When I was able to get connected, I would often stay connected for three or four matches before something would slip and I'd have to restart the matchmaking process.

While there's nothing revolutionary in the gameplay of SoulCalibur V from its predecessors, fans of the franchise will enjoy once again the blade battling that looks just as good as it plays.

I hope to God the guys at Firaxis are watching this, because Jagged Alliance: Back In Action is, and probably will for many years hence be, the definitive textbook example of how to mess up by the numbers when attempting to "relaunch" a classic franchise.

Offering much more action-heavy gameplay and battling with weapons and magic than Skyrim, but lacking some of Skyrim's RPG complexity, Kingdoms of Amalur is still a long-lasting, adventurous game that will provide plenty of fantasy-infused dungeon-crawling fun.

It warms my heart that SSX has finally made a full-on next-gen appearance and warmer still that it's so much fun to play. There's definitely some nostalgia playing into my opinion of SSX -- the original was one of the first games that The Armchair Empire received for review -- but even taking that out, I'd still say SSX is a damn fine title and definitely worth your time and attention.

This game is not an exercise game per se but you will get up and moving and have fun with it. I am happy to say that with the inclusion of some of the extra modes it looks like the developers cared enough to put some other extras into it. Overall, it's a good game (but not a great one) and if you already have the Active Life mat then this is a no-brainer.

I'm not convinced that anyone who hasn't already played the original game -- which is available on Xbox 360 for $20US most places, and just launched on PC with the DLC episodes -- would be able to even marginally follow what the hell is going on in American Nightmare. No doubt it would up the bizarreness of the game for those players but the main draw is more or less for fans only. And, really, this writer is okay with that.

This writer is glad that games like Shank 2 still get made. While the nostalgia of the genre is there, the developers were sure to make the combat fun and varied enough so there wasn't a mashable way to charge through the game. No, it's almost a science chainsawing dudes or impaling them with their own machetes.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy won't leave much of a legacy behind but it is a decent game and if you've enjoyed any others in the rich history of this franchise, you should definitely set your sights on it.

Skyrim is definitely one of the best games of 2011, but if the DLC holds out, it might just be one of the best games of 2012 as well.

Overall, this is the best experience I've had playing a Zelda game since Ocarina of Time and I'd have to say they are pretty equal in my opinion. Either way, you won't be disappointed getting this game, it's a masterpiece.

The original release of the game was an interesting (but not great) concept hobbled by atrocious execution, and it seems like the people who went in trying to rescue it have managed to make things worse in an overall sense. There was little to recommend the original game. There's even less to recommend it's second act.

I have to give Telltale a nod for at least trying something ambitious and coming up short. The Jurassic Park setting has room for new stories, but they needed to bring out the varsity for this one and they didn't. Here's hoping they take the lessons to heart and try again.

RS is a great teaching tool, but your experience is going to depend on how committed you are to learning guitar. RS won't turn you into a shredding Jimmy Hendrix overnight, but if you commit to practicing each day you're going to see results. Even if you're an experienced guitar player, you're probably going to find something to like in RS.

More, more, more. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has more of everything from the original: more characters and costumes, more stages, more modes available already on the disc, simply more fighting possibilities than ever starring some of the most popular Marvel and Capcom characters.

Although the single-player adventure runs out of fuel way too soon, the intensity of the racing while driving beautifully rendered "dream" autos makes up for the brevity, and a few replayable modes (Challenge and online) greatly increases Need for Speed: The Run's gameplay driving distance.

This game is magic. Occasionally offensive and funny magic, but magic nonetheless.

Batman: Arkham City is one of those games that rightly garnered much attention with the end of 2011 Game of the Year lists. Maybe it didn't get as much attention from PC gamers, but it should. If you want to have the definitive Arkham City experience, I'd say PC is the way to go.

As an apology for Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7 gets high marks indeed, and it definitely has the depth and longevity to remain in constant rotation on my 3DS.

All told, Skylanders is responsible for hours and hours of enjoyment in my house.

