Cho Aniki Zero is definitely an experience, but not one that probably warrants its hefty price tag.

Perhaps a bigger emphasis on characters or story could even go a long way to give players the incentive to continue or get more involved. It’s very possible the game simply isn’t for me, and this will become a niche title. But in my eyes, this is one prison I will simply not be returning to.

I didn’t really talk about the story on purpose, and that’s because its extremely short. While I enjoyed my time with High on Knife, that time is only a few hours to see the story and maybe one more to wrap up side quests and things. And as fun as the new pinball type B.A.L.L. gun is, I had hoped for something that would add a new weapon and a new personality to my arsenal. Alas, the BALL gun is worked by three chubby members of the blue man group and only ever talks in ‘meeps’ and ‘oops’. Again, gun is DOPE and adds a lot to the gameplay, just wish it was voiced like the others. The most damning thing here though is the narrative just abruptly ends. I don’t want to spoil it but while the developer’s kind of make a joke about the ending and how it just fades to black; the overall experience just left me with a lot of questions and an unsatisfied feeling in my stomach.

When played with at least two other people, it shines bright, but when tackling solo it is a bore more often than not. I recommend picking this one up after a small price drop, and again only if you can convince your friends to join you.

At the top of this I posed a question, does all this content equate to a better Call of Duty game, and I think the truthful answer is no. No doubt the team took some really big swings this year with the campaign, but I feel like they missed more than they hit with it. The lack of checkpoints and being always online is rough, especially when there are tons of fans who only play single-player and loves these games. If you are returning to Black Ops for the multiplayer or zombies then you are in for a great time, of course mileage may vary depending on which mode and if players vibe with it or not. But ultimately this year’s Call of Duty just feels like a big bag of melted candy, sure it will taste good but is the mess you got to work through to enjoy it worth it in the end?

Many aspects of Time Recoil show potential, but the only part that is actualized is its gameplay. The typically confusing time-travel plot impedes enjoyment as does the randomness in levels, which nearly diminishes that stellar gameplay.

Collecting things for the sake of collecting them isn’t a very compelling reason, and given there isn’t much more to Full Bore than that, it ends up being a decent incomplete puzzle platformer and not much more.

The lack of online and frustrating AI will test player’s patience, but underneath it all is a solid kart racer that is best enjoyed with friends in the silky smooth split screen mode.

The Deer God mostly stumbles over its random nature and lack of explanation. It is the kind of game that is best enjoyed with a FAQ explaining all the systems and how to progress. Still, even with that the random nature really drags down some of the quests.

The controls and graphics have not aged well, but underneath it all, it is still fun to earn some crazy money.

If you aren’t absolutely desperate for a new JRPG, you can safely skip this one and perhaps replay P4G instead.

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.

It’s a real shame that the reputation of this franchise has evolved over the last 5 years from the standard of the best of what sports games can offer to a shining example of its worst excesses. Comparing this game to MLB The Show, another game that offers microtransactions, only increases how egregiously 2K exploits players through rigging everything from the on-court gameplay to traversal from quest to quest to encourage additional spending despite already having collected the cost of a full priced game up front (plus that sweet State Farm money). While several of the changes present in this years game are disappointing (including the inexplicable decision to dumb down MyCareer) there are some good things here. Unfortunately (to paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, a first I believe for this site) the ever-present feeling that I’m being milked for every dime I can spare speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what any of the improvements say.

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.

R.I.P.D. is not a bad game, just a simple one. It is something I would recommend hammering out in a weekend with a buddy over some beers, and likely never playing it again. Still, for ten bucks it is worth that weekend if there is nothing else to keep you occupied. I had fun with it, and that is more than I can say for most $10 titles, especially ones with a useless movie license tied to them.

Hidden Agenda is a hard recommendation, because the game feels like a natural fit to share with non-gamers, but we had one playthrough that ended so abruptly and unsatisfyingly I thought we had somehow skipped a section, and had I brought this game out at a party I would have felt like we totally wasted two hours. With the right group (like people who understand that if you don’t do well at a game you lose) it’s enjoyable, provided you have the time available to finish it in one sitting. Ultimately the game rests more on a few short action sequences than it does on the decisions made, which undercuts the experience and contributes to Hidden Agenda falling short of its potential.

Sure, it is slow and methodical at times and downright boring at others, but a good sword slashing game is just what you need to give you a break from all the guns found in most games. I just wish more care had been applied to the functionality of the game. As it stands, Cursed Crusade is the definition of disappointing.

I commend Namco for trying to make Go Vacation more than a minigame collection. It's a shame that they seem to have lost site of why people buy minigame collections. Additionally, the frustrating open-world system that exists without any sort of way to directly access the game you want is a serious misstep.

Tharsis is a game of management, analysis, and some dumb luck. There were times I found it highly enjoyable, but there were more times I found it frustratingly unfair.

I wanted to enjoy The Stones of Madness because I really loved The Game Kitchen’s other game series; Blasphemous. Aside from the incredible hand-drawn art style in the Madness game, I wasn’t really a fan of this game. The omission of something as simple and important to tactical-strategy games as the quick save feels like a really big miss. While The Stones of Madness feels unique in its approach to story and indeed the overall mystery; this one just wasn’t for me at the end of the day.

Blood Bowl is an interesting concept that is just poorly executed. Fans of the tabletop game are better off checking out the PC version if they can. If you don't have any other option there is fun to be had here but you have to commit yourself to dealing with the shortcomings of this version.

The controls and graphics have not aged well, but underneath it all, it is still fun to earn some crazy money.

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.

10 Second Ninja is certainly well designed from a gameplay standpoint, but misses out on being great through the shear difficulty of it. But if you enjoy a real tough challenge, and if your reflexes are sharper than mine, then it might be worth a shot.

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.

When you add it all up you get a package that feels poorly constructed. The port feels sloppy, the separation of online and campaign is mind-boggling and the repetition mixed with attempts to be more serious falls flat.

While not a bad game, it doesn’t actually stand out even with the ridiculous premise.

For $10 it isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. It just comes with a large hang-up considering there is a bigger, better version available for free.