LEGO The Hobbit brings a bigger world, improved gameplay elements and a deeper gaming experience than thought possible with a LEGO game. If you like the LEGO games, then you need this one in your collection. It’s certainly the best of the best amongst its LEGO brethren.

With a thankfully redefined purpose and a much more enticing endgame, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is probably the game you were hoping for years ago.

A great release for those who enjoy the Arkham games but haven't played Blackgate for whatever reason.

While it’s perhaps not as full as Animal Crossing or as thematically engrossing as Kingdom Hearts, Disney Magical World is a surprisingly nice addition to the Disney universe that stands well on its own while further extending the reaches of Walt’s massive canon.

KSR is better and deeper than most motion controlled games that I have played, especially of the family/sports compilation variety. However, it's still light on content and just doesn't have a great deal of staying power or replay value you would hope for.

A welcomed addition to the PS3 library, but one that doesn't necessarily belong in your own collection. While Deception IV has some things going for it, the few cons are significant enough to keep this game out of the realm of greatness.

MLB 14 The Show doesn’t feel the need to reinvent a formula that has worked for the series over the last few years, but it does show some innovation and trust by allowing user-driven content to lead the way through new online modes like Community Challenges. Even if it didn’t have this user-driven content, MLB The Show is still the best baseball series out there in the sports gaming world.

Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends - Complete Edition has so much to offer and so much to do that it’s difficult not to enjoy yourself.

Goat Simulator is stupid, ridiculous, and incredibly fun. Everything from the hidden areas to the different goats make this game hilarious, and well worth the price.

The lengths to which Burial at Sea: Episode 2 goes to distance its gameplay from BioShock Infinite's blueprint is outmatched by the indulgent spectacle of its writhing narrative - a risk not fully conscious of its consequences. Through success, failure, and to simply admire the sunset of a generation, the conclusion of Burial at Sea remains a worthwhile experience.

An overall very well developed puzzle-platformer that can entertain -- or frustrate depending on your skills and patience -- for hours.

Hardcore NIS fans are going to pick up The Witch and the Hundred Knight anyway, but everyone else would do well to keep their distance.

A colorful and eye-catching presentation can't mask Yaiba's numerous gameplay design flaws, but it tends to be just fun and rewarding enough to continue to grind through.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is a small appetizer for what could be one of the greatest meals on this generation of consoles. It’s true the initial mission in the game is short, but the extra content, missions, items and a first-look at the visuals more than makes the $29.99 price tag worth it. Definitely don’t miss this.

Luftrausers' success is its addictive duel between confidence and doubt; what's the best option when every choice is conceivably the best option? Providing the player with heaps of ways tackle problems is nothing new, but creating a large number of choices and making each one uniquely viable? That's special, and it's Luftrausers' specialty.

It's exactly the game we all wanted it to be. As long as the Azure server infrastructure can keep up with demand, Respawn's idea will continue to work perfectly. Pilot v. Pilot, Pilot v. Titan, Titan v. Titan. All of the possible gameplay scenarios are compelling, fair, and fun.

Yoshi's New Island follows a similar formula as previous Nintendo remakes/reboots but ultimately falls short of recreating the magic we expect from Nintendo platformers.

Dark Souls II delivers on its promises. It wants to challenge you to death — literally. It’s more of the same from the last, though the scope of the world seems to be a lot bigger with more challenges to overcome. If you enjoy this sort of difficulty and seemingly impossible gameplay then it’s right up your alley.

Under any lens Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 don't feel ravaged by the father time - which is exactly what’s needed for spending another hundred hours across Spira.

All-in-all, the Layton series has been and will always be a wonderful break from some of the more established gaming formulas.

Stupid fun, though not particularly groundbreaking. It will certainly entertain those in need of a quick gaming fix, but won’t replace Diablo in your library any time soon.

The entire package aches for better consistency between its original modes and suite of upgrades, but these are minor complaints; from a historical standpoint or modern approach, Resident Evil 4 remains one of the finest ways to survive horror.

Playing as Dracula could have been handled so many different ways, and while I don't agree with everything that MercurySteam did with Lords of Shadow 2, the positive aspects overwhelm the negative. This is a worthy and fitting end to a fine trilogy.

A response to Earth Defense Force 2025's particular set of skills depends on personal expectations. The intended audience is divided between those who interpret it as a so-bad-it's-good romp of cataclysmic destruction and those who manage to extract a bit of fun from the core loop of loot-grinding.

A great game as is, although it has a few very patchable issues that could really put it over the top.

Planets vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a skeleton made of borrowed ideas, but its bones are wrapped in a body of earnest tomfoolery and relentless positivity. It functions best as a sanctuary for disenfranchised shooter players, the equivalent of a safe place where it's OK to be weird and goofy amidst the tension of a competitive game. The most interesting thing about Garden Warfare is there may be enough of an affected crowd to actually make it all work.

