While there is a few minor things I don't like, this game is fantastic, but I expect nothing less from Artifex Mundi. They prove repeatedly that they make incredible games for anyone of any age to enjoy. In terms of quality of game play, voice acting, artwork and story, this is game you need to play if you're a fan of the genre. As I've stated before, the addition of the new point of view with the other character is worth experiencing. Finding objects and solving puzzles is just the tip of the iceberg where this game is concerned! If you haven't ever tried an Artifex Mundi game, you need to start right now.

As the name suggests, you are going to need to work together in order to make it through this game. I lucked out and was able to play this while out of town visiting some of my best friends who are also heavy into gaming. We were all in the same room and we all took it pretty serious, so we were able to get pretty far. I’m not saying your group has to be super serious to enjoy this game, but if you’ve got friends that just want to have fun and not play a serious puzzle game, then they may not have the best time. I had a BLAST (get it? A...blast...? I’ll see myself out) playing this with my gaming buddies and look forward to getting into some of the hardcore ones.

Moonfall Ultimate had potential unlike very few other games had before it, but like an Elementalist whose out of mana, its quality went up in a puff of smoke.

Regrettably, Chronus Arc can easily be considered a cash grab by a company who believes in the quantity of games rather than the quality. Chronus Arc was first released in 2013, and unlike a good wine, it doesn't get better with age. It's unfortunate that an anemic story that had tremendous potential got overshadowed by numerous setbacks and problems which make the already short gameplay an even less entertaining experience. When you start factoring in the recycled audio that you'll hear constantly due to your need to grind, the desire to even finish the game feels like a waste of time.

Mutant League Football is honestly one of my favorite classic childhood games, and seeing its spiritual successor on a current generation console is a real treat for fans like myself that don’t usually play traditional sports titles. It’s not going to be for everyone obviously, but for someone looking for a much less serious and self-aware approach to a Football, Mutant Football League: Dynasty Edition is a great diversion, full of blood, broken bones, violence and hilarity. Now, I’m hoping that the follow-up to their original Mutant League Hockey game is next on the list, as that’s what us Canadians really care about.

If you take Atari Flashback Classics – Volume 3 for what it is at face value, a trip down memory lane of a time when gaming was in its' infancy, and you keep your expectations in check, you may enjoy this collection of games, especially if you're an Atari fan and/or played the Atari consoles so long ago. While I’d argue the $20 (CAD) price point is a little high, even factoring in that it’s 50 games, it’s a decent collection if you want to feel some nostalgia and see what gaming was like back in "the day".

Asdivine Hearts II tries to deliver a sequel, but the story isn't as captivating as the original, the graphics feel recycled and the movement feels jerky as opposed to fluid. While some attempt at innovation tries to bring about some wonderful new aspects to the game, sadly Asdivine Hearts II falls short of bringing an adventure that felt fresh and new. I wish I could recommend this game, but at $14.99 it breaks my heart.

For all of its shortcomings, 8-Bit Hordes still serves as a capable console RTS, even if it’s almost too bare boned. While I like the simpler styles of RTS, the lack of tools given really don’t allow for much strategy aside from amassing large hordes and sending them hurling towards the enemies. I really enjoy the 8-Bit visual style, as it suits the gameplay and setting, it’s just a shame it’s leaps behind the competition when it comes to features and mechanics.

The execution of Haunted Halloween '86 leaves little to be desired. While attempts are made to deliver that experience, the execution seems to be lacking intently. I would identify Haunted Halloween '86 as that one cartoon that was in the middle of your Saturday Morning Cartoon block that just didn't deliver that same "wow" factor as your favorites did. Remember, this is costing you $9.99 to experience this yourself, but is $9.99 worth 1000 Gamerscore boost in less than 15 minutes? That's a mystery you'll have to solve for yourself.

While some may simply think of Alvastia Chronicles as a low budget retro RPG, but for under $20 CAD, you could do a lot worse; the characters have enough depth and personality that I was chuckling at many points throughout my journey, wanting to see its conclusion. KEMCO did a great job here, giving classic RPG fans a great value with just enough depth to be an interesting adventure.

Yes, BOMBFEST is very simplistic in design, mechanically and graphically, but it has a certain charm to it, and most importantly, it’s accessible to anyone to simply have fun in short bursts. Online multiplayer is lacking, but to be expected for a small indie title, so make sure to call some friends over for some hilarity. Bomberman could learn a few things from BOMBFEST, so get those bombs ready and your curse words prepped, as both will be flying towards your friends.

RIOT – Civil Unrest sets out to show a side of riots you may not think of, and does so perfectly fine in an unbiased way based on real life protests. Riots are chaotic and unpredictable, and it’s no different here. It’s a shame that the controls aren’t very controller friendly, nor any subtle learning curve, as I probably would have enjoyed my time with it more if I knew what I was doing, how it was going to affect the outcome or even what the repercussions will be. But maybe that’s what RIOT does right, simply throwing you into the fray and letting the chaos ensue, though it almost always ended in a bloodbath for myself.

The movement controls that you deal with constantly are over sensitive, which making controlling your character through the pipe puzzles relatively difficult. there have been better graphics through Mario Paint and the sound was terrible in every aspect. However, the pipe puzzles in 2.5D were both frustrating yet delivered a tremendous amount of satisfaction upon completion. Should you spend your $10.99 on Pipe Push Paradise? Quite simply, no.

As a JRPG, Bonds of the Skies is perfectly serviceable, but really doesn’t do anything new or exciting for the most part, not that that’s a bad thing, but it won’t leave a lasting impression like some of the greats. Staying to the tried-and-true JRPG format works here but it also feels like dozens of other classic JRPG’s you’ve played numerous times before. It won’t wow you by any means, but it’s completely serviceable and a decent distraction for a handful of hours if you’re craving a new classic JRPG to explore.

