This title has a very strong appeal to anyone who is a seasoned player of Dungeons & Dragons and is interested in playing a tactical combat simulator that is faithful to the system with which it shares its name.

For younger gamers weaned on more current games such as "Burnout," a rental may be all you need to sate your curiosity of how things were before bump mapping and light bloom.

If you need the drama to complete your experience, the bright green medkits might taint the cinematic sweep, but it's perhaps worth a rental if you're a fan of the series or the genre.

Déraciné has equally surprised and disappointed me. It's a gorgeous, story-driven experience, but the story has a few pacing issues and can drag along while not making the most of its gameplay mechanics. It's a slow burn, but if you enjoy eerie stories and atmosphere, Déraciné may be worth checking out. It certainly pulled me in and punished me for my naivete as the story grew darker by the minute.

Forza 5 will do as a holdover racing game for now, but for all the bombast that next-gen brings, the game is awfully stagnant, and its lack of competition has never been more apparent.

The port itself just seems to be incomplete, with the Xbox 360-centric prompts, reward tokens (previously used for 360 achievements) that now have no purpose whatsoever, and sluggish performance.

It's as if the game designers are saying, "Well, just imagine that you are fighting in a huge war." With that kind of attitude, I hope that they are able to imagine me still playing this in a month – because I certainly won't be.

The show is for kids, and the game is made for kids. However, there's a surprising amount of meat on the game's bones, as it mixes the literal following of the license with effective and unique play mechanics and a surprising lack of repeated gags.

Overall, Company of Heroes 2 doesn't capitalize on its own strengths and ends up paling in comparison to the juggernaut that started the franchise.

All that said, the biggest compliment I can give EA Sports Madden NFL 26is that I look forward to playing it again. That wasn't always the case. But for all its shortcomings, I still like seeing my created player running around on the screen as part of a beautiful and immersive on-field presentation. I enjoy the football being played. I like having the sense of control over the fate of my team, and I like all of the options Franchise Mode presents for me to exercise that control. I enjoy Madden again, and that's a start.

It's just disappointing that the game doesn't have that much depth, and with few exceptions, its only successes are things that have already been done before with different technology.

Take away the graphics and the title, and the game doesn't have many noteworthy aspects. The gameplay is decent but in a very generic way that doesn't differentiate itself from any other shooter on the market. That's depressing, considering the series' roots.

Beyond the already present fans of the series, anyone looking for a fun game that can be picked up, played, and put down at whim, will find what they need here.

If you can appreciate the bizarre style of writing and humor, there's a good, lengthy, old-fashioned, point-and-click adventure to be had.

The story is well done, and the story is fairly engaging, especially if you are already a fan of Salvatore's writings.

The soundtrack perfectly compliments the World War II motif, transitioning flawlessly from one epic instrumental to another.

There's some great gameplay in Risen, but you have to trudge though too many problems to find it.

It's unfortunate that the Mafia III gameplay isn't anywhere near as compelling as the storytelling. An ingenious mix of setting and characters has been established to generate a believable spin on organized crime, but the game mechanics are nowhere near as impressive in either design or execution.

They can reduce the load times, clean up the graphics, and iron out the little mechanical issues in the game, they’ll have themselves a solid soccer game. Right now, it’s just an average title.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human isn't a bad game, but it can't help but get in its own way. For all the freedom of its parkour system, you'll have to sit through cut scenes and fumble through the interior environments. For all the talk of conflict between the factions or that the choices you make matter, the game only recognizes them when it is convenient to the narrative and forgets about it entirely in the next. Much like the undead that populate the streets below, the gameplay is best avoided by sticking to the parkour as much as possible as you work toward the conclusion.

Silence: The Whispered World 2 is a beautiful and polished experience with a distinct focus on its story. It still holds enough traditional gameplay to be considered a point-and-click adventure rather than a "walking simulator," but it sacrifices complexity and variety for a more streamlined approach. It's also a very short experience, which doesn't necessarily work in its favor. It doesn't overstay its welcome, but many of it is too short-lived to make the impact it's so clearly striving for.

Dragon Ball: Origins 2 is a tough game to recommend. It's clearly made for fans, but that isn't quite enough to make one overlook its flaws.

One Piece: Unlimited World Red is good. Although the combat is quite messy when facing waves of normal enemies, the excitement of the boss fights more than makes up for it.

Everybody's Golf: Hot Shots is fine overall. The core gameplay experience remains unchanged, the performance is solid, and the modes are plentiful enough to keep you occupied for a very long time, even if that means that unlocking the roster can feel like a grind. However, the courses you play are merely fine, some of the mechanics feel dated, and the presentation lacks polish. Longtime fans may pick up this title anyway, considering how long it has been between entries. More casual fans will have a good time, but don't go in expecting the high standards of the previous titles in the franchise.

In essence, Castlevania Requiem is a mediocre port of two extremely good games. Fans will enjoy the chance to play them again — if they haven't already purchased copies for other consoles — but it's far from the definitive version of the games. This collection offers two excellent games for $20, which isn't a bad deal as long as players only expect what it says on the package: two Castlevania titles that they've probably played before.

I can't help but feel slightly disappointed in Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. Everything sounds like a great experience on paper, but the execution of the online side seems poor.

With control options on the PC being rather limited, the game is only good for those who care about competition. For everyone else looking for something closer to what the older games provided, give it a month to see if things improve.

If you're a big Full Metal Alchemist fan, or even just enjoy flipping through manga or catching the show on Cartoon Network, then Crimson Elixir is definitely worth a rental.