It seems strange to say it, but I wish Super Mario 3D Land was more difficult. That's it's biggest fault at the end of the day. More than half the game is a cakewalk, an entertaining cakewalk, but a cakewalk nonetheless.

It isn't very long (in single-player or co-op) or difficult, but with a healthy heaping of '80s nostalgia, old-school gameplay and robust modern multiplayer, Voltron: Defender of the Universe especially during cooperative multiplayer mayhem provides solid, budget-priced entertainment.

The main focus here was to improve the AI and even though some of the additions like the ones I mentioned above are welcomed, overall it just feels more like some tweaks to the veterans of the series rather than something that's completely new and improved.

All the other components are in place and Battlefield 3 is a good game, but the x-factor of the players is holding it back right now.

GR does little to rekindle your memory of the original Golden Eye. While there are some references to the original title, they aren't enough to make GR more than a mediocre title.

There are plenty of hidden secrets and scoring/upgrading incentives to replay levels, especially on Xbox Live with a few fellow dungeon crawlers. That combines with satisfying old-school hack & slash RPG action in a dark, dank and deeply buried dungeon realm that's visually appealing along with a not entirely original but certainly captivating story for a completely entertaining XBLA adventure.

Main story missions traipse from one outlandish setup to the next. Blowing stuff up with a helicopter or getting your game show on with Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax, which felt a little more more like a realized version of Smash TV, or just clearing out rival gangs, it's a good assortment provided you stay on the story path.

Although there are some gameplay moments if gamers aren't especially careful with expenditures early in the game when some dark clouds of boredom while waiting for some moola to multiply in the national vaults can rain on a sunny day of tropical island ruling, those who enjoy SimCity or Civilization-style resource management gameplay with a heavy dose of political behind-closed-doors wheeling and dealing will enjoy an excursion to Tropico in its latest rendition.

Some will be disappointed by the fact that MW3 is not a drastic departure from previous iterations of the series and that is a very valid criticism. MW3 still offers so much content and still proves to be one of the best online experiences around. MW3 is a game that will certainly keep you busy until next year's release.

Others have come close before (and Batman Arkham City is as close as it gets), but as one of the two or three best games of 2011, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception defines what an interactive movie gaming adventure truly is and solidifies its place as the best PS3 franchise ever produced.

There's no questioning the fact that Battlefield 3 brings a lot to the table. It's visually stunning and mechanically very sound in terms of gameplay. The shortcomings that are present, however, keep the game from reaching true perfection.

Batman: Arkham City is still one of those games that will have a strong presence on list for Game of the Year and it deserves that kind of attention but it didn't quite grab me the same way Arkham Asylum did.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Gatling Gears is some sort of transcendent gaming experience. What it does is remind us why we started playing games in the first place: to have fun. No pretense of artistic or literary value. No outlandish attempt to make your GPU melt down from the number of polygons being thrown at you. Just pure and unadulterated fun.

However well done the game is from a technical standpoint, its actual content makes a mockery of the men and the operations it tries so very hard to flatter.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land features a little bit of everything Nintendo does right on the Wii all in one pleasurable package: the return of a classic Nintendo character, classic old-school platforming gameplay and excellent family-focused multiplayer.

All in all, Saints Row: The Third is a ridiculously fun game, giving you a good 30 hours of main story activity for a run through.

A great story, and ferocious and intense air combat missions in a variety of different flying war machines soars Ace Combat Assault Horizon to dizzying heights as a great skyward-bound fighting shooter.

It's really hard to encourage people to go out and buy this game, even the for the hardcore X-Men fans. Although some fanboys will just be happy with seeing some of their favourites in the game, I feel most will be disappointed in not being able to play as their favourites and by the very repetitive action.

Skyrim's pretty damn awesome.

BloodRayne is already no stranger to sequels so I'm hopeful that developer WayForward might be given another chance to squish some of the frustrating bits. Don't go changing the graphics and animation! Just make the split second controls a little less poke-you-in-the-eye difficult.