Despite a few frame rate issues and dated graphics, Earth Defense Force 2025 is an insane amount of fun.

You will find some joy in the action and some sort of satisfaction in killing tons of enemies, but if you’re looking for something with any rich substance to it at all, Strider may not be enough of a good experience for you.

Solid game, but until Eutechnyx starts to fix this franchise's routine short-comings, my score is going to continually fall further and further back.

Left Behind is pretty short, but very sweet, and for what it lacks in length, it makes up for in quality. Well worth the investment for those who want to revisit or otherwise experience a new story (well, two) within the despair-filled world of The Last Of Us.

Jazzpunk projects exactly what its eccentric name implies; a hilarious adventure with an unwieldy rhythm and paradoxically predictable narrative-uncertainty, all of which draws fuel from a seemingly endless source of energy.

Little Racers STREET strikes a great a balance between depth and accessibility, but squanders its potential as soon as progression starts to favor rote upgrades over applied skill. That being said, it's an eight dollar game in an uncommon genre and loaded with options - and for some that may be an acceptable compromise.

An excellent platforming title with tons of style and polish. While it’s true that it doesn’t explore a lot of new territory, iteration within a genre is only bad to the extent which creativity and permutation are not applied. In other words, if it’s fun and feels fresh enough, it was worth the effort—and Tropical Freeze is every bit as enjoyable as its Wii predecessor.

Expressed in modest trappings, Nidhogg quietly aims to recast the mold of a competitive fighting game.

Toukiden's pros overwhelm its cons. It's fun and somewhat addictive, whether you're playing with the AI or online.

It’s my understanding that previous One Piece video games have established a positive reputation both among the series’ fans and the gaming community. If that’s the case, it’ll be better for both parties to ignore this title and hope outsiders will do the same in hopes of preserving that standard.

What sets Lightning Returns apart is how effectively it surrenders its core criteria for the explicit purpose of inflicting a sense of impending doom into every moving part of its system. Clever additions and smart retractions are meant to coalesce, but in practice the game is total chaos - albeit the kind that's fun to play around in.

Dustforce is an amazing game that every platformer fan should play. It can be extremely difficult in spots, and there are a few glitches for the PS3, but this game will keep you coming back to improve your score.

If you're considering playing Battle of Z, it's probably because you're already a DBZ fan. If you also have some friends to team up with, Battle of Z can be pretty fun despite some flaws, but otherwise, I'm not sure it offers enough compelling new content that other DBZ titles haven't already provided before.

This is one of the worst Xbox LIVE Arcade games I've ever played. The conventions are basic, very basic. Gameplay elements like shooting consistently suck.

In a game like this there's careful line between frustration and elation, and Octodad walks it (or slides down, falls along, slithers against - whatever) with appreciable balance.

A sort of diamond in the rough perhaps, in that Daedalic did a fine job with many aspects of Blackguards, yet a handful of problems, certainly some more crucial than others, and yet all patchable, keep the overall experience stunted.

Its shameless implementation of 90s-era mechanics and design does mean that participants will need to have a love for conventional JRPGs—and perhaps a bit of patience to endure the homogeneity of the first part of the game—but beyond that, Bravely Default is a great experience.

Definitely the best version of Tomb Raider and it shows exactly what the new generation of consoles has in store for us in the very near future.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is really quite good on the PC, both in the presentation and gameplay departments, though a strange departure from the Metal Gear Solid series. In the end, it's a fun game that hopefully will carry some of its elements into future MGS titles.

In a raw battle between pros and cons, the pros for Max: The Curse of Brotherhood win the day, but the cons deliver ample opportunity for frustration. At the end of the day, this is a good addition to your digital collection.

The simplification of the GUI, the easier, faster and better career mode and the inclusion of a bigger deeper online component make GT6 one of the best in the series.

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag is a damn good game that has little flaws attached to it, which is impressive for a launch title.

Zoo Tycoon is engaging, rewarding, and fun, just don't burn yourself out on it too quickly. It isn't so much for the hardcore sim manager, but for those not looking for a tremendous amount of depth, there's a lot to like with what Frontier offers.

A mediocre experience made a little better with co-op play. Possibly a good weekend game with a friend or two, especially during a new game release lull often seen in December and January.

While not perfect, or particularly next-gen beautiful, Tiny Brains does offer up some intellectually stimulating puzzles. The addition of co-op definitely makes it a solid purchase.

A series as ritually re-imagined as Ys should have exhausted its creative energy several iterations ago, but Memories of Celceta corrects any suspicion of dilution or degradation. Falcom's commanding role in its production has lead to an aggressive and intuitive combat system and, along with an exploration-focused narrative, an adventure that simultaneously embraces and improves its namesake's legacy.

