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While we may get plenty of Street Fighter re-releases over the years (looking at you, Ultra Street Fighter IV), it’s always a treat when a new numbered entry is lined up for release. After all, the last mainline game released in 2008. Wow. Anyway, the acclaimed Street Fighter series is back in this new, breathtakingly gorgeous fighting game. The characters are well-defined and each of them have received much-needed changes to their appearances, though the game still spouts a bit of oversexualization. Anyway, the game looks good. But for a series whose last entry had over 20 characters in just the base entry (44 in “Ultra”) we were a bit surprised to find only 16 characters in Street Fighter V, a full-priced console game in 2016. Now, before anyone freaks out, nothing really suffers because of this. Each character is a joy to play as, from series regulars Ken, Ryu and Chun-Li to newcomers F.A.N.G. and Rashid. Obviously, Capcom still knows how to introduce something new and enjoyable, but the game’s mechanics and plans for future content are a bit wonky. Things like new characters, stages and more will be released in waves, which you can purchase using in-game Fight Money, which is earned by, well, playing the game. It takes a while, so you’ll be pleased to know you can spend real-life money (converted to Zenny) to get the content as soon as it’s released. Yes, we know. It’s lame to sell content like this post-release, but at least there is an option for in-game currency and none of the content is hiding on-disc. The only other recent game to do this was Guitar Hero Live, and the core game didn’t suffer because of it, so fret not. Just think of it like the old days where you would play hours and hours to unlock a certain character. And please, don’t let the monetization scare you because Street Fighter V is a fantastic game, not only in gameplay and control but fan service. Each of the 16 characters sport an interactive comic-like story mode, as well as their “V-Skill,” “V-Reversal” and “V-Trigger,” special move mechanics new to this game. The game even supports PS3 fight sticks in the PS4 version, so you don’t have to replace those either. Aside from the story mode, new mechanics and competent online matchmaking, the mode options are kind of bleak. There is Versus, of course, so feel free to go head-to-head with friends, and Survival, where you’ll have to win matches upon matches to unlock some new stuff for your characters. Overall, the game looks and feel great, but it’s visibly unfinished. Think of it like Capcom’s version of an “Early Access” game. Make the investment now, have some fun, and keep playing as the game moves closer to completion. Rumor has it that an actual arcade mode and new difficulty options are in the works. But we’ll see. Who knows? They could just save those for Ultra Super Uber Street Fighter V Complete Edition HD. Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

It was only a matter of time before the Lego collect-a-thons adapted Marvel Studios’ critically praised film franchise. It’s just a shame it came too little, too late. The latest title in the series, Lego Marvel’s The Avengers, sends players through a handful of Marvel’s superhero flicks, including both Captain America and Avengers films, Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3. The presentation is great, of course, with film scenes being played out by Lego minifigs and voice clips from the actual films, but there is little more than that. The story is obviously straightforward — if you’ve seen the movies. But there’s enough here to give you a few laughs per level. The goals of this title remain the same: Collect as many Lego pieces as possible, build and solve puzzles, defeat bosses and enjoy playing as a blocky version of your favorite superhero. The game is a bit glitchy, though, and characters’ powers may not work just right. But that’s not without reason. As part of a welcome addition to the series, Lego Marvel’s The Avengers introduces team-up combos, in which two characters close to each other can pull off a pretty sweet finisher move. Iron Man blasts his repulsor beams off Captain America’s shield, Black Widow and Hawkeye zipline together and more. It’s just fun. But as a whole, the game is lacking. In 2013, Lego Marvel Super Heroes was released and gave us essentially all we would and could want from a Marvel Lego game. It had tons of characters, content and an open world. It was wild, wacky fun. This game, following the films’ lead, feels like it should have come first. Characters like the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and all of the X-Men (aside from Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, for obvious reasons) are absent in this year’s title, but the game is supplemented by fantastic characters like Ms. Marvel and Lady Thor. We just wish they were all in the same darn game. Heck, there are two really obscure Guardians of the Galaxy in this game, but the original crew is nowhere to be found. Someone explain that. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you’ve got the dough), there’s a season pass for the title already available, with content packs based on Ant-Man and the upcoming Captain America: Civil War already in the works. In addition to the odd character implementation, the game itself reuses a lot of the same content from Lego Marvel Super Heroes. Sure, New York got a glossy facelift and all of the animations are a bit better, but we need more than that. The set pieces from the films are a step in the right direction — let’s just keep going down that road. In terms of difficulty, the game is simple enough to get the hang of and enough to keep players of all ages interested. Overall, it’s a solid title with some interesting things missing. We just wish it could have come sooner, because the last game spoiled us. Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

