No matter how frustrating the combat became or how broken the environments turned out to be, I loved doing case work and figuring out obscure deaths or uncovering secret organizations within this peculiar game world. Given all the downsides, this is a game that is difficult to recommend, especially at full price.

Ultimately, if you're looking for an easy way to get an old-school Mortal Kombat fix, the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection does the job, but just barely.

More than the game, a sport is a vibe, and the games representing the NBA, MLB and FIFA know it. Somewhere along the way, Madden lost it.

Those who don't want to bother with creating their own artwork in this rather particular form, however, may wish to skip the title. Those who aren't sure either way should probably give the online original a try and decide from that.

You have to applaud Treasure Coast Games for trying something new with Hamster Scramble. The idea of catching the colors you have available and being able to have more influence on disrupting your opponent has real merit. If you're seasoned in the puzzle genre, the unnecessary platforming — combined with tiny characters, slow speed, and some functionality bugs — makes this game more of a slog than something enjoyable. Unless you're more forgiving of the game's flaws, you can safely pass.

The Infinity War DLC is nothing more than a movie-themed character pack and a quick cash-in level. It's not worth picking up the base game just for the DLC. If you already own LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 and want the ability to play with these characters, then consider the DLC a character pack and go to town. If you were hoping to jump into a full Infinity War level or mess around in a LEGO level inspired by the movie, you're going to be disappointed.

Joint Task Force isn't as bad as "Faces of War," but it's nowhere near the quality of "Company of Heroes."

As gamers, we have a duty to go out in the world and protect normal people from buying this garbage.

You can have some fun with this game but only if you're willing to forgive a lot of design flaws and put a lot time into memorizing the labyrinthine control scheme.

Overall, this game was pretty bad, and I did not enjoy it. It was a nice concept to have a game completely devoted to Corvettes, but the game physics need to be fixed.

Road to Glory comes across more as an obligation to a contractual agreement than a worthwhile video game.

There is no one element that leads to the game's failure. Rather it is a combination of the gameplay, graphics, and sound which ultimately lead this game to its demise.

There are worse games, but there are also far better, and there is nothing that this game does to distinguish itself from any other. With Ninja Gaiden III, the series - and likely Team Ninja - has lost its way, and the result is an overdose of style with far too little substance to accompany it.

There's a decent base to Witch's Rhythm Puzzle. The idea of a puzzle game dictated by rhythm has merit, and it would work fine if you can dial in the timing to play the game beyond Easy mode. However, with so little content, it's a short-lived, one-and-done game. It is an inexpensive title, but don't expect a hidden gem.

Jump Force: Deluxe Edition isn't a terrible title, but you have to be willing to forgive its numerous issues to enjoy it. The fighting is flashy, but it lacks depth since you can button-mash the attack button and win just about every match. The character roster is smaller compared to previous Jump games, and some of the dream interactions are hobbled by a less-than-stellar story and a lack of voices to make the interactions impactful. There are certainly better fighting games on the system, including a few licensed ones, and the only reason to give this one a look is if you really, really need to have some sort of crossover going.

The small pits of positively realized potential are buried in bad design decisions and textbook examples of corner-cutting all over the place due to the game's huge (yet faltered) emphasis on presentation. Overall, a huge disappointment.

Trails Into Reverie is a hard game to recommend at the best of times. Are you a long-time Trails fan who wants one last hurrah with some of your favorite characters? Do you find it exciting to see how that baker NPC turned out? Then it has a lot to offer you. As a stand-alone RPG, however, it's almost inaccessible, and you should play the other games first. The extremely poor QA work in this title means that even die-hard fans will likely have a hard time enjoying the game; the well-translated script is surrounded by a truly unacceptable amount of bugs. If you're still on the fence, I'd recommend waiting for a patch. Otherwise, it's a crappier experience, as without those problems, Trails into Reverie could've gotten a much higher score.

The bad camera angles, unnecessary fatigue system and limited environments really hurt the title.

Recommending Republic Heroes wouldn't be fair because it's simply a bad game, even for children. For parents who are looking to get their little Star Wars fan a present, steer clear of this one.

If you're going to do a bit of genre mixing, reward the player's investment of time and patience by remembering to include the good parts.

In the end, Tamagotchi World is fine, provided you're willing to live with a number of caveats. The premise is fine, as is the implementation of the jobs in minigame form. The lack of tutorials is odd considering the young age of the intended audience. Additionally, the slow, grindy nature of the game can only keep you occupied for so long before the whole thing becomes boring, especially since there's nothing else to do besides these minigame jobs. If you're a fan of Tamagotchis, then this may be amusing for a short while, but everyone else looking for a solid set of minigames would be better served playing a number of other similar titles from the original Switch library.

I love the depth of play, I feel challenged by the game's AI, and I feel a real sense of accomplishment when I complete a scenario. On the other hand, I think the game should represent the advances the gaming industry has made in the past five years.

The so-so story mode is the game's highlight, and even that does little to shine up the lackluster boxing, poor graphics, and lack of any real replay value.

On one hand, it's a pretty robust billiards game for the Wii, and it certainly tries hard to make the game as broad and enjoyable as possible. On the other hand, there are Internet-based Flash games that have better physics and comparable graphics, albeit with a shorter feature set.

Star Trek is a dish best served to Trekkies who want to fight their way through the bowels of the new Enterprise and see what the new sickbay and engine room look like while they occasionally blast things.

At the end of the day, Monster Crown has very little going for it aside from that brief rush of nostalgia. The interesting mechanics are buried behind a poorly balanced combat system, a ridiculous story, and a mountain of glitches. There are some interesting ideas, but it's difficult to recommend the title based solely on that potential. It's a game that feels like knockoff Pokémon that you can play on the same system as the real Pokémon offerings, not to mention all of the other competitors. There are patches coming that will hopefully alleviate some of these issues, but until they do, there are much better monster trainer games out there.

Overall, I felt that Monster Jam: Path of Destruction felt like a low-rent effort on the DS. I know Activision has published Monster Jam titles before, but this feels like a poor attempt at cashing in on a very niche sport. I can't suggest this to non-monster truck fans, as it does little to capture the excitement of an actual event. It's also not something that I'd suggest to hardcore fans because there's little about the sport that's done right here. It's a very simple racer with some lackluster design, awful visuals and an equally poor soundtrack. It'd be great to play an awesome monster truck game that could bring me back to my youth, but Monster Jam: Path of Destruction isn't it.

In the end, Cosmic Rocket Defender just isn't strong enough to capture that old arcade magic.

If you're trying to sell me on the idea that Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is some kind of tense, elevated tactical action experience instead of an elaborate and unpolished loot chase, then I know someone interested in giving you a hat with a higher gear score.

Hyperdimension Neptunia could have been great, but even die-hard RPG fans would find little to like here.

In the end, being "kind of amusing" isn't enough to make a game good.

Between the up-and-down production values, the nonexistent storytelling, the strange shooting, and touch-screen funkiness, this game comes off as a cheap cash-in to make money off of the show’s second broadcast season.

When you take everything into consideration, Bratz: Girlz Really Rock for the DS just isn't that fun to play.

The premise is great, the big set-piece battles are fun, but everything else is boxed within dated design concepts from which other titles have long evolved.

The platformer is very cleverly planned out, and I applaud them for that, but the game sucked. I couldn’t help but go “What the hell?!” every five seconds.

As a light gun shooter, Dead Z Meat is novel since the genre is so rare nowadays in the home console space, and players can overcome the finicky control scheme with some practice. The shooting gallery setup has so few variations that it can quickly grow old, while the lack of multiplayer seals the game's fate. If you have a remote interest in this title, you'll want to wait for a deep discount.

Victorious Boxers Revolution should have been great. Hajime no Ippo is about the closest you can get to an animated version of Punchout, and the Wii is almost custom-made for boxing titles. Yet the poor Wii controls, short length and lack of extras make it hard to recommend this game for anything but the most die-hard fans of the Hajime no Ippo manga.

Unfortunately, I never felt that Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam was much fun to play. The switch in style from city exploration to racer doesn't work that well, and it never seemed like I had the time to pull off impressive tricks or combos.

If you have a PlayStation 2 or Wii with no plans to upgrade to Rock Band 2, then this is a fine choice because you lose nothing and gain 20 songs in the process. If you have the other consoles and have no plans to connect them online, then this is also for you. If you have them connected online, however, then this will only be appealing if you really want to hunt down every Rock Band-related Achievement or Trophy out there, since this pack contains no exclusive songs.

Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi for the NDS had some potential to be an interesting title and provided some neat concepts, but unfortunately, it stumbles in the execution. The controls are very clunky, and the unfair deaths due to poor platforming make it very difficult to enjoy this title.

About as average as a strategy game can get. It’s certainly not terrible, and there’s a lot of missions spread across two campaigns to enjoy – if you enjoy it, that is. The graphics and sound are fine, but the gameplay is far from perfect, and doesn’t try to push the boundaries of ingenuity.

