While the writing is solid and the card playing has been notably improved over the first game, Poker Night 2 suffers from the same basic problem that plagued the original: a lack of staying power, thanks to the absence of competitive multiplayer and eventually repetitive dialogue.

A strong start and finish to the final King Washington episode help carry what’s probably the weakest action and narrative of the entire DLC miniseries. The new bear powers are also more fun to use than the wolf and eagle powers from previous episodes, though only hardcore Assassin’s Creed fans will be totally satisfied with the experience.

The content added to Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen over the original Dragon’s Dogma might not be enough for previous players to be able to justify buying the game for a second time. For those who missed out on Dragon’s Dogma the first time around, however, this is a great way to finally give the game a shot.

The demanding difficulty may be a turnoff for some, but Monaco manages to deliver an impressively minimalist twist on stealth that doesn’t sacrifice the depth or strategy the genre is known for.

The last of the “Operation Rainfall Three,” Pandora’s Tower borrows heavily from Shadow of the Colossus—young lad must rescue his beloved from a gruesome fate by felling massive beasts—but you can’t help but think you’ve played a far better version of this game before. Hardcore Japanese RPG fans might forgive some of the glaring flaws here, but Pandora’s Tower certainly won’t have the mass appeal of Team Ico’s 2005 PS2 classic.

For fans of Dishonored, Knife of Dunwall does not disappoint. And for those less infatuated than I, the Daud DLC may offer a promising look at the series’ potential. Unfortunately, Knife of Dunwall’s across-the-board improvements are incremental at best.

If you’re looking for a fun way to spend a few hours on the cheap, then God Mode is a decent investment. The gameplay is solid, and there are plenty of little extras to keep things fun and interesting—though the meager selection of maps means there’s a good chance the game will become stale after a few hours.

Newcomers to the franchise will likely be more forgiving of many flaws, much like many of us were with the first Dead Island, considering the fun zombie-bashing core and unique dichotomy of an apocalypse in paradise has remained intact. Veterans of the first Dead Island, on the other hand, will feel cheated, as they’ll recognize the cheap carbon copy that Riptide actually is. Combine this with glitches galore and a plot with more holes in it than the sinking ship the game starts off on, and it’s hard to recommend Riptide to all but the most naïve of zombie enthusiasts.

While it can’t always escape the reality of being a dungeon-crawling RPG originally released in 1997, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner—Soul Hackers has stood up amazingly well to the tests of time, and it still stands as an enjoyable, engrossing experience into the near-future world of demonic warfare.

Guacamelee! feels welcomingly familiar but still manages to bring something new to the table through excellent combat and a whole lot of charm.

One of the best all-around fighting experiences you’re likely to find—and fans of both DC Comics and Mortal Kombat-style fighters will be blown away by this high-quality brawler of epic proportions.

As a game, I think Terraria shares a lot of personality traits with the worlds it randomly generates. Sometimes they aren’t pretty, sometimes they’re rough, and sometimes they aren’t the friendliest places to be, but once you dig in your heels and dig under the surface of what you’re given, there’s a whole world of wonderment just waiting for you to explore.

ShootMania breathes new life into a crowded genre by taking things back to basics. If you’re a fan of old-style twitch shooters, this is the game for you. However, a lack of progression—bar a leaderboard—and simple map designs may lead to many being turned off in the long run. If you’re after a pure shooter, however, it doesn’t get much better than this.

A great idea that falls apart in the implementation. It’s a deeply promising game that dies by a thousand small cuts and a handful of big ones. Still, Trion has built a solid foundation, and they’ve made it clear that they’re in this for the long haul, dedicated to growing and improving the game over time. And, you know, I genuinely hope they pull it off.

Between taking in the hysterical story, trying your hand at level creation, or just blowing up some buddies in versus mode, most every gamer will find something to love about BattleBlock Theater. Whether played alone or with friends, The Behemoth’s latest is an absolute blast that’s well worth the price of admission.

Game Freak returns to the non-Pokémon world with HarmoKnight, a music-infused platformer that will be a light-hearted romp for casual fans of the genre—but which might not be memorable enough for more dedicated rhythm-game devotees.

The core gameplay mechanics in The Devil’s Cartel seldom fall short of base competency, but they never really rise above it, either. With almost no combat variety, wonky cover mechanics, and cringe-worthy writing, it’s the sort of mindless, throwaway shooter you’ll have forgotten a half-hour after the credits roll.

