I really wanted to like Atomfall, as I said that first trailer I was already intrigued by its weird and very British world but its narrative was boring to me. While its visuals for the various zones are drop-dead gorgeous at times, its ‘Leads’ system, while certainly unique; just leads to more frustration that innovation for me. And when you combine that on top of the combat system that has a reliance on melee but then refuses to give you the ability to block an on-coming punch while simultaneously letting you get beat-down by 13 dudes… nah, I had to fall off of this one.

Costume Quest 2 on consoles is not a bad game by any means, but it failed to keep me interested during most of its short duration.

A decent experience that really should only be played by fans of the franchise. If you jump into this expecting the next Shadow Complex you are going to be disappointed.

Caveman Warriors takes on the cartoon style similar to the games it draws inspiration from. Over-the-top characters and animations look good, and as I mentioned the diversity in levels and enemies goes a long way to keep things fresh. While it is likely already forgotten, Caveman Warriors is a solid, if not overly challenging game set to a backdrop rarely used. I loved the idea behind it, even if its execution fell flat sometimes.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a rather creepy game and it can still frighten even the boldest of players, but in the end, it is a single play through game that lasts four hours at the most.

The game feels like it was released ten years ago and someone just now found it lying on the shelf. Still, I love Duke. I had a blast with the game, and I think fans of the series will, too.

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.

When Blightbound works the way the developers intended the game is fantastic fun! Working together with your team searching levels for loot and fighting bosses is a blast. Which makes it that much more painful when you run into the issues with this game. Because you KNOW there is fun to be had here, you want to progress the story and find out more about this dark and gothic world. The beautiful contrast between the bright colors and dark a dreary environment is really a sight to behold. The puzzles, however simple they may be work to bring home that “adventuring” aspect of the game. Sadly, just about everything else is broken, and it makes you want to pull out your hair in frustration.

While it is certainly not offensive on any level, it also fails to be impressive most of the time. The campaign is all over the place, and the Fire Team mechanic is outstanding, but the rest feels inconsistent at times, and incomplete at others.

The price tag for what you get here feels just a bit steep, but if you are like me and simply love playing around in the world of Sleeping Dogs, I think you will definitely enjoy it.

Daymare 1998 is clearly an homage to survival horror games from the original PlayStation era. It hits some notes while missing plenty more. With some more tweaking and optimization this could have been a great addition to the genre. What is here though leaves a lot to be desired and falls more into the area of being a game that will spark some nostalgia, but induce more frustration at what could have been.

Ant Bully is your typical video game tie in with a little extra sprinkled on top. Unfortunately, more often than not these bits of extra seem like rushed afterthoughs rather than core gameplay elements.

BloodRayne 2: Revamped is a guilty pleasure game, it’s a lot of fun to toss enemies into death traps around the levels with her chain, or even go full on blender mode and dice up everything that moves. While I think that Big Boat Interactive did a fantastic job of making the game prettier, alas they did nothing for the controls which is a crying shame. While I am beyond excited that a new generation can finally experience Rayne’s journey on the new systems; I remain extremely hopeful that this means we will see a proper sequel made from the ground up sooner rather than later.

With an interesting premise and a solid combat engine, Reynatis has the foundations of a good game. However, the myriad of questionable game design choices, ugly visuals and an uninteresting story makes for a hard sell for anyone but the most enthusiastic action RPG fan.

Its feels more suitable to be a game you’d play on your phone or on a tablet versus consoles, but it’s still enjoyable while it lasts.

MXGP2 takes itself way too seriously in a genre that doesn’t require it in games. The realism is commendable, but also limiting to the appeal of the game. The lackluster visuals and goofy animations also stand out, and the lack of anyone playing online completely nullifies the need for that mode.

I applaud the developers for focusing on making an accessible fighting game. It is even more of a bonus that it plays extremely well and looks fantastic. Combine that with the fact that I can use my fight sticks on the PC to play it, and one would think it would be a dream come true. Sadly, the lack of interesting characters and modes to play, not to mention a barren online community, make this one fighting game that is hard to recommend.

While not a terrible Warriors game, I would only suggest this to the hardcore fans with a 3DS, and even then I would wait for a price drop.

I loved these games back in the day, but I got to say that time has not been kind here. At $40 this is a tough sell considering there wasn’t a lot of TLC shown here. There are some enhanced sprites, widescreen support and even a hard mode in Grandia II. But that’s really it, there is no quality-of-life features to speak of, and the game desperately needs the ability to speed up gameplay. Because while it was cool to see each character in your party climb down a ladder back then, doing it now just shows feels slow and monotonous. I mean there isn’t even save states here, which means players will only have access to the save points. Grandia HD Collection takes two classic JRPG’s and makes them more readily available but with little in the way of extras and a big price tag this one isn’t going to appeal to anyone but the most hardcore of fans.

I just think Goat Simulator might have peaked. I had a lot of fun in the world, but the novelty is wearing thin, and adding tasks that are more frustrating to complete doesn’t enhance the experience.

Interwave needs to deliver the promised modes, improved tutorials and an offline option quickly if it hopes to survive beyond the release of this fall's marquee titles like Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3. There's a lot to like in the concept, but I don't think Interwave has earned your money yet.

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.

NBA Live 15 is a nice step in the right direction, but it still falls short of its competition. It is definitely fun to play, but the late game AI and lack of any real additions or modes is sorely disappointing.

Madden NFL 13 for the Vita is more disappointing than anything else. It feels like the pieces were in place, just not ready for prime time.

It’s crazy to believe that I can be down on a game that is really fun to play both offline and online. Somehow, Square-Enix has thrown so many things into the game that either you must pay for, or grind for weeks to unlock. It wouldn’t be that big of an issue if it was just cosmetic items, but characters who have different stats and special moves that could possibly throw the advantage to the player that paid money. I just can’t get on board with that. Still, there is a free version of the game for anyone to play and see how they feel about the game. If you enjoy it enough to spend some money, you can, just keep in mind, this game can be really fun, but the grind can be real.

Synduality: Echo of Ada presents an ambitious concept, trying to blend PvPvE gameplay with mech-based combat in a dystopian world. While there are some things that shine, like the strong visual design; it just doesn’t offset how extremely slow and grindy the early game is. For fans of the genre, Synduality might offer some enjoyment, but they shouldn’t expect anything groundbreaking. For anyone else I would wait until there is more of a dynamic and engaging experience, especially when it comes to the slow early game.

A darkly methodical FPS on the DS should be entirely refreshing but instead feels phoned in, as though Renegade Kid covered all the basics without tapping into a deeper gaming vision. It's too bad that the proficient Moon is a disappointing example of how technical achievement is not enough to make a compelling game.

Bounty Star: The Morose Tale of Graveyard Clem is one of those games that sounds incredible on paper but stumbles in execution. The story and atmosphere show flashes of something special, but the gameplay simply doesn’t hold up its end. The combat feels slow and awkward, the mission structure grows repetitive, and the homestead systems never evolve past the basics. Bounty Star wants to be a redemption story; both for its protagonist and for the mech genre’s quieter side. Unfortunately, much like Clem herself, it never quite outruns its flaws.