Overall, Resident Evil: Village is a solid entry into the franchise. It isn't quite up to the sheer excellence of Resident Evil 2 or Resident Evil 4, but it has a lot of genuinely fun moments and solid gameplay. The only thing that might hold it back is that it returns to the ridiculousness that Resident Evil loves to embrace, and that might disappoint fans who were hoping for something more grounded. If you're a Resident Evil fan who has stuck with the series through Alfred Ashford and Jake Muller, then you'll probably feel right at home with Village.

It doesn't tamper too much with the underlying engine that made the first game so great but adds just enough novelty to justify a second iteration.

It's a very fresh FPS in a genre that feels more stale every year. It's certainly one of the better new IPs that I've seen this year, and I'm very curious to see what People Can Fly do with the sequel.

Sk8land is the best attempt yet to convert the old boy of skateboarding to a portable.

Madden has been wasting away on the current hardware for a while now, and while it is still a good football game and has a lot to offer, it doesn't rise above and really blow away the previous version.

Until Fallout: New Vegas gets a major patch that fixes the problems, it can only be recommended to gamers who have a high threshold for frustration.

I highly recommend Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride because it's an example of great storytelling, solid gameplay and excellent overall presentation.

It may lack multiplayer or online play, which many, including myself, were hoping for, but the single player campaign clearly makes up for this.

Fetch-quests and sometimes tedious level-grinding aside, Raven Software has refined and polished their product to a shiny sheen, and you should reward them for it with your money.

They have made a Bond game with an identity all its own - the GoldenEye precedent has been broken.

Excellent graphics and sound, especially for the driver camera, offer something awesome to the genre, while the controls are as tight as ever. Add this to a mostly solid campaign mode and opponent AI that does more than stick to pre-determined racing lines, and you have a racing game that can stand up well with the best of them.

Despite its flaws, Saints Row: The Third succeeds because of its mandate to focus on fun. The story may not be epic and the graphics may not be mind blowing, but when all is said and done, Saints Row: The Third probably has more "holy sh*t!" moments than any other game currently on the market. Combine this with a twisted sense of humor, and you have a recipe for success.

Though GT 5 screws up a lot of the details, the overall experience remains one of the best in gaming, and Polyphony proves once more that when it comes to realistic racing, it's on a whole different plane than the competition.

It combines a lot of typically dissonant elements into a smooth, polished package, and despite a few small problems, it's well worth your time.

In spite of Skate 2's flaws, it may just be time to crown the Skate franchise as the new king of the skate park. The game manages to be thrilling while eschewing some of the more ridiculous aspects of the Tony Hawk titles (grinding a telephone wire, really?) , and the motion-based trick system is much more immersive than pressing buttons once you get the hang of it.

A remarkably faithful but also remarkably flawed version of a great party game.

An awesome game and earns a great deal of respect and admiration, but doesn’t quite earn what I wish it would.

My only real gripe about Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is that I wish there were more of it. Miles and the rest of his circle are absolutely capable of being compelling enough to carry a game for twice the length. I just like this kid, and I think a lot of other people will, too.

Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster is a solid remaster of a genuinely amazing game. While not every change is for the better, almost all of them are understandable side effects of porting a game between systems that have very different capabilities. All of Bravely Default's strengths are still present, and if you're a fan of Final Fantasy V or Octopath Traveler, then you'll find a lot of those games' high points present. I would've liked to see more of an upgrade to the game's final quarter, but even with that, Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster is still one of the best RPGs on the market.

Danmaku Unlimited 3 is another excellent shooter on a system that's quickly becoming an appropriate home for them. The frantic action you'd expect from a bullet hell shooter is improved with interesting attack patterns and a set of mechanics that rewards both quick kills and exhibits some flair during gameplay. There's a nice balance for both veterans and genre newcomers, with the latter being served especially well since the game's difficulty and lack of continues foster a need to improve while ensuring that death isn't immediate. Topped off with a great presentation, DU3 is a high point for the genre, and despite the deluge of shooters on the Switch, it's a title that fans shouldn't miss.

Overall Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is a solid, if overpriced, collection of some excellent dungeon crawlers. The same core gameplay remains strong to this day, but series vets might be annoyed at the lack of Untold's features. Any of the games is an excellent game on its own and provides gameplay for quite a while. If not for the price tag, this is an incredibly easy game to recommend, with or without Untold features. Even the most hardcore of Etrian Odyssey fans may want to stick to one game or wait for a sale.

It is an adventure game through and through, and it manages to capture the feeling of fun and exploration in a way that few games can.

Borderlands is one of the best co-op games on the market. It's fun and easy to pick up, and its unique combination of RPG and FPS elements makes it unlike anything else out there.

The most enjoyable gaming experience I've had this year. The story was one of the best ever, and the acting is top-notch.

The title's bite-sized action will hook you right from the start, and once you start playing, this is really one of those games that's extremely difficult to put down (especially since you know that the next level is only 30 seconds long).

If you're lucky enough to not have been plagued with port issues, then you'll find Nioh: Complete Edition to be a wonderfully difficult action game. Though it brings along a high level of difficulty that seems to be en vogue for recent action games, its emphasis on faster action makes it a perfect complement for the competition. Similarly, the loot drops are a great addition, and the oddball story makes the game feel more distinct. It would've been nice to see more PC-specific optimization, but Nioh is worth checking out for fans of difficult action games.

Madden NFL 11 is easily one of the most solid efforts in recent years, and it's definitely the sort of game that nearly any football fan will be pleased with.

At the end of the day, I'm not sure what else you could expect from a remaster of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. It was a great game in 1999, and it's aged better than most in its class. If you're looking for some solid RTS gameplay, single-player or multiplayer, look no further than Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.