I didn’t realize how much I really loved the original Shadowgate until I started up this remake and heard the iconic opening music. If you were like me and grew up on the original Shadowgate, you owe it to yourself to pick this version up to experience the difference three decades can make. If you’re new to the title or genre, it’s still a great investment that will challenge your puzzle solving skills, even if it can be a little obtuse at times.

I doubt that I need to admit that I was happy to see the credits roll on UglyDolls: An Imperfect Adventure. While I went in with an open mind – as someone who’s played a lot of kids games and been impressed by more than a couple – I never enjoyed my time with this one. All it did was make me wish I was playing other games, even mediocre ones that I’ve yet to finish. It’s nothing but a series of incredibly repetitive and forgettable fetch quests that offer little in the way of fun, and comes with an absolutely absurd price tag to boot.

Verlet Swing’s appeal is going to be based on how much patience you have, if you really enjoy challenging yourself or crave climbing leaderboards. You’re going to need to persevere through a lot of frustration if you want to even get close to completing all 100 levels, but my hats off to you if you’re able to do so; at least the soundtrack is upbeat and doesn’t wear out its welcome. Sure it’s got some really out there visuals and is the definition of abstract, but patience is a virtue, and absolutely required to get through Verlet Swing.

If you're looking for a simulator that offers a taste of real-world PC building and customer interaction, then this game is a must have. With some relatively easy achievements to compliment the experience, you'll quickly realize that the only thing that isn't real world about this simulator is how your screws magically vanish whenever you need them. I'm rating this game just shy of 90 because outside of the graphics and the audio, but the entire composition of PC Building Simulator is near flawless. For $19.99, PC Building Simulator is one of the best, and unexpected, sims the Xbox platform period.

In today's interconnected world, everyone wants to play with other people. Look at the most popular games now that are out there and what is one of the most common threads they all share? ONLINE MULTIPLAYER. Why, in the name of everything that is holy, would you release an amazing kart game and NOT provide it? I can say this, I'll play through, get the achievements and then I'll be deleting this game from my hard drive, because if I can't play with my friends around the country and the world, then why would I pay $14.99 for a game that should be the cat's meow, but instead, Meow Motors puts the "CAT" in catastrophe.

For less than $10 you can get a simple game in premise, but is only limited to your imagination. While I may find it hilarious drawing lewd and inappropriate characters and seeing them come to life, my innocent daughter had a great time just drawing a ton of characters and laughing the whole time. If you’re a creative artist or have kids, you can find a few laugh filled hours in Draw a Stickman: Epic 2; for everyone else, there’s not a lot of content to keep you going for more than an afternoon.

What Megaquarium does best is offer a laid back relaxing sim experience on console without feeling too watered down (pun intended). You’re given the tools you need at a slow and steady pace without ever feeling overwhelmed. I wasn’t sure how a dedicated aquarium sim would be, but it’s got a lot of charm and really is quite a calming experience overall for fans of the genre.

Pig Eat Ball is one of the most creative, weird and oddly satisfying indie games I’ve played in quite some time. Weird is really the most descriptive way to put it, as there’s nothing really like it out there. Even still, there’s hours of content to be had and plenty of laughs if you’re like me and can’t get over that you need to earn pearls from bearded clams.

If I was to score the game solely on my experience and comparing it to others in the genre, it would have received a much lower score for its lack of track variety and dull gameplay overall, but I’m not basing this on my experience; I’m basing it on my daughter’s, who now gets to play a video game as one of her favorite YouTube stars. If your youngster is a Ryan’s World fan, they’ll certainly enjoy this youth friendly outing with Ryan and all his friends for a few laps around the track, even if it can’t hold a flame to classics in the same genre.

I didn’t expect much from Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventure before I started it. Now that I’ve finished it, though, I’m quick to admit that I was wrong. While this game won’t set the world on fire, and isn’t the latest Batman: Arkham Asylum, Toy Story 3, Cars 2 or Marvel’s Spider-Man, it’s pretty solid and enjoyable. Kids should enjoy this simple platformer and may even find fun in going back and finding all of its collectibles. Don’t expect something that will have tons of replay value, though.

Sometimes you need a break from all the shooters and action games. This is where Fishing: Barents Sea Complete Edition comes in; when you just want to sit back, sail your boat across some open water and commercially catch some fish for some profit. Just be prepared to sink a ton of time into it if you want to make any real progress.

While it’s obvious at times that this was originally a mobile game that’s been ported, given its extremely repetitive background music and uninspired enemy variety, I still enjoyed the gameplay enough to stick with it to the end. The writing has some humor to it, but is cliché and predictable as can be. Even so, for whatever reason, this has easily been my favorite KEMCO title to date, even if it feels like I’ve already experienced much like it before.

While many might find a point and click adventure like this mundane and basic, it’s a widow into the past, showing how far gaming has come in such a short period of time. While some might find the length disappointing, it’s at least priced to match at just a few bucks. If you’re not a master at puzzle games, you might get an hour or so of gameplay out of it, but for most others, Without Escape will easily be beaten in a single sitting.

While some of the puzzle solutions are a little obtuse at times, much of the progression will simply come from trial and error and talking to everyone you come across. Edgar: Bokbok in Boulzac never takes itself too seriously and contains a funny, strange and wacky story that’s worth the journey, even with the minor frustration. While I did expect it to have more humor, Edgar and Precious had enough moments that made me smile throughout, as it should for you as well, just wait for a decent sale though.