With a few notable new features—including a first-ever complete set of PGA Tour majors and the inclusion of golf legends like Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan—Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is one of the best incarnations of this long-running series. Unfortunately, the in-game mini-goals, such as earning sponsorships and mastering each course, have been eliminated; while this might not bother some players, those who used these goals as an incentive to keep playing should make note.

The overall journey drags on in mind-numbing fashion, until you just wish someone would drop a giant Pokéball on your head and end it all.

To the casual observer, BioShock Infinite may look like just another game starring a scowling, testosterone-infused hero cocking a shotgun at onrushing enemy hordes. But just like Irrational’s 2007 trip through an undersea Objectivist paradise gone mad, this is far more than a simple first-person shooter; the experience will make players think, inspire them to explore, and leave them emotionally spent by the time it’s all over. With BioShock Infinite, Ken Levine cements his status as one of gaming’s elite creative minds.

Though a functional game at the most basic level, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is an absolute disaster from start to finish. It feels like Terminal Reality duct-taped several different half-finished projects together and assumed the brand tie-in would move units. It’s an absolute disgrace—both to the TV show it’s based on and videogames as a whole.

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon maintains much of the charm of the original and benefits from a superior coat of paint and level design. But one limitation the 3DS has—its lack of a second joystick—can prove irksome, especially as you move into the latter stages.

The alchemy-infused RPG known as Atelier Ayesha is much like its titular character: unpolished and at times awkward, yet also unquestionably charming and endearing.

An interesting concept that proves less interesting in execution—and ultimately suffers from repetition that’s beyond boring.

The new eagle powers are far more impressive than the wolf skills from the first episode, and although the story drags early on, it picks up nicely towards the end, ramping up to a hopefully fitting—and satisfying— conclusion in the final episode.

Great gameplay and a humorous, well-written plot are more than enough to help LEGO City Undercover overcome some of the franchise’s lingering technical flaws, making it one of the few worthwhile experiences on the Wii U.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a tough sell for newcomers, but if you’re patient, it’ll make a believer out of you with lots of freedom afforded to your playstyle, even if the controls sometimes make the experience more cumbersome than needed. Hardcore series fans, of course, will need no convincing here.

While the emphasis on fast-paced replayability and a more intimate, nuanced narrative do wonders for Judgment‘s single-player campaign, the game is ultimately held back by its surprisingly meager multiplayer offering.

Though the games themselves may be a little too obscure or esoteric for some fighting-game fanatics, Capcom’s under-appreciated Darkstalkers series has been brought back in fantastic fashion in Darkstalkers Resurrection.

Like an archeological dig. Somewhere under the dirt lies the broken pieces of a fantastic game. EA and Maxis are working furiously to put Humpty Dumpty together again, but in the meantime, we have a game that’s equal parts entertaining and frustrating. Sporting a fantastic user interface, great graphics, and an interesting concept, SimCity has an astounding level of potential. But in its current state, I can’t recommend it to any but the staunchest series fans.

Fester Mudd delivers an entertaining point-and-click-adventure experience, but given the game’s earnest devotion the genre’s sometimes-frustrating tropes, you might only want to give it a shot if you’re particularly nostalgic for the days of Guybrush Threepwood and Roger Wilco.

Dead Space 3 would have been well served to include some of the thrilling gameplay featured here, but Awakened‘s convoluted narrative has far too many absurd plot holes—and is far too short—to be worth anything to anyone but the most die-hard Dead Space fans.

Though a few flaws do mar the overall experience, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds is an extremely enjoyable mix of retro beat-em-up design and modern fighting-game-inspired combat depth that offers far more satisfaction than its $10 price tag might initially suggest.

A clear example of a studio going to the well with a franchise one too many times. Although highly polished and still entertaining for fans of the franchise, Ascension lacks the soul of its predecessors as it scrapes the bottom of the Greek-mythology barrel to try to deliver on a franchise that’s clearly run dry of fresh ideas.

MLB: The Show is still the premier baseball experience on consoles, but some very questionable team rankings, minimal improvements to the overall package, and subpar online gameplay mean that MLB 13 isn’t a huge leap forward for the franchise—we’ll have to wait for the PS4 for that.

The math for Dollar Dash to be fun is there, but the numbers don’t add up. One crucial variable was unaccounted for: other interested parties.

