Moto Racer 4 tugged at my nostalgia from the original PlayStation games, but it left me feeling cold and empty afterwards. I wanted it to be good, heck I would have settled for it being mediocre, but in the end it just feels like a game lost in time.

I would say if you’re looking for a trial and error game with high difficulty, but rewarding game play, go for Trials over Guts and Glory. You’ll get a few laughs seeing how characters die, but in the end, it becomes frustrating far too quickly.

Dark Alliance is not a perfectly executed game but the fun to be had when everything works is worth enduring the little issues. It delivers a fun D&D adventure with some epic combat moments. Even with the issues that I experienced I think this is a solid game and with a bit more polish via patches will fit quite nicely among its dungeon crawler brethren.

Recompile is not an awful game by any means, but it is not much more than the sum of its parts. While the exploration works, its hindered by the spotty level lighting; you have a good assortment of weapons but putting them to use is underwhelming. Its almost as if for every step forward Recompile takes, it insists on taking one back. However, the saving grace is that its not a long journey through the motherboard, that is to say it is thankfully pretty short. So those folks that are forever chasing those achievements can rack up some score here, and its on Game Pass which makes the cost of admission even better. If you enjoy ‘metroidvania’ type games and you don’t mind the issues then there is fun to be had here, and you don’t even have to go digging in the dark web to find it.

How to Train Your Dragon is definitely a step backwards for Activision in terms of licensed games. It doesn't have the same level of polish and dedication that the previous offerings brought to the table. Still I respect the fact that the developers did something totally out of the ordinary for this game instead of the run-of-the-mill platformer we are usually spoon-fed.

Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013 will service its fanbase, but few others. The one-year subscription to a hunting magazine packaged in the box tells the whole story. This game is not broken, but also far from making any waves. If you enjoyed previous entries, you will likely be satisfied with what is here. The new gun feels good, and the shooting galleries are entertaining, but the rest just feels like it was dialed in for the yearly sequel.

SolSeraph is a love letter to fans of Actraiser and feels like it should somehow contain the name in its title. Sadly, it falls short on several areas that keep it from resurrecting the genre like many hoped it would. Ace Team continues to be a developer I cannot take my eyes off of though. Their creations are unique in and of themselves, and always entertain me even when they fall short of that great status mark.

Much like this review this collection is short and sweet. Arcade junkies will appreciate these two niche titles finally being available outside of tracking down the cabinets, and the Wii is the perfect platform to release them on.

If you can convince your buddies to join in, there is a lot of fun to be had. If solo is the name of your game, you might want to wait for a sub $5 sale.

There just isn’t much here to get excited about, and it feels like the game is just checking the boxes of what it had to have, instead of bringing any new ideas to the table. Still, I kept playing. Even with all of its shortcomings the game kept me interested to its end. It just doesn’t feel like a full-priced title.

All in all, Way of the Samurai 4 is a decent game that some players will enjoy.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories is a surprising twist on the franchise that works in some areas, while falling flat in others. If you intend to duke it out with friends, I recommend it wholeheartedly, especially with the lousy Vita lineup right now. If you are going in strictly for the Silent Hill aspect, you are likely to be disappointed.

Tron: Evolution is a game that has so much going for it, but lets itself down at the last hurdle. With average combat and poorly designed free running, the game ultimately redeems itself in the story.

I wanted to love Ultra Smash, but it fought me at every turn to keep me from wanting to play more of it.

Tron: Evolution is a game that has so much going for it, but lets itself down at the last hurdle. With average combat and poorly designed free running, the game ultimately redeems itself in the story.

If you’re expecting a heavy storyline with complicated characters, Over the Hedge is not your cup o’ tea…it’s a morality tale, the good guys are good, the bad guys are bad…and a happy ending is inevitable.

While the game lacks Portal’s fantastic character and narration, and doesn’t have quite the same atmospheric depth as The Swapper, it still retains a sense of originality through its clean design, thoughtful story and spectacular puzzles.

A solid DS title that uses a familiar game style that its target demographic is likely not to appreciate. The play time is a bit short clocking in at just under three hours, and with a lack of any type of multi-player or online capabilities there isn't much reason to revisit the game after completion.

