All that said, every year we beg the question: Is Madden really worth $60 for what little tweaks are made? Probably not, but most people buy it anyway because we all feel that desire to be caught up and current with what's new.

If you're a 3DS gamer with a penchant for Mario in any way, shape, or form, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is well worth your time. Despite that, if you've had your fill of Nintendo's mascot and the perpetually kidnapped Peach, you might not find a lot of entertainment here. You might resent being the 99% to Mario's coin-hungry top 1%.

Darksiders II is fantastic, well worth your money, and even more worthy of your time. Death is an investment that pays back dividends, in coins, gems, armor, and blood. It's high praise that Darksiders II is comparable to Batman: Arkham City and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Despite several setbacks with authenticity and character depth, Sleeping Dogs delivers an entertaining and realistic enough interpretation of Hong Kong to warrant a sequel.

It's worth some time to play through if you enjoy a more tactical battle system than you're likely to find in a more well-known franchise, but unless that's enough to hold your attention, methinks you're going to be disappointed with this latest Growlanser.

If you've got a penchant for 2D brawling, old-school side-scrolling, and an ability to overlook way too many furry characters, Dust: An Elysian Tail is well worth your time and your money. It's certainly the best game in this year's Summer of Arcade lineup.

If multiplayer shooters aren't your thing, you simply won't enjoy Hybrid. There's nothing to the game outside of multiplayer. I guess that rules out any Silver-tier Xbox Live members as well. What Hybrid does to separate itself from other games is commendable, but it might not appeal to everyone. At its best, players will find themselves caught up in Hybrid's universe. At its worst, players will... not be able to find a match.

There is an endless amount of replay value, thanks to the brilliant tracks the community is already hard at work on. The simplicity belies a brilliance developers have yet to touch on Sony's new handheld platform.

Persona 4: Arena is easy to recommend to anyone and everyone thanks to its approachable, deep gameplay. If you're new to the Persona series, this is a shallow spot to jump in and see if the characters and universe are for you.

Bottom line: This is a great game on a system that needs more great games.

Deadlight has all the style, substance, and gameplay you could want, with none of the originality you need. The word "cliche" never left my mind, even for an instant. If you loved Limbo and want to recreate that experience, you could spend $15 on this, or you could just play the game you already own and have a much better time.

While Dyad offers quite a bit of gameplay for $15, it can be seen as a one-trick pony. By the time you've beaten every level, you'll probably be fatigued and bored with its gameplay. What's more, it doesn't have the endless replayability of other arcade games.

In the end, Wreckateer has all the hassle of the Kinect, all the smoke-up-your-ass style of Peggle, all the gameplay of Angry Birds, and a little Shrek-style humor for good measure.

In short, I didn't like it and I deeply thought about displaying a picture of it in my trashcan to express my disfavor. But I'm not going to waste any more time on it. I'd rather spend it playing something else to wash the taste of Test Drive Ferrari Racing Legends out of my mouth.

For anyone with an itch to play Tony Hawk again, know what you're getting into. THPS HD is a remake that opted to leave what cost too much in the past, consequently hemorrhaging that which we've come to know and love.

Heroes of Ruin is an excellent game if you're looking to take your Diablo addiction on the road with you. It's deep, replayable, and the online is instantly accessible.

The loot-based hack-'n'-slasher does enough right to see it through to the end and beyond, with King's Road difficulty which will test your evasion and force you to join other players despite the camera issues. If Nexon brings some free content into the fold and a few patches, it could be among the best downloadable titles in the marketplace today.

Whatever helps soothes your football fix, I'm sure NCAA Football 13 has it. The franchise is still great for hardcore enthusiasts and can be shared with beginners. The whole show, plus the production value, is what makes this one a keeper. Not a bad summer title to pick up if you ask me.

If you need a challenge on the level of a Mega Man or a Metal Slug with the feel of Dig Dug and Mr. Driller, or if you just enjoy any of those, this should be on your radar. If you just want a quick few Achievement points, you're not going to find them here.

The Secret World is a title that may have made a splash five years ago. Now it's just another archaic MMO looking to fit in.

Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy, along with Resident Evil: Revelations, proves that third-parties can do amazing things on Nintendo hardware. It is more than deserving of your money, and while it might not be a system seller (or escape from the FF garbage we've all come to know and love/hate), Theatrhythm stands strong alongside Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land as a game 3DS owners must have.

I could honestly write a thousand words more on what makes Endless Space so much more addicting and absorbing than the bulk of its contemporaries. Visually, it's detailed and opulent where it needs to be, yet simple and clean everywhere else. It makes its voluminous level of complexity accessible with a terrific interface which affords a pace and ease of management that few other games in the genre can match. But I'm not going to write those thousand more words, folks. I've got a galaxy that's waiting to be conquered, one more time.

Keep in mind, though, that you'll be able to buy it separately for less within a few weeks, and for people who just want a decent lightgun game, that'll be a better deal in my opinion. That said, neither game is good enough to spend money on unless you're a diehard Resident Evil fan. Even then, there are better ways to blow $30 bucks in the name of fandom, like buying as many of the Resident Evil films on DVD as you can.

While Quantum Conundrum might owe its existence to Portal, it stands in the shadow of no game. Anyone who enjoys a good puzzle owes it to themselves to play this one.

The gamer in me hated much of Spec Ops: The Line. The critic in me loves it. Like anyone else of two minds, I'm forced to decide which side of the line I stand on.

Gungnir looks nice, but it's underwhelming. Getting into the fights was easy enough when I decided to ignore the game's extra tactics, and the combat turned out to be engaging enough. But those characters… I've never actually watched paint dry before but it sounds more interesting than actually reading through these characters' plight. Let me summon the demon, let me slay some bad guys, and let me be engaged in a story… don't make me feel like I'm sitting on the sidelines.

The best quality of Jeremy McGrath's Offroad is that it's functional. It may even be slightly enjoyable for a few hours if you're not picky about downloadable games. Otherwise, I recommend spending a little more than $10 and catching DiRT 3 on sale.

The most important aspect of the Extended Cut DLC is that BioWare didn't have to make it, nor did they have to make it for free. They could have crossed their arms and refused to change anything, but they instead acknowledged some of their fans' complaints and ultimately made the ending better.