The biggest disappointment about ShootMania is how confused the game is, and the lack of direction will almost assuredly be the death of it.

Overall, Dungeon Hearts is an excellent addition to the genre. Its combo of rpg and match play is really quite fun, especially if you don’t mind spending some time with it. While not the best for a quick pick up and play, there’s enough depth to keep it installed on my machine for a long time.

Rarely do I laugh my way through an entire game but even in the intense action scenes Blood Dragon is still throwing humor out every which way.

It is a shame that Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on 3DS is let down so badly by the lack of online capability. However, if you have friends with the title or have prior experience with the series and can deal with the challenge of fighting alone, then 3 Ultimate is worth picking up. Just make sure you play with the Circle Pad Pro.

The moment-to-moment navigation and ghost-busting is so innately enjoyable that it often negated my complaints, though. Mostly, Dark Moon is an excellent adventure game that smartly builds upon one of Nintendo’s most unique and underutilized properties. It could have used a little more balancing and little less padding, but otherwise, this is a grand start to the Year of Luigi.

The biggest issue with this game is how it is a user creation-centric experience, and nearly two weeks after release the online playerbase is almost entirely nonexistent.

Monaco is the first game I’ve played that truly nails feel of the heist, with enough traps, items, and different characters that co-op play with friends should be a staple of your online activity for the months to come.

Overall there is a lot of promise in this title, I just wish the mechanics could match up to the story itself.

Art and glitches aside, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a surprisingly enjoyable platformer, and the developers have done a lot to breathe life and personality into a series that was never really allowed to live in the first place.

For someone interested in the science behind things like perception and emotion, it could be a useful tool, if you are willing to dig into the provided library and spend time putting those words into action. For most though, it’s worth a look about as much as those huge birthday predictor omnibuses seen on the shelf of your local Barnes and Noble. It’s fun to flip through, but not nearly entertaining or worthwhile enough to buy.

RedLynx has crafted a devilishly addictive racing-platformer hybrid that pushes their game design know-how to new limits. If you don’t have an Xbox and have been waiting for the chance to play one of the toughest releases of last year, Trials Evolution Gold is a fine way to explore that content and then some.

While it is technically the best version of Crysis out there, it is really only a slightly better version of Crysis 2’s mechanics and graphics. Because of that, Crysis 3 feels more like an expansion pack to Crysis 2 than a true sequel and more than likely not worth your time.

Darkstalkers Resurrection is a great collection of some classic games. I really liked playing Darkstalkers 3, and the unusual round system and art style made the game seem like more than just another solid fighting game. Iron Galaxy did a great job updating the game in terms of visuals, tutorials, and online play. Night Warriors is by far the weaker of the two games, but Darkstalkers 3 is worth the price of admission. It’s not the best fighting game ever made, but it’s a lot of fun and the price point is right.

The game’s technical problems notwithstanding, I found LEGO City Undercover to be an immensely enjoyable adventure that really made me laugh. It certainly has a lot going for it with a great story, funny script, creative originality and a design that makes no attempt to dumb anything down making it easily accessible for gamers young and old alike. LEGO City Undercover is also a lovely looking game that continues the trend of blending real world objects and geography with colorful and whimsical LEGO objects. For those still upset about the delay over Rayman Legends, I’m pleased to say there’s finally a game that makes Wii U worth owning.

The controls are tight, the levels are fun to look at, and the music will have you sucked into the Runner world in no time.

The presentational pieces are there, and the controls tight, but when it comes to delivering a memorable set of tracks to underscore both the thematic and mechanical elements of the adventure, it doesn’t dig near deep enough. Without the joy of music to which the most successful games in the genre are conduits for, a lot of the effort and talent behind this charming game winds up feeling a little hollow.

Bioshock Infinite is the best shooter I have played in a long time. It is an incredible achievement artistically, narratively, and technically. I can’t think of a better game to close out and define this decade-long console generation.

And that sums it up. Fuel Overdose is a game full of wrong turns. From art direction to gameplay, lacking story to lacking track design, it’s a game that never really finds its way to anything that even resembles mediocrity.

Unless you’re a chronic stat-cruncher and menu enthusiast, though, I can’t imagine that this incremental and grind-heavy sequel will resonate with you.

Alien Breed is a decent package and great love letter to a classic arcade game but that’s all it manages to be. The inclusion of multiplayer goes a long way to make this package worth the price but if you are looking for something more in depth you may want to look elsewhere.

