If you can overlook the price and potential early learning curve depending on your familiarity with the series, Ardennes Assault offers a very competent and compelling RTS experience.

The core combat is probably the simplest in all of RPG-dom, and yet it remains an ideal system to deliver turn-based entertainment. If you're a Pokemon fan and you've yet to pick this one up (now a week after its release date), then I assume you've got a good reason to wait.

Far Cry 4 is radiant with opportunities to both seize and indulge in its power. This speaks to its fondness for connected progression systems, an insistence on emblazoning its geography with scores of content, and meaningful improvements to the blueprint laid out by Far Cry 3.

With that said, the primary flaw in Assassin's Creed Rogue is the plot. Conrad, in Heart of Darkness, wrote "showing in this remark the weakness of many tellers of tales who seem so often unaware of what their audience would best like to hear." And Ubisoft Sofia has succumbed to these weaknesses. Rogue does not tell the story players want to hear.

A top notch soccer sim that deserves your attention this holiday.

WWE 2K's first outing on the PS4 and Xbox One is commendable, and gives us much to look forward to for 2K16. But unless you're a passionate fan of the WWE or this series, it's probably safe to rent or skip this year.

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is initially the same type of gameplay that you know from the previous LEGO titles, but with a little bit more freedom and flavor added in to separate it. If you loved previous LEGO titles, especially the most recent LEGO Batman titles, then you’re going to enjoy this one.

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is an ambitious amalgamation of disparate stories, ideas, and styles. Persona 3 and Persona 4's character driven narratives may seem like unlikely bedfellows alongside Etrian Odyssey's obsession with dungeon crawling, but with a careful and crafty application of their respective strengths, Persona Q is a strangely melodious composition.

A good value for a pair of successful mobile games that come to PlayStation in their most complete form.

Some thirteen years after Melee’s release, Nintendo has finally formulated an experience which compares appreciably to the masterpiece that we all love (and many of us still play). Whether for fun or for glory, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the follow-up Smash fans have been anticipating since.

The visual upgrade to Grand Theft Auto V on the current generation systems would be enough to warrant a re-purchase. It’s absolutely stunning and by far one of the best looking games on current gen. The additional online content, modes, cars, people and the inclusion first-person is just icing on the cake.

In its third mainline iteration, LittleBigPlanet's momentum shifts from a bastion of adaptive entertainment to a lightning rod of tailored inspiration. It's a logical progression, one that sacrifices personal moments of professionally crafted clarity, but in their place is a tidy collection of tools and concepts masquerading as purpose-driven levels – and the hope that talented players will embrace enough of them to fill in LittleBigPlanet 3's considerable gaps in content.

Defenders of Time, even with its pretty visuals and some redeeming game mechanics, can't stand well on its own, and is easily beat out by other free tower defense games with very difficult levels and shoddy multiplayer, this game is not a very good example of the tower defense genre.

Dragon Age: Inquisition has incredibly deep and complex parts, while still maintaining the core gameplay values that Bioware knows how to do best with their third-person action titles. The game delivers everything promised, including gorgeous visuals and a strong story. Simply put, Bioware has returned the Dragon Age series to the greatness it truly deserves.

It stumbles out of the gates, but underneath the issues lies a pretty good experience that I would hope will get better with patches.

Unfortunately, "Digimon: All-Star Rumble" is merely okay.

A great fit in any Vita library that would benefit from an excellent JRPG.

The definitive version of How To Survive that's priced well and enjoyable online or off, solo, or with a friend.

A true classic revitalized that's easy to recommend to anyone who enjoys a great story, with bonus content to boot for those interested in videogame development or history.

A challenging, rough around the edges title in the vein of the Souls games that gets a lot more right than it does wrong. It deserves your attention this holiday season, and hopefully we'll see more from this franchise.

The game is damn fun. You’ve got a bit of everything that you’re supposed to have with a Call of Duty title. An entertaining campaign mode, a fast/furious MP experience and a co-op mode that does everything you’re used to doing with a bit of a change to keep it different from previous iterations.

By declaring its intentions early, Corporate Lockdown projects a more comfortable and measured presentation of Alien: Isolation's objectives. This translates to a more clinical feel detached of the narrative context that made Isolation so special, but in its place is a more practical application of its mechanics. As it turns out, Isolation is easier to parse without the weight of a twenty hour run time.

Freedom Wars has its shortcomings, but I would still consider it one of the top Vita games available.

Ones and Zeroes accelerates Republique's exploration of action and consequence by placing the player in a position of uncomfortable accountability, continuing to be an exemplary exhibition of touchscreen gaming.

Not all of Metamorphosis' disparity necessarily works in Republique's favor, but it's at least emblematic of Camouflaj's focus on simultaneously managing progress and refinement.

Level 5 and 1UP Studios have done a wonderful job of creating a lighthearted adventure that should be on any completionist's radar.

Republique is a response to an insular system closing in around the defiant and the virtuous, avoiding the pratfalls of mobile/touch game development while detailing a fascinating Orwellian nightmare.

It's a manufactured experience that's still more superficial than engrossing, but it's a step in the right direction.