The racing is what matters. And with this game, the racing is fantastic, and Turn 10 is really onto something with this Drivatar stuff. It alone gives Forza Motorsport 5 something over every other racer out there, pushing the genre forward. They've remedied the racing genre's biggest problem: scripted AI cars.

I have played a lot of challenging games in my time, but Dustforce is one that has asked more of me as a gamer than any other in recent memory. It asked me to refine my skills like no other, to sharpen my reflexes and timing until they were absolutely perfect.

Offers refinement of a beloved series in many ways, boasting more visual pizzazz than most anything releasing this year and a well-paced story which features a good share of weirdness without attempting a scope beyond its means.

While it’s not yet perfect, Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 is easily the best wrestling game we’ve seen this generation, hands down.

Even with a few uninspired stages, Skylanders Imaginators manages to nail the childlike whimsy of the beat-'em-up genre so many of us grew up with. It's still a blast with friends, and even more-so now that you can share your creations and tweak them together. The series has shown signs of slowing down in recent years here and there, but it's not done yet.

With engaging gameplay that offers a learning curve throughout, puzzles that'll surely satisfy, and moments packed with action and emotion; Planet of Lana 2 is a true upgrade to its predecessor and another indie gem onto Wishfully Studios' belt. An emotional weight carried by its beautiful scenery and soundtrack gives Novo a voice that should never be silenced. There's harmony in its themes of greed, hope, and preservation of a place we like to call home through its fantastic storytelling and engaging, thoughtful, and innovative puzzle-platforming to craft a beautiful tale that grows more relevant each passing day.

In many ways, Wolfenstein: The New Order is "First-Person Shooters: The Game," but it gets most of the important details right. It's weird seeing a Wolf game that's not developed by id Software (who is busy with Doom 4), but MachineGames did a great job adapting the franchise in its own way. With a few tweaks, the next iteration could be something truly special.

Venba is an exercise in brevity. I greatly enjoyed my peek into the lives of strangers who exposed me to a culture different than mine. I just wish I could have got a longer look at it.

The stakes aren't high, and given how ridiculously high the stakes often are in video game stories, I appreciate the humble slice-of-life premise. Still, I would have liked to see a little more ambition – something to wrap a bow on an otherwise pleasant present. I ended Wide Ocean Big Jacket feeling good, and it resonates, but at the same time, it's not necessarily an experience that will stick with me.

It's certain that NBA Jam will take you back to wherever it was when you experienced the thrill of "Boom-Shaka-Laka!" for the first time. How long it will keep your there in that special place versus the price of admission is something you should definitely keep in mind.

The message is a little muddled, with so many accusing fingers thrust in so many directions that I'm sure different people will come to radically different conclusions of what it all means. But it's a message worth hearing, and a world worth exploring, if you care about video games and the people that make them.

Building on the reasonably solid gameplay foundation of WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23 manages to finally find a comfortable spot. It is, at its core, the same general game that we get year after year. It kind of sucks that we have to keep paying for small improvements. However, small improvements got us here, and here is a pretty decent place to be.

You’re going to occasionally roll your eyes at a cheesy moment or groan at a technical issue, but Respawn did right by Star Wars.

Even with downloadable content, it’s hard to compete with the staying power of the console versions, mainly because it removes a group from the equation. But as a casual pick-up and play, on-the-go music experience, Rock Band Unplugged certainly delivers a fun experience, certainly worthy of a look.

Metroid enthusiasts won't want to miss this, and nothing I could write could encourage them to take a pass. But to put it bluntly, Other M simply doesn't meet the high-quality standards fans have come to expect from not only the franchise, but from Nintendo's routinely-spectacular first-party line-up.

As both a strategy RPG player and a Shin Megami Tensei series fan, the original Devil Survivor sent me to spin-off heaven. I'm pleased to report that Devil Survivor 2 is more of the same, this time bringing an even better story, better characters, more demons to collect and a bunch of gameplay improvements.

While Bookworm Adventures 2 doesn't appear to offer anything startlingly new or different, it does stick by the formula that PopCap seems to have down to a science. The game is high quality and a lot of fun to play, and the only negative thing I can really say about it is that if you don't care for word games, it probably won't appeal to you.

Kobolds and Catacombs has some great ideas, and I hope future expansions will each add something similar to Dungeon Run.

When all is said and done, Star Wars: Squadrons is a truly awesome (and I use this word with the classic definition of "inspiring awe") experience for anyone looking for an arcade space shooter. For fans of the universe or anyone with a VR headset, it's a must-play. Sure, it has shortcomings in the single-player and it may not be as "hardcore" of a simulator as some were hoping for, but what Motive has delivered here is more than just a strong foundation. I genuinely hope they build off of it moving forward, either with updates or sequels, because it's hard not to love everything they've built.

Street Fighter X Tekken for the Vita is not only the best version of the title, but it's also easily the best-looking fighter on the handheld, and it could be said that this is the best fighter on the Vita right now. Considering its competition, that's saying quite a lot.

Regardless of how you feel about the game, give Nuts & Bolts a rent, and who knows -- you may end up purchasing the game with the desire to see it to the end, and then some.

It's tough to describe how amazing Inversus feels on paper, but once you pick it up for the first time you'll understand. The economy of bullets, sneaky homegrown tactics, a slight concession for solo players, and a robust multiplayer component with an array of maps? It's a no-brainer.

If the price were a bit cheaper, or if even online multiplayer were included, I’d readily recommend this port without a problem. As it stands, while Space Invaders Extreme on PC is solid and certainly looks and sounds the best out of any available version, the lack of such an awesome mode just sours my opinion on it.

It's held back by some dated design philosophies and a short playtime, but Detention still packs one hell of a punch.

EA seems like it wants to make this work and if this first shot is any indication of the future of the series, they have come to fight hardcore.

There are those who will pick up Scribblenauts and love it completely. However, I fear that there are those who will hate this game, because once you look past the brilliant gimmick and innocent charm, you see a rough game with bad controls and a sense that things just could have been done much better.

It's campy fun and that's perfectly fine. Just don't expect too much more.

Sonic Colors DS is the best Sonic game released this year. Easily.