When you completely ignore every other aspect of the game it doesn't matter how great your control scheme is. This feels more like a tech demo that was never supposed to be put onto a retail disc.

Bleach may be a short experience in story mode, but there are plenty of other things to do in the game that could easily last you 10 to 15 hours. The combat, while satisfying, can become tiresome.

The Firefly Diary is a title that showed potential but was ultimately done in by its philosophy on implementing a needless level of difficulty to the experience.

Way of the Samurai 3 is a great idea that is just lost in the past. The developers really had an opportunity to fully realize the potential of the game with the new hardware and failed.

This is one of those games that you might snag on sale and end up finding enjoyment in its merits. Just know that there are several problems that are impossible to overlook when you do. Still, fans of the Lost Planet series would do well to give it a go when it gets cheaper.

Either way, while entirely playable in its current form, there isn’t much of note to play around with here and perhaps time would be better spent playing other, superior multiplayer games.

Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires feels about as much of an afterthought as you can get. Nothing about this game feels evolutionary.

Subject 13 just left me with an overall been there, done that feeling. Nothing screamed original to me outside the first hour or so. Then it became frustrating with puzzles along with player interaction. The interface to the puzzles was easy to use, yet the navigating environment with the character felt rough, even at times getting stuck on an edge of an environment. Subject 13 isn’t a horrible game or experience, it’s was just an extremely tepid one for me. Hard to recommend to anyone except those craving for more entries in the genre when most other options are exhausted.

Blade Kitten is far from an abomination. In fact it packs enough charm to make it worthy of a purchase for fans of the series, or action fans that enjoy the eccentric platformer.

A disappointing affair that simply does not live up to the expectations of its fans. Casual action gamers may find enough here to warrant a play, but even at that, the short campaign and lack of extras really drag down its value. The useless online mode doesn't help matters, and the convoluted story isn't even worth trying to follow.

It’s a nice find for younger gamers who have patience for puzzlers.

The controls are downright terrible in some instances.

Clearly aimed at the fans of the Rocky/Creed film series, Big Rumble Boxing perfectly emulates the finale scenes in the aforementioned films. Each fight with its flashy moves and animations encapsulates the edge of your seat thrills that one gets from the movies, but in this case the outcome is not predetermined. If you aren’t a huge fan of the films but can get past the egregious decision to only include a sparse amount of playable modes and endure the grind to unlock the other fighters; then Big Rumble Boxing can be a solid and fun fighting game to play.

Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity is a standard platformer that delivers more fan-service than anything else.

God of Rock is an interesting experiment that works sometimes. I do wish I could focus more on the action at the top. I also hate that I have to retrain my brain with the button combos and get frustrated when I miss notes as it usually leads to me failing and having a hard time getting back into rhythm. Still the idea is sound, the characters are excellent, and I really had fun with this one. A little more polish and this could easily become a whole new genre.

This game is not meant for true TMNT fans. If you have kids, or maybe a little cousin this would be a great gift for them, but not you. It’s really only saving grace for us true fans is that you can get all 1000 gamer score points in about 4 hours or so.

Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson knows what it is. It never apologizes for that, I just wish it was a better game.

BBR is a fun game but feels like it is lacking something. With no online multiplayer available, it is not a game with maximum replay value, but if you have willing friends to play with, you could no doubt have lots of fun. It has a decent amount of play time for the 800MSP price tag, but there is nothing in particular drawing me back in to play it.

While it doesn’t have the best production values, it offers a lot of content to play through even if some of it feels a bit strategy-less at times.

Even if the translation and menus are busted "Are you sure to quit?" and the game seems archaic by today's standards there is still plenty of fun to be had.

Sniper Elite V2 for the Wii U is a travesty. I really enjoyed the campaign, but stripping out half of the features and asking full price is criminal.

The action is fun and the exploration kept me interested. I just wish the pacing towards the end was better. While it mimicked the parts I love about classic adventure titles, it also copied the poor padding practices as well.