For hard-core auto racing gamers, especially those that are fans of Formula 1, Codemasters revs up an immersive, realistic racing simulation in F1 2011 with all the official drivers and tracks of the F1 circuit and a nice selection of gaming modes, including a engrossingly robust career mode.

While certainly a good comic book hero gaming adventure, Spider-Man: Edge of Time is just too formulaic and too relatively brief to be anything but middling when compared to the past of Spider-Man gaming titles.

The shooting is good and the driving/car combat/racing aspects offer a lot of potential to fill out the world even more. As is, Rage is still recommended.

There have been some new areas and psychos, and weapon combos added, the photography feature from the original returns, and deviations from the original Dead Rising 2 story line (or at least how the events are experienced), but it's all instantly familiar, which makes it easy to recommend for those that appreciated the past meatl-- Dead Rising games.

The Wii version is probably the ultimate version of Resident Evil 4, but this version isn't too shabby.

Both the exasperating controls and misuse of resources can be unforgiving and crippling to the gameplay progress, but careful and patient gamers that acclimate to both will find an amazing survivor-horror story with plenty of hours of gameplay.

Driver is a well made game and even though I sometimes got bored of doing side missions, overall it was better than I expected. It's a good addition to the series and shifting is a pretty cool feature that maybe not all people will like, but you'll just have to see for yourself.

To sum it up, Dark Souls and its predecessor may be the most definitive example of what makes a videogame "Hardcore." There will be many deaths and many flaring tempers that may require a day or two of meditation to attempt jumping back in, but like an abusive lover, Dark Souls wins you back every time just before it delivers another bitch-slap to your face…and you just may learn to love it.

All in all, Bodycount provided a few hours of diversion, but I didn't get much more than that out of it. I certainly won't be dusting off this title out of my collection to play more.

I thought the game fell apart in the final moments, which is unfortunate only because it clouds my memory of the opening where the vibe and horror clung to me like a wet Hawaiian shirt.

All in all, Alice: Madness Returns delivers a good sequel. Not superlative, but not a cheap knockoff. If topsy-turvy architecture, steampunk menaces, and Victorian psychotherapy tickle your geek itch, this is a title well worth playing.

I would definitely not pay full pop for this game, but if you can get it on sale and if you are in the mood to beat the crap out of things and are a fan of Gundam, then this game might be worth your time.

For all the myriad ways that Human Revolution comes up short, it excels in a single point: you are immersed in the setting.

Despite the lack of supplements, Star Fox 64 still remains one of Nintendo's finest and most action-packed experiences; No two stages are alike, and the amount of alternate pathways and outcomes (like an ally from one stage coming to assist you in the next) allow for much replaying and experimenting for those who haven't mastered every nook and cranny.

This may not quite be the pièce de résistance finale that franchise fans desired. But a good-not-great single-player campaign story for the trilogy conclusion with a less interesting protagonist is easily overcome with a fantastic variety of alien-eliminating weaponry, solid FPS controls that restore gameplay functionality to fan-favorite quality with the reintroduction of the weapon wheel and health bar, and good-not-great multiplayer.

The Baconing isn't completely devoid of enjoyment; occasionally you may stumble upon a fun weapon or two, such as poison arrows or a flamethrower, and the experience system allows you to choose what kind of bonuses to receive with each Level Up (such as faster speed, more health, etc). But without the laughs to back up the mediocre gameplay, not to mention the ludicrous difficulty, it might be time to bring out the oversized shepherd's hook and pull Deathspank off the stage.

For a series known for addictive nail-biting shootouts as well as breathtaking visuals, this third and possibly final act to the Xbox 360's first mega blockbuster is a fitting end to one of the most definitive multiplayer experiences in our current console generation.

Kill Team's campaign is quite short and can be frustrating at times. Once your done the campaign, there are collectables to be found in each of the game's levels, but those alone aren't reason enough to play through the game again. Even though Kill Team is only $10.00, the game suffers from too many problems and your money is best spent elsewhere.

