A well-rounded package that provides a mass of content clearly produced by developers who cared deeply about what they were doing.

The game's variety and length come across as nothing more than smoke and mirrors, the endless, grinding busywork that contributes nothing to the overall gameplay is inexcusably plentiful and mind-numbingly repetitive, and to top it all off, the game can't even compete in the visuals department and somehow looks worse than the original.

Animal Well is packed with more things to do and secrets to find than most other games.

Based on what I have been able to experience, it's what I've wanted Animal Crossing to be for many years.

Ultimately, Bayonetta is a great game that fans of hardcore Japanese action games should be incredibly satisfied with. It looks amazing and can feel great to play when combos are rolling, Torture Attacks are earned and giant demons made out of hair are summoned to crush bosses.

Slay the Princess is a horror meta-narrative visual novel about the choices we make, and how they change us and those around us. It’s about the interpersonal relationships that can wound us, make us versions of ourselves we never imagined, yet teach us. It is a damn good story, and one worth experiencing.

Inside Story is also incredibly beautiful, possibly among the best looking DS games ever made.

Evolution is a must-buy for fans of Trials and it also serves as a terrific starting point for new players. It can, at times, be maddening beyond belief, but the payoff is so worth it.

The Lost and Damned is a lot like the game which spawned it. Flawed in some areas but has a considerable amount of content for the investment. The gameplay improvements are welcomed but this is essentially the same game.

Chaos Rings isn't just a superb iPhone RPG, it's a truly terrific RPG in its own right. Better than Square Enix's recent console output, this title outclasses many recent JRPG experiences and easily takes pride of place among the very best iTunes offerings.

FIFA 12 proves that human beings -- not Autobots -- make videogames, and these particular people are sharp observers of the beautiful game. I think it shows, and I think FIFA 12 is a better game for it.

The overall experience of Fallout 3 is unmatched, and the amount of game Bethesda has packed into this $60 title can't be ignored. Flaws aside, taken as a whole, Fallout 3 is an astounding effort and easily one this year's best gaming experiences.

Split Fiction feels like the culmination of what Josef Fares and Hazelight Studios’ team have learned since making Brothers and A Way Out. Both were solid games, and It Takes Two’s success was our first glimpse at what the studio was truly capable of. Split Fiction is everything I could ever ask from a cooperative game and more, easily making it another solid game of the year contender. I wish I could go on about each level and its intricacies since I could easily ramble on numerous incredible moments for a while. This is one of those games that thrives on surprising you at every corner, and hearing my friend’s reactions was just as fulfilling as experiencing my own.

I hope that Insomniac never really stops working on superhero games.

Indeed, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker suffers from some archaic mechanics, its fundamentals not having aged quite so gracefully as its aesthetics. Its unwieldiness and occasional sluggish pace can, in fact, grow temporarily infuriating. However, the streamlined menu system and map access go some way toward making up for any setbacks, while the unmistakable Wind Waker charisma ensures you won't ever stay mad at it for long.

There are better games out there for far cheaper. Get the original Modern Combat or N.O.V.A, which cost less and provide far more entertainment with far less aggravation.

The best baseball game on the market. The new analog controls are largely an improvement over the button controls of yore, and Road to the Show has never been better. It's somewhat disappointing that certain drawbacks persist, but at its best, MLB 11 provides a beautiful, unparalleled simulation of America's pastime.

It's a game where every aspect of it is designed with such incredible care and efficiency that it actually comes together as one cohesive whole.

At 10 hours for the main story, Hearts of Stone is rather brief given the sprawling scale of Wild Hunt, but with that brevity, it never overstays its welcome. It melds well with the overall themes of the core adventure even if it feels wholly detached from it, but sometimes all you need is more Witcher-based antics.

The Making of Karateka feels like a huge step in documenting the history of video games. There have been plenty of titles that have packed in making of details, but I can’t really name another that has gone to this much effort of establishing context for the games it’s spotlighting. Aside from Atari 50, I mean. Digital Eclipse has put together a masterful formula that speaks to retro explorers such as myself, and this is the perfect test of it. It’s absolute gold, and I can’t wait to see what they dive into next.

It's a piece of videogame history and a shining example of what can be done to create an experience so much more immersive than the Heavy Rains of today. I just can't rate the port as highly as I'd rate the core experience itself.

Atlus managed to combine the best of what already worked well with fresh new ideas and tweaks, and the end result is a fantastic role-playing game -- definitely a shoe-in for RPG of the year. Unless you dislike the genre, do not, under any circumstances, miss Persona 4.

MLB 09 The Show adheres to the age-old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and that is its greatest strength. Rather than implementing changes in the name of innovation or back-of-the-box bullet points, Sony San Diego has refined the winning formula of MLB 08 in nearly every imaginable way, and they’ve delivered the best version of The Show yet.

This is the most polished version of Naughty Dog’s vision, and it’s chocked full of content.

In a world full of fear and uncertainty, Dave the Diver is here to offer a lighthearted story and engaging gameplay. It doesn’t try to follow trends or emulate big AAA titles. It doesn’t have an in-game shop to try to get you to spend more money. It’s simply a silly, fun game about a diver named Dave, and I can’t put it down.

Between responsive controls, colorful sprites that are easy on the eyes, and a clever rewards system that will keep players coming back for more, Jetpack Joyride is comfortably the best in its class.

Limbo is as close to perfect at what it does as a game can get. It's artistic without being pompous, difficult without being cheap, and violent without being gratuitous. It gets everything just right.

I find Mark of the Ninja to be perfect. Let it stand as the benchmark by which all stealth games are now measured.