While the combat is fun and satisfying, the game is hampered by its repetitive nature and difficulty as you progress. Anyone looking for some Kung Fu action will certainly find it here, and it definitely is more fun with a friend. Playing in short bursts will increase the longevity of the game.

Rad Rodgers struggles to find its groove through most of the game, but it does spark that nostalgia I grew up with. I wanted to love it more than I did, but never actually hated playing the game. There are bright spots when the design or poor writing isn’t dragging it down.

Ultimately, Tesla vs. Lovecraft isn’t particularly innovative but is, nonetheless, extremely enjoyable and easy to pick up and play. Milestone challenges and higher difficulty levels will encourage players to come back for more. However, a woefully underdeveloped story contributes to an overall lack of personality depth, which leaves this game feeling less memorable than its solid gameplay perhaps deserves.

My time with Mx VS ATV: Supercross was unexpectedly fun, and for fans of MX Supercross it seems like a no-brainer.

I wanted to love Hellboy: Web of Wyrd as a lover of beat-em up games but more so as a HUGE comic book fan, sadly the game just fell short in a few too many areas. As I said the art style is just beautiful to look at, I cannot understate how amazing it looks but once you start moving and the weird frame trick issues pops up everything just comes apart for me. Lance Reddick made for a fun, threatening, caring, funny, thoughtful portrayal of Hellboy, and whether that is attributed to Mignola’s writing or his own talent it was a fantastic take on the character. It’s just so upsetting that the rest of the game was not as strong as the narrative.

Chaos Code -New Sign of Catastrophe- is a solid, albeit unremarkable fighter that plays well, and even though it lacks many features I would consider a staple in a modern day fighting game, the budget price point helps to forget what is unaccounted for. However, what can’t be ignored is the incredibly small player base where it’s a struggle to find a single match online. In a market steeped with excellent titles like Blazblue, Guilty Gear and UNIEL, just that one glaring flaw alone is enough to make it very difficult to recommend.

Fans of the series will be happy to know that there is a serious amount of content to be found in DW 6. Outside of the lengthy single-player modes players can also return to previous levels with different scenarios in the challenge mode.

Blue Estate is not a bad game, and some of the things it does using the DualShock 4 are interesting, but for all intents and purposes it’s a light gun game that will last players a short time, and it’s a rather expensive one at that. I would recommend it, but at a nice sales price.

For a single play through of the story, it’s alright, but for lasting appeal, it really doesn’t have it.

I would pass on Mighty Fight Federation despite the huge amounts of charm this game has. Even the music is good. Unfortunately, it’s just an unbalanced mess.

Smurfs 2 is a safe platformer that just so happens to be attached to a big summer movie. Parents with kids heavily into the movie could certainly do a lot worse as far as a game is concerned. Being able to play co-op is a huge bonus, and I could easily get lost playing this for hours with my son. It is a solid outing that hands out Achievements like Smurf Berries (for those that care). If you’re a parent whose child is obsessed with The Smurfs, I definitely recommend checking it out.

From the view to all the fancy stuff you can do, Madden is the football game. But, if you are tired of all that realism and just want a blast from the past, or just want to get your kid into football, Tecmo Bowl Throwback is the game for you.

If you love generic Japanese action games with half-naked emo chicks, then this will satisfy your hunger for the mediocre-ness they provide. However, if you are hardcore shooter fan looking for the next “great thing”, then steer clear of this one. Bullet Witch is a niche title that will find it’s audience but never extend any further than that.

I think a big problem here is that this is likely for a younger audience than the original Carmen Sandiego games were for and as someone that doesn’t watch this new show it’s hard for me to tell if I’m right on that assumption. There are weird callbacks to the 1985 original and I’m not sure who that is for? Will children know the number of stories the Sears Tower is? Will they even know Sears? Probably not. It’s a weird pull. Regardless, there isn’t much to say because even with my complaints there’s still a level of charm here. Narrowing down suspects based on clues and then hunting them down is neat and there is some educational value to this game… just maybe save yourself $30 and use your Netflix account to play it on mobile.

