Slam Bolt Scrappers is packed to the brim with risks. And it's also full of rewards. Despite the chaotic nature, the infrequent failures followed by "Wait, what just happened?", and the lack of online multiplayer, you should still go spend money on Slam Bolt Scrappers right now.

Its arsenal isn’t as robust as it could be, but it makes up for it with a flurry of awesome modes and some deadly fast gameplay.

It's a colorful, cute, and innocent title that will kick your ass if given a chance.

The once-impressive engine is starting to waver and there really isn't a great deal of new material here despite a good year and a half since the original game stormed shelves.

Open Tee 2 is a pint-sized yet full-sized update to the Hot Shots Golf series that challenges its PS3 brother and ultimately wins. It has all the features of Out of Bounds but replaces the horrible Mii-like online characters with a slew of customizable parts and allows you to permanently upgrade the vital stats of the entire character roster.

Escalation demonstrates new content that players want to see: multiplayer maps that clearly distinguish themselves from one another by delivering variety in both gameplay and design.

Kirby's Epic Yarn delivers fun, solid platforming with incredible style. The presentation and lack of difficulty may be a turn-off, but any platforming fan would do well to get wrapped up in this ball of yarn.

A great game for anyone who likes space COMBAT: it's fun, fluid, and well done.

It’s not gonna revolutionize the way you think of FPS gaming - that’s a job for "Half-Life 2," we hope - but Far Cry will give you a great 20-hour adrenaline shot in the arm. The impressive technology and sheer fun lead to a good choice for FPS fans with hefty rigs.

The new features are generally welcomed but don’t change the fact that this is largely the same game you probably spent way too much time with last year.

If you're looking for a great puzzler, Ilomilo is an awesome choice. This is probably the more mind-intensive out of the trio of Holiday promotion releases.

If you enjoyed Ninja Gaiden, Assassin's Creed, God of War, Devil May Cry, Dragon's Lair, Resident Evil, etc... then you will find something that you'll like in Ninja Blade, because there's a little bit of all of them in here. Just make sure that you have some eye drops handy for after all the quick-time events, since your eyes are going to be dry from not blinking.

Just don't expect anything new. Like the myths themselves, AoM's gameplay has been passed down from generation to generation for many, many years.

It all gets old a little too quick-even faster if you don't play with friends. But if you do, or you were a fan of the old-school NBA Jam titles (or you're just stuck in the 90s like me), then NBA Jam: On Fire Edition is a slam dunk.

Hundreds of hours of visually beautiful gameplay, but its frustrating incoherence will make many people cringe and put the game aside before they have even finished.

To my surprise, it's one of the better, more traditional adventure games in a while.

It's silly to think that a team like USC, with so many returning stars, would have the same number of impact players as Cal. Instead of picking a lucky number and binding every team to it, the designers should have bound the number of impact players to some transitional stat, like returning upper-classmen.

Like LostWinds, this is a game with style and soul, and it was clearly designed by folks who know how to combine good game design with innovative motion technology.

Some shallow gameplay mechanics and weird environmental limits keep this corpse from the most elite graveyards, but that shouldn't scare you away from grabbing this awesome, and awful, thriller.

Despite its uncompromising attitude, Demon's Souls is a rare and unexpected treat.

If you're a Resident Evil 4 veteran that has played through its many reissues over the years, there's not really much to be impressed by this release on the current-gen consoles. Even so, Resident Evil 4 is still a terrifying ride, especially if you missed it the first time around and would like to experience one of the most influential games from the past decade.

Sure, Beautiful Katamari is a little short on new ideas and online play has yet to prove itself. But the game is still blindingly bright, and a bargain at $40.

The foundation for the UFC Undisputed series has been remodeled so thoroughly that faulting UFC Undisputed 2010 for its optional Career mode and its questionable online business practices would almost be missing the point.

Who knew that having the frame of my vehicle obscure my view of the racetrack in a corner or that trading the inside lane for the clarity of my headlights during a nighttime race would bring me an enjoyment I've never found in sim racing games before?

It is as streamlined and pretty as its older brother, plays just as well, and still gives you that unique college ball experience. NCAA Football 11 will not be riding the bench this year.

Battlefield 1943 is an impressive feat - it's a fun and gorgeous-looking downloadable game. If its rigid online structure can somehow be made more user-friendly in future patches, it'll be even more of a sure-bet that many of us will be playing for a long, long time, especially if this type of co-operative unlocking of features becomes a standard in future content.

The sense of immersion is greatly increased. It is a nice feeling, for example, to come across a Barbarian warrior, fighting to save his city, protect him from harm and use him like a football blocker to carve a path.

If you're a Resident Evil 4 veteran that has played through its many reissues over the years, there's not really much to be impressed by this release on the current-gen consoles. Even so, Resident Evil 4 is still a terrifying ride, especially if you missed it the first time around and would like to experience one of the most influential games from the past decade.