With all of the side quests and collectibles, Lego The Hobbit is a complete and entertaining game. If you were counting on the Lego version of a movie adaptation of a 70-year-old book to deliver an unsullied narrative experience, you were expecting too much anyway.

On my short list for mobile game of the year.

As it is, this style of shooting action feels like it’s stretched thin over such a lengthy campaign, and some of the missions might have been more fun if I hadn’t already explored the maps so thoroughly. That tedium certainly isn’t enough for me to warn people away from such a richly illustrated tribute to the roots of the shooter.

I don’t completely regret playing Goat Simulator, but I also don’t recommend it to anyone looking for more than disposable entertainment involving goats making people fall down and blowing up gas stations. I appreciate that Coffee Stain Studios is in on the joke, but acknowledging a game is bad doesn't suddenly make it good.

I’m a firm believer that a puzzle game needs to stand apart from whatever license or theme it has slapped on it. The game is the mechanic, after all. This is a case where characters are really the only really appealing thing there is. Games like Puzzle & Dragons have successfully juggled a similar mechanic and character-collection elements, proving that it can be done – and done well. Pokémon Battle Trozei is too superficial to remain interesting in the long term.

With a staggering revamp that touched upon almost all aspects of the game and modes that keep things interesting, Reaper of Souls isn’t so much an expansion as it is a completely new game.

Smite is an excellent addition to an expanding genre, and one that distinguishes itself from the rest of the pack with decidedly different gameplay, a quirky and lighthearted take on classic mythology, and a variety of interesting modes.

Mercenary Kings is a testament to the idea that you can get too much of a good thing.

I appreciate the new freedom that Blood Ties affords combos, but there isn’t much else in place that dramatically changes up the formula from what we’ve seen before.

Finishing Episode 2 is bittersweet, since it’s the last piece of content created by Irrational Games as we know it. However, Burial at Sea also ties together the landmark creations of the talented team in a satisfying way, making it an appropriate curtain call for this amazing studio.

I like the way that Infamous Second Son splinters off from the first two entries in the series. Delsin’s conduit ability creates uncertainty in the gameplay mechanics, and the choices he makes apply similar levels of ambiguity to the narrative arc. I never really grasped what was coming next from this tale, outside of knowing that the open world activities and encounters would be repeated ad nauseam.

Many repeated playthroughs of Out There allow for a marginally higher survival rate, but the arbitrary chance for failure on an otherwise perfect run can be infuriating. If that indiscriminate failure is part of what you enjoy in roguelikes, Out There is a fascinating attempt to combine strategy with storytelling, and a worthy distraction for science-fiction enthusiasts.

One of the most satisfying, enthralling shooters to hit the market in recent memory.

Luftrausers is one of the most satisfying, enthralling arcade shooters to hit the market in recent memory.

Like its second-fiddle protagonist, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z resides in the shadow of many other better third-person action games, but it’s not terrible if you’re specifically looking for a schlocky Saturday.

If you have the option, definitely play Yaiba on PC. The textures, resolution, and framerate are noticeably better and worth the extra few days’ wait.

It’s equal parts silly, gory, and stupid – exactly what you’d expect from the concept.

Even for longtime fans of the Metal Gear franchise, Ground Zeroes may not be worth playing. It spreads its strengths thin over too little space, relying on the repetition of a handful of unremarkable missions in the same area. That's the bad news. The good news is that the core stealth is fun, and the innovations on the gameplay front are promising.

Dragonfall’s fundamentals haven’t changed enough to justify a play if you actively disliked Shadowrun Returns, which is a required purchase before enjoying this new expansion. However, if you were simply hungry for deeper role-playing options, Dragonfall makes major strides, and deserves your attention as a standalone adventure.

I’ve wanted a solid follow-up to Yoshi’s Island for years, and this game is the third in a trilogy of follow-ups that range from half-baked to decent. Considering how unimpressed and apathetic I was towards most of Yoshi’s New Island, it might be time to just be happy with my Super Nintendo memories when it comes to this series.

Respawn took a chance with Titanfall, embracing what it knew best with a multiplayer-only experience and pushing the envelope with its imaginative twists on classic competitive play. The result feels like a new breed of multiplayer that is inviting to established shooter players, but also compelling for people intrigued by everything from the free-running to the giant robotic titans.

Titanfall is enormously entertaining, with long legs that should have players exploring its depth for many months to come.

If you’ve ever been curious about collectible card games but didn’t know where to begin, Hearthstone is the place to start.

If you have a PlayStation 4 and some friends, you must have this game at the ready on your hard drive.

Escha & Logy may have some flaws, but it's good at providing a formulaic experience that rewards you with seeing your progression play out before you.

Players new to the Souls franchise will quickly learn that Dark Souls II plays quite differently than most mainstream titles today; it is an incredible experience anchored in exploration, immersion, discovery, defeat – and ultimately triumph.

Dark Souls II respects you enough to assume you can figure things out, despite having perhaps lost some of these sensibilities by playing other titles that walk you through on tether from start to finish. As a result, the rewards and achievements are that much more satisfying. It’s only March, but Dark Souls II stands tall as a potential game of the year.

Even years later, Final Fantasy X is still an exciting RPG, telling a compelling story with plenty of momentum. While the crazy girls-night-out theatrics of X-2 might still cause you to roll your eyes, the battle system is still fast and fun. For those who want the complete arc of the Final Fantasy X saga, the collection delivers. Even without a nostalgic lens, both games hold up well.