Guild Wars 2 fine-tunes much of what we've come to expect from an MMORPG (crafting) while turning other aspects on their head (dynamic level adjustment), resulting in possibly the most refined, enjoyable game the genre's ever seen.

In an age when pure stealth experiences have become increasingly rare, Mark of the Ninja proves there's still gas left in the tank, with ingeniously designed mechanics and a slate of gadgets and abilities that make stalking your prey from the shadows an absolute treat.

If you care about The Walking Dead, zombie games, or just spectacular storytelling, The Long Road Ahead will hook you to this series if you weren't already. And if you were hooked to begin with, then you're like me probably, begging Telltale to get on it and release the next episode already!

Rock Band Blitz manages to improve on its predecessors' concept and control schemes, but the harsh monetization of its music and repetitive controller-based gameplay ultimately doesn't measure up to the feeling of a real Rock Band experience.

It's clear the team at Tiburon took a hard look at ways to bring the franchise back to its former glory. Some annoying bugs persist here and there, but overall, Madden NFL 13 stands as one of my favorite football experiences of this generation.

Way of the Samurai 4 is a goofy, glorious romp through post-isolationist Japan, and it's about as fun and accessible as the series has ever been. While some bugs and graphical issues may sour the experience at times, that shouldn't prevent newcomers from giving the series a shot.

Another fantastic adventure to the world of Cybertron by the folks at High Moon Studios-but one that combines some excellent new elements and gameplay offerings with a smattering of peculiar omissions and design choices.

5th Cell does some remarkable things with the still-evolving cover-based shooting mechanic, but Hybrid is ultimately hindered by lingering matchmaking issues, dumb AI companions, and limited multiplayer depth.

A refreshing experience, one that reminds us of why people make games-and why we, in turn, play them. Combining quaint, charming elements with highly executed gameplay, Dust would be an impressive adventure even without the fascinating story behind its development.

The daring, deeply personal story is more than enough reason to give Papo & Yo a shot, but don't expect to be wowed by the underlying puzzle platformer gameplay.

While The Last Story is a solid offering from Japanese RPG legend Hironobu Sakaguchi, the boilerplate storytelling, familiar tropes, and lack of meaningful exploration make it feel like it could have been so much more.

Despite minor annoyances with the level system and the occasional free-running glitch, Darksiders II is superior to its predecessor in every way. It's got a larger, deeper world with a wide breadth of characters, a thrilling story that sucks you in and doesn't let go, and some insane over-the-top combat. All those elements make this a must-have for fans of action-RPGs.

Sleeping Dogs represents a marked step forward for open-world action games, offering surprisingly deep gameplay and an almost meticulous attention to detail.

Though we've seen this formula before, New Super Mario Bros. 2 finds a way to keep itself just fresh enough while still hitting platfroming perfection.

I'm not totally convinced that the copy of Persona 4 Arena that I'm holding in my hands is real, because the idea of a Persona-based 2D fighter actually existing still baffles my brain. For as long as it does exist as something that I can play, though, it's an elaborate yet engrossing fighter that packs a ton of content, charm, and competition for those willing to put in the time required to master its offerings.

Aside from the seamless drop-in, drop-out co-op, this is one of the worst videogames I've had the displeasure of playing in a long time. It looks awful, controls horribly, and the plot is nonexistent.

Dream Drop Distance does have its share of annoyances, but the game works well overall, and it's a nice addition to the franchise…even if it's not the one fans are waiting for.

A true Japanese role-playing throwback that successfully channels the classics of the past, Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time's challenging, strategy-laden battles and cast of expressive characters will help remind JRPG fans why they fell in love with the genre in the first place.

Deadlight was a fantastic idea whose execution just didn't do it the justice it deserved. It's too short, its challenges too cheap at times, and it occasionally loses focus of what it wants to be-and yet, at the same time, Deadlight is also a surprisingly beautiful adventure through a world of chaos that does more right than it does wrong.

The new multiplayer mode definitely adds an interesting wrinkle to the online gameplay of Future Soldier, but with a name like Arctic Strike, shouldn't there be, ya know, a bunch of snow and ice maps?!

Entertaining at first, the repetitive grind of 60 cookie-cutter levels wears on you quickly in this Angry Birds clone.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD looks good on the surface, but some particularly frustrating design and gameplay quirks can drastically cut down on the enjoyment.

Heroes of Ruin is a pretty game by 3DS standards, with a compelling story wrapped around unoriginal combat, quests, and leveling.

Rhythm Thief's collection of musical minigames is one of the best in recent memory, but the game's bogged down by dull adventure segments and a broken rating system.

By eliminating class and level systems, the game allows players to take a more free-form approach to character development, effectively allowing a single character to fulfill multiple roles, depending on what the situation calls for. Add in a deep story, diverse quest structure, and some amazingly dark and horrific environs, and the end result is one of the biggest surprises in recent years. Once Funcom squashes all of the bugs-and assuming they continue to support it with new content-The Secret World could become the hit it deserves to be.

NCAA Football 13 is definitely better than its predecessor, but amidst the upgrades, unfortunate legacy issues and inexcusable bugs prevent this college-pigskin sim from an undisputed championship.

Even if you want to buy this because you're an MMA fan, I'll just warn you to try this game first before committing the hard drive space. If this is what Bellator's bringing to the small MMA sub-genre in the video game market, I don't think EA has anything to worry about when they start working on the next UFC game.

While it's aimed at the same audience as its silver screen counterpart, Brave: The Video Game seems to have been sprinkled with plenty of Pixar's age-spanning magic. Sadly, for most, its spell will wear off after a weekend or two.