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LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is an outstanding return to the formula. Fans of the Dark Knight will be pleasantly surprised at all the suits, songs, and storylines included. If they could figure out how to cater to solo players a little more, it would be nearly perfect. As it stands this is a game you need to play if you have any affinity for Batman at all. It is just pure joy 99% of the time, and I cannot wait to collect everything it has to offer.

Sudden Strike 5 is a fun RTS game that plays really well on console which fans know is a rarity. With some great graphics and effects that help to immerse players in the WW2 theater of war, this is a great experience on the XBOX Series X. I love that there was less focus on base building and more on the moment-to-moment action and strategy involved to win these games. I just wish there was better control and identification when it came to commanding your units.

My time with Star Fire : The Eternal Cycle was, for the most part enjoyable. The game looks and plays very well, and for this being Ethereal Fish Studios first attempt at a game, I don’t think you could go wrong by picking this up and giving it a try. The title on the Microsoft store retails for $16.99 which is reasonable for a title such as this. There are a lot worse games you could sink more money into buying. If you enjoy the rogue lite genre and like side scrolling beat ‘em ups, then you will probably like this game. If you are looking for fast paced action, you’ve come to the right place. If you are looking for story… you might walk away feeling a little underwhelmed.

As a noob to UFC in general I really had a good time playing UFC 6. Coming in fresh I felt like the developers did a good job of kind of easing me into things. I do think it’s weird that the customization in this is a shadow of what is offered for players of the 2K sports games but it works. With some incredible visuals, and a dope physics engine that adds to the charm of the game, UFC 6 managed to land more punches than it missed with me. I may not be a full-on fan for life, but I will be coming back to this game to try my hands at some multiplayer.

The Rugrats Retro Rewind Collection is a novelty at best. The games included are nothing special and the extras are disappointing to say the least. I was really hoping for more with this one. I cannot recommend this to anyone outside the die-hard Rugrats fans who can look past its mediocrity and just enjoy it as a sort of time capsule.

Warhammer 40K Speed Freeks should be commended for trying to fill the enormous Twisted Metal-sized hole that the gaming industry has had for so many years. With an Ork faction who literally seems designed for this, some massive maps and plenty of over-the-top vehicles and weapons; one would think it would have made a bigger dent than it did. Sadly, though the game fails to bring something new and interesting to the battlefield. If you are a Warhammer 40K video game fan as I am, I’d suggest just waiting for a sale on this one.

As the content here feels more akin to a very generous demo than a complete package. I really like the idea of Thick as Thieves, but in its current iteration it has found it self stuck between its PvP past and its Co-Op future and try as it might, to me, Thick as Thieves is trying to cater to both audiences and in the end satisfying neither.

As much as I wanted to like going back to relive some of my childhood memories, this game just doesn’t quite hit the mark. And it made me question when did these types of games become so hard? With its hard levels and limited gameplay modes, I don’t think this is for me. And even if you are a super fan of the series, I would wait to play this till they work out a couple bugs and the game comes down in price.

I had an absolute blast revisiting this game and even did a bit more of the side stuff this time around. The Remake project has improved with each entry so far, and I really hope the final entry will continue this level of excellence. I do hope Square-Enix takes the time to fix this Xbox version though. It is really disappointing to see the state it is currently in. Fix the camera judder and the VRR implementation so we can enjoy the game as it should be. Still, I cannot recommend this game enough, it was my 2024 game of the year, and I am happy it is finally releasing on these two consoles.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 is an amazing upgrade for the series. Between improvements to the narrative and all the new mechanics this finally feels like a series that has come into its own. While it is not going to appeal to everyone, for fans of the monster taming genre; Monster Hunter Stories 3 has the chops to stand with the big dogs and shouldn’t be missed.