By the end of the tutorial, it becomes painfully clear that All Star Cheer Squad is a complete mess of a title, and it doesn't improve as you progress through the game.

What is sad about Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is how much potential there is. A slightly goofy take on the universe isn't a bad concept, and the combat, while not as refined, can be fun at times. However, the litany of problems, from the stubbornly low enemy count to the bad camera and terrible platforming bog, put a damper on the game's few positives.

Despite decent music and my love for samurai games, there is little to recommend in Katana Kami: A Way of the Samurai Story. There is little pay-off to finishing the game, aside from a cut scene and a new post-game dungeon. The bugs and clunky menus encountered along the way make the journey a slog. There are plenty of better roguelites, loot-driven RPGs, and samurai games out there.

If you have a PlayStation 2 or Wii with no plans to upgrade to Rock Band 2, then this is a fine choice because you lose nothing and gain 20 songs in the process. If you have the other consoles and have no plans to connect them online, then this is also for you. If you have them connected online, however, then this will only be appealing if you really want to hunt down every Rock Band-related Achievement or Trophy out there, since this pack contains no exclusive songs.

There is no individuality or unique feel to any of the supposedly varied tracks. The mission variety is a thinly veiled joke, and the graphics aren't enough to make you forget that you're not having any fun.

Taken on its own, Berzerk: Recharged isn't a bad game. The shooting is still fine, the additions of health and power-ups are neat, as is the presence of co-op. The overall high score chase remains as compelling as ever for those with a classic arcade mindset. Aside from some notable exclusions, the problem is that this title enters a market rife with other twin-stick shooters that do more and offer more to the player, so it's difficult to get excited when picking up the controller. Unless you're filled with nostalgia for the original title and willing to forgive the misses, you can push aside Berzerk in favor of the countless other twin-stick shooters on the platform.

I feel weird rating The Uncertain: Light at the End, since I haven't played the prior title or the upcoming conclusion, but I also think that a game, whether it's part of an intended series or not, should stand on its own. Light and the End does not. The story is all right, and the premise behind the game is stellar, but the broken mechanics and omitted quality of life options made it really frustrating to play, and I didn't enjoy it. Hopefully the next game makes up for these shortcomings, but in the meantime, if you value your time, I would suggest skipping Light and the End in its current state.

The concept behind Darkest of Days is a pretty original one, and the companies involved should be commended for trying something different with the crowded first-person shooter genre. Unfortunately, good concepts alone don't make for good games, and this is an example of what happens when you ignore every other aspect of the title.

A mediocre "licensed" title, obviously made to capitalize on a recent film. Considering how poorly the movie fared with the critics, is the game score any surprise?

Gameplay-wise, 187 is mediocrity hampered by bad mechanics and ambience. Theme-wise, it is, at best, a parody, and at worst, downright insulting. It is not fun to play, it hurts the ears, the eyes, and the mind. It takes a lot for a game to do that.

Aliens are here, kidnapping and impregnating women, and it's Duke's job to blow them away. The more intriguing aspect of Duke Nukem Forever is how the character's apparent mythos appears to be the engine of the entire experience. He's worshipped as a living god in the game, with his own burger joint, strip club, museum and stadium. His mission is about rescuing babes and kicking ass, which is well within his strike zone, but did it need to leak into every capillary of the experience? It's as if Gearbox was relying a little too much on the "Dukeness" to cover up any weaknesses. Who care if the game looks dated? It's Duke! Let's have him mess with Halo because he's Duke!

An exercise in frustration. I wish I could score this game on its potential, but I don't know how much time and effort Crazy House is going to put into shaping up this game into what its consumers deserve.

If you want to summarize Far Cry: Vengeance, take Red Steel, polish the controls to a mirror sheen, toss in the Predator mode that is now a trademark of the series, and then pull out some steel wool to scratch up everything else.

Zorro: The Chronicles is a below-average game made worse by a litany of bugs. From an unruly camera to the ease with which you can get stuck in the environment, it tests the player's willingness to stick with it. If you are lucky enough to make it through a play session without any of these issues, you'll find an unrefined combat system that's accompanied by a childish approach that aims younger than the ESRB rating. It has the bones to be a kid-friendly version of the Batman: Arkham series, but the execution is more than lacking, and you'll be hard-pressed to give this a shot unless you know someone who just discovered the series or can find this title on sale.

A Bastard's Tale is the kind of game you want to like. The level of challenge is very high, and those with an extreme amount of patience will get the most out of it. However, the combat is rough and unfair most of the time, and your lack of agility can make defeat sting much more. It is short and cheap, but unless you're a masochist, you're better off giving passing on this one.

