More depth and modes would lift it to stellar heights.

A party game with great intentions, but unsatisfying delivery. This is a tedious and often frustrating experience, and its few bright spots get squashed under the weight of Mario's fat, boring ass. This is one dead party.

READER NOTE: Play this game alone, and in the dark—I find it kind of weird to even have to tell anybody this, but here we are (for an added mood bonus, I suppose you could even play the game with your back to a open door leading to a darkened side yard, long hallway, or garage... but it doesn't sound like a good idea).

Here’s hoping the game gets enough attention from players and receives the support to make it truly shine.

It might not have the gunplay that many shooter fans look for, but each time a wall is breached excitement galvanizes the senses, providing something unlike any other game on the market.

Everspace provides some of the most unique experiences I’ve had in gaming this year, and it does so with style, featuring awe-inspiring visuals and intense gameplay, all without the budget and support of a AAA publishing studio.

The throwback to Amplitude is a welcome reminder of Harmonix's more electronically themed music games, but the experience is too limited. Still, it's a fine game on the go. At least you can take your band on the road and not have to ride around in a sweaty, junkyard bound VW bus.

Though it can be a blurry mess at times, Wild Hearts does plenty right to justify a play by both monster hunter veterans and newcomers to the genre. The Karakuri system is genius and enhances an already fantastic combat experience, and co-op is wonderfully implemented, making it easy to group up with other hunters. Wild Hearts is a fantastic first attempt by Omega Force, as it goes toe-to-toe with an established franchise and gets in a few attacks of its own, and I’m excited to see how the team builds upon this victory, Karakuri-style!

Mirror's Edge is the kind of game that you can see in the curriculum of some design school for its outside-of-the-box approach and polished style. But playing it is a different story. If you do feel the need to punish yourself, spend your money on a dominatrix instead of Mirror’s Edge.

Tenchu's disjointed mission structure, temperamental camera and disappointing enemy AI will leave new gamers looking for something a bit more polished and sophisticated.

Adds a surprising amount of fresh content to an old hero. Despite its quirks, this is a satisfying handheld platformer. Mega, indeed.

This pint-sized port brings everything that makes Tony Hawk titles such an enjoyably irritating affair. As a do over to Downhill Jam, it’s as good as you can get with a new skateboard on old wheels.

Mario Strikers Charged is enjoyable on a lark, but it’s a tiny baby step just to advance a single feature of the Wii.

In all three console versions (which are identical), A.I. glitches aren't uncommon and the on-foot camera tends to get persnickety. The game looks and plays better while driving.

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

All in all, Madden NFL 12 lives up to its franchise's basic standards as a hard-hitting realistic football game. Besides all the new fancy updates and sparkly things that dangle on the screen, loyal Madden-ists and newcomers can enjoy mostly everything Madden has to offer.

A strong product with plenty to do. It could easily become your go-to multiplayer fare this summer. The single-player campaign is excellent, and multiplayer is varied and deep. The only thing threatening Future Soldier's greatness is an unproven community of players who may or may not move over from the beta.

Monster Hunter Stories is a decent spin-off, perfect for introducing anyone to the Monster Hunter franchise. The battles may allow for too much gambling and the environments can be unappealing for the eye, but it still features an interesting story that will keep you hooked for dozens of hours.

I'm pleased with Call of Duty WW2, but the rough launch and average campaign marred what could have been an unparalleled addition to the Call of Duty franchise. As good as multiplayer is, I have to dock points for missing features and instability.

WRC 8 is the best game yet in the series and has a major edge on its chief competitor due to its far more accessible racing.

Its gameplay dynamics are so well executed that it could walk among this year's biggest games. If you're looking for a fun online co-op game to play with friends, this might just be the game for you. Just don't go in expecting a satisfying story.

Armed with a healthy Internet connection, this game will hold at bay the forces of boredom for months. Switch off that connection, though, and witness the biggest turn to the lame side since the new Star Wars movies.

Full of impressive features and offers very solid FPS fun. A strong sequel all the way, and with a little attention given to linearity and dialogue options/romances, this series could go where no FPS has gone before.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 needs to learn from other golf titles like Pangya to build a better pro store and long-term reward system, and Hot Shots Golf to create a slope indicator and a precise 3-click system. But the essentials are more than covered.

The cinematic sequences are easily skipped at the press of a button, and what remains is a tremendously engaging Western romp.

With a great style taken directly from the pages of a deranged art student's sketchbook and fun if occasionally frustrating action to boot, this little alien proves that you don't need a big, fancy ship to invade a home console.

Wonderlands is the safest, most paint-by-numbers, product-of-the-time game I’ve played in a while, and a serving of the same thing Gearbox has been dishing up for 10 years minus the humor. It’s the absolute opposite of avant-garde and simply reuses the Borderlands formula without improving on it in any tangible manner. While it’s more tolerable as a multiplayer game given that you’ll more readily be able to overlook its story and writing, it’s still a disappointing spin-off that takes away more from the source material than it gives back.

While there are certainly glaring issues present in some of its branching paths, Quantic Dream has managed to craft a compelling world in Detroit, enriched by fantastic performances and state-of-the-art motion-capturing.