Forza Horizon 2 is a fantastic racing game, probably the best released so far in this short-lived generation of consoles.

The game is a wonderful blend of mindbending puzzles, old school RPG combat and dungeon survival. If you're a fan of RPGs in any way, shape or form, you owe it to yourself to give this game a shot, even if it's just to see where RPGs got their start.

There’s plenty of little life improvements but to me, and I realize this is extremely biased, is where PokéMon peaked and to remake PokéMon Diamond and Pearl this well is quite something. I think it’s hard to find complaints with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl outside of simply not liking the formula of PokéMon. There’s so much to discover and do that it comes very close to feeling like living in the world of PokéMon and I suppose that’s all I ever wanted. Let me compete with friends on whose PokéMon is the cutest, see who is the toughest, and then let us hang out in the dingy underground digging up fancy gems together. Maybe when we’re done I’ll save the world from some evil group and catch some legendary PokéMon too. It brings me back not just to my teens, but to the feeling I had when I borrowed my friend’s copy of PokéMon Red and for a game to continue this long and still hook me after all this time is more praise than I can necessarily articulate.

Super Mario 3D World was already one of the best 3D Mario games to date. Toss in some tweaks and a decent-sized expansion with new ideas and this package is a no-brainer. There is little to complain about with this latest Mario title on Switch. It is yet another must-own game for the platform. I am excited to see where Mario goes next and this is a perfect end to the 35th anniversary celebration of gaming’s first and oldest icon.

There’s plenty of little life improvements but to me, and I realize this is extremely biased, is where PokéMon peaked and to remake PokéMon Diamond and Pearl this well is quite something. I think it’s hard to find complaints with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl outside of simply not liking the formula of PokéMon. There’s so much to discover and do that it comes very close to feeling like living in the world of PokéMon and I suppose that’s all I ever wanted. Let me compete with friends on whose PokéMon is the cutest, see who is the toughest, and then let us hang out in the dingy underground digging up fancy gems together. Maybe when we’re done I’ll save the world from some evil group and catch some legendary PokéMon too. It brings me back not just to my teens, but to the feeling I had when I borrowed my friend’s copy of PokéMon Red and for a game to continue this long and still hook me after all this time is more praise than I can necessarily articulate.

I can state without hesitation that the wait has been more than worth it. The awe-inspiring living creature that is Trico carries this title, which would have otherwise just been a good puzzle platformer into an instant classic that I’m sure to visit time and time again, just to say hello to my new best buddy, one more time.

Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth continues the proud tradition of the franchise with its stellar character customization and level designs as it poses a daunting challenge, well worth conquering- one tile at a time.

DiRT 2 is about as good of a sequel as you can ask for. It took everything that made the original so good and amplified it, while still managing to address all of the criticisms.

Alien Hominid is the epitome of what Xbox Live Arcade should be. This is one of the finest examples of the service since its inception and I cannot recommend this title enough.

A refinement of the series that further evidences why, year after year, Activision puts it on a pedestal. If you enjoy shooters, you owe it to yourself to at least give Modern Warfare a chance. If you've been on the fence because of the die-hards, this is the year to dip your toe in the water.

You'll never feel more like a badass and you'll never have a bigger smile on your face.

Any fan of AVGN should pick this one up. There is a ton of fan service, and the entire time I had a smile on my face. There were even times I was kind of shocked to see what was happening on screen. Platform fans will have a ball here too. It is a nice homage to games of the past and one that I think everyone should give a shot. It’s a great deal.

XCOM 2 does everything Enemy Unknown did and improved on it with more variations as well as some very interesting game mechanics.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is an overdose of nostalgia for me. I grew up with TMNT constantly on the brain. These games are a treat to revisit mostly because of the quality of life updates the developers have added. I just spent an entire day digging back into all of it. Playing through both arcade games, and of course watching the video of someone beating the dam level, because I cannot do that. This collection is outstanding and I cannot wait for their release of the 50th Anniversary of Atari later this year.

LittleBigPlanet remains one of Sony's most endearing franchises and the PSP version is definitely on par with the quality of the series.

Despite some standout visuals though there’s nothing here that feels like a leap forward in gaming, and I can’t imagine the core game feeling much different had I played a last-gen version. It doesn’t tarnish the experience, but players looking for a reason to need a new console still don’t have one.

There aren’t many negatives to the entire Skyrim experience on Switch. While it doesn’t offer the recent mod support the other versions got, it still offers tons of content to experience and enjoy. The motion controls are a bit of a mixed bag, but not required at all. The game looks and runs great, and while animations are starting to show their age, there is still plenty of beauty to be found in Skyrim. As a fan of the Elder Scrolls franchise, if someone told me 6 years ago this game would go portable and with no loss to the original vision, I’d have a hard time believing it, yet here we are. If Skyrim has grown stale or doesn’t hold interest to certain players anymore, the Switch version most likely won’t do anything to win players back. Though for newcomers and fans that want to return, Skyrim is here, as a great as remembered, and grand scale adventure now in the palm of your hands.

Despite the minor flaws the game contains, this is one experience that RE fans and 3DS owners simply should not miss.

Fans that may have fallen off in recent years will find plenty to come back to with this iteration. There is so much improvement it is impossible to list it all here without sounding like a press release.

The journey through the Metro is more than worth the price of admission, plus the visuals are great at showcasing the new hardware. I am really looking forward to what 4A Games has in store next.

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak offers new content that is not only impressive in scale but also in its quality. While there are some notable elements like difficulty in searching for multiplayer games and afflicted variations being a bit over tuned holds it back from being a perfect expansion, the positives very easily outweigh the negatives.

The content packed into this cart is impressive. The story mode is deep, the fighting is tight and the visuals are gorgeous. The game also packs enough new material to make it worth checking out as a double dip for fans.

There is a ton to see and do in Nier: Automata. Talking about much of it does it a disservice to the player. Don’t think about it. The game is finally on Xbox One. The more platforms the merrier. Perhaps one day Switch owners will get to experience it as well. This is a once-in-a-generation type experience. Go buy this game. Play it multiple times. It is worth every second of investment and I enjoyed pounding through all the endings for a second time. Somehow it was even better.

This is the RPG that fans have been waiting for! If you love the Final Fantasy brand, but don’t own a Playstation system then this one is for you.

Dragon Age: Origins has sucked me in more than most other games this year. I find myself thinking about the game when not playing it, imagining other scenarios and different ways that situations could play out.

The question you should be asking yourself isn’t “should I play Disgaea D2” but rather, “do I have the balls and time to play such a crazy game?”. The answer may surprise you.

There isn’t much wrong with Original Sin outside of the fact that there simply may be too much of it. In a time when games are releasing on a weekly basis, this is a daunting experience that requires the utmost dedication. Still, for anyone who loves the turn-based genre, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Trails from Zero is a wonderful introduction to Crosbell and the charming members of the SSS, expertly ported to PC with all the bells and whistles one would expect from a modern release. It’s a great sign of things to come for the sequel and an easy recommendation to all RPG fans.