Fans of action RPGs and Marvel comics will have a decent time with Marvel Heroes. Just don’t get too excited to play your favorite characters without handing over some cash.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a fun romp that I enjoyed a lot more than I anticipated I would. Again, take it with a grain of salt as I am not a wrestling fan anymore. This reminded me of the more friendly spectacle of past games like WWE Arcade and Superstars. I wish there were more legends to be found and the models weren’t so creepy at times, but as a whole this is the best use of the license in years.

While there are three modes of play, I found only deathmatch able to hold my interest for very long. Flag Rally becomes tedious quickly, and Gate Relay is a generic Mario Kart with uninspired track design.

I loved the diversity of characters and their abilities in battle. There are some truly interesting mechanics at play here. The bottom line though, is that it is rarely fun to engage in combat. I got frustrated at the useless AI, and starting over battles constantly was a real drag. The world of The Dwarves is interesting, and maybe with some patches down the road this can become a game I can get behind, as it stands now though, this is a tough sell.

The biggest issue with Bounty Hunter is that it is a game of its time. The level design and navigation are frustrating, levels are too long, and the lack of save anywhere can get tedious at times. I did enjoy the added content such as the Boba Fett skin, but it just wasn’t enough to make this feel like a proper remaster. This is a hard game to recommend if you don’t have massive nostalgia for it. It wasn’t heralded when it came out, and that hasn’t changed with this re-release.

This game should have been a slam dunk (pun intended) when it comes to having fun. I adore Looney Tunes and all the sports here have several templates to mimic. Somehow they made just about every single one worse than its counterparts. It is almost impressive how off some of these feel. I wanted to love this game, and just came away so disappointed. I do not recommend picking this one up, even on a deep sale.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is a long name for a short, uninspired game. I was really hoping this would be a hidden gem that managed to rekindle my love of b-tier titles. Instead it just feels generic in every sense of the word. The combat is its only saving grace, and that cannot carry the game.

Asterix & Obelix: Slap Them All ends up being a game full of wonderfully hand-drawn visuals and extremely repetitive combat. It makes it hard to really recommend this game to anyone other than those that are fans of the duo. While yes, some young kids may enjoy the overly simplistic nature of the game; anyone who is an older gamer will become quickly bored with the easy combat, and lack of new moves or attacks.

Not a terrible game, but it fails to capitalize on what it was trying to mimic. The controls are spot on, but the game is shallow. The characters are in abundance, but they all feel fairly similar.

At the end of the day, Omega Quintet is a solid first effort on the PS4 for IF/Compa with a neat premise and an enjoyable combat engine.

The developers finally get to piece some original content together that feels surprisingly cohesive, unlike the lopsided campaign in the original.

Pixel Heroes: Byte and Magic simply decides when it’s your time to die and doesn’t equip you with enough tools for a fair fight. The combat is not strategic enough to justify the difficulty. The characters fleeting charm doesn’t justify the headache.

King of Fighters XII is not a bad game; it just came out at a bad time. The re-birth of the franchise really feels like ten steps backwards, and it wouldn't be so bad if the competition wasn't so stiff right now.

This is one to at least look out for on the Wii U. Just keep in mind, there is some trial and error that has to be played through to get to the good bits.

In summation, Stranded Sails feels like a lot of potentially interesting combinations of systems and ideas that, in execution, is just too shallow and tedious to be all that much fun. The game certainly feels like it knew it didn’t have enough substance to stretch for their desired run time and thus slowed down and over-repeated the same loops to last longer. That’s really the only excuse I can think of as to some of the decisions made here. The shame of it is with some additional polish and deeper ideas the concept of a farming/exploration/action RPG can work very well, as we’ve seen with several other recent games. In this case though I can’t really recommend the game to anyone other than potentially younger players looking for a first entry into this style of game or huge fans of the farming/exploration genre who are desperate for something else to play.

There is so much content on the disc that it is hard not to recommend the game to DBZ fans. Sure the combat can be frustrating at times, but once you get past that this is one collection of fan service that should not be missed.

For all intents and purposes, Sacred 3 is a beat ‘em up that can be completed by simply button mashing, and that’s fine to me. Yes, for fans it will feel like a very dumbed down version of their beloved franchise, but I still found myself wanting to complete it even when it did get a bit monotonous.