Betrayal. War. Guns. It's a tale as old as time. Literally. In Call of Duty: Black Ops III, you play as a soldier fighting a war some 50 years into the future. While in a firefight, you get yourself pretty messed up by a robot and are in need of some heavy cybernetic enhancements. This is where the campaign of Black Ops III takes off. The first thing you'll notice is how darn pretty it is. Sparks fly off of walls, guns are heavily detailed and refined and the characters and cutscenes move seamlessly in and out of live gameplay. Voice acting is superb and the acting is at peak COD form, bringing in Hollywood talent like Christopher Meloni and Ron Perlman and coupling them with the best of the best in video game voice acting, like Nolan North. Also, Seattle Seahawks player Marshawn Lynch is totally in this game. The campaign clocks in anywhere from six to eight hours depending on difficulty level, though difficulty isn't much more than a few more enemies that seem to be able to see you through walls, cars, ten feet of concrete, etc. It can be awfully frustrating. But let's be honest, you showed up for the multiplayer. Taking notes from the Multiplayer Battle Online Arena genre, or MOBA, Black Ops III introduces Specialists, essentially hero characters that the player will unlock over time. When you boot up multiplayer for the first time, you'll select your first hero and that's where your character base starts. There's Outrider whose equipped with a superpowered crossbow, Ruin, your typical cybernetic soldier, Prophet, specializing in energy weapons, and a handful of others. With rumors that Treyarch and Activision plan to support Black Ops III with two years of content, one would expect new heroes to show their faces over time. It's kind of ingenious actually, and gives the game legs. The rest of what you'd expect is also here. The multiplayer suite is packed with core, hardcore and bonus game types, including Team Deathmatch, Domination, Kill Confirmed and my personal favorite, Gun Game (players cycle through timed weapons and have to basically be great with every one of them.) Create-a-Class is back, along with Gunsmith, a studio that allows you to completely customize your weapons. Though, you may want to refrain from painting anything phallic or obscene on your guns. Oh, and Scorestreaks are back too, rewarding players for collecting kills without dying. New to the series is Black Market, a mode that uses in-game currency called 'Cryptokeys' for random supply drops. Players can purchase said drops and gain some cool weapon, attachment or equipment loot. Borrowing from games like Borderlands and Destiny, some of the loot may be rare, though that's totally up in the air. Ten Cryptokeys net you a common supply drop and 30 will score you a rare one, and yes, they do seem a lot like microtransactions. The thing is, you can't actually use real money to buy these, though that can always change in a future update. And if campaign and multiplayer just aren't enough, Black Ops III brings back the ever-lovable Zombies mode, which is a blast to play with friends. There's also a new Freerun mode, which is kind of like a poor-man's Mirror's Edge. You can run on walls, jump and roll and act like a total badass, but you can do that in multiplayer as well. Overall, Black Ops III packs a lot of punch for its $60 entry fee. With tons of content planned for at least the next year and already so much stuffed into the game, it's more than worth it. The campaign and multiplayer offer new, exciting experiences that the last few entries have lacked. Sure, the game is a far cry (heh) from the golden age of the series, but it's still fun. And at the end of the day, what more can we ask for from a video game? - Nicholas Friedman, The Dallas Morning News

Racing games have always had a niche market. There are arcade racers like Need for Speed and party racers like Mario Kart. And don’t even get started on Rocket League, the year’s hottest new eSports game. But one thing keeps graphics-privy gamers coming back: simulation racers. Enter Forza Motorsport 6, the — yeah, you guessed it — sixth installment in the famed racing series from Turn 10 Studios and Microsoft. While many consider a series at six tired and old, this year’s installment offers plenty to veterans of the series and newcomers looking for a sweet ride. One new feature is the introduction of wet-weather driving, and it looks unbelievably gorgeous. The best part? It’s amazingly accurate, and reminds players that most of (looking at you North Texans) have no idea how to drive in inclement weather. Cars skid and slide and hydroplane all over, and it offers a unique dynamic to a series that didn’t even have car damage at first. Forza 6 has more than 450 cars, many of which were present in previous entries, but this is the most cars at launch yet. Also back is the acclaimed “Forzavista” mode, which