The creative slant makes for a far more interesting game than the original “crash into various structures” formula. With over 400 levels divided in three chapters, over 60 sandbox levels and rewards for collecting hidden skulls, Bad Piggies is packed with a serious amount of content making it the perfect game to spend as little as five minutes or upwards of two hours with.

The single player is solid but doesn’t try a ton of new things, and the multiplayer is brand new but has plenty of room to grow. God of War: Ascension is a very well put together game and one made for fans of the series who want to get their Kratos fix in while we wait for the next true successor in the franchise.

The difficulty of explaining Year Walk without giving its secrets away is self-evident at this point. Anyone reading this who has already played it knows what I mean. For the laymen though, and those who are merely curious, I’ll just say that it’s one of the best adventure games I’ve ever played, and also one of the most terrifying horror experiences in recent and bygone memory.

Unfortunately, the compromises necessary to make SimCity a multiplayer, always-online game detract from what’s most enjoyable about city-builders, resulting in a product that feels like it’s actively trying to keep the player from having a good time.

Still an excellent game of golf. I am a huge fan of the new Legends of the Majors modes. It has a ton of content and is one of the better pick up and play modes in a sports game. Although not a major update, if you’re in the mood for more golf or may have missed a couple of Tiger Woods outings, this is a great one to jump back into.

In the end, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds does not feature the seminal, tightly-crafted fighting mechanics of Street Fighter or the spectacular boss fights from Castle Crashers, but it does provide a handful of hours of side-scrolling, 2D-beat-em-up glee. In spite of a few crippling issues and ham-fisted mechanics, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds still outweighs its flaws with a competent throwback look and feel, gratifying gameplay flow and a strong selection of modes that, all things considered, justifies the asking price of merely $10.

There’s still some fun to be had in each game and the price is very low, but the ability to brute force you’re way through each one with unlimited continues means that only those who enjoy chasing their friends on leaderboards should purchase this first collection.

The controls feel good, it looks great, and core concept is both simple to understand and challenging enough to keep you trying again. It just needs some kind of competitive aspect to the high scores so you’re not just competing with yourself.

While not every promising idea Tomb Raider has is pulled off successfully, it nevertheless turns in a tense and memorable ride that combines modern game design with its forebears’ adventurous spirit in some exciting ways. Some of its missteps may well come at the cost of your enjoyment, but most can’t hope to hurt the adventure in the long run. Although it never fully finds its identity, this is a game and a story worth seeing through.

I don’t know what else they have up their sleeves, but these three tables were more then enough to get me absolutely salivating at the idea of more Star Wars content.

It isn’t a terrible game by a long stretch, and it is possible to like it if you don’t mind playing through what amounts to an interactive novel. It does have a few memorable moments.

I feel for the developers, who clearly had their hearts in the right place when making this game, but the misjudgements in its structure and release make it impossible to love.

Despite stepping away from the tone and play style of its forbears, Tomb Raider is an entertaining adventure and a great jumping off point for the new direction Crystal Dynamics wants to take.

Vergil’s Downfall is not fundamentally broken, but it’s over quickly and falls far short of the quality of the main game. It’s super disappointing.

Retrovirus is a great adventure and it gives you some insight into what your computer could be dealing with each day you use it.

Proteus requires a desire to explore, something that every gamer ostensibly possesses but is rarely asked to use. Much like thatgamecompany’s Journey, Ed Key pushes a spiritual experience that feels fresh immediately upon entry. Yes, it lasts about an hour. Yes, it is enchantingly poetic. And yes, it is deserving of as much play as open-minded gamers are willing to give it.

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken was a genuine surprise. I wasn’t expecting much outside of a silly romp that pitted chickens against penguins for world supremacy. What I got was a game that had contained the plight of child soldiers, guerrilla warfare and redemption all wrapped in a near-inappropriate layer of silliness.

It’s a near flawless narrative experience wrapped in a bog-standard but necessary adventure game.

MLB 13: The Show is admittedly a small step forward. It has cleaned up some of the rougher edges in both the Franchise and the Road to the Show mode while maintaining its near-perfect on the field action. What else can I say, MLB 13: The Show remains one of the pinnacle sports franchises in the business today.

So, is Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock worth it? If you are a big fan of the series, then you should get some enjoyment out of getting to be The Doctor. If, however, you aren’t much of a fan, you probably won’t find this game’s mechanics and minigames to be worth your time. It is a competent effort, but not a great one.

