The changes freshen up the long-running series while also making for a better experience for new players.

What's important isn't what genre Virtue's Last Reward sits in, what country it comes from, what platform it's on, or any of those other superficial things-it's the fact that this is a wonderfully crafted game that will grip you from beginning to end.

It has a few quirks that come with the franchise's first attempt at an open-world game, but at its heart, it's still a solid Forza title. I can see Horizon being the start of a continuing bold new direction for the franchise, and with a bit more polish, I can even see it becoming the Forza standard. If you're a Forza fan, this is definitely worth checking out.

For something that was supposed to celebrate 50 years of the world's favorite super spy, it sure seemed more like a slap in the face. Poor visuals, bland game play, and a generic multiplayer seem to have become the gaming standard for 007 with Legends just being the latest example.

The Walking Dead: Episode 4: Around Every Corner continues the landmark storytelling of the first three episodes as the situation takes a drastic turn in order to ramp up for the final episode. Fans will not be disappointed.

Code of Princess is a fun and frantic action adventure for the 3DS, one that often provides plenty of excitement-but which, at other times, feels limited either in design or by the hardware it calls home.

Marvel vs Capcom Origins does a fine job of staying true to the originals, while the addition of dynamic challenges provide a new layer of addictiveness that helps to overshadow how much these games have aged in the past two decades.

Dance Central 3 still offers some frustrations with the Kinect sensor recognizing certain moves, the learning curve is still a bit steeper than it could be, and having to pay to import old tracks from versions you've already purchased is the worst sort of corporate vileness, but all things considered, Dance Central 3 is a major step up from its predecessor that proves to be much more than the Kinect's best example of a functional game.

NBA 2K13 offers a solid upgrade from last year's installment, but there's still enough unnecessary frustration here to make me believe there's room for something greater.

To say that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a phenomenal remake would be selling Firaxis' monumental accomplishment short. The developer hasn't just managed to capture the spirit of the original; they've also tweaked, trimmed, and innovated enough to deliver the freshest, most engaging strategy game in recent memory, if not ever.

A great story that Fable fans will absolutely eat up, but some long stretches of lonely road keep this from being an absolute must-have for every Kinect owner.

Dark, difficult, and deliberately ambiguous, Dishonored asks you to forget much of what you know about the modern blockbuster, tossing flashy gameplay sequences and heavily scripted moments to the wayside in favor of exploration, tension, and eventual triumph over foes who genuinely deserve a knife to the neck.

The story takes a step backward, and the new game modes aren't that impressive. Mostly, it's just the same ol' Jigglypuff song and dance from Pokemon Black/White 2.

The concepts and challenges of NiGHTS into Dreams HD make it a game that not everybody will be able to appreciate-but for those that do, this is a great way to once again experience one of Sega's most curious yet creative moments in game development.

Leon and Jake's respective campaigns mark a return to greatness for this franchise, but Chris's bro-fest campaign comes up a little short.

While this update of the classic action-RTS hybrid is far from perfect, there's a certain undeniable charm to Gaea Mission's deep, open-ended gameplay that manages to overshadow the flawed AI and poor pacing.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit sits somewhere between a hardcore classic and a shameless parody, and luckily, I happen to be a fan of both. It's not perfect, but like Vincent Vega once said, "personality goes a long way."

There's so much care put into making the game accessible that it's always fun in instances where it could be unnecessarily punishing. If you're a F1 junkie, don't hesitate to play this-and try getting a non-fan to take it for a few laps, too.

Although the game says "Fire Pro Wrestling" in the text, this isn't anything like it. All the franchises's past references are gone, replaced by a family-friendly, cookie-cutter party theme that barely stands on a weak, overly simplistic fighting engine. At the very least, if you're looking for something a young child will enjoy, it's an inexpensive purchase at 400 Microsoft Points. If you're an older wrestling fan, don't even bother.

FIFA's action on the attack and near the goal has always been subpar, but I've cut it some slack in the past due to upgrades and improvements in other areas. Not this year-this is as weak an effort as I've seen from FIFA in a decade, and the whole affair screams "Roster Update 2013" from the get-go.

Dead or Alive 5 provides just enough new content and combat tweaks to stay fresh, but the sequel ultimately feels like Dead or Alive 4.5 instead of a bold new title.

Transcripted's unexpected blend of shoot-em-ups and Zuma-style match three gameplay makes for one of the most refreshing and addictive experiences of the year, with the perfect mix of casual simplicity and hardcore depth.

Although one of the better Vita games out there, the touch screen gimmicks still get in the way sometimes of the franchise's core values.

Damned impressive, standing head and shoulders above the original and other games in the genre as the most addictive, engrossing co-operative FPS game of this generation. A bona fide game-of-the-year candidate.

Some new movie-based motifs added nice variety to the levels, but an unusually steep difficulty curve had a part of me pining for the original. Still, if you love Joe Danger, this new chapter is more than worthy of a look.

The concept might seem a bit gimmicky at first glance, but Baller Beats is a well made, respectable peripheral-driven rhythm game in the tradition of Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero. Some technical limitations keep the game from outright greatness, but there's a lot of fun-and real world benefits-to be had here.

There are times it would have been easier to fly an actual soup can.

The actual gameplay is leaps and bounds ahead of NHL 13's predecessors, but the GM AI has taken a couple steps backward in noticeable-and discouraging-ways.