allows players to pick a car, place it in a showroom and step inside using the Xbox One Kinect. This mode features intense and picture-perfect detail that is just breathtaking. (Seriously, take a breath.) The Top Gear partnership returns as well, sans its figureheads. This game is packed to the hard-shell top with content. Tracks from all over the world are reproduced as stunning vistas. Damage is real and reactive. The cars screech and squeal around the tracks, and the Formula One cars might be the coolest things ever. Still a problem though, is the game’s crowds. Obviously a car game doesn’t need to have photo-realistic people watching the races, but on a replay it may break immersion. Multiplayer modes offer players even more replay value, as division races, leagues, rivals and more fill the playlists. Like to drift? There’s something for you. Like to race in teams? You got it. Overall, Forza 6 offers a lot in its $60 asking price. While its sister series Forza Horizon takes the year off, players can enjoy sitting back, relaxing (unless you play stick shift) and revving their engines. (Pro tip: this game supports those super expensive racing wheels.) - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

In an industry chock full of toys-to-life games, (Disney Infinity, Super Smash Bros. and the soon to be released LEGO Dimensions) is there any room left for the one that started it all? Well, yes. Skylanders Superchargers, the fifth game in Activision’s yearly series, allows players to equip their favorite Skylanders with land, sea and air vehicles for the first time. Players place the figures and vehicles on the “Portal of Power,” bringing them to life in-game. The game’s main campaign sets players on a cut-and-dry rescue mission through the Skylands, or what’s left of them after titular bad guy Kaos shakes things up. For kids, this campaign is sure to be a blast. For the parents, well, it’s not much better than an animated film in the realm of The Bee Movie. But it’s fun, and it looks absolutely stunning. Almost Pixar-like visuals grace each of the game’s many levels. This is where Skylanders really sets itself apart of the competition. Not one level looks recycled or reused, and each piece of the world seems to be living and breathing. Sheep graze in the backdrop, clouds chat it up in the sky and each character has a distinct set of facial expressions. It makes sense, though, since the brand is competing with the likes of Super Mario, Pokemon, Marvel and Star Wars. Not to mention the Wii U, Wii and 3DS version of the game are exclusively compatible with special edition Donkey Kong and Bowser Skylanders. Superchargers also features 20 new Skylanders (in addition to 20 vehicles) for parents to spend money on, but each offers a unique and dynamic twist on the gameplay. Each character also has its own skill tree to fill out by leveling up, adding depth to a title otherwise very one-dimensional. And this goes for the vehicles too. Players collect gears throughout the game’s main quest, which can be played single player or cooperatively locally or online, and can trick out their rides. Each vehicle has a Skylander figurine (sold separately) that when paired up makes it “supercharged,” which usually involves making it stronger, faster and look way cooler. Figures are priced at $13, while the vehicles are $15. Bundles are also available. If the co-op isn’t enough, the game also sports a local and online multiplayer racing mode. While it may seem like a store-brand version of Mario Kart or N64 classic Diddy Kong Racing, it’s just another thing to make the package well worth its entry price. For those already neck deep in the Skylanders world, all of the previous games’ figures are compatible with Superchargers, and a digital version of the game is available for those who already own a Portal of Power. - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer is not a game you’d expect to be worth $40, until you play it. This problem-solving, interior design romp came out for the Nintendo 3DS late last month, to many players’ surprise and fairly favorable reviews. Sure, it’s not your typical AC title where you plant trees and go fishing, but it’s an extension of that, and it works wonderfully. The game puts you in the shoes of the game’s aptly-named Villager, allowing you to customize gender, appearance, clothing and more. For the first time ever, your Villager can shave the sides of their head. This is what modern-day Nintendo looks like, people. Anyway, you take a series of quests in the form of designing rooms, and you gain the trust of your clients while working as a commissioned employee of Nook’s Homes. For players of the original series, Nook needs no introduction. For those unaware, he is a very, very annoying anthropomorphic raccoon who demands way too much from you. In HHD, the Villager goes from designing small bedrooms and living areas to classrooms and larger spaces. There is an unbelievable amount of furniture and accessories to choose from, and it’s admittedly fun to mix and match different elements. In one situation, a client named Goldie wants a room that could be seen as “a forest of books.” The game drops in a couple of necessary-for-completion items and in this case a bookshelf (go figure), a phonograph and a stack of books. Another situation has the Villager designing a classroom, complete with desks, a blackboard and computers. You