There is absolutely no reason to buy, rent or even think twice about this game. It will only continue to break your heart over the course of one repeated, anguish-filled day.

Aliens are here, kidnapping and impregnating women, and it's Duke's job to blow them away. The more intriguing aspect of Duke Nukem Forever is how the character's apparent mythos appears to be the engine of the entire experience. He's worshipped as a living god in the game, with his own burger joint, strip club, museum and stadium. His mission is about rescuing babes and kicking ass, which is well within his strike zone, but did it need to leak into every capillary of the experience? It's as if Gearbox was relying a little too much on the "Dukeness" to cover up any weaknesses. Who care if the game looks dated? It's Duke! Let's have him mess with Halo because he's Duke!

Nordenfelt is a tough game to like. If you're still getting your feet wet in the bullet hell shooter genre or are more of a casual fan, the game does more to frustrate than entertain.

A game with which the player can stay active and engaged, but not one which the player will enjoy with more than the slightest note of glee.

For a franchise that started out by redefining the RTS genre, Empire Earth III has sadly taken a serious turn for the worse, and in this incarnation, you'll find very little of what made the original Empire Earth great.

Ultimately, what damns SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom is its limited quality of use of just about everyone who isn't SpongeBob, combined with its utterly generic gameplay.

Anyone who likes the Neptunia characters would probably rather see them in their own events instead of fawning over a faceless protagonist. If you don't fall into either of those niches, the game doesn't offer anything. It's one simple minigame tied to some lackluster simulation-style gameplay, and it doesn't do anything well enough to carry the title for those who aren't fond of the Neptunia franchise.

After playing for a while, you'll realize that Tetris Evolution may have been better suited as an Xbox Live Arcade game priced somewhere closer to $10. There is no real evolution to be seen; it's the same classic Tetris you've played for years, albeit with a handful of different game modes and a few more graphical options in an attempt to stir up the experience.

While I see the importance of having simple games on the Switch to pass the time on the subway, waiting at the doctor's office, etc., there are many other games that sate this desire. The overwhelming simplicity of Paper Train's design and its lack of follow-through is disappointing, causing the player's experience to grind to a halt out of the gate.

It is a great disappointment that The Golden Compass for the NDS should be so sub-par.

ATV Quad Kings isn't a great title by any stretch of the imagination, but at the same time, it does what it sets out to do, and it does it well enough to get by. The racing is basic but fun for an hour or two, when you're not fighting against certain control issues. If you're looking for a realistic racer, or a polished one, for that matter, this isn't the game for you, but if you do have $20 to spend and you're not sure what to get, you could do worse than this.

This title is an unoriginal, yawn-inducing experience, and it's next to impossible to draw out any lasting enjoyment.

Despite everything you just read, Last Encounter is not a bad game. It looks decent, it plays decently, and it sounds decent. That's all it is, though: a relatively inoffensive twin-stick shooter. Since it glosses over the woes concerning design, perspective, and heck even gameplay, but this title is pretty functional. If "functional" is the kindest word that can be mustered for this flat and frustrating game, then I wouldn't necessarily call it good, either.

Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is a mess of a game. The use of an earthquake as a backdrop is wasted due to the lack of meaningful reactions from anyone in the story. All of the incidents you witness range from semi-normal to wildly ridiculous, but the cast of unlikeable characters punctuates each scenario. The mechanic of stumbling across major story beats makes it so that you'll only figure out things by dumb luck, while the solutions to some of the puzzles feel unsatisfying due to their bewildering solutions. The choice system is the game's real saving grace, but unless you're interested in seeing how much of a terrible person you can be in later runs or are just a massive fan of the series, there's little reason to check out this title.

In today's fast-paced world of instant rewards and gratification, he feels way outdated. It's sad in a way, like the passing of an old friend who has given so much to the world, but it is unfortunately Pooh's time to go.

Our House Party! may have some funny moments, such as the inclusion of the Taking Heads song and an old-school RPG showing up on the bedroom TV set, but they can't save it from being, at best, a mediocre game.

A bad camera and bad controls, however, quickly shoot down this game with little to no hope of it getting better as you progress. For fans of the movie and the character, it would be best to hunt down the GBA game to get their fix. If you don't have a system that can play that, however, your best bet would be to hold off on this and hope that someone will come along and do justice to this revered character.

If you only own a Wii and desperately need a JRPG to play in a pinch, then this game will do, but that doesn't mean that you're going to feel good about it later.

Iron Man 2 for the Wii is another example of how a movie tie-in game can go horribly wrong. It isn't a very technically sound title, as issues with the controls and graphics bring attention to the game's lack of polish.

