Despite the picturesque sights of the fictional Venice, Venetica is bleak and mediocre in everything, from two-bit quests and meager weapon selection to tiresome combat. Don't expect proper character development, because there are only four stats, two of which are health and mana. Don't expect colorful characters, because the entire city went through a copier two or three times. Don't expect brain-teasing puzzles, because there is only one variety: "Push four buttons in a correct order".

Outdated visuals and a few necessary simplifications can't take away the joy of playing this original, amazingly solid game.

You walk about dark rooms, straining your eyes to discern doors from walls, rotate valves, kill hordes of zombies, mercenaries, robots… and pray that this level will be the last.

All in all, Grotesque Tactics is a shoddy low-budget game.

Despite a few problems, Civilization 5 is a great game and a worthy sequel with a very bright future.

Once again, the excellent idea was killed by ambitions. If Stardock's risky bet had paid out, Elemental would have been a masterpiece, but to make one is not as easy as cramming a bunch of "new" features together. You actually need to glue them with a rock-solid concept. And, in violation of the second clause of its own The Gamer's Bill of Rights, Stardock had released a game as buggy and unfinished as Disciples 3.

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.

If Blind Mind Studios continues to release new patches and more content, Star Ruler will one day become a great game in the 4X genre. But today it's just a $25 preform.

The makers of Kane & Lynch 2 cite homemade videos as their main source of inspiration for the game. Well, their mimicry of YouTube is really perfect. This game is just as empty and pointless as pimple-faced teenagers droning on camera about the meaning of life, as millions of touchy-feely videos starring kittens and puppies, and endless fan-made clips sliced from popular movies. It is, indeed, the white noise of the Internet.

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.

"Expansions" like this one should be released as patches or included as bonus in reprints of the original game.

If development of multiple bases, careful upgrades planning and intricate micromanagement make your blood boil, you will embrace StarCraft 2. Had it been released 7 years ago, we would have wholeheartedly recommended it to anyone even remotely interested in the RTS genre. But that era is gone now. Today, StarCraft 2 is just a remedy for nostalgia.

The entire Spanish campaign, despite the great music, colorful scenery and a handful of new features, is just a rehash.

Despite a lucratively low price, Blacklight has no future. Modern Warfare 2 and Bad Company 2 are much better replacements if you want to just shoot at somebody, and if you're itching for some classic multiplayer gameplay, Counter-Strike Source is an excellent remedy for nostalgia.

Disciples 3 is a strategy game that is neither appealing nor intelligent. It lacks the kingdom-building aspect so much that it feels like a faux Japanese RPG.

The linear structure of the original game masked many of the game's shortcomings; the expansion highlights them instead.

Puzzle Quest 2 offers more tactical variety in battles, but it is best consumed in small chunks, otherwise endless skirmishes with goblins and orcs will put you to sleep.

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

Operation Arrorhead is a big disappointment. Not only this expansion is boring, but it failed to realize its potential.

With only a few shortcomings, Reign is a good excuse to get familiar with the grand strategy sub-genre.

This is CITY Interactive's worst FPS since Code of Honor: The French Foreign Legion.

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.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior is unlikely to get a storm of applause anytime soon, but at least this CITY Interactive shooter can be played not only by game reviewers.

A worthy purchase for all fans of tabletop games.

War for Cybertron is a huge leap forward compared to previous Transformers games.

Toy Story 3 offers entertainment for any taste. License-based games of such quality are few and far between.

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?

Truth be told, Semper Fi is just a ginormous patch that should have been given out for free to all Hearts of Iron 3 owners. Its improvements and new features are unarguably great, but it is not a good sign when you have to shell out $20 more in order to enjoy the game.