At the end of the day, Mutant Mudds is a great tribute to the platformers many of us grew up with. The art style is well done and the difficulty is spot on – it literally feels like it could have been made 20 years ago. The only problem is that games have changed a great deal since then and Mutant Mudds is left feeling stale and boring. If you’re looking to play a platformer the feels harkens back to your childhood, then look no further than Mutant Mudds; otherwise you’re probably better off playing something else.

A good effort, an entertaining ride, a clone that’s different, but in none of the ways that it needs to be different. As an option for a system that doesn’t get the blissful torture of Trials HD or it’s sequel, it’s worth the money if you have that itch, but when put up against the best, it shows itself to be nothing more then a quality knock-off.

Forza Horizon is not simply a great racing game; it’s a great game in general. From the handling to the visuals and sound, from the tweaking to the reward system, Horizon has everything it needs to be an enjoyable time. It may lack the challenge and depth that fans of the core Forza series know and love but if you’ve admired the Forza Motorsport games from a distance (like me) then do yourself a favor and play this amazing game.

SFTX is just another in a laundry list of games trying to capitalize on the success of cover-based shooters but promptly fail to do so.

It really seems like it would have worked better as a middleware physics engine, because it certainly doesn’t work as a game.

The game isn’t perfect, with minor issues over the game’s short length and occasionally touchy environment interaction, yet this is an easy game to recommend for anyone who loves Metal Gear and a good hack and slash experience.

Put simply, Dead Space 1&2 are stories that have embedded themselves in my thoughts and kept me thinking for literal years after the fact, whereas Dead Space 3 is just a game. It’s a let-down, to be sure, but it’s not a total waste of time.

In the end, for anyone with any love for classic Japanese role playing games, Studio Ghibli movies, or just want a charming adventure in a wonderful colourful world, Ni No Kuni will see right by you.

Despite its problems, I really do like Guilty Gear. It’s a fun and well-designed fighting engine. Unfortunately, the actual product being sold is little more than a shell for this fighting engine. The lack of narrative explanation is very frustrating, even if you are familiar with fighting games. Because of this, I can only recommend Guilty Gear to those who just want a solid version of the game on modern consoles.

For someone looking for a new shooter, Special Forces Team X fits that description. For 15 dollars, the price point is a low enough point of entry that you should feel you’ve gotten what its worth out of it by the time its lack of character becomes all emcompasing. As sad as it is to say, the liberal application of glitter might have gone a long way. Or tanks. Nothing wrong with some tanks.

Aliens has rarely had much luck with its video game spin-offs, but I was still hopeful that Colonial Marines could deliver an at least solid experience. How wrong I was. This game fails to uphold any sort of quality experience in every way. And worst of all, absolutely nothing of creative merit was attempted. It shot for nothing and still ended up a disaster.

A serious lack of fun and no desire to break free of its own monotony are reasons enough to avoid the game altogether. Spend your money on something else.

For the asking price of $7.99, anyone would be hard pressed to find such a quality shmup within reach, especially one which seems to not only to celebrate, but actually relish in the difficult roots which birthed it. Naming itself a love letter to the ’90s, Syder Arcade is a great ride to a glorious, and well earned, death.

UFO were just so close. The controls and in-game gadgets are actually OK. Those hacking sections were fine, too! It’s really sad, then, to see them come up so short. With more polish and more work, this game could have been fun. Instead, it’s a grossly frustrating game, too focused on dated mechanics and a misguided stealth element for it to be entertaining.

Cargo Commander does a lot of things right. When the risk of getting cargo mixes with the need to return to your home cube it’s an exciting feeling. It requires you to think of how you’re going to get through the more difficult cubes in order to get the big cargo reward. Unfortunately, the game’s repetition and unchanging structure keep it from capitalizing on its strong foundation.

That Storm is a pleasant diversion is ultimately both a compliment and a failing. Storm is beautiful, thoughtful, and tranquil, providing some nice puzzle content to work through. It stutters a bit with checkpoints and introducing new info, but it’s never enough to completely derail its over all package. Though not overly gripping, Storm is worth more then a cursory look through a rain-slicked window.

Skulls of the Shogun requires patience and a knowledge of the gameplay. This is not a game that can be won by brute force or guesswork like some strategy games.

Given it’s spot on my most anticipated games of 2013 list, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was more or less what I was looking for. While it wasn’t as innovative as the Sly of my dreams, it was nonetheless a solid, worthy, and all together fun romp with the old gang.