can then add anything from the furniture catalog. This includes rugs, lamps, showers, fridges, plants and, you guessed it, more. In keeping with tradition, most of the series’ mainstay characters make an appearance. Nook is obviously here, along with Isabella, the puppy-turned-secretary from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. The game also makes use of the New Nintendo 3DS’ amiibo functionality, in the form of trading cards. The cards are sold in six-packs and are available (if you can find them) for $5.99 a set. Each card has a character on it and when placed on the New 3DS’ bottom screen (or the addition NFC reader for older 3DS systems) that character shows up in the room you’re in. It’s pretty neat. For what it is, the game is deep, engaging and frustratingly organized. But maybe it would have been better as an expansion for the already superb New Leaf. Either way, if you’re looking for a digestible way to pass an hour at a time or if you’re already a fan of the Animal Crossing series, be sure to give this one a chance. - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

It’s been just over five years since the last entry in the Guitar Hero franchise hit shelves. Warriors of Rock was packed with content, but it tread the same ground as the games before it, and combined with the oversaturation of the plastic peripheral market, the series was sent into hibernation. Now, in 2015, Guitar Hero Live has brought the series back with a vengeance, and it has absolutely killer stage presence. The first time players pick up the new — yes, still plastic — guitar controller, they’ll notice a slight change in format. And by slight change, we mean the game is totally different. The five colored buttons have been replaced by two columns of three buttons each, allowing players to more closely pretend they’re playing actual guitar. The game’s tutorial walks players through the format change, and shows them how to strum chords, top and bottom frets and open notes. It takes a bit of getting used to. But this is what the genre needed. The series’ new developers, FreeStyleGames (DJ Hero series), stripped away the drum kits and basses and focused solely on guitar, though you can still sing along if you plug in a microphone. An odd choice is how much of a departure the set list for Live is from previous entries. Sure, players don’t want the “all metal, all the time” list from 2005’s Guitar Hero, but why are artists like Skrillex, Eminem and Katy Perry here? The songs aren’t bad by any means — they’re just a bit boring to rock out to, considering those tracks don’t have much guitar in them at all. This doesn’t take away from the main draws of Live, though, and players will notice the game has been split into two main segments, Live and Guitar Hero TV. Live is the traditional campaign mode, but instead of creating a band and going through the motions, players will take on the persona of faux bands playing two different music festivals. There are grunge rockers, pop sensations and metalheads, and the game does diversity well. The coolest part of this mode is that every performance is done with full-motion video. This means the performances were actually recorded with real (sort of) crowds. Scenes are touched up with CG as backdrops, and the back halves of crowds look a bit uncanny. This new feature is absolutely immersive, and it’s a blast until players realize there are only 40-some songs on-disc, which is fewer songs than every previous entry in the Guitar Hero series. But fret not. That’s where GHTV comes in. With elements of music streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music, this mode has a rotating set list of nearly 100 songs accompanied by their music videos. Players use “plays” to perform songs, and these can be purchased with in-game currency or actual money. While pay-to-play content is nothing new to the gaming industry, it’d be nice if we could actually keep the songs once we “play” them. In this case, it’s pay-per-play if you don’t want to rack up in-game money. Overall, Guitar Hero Live set out to revitalize the music game genre, and it seems to be on the right track. The stage is set. Now we’ll just have to see if players want an encore once the holiday season is over. - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

NOTE: This review covers only Halo 5: Guardians’ campaign mode. Multiplayer servers were not up at the time of review but have since launched. Halo has always been a series packed with gripping narrative, powerful interactions with characters and a whole lot of gunplay. While 343 Industries’ Halo 5: Guardians is no different, the characters we’ve come to know and love have changed. Sadly, that may not be a good thing. This entry in the acclaimed series puts us back into the boots of the Master Chief, Spartan John-117, and he’s hot on the trail of his AI companion Cortana after the end of Halo 4. (Spoilers, obviously.) Long story short? She’s gone crazy and he still loves her. Master Chief has always been sort of a silent hero with a tattered past, possibly the last of his kind. But in this game, he’s got Blue Team behind him. Followers of the Halo lore will recognize this Spartan squadron from The Fall of Reach novel. While it’s wonderful fan service to bring characters like this back, the game lacks any sort of emotional attachment for new players. Where did these guys come from? They seem to only