While the storyline may be a bit hokey and the voice-acting a bit childish, the fun that can be had with the gameplay and smooth easy motion controls just can't be denied. It's the best kind of fun: simple to play, but hard to master. It's a casual motion controlled game that actually works well, and offers up real satisfaction when that control pays off it high scores and massive destruction.

Offers a much bigger challenge than most recent adventure games, even with its streamlined features. Despite the much appreciated highlight-all-objects function, the puzzles are still challenging and this is a game that will take even point-and-click enthusiasts a while to complete. Newcomers, however, may find the steep difficulty too much and if you don't click with the characters and their story, then you may find Chains of Satinav just too overwhelming and frustrating.

This is some of the most fun I've had with a game so far this year, and it will go down as one of the best side-scrolling shooters of all time.

For a game about properly communicating your emotions in order to find success, the developer did a poor job of conveying its own desires to the player. The Act is a rough relationship that woos with visual charm, connects through some fantastic, emotional moments, but leaves the player a bit high and dry, in the end. There might not be another game like it, but there are better fish in the sea out there, even for a romantic gamer.

Dyad is not substantial or well designed enough to occupy this body's time once its effects wear off. The games's visuals that recall MTV's Amp are a treat and its manic gameplay is challenging, but these two elements never quite gel together.

Johnny Kung Fu certainly has its charms, and the dichotomy between the combat levels and the Game & Watch-inspired throwbacks is quite novel. It's just a shame that all the charm is burned through so quickly. The result is a game of extremes with no happy medium -- it's either too simple and brainless or too tedious and frustrating.

In a world where THPS 2X is still readily available for less than $10 on eBay, it's hard to give this HD downgrade any sort of recommendation. The original games earned our nostalgia, while this release abuses it. It's short on content, quality, and personality. This is not the Tony Hawk I remember spending middle-school summers with.

Praises and complaints aside, Heroes of Ruin does exactly what it wanted to do -- give 3DS users a solid hack n' slash RPG. While it flounders on the way to that simple goal, it's a goal that has been undoubtedly reached. Better may come along in the future, but right now, this does the trick.

It's a must for anyone looking to experience the genre for the first time; it's very newcomer friendly, but old hats might find it a bit wanting. Its longevity may also be increased by the multiplayer mode, but I personally don't have the patience for all these people who take far too long to take their turn. On the whole, it's more than worthy of your interest.

Here's hoping that Black Studio is able to make an even more ambitious and outlandish project someday soon. They certainly have proven they are worth it with this charming debut.

It's like the developers only made this title to keep the license alive while they worked on the next "real" iteration of the series.

Thomas Was Alone tells a story that's more complex than games orders of magnitude more expensive and difficult to develop. It's also a triumph of narrative's ability to convincingly superimpose human qualities onto nonhuman objects, telling the audience what's what (who's what?) and letting the imagination take over. It proves that you don't need tens of millions of dollars and hundreds of staff to make a game story worth telling, just a good hook, an engaging vision, and a whole lot of heart.

It's a very flashy, interesting shooter that doesn't bare direct comparison to anything else out in the market. Unfortunately, that's all it really has going for it since it's such a frustrating and poorly designed shooter. It doesn't help that the game is difficult, limiting health and continues until you unlock more through failed attempts. People love to say Sine Mora is style over substance, but the substance is still clearly there. In Ether Vapor's case, it just isn't and style can only go so far in this genre.

Oniken isn't quite the magical pairing of nostalgia and great game design that Mega Man 9 was, but it comes close to scratching that same itch that few other games have done since. If you love 8-bit games and hate yourself, dying repeatedly within Oniken's six merciless levels brings its own form of joy that is rare in games these days.

The controls could do with a bit of work and I still think that vastly increased challenge either through puzzles or conflict would more appropriately match the tone of the game, but all of these are things I thought after I was done with it. None of them got in the way of the experience.

The 3D models are simple, but effective, and the cut scenes add a lot of extra life to the proceedings.

A harrowing, but fantastic, experience.

The Real Texas is an incredibly smart game, particularly in how it deals with large metaphysical ideas and conveys them to the player. The dialogue is well written and the humor is one of game's brightest aspects. Although not all of the ideas work out perfectly, this is certainly an experience that is hard to find anywhere else and is certainly worth trying out.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is beautiful and charming in many respects, but an absolute drudgery in others.

All of the additions for Xbox Live Arcade -- most notably, new graphics and sound, competitive multiplayer, and cooperative play -- come together to flesh out what was already impressive in its earlier stages. To avoid Spelunky is to miss out on an incredibly satisfying, well-designed game.

If you enjoyed them then, you'll enjoy them now, but there's nothing to entice you to purchase them again beyond Trophy support or slightly smoother graphics if you already had the originals.

Overall, new features like the stat boards, the Lord of the Rings-esque music, and the ability to tap mana have won me over, making this third edition a charm.

If you're a fan of the LEGO titles, there's a lot to enjoy in LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, and the new bits Traveller's Tales added -- when they work -- work wonderfully. When they don't, though, be prepared to buy a new controller as you hurl the one in your hands through the wall.

A solid puzzler that keeps the rules as well as the controls nice and simple. It might not totally blow you away or engage you for long if you aren't a total score junkie. Still, the ability to play with another person on a single 3DS is such a novel treat that I can see the game being pulled out months down the line for quick pick-up games with your friends.

Still a good game, even if it does feel like a wasted creative opportunity. It steals liberally from the Bat, but it does so with a high enough degree of skill and style that it can be forgiven.

We usually refrain from swearing in our reviews, but I must emphatically say that Revelations 2012 is the worst piece of f..king shit I have played on the job, and they can stick that on Metacritic.

I can't think of another game where I replayed chapters, after beating it, for the sole purpose of fully understanding the gravity of key story moments.

With the market now full of unbelievably fantastic fighting games, and it being a revision of a five-year-old title, Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown still manages to stand head and shoulders above most of its competition. It may not have the install base of other fighters, but it's still one of the deepest fighting game experiences to date.