With such familiar gameplay, there’s no real reason to recommend Tokyo Crash Mobs outside of its infectiously strange presentation and cutscenes. Then again, that’s what online video services are for. Those who crave the unpredictable weirdness of the culture will find some value but there just isn’t enough to maintain any prolonged interest with the gameplay itself.

Kentucky Route Zero is a beautiful and artistic piece of of work and I haven’t felt so strongly about a game since Silent Hill 2. After The Walking Dead made a case for powerful episodic narratives I found myself wanting something similar. I’m incredibly excited to see what the next four episodes will do.

While RPGs and dungeon crawler games are my favorite style of hand held games, there are better options than Book of Memories. The Silent Hill aesthetic is pretty well represented, but the game itself struggles to maintain mediocrity. The game is great in short bursts, but fails to hold your attention for long periods of time.

Unfortunately for it, Paper Mario: Sticker Star has to deal with being a “pretty good” entry in a series that is usually considered amongst the best games on their respective consoles. While I did have fun with it, there were times when I felt like I was just going through the motions, and very little of the innovation or character of previous entries shone through.

With exceptions, even fans may find these tales of woe and terror far to easy to put down, and never pick up again.

Overall, Cognition: an Erica Reed Thriller – Episode 2: The Wise Monkey is a solid step forward for this promising mystery series. The point-and-click gameplay does feel somewhat outdated, but it is devoid of the pixel hunts and illogical hilarity that has ruined past games of the genre.

The Cave isn’t completely without merit, but it is unquestionably a subpar game in more than a few respects, and one of its developer’s weakest outings. It has a great look and an interesting setup, but it just loses too much of its potential to middling mechanics. I wouldn’t recommend spending your fifteen bucks on it.

LEGO Lord of the Rings is easily one of my favorite LEGO games. I’m not sure if it’s just the source material or the fact that the game is actually really fun and evolves the LEGO franchise in significant ways, but this is definitely worth playing for any fan of the previous LEGO games or Lord of the Rings films.

It’s not the longest game, but it tells a decent yarn and has a pretty good hook to the combat. Sure, there’s a chance that you, too, might spend five (FIVE!) hours searching for a stupid item, but aside from that and some niggly presentational bits, it’s definitely an enjoyable game.

I highly recommend Devil may Cry. It’s a great action game that hangs with the best the genre can offer. Combine that with its cool aesthetic and engaging characters, and you have the first can’t-miss release of 2013.

I want to be as explicit as possible and say that Epic Mickey 2 is not worth your time. A bad camera system, a poor help system, bad AI and the lack of substantial Wii U features make this game dull, uninteresting and frustrating.

I would say if you are looking for a LEGO game on the go then you should probably just keep waiting until they decide to put forth a real effort. If you still want to check this game out then I can only warn you by saying it's only slightly better than their last attempt and can only hold up because of the source material.

Tactical turn-based combat is something that some won't be able to get past no matter what. As long as that isn't you, Awakening is arguably the best game you can get on the 3DS, sure to be one of the best this year, and a must-play from just about every conceivable angle.

While it shares lots of flaws with its brethren of the genre, this point-and-click adventure game has enough going for it with its story and cognition mechanics to make it worth playing.

Fluidity: Spin Cycle offers up hours of uncompromising puzzle fun. The only downside is a control scheme that isn't as comfortable and streamlined as the Wiimote.

Forge is fun and frantic, and while it may be incomplete I recommend trying it out if you get the chance.

This is a hardcore Japanese action game, through and through. Its rigid, uncompromising mission structure can be less than accommodating but nonetheless charming. It's difficult, rewarding, and satisfying in equal measure.

The price tag is a bit of a bummer, but there is no way to get this experience cheaper, because there is no other game like it. If you are interested, but not sure if you are going to like it, then there is a good demo on the website that is representative of what is in the game. It is worth a look.

The unfortunately named Enhanced Edition fails to make a compelling case for its existence in any meaningful way, especially when you consider its asking price of twenty bucks can net you both the original Baldur's Gate and the far-superior sequel from a site like GOG, and downloading a few free mods that make them really shine takes mere minutes of your time. I would highly recommend that course of action instead.

It's not flat-out bad, but it is frustrating, questionably designed, and more than a little boring.

