Destructoid

This is a game I can not stop thinking about. I think about it at work -- either remembering crazy moments I didn't see coming, or reflecting on recently discovered information and its implications. This is absolutely a "thinking man's game," and it's one that I hope other developers (or Mr. Pope himself) decide to ape and expand on. Despite the fact that this isn't a detective game, I've never felt more like a dick.

Everything it gets right – the clever mix-and-match shipbuilding, the combat, the controls, the imaginative alien worlds, the decent space opera storyline – can’t escape the vortex of tedium that comes with pedestrian mission design, planets that are mechanically the same, and the crushing knowledge that people who buy just the Starter Pack are getting an unquestionably inferior experience.

I still remember sitting down for the first time to play Soulcalibur on the Dreamcast and hearing Jeff Manning's voice echo across the room. This is a larger-than-life series that deserves a lot of love and care from its creator: and with VI, it got it. The recent documentary that openly acknowledges the past faults of the series gives me hope that Bandai Namco is going to right the Soulcalibur ship.

It's not quite as good a package as my favorite Jackbox Party Pack, but in my opinion, Party Pack 5 is much better than last year's offering. None of the games seem to be here just to fill out the pack. If you're looking for something to do with a group over the upcoming holidays, there's plenty in Party Pack 5 to keep a whole bunch of people engaged and laughing for hours.

Blackout has the potential to be its own game in the same way Epic tore its Battle Royale mode from the main package as a separate entity. Leave it to Treyarch to create a conundrum after introducing a non-traditional project into the fray. How well Activision manages Black Ops 4 will possibly influence the entire future of the series. For now, two thirds of it is rising to the occasion.

It's extremely pleasant to pick up and play for that reason, but if you are going for a straight play through of the main content, the ride is short and sweet, maybe a couple of hours at most. If you have been waiting for something approaching a new Super Monkey Ball, or just want a pretty direct translation of the Marble Madness formula, Marble It Up! has you covered. Just don't expect a lot from it and you will probably be very satisfied.

The wonderful art, music, and lore deserve to be in something more original than Dragalia Lost. There are a hundred different versions of this game already available on app stores and it doesn’t do very much to hoist itself above the competition. This title may represent Nintendo’s riskiest attempt at breaking big into mobile gaming, going with an original IP instead of known property, but it also represents its least creative.

In the end you just have to resign yourself to not being perfectly happy with your creation and ignoring the microtransactions altogether. The quality of any given WWE 2K game is a gamble year to year, but 2K19 manages to claw its way up from being buried alive by the travesty of last year's entry. Daniel Bryan's Showcase is a clear highlight as are the mostly welcome mechanical changes. Here's hoping they don't regress again in 2019.

The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories, is a short, dark trip through the nightmare of youth; growing up, discovering yourself, and existing in a society that rarely understands. Sure to be a divisive title among players, there are those who will find The Missing overpriced, earnest and melodramatic, while others will be taken by its surrealist story of undying friendship, ironically becoming an indelible memory to those who dare to experience it.

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is a passionate retelling of one of history's most violent, bare-bones, and overwhelmingly macho tales. In that capacity, it does a great job. But it's not quite the masterpiece it could have been, let down by repetition, unlock grinds, and a lack of polish in narrative and mechanics. Regardless, with bucket-loads of adventure on offer, and a cathartic dose of the old ultra-violence, Lost Paradise is a fine weekend-filler, and a proud reflection of its legendary source material.