Now that the PS5 and Xbox Series are out, I figure it's a good time to reflect on my favorite games their predecessors brought during the past 7 years. I figured since these consoles came out in 2013 and I was there for the PS4 day one, I would list the thirteen games that stuck with me most. Some of them I played on PC or Switch, but I'm including them anyways so long as they're offered on either or both of these platforms. I would include Switch and Wii U, but these days Nintendo consoles feel distinct while PS and XB feel like mostly the same console with a handful of exclusives separating them.

So, while Yakuza 0 quickly became one of my favorite games of all time when I rented and eventually bought it last year, the remake of the original Yakuza  game, subtitled Kiwami (meaning "extreme" in Japan) really brings attention to and intensifies some of the issues I had with the former game. 

I remember the first time I played Super Mario 64 and was amazed at seeing Mario move in 3D. I remember thinking how vast and expansive the fields of Hyrule looked in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. And I remember carjacking a truck, driving as fast as I could until flying off a cliff in Grand Theft Auto III. At the time, these games all had an unrivaled sense of freedom. They formulated a magical feeling, as new doors seemed to open and an experience I could only imagine was now real. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild now joins these titles in creating the same sense of wonder.

As a small fledgling in the first grade, I liked comic books superheroes, but I wasn’t nearly as familiar with them as I am now. Sure, I knew about guys like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. But for the most part, I had only a narrow understanding of the world of comic books and the heroes within them.

It’s no secret that some of the best ideas started in Japan. This was certainly true of Nintendo back in the early 80’s.  One of their creations was a simple arcade game, Mario Bros., featuring sibling plumbers Mario and Luigi on a quest to rid the screen of pests in the sewer pipes. Due to its success, Nintendo decided to create a bigger adventure based on the two characters for their new cartridge-based home console. Thus, Super Mario Brothers was born on September 13, 1985 in Japan and 1986 in the US, making Mario a household name along with the company that created him.

.... and they're all digital games. Don't rush on over. Looks like Club Nintendo is out right now.

With the large amount of hype and high number of preview awards given to TitanFall, it naturally has a lot to live up to. This goes double as it expects to do so solely online, banking on providing a new experience rather than one brimming with single player content. It seems to embody a new console generation in how it feels refreshing and new, yet it doesn’t show off graphical horsepower or introduce bells and whistles not possible on older technology.

To be honest I have not played a traditional one in quite some time. I don't think I have ever beat one. I am trying to think way back and nothing is coming to mind. But regardless I love this genre.

After a lackluster reveal of the Xbox One and plenty of reason for consumers to be concerned about the new console, Microsoft needed to do something big to counteract that first impression. At their E3 press conference, the company came out swinging hard with games, with a focus on exclusives. However, something was missing, namely any discussion to tell people what benefits—if any—could be expected from an always connected console that requires a camera to be hooked up in order to operate.

While WiiWare never made quite the splash that competing services XBLA and PSN did, it still managed to offer a few gems. Fluidity was one such title, providing Metroid-inspired exploration along with physics-based puzzles starring an amorphous blob of water that could phase change between ice and steam. Spin Cycle follows that experience with a more linear adventure that’s broken out into a set of 60 levels. The shift away from the original design proves less successful, with a number of the levels falling flat in their implementation.

Well, the weekend is upon us once again. And despite the fact that I have a biology and government test to study for, this weekend will once again be devoted to gaming. I promise, my priorities are in order.

Nintendo is known for many things, and chief among them would be their amazingly popular library of games. While that has kept the company firmly in the hearts and minds of millions of gamers, most hardcore fans would admit that the Big N hasn’t quite leveraged the digital space as well as they could. Nintendo is hoping to turn that sentiment around when it comes to the 3DS eShop. The eShop has seen some impressive original releases and some classics on the Virtual Console, but Nintendo is coming strong with a lineup of titles and content from October through the end of the year.