PopoloCrois follows in the footsteps of other hybrid genre JRPGs like the Atelier series, and instead of alchemy mixes in a heavy dose of a farming instead. While the farming aspect of this hybrid title is compelling enough, the dull combat and a snail’s pace holds it back from greatness.

The Vasara Collection is an unusual choice for a modern game port. A game not many people would have heard of and a genre that is more niche than most. I would certainly recommend turning down the difficulty for most people to ensure that you have a good time. But if you are the sort of person that loves the kind of challenge a bullet hell game provides, well there is certainly some of that in there as well. There is plenty of game for the low price point and I definitely had some fun mixed in with the frustration.

Candle: The Power of the Flame is a beautiful game with a charming and emotionally resonant story. That may not be enough for players who don’t want to spend a good deal of time on challenging puzzles and helplessly wandering the play area for a long time, searching every nook and cranny. The overall design is good most of the time, but at times when it doesn’t translate to the player, it quickly crosses into frustration.

Phantom Abyss can be a run roguelite with its free-running, puzzle solving, and trap avoiding adventures. But throw in the phantoms of real-world players who act as a guide of what to do and not do through these temples takes things to another level. Mileage can vary though as a lot of the puzzles, temples and traps are reused and thus can make the game start to drag on and feel repetitive. Being in early access for so many years though there is quite a lot of content here that players can dig through before fatigue will set in. And with all the talk about Indiana Jones lately, why not start practicing your whip skills.

Crayola Scoot is releasing at a bad time. It is a little pricey for sure, but man I had a blast with it once I got the trick system down. This is a game that could definitely be fun for families to dig into, or fans of colorful titles with neat mechanics. It is impossible to ignore how much fun can be had, but I fear it will simply be overlooked due to the timing of its release.

Jump Force is not a bad fighting game. In fact, anime and manga fans will have a good time here even if they are a casual player of fighting games. The issue is that it is wrapped around a boring a tedious hub world for pretty much everything you do. The story is decent, but the actual cut scenes can be questionable and make the entire package look low budget, but in the end, it’s a fun flashy fighting game. You’re just going to have to wade through some mediocre stuff to get to it.

Still, it is a decent time for players that are new to the series or haven’t tried this game out before. Just keep in mind, those awesome moves you’re pulling off will get old eventually.

The Jigsaw traps are definitely the highlight of the game even if they do get a tad bit repetitious.

I love the shooter genre, and feel like we don’t see enough of these titles anymore. I am always happy to see a new one crop up, but with its lack of modes and hefty price tag, it feels like this game is really taking advantage of the players like myself just wanting a new game in the genre.

The term so close, yet so far away fits perfectly here. I adore so much of what this game does, but the combat becomes its Achilles Heel. With some tweaking this could easily be a franchise action RPG I would gladly play every few years. As it sits now, the frustration kept me from enjoying the best parts of Shiness and its world.

Despite having a few more shortfalls in comparison to Episode 1, this instalment also ends with something of a cliff-hanger in attempt to keep players hooked.

Dangerous Golf is a weird game. On paper it sounds perfect, exactly what I would want from the guys that made t-boning cars so much fun. However, in practice it feels empty. Nothing about it screams “one more hole.” Even with the changes they have made this is an empty game that lacks anything to keep me coming back for more.

Fate/Extella is a title that has a lot to live up to due to the immense popularity of the Fate series as a whole. However, it doesn’t do much to stray from the typical formula set forth by the countless other musou titles on the market. It sports a serviceable but unremarkable combat engine, along with a story that felt just as disposable as one of the tens of thousands of enemies I left in my wake.

I think when a game is ported to a more powerful platform, it’s a great opportunity to truly make the game shine, not make it worse by omitting key functionalities. Still, for fans of the genre who love beating down countless enemies as cute anime girls and don’t shy away from a serious challenge, they can expect to have a good time with Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds.