dealers and even a couple of games you cannot play solely with a deck of cards.

Simply put, when Nanobreaker’s not frustrating, it’s boring.

Fun but extremely basic. There is lots of speedy platforming coupled with a simple beat-'em-up fighting style, which makes for a brief but mostly unsatisfying experience.

Somehow, flubbing the gameplay itself surprises me; it's like showing up to a party and finding that the snack bar consists of really butt-kicking salsa and a bowl of live lobsters to dunk into it.

Performance issues, counterintuitive visual design, and lackluster sound are prevalent concerns. It makes for a strategy game that is so close to succeeding but falls short of something special. After spending roughly 30 hours with Gladius and getting familiar with each of the factions, I'm comfortable recommending the game to fans of the genre who are desperate for something new or for those looking for a 4X game they can enjoy at a more relaxed pace. What's more relaxing than smashing Space Marine skulls on a Saturday morning with a maxed-out Warboss? Waaaaaghhh!

Overall, I kept wanting and trying to really love this game, but time and time again, one of the game's flaws would keep me from reaching that level of gaming bliss.

Adding up all of the changes between NHL 20 and NHL 21, it's still hard to justify the full-price release in comparison to what's new this year. I appreciate the focus on the Be A Pro mode, but there is still a lot of work to be done to improve its consistency and reduce frustrating and demotivating moments and bugs across the entire experience. The gameplay feels like it did a small leap forward with some basic AI and animation improvements, making NHL 21 very fun and smooth to play, but it's not enough to hide its aging foundation. I sincerely hope the franchise can make up ground with its next entry and, hopefully, an improved engine. If you are a dedicated fan or have skipped several of the previous entries, NHL 21 is a solid purchase, but otherwise, there isn't enough here to justify the price tag.

A Sims title in name alone. Sure, you can decorate and dress up your character in various clothes and make some limited customization, but at its core, this is an adventure title.

There's fun to be had with Battle Fantasia. It's a title that's reasonably easy to pick up and play but has enough technical depth to take some time to master. There isn't enough depth in the content and fighting to appeal to the hardcore fighting game fan.

It's blatant fan service, and it doesn't try to be anything more; while the battle system is a lot of fun and the skits are entertaining, there simply isn't enough here to keep a casual gamer interested, especially once things devolve into the endless grind of fetch questing.

Picture a Sonic game that struggles to go at 30 frames per second, in an age where even the Dreamcast didn't do Sonic that injustice. Sometimes it's like playing a slideshow on fast-forward. It's impossible to be precise with one's movements, or sometimes to even see where the characters are going. Not fun at all.

The gameplay suffers a bit from having a poor camera system which requires frequent adjustment, and there are a few graphical glitches, but the title is otherwise quite playable.

Legacy needs to sit back and create a real GAME using this enterprise as opposed to an interactive episode.

Fans will certainly appreciate God Eater 3 as a solid continuation of the franchise. Newcomers, however, will probably have to force their way through a significant part of the experience to feel the same joy. There is a solid monster-slaying action-RPG buried under here; it's just a matter of how deep you're willing to dig to uncover its treasures.

Perhaps an online component would have improved on this, but as it is, it's only half of the game, albeit a pretty entertaining half.

Ford Bold Moves Street Racing does very few things wrong and gets a lot in the genre right.

Overall, I see Dante's Inferno as a noble effort and interesting spin on a made-for-gaming body of work that falls short of the rarified air enjoyed by other legendary action titles.

In the end, Pumpkin Jack is a game that is flawed but still enjoyable. The platforming is solid if you don't mind the unsteady camera and loads of objects blurring your view. The sections where you can only control your head and the chase sequences add some variety to the adventure, but they feel overused. The combat is basic enough to get the job done. If these things aren't enough to drive you away from the title, and with the game running roughly six hours or so if you're thorough, it is easily digestible for a weekend and worth checking out for those who don't want something too deep.

At its worst, however, Cooking Mama is enough to make you want to throw your Wiimote at the screen as the game struggles to recognize the commands that you give it.

CellFactor is best thought of as an intriguing tech demo. It is interesting to watch your screen become cluttered with dozens of boxes, pipes, and miscellaneous junk, and know that your PhysX card is making the spectacle possible, but is it fun to play? Let's just say that you will love it … if your video game collection consists solely of free games.

Iron Man VR feels restricted by its game design to be little more than a fun wave shooter, when it could have been much more. It is still a very fun game to play in VR and it's one of their better titles, but it never even scratches the heights that it so clearly aimed for.

An improvement on the same old formula. It plays exactly the same in the overall sense, but it refines things a little, patches in a new story, and generally upgrades things to be better suited to the DS system, avoiding gimmicks in favor of polishing the gameplay and graphics. To casual players, it is mostly the same game.

If you haven't yet tried your hand at directing gunk around a board in order to score points, there are much better options out there than this.

NBA 2K22 is generally a beautiful representation of next-generation console hoops, but it's a little disturbing that many of the newest things I noticed didn't have a whole lot to do with basketball. The on-court product is good, but it's not perfect. Basketball is still my favorite sport to watch, and I love the game, so I'll keep playing, but I can probably put the music and fashion career on hold — and I don't need to spend any more money.

An improvement on the same old formula. It plays exactly the same in the overall sense, but it refines things a little, patches in a new story, and generally upgrades things to be better suited to the DS system, avoiding gimmicks in favor of polishing the gameplay and graphics. To casual players, it is mostly the same game.

The Final Assessment. Frankly, Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition is a broken game. The loading screens will take up many hours of your life if any substantial play is put into the game – I kid you not, hours.

At the end of the day, Payday 2 for the Nintendo Switch is a comprehensive collection of one of the better co-op shooters in recent years. It hasn't aged well technically, the AI is still pretty dumb, it misses some updates that other versions have, it's inferior in performance, and the Switch still lacks the ability to communicate with strangers, and unfortunately, that takes away a lot of the fun. It's still a fun shooter to play with friends, and even without them, it can hold up reasonably well since the Switch lacks appealing alternatives. If you can look past the steep entry fee and have no other platform to play it on, this will probably do. Otherwise, you're better off picking up one of the other versions, since offline play and portability are not much of a benefit for Payday 2 on the Switch.

RPG fans who don't mind puzzles and platforms mixed in with their dual-wielding, deep customization options and brutal enemies may find enough rewarding experiences here to be worth the struggle.

The super-simplified combat soon trounces those expectations, however, as you realize that many characters' moves are gussied-up versions of web attacks and fireballs.

There's also a nasty glitch I should warn you about, be sure to keep your hands off the controller during cutscenes, or you stand a good chance of coming out of them having just walked off into an enemy or bottomless pit.

Its art style is absolutely adorable, and the gameplay is simple but manageable.

Beautiful Katamari holds out as a well-crafted cash-in of the Katamari formula, seeking to bring it to a new, potentially larger, audience. Unfortunately, "cash-in" still applies, and in spite of some great additions, it's still the same old Katamari.

It is down to the bare bones of the series, leaving you feeling like you're playing the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater again.

Not a single enemy proved to be a real challenge after a few seconds of observation. The boss fights are long, but with half a brain, most gamers could complete them with ease. As for the intuitive controls, these are counter-balanced by the ambiguous character development and equipment systems.

If you are a fan of this game genre and can overlook the shortcomings of the graphics, you'll find that the title is well worth your time.

The only audience Commando 3 is likely to pull in are those who remember the originals fondly and wish to take a moment to go back to the games of their childhood. Quickly, these same people will remember that games of their childhood were awful by today's standards, and vow to never be suckered in again — at least until the next Contra remake comes out.