There's really nothing new here. It is truly just GH2 with a garish color scheme, some different character models, 30 new songs and nothing else. It feels incredibly bare, but as a song pack, it stands up surprisingly well.

Fans of survival horror and the Silent Hill series will enjoy Silent Hill: Origins, while others will be turned off by its morbid nature. If you don't have a PSP and didn't get the chance to check out the title a year ago, now's your chance.

I wanted to like Star Ocean: The Divine Force a lot more than I did. It has a lot of interesting ideas and concepts, and I'm a prime target for Star Ocean 2 nostalgia bait. The game didn't have the time or budget to do what it wanted to do, and what we have is a half-baked title that does very little well. The story is dull, the combat is repetitive and poorly balanced, and the unique features fall by the wayside as the game progresses. There are glimmers that something great could have been created, but it isn't the game that we ended up with. It's difficult to recommend The Divine Force to even die-hard JRPG fans, since the game's few strengths are eclipsed by its many flaws. Wait for a sale if you're curious, but otherwise, there are plenty of other better JRPGs to play this year.

It's difficult to be positive about Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission because you have to give it the benefit of the doubt and be a big Dragon Ball fan to enjoy it. The core game is pretty fun in a simple time-wasting way, and the "What If?" scenarios are significantly more engaging than the ones in Xenoverse. Unfortunately, to reach all of that, you have to deal with awkward UI, convoluted explanations, and just about the worst graphics you'll see in a $60 game. Fans who have the patience to deal with a lot of caveats can enjoy World Mission. Casual Dragon Ball players will want to go for the Xenoverse games for an overall higher-quality experience.

One of the slight problems I had with this game was the difficulty. At many points in this game the difficulty got to be very testing. At times it seems like you are being swarmed by enemies, and some parts may take a lot of practice to get through.

But since the majority of the time you’re playing the game you’ll be slowly walking from point A to point B completing mandatory fetch quests, the game’s solid RPG foundation collapses under the weight of its own failed potential.

Objectively, it's not hard to tell that Earth Defense Force 2017 is poorly made compared to the vast majority of 360 titles, although the localization is quality work on D3's part. What makes it so compelling to play, despite its many obvious flaws, is that the gameplay formula is by itself amazingly addictive and satisfying regardless of the graphics.

One-third of a complete game, and it really feels like it. Despite the fairly large variety in things to do, all of it feels like setup for something that is going to happen later on.

The PSP version is a definite second stringer. Again, it seems aimed at players so obsessed with the game that they also need a portable fix, because it is not nearly the complete product its bigger brothers are.

An uncreative yet valiant attempt at a lighthearted arena battler, if one with a somewhat tiresome presentation.

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

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 is an improvement on the original game.

You have to be willing to forgive quite a bit to enjoy Crysis Remastered. Questionable enemy AI is bad enough, but a reduction in content is baffling, and the effort feels incomplete because of it. The extra lighting is nice, but the spotty performance is the real sore spot, as it ensures that a polished and well-performing version of the game is simply unattainable. Unless you have issues trying to run the original on your system or absolutely need controller support, you're probably better off skipping this until a better, proper remaster comes along.

You really, really have to like the kind of humor in High on Knife to enjoy the DLC. You're not going to get any character from the new gun, and Knifey's psycho nature doesn't take long to become grating when compared to the rest of your living loadout. The combat is less enjoyable than before, since the pinball gun is the only weapon you can use to deal any real damage, and the act of collecting everything in the game feels more meaningless since you don't get anything from it. If you're into the rambling nature of the jokes with a sense of humor that's often crude or referential with no real payoff, then you might want to check this out, but anyone who's hoping for good gameplay to balance the humor will be disappointed.

Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is an interesting piece of work. As a city builder, its simplicity in the actual building process is complemented by the unusual environment for the genre. That alone is enough to make simple settlements look cool. As a strategy game, the attempts to simplify some of the traditional mechanics of the 4X genre work surprisingly well, but some elements, like combat, could've used more attention so it doesn't feel like an afterthought. The end result isn't going to be for everyone, but it is worth a look for those who want to jump into the genre and appreciate something out of the ordinary.

Despite some little glitches, the outdated graphics and the obvious catering toward a younger and more inexperienced audience, SimCity Creator is a step in the right direction for the ancient, lumbering SimCity games.

The simplicity of Military Madness: Nectaris may be a turn-off for seasoned veterans of the strategy genre, but it proves to be a great game for those who are just starting to discover this game style.

The Golf Club 2 is exactly what you want from a sports sequel. It's a much better version of the game that makes you forget about the previous title instead of longing for it. The number of modes still feels sparse when compared to EA's older golf titles, but the major additions do a good job of working toward something more comprehensive for golf game fans. The dedicated community shows that the game will have legs for years, much like the first game, and while the presentation hasn't improved greatly, it looks respectable by today's standards. Even though The Golf Club 2 is the only current serious golf game around, fans should be happy to know that it's still a very good title.

Ultimately, Wet is a fun, if slightly flawed, single-player romp.

The Callisto Protocol is frustrating as a game because it's so easy to see how it could have been great. There's no single thing that drags down the game, but it's an endless stream of annoyances that are exacerbated by the constant reminders of better titles. The Callisto Protocol can be fun, but it's constantly getting in the way of its own fun. It's possible that patches might smooth out some of the combat issues and improve the game a fair bit. At launch, though, it's more frustrating than fun. There's a lot of potential for a sequel that takes the lessons to heart, but for the moment, you're better off waiting for a sale.

Going out on a limb, but a thick limb, The Conduit is an FPS that will stand well among lots of contemporary shooters, but the game is by far the most fully realized, expertly designed experience of its type available on the Wii.

Its mix of arcade and realism — combined with almost no challenge from the AI, unimpressive graphics, mediocre audio, and dated controls — drag down the title.

NASCAR 09 adds some notable additions such as Rep points and the Sprint Driver Challenge mode, but the core gameplay has not changed much at all.

Battle Princess of Arcadias could have been exceptional but ends up being average.

In the end, Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star serves as a good appetizer for those who want some Musou action now. The action goes at an almost non-stop clip, and there's rarely any time to breathe before you have to unleash triple-number combos again and again. There's a ton of content to go over, and while the story can be nonsensical at times, it remains entertaining for those who aren't averse to anime or a visual novel style of game. Overall, Fate/Extella is a solid game to bide your time with while you await some of the bigger titles this year.

While Downhill Jam is by no means brilliant, it works well as an extension of the Tony Hawk franchise. It may borrow liberally from both SSX and Downhill Domination, but it differs in execution, largely because of the unique nature of the Wiimote.

The traditional Tony Hawk gameplay has several twists - some for the better, others not so much - but has had the difficulty significantly dumbed down to the point where Story Mode is boring much of the time, and is insufficiently counterbalanced by Classic Mode.

Slave Zero X has a few too many rough spots to make it an easy recommendation, but it isn't a terrible game. When you get into the groove of combos, cancels and bursts, it can be incredibly satisfying to leave the forces of fascism in bloody chunks on the ground, but the effort it takes to reach that point feels like too much to be worth it. If you're in the mood for a bloody, execution-intensive beat-'em-up, then Slave Zero X might be for you, but it might be tough if you're used to playing modern beat-'em-ups.