While the strengths of DmC‘s balletic combat aren’t entirely lost in Vergil’s Downfall, they’re decidedly diminished. The novelty of a new playable character and slate of abilities is largely negated by the fact that Vergil isn’t nearly as smooth, interesting, or fun to control as his snarky twin brother.

Excessive button-mashing, constant quick-time events, drawn-out battles, an awkward balance between offering exploration while also being linear—those are elements that need some real rethinking and reworking if they’re to exist in upcoming portable chapters of Castlevania, or they’re elements that need to simply not exist at all.

For those who expected a straight 3DS rehash of the series’ 2D entries, think again. Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan moves the preeminent first-person dungeon-crawler forward in ways that longtime, hardcore fans will appreciate—yet novice would-be adventurers won’t be overwhelmed here.

Some minor sound issues notwithstanding, this is yet another great batch of pinball tables that make you feel like you’re standing in a bar—or, in this case, Chalmun’s Cantina—playing the real thing.

When taken for what it is—and not what it could have been—we’ve been given a game that serves as a fantastic first step, but which also is clearly only a first step in what will be an arduous journey.

Urban Trial Freestyle is, at its very best, a poor man’s Trials Evolution. It feels very much the same, but it lacks the personality and host of features that its source material possesses.

With a single-player campaign that brings the trilogy to a fulfilling close and best-in-class multiplayer, Crysis 3 manages to best its predecessors and deliver a genuinely impressive FPS experience.

If you play Assassin’s Creed primarily for the single-player experience, The Tyranny of King Washington is definitely worth it. Think of it in terms of Marvel’s alternate-storyline What If comics: It’s fun for what it is, but it doesn’t surpass the original in terms of enjoyment.

Rising is one hell of a rollercoaster ride that all Metal Gear fans should definitely play, but more than a decade after MGS2, it turns out that I’m still frustrated in the role of Raiden. But this time, it’s simply because the game doesn’t quite unleash his full potential.

Like most successful license-based games, Aliens: Colonial Marines is much more than a loving homage; it serves as one of the most robust story-driven co-op experiences to date. The concept definitely has room to grow, but as maiden voyages go, Colonial Marines is a clear winner.

Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 convinced me that a Dynasty Warriors–style trip through one of manga’s more infamous worlds wasn’t as good an idea as I once thought. While I still see a lot of potential in the concept—and in this game itself—this effort’s underdeveloped and disappointingly average.

It’s hard to find something as generic as Special Forces: Team X appealing when online multiplayer shooters are a dime a dozen—and that’s all there is to this game.

Ultimately, Thieves in Time is still an above-average platformer, but it’s not nearly as good as it could’ve been.

Dead Space 3 is an enjoyable, highly polished experience that will fill in a lot of story gaps for returning fans. But if you’re looking to get scared, this is anything but survival-horror.

Objectivity is an illusion. Perceptions and subjectivity prevail, powerfully influenced by expectations both personal and cultural. Culturally, we want the Great Gaming Renaissance, and we look to indie games to bring it to us. I want to love Skulls of the Shogun for all that I see it can be, but I have to like Skulls for all that it is. Part of that includes being boring.

Fire Emblem: Awakening stands near the pinnacle of the series, as it blends rarely seen elements and a few new twists of its own into the tried-and-true combat and storytelling. Awakening is one of the few must-have' 3DS titles.

The graphics are sharp, with that distinctive Double Fine cartoony look, and both the soundtrack and voice work are top notch. The Cave and other voiced characters are funny as well, and while it's possible Gilbert either enlisted his friends to do the parts or picked hobos at random, they all do a great job.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is much more than a vehicle for the House that Miyazaki Built; it's a first-class production all the way that delivers-and improves on-every aspect of the traditional Japanese RPG.

If the bulk of Borderlands 2 had you laughing till it hurt, then this DLC will certainly continue that trend. A couple of balancing issues with the new enemies introduced, however, will cause some headaches and encourage you to race through more daunting areas.

DmC is everything a reboot should be-confident, thoughtful, and brazenly unafraid to sacrifice a few sacred cows along the way. For all the backlash they've had to face, developer Ninja Theory has delivered the most polished, refreshing, and memorable hack-and-slash experience in recent memory.

