From the game shelf
Games I've sunk real hours into, and what I thought once the credits rolled (or didn't).
My Nintendo Switch shortlist for local multiplayer, sorted by how many people are on the couch, from two-player co-op games that need teamwork to eight-player chaos.
A top-down SWAT tactics game where every mission is a puzzle and the planning is half the fun. It rewards patience and punishes you for rushing.
Eleven PS3 games that reviewed well, sold fine and then quietly vanished, from Binary Domain and Enslaved to Split/Second and Blur, with what happened to the studios behind them and where you can still play each one.
Brilliant writing, clever puzzles and a co-op campaign that tests friendships. My only real complaint is that I can't play it for the first time again.
You don't control the hero. You build the world around him, one card at a time, and watch him walk the same loop until something kills him. It's weirdly addictive.
Two legendary space strategy games in one remastered package. Not a perfect remaster, but still the best way to play the games that made fleet combat in 3D feel possible.
The 2011 Warhammer 40K action game still nails the power fantasy of being a Space Marine. The price jump right before the sequel is the hard part to swallow.
Fourteen quieter PlayStation 3 games from my list, averaging 81 on review scores, from Vanquish and Valkyria Chronicles to Folklore, Tokyo Jungle and Puppeteer, with who made them, why they got missed and where you can still play them.
A shorter, snowier Spider-Man game that makes up for its length with Miles's powers, gorgeous winter New York and one of the better PC ports I've played.
A card game that isn't just a card game. I'm going to tell you as little as possible, because that's the best way to play it.
A short swashbuckling action game where you parry, kick guards down stairs and throw buckets at their heads. I wanted more of it, which is the only real complaint.
The big, famous PlayStation 3 games sitting on my to-play list, from The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption to Metal Gear Solid 4 and Demon's Souls, and where each one is easiest to play now.
