Last week’s Nintendo Direct presentation — the company’s first since the death of president and CEO Satoru Iwata — did not disappoint until suddenly I realized that it had.

Crystal Dynamics set a solid foundation when it rebooted the revered “Tomb Raider” series back in 2013. With a bigger world, more varied combat, and more high-octane action, “Rise of the Tomb Raider” is better than it predecessor in every way.

Who is in control of the narrative of a video game: the developer or the player? The answer is a little bit of both.

With a “Call of Duty” game, you can generally expect fast-paced boat chases, vehicle assaults, and an air-to-air combat segment packed into a Michael Bay-style cinematic experience. That’s all still here, as Treyarch’s campaign addition to the franchise this year starts off unnervingly similar to “Sledgehammer’s Advanced Warfare” from last year in many ways.

343 Industries walks a tight rope with “Halo 5” between an established framework and desired innovation, offering a higher focus on speed and mobility, a story that takes characters off their established courses, and a multiplayer mode that veers dramatically from expectation.

By nature, every video game must cater to both longtime fans and total newcomers. Let me put it this way: If you want to watch a movie that came out in the 1940’s, odds are you can stream it on your computer without too much fuss today.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not one for the horror genre. Games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill are too much for me.

The “Assassin’s Creed” series has been running for eight years, and that kind of longevity doesn’t happen without taking a few risks. To combat fatigue, each entry attempts to punctuate the familiar with new elements.

Within the opening minutes of “Ori and the Blind Forest,” developer Moon Studios teases a playful and uplifting experience that focuses on two unlikely companions — Ori and Naru — coming together to form the bond of friendship.

You pay a disproportionately high sum to get content that does not feel commensurate to what you paid for. If an entire 60-hour game costs me $60, after all, why is it that I have to pay another $15 to get three hours of largely superfluous content?