One of those games you'll either love or hate. Some folks will be able to look past the gameplay flaws and appreciate the Platinum-y goodness, but more serious fighting fans will probably wish for a more defined, discernible battlefield. I tend to side more with the latter, but I managed to have some occasional fun despite my frustrations.

Adventure Time is, first and foremost, for fans. Love the show and a good platformer? This game's for you. Expecting more, however, will only disappoint.

Drox Operative has a solid base and an incredibly advanced AI at its heart. It basically ticks all the boxes for the genre, but the later level grinding will suck your soul dry, leaving all but the most hardcore of players wanting something more.

The same game as previously released on other systems, but the first two games of the series are glaringly absent from the Wii U. To make up for that, the developer included a motion comic to catch players up on the previous story. It's lacking, but what can you do?

These challenges fall into four different mission types: stealth, combat, mobility, and puzzle. Some are a lot of fun, but some are just time-wasters. For $5, the value is here, but this isn't the Dishonored DLC that fans really wanted.

Scribblenauts Unlimited is a perfect match for the Wii U's hardware, making brilliant use of the GamePad controller to deliver a wonderfully creative sandbox puzzler.

If you adore Suda 51's design sensibilities or appreciate games that punish players, then Black Knight Sword might offer enough for you to enjoy your time with it. For everyone else, far too many other games are more worthy of your time and money.

This version of Darksiders II is nearly identical to the ones released on the PS3, 360 and PC in Auguest. While the Wii U version doesn't offer many innovations, it does come with all of the currently available DLC. The GamePad makes little difference to the gameplay, and though it's fun to have maps and inventory items ready and in front of you at all times, I still preferred to play with the standard controller. It's a great game, perfect for anyone who likes a good action-RPG.

South Korean developer Pentavision brings their latest DJMax title to North American, giving rhythm game fans-and Vita owners in general-a superb product that excels in style, substance, and sound.

Aside from some moments of classic Ratchet & Clank humor, Full Frontal Assault fails both as a tower defense game and as a means to hold fans of the franchise over until Insomniac delivers a new mainline title.

Easily as deep and addicting a MOBA as you'd find on the PC, Guardians of Middle-Earth should appeal to newcomers and veterans of the genre alike. Add in the Lord of the Rings flair and this should be money well spent for most gamers.

A solid comedic core cannot save what becomes tedious gameplay as you move through the 10 different dimensions of the Multiverse. Throw in the mind-boggling lack of online multiplayer for a suite that clearly could have benefited from it, and Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse should only appeal to fanatics of the FOX animated sitcom.

While Sine Mora's challenge may ask more than some players will be able to provide, for those who can take what it's got to give and get back up, this is a brilliant addition to the Vita's library that absolutely should not be missed.

Pid feels like the indie game equivalent of paint-by-numbers. While it does an admirable job aping the style and atmosphere of titles like Braid, Limbo, and Machinarium, the entire experience winds up hollow, overlong, and ultimately forgettable thanks to awkward pacing and a gameplay gimmick that isn't quite as versatile as it needs to be.

A charming adventure that'll provide your brain plenty of entertainment as it's tasked with solving-and then creating-a wide array of colorful block-based 3D spatial puzzles.

Even with its cheap price of only 400 Microsoft points ($5), when you combine the game's poor recognition of your body movements and a severe lack of content, there just isn't enough of a game here to warrant any sort of purchase.

In nearly everything that Atlus has tried to accomplish in breathing new life into their much-beloved PS2 RPG Persona 4, they've accomplished masterfully on the Vita in Persona 4 Golden-and if there's ever to be a Japanese RPG that can convince you of what the genre can be in its finest hours, it'll be this one.

As much as I'd love to heap praise on ZombiU for a smashing debut on a console that needed a good proof-of-concept, it ultimately comes off as a game that tried to get there the easy way-and failed. I applaud Ubisoft's desire to bring fear back to the genre while leveraging the Wii U's unique capabilities, but I wish they could've found a way to do so that didn't require so much needless pandering.

Declassified is such a laughable attempt at capturing the Call of Duty formula that it borders on self-parody, with a flaccid campaign that can be beaten in under an hour and agonizing, bug-riddled multiplayer.

Far Cry 3 manages more than a shift on your view of its wisecracking protagonist. It's the sort of game that makes the genre's best look absolutely ordinary-which, in a story this beset by twists, turns, and turmoil, may just be the biggest mindf*** of them all.

