Between 1998 and 2007, Nintendo released ten games in the Mario Party franchise including eight in the main series and two for handhelds. While the first title was arguably a revolutionary party game, each successive title has been less and less inspired. By 2007, considerable series fatigue had set in and Nintendo decided to take a much-needed break.  The series did not lie dormant for long, however, as Nintendo was back with Mario Party 9 for the Wii in 2012. Still, many reviewers were disappointed with Nintendo for not doing more to change up their stale formula. With Mario Party 10, Nintendo looks to break from tradition and deliver a unique experience with two entirely new game modes: Bowser Party and Amiibo Party. Unfortunately, though these modes do differ from the also-included Mario Party mode, none of them differ enough from the Mario Party modes of the past to make Mario Party 10 anything more than mediocre.

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Telltale is back in the Game of Thrones Universe with Episode Two: The Lost Lords roughly two months after its release of Episode One: Iron From Ice. While Iron From Ice had to live up to the lofty expectations set by HBO’s hit show, The Lost Lords has the added burden of living up to Telltale’s initial entry to the series. Unfortunately, though it does a few things better than before, Episode Two’s story fails to consistently hit the emotional highs and lows of its predecessor.

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Back in 2008, the now defunct Midway Games tried their hand at a professional wrestling game. The problem is that they didn’t try very hard. TNA Impact! begins immediately with the masked wrestler Suicide. He’s holding the TNA World Championship above his head as confetti rains down on him. The celebration is cut short, however, as the tag team of Homicide (yup they have wrestlers named both Homicide and Suicide) and Hernandez, known collectively as LAX, beats him within an inch of his life. After waking from the beatdown-induced coma, Suicide finds himself in a hospital bed. His red and blue mask has been replaced with a mask of bandages and a body cast to match. He’s informed that he has been beaten so badly that emergency plastic surgery is required. This is where the player comes in. You are now tasked with reconstructing Suicide by creating your own wrestler. This premise sounds somewhat interesting (albeit ridiculous), but really loses steam when you realize that the create-a-wrestler system has less depth than systems from dated wrestling games like Wrestlemania 2000. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with a tattooed man in purple tights, tasseled Ugg boots, and a white mask. He is an uninspired creation, but then again, so is this entire game.

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Ever since its in-engine reveal trailer at E3 2013, The Order: 1886, a Sony exclusive developed by Ready at Dawn and Santa Monica Studios, has been looked to by gamers to justify their purchase of the PlayStation 4. With its unprecedented graphics and cinematic feel, The Order appeared to be the first game to deliver a uniquely next-gen experience. As a result, the game was burdened with some lofty expectations that it unfortunately fails to meet. Though it looks amazing and has its share of fun moments, The Order: 1886 focuses too heavily on attempting to approximate a movie and ultimately fails thanks to disjointed, derivative gameplay that is never quite woven together to create a cohesive narrative.

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