exist so the game can have four-player online cooperative game play. While Halo: Reach didn’t stun by any means, players were able to feel for each of their squadmates. In Halo 5, you’ll barely remember that they’re there. On the other side of the galaxy, players take charge as Agent Jameson Locke, a level-headed Spartan soldier tasked with bringing Master Chief home after his squad goes rogue looking for Cortana. Locke’s team is mostly faceless, but their ambiguity is carried by stellar performances from Ike Amadi as Locke and Nathan Fillion as Buck (from Halo 3: ODST). But at the end of the day, this is still Halo. The game is fresh, polished and a blast to play. It’s a healthy evolution of the Halo formula, with things like sprint and armor abilities carrying over from more recent entries. One new feature is iron sights for most of the weapons, which seems odd at first but turns out to be a welcome addition. Without giving anything away, the story ends up clocking in at just over 5 1/2 hours. While the game ends with a cliffhanger, players will have plenty to check out in the game’s multiplayer suite. Sure, this is the first Halo game to not support couch co-op, but the competitive online multiplayer mode is still ever-present. Halo 5: Guardians is a necessary step forward, but after the next game it might be time to retire John and crew and open up the universe to new opportunities for adventure. - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

The Fallout series has always been prized for its immersive world full of colorful characters and questionable life choices. You can be an angel among men and women or a total jerk, but in Fallout 4, things are a bit more ambiguous. (Be weary. Spoilers ahead.) The game starts a good deal of time in the future, long after the events of 2008’s Fallout 3. The Wasteland is no longer a completely grueling desert of radiation, but a somewhat blooming foundation for the future. Sure, parts are still heavily irradiated and ghouls and super mutants roam about, but there are blue skies and green grass! One of the first things players will get to do is customize their Wastelander. For the first time, you can select a gender for your character, and players may even hear their name out loud from the game’s characters. There are over 250 names supported. After customizing your character, you find out you and your family have been selected to move into Vault 111 pending nuclear holocaust. And what do you know? Literally five minutes after sealing the deal, the bombs drop. You and your husband/wife and newborn baby head to the vault and are cryo-frozen without consent. Events transpire, which will not be spoiled here, and then the Wasteland is yours to explore. So what’s different this time around? Well, conversations have been simplified for entry-level players, but choosing your dialogue options is still a blast. It’s a lot more accessible and the camera is adjustable during conversations, a series first. Gunplay has been greatly improved and it’s a lot more active. The V.A.T.S. system, which allows players to slow down time and choose a body part to target, has been made a real-time component. Also improved and made ten times more enjoyable is power armor. Oh, the power armor. The player’s first experience with power armor has them taking on a group of raiders while defending the Minutemen, a militia aimed at protecting the Commonwealth, a large portion of Boston. You get in this giant, hulking suit, jack a minigun from a helicopter and take the raiders down. Oh, and then a Deathclaw shows up. I’ll let you experience that for yourself. Overall, Fallout 4 retains the charm of previous Bethesda titles. The adventure and imagination of The Elder Scrolls and the dark, comedic humor of Fallout is all here. The game is packed with content, side quests, voice acting and more, and you’ll want to play it a few times to catch everything. It’s more of the same, but better. Like the game’s opening lines say: “War, war never changes.” - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

It’s been just more than 10 years since the last Star Wars Battlefront title released for the Playstation 2 and Xbox, and fans have been waiting ages to jump back into the shoes of Rebel or Imperial scum. Electronic Arts and DICE have answered the call, and the end result is absolutely stunning. 2015’s Battlefront focuses on the original trilogy of films, pulling characters, weapons and vistas from Episodes IV, V and VI. And that’s the first thing players will notice, that this game is very much set in the Star Wars universe. The game modes are unique and each offer a specific challenge, but there isn’t much variety. Aside from objective-based modes like “Droid Run,” where players escort a Gonk Droid from one place to another, or “Walker Assault,” where the goal is to defend an AT-AT or take it down, most of everything else is kill or be killed. There’s Blast, the Battlefront take on traditional team death-match: Supremacy, an all-out war mode that tasks players with pushing the other team off the planet, and Fighter Squadron, which is essentially death-match in the air, exclusively. Also present are Hero-centric gametypes like “Heroes vs. Villains,” which is a six-on-six round-based mode where players assume the role of iconic Star Wars characters. And heroes is where the game shines best. Play as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader or Boba Fett. If that sounds like a small number of choices, that’s because it is. 2005’s Battlefront II had 23 heroes and villains. Here is where the new game finds its faults. There’s an overall lack of content here. The number of weapons and gear is in the tens and customization options are tied to face changes. But hey, EA has a $50 season pass ready for you to buy. Downloadable content isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when it looks like three-fourths **** content has been removed to sell back later, there’s a problem. This season pass will contain four additional hero characters, 16 multiplayer maps and countless gear and guns. But it’s OK. Battlefront is a beautiful title with tight, natural gameplay and it’s a whole lot of fun. Nothing beats Force-choking as Vader, or leaping through the treehouses of Endor as Luke Skywalker with 20 Rebel soldiers charging into battle with you. Flying an X-wing is exhilarating and taking down a Walker with a tow cable is 10 tons of awesome. But for the future, EA should look to Battlefront as a platform, not a sequel machine. Take cues from Activision’s Destiny, a fully formed title that has released expansions over the past year. Let’s face it, Star Wars fans. Battlefront is the Star Wars game we want, but it doesn’t have all of the content it needs right now. - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

If last year was the “Year of the Bow” in gaming, this year is the “Year of the Grappling Hook.” Evie and Jacob from Assassin’s Creed Syndicate used one, Batman used one and now Rico Rodriguez has a wholly unrealistic grappling hook in Just Cause 3. But it’s not much of a saving grace in a game full of missteps — and these errors take more than enough away from the beautiful open world of this game. Just Cause 3 is a homecoming story, with main character Rodriguez returning to his homeland of Medici, a fictional island country stuck under the foot of dictator Sebastiano Di Ravello. The story is a bit weak, but it’s straightforward enough. Rodriguez is trying to take down the dictator. That’s that. If you’ve stuck with the series this long, it’s expected, but if you’re looking for a plot-heavy open world adventure game, look somewhere else. For everything this game does well, it has something to offset that success. To start, the game’s Mediterranean setting looks absolutely stunning on current-generation consoles. The water is crystal clear, the planes and helicopters hum in the air and the hook has a satisfying snap to it. But for a game with plenty to see and hear, the missions are left empty and typical. The main story quests are a series of escort missions and liberations, with Rodriguez tasked with protecting his buddy Mario, picking up weapons and transportation for the rebels and lots of blowing stuff up. The latter is where Just Cause 3 really finds its strength, and players will find themselves distracted by side-quests, where they’ll just be liberating outposts by blowing specific things up. It’s great. But for all of the fun packed into the game, its load times and framerate drops are killers, and more than a few gamers will turn off the game in frustration as they wait three to five minutes between missions. Sure, long load times used to not be a valid excuse when it came to gaming, we were just happy to be immersed in a new world. But in 2015, when titles like Batman: Arkham Knight and Bloodborne can run without as much as a slight dip in performance, players are left wanting just a bit more from Just Cause 3. With so much else out there right now, it’s hard to recommend this title to those who haven’t already played the year’s usual suspects. This same studio even released a pretty solid Mad Max game earlier this year. If you want lots of explosions and you’ve got plenty of patience, then Just Cause 3 might just be worth your time. - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

The Rainbow Six series has always been known for its team-based, tactical multiplayer action, but it’s always had a gripping story to back it up. In Rainbox Six Siege, the series abandons its narrative roots to focus solely on multiplayer action, but that’s not totally a bad thing. Without a campaign to devote assets and time to, the development team was able to nearly perfect its classic game modes, while introducing a few new ones. The game’s main multiplayer mode is made up of five-versus-five game types, as players communicate to either break in and rescue hostages or work to keep the good guys out (i.e., you’re the bad guy, sorry). There are 11 maps in the game as of launch, but publisher Ubisoft plans to add additional content via post-launch downloadable content. And yes, there are microtransactions, which seem to be an upward trend in gaming as of late. Players can pay a bit of real cash in exchange for progress boosters, which help in unlocking Operators, Siege’s focal point in multiplayer progression. The Operators are split up into two categories, Attackers and Defenders, and are used in the game’s multiplayer mode. Each Operator has special perks or attributes, similar to that of “hero” characters in games like League of Legends. The Operators come from military backgrounds from around the world, including British SAS, FBI, SWAT, Spetsnaz and more, and they sport a cool cinematic each time you unlock one. One thing players will take note of fairly early on