A nice reincarnation of The Lost Vikings. But, as opposed to the “lost” runner Erik, archer Baleog, and sturdy Olaf, the three heroes of Trine are imprisoned in one body.

Natural Selection 2 has quite a few things to be nitpicky about. Pared down strategy elements, scanty arsenal of weapons, lack of single-player missions and decent tutorials – yep, it's all there, but, in contrast to shooters that come off big assembly lines, the developers put love and effort into making of this game.

Lionhead carefully preserved everything that made Fable 2 so good. Though it's a pity that the "king simulator" concept is totally wasted here.

The new playable race and nifty multiplayer additions compensate for the disappointingly short, boring campaigns.

If you have never played Panzer General, this almost carbon copy of SSI's masterpiece may easily blow your mind.

This cute platformer is worth a look regardless of your taste in music.

Stacking is a great "sandbox" game for kids and adults alike. It tests your patience rather than wit, though, and after defeating The Baron, there is no reason to come back to it.

Multiplayer is the only thing that makes Revelations worth its price (and if you're still interested in the story, just go watch the ending on YouTube).

The best racing blockbuster on PC since Burnout Paradise.

GSC’s third attempt at creating a post-apocalyptic world reinforced my belief that PR is the only thing this company does best.

In theory, every new idea introduced in Hitman: Absolution is a good one and, technically, should make a Hitman game more enjoyable. But the reality is that when combined, Absolution's overbearing story, "Instinct", over-reliance on scripted events and a weird checkpoint system take a lot of fun away.

Point Lookout is a miniature copy of Fallout 3. Alas, just like the original game, the wrapping is much better than the contents, but even this result is a great achievement for Bethesda Softworks. Not only they managed to produce a decent expansion, but finally added their own ideas to the legendary post-apocalyptic universe instead of ripping off stories about supermutants and The Brotherhood of Steel.

An art connoisseur will be in raptures over the perfect, highly stylized look of The Path. A gamer will walk about the forest for 10 minutes and uninstall it. And both will be right in their own way.

PopCap had two and a half years to develop ideas of the original game (it wouldn’t have hurt to up the resolution to at least 1280x720) while keeping the spirit and style. Nevertheless, despite its lack of imagination, Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 is a welcome relief in an endless crowd of “hidden objects” and “match-3” games.

With a lot of previous mistakes corrected by the mini-expansion, Europa Universalis: Rome got its second wind. Vae Victis is worth a look even for those grand strategy fans who dismissed the original game.

The makers of Tropico 3 managed to update the original game while preserving its spirit.

Everything here is so Monkey Island, so classic LucasArts. Telltale not only resurrected an old series, but also proved that none of the recent imitators will ever become Monkey Island.

Outdated visuals, sloppy innovations, dead multiplayer… no, that’s not the way to continue a great series.

DeathSpank has stylish "paper cut-outs" as characters and scenery (which are especially impressive at a full HD resolution on PC), sharp dialogue, and nice music – it only needs thought-out gameplay to succeed. The game is hardly worth a second playthrough, and that's a death warrant for any aspiring Diablo clone.

An original, unconventional arcade that caters to the visceral needs of a modern gamer. Yes, it lets you go with ease, but every show has an ending, right?

Absolute Power is made for those who loves the original Tropico 3. The developers didn't want to shake foundations, but it doesn't mean that this expansion is not worth its $19.99.

It’s an instant classic, not less.

Pretty graphics, solid gameplay, a well-developed setting – Neocore Games hit a bull's-eye. Despite some rough edges and a tacked-on multiplayer, King Arthur is much more interesting than Neocore's previous effort and head-and-shoulders above Warhammer: Mark of Chaos.

Konami still haven't figured out how serious and realistic they wanted their game to be, and made some silly mistakes. PES 2011 has occasional strokes of genius, and they really push the series forward… But it's not worthy of a gold medal yet.

DeathSpank has stylish "paper cut-outs" as characters and scenery (which are especially impressive at a full HD resolution on PC), sharp dialogue, and nice music – it only needs thought-out gameplay to succeed. The game is hardly worth a second playthrough, and that's a death warrant for any aspiring Diablo clone.

