It’s been a long time since I’ve had Gears on the brain, and now that Gears 5 has been extremely addictive and taking a large chunk of my time lately, I’m glad to say that not only is Gears back, but better than ever with a slew of additions, changes and improvements. Kudos to The Coalition for taking the risks they did. I’m no longer worried that one of my most beloved franchises are in safe hands going forward.

I've really enjoyed every minute of my time with The Colonists. Even with the bump in the road with its pacing, I'm beyond happy with the whole experience. I'd play with these cute little robots any day of the week and developers CodeByFire should pat themselves on the back for the effort put forth. For me, I'm going to board the rocket back to Earth and move onto the next adventure with my adorable robots.

Forza has done so much for Motorsport, and hopefully when they expand on this platform and provide more driving content we can very well see the expansion of things such as legendary races that are recreated. When you decide to set out to create what could arguably be easily regarded as the premier driving simulator, Turn 10 did exactly that. Forza Motorsport is a phenomenal driving game that combines mind bending physics for driving accuracy melded with an audio and video presentation that is second to none. When you can combine those two elements to near perfection like Forza Motorsport has done, it goes without saying that Turn 10 has done an absolutely amazing job paying attention to and focusing on making you a better driver. That is the ultimate goal of any Motorsport game, and Forza wears the crown.

While this game does deliver some amazing gameplay experiences, there are multiple times when you sit there thinking that this game could have been better. That doesn't mean however that Battlefield 3 doesn't deliver at all; it means that gamers will just have to be patient as DICE and everyone work out all the details to deliver the Battlefield 3 experience we all know is out there.

It's difficult to describe every single new feature but once you start playing and see all the new positions, mechanics, and modes, you'll really see how THQ set the bar even higher this year.

Ultimately, Mortal Kombat 1 delivers a quality story that is rarely found in fighting games and one that naturally allows for many years of stories to be told. It can't be overlooked though the number of shortcomings that unfortunately plague this game, which is disappointing. If less is more than please NetherRealm, give us more. More kontent, more kreativity. This should be the one that starts it all over again, but unfortunately Mortal Kombat 1 feels like a step backwards rather than forwards. Despite all that though, despite the lack of content and all the shortcomings, Mortal Kombat 1 is an incredibly fun, gory, and fluid fighting game that should be enjoyed by all the fans of the fighting game genre. It may not have a lot of kontent, but what it does have is exceptional.

One great feature in Live gameplay is when your teammates talk, a speaker icon appears over their head and on the compass so you know who’s talking and where they are.

One of the best stories ever told in a video game.

If you were nervous how the new studio was going to handle the Gears series, put those fears to rest, as The Coalition has delivered an experience that feels new yet familiar at the same time and worthy of the Gears of War title. Whether you’re coming for the campaign, competitive multiplayer, or Horde mode, Gears of War 4 has tremendous value and replayability and ushers in the new generation some change for the series.

Returning to playing a Sam & Max game sure brings back some serious nostalgia, and I’m so glad to report that Sam & Max Save the World still holds up to this day. Keeping in mind this genre isn’t as popular as it once was, it’s a glimpse into what early Telltale Games’ experiences were like, one that I surely miss. While it’s all been but explicitly confirmed by Skunkape, I’m now waiting for Sam & Max Season 2 and 3 to release hopefully sooner than later to continue the wacky duo's adventures.

An excellent game, and 2K Sports looks to be on the right track improving and adding to the franchise each year. A great example of this can be seen every time you go to the hoop - chances are you won’t see the same dunk twice.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is well executed on several levels, sans the bugs that I ran into. It is a true AAA title that is a worthy playthrough for fans of the game old and new. It is a tale of fate, loyalty, glory and morality. Eivor must make tough decisions as to how to grow their settlement and how they navigate relationships in the world. The decisions you make will change components of the story, so you are in charge of your own destiny.

Soul Calibur is easily my favorite traditional style fighting game, and seeing it get back to form with a solid new entry in Soul Calibur VI warms my heart, and my thumbs. Bandai Namco has taken great strides in getting the franchise back on track, and it seems all they had to do was listen to its fans. Gone are the weird and increasingly questionable combat mechanics; instead what we have is a product that feels clean, inviting, and refreshingly fun.

While the sound leaves much to be desired, the graphics more then make up for this one negative aspect. What really impressed me about this game was how the controls changed based on the customization of your car.