Lifeless Planet is an absolute gem.

World Series has tons of potential. It controls well, has some really great ideas, and even has an addicting formula that would keep players coming back for more. The issue is that this game lives and breathes by the player based and right out the gate, there’s no one to play with forcing players to then play with the AI which is just not fun at all. I would suggest this game only to people that have a group of friends that are all on board in getting it to play with. Until then, I’d wait for a significant price drop and even then, just know that when you do get it, you will more than likely be playing by yourself.

There’s a healthy player base right now, but without an active community over the long term, this game is really nothing. There’s enough here to keep players busy for a good long while, and with a few patches here and there, the bugs may be remedied. As of right now, for $15, you get a decent shooter with a solid package and a few problems here and there. Just make sure you have some decent teammates.

The problem is that the core game tries to be something it was never meant to be and that really drags the overall fun factor well below where it should be.

As a fan of the Gundam series, seeing all the different mobile suits with their signature moves duking it out should have been a dream come true. However, a dull single player campaign and a complete lack of online multiplayer makes Extreme VS-Force very difficult to recommend.

I just felt the overall package was extremely confusing, not fun to play, and gave me hardly any compelling reasons to keep trying other than wanting to see more of the same.

Fans of Gears of War will be best served by buying the DLC Season Pass, as that will offer the best value for money, and they are the type of person most likely to buy all of the DLC. However, it is really hard to recommend this as a stand-alone purchase due to the cost and the lack of content.

Cel Damage HD is not going to blow anyone away, but it is a solid weekend romp. It has aged well over the past decade, and for anyone who has never played it, it is a nice change of pace. Still, without online and a severe lack of modes the fun wears thin quickly. This is one to wait for a sale to snatch up.

The combat is competent if not a bit repetitive and the story is entertaining from start to finish.

Even with its rickety presentation Bolt is a highly entertaining and truly enjoyable experience that fans of the movie will enjoy.

While it’s not a title that will redefine the genre of beat-em-ups, it can be a relatively good time given you can grab some friends to play with.

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is certainly unique. There isn’t much like it, both in terms of content and…well other assets.

Dolmen just feels like scraps when a four course meal is literally right there. It was a bad time to release a game of this type when it falls so short of the mark set by the best in the genre and even falls below the current imitators. I am all for expanding on a game idea, but there has to be something there to make it feel special and unique and Dolmen just doesn’t have anything setting it apart on any level.

Randal’s Monday is a mostly functional point and click adventure that buries itself under a mountain of flat, meaningless dialog. It doesn’t help matters that the game is structured to imply a higher caliber of writing.

Unfortunately, despite some great music and a decently slick interface, the whole experience proves a little too shallow for all but the most diehard MJ fan.

The combat is the only real redeeming factor in the game and that's not saying much. The story is forgettable and, more than likely, you'll end up zoning out during the cutscenes, just to get to the next action sequence.

As a whole, the game is simple, but still fun.

A gorgeous game that plays well and offers a unique experience all around. The frustration of going back to see all it has to offer, though, is a huge barrier to entry. While the price point of $20 is appealing, a simple stage select or a modern save system would have vastly improved the experience.

Stuttering, freezing at times, and just lacking any smooth feeling whatsoever really dampened my entire play through. I enjoyed my time with the game and the story it tells, but I can’t help feel like it could have used a few more months of polish or perhaps just a longer development time. The Black Mirror is ripe for being that classic creepy haunted manor mystery type setting, but everything surrounding its tale makes it hard to get pulled into and constantly pulls players out of the experience with its follies. This mirror is still worth looking into, but its cracks definitely show.

All of this is well and good, but where the game starts to suffer is from lack of variety.

Dead Island Riptide is by no means a terrible game; it’s just not very fun to play for very long.

There are a lot of cool ideas here; the crafting system for example is robust and interesting, but it doesn’t make up for all the issues the game has. Tie that in with the complete lack of originality and Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 feels like a half-baked attempt at the genre. It could have been great; it SHOULD have been interesting, but in the end it just ends up frustrating and disappointing. There are much better games in this genre, and there is little reason to invest in this sniper’s mission.

