If you’re content to save your game every couple minutes and enjoy a slower-paced stealth game, then Thief rewards you with plenty of moments so tense you might catch yourself holding your breath.

Even with only a handful of easily dispensable enemies moving toward you, an inescapable panic is generated from the light and sound show accompanying the spectacle. If you can find your groove, you won’t have a problem hitting start immediately after getting a game over.

It’s a beautiful, original concept that falls just shy of something special.

At best, this game is a stopgap to hopefully something better in the future, because it's signaling its stagnation.

NASCAR '14 is not just a carbon copy of Inside Line, but most of its improvements are either minor enough or exposed by other flaws that the sum total of the experience doesn't equate to a lot of positive momentum.

The game rewards strategy and patience time and time again, and you’d be doing yourself a disservice by not having it on your iOS devices.

I’m happy to report that Double Helix nailed all of the classic elements of the series while launching it into the modern era.

I’m happy to report that Double Helix nailed all of the classic elements of the series while launching it into the modern era.

Strider is a great reboot for old-school arcade junkies and at the same time a fresh action experience for newcomers to the franchise.

You can find more ambitious sci-fi shooters out there, but you won’t find anything else that captures EDF 2025’s delightful mixture of action and atmosphere.

It may not be as polished or balanced as Gears of War or Killzone, but Earth Defense Force 2025 is full of gleeful carnage and B-movie charm that make it hard to put down.

While the genre can be difficult to get into due to clunky interfaces, obtuse or cryptic instructions, and infuriating citizen behaviors, Banished offers a fairly intuitive take on things and it’s also easy on the eyes.

At around two and a half hours long, it's not an epic experience, but another window into Ellie's life. Instead of blunting the impact as I feared, Riley and Ellie's story adds resonance to the original game's ending. For The Last of Us fans, this is a ride well worth taking.

Just like the previous game, I yelled alternating cries of agony and relief working through particularly challenging areas. Almost everything is fair and doable with enough focus and patience; the bonus stages are a little ridiculous, but that's to be expected. [March 2014, p.89]

This shambling monstrosity is composed of chunks from other, better games. Rather than blend them together into something new like its predecessor attempted, this one just feels like a patch-work mess. [March 2014, p.85]

This shambling monstrosity is composed of chunks from other, better games. Rather than blend them together into something new like its predecessor attempted, this one just feels like a patch-work mess. [March 2014, p.85]

TT Fusion followed instructions to create this game’s foundation, but the art on top of it is the work of master builders. The visuals are a surprising hook in this Lego entry.

As the third and final installment in the Final Fantasy XIII saga, Lightning Returns tries to distance itself from its predecessors and get back into gamers’ good graces. This results in some bold and unconventional decisions, but they don’t save this entry from being the bottom of Final Fantasy XIII’s downward spiral.

The conclusion of a trilogy presents the opportunity for an emotional farewell to a beloved cast and world, but Lightning Returns only left me relieved to see this adventure end.

Play it for the novelty and the rapid-fire assault of jokes, but don't be surprised if most of them miss the mark.

If you want a multiplayer-only shooter without spending $60, there are plenty of options for cheap (Gotham City Impostors) or completely free (Team Fortress 2). Normally, this is the part of the review where I’d reiterate that you should not play Rekoil under any circumstance, but from the abundance of deserted maps I saw, it seems that most gamers have already received that memo.

Danganronpa proves why having an interactive experience can make stories more thrilling, even in the context of such a bleak scenario.

I was let down by how slow-moving Episode 2 is; it feels more like a bridge in the story than a complete chapter. Still, I can't deny that the world and the mature tone are captivating.

Even with its imperfections, Fable Anniversary is still the best available way to replay this classic.

It pains me to level a harsh judgment against a game that’s trying something new and innovative, but Octodad doesn’t balance the frustration with the funny.

Our Darker Purpose is fast-paced life-and-death frolic and provides many hours of delightfully difficult gameplay. An unforgiving game is nothing new, but the clever setting combined with the challenge and customization makes this title shine within its own niche category.

An intriguing diversion from uninspired copycats and clones that often plague the industry. It won’t suit everyone, but I applaud its creativity.

Despite being plagued by a slow pace and late-game repetition, Bravely Default’s core mechanics kept me engaged until the credits.

If you are more concerned about recreating the spectacle of Dragon Ball Z than playing a refined game, you will have a good time here. Battle of Z values style over substance, but for an anime about super humans fighting super aliens while flying through the air, maybe it is the appropriate direction.

The biggest draw of Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition is the improved graphics. They're simply stunning in perhaps the best-looking console game I've ever seen. Running smooth 1080p resolution, this new version adds an incredible level of detail to the newly modeled characters and lush environments.

It's undeniably the best version of Tomb Raider yet - and the best game currently available for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. If you haven't played it, I don't know what you're waiting for.

It’s a completely satisfying nostalgia romp for the old-school PC gamer, and an accessible, modern delve into the core PC RPG.

Street skating is all about adapting to your surroundings and making a skate spot out of anything that crosses your path. Don't pass this game up or you're going to miss a killer session.

Nidhogg is well-honed, mechanical gameplay stripped down to its core. The combat is fun, but I wish Messhof applied the same striving for perfection to the presentation and game modes as it did to the swordplay.

Broken Age is the best venue I’ve seen for Double Fine’s twisted sensibilities in a long time. They’ve crafted two unique worlds, ­filling them both with just enough silliness to be fun without overwhelming the characters and their ultimately touching journeys.

Despite these issues, Joe Danger Infinity remains in the auto-running elite with quirky characters and backgrounds, responsive touch controls, and enticing progression rewards. While the old stuntman hasn’t learned many new tricks, Joe’s still got it where it counts.

Depending on a number of factors, The Banner Saga should take around 5-15 hours to complete on first playthrough. Despite a few minor issues with enemy variety and the tedium of recurring encounters, Banner Saga stands out as an excellent tactical RPG with considerable depth.

When Nintendo first announced Dr. Luigi during the most recent Nintendo Direct, Operation L mode took center stage. While this turns out to be the least enjoyable part of this farewell to the Year of Luigi, Dr. Luigi does offer other competent updates to the classic gameplay. I can’t get the classic tune out of my head or the smile off my face.

If you can forgive some frustrating control and AI issues, République’s first episode is an intriguing start to this ambitious episodic title.

With a few tune-ups, Endless Boss Fight could be great. A more consistent and satisfying string of rewards would get me hooked, and better controls would alleviate my frequent frustration – all of which would give me even more reason to continue diving into the cool asynchronous multiplayer arena. Unfortunately, that’s not the game you get when you play Endless Boss Fight.

The last section of the game, where you guide a spherical object through a series of traps and obstacles, is fantastic. It’s one of the rare times when everything clicked, and it was both challenging and fair. I don’t blame anyone who doesn’t make it that far. Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a game based on a gimmick that simply doesn’t work all that well.

NES Remix is a fun little distraction for a while, and brings back plenty of memories. Some of those memories are great, and others are along the lines of remembering how much Ice Climbers sucks. This isn’t a must-play highlight for the Wii U eShop, but it’s worth spending some time with if you grew up with an NES controller in your hand.

All That Remains delivers by providing answers to lingering questions from season one and setting up new obstacles for Clementine to face. My biggest reservation is that it features many similarities to the first season; I have to wonder how many zombie fights and new camps of people I can find before they all blend together.

This sequel doesn't dramatically change the formula, but like its predecessor, you want to curl up in a dark room with this mobile title and experience all it has to offer.

Even if the gameplay formula is a bit rough, any experience that forms this kind of connection with the player is worth your consideration.

HumaNature Studios has created something genuinely good-natured and charming with Doki-Doki Universe. Even though elements get tedious, it was overall a welcome change of pace from the ordinary.

In many ways, Icycle: On Thin Ice feels like an art experiment as much as it does a video game. I missed having buttons, but not enough to make me abandon the game before getting to the end. Even without a defined narrative, I wanted to see everything Icycle: On Thin Ice had to offer.

Peggle 2 is surprisingly void of a free-to-play framework, although a shop is listed as “coming soon.” It’s one of those games that you can just pick up, play, and have immediate fun with. Yes, it plays out more like a level pack than a true sequel, but that’s okay with me. As long as this formula remains entertaining, I wouldn’t mind more of it.

From its unreliable (or non-functional) mechanics to its doofy character designs and hilariously bad writing, Fighter Within is garbage. It fails to operate on any level, and the content isn’t deep enough to be fun even if everything worked. If you were hoping for an Xbox One launch title that shows off the technological leaps made by the new Kinect, you certainly won’t find it with Fighter Within.

Moments of interesting presentation appear here and there, but too many other aspects of Tiny Brains are sloppy and incomplete.

Gran Turismo 6 is the epitome of this series at its most base; it lacks any substantive new features, yet is more committed than ever to its original vision.

It’s easy and accessible fun, but Zoo Tycoon has a long way to go before it has the depth to make it rewarding.

This is some of the most fun I’ve had playing an RPG this year, proving that Ys has what it takes to keep afloat.

When a mission is underway, Warframe is at its best. Getting to that point is a challenge of menu navigation, unexplained features, and a lack of crucial stat comparisons when choosing weapons. Right now, Warframe is definitely worth your time, but a UI tune-up would make it worth your money.

Unfortunately, no amount of options can overcome the inane gameplay. I’ve defended the series in the past as harmless, dumb fun, but Island Tour is wholly unenjoyable.

I appreciate the opportunity for some 4-player local (but not online) cooperative play, and some minor strategy is involved in combining different minerals during a dig to create more valuable objects. These small wrinkles aren’t enough to keep players invested. Play Super Motherload if you love the pure joy of the Dig Dug-style carving out of the ground, but don’t be surprised if there’s not enough buried beneath that layer.

Deadfall Adventures tries its best to mix first-person shooting with the puzzle solving of adventure titles. Unfortunately, the gunplay is buggy, the puzzles are hackneyed, and the story is hopelessly bad. If you're expecting anything remotely fun, prepare to be disappointed.

When I show my friends what Xbox One is capable of graphically, I’m going to pop in Ryse. The visuals are breathtaking, but the gameplay flips on a dime between being legitimately fun and downright bad. There is no middle ground. It’s very much the extreme of both.

Like an old player attempting a comeback after multiple knee reconstructions and several years away from the game, NBA Live 14 doesn't have enough skill or composure to keep up with the competition.

Tearaway is brilliantly out of step with much of mainstream game development. It’s gentle, distinctly British brand of whimsy and imaginative visual style makes it an experience unlike any other you’ll have this year. The core gameplay isn’t exceptional, but it’s solid enough to let the brilliant puzzles, art, and level designs shine.

This is the most fun I've had racing in a Forza title, and yet it's not the most complete entry in the franchise.

Rather than simply port the current generation version of NBA 2K14, Visual Concepts deserves praise for drastically renovating its two most popular modes for its next-generation console debut.

Ultimate Team players will want to grab the Xbox One version of the game due to its exclusive Legend cards.

Path of Exile’s loot collection and combat looks and plays like others in the genre, but its innovations have widespread effects separating it from the competition. Its multiplayer longevity is difficult to predict, but as a campaign-driven action-RPG, Path of Exile succeeds.

Although the overall score is the same, the Xbox One version edges out the PS4 one because of its cool SmartGlass functionality.

As good as the player models are, their uniforms surprisingly don’t pick up dirt or grass stains. It is cool, however, to see clumps of turf get kicked up by players’ cleats.

FIFA 14 for the next-gen continues the good work done by the current-gen iteration when it comes to synching up players' footwork during shots to produce varied and realistic results.

Any Mario game runs the risk of the final encounter being too traditional or featuring a frustrating gimmick, but this one brought a smile to everyone’s faces on my co-op team from beginning to end. While it’s not the most difficult challenge, it is suitably epic and entertaining – an exceptional finisher to an excellent entry in the series.

Ghost Games has crafted an exceptional experience that captures the classic battle of racers and police in a new light for next-generation machines. The shared world concept is the driving force, making it easy for players to switch factions, team up, and continue making progress in their campaigns. I can’t stress enough just how great of a multiplayer experience this is for friends.

An impressive display of big, dumb fun, and a must-play for fans of the series. It’s also a great demonstration of the outstanding capabilities of next-gen hardware right out of the gate. Thinning out the undead of Los Perdidos is worth your time, but the bugs infesting the sandbox are an unwelcome scourge.

Zoe Mode is new to the golf scene, but Powerstar Golf plays a like a seasoned pro, nailing most of the fundamentals of the sport, and establishing its own identity by applying little magic to a gameplay formula we know well.

Lococycle isn’t complex, but I was easily sucked into its silliness. I wanted to see where this intentionally stupid story was headed, and it was worth the trip – even if the game itself isn't very deep.

Though Crimson Dragon has a slight next gen aesthetic, the controls are unintuitive and sluggish – proving that you can’t change the recipe after you’ve started cooking.

When you look past the gorgeous visuals, Killzone: Shadow Fall is a competent shooter in terms of both campaign gameplay and multiplayer offerings. It may not be the most innovative titles on the market, but it’s certainly one of the top stars of the PlayStation 4’s launch lineup.

It’s great for showing off your new system and acclimating to a new controller, but a dearth of content prevents Resogun from earning much praise beyond being a solid, fun launch title.

This isn’t just a tribute; as amazing as A Link to the Past is, I can’t think of a single thing A Link Between Worlds doesn’t do better...In every way, A Link Between Worlds is exactly what you want out of a Zelda game.

It's not the most innovative or the most visually dazzling game. This won't be the one you put in to show off your new console to your friends. However, when you're done with the prettied-up versions of the big franchises, you'll find yourself wanting to return to Knack. It's got charm and heart, and offers a whole lot of good gameplay.

Faulty and boring puzzles drag down a promising premise and an intriguing story.

Ghosts had potential to be more than it is. As the first series entry on new consoles and the first of what will assuredly be a new brand, I was disappointed to see it resemble its predecessors even more than the franchise typically does. Even without its own significant hook or sense of identity, however, Ghosts is still fun thanks to Call of Duty’s polished and reliable backbone that’s been established for years.

Into the Nexus’ gameplay holds true to what we’ve known and enjoyed for over a decade. Should we be demanding bigger and better things? Maybe, but there’s something about this formula that just works. I walked away from it hungry for more.

The game often throws you curveballs; you can easily have a rookie wander too deep into the battlefield and suddenly alert three units of enemies. However, dealing with the bad hands you’re dealt is what makes XCOM’s battles so exciting – and often leads to creative problem solving.

The game was so finely balanced that I thought adding to it would disrupt its strategic flow, but Firaxis has released an expansion that slides between Enemy Unknown’s cracks, filling in some gaps I didn’t even realize existed, further diversifying the tactics without disrupting XCOM’s delicate balance.

Enemy Within adds more troop customization options, fearsome enemy units, and new levels to explore. Anyone who loves an intense firefight should test their mettle on Enemy Within.

Instead of re-using all of the same assets from Infinite, the team recreated Rapture and found a way to meld successful elements from several games in the series. On the other hand, the additions are minimal at best, leaving players to go through the same motions with a different backdrop. For a world that invites infinite possibilities, I was hoping for less familiarity.

Ghosts had potential to be more than it is. As the first series entry on new consoles and the first of what will assuredly be a new brand, I was disappointed to see it resemble its predecessors even more than the franchise typically does. Even without its own significant hook or sense of identity, however, Ghosts is still fun thanks to Call of Duty’s polished and reliable backbone that’s been established for years.

Nintendo’s handheld systems used to be the last refuge for quality Sonic titles, but the series’ awful 3D gameplay has infected that lineage with Sonic Lost World. This portable version of Sonic’s latest adventure hits the same sour notes as the recent console games, while maintaining the subpar side-scrolling feel established in the 3DS version of Sonic Generations.

I wasn’t expecting to discover that one of my new favorite point-and-click adventure games would feature so little pointing and clicking, but that’s what Device 6 has done. I felt more than a little silly rotating my iPad around to read Anna along a new path, but her story was worth it in the end.

Despite my issues with the paths that are laid out before you, Black Flag is great fun when you let your impulses guide you.

Battlefield 4 doesn't advance the series in any significant way, but the subtle improvements provide enough incentive for multiplayer fans to invest heavily in the land, air, and sea battles.

Most of the historical objectives in these matches work well from a gameplay perspective, but some feel like chores.

2K14 complements its historical angle with deep mechanics. 2K’s first stab at sports entertainment is a lot of fun (especially for history buffs), but the feeling of déjà vu left me wanting the developer to move the full experience forward with the same enthusiasm that it embraced the past.

Wii Party U is meant to be played in a group of four, if only to have more people to talk to while you grind through an hour-plus board game session. Still, that means you need two Wii remotes in addition to the one in the box and your GamePad - another $60 to $80 dollars down the drain if you don't already have them.

Batman: Arkham Origins delivers more of what made Rocksteady's games great, but doesn't break new ground. Like a youthful Bruce Wayne, it isn’t as crafty, and it takes its dings during combat, but still puts on a hell of a show when it needs to. Once Joker steps into the spotlight, it becomes a hard game to put down.

It’s one of those experiences that falls apart as it unfolds.

Just because Capcom is scared to lose money on physical copies doesn’t mean you should let Phoenix Wright’s return pass you by.

I can't deny Hometown Story has charm with its premise and I love the ideas, but the execution needs work. Owning a shop should be more frantic and rewarding. If the developer, Toybox, can smooth out the rough edges, it may one day match the lure of simulation games like Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. Sadly, it's not in the same league.

The Stanley Parable is built upon a single, simple premise, and only offers a few hours of entertainment. That said, they were a few hours unlike any I've experienced playing games before. If you're a fan of experimental indie projects or just in the mood for a fun detour from your typical gaming adventure, look no further.

Ultimately, Lego Marvel marks the first time I’ve had as much fun in the hub world as in the story-based missions. Variety abounds, and the split-screen lets players explore the city on their own. I made it my mission to find bricks and solve the unexpectedly clever puzzles to unlock extras, while my son was happy to rampage through the streets as Venom.