Batman: Arkham Origins - Blackgate isn't a bad game, but it's a lesser game. It tries extremely hard to mimic its console brethren, but all it does is highlight everything it's missing.

There's no real reason to go for Rise and Fall unless you're a huge Civ VI nut who needs more content. The line between expansion and DLC is thin, and Rise and Fall lands right on the line. It's worth buying if you want more Civilization, but casual players may want to wait for a price drop or a meatier expansion.

As mentioned before, your acceptance of Persona 5: The Phantom X will depend on how you feel about gacha games. If you dislike the concept, then there's nothing that will change your mind, especially since the pop-ups are pretty frequent for microtransactions. For those who are already used to the gacha game style, what you'll find is a fleshed-out JRPG that is still considered novel at a time when games like Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero are still a rarity. It isn't as fleshed-out in some areas as the main game, but there's enough to satisfy the die-hard fans who are still craving Persona 5 content, even after finishing the other spin-offs.

This is a decent game, and kids will likely enjoy it for a while, but it falls well short of being any sort of modern classic.

Sigma Star Saga DX is an interesting revival of a cool but flawed game. There's a lot I like in concept rather than in execution, but neither is it particularly bad. The combat and puzzle exploration can get a little long in the tooth by the time you reach the end of the game, but it's fun enough to be a worthwhile playthrough. It's a perfectly solid re-release that alleviates — but doesn't necessarily fix — the original version's worst flaws. If you're curious, it's well worth a shot, and if nothing else, it's a very cool experiment from a long-lived developer.

Xenoraid is good. It's neither excellent nor terrible, but it's good.

Does exactly what it sets out to do and no more by laying down a passable combat engine and little else. In a way it's almost refreshingly straightforward.

Overall, Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl is an enjoyable title if you can forgive some of its issues. The overly aggressive AI, the short hit reach, and the classic game padding don't make for a pleasant experience once you notice them. However, the experience is solidly enjoyable, with some concessions made for those aforementioned flaws, and it accomplishes the rare feat of having the solo experience be a bit more fun than the multiplayer one. While fans of the duo will get a big kick out of this game, and even those who aren't familiar with these characters will enjoy their time with this title.

Gang Beasts never pretends to be a single-player experience; it's a party game through and through. Even though there's only so much depth that can be found in imprecisely manipulating ragdoll physics, the end result is still oddly compelling. While Gang Beasts is not the kind of game that will find its way into the eSports circuit, players will still find a lot to love as they fight and fall and laugh at all the ways they succeed or fail in its oddball arenas.

Nioh: Dragon of the North is more of the same, but that is a good thing for such a well-made game. There's a new weapon type, new monsters, new stages, a new story, and some nice mechanical updates. None of them are game-changers, but they flesh out and improve the solid core game. For those who've already finished the game, a handful of requested features help add some zest to the proceedings. If you're desperate for more Nioh and have already finished the main story, then this DLC will scratch that itch quite nicely, but it isn't a must-have.

Unfortunately, many of these positive aspects are undone by the game's presentation: bizarre design choices, overly long and deeply uninteresting cut scenes, creepy and off-putting character models and an extremely lackluster dub. It's not a bad RPG; it's simply a mediocre one with a lot of uninteresting filler between enjoyable, if not particularly challenging, gameplay segments.

The gameplay feels a bit outdated in comparison to newer RTS offerings such as "Company of Heroes," but the game still utilizes some unique features, such as the reinforcement system, that make it quite challenging.

Despite some flaws, I really enjoyed MLB '09: The Show on the PSP.

It has a great many strengths going for it, and at the core, there’s a good game in here. Unfortunately, due to its scope, and more importantly, few ways to deal with that scope, few people will actually want to finish the bloody thing.

Battle Planet: Judgement Day is a shooter that's best played in short bursts with a friend in tow. The lack of objective variety can quickly dull your excitement, and the phantom attacks from enemies can be frustrating. The shooting is good enough that you can suffer through some terrible guns now and then, and the level design is enjoyable enough to merit a break from more involved titles.

As it stands, Front Mission Evolved is a decent entry in the series.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is tricky to judge. The gameplay loop is repetitive and retreads a lot of the tropes found in similar co-op shooter experiences. Its presentation is good but inconsistent. What it does well is capturing the visuals and sound of the movies and distilling them into a well-established formula. There's a good variety of combat classes and engaging ways to customize and improve builds, so players are incentivized to continue playing and get better as the difficulty ratchets up to add a thrilling survival component. I am concerned about the title's online matchmaking, which we were unable to test. Since the title does not support crossplay, the game's longevity and player base will depend on early adopters and future content releases to prove that this online shooter is here to stay.

Dead Island: Retro Revenge is a short but good game that is fun if you give it a chance.

The unfortunate thing about Guitar Hero: Van Halen is that it really had the potential to shine, but there just seemed to be too much working against it. The ongoing band feuds have eliminated not only a large section of the group's catalog, but a founding member as well, and laziness on the part of all parties involved means that there's nearly nothing added to the game to give it the extra content we saw in the Aerosmith and Metallica editions

Despite these flaws, Override: City Mech Brawl is a funny and lighthearted brawler title for everyone, and it's another multiplayer option during a time when consoles seem to be shying away from local cooperative play. It's a title that doesn't take itself too seriously, and it does a solid job of bringing lighthearted giant robot fun to consoles.

In the end, Grand Slam Tennis 2 is a solid tennis game that sits below Top Spin 4 in terms of quality. The gameplay mechanics are more simulation than arcade, but it isn't too technical to the point that you need precision to execute moves well. It looks great but flawed, and the same goes for the commentary.

I'd suggest waiting for the inevitable price drop before checking out this title, and even then, I'd give it some serious thought before picking it up.

Wizards of Waverly Place: Spellbound is a surprisingly decent adventure game. The puzzles are clever, and though the game is meant for younger players, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's too easy for them. The minigames are quite fun, and the game captures the spirit of the show rather well. It still doesn't offer enough to rope in those who aren't fans of the show, but it provides a solid gaming experience for fans.

If the controls were a bit more comfortable, and the car battle mode wasn't so hard to control, it might have made the game a better experience overall, but still not near the magic of Rare's entry.

What The Fall Part 2: Unbound lacks in difficulty, it makes up for in intrigue. The transformation of narrative from horror to sci-fi makes you look at the series in a new light, and even though the questions about humanity and robotics have been brought up before, the game's take on them remains interesting enough that you'll want to see what's in store for the third game. The gameplay length is decent, and there are satisfactory combat and puzzle elements. If you've already checked out the first game, you should take a look at Unbound as well.

Despite its predictable layout, Thor: God of Thunder is a pretty decent brawler. The combat is well done, and the boss fights, while predictable in terms of how they finish, feel epic in scale. When it doesn't suffer from frame rate issues, the game looks good, controls fine and sounds nice - once you tune out some of the repetitive pieces in the musical score. It may not be a long or deep game, but it is fun while it lasts. It's a good rental for action fans and a decent buy for die-hard fans of the Marvel character.

Sword Art Online: Lost Song is a game for fans of the anime. It relies heavily on players recognizing the story twists and turns and grasping how the anime mechanics translate into gameplay.

It Came from Space and Ate Our Brains doesn't do anything all that differently from other games of its ilk. It does all of the expected things well enough, so you'll find the experience to be enjoyable either alone or with local friends. While not exactly a top-tier experience, it is recommended if you've gone through the slew of twin-stick heavy hitters the system already has on offer.