is how clean the destruction in this game is. You can blow holes in floors or walls with charges, peek around corners and chip bits of the foundation with your shots and get into every nook and cranny of the game world. In addition to the main multiplayer mode, Siege also brings back everyone’s favorite: Terrorist Hunt. Players work together in teams of up to five players to take down a group of terrorists on a map and mode selected at random. It’s fairly self-explanatory, but nigh impossible on higher difficulty levels, something Rainbow Six is generally known for. And all of these modes have plenty of depth to them, which is peculiar considering other multiplayer-only releases this year have been lacking in content (see: Star Wars Battlefront). But if for some reason multiplayer isn’t your thing, first off, you should probably pick up one of the many single-player-focused games released this year — but if you’re bored of those, then Siege’s Situations game mode is for you. It’s nothing too deep, but these Situations (there are 11 of them) help you learn your way around the game itself, a glorified tutorial if anything. But again, these get more and more difficult the more you progress, and the game rewards you in stars for completing them. The game also has one glaring issue: server problems. More than a handful of times you’ll experience a server error, whether it’s because of a spotty connection or because a player leaves the game. Sometimes it’s just at random, but it doesn’t detract from the overall experience. At first glance, Rainbow Six Siege may not seem like a game worth your time. Its game modes look lacking and there’s is no real campaign, the gunplay is fairly basic and the multiplayer seems bare-bones, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Though we didn’t get the amazing Rainbow Six: Patriots we were all hoping for a few years back, Siege is still a tactical shooter worth playing. - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

Super Mario Maker marks 30 years since the iconic plumber and his green-with-envy brother made their debut on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was blocky, straightforward and absolutely spectacular. The game hasn’t aged a bit. It’s been spiced and spruced and given plenty of coats of paint, but Mario is still Mario, and Super Mario Maker, a new title for the Nintendo Wii U, lets you play God with the Mushroom Kingdom. The game, billed as a do-it-yourself level creator, lets players choose between four distinct aesthetics: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U. Players can choose to “make” or “play” on the game’s menu. While making levels, each world has its own music and items, and every bit of the original game is intact, physics and all. Equipped with the Wii U GamePad, players use the touchscreen to build their levels. But in all honesty, some of us aren’t so good at making things. But that’s where the real meat of Super Mario Maker comes in: sharing. Players can share their levels to “Course World” or download levels made by gamers from around the globe. Give the game a few months and if you’ve got an idea for a level, chances are someone will have made it by then. Then there’s the “play” mode. This includes “10-Mario Challenge,” in which 10 levels are randomly selected for the player to traverse. In “Course World” this challenge gets amped up a bit to “100-Mario Challenge” and the game gives you 100 lives to make it through 10 randomly selected user-created levels. That means the level could be super-simple or gruelingly difficult. Roll the dice and take a chance. The game also supports Nintendo’s toys-to-life figurines, Amiibo, and they have an unbelievably addictive and wallet-damaging use. Just tap an Amiibo character to the base of the Wii U GamePad and the player can step into the shoes of 100 different icons like Link from The Legend of Zelda, Samus Aran from Metroid and even some more obscure ones like Chibi-Robo and the creepy owl from Animal Crossing. Amiibo usually cost $10 to $12, but the characters are completely unlockable in-game by playing the “100-Mario Challenge” mode. Relax, parents: It may be one less thing you’ll need to spend money on. Rest assured, Super Mario Maker is a delight. It’s a player-created wonderland packed full of content and a blast to play. One can only wonder what Nintendo has planned for future Mario anniversaries. - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

When Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam was announced in early 2015 for the Nintendo 3DS, we were all left just a little bit confused. The title, which crosses over the two Mario role playing game series, Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, is fun, sure, but it loses its focus in trying to streamline game play with new and innovative ideas. This is where Paper Jam folds. The premise is simple enough: Luigi, being the not-so-smart guy he is, accidentally opens a book portal to the Paper Mario dimension, releasing Bowser, his son and plenty of goombas, koopas and shy guys into the Mario & Luigi world. Of course, this also includes paper versions of Peach, Bowser and Mario. But not any of the awesome supporting characters that make the Paper Mario games so great. More on that later. We’re then introduced to the central conflict of the game, and it’s sort of lame. For two game series that have prided themselves on