Fighter Within has plenty of shortcomings, but more importantly, I'm having a lot of fun.

LocoCycle offers a simple fun arcade experience set against a wild and fairly humorous story. It's not going to pass any "next gen" Litmus test as far as graphics and gameplay goes, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

If you're looking for a good fighting game this holiday that's accessible, not overly technical, and doesn't require a commitment or previous experience to enjoy, give Saint Seiya Brave Soldiers a serious look. It's hard to beat for the cost.

FIFA's first outing on next-gen is a solid effort that isn't likely to disappoint the casual or hardcore FIFA fan. Between the two, the Xbox One version includes voice command support via Kinect and legendary players in Ultimate Team, so I give it a slight edge as otherwise the gameplay is identical.

Madden's debut release onto next-gen is impressive and a solid first step.

It still brings some of the most intense campaign gameplay in comparison to other FPS titles at launch, and brings some unique elements (enemy A.I. and the OWL) to make it worth your time and money.

It’s certainly no Crash Bandicoot or Spyro, but it is a game you should pick up in the PS4 launch window.

Mario Party is continuing to see sequels and unfortunately it isn't seeing much change. In its 3rd portable experience, Island Tour, I had hoped for more enjoyable single player and internet multiplayer to keep players interested when they can't get their friends around. Unfortunately, the bread-and-butter experience of 4 players is easier to implement and more enjoyable on console experiences.

The PS4 version touts some nice presentation boosts while maintaining the excellent gameplay that you would expect from Trine 2. If you don't currently on Trine 2, this version is a great one to get.

Super Motherload communicates a desire for players to learn its regimen while simultaneously uncovering its content. It's a neat balance, one that rewards acquired skill with valuable efficiency, at least until its disparate final act trades musing discovery for twitch reaction. "What's at the bottom" was a force that drove me to Super Motherload's completion. Learning the answer diminished a desire to return.

Best of all, it interprets the hardware's peculiar control options not as a dutiful obligation but rather as leverage for original ideas; there isn't a single part of the machine that feels wasted. Tearaway comes together by showing its player a good time, and it's intimately focused on driving that final point home.

Unless you’re a big fan of the franchise, I can’t recommend buying Beyblade Revolution, especially at its suggested retail price. Its deceptively frustrating, promising a simple video game replication of real-life Beyblade that resides nowhere close to simple, especially as you begin.

NBA Live ’14’s dribbling mechanics (bounceTek) is done well, but the rest of the game needs some work. Bad A.I., dragging controls and subpar next generation looks really don’t do much for a series trying to make a comeback.

Under a thick layer of polish and charm, you’ll find yet another top-notch platforming adventure, chocked full of secrets and clever twists and about as challenging as anything Mario has thrown our way thus far. It isn’t groundbreaking or approaching the level of perfection that the Galaxy games did, but if nothing else, it’s a must-have title for Wii U owners.

Rivals serves as a refinement of ideas and principles established over the last three iterations of Need for Speed. This can lead to a feeling of sameness bleeding over Rival’s rough edges while also serving as a condensed interpretation of the series' better ideas.

The Bridge is an easy game to recommend given its compelling and satisfying gameplay and low price.

It's got its fair share of flaws, some of which could be patched-up, but I found the sum of Deadfall Adventures' parts good enough, and more importantly fun enough, to keep playing. Anyone that enjoys FPS games and who aren't too spoiled by AAA quality titles is likely to find at least several fun hours with Deadfall.

A stellar game all the way around. A Link Between Worlds maximizes the concept of depth, from the 3D, to the 2D mechanic, to the characters. This game certainly fits well in the pantheon of amazing Zelda games.

With the Rapture's cameo at the end of Infinite, it wasn’t clear how Irrational could make the same trick work twice. The answer is simple; the return Rapture in Burial at Sea isn't a trick. It's a venue to express an original idea inside stylish and increasingly sophisticated framework. In that regard Burial at Sea gives its all the narrative - and unfortunately comes up short when it wants to be a game.

There's a lot more to like about How To Survive than not, and at the end of the day, the addictive and fun gameplay trump its shortcomings.

Marvel Super Heroes is the latest, possibly greatest, in the revered LEGO games franchise. The Wii U's exclusive benefit of each player having their own screen is a big deal, but this is a fun game regardless of the platform you play it on.

If you’re a Wii U owner looking for a great first-person shooter that’s comparable to the current generation, then rejoice in knowing that Activision has provided just that experience for you.

The game functions well and looks all right, but it’s ultimately too freaking easy to recommend to anyone who’s serious about gaming and looking for a good value.