It may be short, but what it makes up in is an absolute unique experience with an amazing art direction filled with humor that only Shafer could come up with. Clever writing, amazing story telling and unique characters will have you remembering Stacking for quite some time to come after you've saved your family.

If you like the mystique of F1, don't hesitate to go out and grab this game. If you're a fan of one racing style, but not F1, I'd still say give it a go. If you don't like auto racing at all, but want an over the top racing game to play in your spare time? This probably isn't it, unless you're into a highly precisioned, more realistic racing style.

We ran into more technical glitches in this pack than any other previous ones, with numerous people randomly getting booted from rooms, unable to rejoin, or simply not being able to join without multiple attempts. While I welcome the new games, someone actually suggested we play the previous Pack, which is a telling sign. The new games are decent additions, but the fun factor is going to completely depend on your group of friends and if they have like-minded humor as you.

Tin Hearts is a standout for its puzzles. I’m not saying the story was weak by any means, but perhaps the puzzles were just that good that it made it feel weak. I found myself wanting to skip right to the next puzzle, that’s how much I enjoyed my time with them. It oozes warmth and charm and is filled with a sense of nostalgia that isn’t often seen in games from my experience. If you want an easy playing puzzle game that won’t leave you frustrated, or if you are a fan of heartfelt stories, I think Tin Hearts is perfect little game to tinker with.

Two Point Hospital to me is one of those games that I will love for a very long time and I'm so glad I waited for it to come out on console. It was well worth the wait and easy to recommend because of how much fun it can be. I enjoy planning out how my hospital will look, how much staff I have on shift and how much money I'm planning on making. The graphics and animation alone are of good quality and it was so refreshing to play a great game that flowed very well, made sense and looked amazing all the way through. Now, I'm sorry, I gotta go. I need to deal with a group of patients coming in suffering from being lightheaded... oh well, off to the De-Lux Clinic!

I have never taken over a week to write a review, but this one took a while because I was too busy enjoying all of it from start to finish and didn't want to put it down. I love, love LOVE Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. A lot of heart went into making this amazing title, and it shows. What are you waiting for? Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is waiting... and so is Gebel. The fate of the world rests on your shoulders. No pressure.

While it may not be as tough as others in the genre, I did enjoy most of my time with Tails of Iron. The constant backtracking along with forced “side” quests really felt like padded hours onto Redgi’s adventure, and this is where it started to tire. When I was progressing my main adventure I was wanting to continually play, but having to go back and forth through the same areas a half dozen times became tiresome. Even so, Tails of Iron will last you roughly 10 hours and you can tell it was designed and created with heart and has a lot of charm to it.

Cat Quest III is simply a delight to admire with its bright beautiful colors and great artwork across the board. Even in the dark dungeons, you can appreciate its brooding aesthetic. Even though some might be disappointed with its short campaign, there’s plenty of side quests to complete, including NG+ with a drastically raised level cap, and an Infinity Tower to challenge yourself with. It’s hard not to smile when playing this paw-some indie game, as it’s just got a fantastic and warm vibe that doesn’t overstay its welcome.

If you’ve grown stale of the band games out there or simply want something new to try and love the music genre, I completely recommend DJ Hero without hesitation.

Bulletstorm offers a great innovative fresh perspective on how to deliver a fantastic first person shooter title. While sticking to the foundations that we all grew up on, Bulletstorm drags us from the breast kicking and screaming only to find out that we get a bottle of Jack to suckle from now on.

With a major improved control scheme, the introduction of Hardcore Mode, beautifully detailed environments and national landmarks, Fallout: New Vegas is the real Entertainment Capital of the World.

Saints Row: The Third maintains the collaborative efforts of Volition Inc. and THQ while moving way beyond the foundation of the first two Saints Row titles.

I was smiling constantly while playing, and even afterwards while writing this review, I already know it’s going to leave me with some great gaming memories, just as their other title did 30 years ago. Thimbleweed Park is full of personality, not just from its characters, but its setting, writing, and everything else that encompasses the experience. It’s clear that this was a labor of love, and there was no two better people to be at the helm of bringing back this long lost genre. “Give” your money to developers Terrible Toybox and experience one of the best point and click adventure games in decades. And as an added bonus, this is the first game in history that I'm aware of that has a setting for 'proper' rolling of the toilet paper in game. That alone is worth a purchase and speaks about its level of detail.

Creating new spots and sharing them; along with the Hall of Meat is more than enough fun to warrant the purchase alone regardless of its faults.