If you liked the original, there's nothing here you won't fall back in love with. It's a true sequel in the sense that it builds upon what was great in the original and fixes up some of the bad. For those that weren't exactly excited with the first one, I urge you (as I did) to give this one a try. You just might be shocked at how much you like it (sorry for the bad pun).

Space Marine is a satisfying action game.

All in all, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 was an entertaining diversion for those hack and slash enthusiasts like myself, as long as you aren't expecting anything more grandiose than that.

A clumsy interface as well as an ineffective physical activity, Exerbeat is not the worst offender in this continuously offensive market of unimaginative motion control games, but it offers little value beyond keeping grandma and grandpa entertained during their next visit, though Nintendo's first party efforts are still the clear choice for virtual workouts.

While a few missing extras and features might keep Third Strike: Online Edition from being the ultimate edition of Street Fighter III, the amount of care put into the core game as well as its online multiplayer easily elevates this release as the definitive version. The

The Decimation Pack retails at $9.99 and while there is a decent amount of content, the scarce online community as well as the familiarity of the maps make this additional content passable.

Overall, the game is a bit above average. If you love the license, you'll have fun and you'll forgive some of the issues. If you can't wait to be The Undertaker, or Randy Savage or even Jake the Snake then this game will leave you howling in (and out) of the ring.

Full of surprises and crazy conspiracies Bigfoot breeding? Lunacy weapon? Fake moon landings? Aliens among us? Puzzle Agent 2 contains a decent story along with a unique art presentation and plenty of mind-taxing puzzles to twist the second tale of Tethers into a title sure to entertain and challenge casual puzzle gaming aficionados.

Team Bondi created a technical masterpiece with L.A. Noire. The problem is that they didn't create an artistic or even entertaining masterpiece.

Red Faction Armageddon isn't the best third person shooter game, but if you enjoy blowing things up, then this is the game for you.

A good solid driving pick-up.

All in all, Transformers Dark Side of the Moon wasn't the worst game I've played, and moreover certainly wasn't even the worst movie adaptation of a game I've played but it certainly could have used more QA time.

Had Madness Returns cut its length by half and tossed in a few more gameplay mechanics, it could have easily been one of the best titles released this year.

Gatling Gears will cost you $9.99, but it is worth a play through. I don't think you'll find that it has much replay value, but maybe down the line you'll have a sudden urge to blow things up in your mech.

With very good controls transitioned from a PC title onto consoles, Dungeon Siege III has gratifying old-school dungeon crawling combined with RPG elements for ton of hack & slash adventuring fun, especially for gamers that indulge in co-op gameplay.

This might be a horrible back-handed comment on The Cartel, but playing it sparked me to go back and play some Bound in Blood, which has a far better single-player experience and I'd rather ride a horse in first-person than drive an SUV in first-person.

Insect Armageddon is missing the magic B-movie sensibility of its predecessor -- Insect Armageddon looks too sophisticated! -- but it's still an okay action game to play with friends and strangers who would rather blast giant monsters than serve as cannon fodder in Call of Duty or Battlefield.

A lot less raunchy juvenile humor and more focus on fixing the weapon aiming would have elevated Shadows of the Damned from the depths of hell to a almost heavenly third-person shooter experience. As it is, though, once gamers acclimate their aiming and focus their efforts on the demon-hunting adventure found in the shadows of the debauchery, Shadows of the Damned is a sometimes-scary ride to Hades and back.

If you have to suffer through a zombie armageddon, there's no better way to pass the time until the doomsday clock reaches midnight than unleashing carnage on the PS3 with the apocalyptically action-packed need-for-killing-speed enjoyment of Armageddon Riders.

In the end, The Masters is, in the purest sense, a golf simulator. It does not require extensive practice, nor does it have enough to entice people who have no interest in the sport. For those that do, however, your devotion will be greatly rewarded.

This could have been a seriously awesome game. Instead, we get a clone that blows its own legs off with a clichéd storyline that ignores the internal logic of it's own world.

