You know how some games are so bad, they’re actually fun to play? Aliens: Colonial Marines isn’t one of those games. It’s just bad.

Even ignoring the common complaint that the developers moved away from the scares to a more action driven experience (something I don’t completely agree with), Dead Space 3 is still thrilling, terrifying, intense, and completely worth your time.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is an excellent platformer/stealth hybrid, just like its predecessors, and something long-time fans of the series will love, but newcomers may be better off picking up the HD trilogy since it doesn’t do all that much new and gives you far more value for your money.

Omerta is the sort of game where if you want to play it at all, you should wait for it to drop well below the $40 price where it is now.

If you don't take Anarchy Reigns seriously, it's worth a look, and it's got a nice discounted price tag to boot. It's a big, colorful, ridiculous brawler about a bunch of cybernetically-enhanced idiots who don't realize how ridiculous they are, and while the single-player campaign's about five times as frustrating as it needs to be, the multiplayer's decent once you get a handle on it.

Potential players on the fence should give the demo a shot – it lets you enjoy a good mix of action and platforming, as well as displaying some dazzling graphics too. $60 may seem like a high price to pay for an action-platformer, but you've got a variety of difficulties to play through it with as well as numerous remixed versions that change things up fairly radically.

The puzzles are tough enough that you probably won't figure them out right away, but they're not so tough that they'll stump you for days at a time, either. For me, that's exactly where I want the difficulty of an adventure to be, and combined with the humor of the game, it makes Chaos on Deponia an easy game to recommend.

Absolution is a fantastic addition to a series that defined a genre last generation, and I can't wait to see what they come up with for our favorite bald assassin moving forward.

If you're a fan of the series, and have some friends or family to experience the game with on a regular basis, then there is certainly fun to be had with Rabbids Land, even despite its simplicity. The board game format is fun and adds a nice twist of competition, and the Gamepad does, at times, show potential for the future.

The story doesn't quite live up to the prologue and multiplayer feels tacked on, but otherwise Far Cry 3 is a sensational sandbox shooter that's a far cry better than Far Cry 2 (cue slow clap).

Treyarch did an amazing job, creating another high intensity experience that sets the standard for every other shooter to aspire to.

For $10, Black Knight Sword delivers a mostly good and entirely creepy experience.

Critter Chronicles took me about a dozen hours to complete, and I consistently found it to be enjoyable during that time. The puzzles work well and are sometimes challenging (at least on "Hard;" I didn't try "Normal"), the writing is amusing enough that the game is entertaining to watch as well as play, and the voice acting is once again terrific.

In the areas of visuals, features, mechanics, story, and such, it doesn't really do anything special. However, the tone of the game, and the sheer weight and dread that the player feels when trying to survive in this version of London is ZombiU's crowning achievement.

Scribblenauts Unlimited is the best looking and playing entry in the series to date. It's also the easiest, so if you didn't like the first two due to their difficulty, at least give this a rental.

This may not be game of the year, but it doesn't try to be. What it does try to be is an ode to Nintendo's rich history and an introduction to the Wii U's capabilities and control potential. In those efforts, it succeeds greatly.

In the end, LEGO The Lord of the Rings is fantastic – very possibly one of the best LEGO games made to date. The level design is ingenious and unique despite using the same tried and true techniques we've seen before. I like how different situations call for unique strategies. I also appreciated the risk taken since there is no central hub.

Overall, I enjoyed the time I spent with The Walking Dead. It's not a great "game" since its puzzles and action sequences are short and easy, but it has all the right elements - including excellent writing and voice acting - to make it an absorbing interactive movie. Plus, with about 15 hours of content, it's reasonably priced at $25. So if you've been trying to find the perfect Christmas gift for the zombie fan in your family, then The Walking Dead might be just the thing.

This review is getting long-winded so let's wrap it up. Assassin's Creed III is the biggest and most ambitious Assassin's Creed title yet, but a few missteps leaves it short of being the series' best. In spite of my excessive nitpicking, Assassin's Creed III is great game and a must-have for any Assassin's fan.

Trine 2: Director's Cut is an excellent game and an absolute must-own if you don't already have it for another console. If you've already got the 360, PS3, or PC versions of the game, I'm not quite sure if the additional content is worth $20 – that will really depend on how much you liked it. If you're a casual fan of the series, then it's probably not worth full price, and if you've got a good enough PC to run it, then your best bet is to stick with that unless you're dying for something to play on the Wii U. It looks and sounds great on the Gamepad, and is one of the most amazing titles to see running on the device.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale delivers some great fighting and hilarious comedy at the same time. It's a must-have for anyone who loves the fast-paced style of fighting popularized by Smash Bros. While it would be easy to dismiss the game for being a copycat, doing so would be a mistake as the game does quite a few things differently that help it stand on its own. It's a very well put-together game regardless of its inspiration and is worthy of at least a rental for skeptics.

In the end, Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified is a pale imitation of its superior forebears. It's not bad for what it is, but it's not nearly as good as it should be.

Epic Mickey 2 leaves me feeling conflicted because it remedies the original's control issues to some degree and does something new with co-op that alternates between being very helpful and annoying, depending on how the AI is when playing solo and is hurt by distracting viewpoints when using it with another person. As a result, Epic Mickey 2 feels like only a partial step forward instead of the huge one it could have been if everything worked perfectly. It's still worth playing if you liked the first, but not something I'd recommend as a full-price buy.

If you're looking for a Silent Hill game or a deep RPG on your PS Vita, Book of Memories will only serve to whet your appetite for a title that will deliver.

I spent about 15 hours with Worms Revolution, and while I didn't especially enjoy it, I only played against computer opponents. I'm guessing that for the game to really shine, you have to play against similarly (in)competent human opponents. Given that it's so easy to miss with your attacks and accidentally blow up your own worms, Worms Revolution might generate a lot of good-natured heckling and work pretty well as a party game. Or not. But for only $15, if the premise sounds fun, then there's not much reason not to find out.

For me, the biggest problem with Liberation is the story; it felt underdeveloped and stands as a missed opportunity. Despite that shortcoming, and a few technical issues aside, I really enjoyed being able to take what is essentially a full-fledged Assassin's Creed game on the road with me. While not essential to the canon, this game is worth playing for anyone who is a fan of the series.

If you're a big LBP fan then it might be worth it, but if you've played ModNation Racers, I don't think the slight makeover is enough to warrant a full price tag.

While WWE '13 has a lot of problems, I think it's a far better overall game than WWE '12, but still lacks the polish that SvR '11 and past series entries have had.