Simply put Dragon Ball Raging Blast is a game for fans of the long running anime series. Its does its job not perfectly, but well. The game does make you feel like super saiyan at times, and then turns around and makes you feel like a green blooded Namek instead.

A lesson in disappointment. After the outstanding Shattered Dimensions, I had high hopes for Beenox and their latest Spidey outing. Instead, I am left wondering what this game was trying to be and wishing it had been more.

What shocks me the most is that this was a Kickstarter game, and actually managed to get funded. It has all the hallmarks of one of those games that sneaks on to Steam and sells for two bucks, but still manages to make you feel like you’ve been ripped off. Avoid this game like a well used litter tray; it’s more of a dog than a cat!

While I’m down on this game a lot, I still think it was a decent outing. It’s a difficult game both by design and by the issues I had with it. Still, it tries to capture that old 8-bit feel and does a decent job with it. Even up to the slowdown when multiple things are happening on screen. (Is that a feature or performance issue? I couldn’t tell you) Regardless, I never disliked my time with Trophy, but I can most certainly say it could have been better with some other features and better controls thrown in.

The song list is great if you love classic Eddie and the guest bands while not relevant, offer a solid mix. Not being able to export the songs into GH 5 or download any new tracks really hurts, but the lackluster presentation hurts even more.

At five times the cost of its iOS counterpart, it’s a bit of a hard pill to swallow, but if the idea of tackling tough courses with a car that can drift and fly sounds like fun to you, it just might be worthwhile.

Don't get me wrong, there is some fun to had with Little Deviants, however the $30-$40 price tag hurts this collection of mini games. If they were on an iOS device, I might pay a dollar for one or two of them.

Wrecked: Revenge Revisited is spattered with moments of enjoyment, but not enough to warrant its many problems. Factor in the hefty price of 1200msp, with day one DLC weighing in at another 400msp, and you have a barrier to entry that is already hard to surmount.

If you’re into the anime style games and don’t mind trekking through a good amount of inconsequential dialog, it’s not a bad choice.

If you have young ones who adore Jack Black's loveable CGI panda then Legendary Warriors is a solid addition to your Wii library.

For $10, you can get some decent fun out of it, even if you don't have a rod controller. If you're looking for a fun arcade experience or if you want to relive your old Dreamcast days, Sega Bass Fishing still offers up a pretty fun time even for non-fishing fans.

I enjoyed what it did for the time it took me to finish the story, but for players looking for more substance, there are other games out there that offer more.

While the combat is simple, the presentation unpolished, and a clear lack of co-op hurts the replayability, the core game is still tons of fun to play and gamers looking for a mindless beat-em-up will find plenty to love in Activision’s latest iteration in the Shrek franchise.

Aside from the presentation and art style, there is really no way I could suggest Knock-Knock to players. Unless you really enjoy trial and error game play and confusing mechanics that aren’t explained, you may want to stay away.

If Pantynado sounds appealing to you, this game might be in your wheelhouse. Otherwise I would steer clear of its mediocre combat, and limited world to explore.

Zenith is a game I wanted to enjoy more, and there are plenty of times I did have fun, but the combat was the most un-fun and unfair aspect of the game, and that’s what players will be doing the majority of the time.

Necromunda: Hired Gun is a perfect example of a game that does the Warhammer 40k license justice. If it had the time to hammer out the bugs and issues it could have easily been a sleeper hit of 2021. As it stands it remains a forgettable release that launched with too many issues to keep players’ attention. Even well after launch the game remains in a bad state that makes it hard for me to recommend checking it out. I hope the game gets ironed out at some point, but by then it may be far too late to return to.

In the end, the positives surrounding the career mode of Prizefighter just aren't enough to make up for the numerous negatives in control, collision detection, and overall gameplay.

Pumped BMX + had the potential to be a solid recommendation, but it’s frustrating design and lack of fun really drag it down. I have no problem with mobile games getting the port to consoles; I just expect them to receive some care to make that port worthwhile.