Destructoid

Sonic Lost World can wildly swing from brilliant to horrific at the drop of a hat, but when one steps back and takes a look at the whole production, one sees far more to love than hate. Certainly, the nastier elements prevent it from being the truly great installment it could have been, but the experience is good enough to where I would desperately entreat Sonic Team to keep doing what's been started here.

Rune Factory 4 isn't the deepest or most structured game out there, but it more than makes up for it with its charm and wide-open freedom. If you are willing to put in the time to learn its varied systems, I think you'll find that this game is an absolute delight.

The game’s poor direction (I ran around much of the first 8-10 hours with a limited party and a character sporting nothing more than a loin cloth with gauntlets) makes it a hard pill to swallow for those who are looking for an accessible role-playing game on the go. For fans of the series or hardcore lovers of the genre though, while still rough around the edges, Valhalla Knights 3 does offer the occasional moment of bliss.

Atomic Ninjas isn't really a bad game, nor is it a good one. It just sort of exists. What the title does it does competently, but there's not enough options or variety to warrant many matches, unless you're absolutely dying for some multiplayer brawling on the cheap. It's inoffensive and fun, but like the radiation, only in small doses.

Comparisons, too, are going to be woefully inadequate. Perhaps its closest cousin would be Dear Esther, but where Dear Esther wastes the form of interactive entertainment, Stanley Parable uses and then subverts it. Where so many games that aspire to be more than games end up less than any form of art, Stanley Parable strives, and then succeeds, to be every game ever created. Even so, holding the game to the standards of any other title is simply not going to be correct.

I want to walk around in grass and toss my balls in a magic dog's face, and that's exactly what I get from X and Y. That I get it with beautifully animated combat and gorgeous, vivid colors just totally seals the deal. Nobody has demonstrated they can do Pokemon better than Pokemon can. X and Y does everything it needs to remain relevant, to prove why it's the top of its field, and if that's not good enough for you, there's nothing Ekans say to change your mind.

I want to walk around in grass and toss my balls in a magic dog's face, and that's exactly what I get from X and Y. That I get it with beautifully animated combat and gorgeous, vivid colors just totally seals the deal. Nobody has demonstrated they can do Pokemon better than Pokemon can. X and Y does everything it needs to remain relevant, to prove why it's the top of its field, and if that's not good enough for you, there's nothing Ekans say to change your mind.

Shadow Warrior is a great game, and, like Rise of the Triad before it, proves that the '90s era of first-person shooters can still make it in today's world. The weapons pack a punch, the graphics are great, and the personality is top-notch. Hell, there are even a few dick jokes here and there! I know you've missed those.

For all the complaints that can be leveled at Beyond -- and they can be leveled in feckless abundance -- the overwhelming problem with it is that it's just plain boring. Like a sociopath, Beyond: Two Souls knows how to act like it has a heart, while providing nothing of the emotional depth required to connect with an audience. Its characters can smile, and cry, and tell us they're feeling all of these feelings, but their paper-thin presentation and the frequent narrative dead ends prevent any of their pantomime from becoming too convincing.

As a result of its mixed messages, Disgaea D2 is in an odd spot. It's a tad easier than previous games, but it also unmistakeably requires a good amount of series knowledge to really get into it and appreciate the characters. But I do have good news -- if you want more Disgaea, this delivers. Even if you've skipped every single iteration since the first, you can jump right into D2 like nothing ever happened, and enjoy it all the same.