The Good, The Bad and The Augmented isn't exactly bad, it's just that it does so surprisingly little compared to the last piece of content, that it feels lacking with the sequel expected within the next year. And this town isn't big enough for the both of them. Pretty hard pass unless you're dying for more Surge.
The improvements to NASCAR Heat 3 are so profound that it's hard to believe that this is even from the same team. It's still no Forza, or even Driveclub, but the game is moving in a decent direction that makes it easier and fun to play than previous games.
If you've played Madden in the last several years, odds are you already know if you'll enjoy Madden NFL 19. That isn't to say the game does nothing new or better over the previous game, but it is very much another iterative game that will make you go, “Yep, that's a Madden.” Whether that's a good thing or not is really up to you.
Defiance 2050 might lean too hard on players knowing a show that nobody was even watching in 2015, let alone now, but once you get past that, you find that the game is a very competent open world shooter wearing the trappings of an MMO. It's nothing that's going to change anyone's life, but the price is right and the right people playing with you can turn the game into some great fun.
Nobunaga's Ambition: Taishi has some small bugbears with its presentation, but thankfully nothing that hurts that core strategy experience too badly. It is one of the few of its kind that mixes both the excitement of battles and the mundanity of managing politics, while making both engaging. The UI designs and tutorials making the game an excellent place for genre fans to give it a try. An easy recommend for the kind of player who's sunk hundreds of hours into Civilization or Total War.
If you're a series' fan, you'll find a lot to like about Thrones of Britannia, and perhaps even appreciate the fat that's been cut to let you just get to the action faster. But overall, Thrones of Britannia is a hard game to recommend to someone who isn't already a fan of the genre.
Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame is actually a surprisingly competent for what it sets out to do, and fairly accommodating next to something like NASCAR Heat 2, which generally just didn't care if you were hoping to get into the genre.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker's Memory isn't so much the Majora's Mask as it hoped to be, but the story here grabbed me from the start and the pace kept me in. The scope of the game earns it being more than DLC, but the huge leaning on reused assets will quickly tire a returning player. Take it in stride however, and Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker's Memory is every bit the decent RPG that the previous game was.
The Surge: A Walk in the Park shows the team at Deck 13 are getting better and better with everything they develop, and the expansion as well as the base game itself remains compelling enough if you're a fan of the Souls-like. Whatever the team does next, I'm sure they'll bring something even more absorbing than The Surge.
Two great game genres that play great together, Spellforce 3 isn't anything special in any one area but the combination of the elements adds enough that it should keep players coming back for a long time.
Football Manager 2018 is very good at what it does, the problem really is that what it does, is for a very specific subset of people, and to anyone outside of that it's a game that feels far too often like you're doing your taxes. It can't be called bad, but I lament the lack of newcomer friendly features.
As a fan of the action RPG genre, Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon should be everything you've been craving after devouring the other great titles this year, but that's probably the worst knock on the game as well, it does little to make itself stand out and call it a game you must play, or even should probably try eventually.
ELEX has ambition it lacks focus and refinement to become something more than it is. Technical fumbles, bad writing and robotic animations all bring the game down from any possible greatness, and what's left can only be called mediocre.
Total War: Warhammer II is a fantastic strategy game that shows a deep understanding and even control of the best elements of the genre, but the game demands that same level of dedication from you to get the most out of it. I can't recommend this game as a place to start, but I can wholeheartedly say to veterans and strategy faithful that you'll have a lot to dive in to.
Neither the updated career mode, challenge mode can save this game from the fact it really can't offer much to someone wanting a little more involvement from their gameplay.
Danganronpa is completely silly, deranged, weird, terrifying, awful, ironic, depressing, hopeful, wonderfully written, emotional and engrossing. It's an experience you absolutely need to try as blind as possible.
Lost in Blue meets Xenoblade is not a matchup I would have ever thought of, but it's a solid one with a great foundation of fun combat, great premise, amazing music and nice story. The few problems it has are pervasive and distracting, but never enough to really turn you off. While it doesn't have a volleyball character, I'd still recommend it to most any RPG fan.
Resident Evil Revelations is a game out of time and it doesn't hold up to the standard of the hardware it's trying to compete on. Is it still classic style Resident Evil? Yeah, sure. But it's hard to say whether that's enough in 2017, and with the rest of its issues, it certainly lacks in many departments.
Longshot is a promising start to story mode for Madden, and with polish could become even more special. In all, it's more Madden, but with a few flourishes that make it a decent time.
Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire shows more ambition than it probably had any financial right to show, and it pays off in some really surprising ways. If you want to try something unique in the RPG space, this is certainly reaching for something beyond its grasp but comes out great anyway.