WWE 2K14 gets a lot right and its key drawbacks are at least a little bit overshadowed in the process. There is still a whole lot of room for gameplay improvement though, something one can hope will be addressed for the next release or even in part with some patching.

Backyard Monsters Unleashed is surprisingly addictive and fun, which bodes well for its free-to-play gameplay model. It's definitely something you should give a go to on your iOS device.

Infinity Ward brings a different kind of game with Call of Duty: Ghosts than their usual CoD titles. They have an intriguing, story driven campaign that is accompanied by an incredibly fun (and deep) multiplayer experience.

Instead of coming of with different ideas for a new generation, Sochi 2014 opts for another round of motion control minigames and only adds a manic insistence on a revolving door of controller hardware. It's unfocused, uneven, and typically not much fun thanks to the transient nature of most of its content.

Blackgate falls shy of greatness due to a few gameplay design flaws, but it's still an overall solid experience that Vita owners should investigate further.

Sonic: Lost World is yet another disappointment considering the premise and games it was pulling ideas from.

This is a strong portable game well-suited for consumption in short bursts, but with plenty of content and a possibly-addicting design. It should satisfy both LEGO and Marvel fans who never want their favorite franchises farther away than their pockets.

As my first Phoenix Wright game, I got the impression that Dual Destinies and the series as a whole is enamored with a cavalcade of quirky characters theatrically engaged with marching contention. In that measure Dual Destinies is a success, and while I yearned for an ounce of consequence or more creative approach interaction, I couldn't deny it's whimsical appeal. If you’re in my shoes and have never played a Phoenix Wright game before, Dual Destinies isn’t a bad place to start.

Arkham fans can expect to really enjoy Origins, so long as they don't go into the game expecting to experience sweeping changes to the gameplay that made Asylum and City so great. Origins is a great game that can proudly stand outside of the shadow of its predecessors.

With friends or family, Wii Party U can be a lot of fun. Not all of the minigames are great, some aren't necessarily worth a second look, but for a casual, laugh-filled gathering, Wii Party U has enough quality content and variety to provide an entertaining time.

While Battlefield 4 isn’t perfect, but it’s a much better, more refined experience in comparison to BF3.

Tt Games does a great job with taking the Marvel universe and applying it to fun gameplay and big, somewhat sandbox-like, environments. There’s plenty to do and discover with this LEGO entry. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed.

Many would agree that Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 was the most complete Naruto game to date, and Full Burst only extends what UNS3 had to offer. It's still a niche game for a niche audience, but it's well-developed, refined, and loaded with quality content.

Though Game Freak is sometimes criticized for recycling gameplay in the Pokémon franchise, they've really outdone themselves with these games. Highly recommended.

Though Game Freak is sometimes criticized for recycling gameplay in the Pokémon franchise, they've really outdone themselves with these games. Highly recommended.

There's nothing terribly wrong about CI Games' efforts to bring a solid FPS gameplay experience to the gamer. Everything you need to play this FPS is firmly intact. It's not perfect by any means, but it's not dreadful either. The main issue with Alien Rage is that it doesn't go out of its way to do anything exceptionally well for the first-person shooter genre. The potential to be great is right there at its door, but it chooses to ignore the knocking.

I'm all for a re-release of a great game when it makes sense. The Director's Cut of DXHR fits the bill nicely; it's not too soon, it's not too late, and it takes what was already a fundamentally solid and great experience and makes it better. Wii U owners should keep this one on their short list.

A relatively modest upgrade from last year's release that doesn't detract from the series, but doesn't really make itself a must-have, either.

The Stanley Parable has this provocative and perpetual elusiveness that aches to break whatever system it’s applied to. Perhaps it's part of a weapons-grade disinformation campaign appointed to destroy all videogames, or maybe it was commissioned to wreck game criticism. Through any interpretation The Stanley Parable is equally hilarious and genuine, and if nothing else it’s going to merit inclusion in any serious discussion of its medium.

The attractive landscapes and engaging ideas behind Sonic Lost World are no match for the demolition of morale suffered under unreliable control and inconsistent quality. Lost World is undoubtedly the most realized and best playing modern-era Sonic game, but Sonic still has ways to go before he's in a game one might actually have the best time playing.

Hardcore Skylanders fans will want to take a serious look at the unique differences, both good and bad, that the 3DS version of SWAP Force offers. If your interest in SWAP Force is more casual, and you don't have the need to play on the go, it's nigh impossible to recommend picking up the 3DS version over the console one.

Vicarious Visions sets a new bar for the Skylanders series with Swap Force. They give you more characters, better level design, improved looks and a larger library of Skylanders to play with. It's definitely the best game in the series so far.

It has its drawbacks, but UTF is a pretty good game that would make for a solid purchase during Steam's holiday sales this year.