Paul Acevedo
Voodoo Vince Remastered does something important: It rescues a classic Xbox game that few people played (I had the system but still missed it) and brings it back for today's gamers. The enhanced graphics look good for an indie game, although some of the textures don't hold up, and the frame rate really chugs now and then.
You should consider Crawl a maybe if you mostly play by yourself, but it's a must-buy if you have friends or family to bring along on your crawls.
The strength of these games comes from story, characters, and direction. Here, Telltale takes a terrific set of characters and puts them through an adventure that feels perfectly in line with both the movie and comic universes.
The platforming is fast and delightful, with plenty of abilities to use, items to find, and areas to explore. Charming characters, clever humor, and lots of bright colors all serve to enhance the gameplay as well.
The Full Clip Edition still makes for a fairly compelling package.
Vikings: Wolves of Midgard isn't quite as good as Diablo III, but it could never have been. A smaller publisher like Kalypso just can't match the budget of a top-tier Activision Blizzard game. That doesn't mean Vikings isn't worth playing, though!
I found the screen lock and wrap mechanics repetitive at times, and I definitely wished for a story and greater meaning from the adventure.
Trove still doesn't have nearly as much structure as you'd expect from an MMO. The complete absence of story and story-based quests means that only players who really dig mining and building will get much long-term value from this one. Leaving out the story and story quests is a big missed opportunity to capitalize on what makes MMOs so special.
If you're in the mood for a challenging and dark adventure, you could do worse than 2Dark. The pulpy subject matter and tone are different from the average horror game. The unique perspective and art style actually serve the material quite well, too. Despite the rough edges, horror fans should give 2Dark a chance.
As both a solid local multiplayer twin-stick shooter and a Roguelike game, NeuroVoider is a good buy.
FlatOut 4 is a little rough around the edges.
If the idea of racing pint-sized cars around on gigantic-looking tabletop tracks sounds like a good time, you'll probably get more than your money's worth from Table Top Racing.
Matchmaking issues aside, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a must-play for fighting game enthusiasts and Marvel fans.
If you play Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare online, consider this DLC a must-buy.
Niggles aside, Renegade's lengthy Career Mode and local and online multiplayer support all make for a robust package.
Crypt of the NecroDancer is one of the best (and at times, one of the hardest) Roguelikes around.
Players who like tough games will love Rise & Shine, but it will never truly shine unless the developers rebalance the difficulty.
Grab this one for its artistic beauty and a unique, captivating diving experience.
Dishonored 2 is an amazing game. Played entirely in first-person, the freedom it bestows players closely resembles that of the Elder Scrolls games. Although the game is broken up into distinct levels rather than an open world, each chapter is huge and filled with atmosphere, detail, and myriad nooks and crannies to explore. The Empire really feels like a believable steampunk world, one with countless stories to tell.
One needs a certain disposition to appreciate Dark Souls III – a willingness to face setbacks and challenges and then overcome them. Don't expect to play this just like any other action-RPG. If you're going to play this game, it must be on its own terms and as it's meant to be played. That patience will be rewarded with a masterpiece, easily one of the best action and role-playing games of the year.