Alive offers a great racing experience. It's just a shame that everything outside of the actual racing is sub standard. The frustrating levelling up system almost ruined the entire experience for me and the lack of tutorials leaves a lot to be desired.

While neither innovative in its gameplay mechanics or its fright-fests, F.E.A.R. 3's solo outing is still a better-than-average experience that is made all the more entertaining with another player. Its multiplayer offerings are on the opposite side of the spectrum, featuring interesting and fun new gameplay modes that deserve to be imitated by future FPS titles. Unfortunately, the current netcode issues keeps gamers from discovering this for themselves, as if Alma's vengeful spirit lingers as a ghost in the machine.

Rango doesn't innovative in any particular way, but it proves to be a solid game all around.

Like its Wii counterpart, the game is adequate but not outstanding.

Yes, the actual game has never looked or played better and the game stands tall more than dozen years after its release.

It seems safe to say that Steel Diver will not reach the level of popularity among Nintendo's most beloved franchises, but Miyamoto and company still deserve kudos for inventing another unique gameplay experience that is seldom seen elsewhere. While the learning curve can be steep, enough patience will lead to a satisfying package that's two games in one and easily bears replaying.

In resurrecting Duke in this way, dropping him from 1996 into 2011, with uninteresting levels tethered together in a loose way, middling gunplay, and offensiveness trying to hide behind parody and satire, even the thickest rose-colored glasses of nostalgia won't hide the fact the game's not good or even fun to play.

A lack of true performance tweaking and additions makes this a rather hard sell on the 3DS, but it's certainly not the worst version of the game out there.

While it definitely has a "something borrowed" gameplay and visual style, and a instantly forgettable, brief single-player mode, its invigorating and intense Xbox Live multiplayer at such a well-worth-it bargain price provides gamers more than enough incentive to enlist into Section 8: Prejudice's call of duty.

While still a bit rough around the edges, MotorStorm: Apocalypse is a unique racing experience that's exciting to look at as well as play, even if that experience is partially neutered online.

Without the creative destruction elements that Volition's Geo Mod 2.5 engine allows, Red Faction: Armageddon would be an average shooter, but because it revels in twisting and snapping almost every object throughout and integrating it into the overall strategy of the game, Armageddon is not to be missed.

L.A. Noire is on my personal Game of the Year list. The game appeals to me on so many levels and delivers on the same that overlooking the occasional graphical glitch and annoyance with some of the chases is easy. I'm really looking forward to what Team Bondi comes up with next to fill-out this already fantastic world.

There's very little question that Brink is highly geared towards the multiplayer crowd. The SMART system and the well done visuals are very attractive, but the level design imbalances and small map variety don't offer much in the way of longevity. There's a lot of promise in the game but only the most patient of players might be willing to see that promise realized.

Hardcore Naruto fanatics will buy this, but I would advise casual fans to save their money for something else. Even with multiplayer, Kizuna Drive just didn't deliver.

Ultimately, Super Monkey Ball's 3D debut is an adequate distraction for younger 3DS owners, although the deceptive difficulty might prove frustrating for players both young and old.

Europa Universalis III represents an older and more thoughtful style of gaming. It's easy to pick up, and very easy to get your head handed to you. For those who persevere, you'll find a deep strategy game that will challenge your skill as a statesman and a general.

It took nearly a decade, as well as the death-knell of the company that spawned it, but at last Mortal Kombat can competently stand toe-to-toe with the other fighting greats due to its gameplay, rather than its gore.

Beautiful and bountifully bloody, The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile is thoroughly enjoyable hack & slash entertainment at its finest, with plenty of crimson-colored co-op craziness to extend the gameplay hours even more.

The great unknown with Brink is whether a strong online community will form and maintain itself. And that's the crux of the matter. Blazing through the Campaign takes little time and earns a good number of achievement points but the game is lumbered with awful AI. I had limited online play with real people and found Brink to run smoothly enough but this is before a thousands of people jump on to find a game.