engaging villains, lengthy story lines and nostalgic callbacks to the original Mario role playing game, Paper Jam doesn’t seem to get it. Here, paper Bowser and regular Bowser team up, kidnap Peach and attempt to rule the world. Great. Also, Bowser Jr. and his counterpart seem to lead very sad lives. But, as with all Mario titles, we can’t always look so closely at the story. And in this entry, the game play is where things work just a little bit better. The general combat is a great improvement over 2013’s Dream Team. Though we’ve lost the ability to stack tons of Luigis on top of each other, we get some great mechanics in the form of power-ups, items and more. When Paper Mario is brought into the fold, things get even more exciting, albeit a bit complicated. Paper Mario has the ability to copy himself and attack with them. It’s a gimmick, sure, but it works, and it makes the grinding battles go by that much faster. Speaking of fast, the game sports a fast forward button, allowing players to speed up cutscenes and text bubbles, a welcome addition. You can also skip tutorials if you’ve played a game in the series before. The game’s newest feature comes in the form of giant papercraft mech battles, courtesy of the displaced paper Toads. These battles have you piloting a mech in real time and taking out other giant-sized papercrafts. It’s really fun, actually, but why is it here? In recent years, the RPG roots of the Paper Mario series have taken a backseat to innovative ideas like this one, but it was only a matter of time before the Mario & Luigi series caved as well. It would be nice to see things like this in a wholly original title, and have these RPG series focus on great story and awesome characters like literally anyone from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Hey, it is kind of cool to see Nabbit from New Super Mario Bros. U, though. Overall, Paper Jam is a solid foundation bogged down by its own innovation. The watercolor art is stunning, Mario and Luigi are still hilarious, but we need more than a few pancake jokes and Toad-catching minigames next time, Nintendo. - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle

Chances are, if you weren’t a 10-year-old kid in 2003, you probably haven’t heard all that much about Digimon, or Digital Monsters. Digimon was the story **** of kids, given cool little beepers called Digivices, who were sent into the Digital World to defend the life and times of smart, human language-speaking creatures called Digimon. Fast forward more than 10 years later, and Digimon is all grown up in a role-playing detective game for the Playstation 4 and Playstation Vita. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth’s premise is simple, but its content and replay-ability runs deep. You’re a normal, Web-surfing guy or gal who gets involved with a group of hackers and somehow ends up in a digital coma. What is a digital coma? Well, your body is in a coma but you can still manifest in the real world as a program, I think. Anyway, while the overarching plot has you finding out how to get back to your body, it’s your job to solve cyber crimes. You work with a detective agency, led by someone with an odd haircut, and put the magnifying glass on everything from a buggy smartphone app to a broken air conditioning unit. But come on, everyone knows the real fun is with the Digimon. And Cyber Sleuth delivers there, channeling bits and pieces of earlier Digimon games like Digimon World: Dawn and Dusk and combining it with housekeeping elements from the Pokemon games. And yes, I have been avoiding the parallels to Pokemon on purpose, because aside from monster collecting, these are wholly different titles. You scan, load, train and digivolve these monsters so that they can get stronger in battle. Battles are turn-based and involved pre-selecting skills and items in an attempt to strategize the best move. Think chess, but if each piece could blow fire and rain sharp minerals down from the sky. And things like the DigiFarm give off some heavy Pokemon vibes, but there’s enough there to make a difference, and a lot of it executes a hell of a lot better than your average ’mon game. The farm allows you to play and feed your Digimon, and they’ll level up while you’re out sleuthing. You’ll even get text messages in-game detailing your monster’s progress. For those worried about content, fret not. While the game may get a bit boring after a play-through, there’s plenty more to do afterward. Once you complete the game’s 20-quest main story, there are endgame quests, collectibles, replayable dungeons and more. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s enough to keep the average completionist interested. It’s odd, really, that after all this time a Digimon game could come out and actually be pretty darn good. While the game originally released in Japan in March 2015, it took more than 60,000 signatures on a **** petition to make its way west. Hey, maybe we’ll get that Nintendo 3DS Digimon game here pretty soon. One can only hope. Overall, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth is a pleasant blast from the past. Its story isn’t groundbreaking but the combat and performance are nearly flawless. With elements from popular Japanese role-playing games like Persona and Pokemon, one can only imagine this game will find its niche here in the States. - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle