A pedestrian title with the power of the Resident Evil series behind it...However, with a kickass multiplayer, mixed zombie/contemporary warfare, and a high-definition view of Raccoon City's infection, the game holds its own.

MLB The Show 12 continues the tradition of excellence in this installment of the yearly title. Beautifully realistic parks, Vita integration, and a myriad of control options expand on what was already the leading MLB experience.

An engaging story and creepy locales simply aren't enough to overcome terribly clunky combat and technical flaws in the latest entry in Konami's venerable survival horror series. Silent Hill: Downpour's developers may have taken the series in a new direction, but that doesn't mean they should have.

In trying to capture the inherently difficult nature of baseball (it has been said that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in any sport), 2K has failed to grasp the fundamentals of making a video game. Sure it can be hard, but people beyond a hardened fanbase should be able to play it. Otherwise you'll always be just second best.

Binary Domain is Japan's answer to Gears of War, with exciting, energetic third-person shooting. The multiplayer is lackluster, and the optionally voiced squad tactics are largely inconsequential, but the campaign's sharp shooting and smart story make for a vision splendid romp through Japan's future.

There are tons of great ideas here, and when your breathlessly pulling yourself up the side of a skyscraper or picking off a would-be rapist with an arrow to the skull you see those great ideas peeking through, but they never come together in any cohesive way. In the end, the game feels more like a proof of concept experience than an actual game.

Journey stands head and shoulders above all other artistic games. It's truly avant-garde and pushes the boundaries of what a video game can mean to its audience.

It may not be a full showcase of what your new handheld can do, but Zipper did a commendable job of creating a bite-sized modern warfare scenario for you to play with. Not must-own material for everyone, but definitely worth the time if you've been waiting for a Vita game with a strong focus on virtual military combat.

The core gameplay is top notch and is sure to please even the most hardcore fighting gamer. This crossover series has been long anticipated and the wait was well worth it.

What is so unique in this game is how the presence of its conclusion feels like the existential dread that infuses the characters that make up its universe. The paradox of the game becomes painfully prescient as it draws inexorably towards its conclusion.

In terms of story and presentation, the tale of Asura's Wrath is one of the best of this console generation, but a scant six hours of gameplay and lengthy cutscenes holds it back from being perfect.

Warp is a pleasing blend of brain-teasers and stealth that feels half baked. A dull setting, shallow humor, and overly sensitive controls hold it back from being a classic, but it's still a satisfying slice of malevolent mayhem.

EA Sports has itself one expertly designed and well put together game with SSX. The huge, multi-path runs and silky smooth controls more than offset any minor stumbles.

While Syndicate's sense of atmosphere leads to rare shining moments, they are thwarted at every turn by a stilted storyline, unlikable characters, and numerous pacing issues that make the experience difficult enjoy. The co-op, however, surpasses almost anything else available in the genre.

With a killer soundtrack and deep metal influences, Army Corps of Hell brings a barren action-strategy genre to the PlayStation Vita, but does so in a way that would make even the hellish of characters bored.

Poor touch controls and a lack of dedicated online multiplayer drag down an otherwise serviceable portable Dynasty Warriors game. Fans of the series will find things to like in Next, but the offering is mediocre at best.

About as close to a retail-caliber release as the downloadable space has seen yet. It's super polished, the combat is slick and exciting, and the presentation is top notch.

None of these small gripes would kill anyone's enjoyment of the game, but given the lack of multiplayer, and the weak single-player, ModNation Racers: Road Trip is a huge missed opportunity for the casual fan, but the mod-tools are strong enough to appeal to the already converted fan of the franchise.

Despite being on its fourth release, Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus still feels like a brand new game, one that is both fun to play and difficult to master. The Hero Mode may alarm purists, but there's no denying that it creates a wider audience.

The game play and physics feel almost as if they were ripped from the original PSOne game, and the genre has come a long way since then. While the single-player game is weak, the multiplayer is mostly fun and creative. It's disappointing that after such a long wait, the game didn't evolve more, but fans of the original are certain to enjoy this blast from the past.

With stunning graphics, strong tracks, and a great soundtrack, Wipeout 2048 is a solid launch offering for the PlayStation Vita, even if the load times will make you want to make you throw yourself in front of your own hovercraft.

Like an over-encumbered sherpa, Drake stumbles occasionally under the weight of all the gadgets and gimmicks included with the new system. For better or worse, Uncharted demonstrates just about everything the Vita can deliver.

A superb experience, sure to both delight fighting game fans and bring complete newbies into the fold.

Despite the anticlimactic ending, shoddy boss fights, and lackluster multiplayer, The Darkness 2 is an extremely impressive game. It oozes style, packs an emotional punch, and manages to be effectively balance bombastic violence with understated character development, ensuring that when the Darkness is unleashed you care.

Even with such an elegant combat system, however, Reckoning does not know how to indulge it. The actual combat scenarios themselves are painfully pedantic and lose any surprise after the first few hours of play.

Casual fans will be in awe at the sheer beauty and polish of the game. Hardcore fighting game enthusiasts will appreciate the adjustments made to the fighting engine. Players looking for the most bang for their buck might be disappointed with the sparse selection of game modes, but should look into the character creation mode to keep them busy.

Aside from the premise and dialogue, NeverDead does little else right. The controls feel underdone and glitchy, the graphics are lackluster, and the combat and level design for most of the game are just underwhelming.

The abysmal controls and resulting frustrations are unforgiveable.

Square Enix set out to correct the issues fans had with the first game, and they have succeeded across the board. With improvements to combat, exploration, and storytelling, it feels like this is the game that XIII should have been. But it isn't just a sequel, as it carves out its own tale to stand among the Final Fantasy pantheon.

Amy is bad, sloppy, and seems as if it was released in an unfinished state. Make no mistake: It's not good-bad. It doesn't have the loveable cult vibe of a game like Deadly Premonition, a goofy-fun gaming experience with similar last-gen graphics and terrible voice acting. Amy is alternatively throw-your-controller frustrating and deadly dull.

NFL Blitz 2012 isn't going to re-invent the way you look at football, or, in fact, the way you look at Blitz. There's not a whole lot there, and it really doesn't make any sense that they took out the fun extracurricular violence, but, in the end, it's a game you'll play every now and again and smile while you're doing it.

They have succeeded far beyond my admittedly high expectations. As a KOTOR fan, I finally have my long-awaited sequel(s). As an MMO fan, I am hooked. As a Star Wars fan, I am enthralled.

It’s disappointing that the multiplayer doesn’t take advantage of the opportunities established by the rest of the game’s design, but the four-player co-op is a very welcomed addition.

Ultimately, Retribution doesn’t usurp the PS3 entries in this franchise, but it doesn’t undermine them either. Instead, it’s as solid a side story as God Of War: Chains Of Olympus was to that series. Though, we must admit, your enjoyment all depends on your perspective on the PSP’s ideas of FPS-style controls.

It’s a great comfort to know that Rockstar Games not only makes great games, but understands what makes them great. Chinatown Wars is the culmination of years of work as well as the spirit of ingenuity to bring one of the biggest series to the smallest screen. Nothing in the game feels half done or forced. If anything, the game feels like a development team having fun with a concept.

Resident Evil 5 is mired in poor design decisions that drag down the experience and render single-player campaign a tedious exercise in working around the game. It’s frustrating to see a game that I so looked forward to playing and carried with it such potential, sabotage itself in so many ways. Compared against the ambition of games like Bioshock, Mass Effect, and Assassin’s Creed; Resident Evil 5 seems timid, unwilling to move out of its comfort zone. It’s a shame.

Resident Evil 5 is mired in poor design decisions that drag down the experience and render single-player campaign a tedious exercise in working around the game. It’s frustrating to see a game that I so looked forward to playing and carried with it such potential, sabotage itself in so many ways. Compared against the ambition of games like Bioshock, Mass Effect, and Assassin’s Creed; Resident Evil 5 seems timid, unwilling to move out of its comfort zone. It’s a shame.

Far from a perfect game, MadWorld is perhaps the answer to gamers’ pleas for a hardcore title to arrive on the Wii. You’ll be able to clean up the city in a little under seven hours without breaking a sweat – but it’s seven hours of pure bloody mayhem that you won’t find in most twenty-hour games.

Either Nintendo has decided to become the laziest publisher in the gaming industry or they have so many killer titles in the pipeline that they just couldn’t be bothered to put an ounce of effort into justifying the existence of Power Tennis. Adding sub-par Wii controls to a five-year-old GameCube game without adding anything new in terms of modes, gameplay or story is not acceptable.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh offers a solid foundation with high production values and surprisingly good combat as the first of perhaps many episodes to come, but is it worth sacrificing your Jackson for a chance to slip into Rorschach’s trench coat? The answer is… up to you really.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh offers a solid foundation with high production values and surprisingly good combat as the first of perhaps many episodes to come, but is it worth sacrificing your Jackson for a chance to slip into Rorschach’s trench coat? The answer is… up to you really.

It’s a decidedly different take on a massively popular franchise, but it’s one that ends up achieving what so many console RTSes have failed to by stripping away cumbersome control schemes and giving console players (and in this case Halo players) something that feels like it was made with them in mind.

The slow pace and broad complexity make it a game for only those who like to swim on the deeper side of the strategy game pool, but if you aren’t afraid to dive in this game is not to be missed.

It’s disappointing that the multiplayer doesn’t take advantage of the opportunities established by the rest of the game’s design, but the four-player co-op is a very welcomed addition.

It’s disappointing that the multiplayer doesn’t take advantage of the opportunities established by the rest of the game’s design, but the four-player co-op is a very welcomed addition.

While it has a few issues (namely the lack of analog stick hitting/pitching) that keep it from being the hands-down, across the board best baseball on the market, MLB 09: The Show does just about everything else it can to give players a challenging, rewarding and realistic baseball experience. It looks incredible, plays smoothly, and offers enough on field and off-field goodies to please/occupy baseball fans for a long, long time.

Probably the tastiest part of the Killzone Cocktail is the Multiplayer. Imagine if Call Of Duty 4 and Team Fortress 2 had a baby, which they then abandoned and as a result had to learn a few new tricks to survive. That’s what Killzone Multiplayer is like.

No amount of clever quips and Master Chief parody characters is worth slogging through a shooter that makes Dark Sector look like an inspired stroke of genius. By the end of the game, no amount of clever enemy character names or profanity-laced outbursts by Neil Patrick Harris can distract you from the fact that you’re simply not having much fun.

No amount of clever quips and Master Chief parody characters is worth slogging through a shooter that makes Dark Sector look like an inspired stroke of genius. By the end of the game, no amount of clever enemy character names or profanity-laced outbursts by Neil Patrick Harris can distract you from the fact that you’re simply not having much fun.

For $10, serious fans of the original who are still playing regularly, or those who are itching to pick it up again, won’t want to miss this. But, if you’ve grown tired with the game and need something a little more meaty if you’re going to get back into it (like maybe a campaign), save your pennies; two more tiny enhancements are promised in the coming months, all three of which will then be bundled together to form one, proper expansion -- maybe even with a new faction!

Is it derivative? Yes. Is that a bad thing? No. Have I spent the last week of my life beating this game 6 times over and STILL going back for more? Um, what I do in my spare time is between my consoles and me.

Is it derivative? Yes. Is that a bad thing? No. Have I spent the last week of my life beating this game 6 times over and STILL going back for more? Um, what I do in my spare time is between my consoles and me.

Star Ocean: Last Hope won’t make anyone forget that FF XIII is on the horizon. But as far as holding us over in the meantime, this game more than succeeds.

If you’ve never seen the 360 version, CTYD might entertain you for a little while, but that’ll only be because you won’t know what you’re missing out on by playing the stripped down version of the original game. And developers/publishers, please stop looking at the Wii as nothing more than a port machine. If you’re going to rerelease a game, make sure it’s been significantly retooled, reworked, redesigned, and upgraded enough to justify the game’s existence.

The only real downside here is the presentation – the updated art and menus are garish and much of the writing feels dashed off. Good thing Adol isn’t exactly the chatty type.

Whether or not you’ll like this game really boils down to whether or not you like the decidedly Bejeweled-inspired core gameplay mode, because regardless of what you’re doing in this game you’re never more than a few clicks away from it.

Outside combat, unfortunately, the game drags a bit.

It’s been a long time coming, but Dawn of War finally has a proper successor. It’s not perfect, as anyone who enjoys the resource management side of strategy gaming will be turned off by the gung-ho style here, but it’s no different than most of the earlier Warhammer 40,000 titles out there.

Race Pro is less Michael Schumacher and more Jacques Villeneuve. It does a few things well, a lot of things mediocre, and is kind of annoying when you have to deal with it for more than an hour at a time.

Even if you haven’t touched a fighting game since the 16-bit era, one match of Capcom’s new masterpiece will remind you why you spent so many hours at those now long-shuttered arcades.

Even if you haven’t touched a fighting game since the 16-bit era, one match of Capcom’s new masterpiece will remind you why you spent so many hours at those now long-shuttered arcades.

The 8-10 hour story mode alone would be worth a crisp Jackson, but the fact that it comes packaged with new rides, new music, new forms of entertainment, new side missions and a handful of new multiplayer modes is simply outrageous for that price. L&D is easily the most well conceived and well-executed piece of downloadable content ever, and it sets a new bar for interactive storytelling that won’t soon be matched.

Prinny’s still a good time for players who don’t feel the need to prove their manhood, and if you do have something to prove…well, step right up and try your hand.

The game’s only real misstep comes in the character Sancho – a friend of the hero’s family who speaks in a shameful caricature of a Mexican accent. Luckily, these slimy moments are scarce and nowhere near nasty enough to ruin such an engaging, delightful, and expertly crafted game.

Fans of the series will be quick to pick this one up and will likely get much enjoyment. New players might find more to love in the newer games in the series. Either way, Shadow Dragon is a good move for tactical strategy gamers.

In short, if you like FEAR, you will love FEAR 2. It may be too scary for some and the wobble of your character walking might induce a slight bit of motion sickness, but it’s a well constructed horror/action title.

In short, if you like FEAR, you will love FEAR 2. It may be too scary for some and the wobble of your character walking might induce a slight bit of motion sickness, but it’s a well constructed horror/action title.

In short, if you like FEAR, you will love FEAR 2. It may be too scary for some and the wobble of your character walking might induce a slight bit of motion sickness, but it’s a well constructed horror/action title.

Titillation just for its own sake seldom works in gaming, but here, it’s been taken to new low. This virtual bikini romp suffers from poor graphics, primitive level design, and controls that will make the player feel like an idiot (or worse). If you really need to see Japanese girls in cosplay outfits to feel manly, just buy some tissue and browse the internet.

Despite the occasional dog in the roster, there is more than enough gold in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection to justify the purchase at double the price. Older gamers looking for a shot of nostalgia will absolutely find it here, and younger gamers wondering what all the fuss was over that mysterious “16-bit era” they keep hearing about will find an excellent education in the digital classics.

Despite the occasional dog in the roster, there is more than enough gold in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection to justify the purchase at double the price. Older gamers looking for a shot of nostalgia will absolutely find it here, and younger gamers wondering what all the fuss was over that mysterious “16-bit era” they keep hearing about will find an excellent education in the digital classics.

If you want a game with rewarding, blood gushing headshots, the HOTD arcade feeling at home and a Wii game that doesn’t try to be cute or even remotely family friendly, this is a good one to pick up.

Woefully inadequate. Cleavers and cleavage, sadly, aren't enough.

For Wii owners looking for something a little more adult, Deadly Creatures satisfies your sadistic cravings for carnage and blood, but lacks the polish to make it a keeper for any collection.

We can only recommend this to people who are interested in quitting videogames completely.

The series makes a blind leap into a new genre, only to fall flat on his face satisfying neither the fans of puzzle or action games.

Nothing short of a total disaster.

Fans of the anime will love the look, but the game just retreads the plot. Aside from the fantastic dismemberment, Afro Samurai doesn't manage to be anything loftier than essentially the same beat 'em up that we've been playing since Double Dragon. On the other hand, it is fun in short doses, looks great, and can be hilarious.

Fans of the anime will love the look, but the game just retreads the plot. Aside from the fantastic dismemberment, Afro Samurai doesn't manage to be anything loftier than essentially the same beat 'em up that we've been playing since Double Dragon. On the other hand, it is fun in short doses, looks great, and can be hilarious.

While it’s basically just a more polished version of the first game with a few additions here and there, Skate 2 is easily the best skating game on the market. The city is massive, the trick system still feels like butter on wheels, there are endless challenges, events and places to discover, and the online features are plentiful.

While it’s basically just a more polished version of the first game with a few additions here and there, Skate 2 is easily the best skating game on the market. The city is massive, the trick system still feels like butter on wheels, there are endless challenges, events and places to discover, and the online features are plentiful.

The biggest fault of Star Ocean: The Second Evolution is that there's almost no conflict. Everybody in the game is polite.

Conquest hits the same beats that we’ve hit over and over again in previous titles. It’s not that they don’t hit them well, but they hit the exact beats we’ve come to expect from a Lord of the Rings title.

Conquest hits the same beats that we’ve hit over and over again in previous titles. It’s not that they don’t hit them well, but they hit the exact beats we’ve come to expect from a Lord of the Rings title.

The game wouldn't make it on the PSP, or other more powerful machines, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better recent shooter on the DS.

Rise of the Argonauts is an unquestionably flawed game. This should not be taken to mean it's not fun to play. Even with the underwhelming aspects of the game factored in, this is a truly ambitious game. It feels like an A-list title made with a C-list budget, but there is heart to it.

Aside from some minor quibbles, it’s beautifully made – an addictive game, an involving story, and a gorgeous piece of artwork all at once. While not perfect, Persona 4 is one of this year’s best RPG and another example of how even old hardware can still run some of the best games.

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is easily one of the most original games to come along in a while. It has tons of style, a unique vision and all the makings of a wildly entertaining little franchise. Sadly, its first effort on the Wii isn't disappointing thanks to sloppy platforming, poor camera controls, and lack of any real innovation in terms of gameplay.

PoP is a group of interesting ideas searching for a stronger game to hold them all together.

PoP is a group of interesting ideas searching for a stronger game to hold them all together.

Gamers interested in dabbling in a little card battling should give the game a spin or at least seek professional help.

The story is surprisingly lengthy and more compelling than most video game stories, but it overdoes things with far too many low-brow jokes, childish innuendos and absurd parodies. Chances are you’ll find yourself laughing harder at the deplorable number of technical issues that plague the game than the actual jokes.

This is a genuine classic, and portability just makes it that much better.

The first Age of Empires on the DS was a near miss. A good game sunk by a flawed visual interface. The developers of Mythologies clearly did their homework. This is a solid strategy game with the visual chops to back up a deep, playable design.

The concept behind the battle system is solid but dragging it through uninspired dungeons and a tired story can make putting in that second disk a chore.

Oh Sonic, you’ve raced so far to only find yourself where you started. While Sega inches ever closer to finding that magical combination to create their Sonic empire once again, the rest of the game drags down whatever hope gamers had for reliving the better parts of their childhood instead of the parts where they were sorely disappointed.

Skate It has got it where it counts. The developers have made good use of the Wii controls and provided fans of skateboarding games a much needed change of pace. If you’re interested in a reason to drag out that little-used Wii Balance Board, give Skate It a shot.

Unfortunately, some good monsters and a decent multiplayer mode don’t really save the game from being mired down in its own mediocrity.