If you’ve read my reviews for Guardian Heroes and Golden Axe, it’s pretty clear that I’m a big fan of the classic arcade-style beat ‘em up. Many critics will say that this genre is an irrelevant dinosaur and has no place in modern gaming, but I disagree. While the old “quarter muncher” design philosophy no longer works today I truly believe that the side-scrolling brawler can still be a viable genre with the right updates to the formula. WayForward comes frustratingly close to bringing this genre into the modern age, but doesn’t quite get the job done with Double Dragon: Neon.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is on its way to being just as good, if not better than its predecessor if my latest hands-on with the game is any indicator. 2010’s War for Cybertron left a lasting impression on me, and was one of my favorite games of that year. It finally set the bar for what a Transformers game should be like with the right amount of action, fluidity of gameplay,  and the overall production value. Thankfully, Fall of Cybertron continues that trend. The latest demo, which includes single and multiplayer components shows that High Moon has learned from some of its mistakes in the last game and is trying hard to make sure that Fall of Cybertron is a better game overall.

Imagine if you will, that video games never went into the third dimension. Instead of the polygon arms race that began in 1995, game artists and designers simply continued to hone the craft of 2D, hand-drawn sprites. What would the video games industry look like today? With that picture in your head, imagine that character-action games like Devil May Cry and God of War still existed, but were known for their gorgeous animation and parallax scrolling as much for their over-the-top combo systems and precise control schemes. Enter Dust: An Elysian Tale, a game that seems to come from this amazing alternate gaming reality.

As a kid I remember being told that my imagination was the greatest toy I could ever own, but what my parents didn’t tell me was that it's also my greatest weapon. That’s the exact mentality that Arkane Studios brings to their new first-person action title Dishonored. Cast as a supernatural assassin armed with a cornucopia of awe inspiring abilities, players will be free to choose how and when they strike their prey. Everything from instant teleportation to melding your mind with a fish is possible. Truly, this is one game where; “if you think it, you can probably do it”.

You might have seen other pinball offerings from Zen; they are probably the most prominent creator of pinball video games out there right now on the iOS, Android, PSN, and XBOX Live Arcade platforms.  The four tables in Zen Pinball 3D all appear elsewhere, which shouldn’t really be an issue for most pinball fans, since mastering tables takes practice and repetition.  Zen’s latest package in the Nintendo 3DS eShop, Zen Pinball 3D, will satisfy those residual pinball yearnings.

It took us a long time to finally get the Club Nintendo rewards program on this side of the globe, and some people would say that the American version of CN gets the short end of the stick. That changes today, as it seems that Club Nintendo U.S. has put up some actual games that you can redeem your coins for, as well as some other loot.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 may just be their best game yet. While this game will by no means reinvent the genre it does provide a number of noticeable tweaks that help to refine the overall experience, while continuing to remain true to past iterations in the franchise.

I hate to say it, but I've always disliked Captain America. He's a lame superhero who's in possession of no super powers whatsoever. Sure, he's a peak human specimen thanks to the Super-Soldier serum, but that still makes him pretty dull in comparison to most other superheroes. It also makes him pretty on par with most video game characters that share many of the same abilities. The Prince from Prince of Persia comes to mind – both are acrobatic, strong, and can defeat hordes of enemies without breaking a sweat. The difference between the two? The Prince starred in a great game – Captain America, a mediocre one.

With the 2010 PixlBit Game of the Year awards come and gone, the staff have taken a more detailed look at the games of 2010. Since the usual awards deal only with choosing overall best games in general categories, we've created some very specific awards to give some attention to titles that don't quite make the cut for a general award. Which title was most unique? Which game had the best in co-op? What was the best minigame? See what the staff has to say.

Unquestionably, 2010 was an impressive year for gaming, with many great titles releasing across all of the modern systems available on the market.

In my opinion, Sony's biggest surprise of E3 was the reveal of Twisted Metal for the PlayStation 3. I've enjoyed the series in the past, and a new entry in the series is quite welcome as it has been dormant for far too long.