Brunswick Pro Bowling is the sort of game you can play for a couple of hours and think it's a ton of fun. Then you come back to it and realize absolutely nothing has changed, evolved or grown for a few hours and you're starting to waste your time. This title flies in the face of the norm in that the more time you put into it, the less you get out of it, and that's not a good situation. Avoid this gutter ball.

No matter how exciting the ghostly adventures of Danny and his friends are, they can't justify a game this short and repetitive.

WWE 2K17 is the first wrestling game I've truly waded into in a while, and I'm reminded as to why it's been so long. I play the basketball, football and MMA games because it's basically what I see and experience on TV. As a fan of WWE who has viewing parties for major PPVs, I can't say that what I played touches on what I get from WWE programming every week. It resembles it, but it's got a long way to go before I see it the same way I see the real thing: art, done well, providing the perfect escape.

This idea may well have worked on the PS2 with the additional horsepower, but not on the PSP.

Beat-'em-up fans have plenty of other choices for their fix; this is more of an example of how licensed games can be misused instead of an example for how the beat-'em-up genre can return to its former glory.

For a console game, The Onion Knights feels very low budget. The presentation is threadbare from beginning to end, and hardly any effort has been put into creating a consistent theme. The upgrade and progression systems hit snags here and there, but they're fine when compared to the gameplay, which feels like no improvement was made from the mobile iterations. This title makes more sense as a mobile or Vita offering, but on the home console, this is one that can be easily skipped.

I can't really recommend M&Ms Adventure for the DS to action/adventure or platforming fans because it's a pretty aggravating experience, and I never really had any fun with it.

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.

So yeah, if you have an option, skip the PS2 version for the 360 copy.

Ju-On: The Grudge proves that sometimes being different doesn't necessarily mean being good. The graphics and sound may be great for the system, but the poor controls and slow, plodding pace of the story episodes greatly hinder the game's enjoyment.

Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered takes a few steps forward and a few steps backward from the previous Remastered collection. The games are a little more open, so you won't get many camera issues, but the games still haven't been retuned to handle the mechanics of the modern controls. The frame rate issue when switching between graphical modes has been fixed, and there are a few new mechanics. Some previously cut content makes the games feel like there has been some evolution. The problem is that the games don't feel as good as the trio of titles that came before it. From a preservationist perspective, it's fine to have these titles in a more accessible form. If you have some nostalgia related to these titles, then you might get a kick out of replaying them with a modern lens. Those who are discovering these games for the first time will wonder what the fuss was all about.

Even if you're hard up for new Move-controlled games (in which case you should be perusing PSN), avoid the temptation to give this title a shot. Deadliest Catch: Sea of Chaos is beyond disappointing, and it's one of the most boring titles I've had the displeasure to play this year.

It's difficult to give a score to Tomb Raider I-III Remastered. On the one hand, some of the improvements are quite good. The inclusion of extra levels for each game to make them more accessible is always welcome, and the improved modern controls are certainly welcome unless your muscle memory is attuned to the old tank-style controls. On the other hand, the very slight graphical improvements are overshadowed by the fact that the game design fails to keep modern controls in mind, and no other changes have been made to bring it up to modern standards. Considering the pedigree of the games, the result is a package that's fine but could've been much, much better.

There's a decent story hidden under the mess of missed conversations and seemingly irrelevant puzzles.

With bothersome controls and repetitive characters, Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast 2 falls short at a time when the franchise should be at a high point. The series needs some fundamental reworking if it's going to stand up as well as some of its predecessors, and fans, whether they got into the series during the original run or "Dragon Ball Z Kai," certainly deserve better.

What could have been a very neat idea is ruined by a bad camera, buggy gameplay, and totally ridiculous mission objectives.

Whirlwind over Vietnam offers a gameplay experience that is neither innovative nor executed well.

Chicken Little reached for the sky and instead got an acorn thrown at its head. Pass this one up, folks, and maybe consider the console renditions of the license.

A potentially great game released in what looks, sounds, and plays like the game never left beta stages.

With a little more attention to contemporary FPS titles, I think it quite possible that Digital Spray could produce some patches or expansions that could make Instinct a decent budget shooter title.

I did have some nuggets of fun with Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, but there's too much I can't ignore to recommend it to anyone, especially with the dawn of next-gen systems and titles that execute their concepts much better and simply look like what current games should be.

X-Men: The Official Game just isn't fun at all.

Once you finish the game in about four hours, that's all there is to it. It's a budget experience at full price, and one that I can't suggest anyone pick up.