Once again this is a quality piece of downloadable content for Skyrim which adds at least another ten to twenty hours worth of playtime. It would be nice to see some more interesting quest types than simple dungeon crawls through the same environments and more emphasis put upon Solstheim and its inhabitants. Dragonborn is worth the price if you just can't get enough from the Elder Scroll's universe.

Natural Selection 2 is one of the first games I've played that doesn't just boast a teamwork mindset but actually delivers on it.

Needless to say, I found Power of Illusion to be an incredibly disappointing game. There's nothing fun about the experience and any warm, fuzzy feelings of nostalgia brought upon by the design, soundtrack and concept are ruined by clunky and infuriating gameplay. Instead of spending the money on this game, my advice is to go pick up a Sega Genesis from eBay and a copy of Castle of Illusion. You'll have a lot more fun.

Page Chronica commits the cardinal platforming sin. It knowingly robs you of momentum, the very life blood of platformers from Mario to Meatboy. You have to stop moving to spell a word. You have to stop pushing forward, stop the timing of jumps, the dodging of dangers, the luck of the moment, to spell a W-O-R-D. Take away the muddy graphics, take away the abysmal soundtrack, take away boss battles with a bean stalk giant armed with floral-homing-missile-toe-fungus, and at it's core, at that stage just beyond concept, this game is simply, fundamentally, broken.

For as fun as the experience is, not being able to scale it back to something a little more manageable is a shame, but it's a game that gives a great experience if you're able to deal with the challenge.

If it wasn't for a few duds, this game would be incredible, but even still, it's the best game to show off your WiiU and a great experience to play with some friends.

Hitman: Absolution does stand out from the ocean of gray and brown shooters that populate the market, but not in enough good ways to warrant a recommendation.

The biggest issues wind up coming from the rushed nature of the season-with a little more polish and a couple more once-overs of the script, I'd definitely love this game a lot more, but as it is, there are just enough problems to keep it from greatness.

A great story, genuine humor and excellent combat, Persona 4 Golden is the complete package. There is no reason why this game shouldn't be part of your Vita's library.

There's a dark and meaningful story within Primordia and despite the rush at the end, it's a story worth hearing.

Unless you are a die hard fan, consider other cheaper, and most of all, better alternatives.

Sine Mora is a quality title, from the look to the feel of it, and there could be a lot of useful comparisons between it and other members of the bullet hell genre.

The final word on Black Ops: Declassified is somewhat paradoxical. It's not quite the trainwreck that many have made it out to be. In fact, if this were an iOS game available for $1.99, there's every chance that it would garner much more praise. But the Vita isn't an iPhone, or a tablet. It's capable of so much more, and for that reason, Declassifed is incapable of defending itself as anything other than execrable. It's a black mark on the franchise and yet another massive missed-opportunity for the Vita.

This game not only challenges you to think outside the box but to have the endurance to continue thinking that way until the level is over and the boss is beaten.

For representing an untested genre on consoles, Guardians of Middle Earth acquits itself pretty well. If only the online functionality was as airtight as its core strategy, we'd have a truly great mashup on our hands.

On top of the great strategy gameplay, Kings Bounty: Warriors of the North offers a great value with its $30 price tag. The worst thing that you can say about it is that it doesn't deviate much from King's Bounty: Armored Princess, besides a few details and a few conveniences – or is that the best thing that you can say about it? After all, Armored Princess was an excellent game.

As a "dangerous tropical island simulator", Far Cry 3 is one of the most satisfying and inventive shooters released this year. Gamers eager to explore the wild jungle should pick this up without second thought, and try not to let the infuriating campaign rain on their parade.

I came into this review with a lot of harsh thoughts based on what amounts to "You took my single player away from me." But after examining what was accomplished, and what was released at a decent price range ($19.99) for the package, I am kinda seeing the value in Insomniac's latest R&C experiment. I really hope we see a true single player sequel in the future, especially on next-gen equipment, but if this is what we have to deal with in the mean time, waiting might not be so bad.

ZombiU is definitely not a game for everyone, mostly due to its unforgiving design and flat fiction. But few horror games really make you feel like you're in a desperate struggle for survival, and few action games command all of your attention and precision to play. ZombiU manages both those things simultaneously, and the result feels fresh and interesting in all the right ways.

While it may embrace some of the stealth genre's conventions that it seems directly antithetical to, Stealth Bastard's fantastic level design, wit, and devious death traps result in a thoroughly unique and enjoyable take on the stealth genre.