Despite some problems, Battlefield 3 delivers right where it counts: online play. The single player mode looks great but is rather limited, and the competitive multiplayer might be a bit buggy and doesn't pull in all of the best features of every past Battlefield game, but it still lives up to the hype - and for those that were disappointed in the beta, it might even exceed the hype - and gives us a wonderful online experience that is unlike any other in the FPS world.

What's more important is that Brutal Legend is a ton of fun to play and fiercely stakes its claim as one of the most unique, most ambitious titles on the market today.

Skylanders: Swap Force is a somewhat-fresh take on the franchise with a really satisfying new element of mixing and matching character halves, but let's not pretend that it's going to take the series' fans by surprise.

This is one of a few rare killer apps on Sony's portable console, and truly one of the best fighting games ever made on any portable platform.

These relatively minor issues make Forza Motorsport 4 narrowly miss the bullseye, but this is still the best racing game released this year.

Far Cry 3 gets so many things right about why we play first person shooters, that I really am having a hard time knocking it too much for the few things it gets wrong.

X-Men Legends brings plenty of new features and fun to the action-RPG genre with AI buddies to fight beside, good four-player cooperative action, and plenty of new powers and extras to dig through.

Despite the limitations, this is probably the best DLC addon for Fallout period.

BF1942 is an impressive game that's great fun in multiplayer.

With impressive visuals, fantastic online and social functionality, and heart-pounding chases and races at excessive speeds, this is 2010's arcade racer to beat.

If you're looking to blow up city blocks with a rocket launcher, Mafia II may not be your cup of cappuccino. However, if, like me, you're hoping HBO's upcoming Boardwalk Empire fills the gaping Soprano-less void in your life, Mafia II's ready to fit you for a nice pair of cement shoes.

If you're looking to blow up city blocks with a rocket launcher, Mafia II may not be your cup of cappuccino. However, if, like me, you're hoping HBO's upcoming Boardwalk Empire fills the gaping Soprano-less void in your life, Mafia II's ready to fit you for a nice pair of cement shoes.

These are very difficult games to make, almost to the point that calling any freshly-launched MMO "not an instant failure" has become high praise. So, on that note, I can confidently say that RIFT is not an instant failure, and that's already a huge head start over many of the MMOs that came before it.

With a hugely expanded perk system, new traits you can use to give your character both an advantage and a disadvantage, warring factions to join or make enemies out of, plenty of new features to dig into, and better dialogue, Fallout: New Vegas is better than Fallout 3 in many ways.

With a well-thought-out mythos, a mildly original take on the zombie survival game that relies more on superb execution and storytelling than innovative mechanics, acting that's so good we actually see character development happen without even words being spoken, and Naughty Dog's impressive engine and top-notch production values, it all comes together to make for a wonderful reminder that not all big-budget action games need to be measured in headshots-per-minute.

The gameplay is addictive as ever and the Indy makeover oozes with style.

But this one is a blast to play, and so I give it a hearty recommendation despite having been skeptical all along about the quality of another Treyarch WW2 game.

With key changes to its art style, technology, gameplay, skills, and classes, Diablo III has revitalized the isometric action-RPG and made this classic genre fresh and cool all over again.

All in all, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is an admirable return to form on a franchise that I had felt lost its way since NFS Most Wanted was released five years ago.

Irrational Games' SWAT 4 delivers an interesting first person shooter experience that rewards superior tactics and patience above all else.

EA has put together a great effort in this revival of SSX, one that's not only worthy of the name but also brings the game to new heights (literally and figuratively) in quite a few ways.

Sure, it's all here, but we've seen it before. BioShock 2 manages to pull through with superior action, though, and despite its problems, it still makes for a damn great game.

With clever puzzle design, inspired graphics and laugh-out-loud dialog, it's head-and-shoulders above the majority of adventure titles and is a shoe-in for any adventure fan's list of most-loved games.

Complementing the dynamic gameplay is a twisty story that will test your psyche as much as your trigger finger, terrific voice work-including another wicked good performance from Mike Patton as the Darkness-and a stunning graphic novel-inspired art style brimming with rich detail and expert use of light and shadows.

Mass Effect 2 is one of the best games made in recent years, but it's at least partially because it was built on top of a solid foundation two years before, and this new target audience only gets to scratch the surface of that foundation before being thrust into a war with the Collectors.

Despite a few complaints about the in-game graphics quality, the full Burnout experience has really made it to the PSP.

For anyone who isn't immediately enchanted by its look and style, even ten bucks might be a bit of a stretch, but I still find it exceedingly difficult not to wholeheartedly recommend LIMBO to fans of indie games.

Other than a couple of minor issues and unavoidable things you'll have to get used to when doing competitive gaming on the Vita, SFxT really is a fun and fair game that's plenty fast, but not so frantic or silly that you get lost with a half-dozen characters flying around on-screen.