After Mario Tennis Open, I was a bit weary of the next Mario sports game to hit the 3DS. It looked the part, but it didn’t have the same heart and soul of past entries in the series. Thankfully, Mario Golf: World Tour has restored my faith in the series as it carries that undeniable charm and addictiveness that makes the Mario sports games so enjoyable. However, it’s not without its share of ugly blemishes, namely a thin single player mode that feels like it was chopped in half for the sake of DLC – something I never would’ve expected from Nintendo.

If I wanted to be really lazy, I’d just post a link here to the review I wrote for Trials Evolution a couple years back and be done with it. But, “Whoa!” you say, “What about the updates and new features that they added to this demanding skill-based motor bike racer?” I’m sorry to tell you, friend, that the little changes RedLynx made to Trials Fusion only make it worse.

Not about to let Disney's Donald Duck hog all the fame and fortune, Daffy Duck starred in his own Nintendo 64 platformer as well. Unfortunately, this is another case where I'm not very familiar with the source material, having seen the show maybe a few times when I was younger and don't remember a lick of it. However, the game is plenty decent enough to stand on its own, or maybe it's just my love of platformers talking.

For better or worse, games like Braid, Limbo, and other 2.5D “masterpieces” have reconfigured what a platformer can be.  Spate, developed by Eric Provan and his development team at Ayyo, is not as complete a package as these games, but is still an astoundingly beautiful work of art, with truly arresting imagery, an interesting story, and a unique and moody soundtrack.  However, with its tired mechanics, inconsistent controls, and sloppy (yet forgiving) physics, it is hard to quantify, or to even categorize. It is a conundrum, as it stretches between these two poles – one of artistic genius; and the other of uninspired game design. 

A few months back, Monkey Paws Games began a 6-week campaign to bring several import games to the US.  Among them was Wolf Fang, released this past February on PSN.  Originally released by Data East in 1991 as the arcade sequel to Vapor Trail (Kugah in Japan), Wolf Fang is a game that heavily borrows from the many shoot ‘em ups that came before it.  If you’ve ever played a shooter that involved Vulcan spread shots, miniature helper drones, and anime-inspired character designs, then this game will be very familiar territory for you. On their own, the gameplay elements could be written off as merely generic. But together they form a surprisingly respectable game.

The wonder of some indie games that go for that retro aesthetic is they kind of live up to our brain’s memories of what those old games were like, without the warts we seldom remember.  Sort of like a period film, it might not be like how things really were, but while catering to our modern tastes, a finer piece of art is sculpted, one that has learned the mistakes of the past.  Luftrausers is a game forged out of what once was – not only with its 8-bit aesthetic, but also with its satirical Nazi artwork.  Both of these themes work for and against it, but overall what we have here is a great game that is a commentary not only on the past, but on the future. 

With the large amount of hype and high number of preview awards given to TitanFall, it naturally has a lot to live up to. This goes double as it expects to do so solely online, banking on providing a new experience rather than one brimming with single player content. It seems to embody a new console generation in how it feels refreshing and new, yet it doesn’t show off graphical horsepower or introduce bells and whistles not possible on older technology.

Imagine for a moment that you’re the world’s perfect predator, and you have an open and sprawling city that is now your playground after being at rest in the shadows for hundreds of years. You’re sneaking up on your prey, salivating at the heartbeat that is about to feed you when you suddenly step on a twig. The echo of this twig somehow alerts every known enemy of yours, and you’re suddenly flanked and flayed mercilessly without ever being given the chance to fight back. This is Lords of Shadow 2: everything sounds great in theory, yet nothing works the way it’s intended to do so.

Every so often, I am lucky enough to play a game so delightful, so perfectly engineered for its platform, and so inspiring that I have to take a step back, stunned.  While other arts such as literature and painting seem long in the tooth these days, clutching to cynicism and nihilism like a terminal patient clinging to the sheets in his bed, great games seem imbued with a sort of impossible optimism and generosity towards the human condition.  Monument Valley, a game about redemption through sacred geometry, is one of those games. 

Masochistic is a word often associated with the Souls games. Though they’re known to be incredibly difficult for anyone who may be new to the series, they’ve become only mildly challenging for veterans. However, Dark Souls II is no pushover, proving to be difficult as soon as the journey begins. Even in the most basic tutorial area, players will find death waiting for them. Whether you fall into a hole you overlooked or walk past an enemy who is able to catch up to you for an easy backstab, Dark Souls II isn’t afraid to kill you mercilessly. Although the game never feels cheap, it always finds a way to lure me into a well sprung trap in which I am ill-prepared for. Difficulty isn’t the only thing in which the Souls franchise is known for though, and Dark Souls II gives us another beautifully crafted world that’s perfectly ripe for exploration with rippling lore waiting to be uncovered and dissected.

Entire consoles and companies have risen and fallen on the expectations of  exclusive, first party titles like Second Son. Often seen as the PS4’s first must buy game, there is a lot on the line with Sucker Punches first foray into the new console. While elements of the game may not live up to the grand expectations, once you make it past the hype still you get a sequel that not only stands on its own, but is also engaging, pretty, and a heck of a lot of fun.