The historical accuracy and details of the game are a testament to arguably the greatest general the US has ever had. HISTORY: Legends of War: Patton, however, falls flat in many aspects of the basest execution we would expect from a current console game and this keeps it from fulfilling its true potential.

While it certainly won't win any points for originality, Battle Royale is a solid Smash Bros. clone that brings a few interesting, if flawed, innovations to the casual brawler.

A few of the mini-games are fun, but none are fantastic. In a game with little style or substance, the only way to win is not to play.

Right from the start, this episode cranks up the tension to 11. Unfortunately, this may also be why it burns itself out as the shortest episode of the series. However, it's also one of the most satisfying, as everything you've built up to finally comes to a head-and in the end, you'll do whatever you can to protect Clementine in this accomplishment in videogame storytelling.

The result is a mixed bag that suffers from pacing issues as well as a difficulty jump halfway through that many will find infuriating. Disney fans will find the story fun, even when the action becomes a slog, but others will likely lose interest midway through.

Is Racing Transformed perfect? Not by a long shot. But it's every bit as engrossing and addictive as many of the Sega classics it mines for inspiration, and that's a phenomenal accomplishment in itself.

With solid single-player and outstanding co-op play, the game will provide about 25 hours of exploration during the first playthrough. Wield the power of paint and thinner and choose your path. But remember, choices have their consequences.

Hitman: Absolution features plenty of smart new features and tweaks that modernize the franchise without abandoning the essence of what made it great-but the new save system is awful enough to undo a lot of that good.

Although the core of Batman: Arkham City remains intact, new glitches and tacked-on gimmicks take away from the overall experience enough to make this a clearly inferior version of one of the great games of this generation.

Sing Party flounders between niches, with too little depth to make for a decent music game and too few songs to serve as a replacement for an actual karaoke machine.

Nintendo Land is charming in concept and execution, but it's also a game that doesn't have the depth or gameplay offerings to really reach its full potential. As a pack-in game, it's great; as a $60 retail game, it's horribly overpriced.

Book of Spells is a decent proof of concept for the Wonderbook's augmented reality technology, but the rest of the experience fails to deliver anything memorable or worthwhile, quickly collapsing into an endless parade of gimmicks and dull, overly simplistic minigames.

A love-letter to the days of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros. U's multiplayer modes, insane platforming, and beautiful HD graphics offer more than enough to provide hours of fun for gamers of all stripes.

The strong core of the Assassin's Creed franchise remains mostly intact here, but the truncated story makes Aveline's character development feel rushed and the twists much more predictable here. Liberation is solid game if you're on the go a lot, but it can't hold a candle to Desmond and his ancestors.

The first Black Ops put Treyarch on par with Infinity Ward; with Black Ops II, they surpass them. This is the most impressed I've been with Call of Duty since the first Modern Warfare; aside from some problems with the Strike Force missions, this is a shining moment for the franchise.

A bright and shiny pool game with excellent physics and deep gameplay. Single-player suffers from too difficult AI, but multiplayer succeeds on every level. A solid choice for pool fans.

Younger gamers out there may not see the appeal, but this nostalgia-driven collection is a must have for gamers who remember placing quarters on cabinets to call next game.

The plot and adventure are both more than worthy of the Paper Mario name, and the game is set in a massive, beautifully designed world for gamers to explore. Still, these aspects can't hide the fact that the sticker fighting system is flawed and removes a lot of the fun from the RPG combat.

If you can look past the fact that it's essentially ModNation Racers with a Sackboy-colored coat of paint, LittleBigPlanet Karting is an enjoyable enough vehicular romp. Still, it's hard to shake the sense that United Front has already made this game once-and they did it better the first time.

It's been an impressive run, but after a decade of the same basic experience, I can't escape the feeling that Halo needs to try a bit harder. Fans of the game will have a blast here, and the multiplayer is something special, but if you expected Halo 4 to keep up with the Joneses, you might be disappointed.

As usual, the gimmicks quickly become evident and tiresome, especially for folks familiar with the comic arc this game's story is based off of. However, there is some surprising polish here and you might have more fun with it than you'd expect as it is one of the few Kinect games where the controls actually work.

The bevy of unlockables, still stellar WWE Universe mode, even deeper customization features, and the nostalgia driven Attitude Era mode makes this the best wrestling game of this generation.