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Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns offers everything a seasoned player could want in an expansion, and more. Coupled with ArenaNet's track record of continuous free updates, it should be an automatic purchase for anyone at or near the max level.
If you are at all on the fence on finding a game which can deliver a rich experience and dozens of hours of gameplay with a great mix of resource management, city building and RTS combat, this just might fit the bill.
The WWE video games were a bad installment away from becoming a laughing stock. Thankfully, WWE 2K16 introduced a strong new feature, as well as one of the best Showcase modes the franchise has ever seen. The MyCareer mode still needs a lot of work, but the basic premise is still one that can succeed. With the largest cast of wrestlers the franchise has ever seen, 2K and Yukes have done a solid job righting the WWE 2K ship. That being said, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Need for Speed is a game that gets many things right, and brings it back to the glory days of Need for Speed Underground 1 and 2. I have not had this much fun in a racing game in some time, and even though it misses a few marks, it is definitely worth the time of racing fans.
Might be worth a double dip — it's every bit as fun as you remember, and this version comes with all of the bells and whistles, as well as rebalanced combat, tighter controls, and better loot tables. There are some framerate hitches to go along with the graphical and lighting overhaul, and there isn't a whole lot new here, but if you missed out the first time, don't let this one pass you by.
Cibele has some things going for it, such as a narrative structure based on interaction with the main character's computer. It's a fairly predictable story told in a new way. Some parts of it were intriguing, but overall it didn't really wow me.
Downwell is a simple and fun 2D platformer. Its unique gameplay makes it fast-paced and challenging, and its roguelike qualities keep it from growing bland or frustrating. Spend a little time with this game and you may get hooked too.
With over 13,000 changes to the base product, a graphical overhaul, and a bevy of UI additions, Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition improves on the original release in every way. There are a few hiccups in translation, but they are minor bumps in the road for this incredible RPG.
Minecraft: Story Mode is left with a lot to prove in the coming episodes. "Assembly Required" doesn't do much to convince players that any of its drama is genuine, or that any of its plotlines can adequately fill up what they've come to expect in a full episode of a Telltale series.
The best parts of Payday 2 and Left 4 Dead in the gritty Warhammer fantasy universe, with a heavy emphasis on melee combat and loot. There's tons here for co-op fans, and the emphasis on melee makes it stand out from the rest of the pack.
With a proper DM, Sword Coast Legends feels every bit like the pen and paper game come to life. On the other hand, running modules or playing through the 40-hour single player game makes it feel like more of a standard fare dungeon crawler than a Dungeons & Dragons game. Multiplayer with a DM realizes the promise of Sword Coast Legends, conveying freedom of storytelling and imagination in real time. Come for the co-op and live-DM, but be patient with the tools as they evolve.
Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below is an excellent musou game and a blast to play. It retains its Dragon Quest heritage beautifully, while still creating an experience fun for any fan of musou gameplay.
Rebel Galaxy simplifies the formula in an approachable and exciting way, but the 2D space combat, lack of direction and loneliness of single-player space-faring hold it back from reaching the epic scale of other space sims. A fun solo venture, but it won't suck out thousands of your hours.
Overlord: Fellowship of Evil is, by a wide margin, one of the worst games of the year. I don't know what the team at Codemaster was thinking, but they've wrecked everything Triumph Studios had built. Either give it back, or let this franchise die — it has suffered enough, as have we.
If you enjoyed The Bloody Baron quest line in The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, you will absolutely love Hearts of Stone. While it is the first piece of DLC with a price tag, the storyline justifies that at twice the price.
Pinball is pinball, but Zen Pinball 2 always tries their best to make an interesting product and has succeeded again with the Balls of Glory pack. While strapped with the same functional issues that all video game pinball titles share, the Balls of Glory table set packs four great Fox Animation programs into a fun, dynamic, and replayable pinball experience that can provide hours of casual fun to the young and old alike. If you ask me, that's pretty freakin' sweet.
Halo 5: Guardians is a masterpiece, and quite possibly the best Halo game so far. The campaign is top-notch, even as Master Chief shares the spotlight, and the multiplayer is largely a return to everything that has made the franchise so beloved to begin with.
System Shock: Enhanced Edition doesn't stray far from its roots, for better and for worse. Purchasing the Enhanced Edition includes the original version as well, enhancing this fact. If you can look at it through the lens of when it was created and get past the control scheme, you will find a satisfying experience and show younger gamers why System Shock was so influential to the gaming community.
Yoshi's Woolly World is a charming, yet unchallenging platformer that succeeds at being an amusing way to pass the time.
To this day, I call Assassin's Creed II my favorite video game of the past generation. It was truly a masterpiece. Unfortunately, the Assassin's Creed series has become a shell of its former self. Syndicate tries hard to recreate some of the magic, and even creates some smart new features, but it ultimately falls short. If Assassin's Creed Syndicate had been in development for another year, it could have been a thrilling mid-1800's adventure. Instead, it sinks into comfortable mediocrity.