There seem to be the beginnings of some good ideas in TMNT: Out of the Shadows, but none of them are properly fleshed out. Instead, these shortcomings are simply covered up with more half-followed-through mechanics, resulting in a mess of a game.

The crowded control scheme, uninspired campaign, and limited multiplayer options are completely outclassed by most home-console shooters. If, however, you’re truly desperate to fill that gaping genre hole in your Vita’s library, you won’t have a totally miserable time here.

While the interminable wait between turns and overhauled user interface may be shocks for players flocking from Shogun 2, the overall experience still delivers a top-tier strategy epic.

Spelunky is the roguelike equivalent of training wheels attached with only one turn of the screw. It’s a great way to ease into the genre and a worthwhile entry in its field, but immediately following that “I think I got it!” moment, you’ll quickly be left having to keep upright on your own.

Strange though it may sound, this port is the definitive version of Diablo III. By removing the auction house and adding in offline play, local co-op, and an effective console control scheme, Blizzard has allowed the underlying gameplay experience to shine through like never before.

Despite my dislike for the Star notes that have been sprinkled into its gameplay, Project Diva F remains a fantastically fun music rhythm games for those hardcore fans of computers singing about being a cat.

Holds some legitimate moments of brilliance, and the game shines when it comes to character development and storytelling. Unfortunately, Lost Planet 3 then ends up sabotaging itself with gameplay so dull or tedious at times that it can’t begin to support the weight of its ambitions.

The decent core combat can’t hide the fact that this is Suda51’s most ridiculous, nonsensical plot yet, and an offensive “courtship” minigame is a further black mark on the proceedings. This one may even turn off Suda’s most hardcore fans.

EA’s given us a whole new running system—Run Free—that offers the game a whole new sense of balance...EA’s also beefed up last year’s Connected Careers, turning it into Connected Franchise while adding an Owner Mode for unprecedented control. All of this makes Madden NFL 25 one of the finest football simulations ever released.

There’s no sugarcoating the fact that The Bureau lacks much of the refinement we expect from modern triple-A games, but anyone who looks past the flawed surface will find a game bursting with brilliant ideas. With smart, engaging tactical combat and one of the most compelling sci-fi narratives the medium has seen to date, this one’s destined to become a cult classic.

The Play Set portion of Disney Infinity consists of average to slightly above-average platformers, with enough collectibles to send players with OCD off the deep end. Things get better in the Toy Box, where the potential for player-crafted adventures really opened up the experience. Overall, Disney Infinity is an excellent addition to the fairly new toy-enhanced game genre.

PopCap maintains the addictive tower-defense gameplay and cheesy humor that made the first Plants vs. Zombies such a phenomenon, while adding a plethora of new features that ensure this game will consume every free second you have—if you let it.

Blacklist’s bitingly topical campaign, huge selection of co-op missions, and wildly enjoyable update of the Spies vs. Mercs multiplayer make for the best, most ambitious Splinter Cell of this generation.

Volition did something it seems few developers are brave enough to do at this point: They were willing to reinvent the Saints Row series instead of just reiterating on it. The result is a game that I had an absolute blast with from beginning to end, but also one that—due to the escalation it exhibits—left me dumbfounded on what they’ll offer as a follow-up.

Payday 2 is pure first-person shooter fun that, while not about to turn any heads visually, is certainly a knockout as far as gameplay goes. Fans of four-player co-op will get a great deal out of Overkill’s heist-themed sequel.

Though a bit short, DuckTales still holds up where it counts, with tight controls, fun levels, and a story like a vintage comic book. The game might be straightforward and feel a little dated, but bouncing through the Amazon, the Himalayas, the Moon, and more will have you singing the iconic theme song in your head.

A fairly robust take on the classic RPG formula with trace amounts of familiar Mario gameplay. While it’s hardly anything new, it still tells a truly charming tale defined, more than anything, by its terrific cast of characters.

While Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons occasionally succeeds in tugging at the heartstrings, there’s a heavy-handedness that runs through a good portion of the drama—and that’s off-putting. The unique controls take too long to get used to (considering this is only a three-hour experience), and the puzzles are simple and repetitive. The aesthetics are definitely pleasing, however.

It’s an enjoyable experience, but it also discards several tried-and-true franchise conventions—such as a traversable overworld map—in favor of a smaller, more focused adventure.

The gameplay feels caught in a weird void between optimizing the experience for single-player and multiplayer, but this is as close to a trip to the old-school arcades of the late ’80s as you’re going to get on home consoles.

The controls are caught in a weird, nebulous void between being optimized for the Wii and Wii U, but the expansive miniature landscapes, excellent pacing, and varied Pikmin powers combine to overcome any technical issues or limitations.

Though hindered somewhat by game-design oversights and one hell of a game-breaking bug, Shadowrun Returns remains a satisfying strategy-RPG largely defined by its world and lore, but also as a platform for more and more standalone adventures.

R.I.P.D.: The Game is really nothing more than a crappy movie tie-in game in the longstanding tradition of crappy movie tie-in games. There’s not much substance here, and what you do get is so unpolished and unrewarding that it’s not worth your time.

ImageEpoch attempts to try something quite different with the Japanese RPG genre, and while a lot of the game suffers from missteps, poor gameplay decisions, and terrible writing, Time and Eternity’s anime-come-to-life visual style makes it an experience that feels unlike anything that’s been released in recent memory.

Civilization V: Brave New World is a stellar addition to an already excellent game that goes beyond the standard additions of new countries and Wonders by including additional game-changing paths to victory.

While it falls a little short of what I wanting for a long-anticipated new major chapter in the Shin Megami Tensei series, Shin Megami Tensei IV is still a highly enjoyable RPG that mixes Altus’ trademark flair for style with some new ideas and engrossing narrative twists.

The perfect bridge between Season One and Two of The Walking Dead, 400 Days expertly sets up new characters in fun, interesting bite-sized chunks that will do nothing but get fans more hyped for Season Two.

A few tweaks, a couple of tacked-on modes, and some better mechanics from the borrowed Madden engine can’t overcome the basic logic flaws and imbalances that seem to be annual staples in NCAA.