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is a stylish farce. Its sheer originality and incredibly low price are enough to overlook clumsy gameplay balance and poor code optimization.

If Rage were a human being, it would be a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Level design, racing sequences, "open" world, story, quests, characters, dialogue, visuals… id wanted to take a bite from each of these pies, but spread itself too thin, turning everything into mediocrity.

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is not without its flaws: the tracks will bore you sooner or later, some vehicles behave too similarly, the upgrades are purely cosmetic, objectives and modes are few and far between. But BigBig succeeded in conveying the excitement of an extreme snow race, while maintaining nice visuals and the freedom of MotorStorm.

This incarnation of Pets is mostly retread of what was introduced in animal-themed expansions for The Sims 1 and 2. The developers simply expanded on some ideas and trimmed a few annoying shortcomings.

It may not be the most good-looking or exciting action game ever, but few games convey the feel of a dying city which is at the mercy of a single creature.

This is an honest DLC – 4-5 hours of joy for 10 bucks guaranteed!

Chivalry is, hands down, the best online slasher set in the Middle Ages out there right now.

The original game allowed us to be a selfless do-gooder; now our actions are determined by purely financial reasons. What is better: kill or enslave villagers? Your fingers itch to roll some heads, but anger is hardly profitable. Kill a person, and you’ll get a soul, a bag of gold and, if you’re lucky, an accessory for your minions. Brainwashed citizens produce resources forever. Forget about looking for gold chests and farming sheep for souls – a thoughtful Overlord 2.0 gets everything on a plate.

Dark Meadow is the least milk-and-water clone of Infinity Blade that popped up in 2011.

The biggest problem of F.E.A.R. 2 is the triteness of its gameplay rather than dumbed down enemies. Four years ago, F.E.A.R. stood out in a crowd with its then-novel slo-mo effects and bold AI. Nowadays you can find all this even in value-priced shooters from Poland.

Despite a few nagging shortcomings, The Settlers 7 is the best game in the series so far. It is good-looking, well-made, complex and accessible at the same time.

LEGO Star Wars was an inspired experiment of a talented team. LEGO Harry Potter is a mediocre product of seasoned craftsmen, complete with old mistakes but not a single spark.

A compelling cooperative mode instead of a brainless mayhem is what Madballs needs. But even in the current form, it is way ahead of its rivals.

The subtitle is the weakest part of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, because it invites comparisons. That's when you realize that the new game is a step down from its 3- and 7-years old predecessors.

Code Force is a small company, but it succeeded where more experienced studios failed – it created a worthy rival for Galactic Civilizations 2. Distant Worlds has its share of technical and ideological kinks to iron out, but this is definitely a step forward for the 4X genre.

The subtitle of this expansion is way more interesting than the actual game content.

Modern Times is a good excuse to return to the familiar world of Tropico, but, frankly, the game has almost outstayed its welcome.

Call of Duty is not just an annual assembly-line product; it's now a digital opposite of imagination, originality and reason.

If it weren't for some very unfortunate flaws, Fallen Enchantress would have been a great game.

Flight model is the strongest point of Wings of Prey, even despite its arcade-style single-player campaign.

Looks like Bound in Blood is bound for the bargain bin. The six-hour single-player campaign and stock multiplayer modes are so forgettable that one can’t help but wonder what a true sequel to the original Call of Juarez could have been like. At any rate, it would have turned out better than a forced prequel.

In its current state, MotoHeroz cannot rise above the crowd of faceless short-lived arcades that fill App Store every day.

Warband is not just a great expansion pack that makes this medieval "sandbox" even more enticing. By adding multiplayer, the developers cemented the game's cult status.

Unlike Operation: Anchorage, brief, dullish adventures in Pittsburgh are actually worth $10. It seems Bethesda has finally found the right formula for Fallout 3 expansions, although it’s far from being perfect.

The three acts of Deadlight cater to three different tastes. One is for the people who love rainy film noir, the other is for fans of hardcore platformers, the third one feels like a summer blockbuster. It's a pity that Deadlight is too short to satisfy the appetites of even one of these groups.

Tropico 4 is hardly a full-fledged sequel; it's more of an expansion – utterly derivative, but well-polished – that got its number somewhere in the marketing department.

