Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is one of the must-have titles for this holiday season.

Shoot 'em ups are burdened with the weight of the hardcore and while PixelJunk SideScroller obeys that command, its art, music, and basic gameplay are attractive enough to lure in anyone who might remember walking into an arcade. Simply put, SideScroller carries the sentiment of its genre predecessors without the standard prescription for rose tinted glasses.

From an incredibly deep weapon system and difficulty settings to a lengthy story mode complete with quirky, well written dialogue sequences, Kid Icarus: Uprising is another gem in Sakurai's development crown and something any gamer should experience.

PlayStation 4 owners can now experience one of the best Tomb Raider adventures ever made. Plus, they get some worthwhile content to boot. Not a bad deal for a year’s wait.

An excellent fighting game no matter how you slice it complete with superbly detailed yet very accessible and inviting training modes that can take you from total newcomer to master if you put the time into it. Fighting fans can't miss this one.

So good to see Night Dive Studios revive this classic and make it purchasable and playable again. If you've ever uttered the words 'cyberpunk' or like games that have the word 'shock' or "Deus Ex" in them, give this one an honest try -- it may not look the part in screenshots, but it's a legend.

Lost Ark is a wonderfully fun MMOARPG with a compelling story and unique gameplay. If you can wrap your head around it all, that is. The game itself is a breath of fresh air with its 2.5D style and fast-paced combat. However, for an "open-world" RPG, Lost Ark takes its time opening the world to you. A barrage of info-dumps for lore and tutorials make Lost Ark overwhelming at first. With some time, exploring, and no shortage of patience, you can see what Lost Ark really has to offer.

echochrome ii is the next step in a great series of puzzle games. I love the concept and the execution; highly recommended.

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.

About the last thing I would say about Sonic Mania is to simply go and play it — it’s awesome, masterfully blending the old with the new and reminding us all what a true Sonic game is about. If you got burned on some of the 3D Sonic titles (although Sonic 3D Blast was great in my opinion) from the last decade, set those expectations aside and get into the Mania — you’re not likely to be disappointed at all.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare puts the franchise back where it needs to be. You get a wonderful campaign, team-oriented spec ops, and a variety of multiplayer options that cater to those who love large and small scale warfare.

A great game that should have been superb. The experience is tainted by several gameplay mechanic problems that just shouldn't be there for this third game in the franchise this generation. Ultimately the good far outweighs the bad, but I can't escape the notion that I feel that the full potential of this sequel was not realized.

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

Blur is the most fun I've had with a racing game in a long time. Sure it's not Gran Turismo or Forza, but that's okay by me. It offers depth, a superior online experience and mods, plus a boat load of racing that will keep you occupied for some time.

I can't say enough about how much fun FIFA Soccer 10 can be once you get into it. I never thought that I would be a soccer fan, but after playing this title I honestly believe there is room (sorry 'curling' you're out of the top ten). Try it out and enjoy it.

I was cautiously hopeful about the sequel to Assassin's Creed. I had been hopeful about the original, but ended up frustrated halfway through. This time around Ubisoft really hit their target (no pun intended) as they've done what most companies don't do anymore; they improved upon almost all elements of the gameplay for their sequel.

Fire Emblem: Fates offers an unprecedented amount of content without falling victim to the temptation quantity over quality. Each of the three total games here features its own vivid branch of the story, and everything from the gameplay to the presentation shifts with it. This is a massive and highly enjoyable addition to the epic franchise that really does stand as one of the most prolific and memorable amongst its contemporaries.

The Walking Dead makes me feel like a person instead of a person playing a videogame. What's happening feels real, what's available to say is brilliant, and the eventual resolution is perfect.

It's definitely a notch above Resident Evil 5. It brings more scares, better visuals and very intense storylines to the mix. At the end of it all, it will feel like you've been a part of an intricate action-horror that satisfies your adrenaline needs by the end.

File this game under 'must have' for your PS3 library. Sucker Punch has done a great job building upon their first success in nearly every way.

They've taken a format, stripped away any annoying features that take away from the gameplay's flow, and created enough subtle innovations to truly create a definitive experience.

Bottomline, Ryu ga Gotoku Studios has another huge hit on their hands with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Rich, complicated stories and characters, with intriguing developments for individuals as well as bonds between characters greatly adds to the mystic, while a slew of mostly-optional side gigs further compliments the outstanding team-based combat. For many of us, the Yakuza/LAD series has become as comforting as a warm chicken pot pie on a cold day. I have spent more hours roaming the streets of Japan (and now Hawaii) in this franchise than perhaps any other game world ever. These games are familiar, enjoyable, and even though the gameplay does not vary much from one adventure to the next, the quality, accessibility, pacing, quantity, and fun of playing these games continues to pay dividends. At the end of the day, whether you’re a series veteran or a curious newcomer, you cannot go wrong with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

Enslaved is on my short list for game of the year. I had a great time with it and I think anyone that enjoys third person games, especially those in the vein of Uncharted, will love this one.

"Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara" is great fun. Yea, it’s technically two catalog titles coupled for the price of $15, but this release isn’t just the first time these games have been made available for stateside consoles – it’s also the definitive edition of both arcade classics.

Novice or experts of the game will benefit from EA Sports efforts in creating an easy to use, customizable soccer environment. Not a soccer fan? You could be one after FIFA Soccer 10.

For Neowiz’s first big AAA-caliber game, they have done a bang-up job with Lies of P. The story, characters, combat and RPG systems, controls, enemy design, level design — there’s a lot here that is done with excellence and the summation of these is a great game that I’d happily recommend to anyone that enjoys the tough-but-rewarding Soulslike genre.

Vanquish isn't simply Japan's proper response to cover-based shooters, it's the most dramatic take upon the genre thus far.

When a game rewards players for having fun and being creative, there’s little to be unhappy about. Hitman 2 offers that in spades and promises further additions and events down the line. And even after all those targets have been pushed off this mortal coil, I dare you to dive back in and complete every challenge the game has, you won’t be bored.