Nearly everyone who's kept up with Assassin's Creed thus far will feel like the latest falls a little short of catipulting Ezio and company past the previous outing. These yearly releases are truly a double-edged hidden blade. If the overarching plot kept moving forward at its previous pace, I'd be faulting it for leaving so many gamers behind. In this case, it'll disappoint the most dedicated fans by retreading a lot of ground to keep everyone up to speed.

Other than the Strike Packages, MW3 really is nothing we haven't already seen. This does not say you won't get your first-person shooter fix. As a standalone game, it's worth every penny and will undoubtedly keep players occupied until the next installment, but as a sequel, it's disappointing.

Saints Row: The Third doesn't give a crap about precious modern design with its storyworlds, complex strategy-based gameplay systems, and magniloquent commentaries on the state of humanity. All it cares about is showing you a good time-how you want it, when you want it, and where you want it. It's instant gratification for days on end. I don't know about you, but I'm already sold on Saints Row: The Fourth.

If you've just got to have more Deus Ex: Human Revolution, The Missing Link is more than worth its $15 asking price. If you really enjoyed this year's stealth-action RPG hybrid, you might want to wait for the desire to playthrough the game again or for the DLC to go on sale. Otherwise, The Missing Link could have stayed missing.

Since this is obviously an "M"-rated title, it's a great way for classic players to feel like kids in an arcade… but grown up and filthy enough to get into a grindhouse flick and see some nasty stuff go down.

A testament to the strength and importance of games that create living, breathing worlds, while affirming the value of long-term commitment over instant gratification. The absence of companion control, though a glaring flaw, ultimately does not spoil its purposeful, refined, and genre-defining design. Endlessly replayable and a phenomenal landmark in gaming, Skyrim deserves a place in every true gamer's collection.

Creativity covers up many of the imperfections, the artwork in the backdrops is unrivaled in a kids game, and best of all, it's extremely entertaining.

There are much better shooters on the market. It's time to hang up the cummerbund and bow tie and enjoy your martini with another game.

Part of me wants to really praise Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Impact for not being what the Naruto fighting games have been, and part of me wants to just play Dynasty Warriors.

Renegade Ops is a fun, if repetitive, vehicular twin-stick shooter that looks great, has a satisfyingly dumb story, and lots of cool explosions. It's a little weak solo, but you could do far worse than spend six hours with a buddy, gleefully blowing things up together.

Many people might be turned off to Rocksmith due to its lack of party game appeal, but that's not what it's about. It's about making a difficult instrument easy and fun to learn, and it accomplishes that.

It isn't amazing, but it's a competent effort and certainly one of the better LotR games to come along. Isn't it about time that the smaller characters, bland as they are, got their due?

One of the most technically impressive adventures you can find, matched with a detailed and unique multiplayer, all while making it easy for a newcomer to pick up and enjoy. Drake's Deception is why most gamers play video games-experiences that keep us awed and engaged, and extra content to keep us coming back for more.

You won't find a better multiplayer experience.

The presentation is the game's highlight while the gameplay, unfortunately, doesn't meet that same degree.

After all of the dizzying, head-spinning tricks learned from playing Air Conflicts: Secret War, maybe you'll actually want to take control over real flying machines. Just don't get the idea on my Southwest flight next week. This isn't the flight simulation people will write home about, but it gets a thumbs up for trying.

Though the character customization may be enough for fans to spend hours in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi without complaint, the limited combat system doesn't encourage much thought. Preventing projectile spamming by employing quick-time events and coin flips merely replaces one problem with another. A cleaner, skillful, more polished fighting system would, ultimately, have been better.

When it comes down to it, you've really got to ask yourself if Forza Motorsport 4 is for you. There's a ton of content and laypeople like myself will get sucked in when they realize that the enjoyable, speedy racing will unlock them tons of new cars. Still, if you've never dreamt, then what's the point of driving?

The structure of the game is the same, fighting bosses is janky, and if you've played any Dead Rising game, the bulk of the experience is going to feel a bit stale.

Yes, it feels extremely stiff and archaic at spots, but it's still playable and totally worth diving into.

It controls well enough, it has enough story and conversation to move things along, it hits the nostalgia button beautifully… what more could I ask for in a classically-inspired game?

Rocksteady's heavily modified Unreal Engine is a sight to behold as well. I'd go so far as to say the developer has beaten Epic Games at its own technology with Batman: Arkham City handedly surpassing Gears of War 3's highest visual achievements. The entirety of the open world is detailed, vibrant, and packed to the gills with content.

Does a lot right-and well, at that-to make it worth your time and money to jump into the cockpit. Give it a spin even if you're just an action shooter fan, but if you're specifically into the source material (i.e. dogfights, pew pew, vrrrmmm!), this is an experience you won't want to miss out on.

A great fetch that celebrates why we love cute, little animals so much.

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

Getting tired of shooting rockets back and forth? Play in the skills challenge or, better yet, hop in a story mode and really wreak havoc. But bring your game when playing online; there definitely are some Worms veterans on the scene.

A well-made children's game. And I'd better manage to convince some of you of this notion because, damn, I'm still suffering from some tennis elbow after all the arm swinging I've done.

Combining a score-attacking arcade game, the addictive challenges of Call of Duty, varying vehicle mechanics, and all the humor and absurdity Haflbrick can muster, Jetpack Joyride is a godsend of mobile gaming. While you still won't sit and enjoy the game for hours, it's an ideal burst of entertainment in the doctor's office, before boarding a plane, or on the can.