John Cantees
Despite many nods to Hood: Outlaws and Legends' source material, the densely-packed progression mechanics and fun gameplay are the star of the show here. It stops short of being a total showstopper, but comes far closer than you might expect.
Rust Console Edition generally maintains its core tenants and starts its console life on the right foot in most areas.
Knockout City brings more to the table than you might expect, but still leaves a couple of much-needed ingredients at home. As a result, its fate as a multiplayer game is unclear.
As a game, Ultimate Showdown does little to convince you to choose it over the newest Tekken, Dead or Alive, or Mortal Kombat game. But given how well its core gameplay holds up with its various enhancements, it’s certainly worth a look for fighting game fans looking for something a little different.
Necromunda: Hired Gun wisely aims high but ultimately flubs the execution on too many fronts to warrant a universal recommendation, but for the most hardcore Warhammer or first-person shooter fans it may be worth a look for the amusing marriage of its ideas.
Despite this port missing the mark with optimization, Green Hell still stands tall among its contemporaries as one of the better recent games of its sort while also pulling off a compelling story.
Samurai Warriors 5 makes the series stand out from Koei’s other games and updates the musou formula in smart ways, but unfortunately cuts too much of what worked in the past to make it universally recommendable to hardcore fans.
RiMS Racing makes an honorable attempt at raising the bar for customization but it comes at the cost of nearly everything else.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous improves upon its predecessor in enough meaningful ways that fans of that previous game should be more than happy with it.
While Lost in Random could certainly have benefitted from more variety and depth, the overall experience is more than saved by its dense assortment of creative elements.
While it never totally fails to be an acceptable action RPG, most of Tails of Iron’s initial appeal doesn’t outlast its humdrum gameplay.
Ultra Age bets it all on its own style of conventional combat and mostly succeeds as a result.
Hot Wheels Unleashed is a bit light on level and event type variety but still delivers a great racer worthy of the Hot Wheels name with plenty of speed, detailed customization, and a meaty roster of fun vehicles.
With Xuan Yuan 7’s action, story, and various systems all clicking into place so well, Domo Studio has given the world a truly superb video game.
Banana Mania simultaneously caters to younger players and old fans alike with a solid representation of the franchise’s most successful ideas and plenty to do.
Alan Wake Remastered easily stands on its own among modern, similar games due to its exceptional design, tight execution, and handful of technical improvements.
New World keeps most of its concepts sweet and simple - mostly to its advantage.
Hell Let Loose does little to overcome the downsides of its realistic take on World War 2 and strategic gameplay, but manages to reap some rewards out of it as well.
NASCAR 21 Ignition provides a sufficient, no-frills NASCAR-themed racing game with little else going for it.
While there are several better titles in the Fatal Frame series, Maiden of Black Water has aged surprisingly well and can still deliver those scares and great fun.