Just a bad shooter in its bones. Whether the cops or the robbers win a matchup is still mostly dependent on who gets there first and camps out with line-of-sight to the objective. Lack of locational damage means hitting someone with a sniper shot is going to make them half dead whether the bullet hits someone in the face or the ankle. Other than the tweaks mentioned earlier the vast litany of complaints we had about the game the first time around still stands.

I understand that the game is meant for a younger audience, but there are quite literally hundreds of other titles out there that provide a far more enjoyable experience.

I understand that the game is meant for a younger audience, but there are quite literally hundreds of other titles out there that provide a far more enjoyable experience.

While Team GrisGris clearly has a deficiency in game design, they should be commended for their ability to surprise and disgust with the most limited of assets.

You'll have a bit more choice in the direction that story takes, thanks to some branching paths in the castle. It's a nice change of pace from the first Infinity Blade, though if you stuck with the original long enough to receive the massive content update Chair delivered for that game, you'll have seen the beginnings of those branching paths already.

XSeed's Fishing Resort, developed by Prope (Let's Tap) tries to spice things up by letting you do some things that aren't just fishing, and they do add a cute Japanese touch to an otherwise bland genre, but it still has trouble standing out.

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.

Serious Sam 3 is a game that deserves to be played, because it shows what shooters were and could have been. It shows that there's more to the genre than what AAA developers have shown us in the past decade.

This time, the changes are a scattering of smaller ones. Track layout tweaks, customization quirks, 3D effects, first-person karting, and a power-up that adds to the general level of kart chaos by letting one player unleash seven items. MK7 isn't a kart game with a defining voice -- it's just a solid little kart game with a bunch of little tweaks.

The King of Fighters XIII offers a phenomenal fighting game experience you won't find in many newer fighting games, and while the learning curve might be steep, the time and effort you put into it won't be obliterated by mindless mashing of uppercuts or ridiculous comeback mechanics. If you want to be the King of Fighters, you have to earn it.

The King of Fighters XIII offers a phenomenal fighting game experience you won't find in many newer fighting games, and while the learning curve might be steep, the time and effort you put into it won't be obliterated by mindless mashing of uppercuts or ridiculous comeback mechanics. If you want to be the King of Fighters, you have to earn it.

Meanwhile, Minecraft, with all its flaws and quirks, has already joined Super Mario Brothers, Wolfenstein 3D, and Tetris in the pantheon of games that prototyped an entire genre.

It seems to be perfectly suited for a casual audience who just wants to push buttons and watch things happen. But those looking for anything more had best look elsewhere.

It seems to be perfectly suited for a casual audience who just wants to push buttons and watch things happen. But those looking for anything more had best look elsewhere.

Delivers the most fully realized vision of Rowling's world that our medium has seen. TT Games has once again raised their own bar when it comes to splitscreen co-op. Fans of the books and movies will find immeasurable joy in exploring the iconic locales with their favorite characters that have become so ingrained in the pop-culture lexicon over the past 15 years.

Delivers the most fully realized vision of Rowling's world that our medium has seen. TT Games has once again raised their own bar when it comes to splitscreen co-op. Fans of the books and movies will find immeasurable joy in exploring the iconic locales with their favorite characters that have become so ingrained in the pop-culture lexicon over the past 15 years.

The Run takes an awkwardly serious approach to its story, eschewing the over-the-top fun and wackiness of its clear inspirations -- movies like the Cannonball Run series and classic arcade games like Cruis'n USA --to deliver a cross-country campaign that's sometimes exhilarating, but often frustrating and surprisingly banal.

The Run takes an awkwardly serious approach to its story, eschewing the over-the-top fun and wackiness of its clear inspirations -- movies like the Cannonball Run series and classic arcade games like Cruis'n USA --to deliver a cross-country campaign that's sometimes exhilarating, but often frustrating and surprisingly banal.

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.

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.

I would have liked to see an expanded tutorial mode, something beyond just showing players combos and such, but at the end of the day I am glad Capcom's main focus was improving the core gameplay even if it means skimping out on some of the more trivial features aimed at a more casual audience. For competitive players though, this is truly the ultimate version of the game, both in name and execution.

I would have liked to see an expanded tutorial mode, something beyond just showing players combos and such, but at the end of the day I am glad Capcom's main focus was improving the core gameplay even if it means skimping out on some of the more trivial features aimed at a more casual audience. For competitive players though, this is truly the ultimate version of the game, both in name and execution.

Anniversary edition is a collection of some of the best pieces of Halo. It revives a classic campaign that sports a fresh look. The multiplayer package adds classic maps into Reach's larger framework and re-enables classic CE behaviors for multiplayer fans to revisit the original, and even Kinect brings something unique to the table.

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.

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.

Origins' brilliance is it keeps that simplicity on the surface, but ends up feeling incredibly varied thanks to its level design.

Origins' brilliance is it keeps that simplicity on the surface, but ends up feeling incredibly varied thanks to its level design.