Mafia 2 doesn't even try to be interesting, even though an action game with a linear 10-hour campaign should be going for broke in order to entertain players. Vito Scaletta's misadventures are jam-packed with everyday trivialities, pre-historic clichés, and tiresome moralisms.

A worthy purchase for all fans of tabletop games.

The atmosphere of ArmA 2 reminds of now-classic Operation Flashpoint. Dirty streets, shabby signboards in Russian, ugly Soviet-style architecture – you can see this in any real provincial town in Russia. The volume of work is astounding, but the potential hit is marred by flaws and rough edges, in both single-player and online modes.

DeathSpank has stylish "paper cut-outs" as characters and scenery (which are especially impressive at a full HD resolution on PC), sharp dialogue, and nice music – it only needs thought-out gameplay to succeed. The game is hardly worth a second playthrough, and that's a death warrant for any aspiring Diablo clone.

I wish EPOCH were as bright and exciting as its explosion effects and backgrounds!

Crazy-looking landscapes, unusual color combinations and grotesque characters fill the odd world of Zenozoic. All this stuff could have made for a cool screen saver. Unfortunately, they crammed it into an action title. The result is a short, sluggish, boring game which loves to show off its novelty instead of entertaining the player.

Hearts of Iron 3 treats die-hard “armchair generals” with depth and attention to detail while easing things up for newcomers. Its shortcomings, namely bugs and poor optimization, pale in comparison with its many virtues.

The first Supreme Commander was unique even despite its problems. The sequel turned into a “just another RTS” with a couple of nifty ideas and flawed balance.

Burnout CRASH! is just a silly mess of fire, numbers and wrecked cars.

There is a reason for comparisons between Rise of Flight and the legendary IL-2 Sturmovik. Rise of Flight is truly a good game. Now all it needs to do is to use its potential.

It took TimeGate two years to make a sequel to Section 8, but they never bothered to fully develop their concept of the orbital assault force. Only the moderate price tag and a lack of decent sci-fi multiplayer shooters keep it from burning out on entry.

Lost Horizon is like a good summer blockbuster. Analyze it under the microscope, and you will see a myriad of small flaws, but the action is explosive and gripping until the very end.

All in all, Heroes 6 is a game worthy of its legendary name.

In my mind, I do understand that Endless Space is not without its flaws. But the mere sight of such a coherent space strategy game is mesmerizing.

There are no gods in Risen – a powerful sorcerer banished them from the world forever, - but the hero still can’t escape his fate. German demiurges strapped him to the pillar of the story so tight that you can’t help but wonder if anyone at Piranha Bytes remembers what “role-playing” means. A game where all problems are solved by kicking butts and giving money is not an RPG. When the difference between working for bandits or the Inquisition in Harbor Town is to whom you report the completed tasks – it is not an RPG. It is laziness, harbinger of boredom.

A bit awkward and rough, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is still a nice game. It’s an energetic sharp-clawed slasher with some original ideas. Fans of X-Men can look no further.

You squeeze a laugh or two from Precipice of Darkness 3, but why putting up with the boring gameplay and ancient visuals when you just go and read a fresh comic strip by Penny Arcade?

Pro Evolution Soccer is like Kaka – in mid-noughties it was cherished and loved, but today it's just a pale shadow of its old glorious self.

Stainless Games simply retooled the 2009 version in accordance with the latest edition of the original CCG - Magic 2012. Even with all the changes, this game is basically a big glorified DLC, but, on the other hand, it costs only $10, and offers a lot of fun for this kind of money.

Exhilarating in its opening sequence, The Darkness 2 quickly loses steam and turns into a 5-hour run through a long corridor.

Compared to other Sims spin-offs, The Sims Medieval is a bold game. But once you complete your first playthrough, you will hardly crave for a second helping.

It's a pity that Hamilton's Great Adventure never got its 15 minutes of Internet fame, because it has tons of charm and it's very fun to play.

Duels is the still the best gateway drug to collectable card games out there.

If the recent overabundance of WWII-themed RTS games and the lack of multiplayer do not bother you, pick up this game. A good single-player campaign is a rarity these days.

Singularity feels almost like 2009's Wolfenstein: the same dull corridors, anemic shootouts with simple-minded AI, and feeble attempts at creating dramatic tension.

