Fallout 76 attempts to take the series into the world of always online multiplayer, but it may have left too much of the original franchise trademarks behind.
Ghostbusters offers a top-down co-op shooter with light RPG elements that fails to capitalize on the magic and humor of the supernatural franchise.
Mighty No. 9 attempts to breath fresh life into the 2D platforming genre but it lacks the polish and magic that made Inafune's iconic series such a staple of 90s gaming.
Blackgate is a playthrough for die-hard Batman fans, but not necessarily for die-hard Arkham fans. The combat is definitely fun when running into a large squad of minions to take out and we wish that the game would have embraced the arcadey tradition of side-scrollers and offered more opportunities to punch, kick, and counter our way through foot soldiers.
'Heavy Bullets' delivers a nostalgic arcade-style shooter with an engaging, unique mechanic, but is a little too repetitive for comfort.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 attempts to bring the military first-person shooter franchise into AAA territory with an open-world setting and a bigger budget.
Whispering Willows is a supernatural puzzle-adventure game that sucks players in with its beautiful hand-drawn style and mystery, but doesn't bring anything too new to the genre.
'Lords of the Fallen' attempts to put a fresh spin on the 'Dark Souls' system by turning down the difficulty and turning up the cutting-edge graphics.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin seems to prove that the Final Fantasy franchise can thrive in the action game scene with this first franchise venture from Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo. The title isn't a true home run, but it is an exciting adventure that expands the franchise lore in a unique direction. The Final Fantasy Job system is as interesting and exciting as ever and adds a unique twist on the action game format as players grind through each challenging dungeon and fill in all the Job talent trees one by one.
Layers of Fear delivers on its promise of a unique vision of gothic horror, but the game leans heavily on cliche genre gimmicks to jump scare players.
Amplitude is a throwback to old school rhythm games and connects with the nostalgic audience, but may lack the universal appeal of modern like Rock Band or Guitar Hero.
Dragon Quest Heroes adds the large-scale hack and slash battles of Dynasty Warriors to the RPG world of Dragon Quest to give new and old fans of the fantasy series endless hordes or adorable monsters to slay.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India makes some vast improvements over its predecessor in terms of style and gameplay while providing challenging 2D puzzles, but still lacks an engaging narrative.
Mad Max's narrative may not be as tight or progressive as Fury Road's, but the addictive leveling system and intense combat in and out of the car make the game irresistible for fans of the franchise.
With the most iconic graphics and the best sound effects to date, Star Wars Battlefront attempts to hook players in without the help of a narrative campaign.
If the idea of Project Spark interests you, it's absolutely worth checking out.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II arrives on Xbox One and brings the franchise's trademark humor and steampunk setting to consoles, along with a few new features.
Pneuma: Breath of Life is a first-person puzzle platformer that offers an interesting mechanic, all while beating gamers over the head with a philosophical voice over.
Overall, Age of Empires definitely brings enough to the table and captures enough nostalgia to make it an easy recommendation for any fans of the franchise or the genre. For gamers new to RTS, the Story Mode and campaigns actually make it a very strong choice for diving in as well, as long as they aren’t expecting cutting-edge graphics. The fact that the game is going to be available on Game Pass Day One could potentially help expose a large new audience to the franchise and build up some new fans. It will be very interesting to see what kind of reception it receives and, if its successful, what sort of post-launch content could arrive in the coming year to keep the community hooked and engaged.
Blizzard attempts to breathe fresh life into an iconic classic with a fresh coat of paint and minor quality of life upgrades in Diablo 2: Resurrected.