I’m the type of guy that doesn’t think its fair to compare one game to another, but in the case of Yoshi’s New Island, an exception has to be made. It’s the second follow-up to the SNES classic, Yoshi’s Island, and Yoshi’s Island is a very tough game to top. On the positive side, Yoshi's New Island does a lot of things better than the previous entry in the series, Yoshi’s Island DS, like getting rid of the annoying baby-switching mechanic and doling out some clever levels. On the other hand, it adds some new, underutilized mechanics, disappointing boss battles, and turns a definitive ability into a shallow gyroscope mini-game.

We throw around the word “community” in the video games arena without a second thought. Even small enthusiast sites have community managers and a myriad of other ways to strengthen and connect people who are passionate about games. If it weren’t for several key creatives that helped form the gaming landscape through the decades, though, we might not have the communities we all take for granted. Dungeons & Dreamers’ updated second edition guides us on a journey that shows how communities became so important to gaming. It’s an intriguing thesis that is hammered home with a continuous chain of examples that make it undeniable how integral community has always been to video games.

The Nintendo 64 wasn't really known for fighting games. Just as well, I don't really like them and am particularly rubbish at them as a result. There were a decent number of them released, unfortunately for me, as I will have the (dis)pleasure of trying them all. Dual Heroes advertises a couple of gimmicks such as training a robot to battle virtual gamers, maybe that will make this one more interesting...

It’s hard to believe that a quaint game concept where you play the part of an apprentice arms dealer in an RPG could lead me to a dark place, but it happened. Weapon Shop de Omasse, with its cute exterior, forces you to spend time between intended-to-be-comical character interactions pounding away at the most laborious, repetitive, and malformed rhythm game ever created.

If there’s one thing that Spike Chunsoft has proven, it’s that they know how to make a damn good visual novel. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is their latest title to be localized to America and it stands up to the high standards set by their Zero Escape series. While similar in premise, Danganronpa eschews the puzzle-based design and offers up a unique gameplay style that blends Ace Attorney, Persona Social Links, and a touch of Rhythm Heaven. It all comes together to form a gripping and zany experience that doesn’t let up till the credits roll.

Tappingo is anything but your run-of-the mill, been-there-done-that, played it a dozen times with a different name and color palate puzzle game. Created by indie developer Goodbye Galaxy Games, Tappingo is a delightful puzzle experience that, while short and sweet, is full of enough depth and challenge to attract and entertain gamers of all skill levels.

In the seventeen years that South Park has graced the airwaves, fans have been subjected to the horror and torment of a wide assortment of video games that were palatable at best and flat out blasphemous at their worst. They lacked everything that makes South Park fans tingle with excitement: gratuitous amounts of foul language, over-the-top violence, crazy characters, blatant insults veiled behind a mask of satire, and the raw unapologetic use of every conceivable taboo with the intention to offend.  But years later it seems that our cries of injustice were finally heard. Here it finally is, the definitive South Park experience chock full of enough smut, vulgarity, and sexism, to satisfy the sick twisted bastards that we all are.

Telltale has chosen to make a statement with its second episode of Season Two. Through some great character moments and some really tough choices, I reached points of happiness and distress during “A House Divided”. Whereas Episode 1 was great on its own, Episode 2 reminded me why Telltale’s storytelling ability is to be reckoned with.

It's hard to say "skateboarding" and "video game" in the same sentence and not evoke immediate thoughts of the now classic Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (THPS) series. Those games redefined the genre and brought social relevance to the counter-culture sport. Given that the craze for these games is over, OlliOlli has rolled through the door in an attempt to rekindle our love of the extreme sport with a new take on it. Rather than the vert-centric experience of Tony Hawk, OlliOlli is a pure street skating game, and a 2D side-scrolling one at that. Though clearly influenced by THPS, it goes about things in its own way. Unfortunately, Roll7's unique take on the sport doesn't ascend to the heights that The Birdman did in the '90s.

As one of the final games released for the system, Dr. Mario 64 was a budget-priced title. Introducing a couple new game modes and a 4-player option, it was the definitive version of Dr. Mario for the time and remains a solid entry in the series.

Devil May Cry on the PS2 spawned a mini-industry of brawlers that require button mashing and quick time events. Most of them also have main protagonists that are bald with deep scowls and anger management issues. Bayonetta is a one-liner-spouting, angel-killing witch with an outfit made out of her own hair and a dark sense of humor. Out of the countless third person brawlers, Bayonetta is a joy to play… but only the 360 version.

Something about the atmosphere surrounding Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us has been a huge draw to me. The dark and twisted story surrounding some of history’s most endearing fairy tales makes for some really interesting narratives, because of our ingrown attachment to these characters. Episode 1, “Faith,” set a great precedent for episodes to come and Episode 2, “Smoke and Mirrors,” continues to build on that foundation.

Video game parody is hardly something new. For generations, games have found plenty of subtle (and not so subtle) ways to lampoon iconic games, the industry, and culture. Until Retro City Rampage, I’m not sure we’ve had a single work that’s so utterly dedicated to the practice. You won’t find a single mission in the game that’s not parodying games, or ‘80s/’90s culture, or something you’re sure to remember if you grew up during the days of the NES.

Though it wasn't the first of its kind, the original DooM is often credited as the game that popularized the first-person shooter. With detailed graphics for the time, heaps of ugly baddies, a handful of cool weapons, and endlessly challenging gameplay, it's no wonder it was a hit. Despite a slower gameplay pace than the previous PC games, DooM 64 is a worthy followup and an enjoyable run 'n gun shooter in its own right. For better or worse, they don't make 'em like this anymore.