While Revelations lacks that one supreme improvement or standout mechanic that defined AC2 and Brotherhood each, it's still a damn fine sendoff for Altair and Ezio.

Innovative only in its exceptional presentation, L.A. Remix is nevertheless a fast and furious jaunt through not one but two massive bergs, and it does just about everything a city racer could ever be expected to do within the miniaturized PSP environment. Despite its few foibles, this is a keeper.

Even when the least exciting elements of the game eat up half of my playtime, I still find an excuse to fire up Darkspore every single day.

While not every one of Retro's experimental ideas panned out (I'll never quite forgive Corruption for its embarrassing final battle), Trilogy is a welcome reminder that all three episodes are worth experiencing. Or, as the case may be, experiencing again.

The real appeal of Cave Story 3D is a chance to see Pixel's low-rez world rendered in elaborate detail.

MM9 is an unapologetic nod to one of gaming's greatest eras. It might've been made especially for nostalgia-crazed dorks like me, but it's something that any challenge-seeking gamer can dig.

Whether Tropico 4 is really Tropico 3.5 is immaterial; it's fun, it's cheap, and it's worth playing.

Prince of Persia delivers well-crafted gameplay that borrows elements from its predecessors (and plenty of other titles) but makes great strides in developing a new identity for a series -- and a character that isn't as completely annoying as you might think from the first few lines of dialogue -- that seemingly lost its focus over the past few years. Of course, some issues here and there disrupt its goal in surpassing The Sands of Time, but it's an incredibly enjoyable journey nonetheless.

Well-made, well-considered, and well-designed. It has its shortcomings, sure, but it marks yet another solid digital release for the increasingly robust 3DS software library. Any fan of hard-as-nails classic platformers is bound to love it.

Football fundamentals matter now. Successful plays come from knowing the situation, calling the right play, making a good pre-snap read, and then executing -- the same criteria that determines the outcome in a real game.

Make no mistake, what's offered in Outrun Arcade Online is brilliant, addictive fun, but it could have definitely offered more.

And while the information overload does come with a steep learning curve, it will smooth out eventually if you stick with the game. What won't smooth out, however, are The Sims 3's problems with stability and performance.

And that highlights Scott Pilgim's real problem: the lack of any online multiplayer. If you want to play with friends, they have to be sitting on the couch in the same room with you.

2K Sports' "NHL 2K9" is not a bad game, especially if you'd rather get out there and play than spend time learning button combos. But even with its few warts, NHL 09 is simply too big, too adventurous, too pretty, and too danged consuming to be considered anything other than the best hockey videogame ever produced.

It's a fantastic installment for newcomers to the Prince of Persia series, but those who've been Persia fans since Sands of Time may find The Forgotten Sands mildly forgettable.

Fortune Street excels as a social experience: The sort of things that fosters knock-down, drag-out competition over the course of long, grueling hours. Just the thing for the holidays, really.

A truly enjoyable game with some minor quibbles. You can pick it up and race in five-minute sprints when you feel like killing a little time, or you can drill down into it with the level editor and the myriad unlockables.

Still, it's a damn good crime game that delivers satisfying combat, an entertaining glimpse into the Japanese criminal underworld, decent fan service for players who dug the first game, and a pretty awesome tiger-fight scene.

Because multiplayer puts all the focus back on just racing, online could be Shift's strongest suit.

A worthy beginning for what will surely be a long line of expansion packs.

The game's a bit short and doesn't provide much beyond the visceral glee of running over craploads of people who actually have it coming, but that's probably more than enough for the lean, $10 price tag.

While the developers made a conscious effort to shake things up with new ideas and implementations, the game falls into a weird middle ground filled with genuine surprises, inessential carry-overs, and copy/paste quest structures. That said, I still believe this to be one of the more admirable chapters of the series, even if at times it feels the developers were unsure of which sacred cows to keep and which to sacrifice.

It's a first-rate puzzle platformer. And it's so charming that you won't be able to help but make frequent use of that hug button.

It's a game designed to feed on your nostalgic memories of Final Fantasy VII, and in that regard, it never falters.

Lackluster side-content notwithstanding, Saints Row: The Third is so crazy and over-the-top that you can't go wrong with this game -- provided that you're the sort that would appreciate the game's knowingly juvenile sense of humor.

Lackluster side-content notwithstanding, Saints Row: The Third is so crazy and over-the-top that you can't go wrong with this game -- provided that you're the sort that would appreciate the game's knowingly juvenile sense of humor.

Toy Soldiers smartly sticks to its roots, paying homage to the genre that defines it. But it also manages to strike out on its own with clever ideas that other tower defense titles could learn a lesson from. The old-fashioned charm melded with action elements makes a unique experience worth the time of any strategic masters, action aficionados, or history buffs.

As a Ghostbusters fan, this game came through by delivering an entertaining experience with plenty of laughs and just the right amount of action.