This means that anyone else is probably better off just letting the thing sit on the shelf unless you need to unwind with the video game equivalent of pedestrian smooth jazz: bland, boring, uninventive, but still technically a functional example of the art form.

Nifty perks aside, Skulls of the Shogun is one of the best strategy games I have ever played thanks to its elegant accessibility and addicting depth, and you'd be foolish to pass it by.

It may not be the all-consuming space sim we're all hungry for, but it's still a tasty space combat morsel that every armchair pilot should take a look at.

Family Party is terrible. Not only is it bad, it's borderline unplayable.

Instead of giving grinding aficionados the opportunity to progress and level smoothly, difficulty will often ramp up without warning, forcing players to head back to previous floors and walk in circles until they have enough power. When you have to engage in a stale, merely passable battle system over and over again, it grows less and less entertaining quickly.

Not only a fantastic JRPG in its own right, Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of the White Witch is perfect for anyone who has ever wished to live inside a Studio Ghibli film.

DmC doesn't feel old and stale. It feels new and fresh and furious, eager to prove itself and more than capable. If you're an old DMC diehard, this new vision won't disappoint, it'll delight.

Still, I have to underscore the way Tokyo Crash Mobs maintains a truly unique sense of gameplay and aesthetic. Sure it's kind of stupid and not all that innovative, but it helps to define the burgeoning Nintendo eShop as a place to find wacky, nonsensical games that are willing to take risks.

It's true that the plot is a mess and a few odd quirks keep Anarchy Reigns from being a polished AAA release, but despite that, there are tons of freaks to beat up, plenty of online combatants to choose from, and balanced gameplay that doesn't take itself too seriously.

If you've got an appetite for the genre, Under Defeat HD will suffice. If you're new to schmups, be aware that this is the deep-end of a very large pool.

If you prefer your puzzles to require more thought, Motley Blocks probably isn't for you, but building an item back together, piece by piece, makes for a worthwhile time waster. Motley Blocks is available in both free-to-play and paid versions, so check the game out and spring for the later levels when you're sweet tooth kicks in.

Appropriately priced at $9.99, Black Knight Sword isn't a big threat to your wallet, but it's also not the easiest game to push on your friends. Regardless, this is another capable outing from two great studios that just happen to think alike.

Bottom line, this DLC is well worth your time and money to check this out, especially if you're going though Skyrim withdrawal.

For the $15 asking price, you'd be hard-pressed to find another multiplayer experience on a console with this much meat on its bones.

Sine Mora fills a void in the Vita's lineup. It's an arcade-balanced, twitch title with tons of beautiful visuals and plenty of replay value. Bosses and environments are inventive and challenging, while still leaving room for noobs looking to dip their toes in the shoot-'em-up genre. Despite the unintelligible story and the fact that schmups are still quite niche, it's easy to recommend Sine Mora all over again.

This makes Darksiders II's bugs gamebusters. The bugs are so prevalent, the freezes such a problem, that I would only recommend the game to those willing to risk the wear and tear on their brand new hardware by having to unplug it regularly; this cannot be good for the Wii U's processors and hard drive.

Adventure Time's main fault is its length. It's a short game, which feels a bit like a downloadable title for console in size. It does have a New Game Plus mode with harder enemies, but starting the game with all the existing upgrades did not seem to be that much more challenging, even with an increased difficulty level.

Playing Far Cry 3 in short bursts or actively distracting yourself with a mini-game will take your mind off its underdeveloped and restrictive story, but the tedium of its objectives still wears thin after a while. It's not a problem of "all style, no substance," but "all style, partial substance." That said, it's hard to deny its prowess for gunplay, exploration, and graphics, with the exception of minor pop-up issues and framerate drops. As long as you don't take the game as seriously as the game does, you'll be entertained.

There are significant differences in the ending depending on how Renegade or Paragon you play it, consisting of 6 possibilities, 4 of which are distinctly different. You can either end up on Aria's good side or end up on her bad side, but none of it really translates to the main campaign, which is a shame. You can't even return to Omega after the mission and nobody on your crew mentions your absence or anything about the mission, not even Archangel, aka Garrus. That disconnect really sucks, and it'd be nice to have something like that after the mission was over to distract from it not having any impact on the ending. Really, Bioware? After all that work we don't even get to go back to Omega for a drink?

The PC version of Assassin's Creed III has been injected with eye-popping enhancements that bring its compelling story to life. It's like personally participating in the American Revolution without the consequences of death. The ticket price of traveling back to the fascinating period of America's battle for independence, and the fictional story that Ubisoft Montpellier has layered within it, is just a copy of Assassin's Creed III and a high-end PC. Just remember that you'll have to leave your social life behind.

Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified doesn't just lack a story-it lacks an attempt at a story. It doesn't just lack good multiplayer stages; it lacks stages. It doesn't just have a few occasional bugs; it has entirely too many gltiches, disconnections, and crashes-though I must admit, seeing a chopper spawn inside a house is good for a few laughs.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition is worth it for anyone looking to build out their launch library on Nintendo's new console. It's got everything Namco packed in earlier this year, and that's about all you need to know. Tekken Ball and Mushroom Battle, while briefly entertaining, don't add much. Still, TTT2 is strong enough in its own right that we don't need to tag out just yet.

It's a good thing that the marketing genius in the Skylanders franchise is so effective. An uninteresting game may actually serve the purpose of of the franchise, since it allows people to level up their figures relatively quickly, prompting them to buy a new figure and start over again at square one. Also, since Skylanders figures can be taken from console to 3DS back to console and continue to gain experience, the 3DS version may be just the accessory that fans of franchise will want, even if the game itself is boring and bland.

It's the hardcore game Nintendo fans have always wanted on their platform, leaving nothing but your console friends list behind.

When I finished the final episode of The Walking Dead, eyes welling up with tears, I started thinking about the possibilities of where Telltale might take the series in Season Two. The series only got better with each subsequent chapter, so I can't wait to see how the studio plans to expand the franchise further in 2013.

Armored Edition comes with all the pre-existing DLC as part of the game, and the player can jump right into Harley Quinn's Revenge from the start screen (though it warns you that this is likely to spoil a great deal of the story). This, plus the awesome immersion of the Wii U Gamepad makes it so, I can't imagine wanting to play this incredible game on any other system.

In short, this expansion falls slightly short of how interesting and deeply embedded the Supernatural expansion was. That said, Seasons supplies a depth to what can feel like an endless sunny crawl of hours and minutes in The Sims 3. For that, the change of pace is well worth the price of admission.

Anyway, SASRT can be dug if you're charmed by the casual racer subgenre, and if you're a Sega fan especially. Ah, and I've forgotten to address the last word of this game's damn long title. Your rig can change into a boat or a plane once you go through the right rings. I'm only addressing this because I have to. It's done well and adds a nice layer of complexity (especially since you can seek out these rings early on for an advantage). Does it really transform the game? Sure. More importantly, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed could have stood alone without it and still be a fun $40 ride.