A solid, but all in all cookie-cutter adventure game.

A solid expansion pack, although it is not as game-changing as Victoria: Revolutions was.

Changes to the formula are so light that one can’t help but wonder what prevented PopCap Games from making a patch for the original game. The answer to this question is on the price tag.

Dragon Rising has enough silly conventions and simplifications to drive mad any die-hard fan of ArmA and the original Operation Flashpoint. On the other hand, its boring missions and poor multiplayer are a turn-off for those who just wants to shoot things. Releasing this game between ArmA 2 and Modern Warfare 2 is like spitting upwind.

MAG is a multiplayer game to the core. It doesn’t have a single-player campaign, scripted sequences or AI-controlled bots – only online battles and nothing mode. In the times, when Battlefield and Unreal Tournament feature storylines, cinematics and dialogue, Zipper’s creation feels like the last of the Mohicans. But the lack of a story is not what killed MAG. The concept, the release time frame and the rivals did.

Remove the original premise and beautiful sand-swept skyscrapers of Dubai, and all that remains is a humdrum TPS with Marcus Fenix's DNA at its core.

Unlike Operation: Anchorage, brief, dullish adventures in Pittsburgh are actually worth $10. It seems Bethesda has finally found the right formula for Fallout 3 expansions, although it’s far from being perfect.

Five years ago, The Saboteur would have been lauded for its fresh ideas. Today, the only praiseworthy thing is its out-of-time soundtrack.

If you're still not tired of WWII-themed RTS games, give R.U.S.E. a chance. It's a nice alternative to Order of War, but don't expect it to dethrone Company of Heroes.

There are some nice things to be done in the HD version of The Second Encounter: set new high scores in the endless Survival mode, take part in two-team matches or play cooperatively with four or five cutthroats like yourself. But as for the single-player campaign, it's better to set it aside… forever.

Some other studio could have used Greed Corp's concept to create a big, serious game that would have eclipsed Massive Assault. W!Games turned this idea into a decent casual product - it looks nice, plays well, and costs only $10.

Despite a few old-fashioned quirks, Red Orchestra 2 is fun to play. Clean up the bugs, and it will become a nice middle ground for those who are tired of Battlefield, but couldn't fall in love with ArmA.

By blindly copying the first game, Radical killed most of its original ideas and made a lot of mistakes. Prototype 2 is a derivative tale of a stupid superhuman who walks in a city made of shoeboxes.

Payday is already better than other low-budget multiplayer shooters (Lead and Gold, Killing Floor). It serves as a nice distraction after a hard day's work.

Right now Demigod is a source of constant annoyance. In multiplayer, one normal session is usually followed by three horrible ones. In skirmish, stupid bots are boring to tears. Even if Gas Powered Games and Stardock eventually manage to revive Demigod, it won’t erase our memories of this involuntary beta testing.

Victoria 2 proves that "games for brainiacs" can be accessible and fun. It doesn't have enough strength to steal spotlight from Civilization V, but you won't get a better game this year if you prefer more serious entertainment.

It's a pity that thechineseroom opted not to include anything resembling gameplay – an interaction between the player and the creators that is the foundation of an up-and-coming art called "videogames". On the other hand, the story is very touching.

Amazing Alex is not as brilliant as Armadillo Run, or charming like Crayon Physics Deluxe.

Harvey's New Eyes is ridiculously easy to beat, but fun, not quite beautiful, but very stylish, never gets boring, but goes out with a whimper.

Only those who never saw previous games in the Prince of Persia series, will find The Forgotten Sands interesting. By ripping off their 2008 Prince of Persia in everything except for backdrops, the developers failed to keep their promise and didn't even try to fill in the blanks between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within. Ah well, who cares about some old plot holes when there is a Hollywood blockbuster to milk?

The fatal flaws of Dante’s Inferno are not even its dated graphics or depressing lack of originality. It’s monotony and endless repetition that will drive you nuts.

Medal of Honor doesn't become the current image of Electronic Arts – probably the most "humane" of all videogame corporations. Danger Close Games' debut reminds of a time when EA was a gloomy assembly line churning out soulless yearly sequels and movie tie-ins.