It may be a lot more of the same, but it's prettier, smoother, longer, and filled with more stuff.

While the question of whether it's a good idea to put players in the role of a dead-eyed mute psychopath is open for debate, it's undeniable that Lucius's developers have captured the feel of their inspiration perfectly. There are missteps that keep the game from truly excelling, and the story is serviceable at best, but Lucius provides a unique horror gameplay experience, and any hardcore fans of the genre owe it to themselves to give it a look, provided they have strong stomachs.

Without the kind of stage this story requires, all players are left with is an amusingly iconoclastic oddity, worth trying out, but not falling in love with.

Rather than preaching, Hotline Miami asks the questions and forces the player to confront the answers himself, without exculpating its own creators. That's the real mark of maturity.

While I still call myself an XCOM fan and was thrilled to see the property return after so many years, I couldn't commit to XCOM: Enemy Unknown wholeheartedly. Although I appreciate the update for modern audiences, the game comes off as a bit undercooked and stumbles on things which should be airtight. On the other hand, it's still a very welcome addition to a genre that's gone a bit stale-just be prepared for a little probing when dealing with these creatures from another world.

Without technical accomplishment or a compelling narrative, Natural Threat never rises above the crowd to distinguish itself in any meaningful way. There are better ways to spend time hunting pixels.

With its relatively small menu of uninspired puzzles and cast of irritants, One Against All fails in its attempt to capture the Layton magic.

For what it's worth, if I wanted a simulation of being crammed into a tiny, metal, low-tech claustrophobic coffin while people yell and attempt to kill me repeatedly while I struggle with basic controls, then Heavy Armor offers up quite the war experience. However, that's not what I was looking for, and I suspect that it's not something anyone else is after, either.

Although some sequences in the second half may have players running to find an FAQ if they don't skip the puzzles outright, I found The Testament of Sherlock Holmes to be an enjoyable, offbeat experience that serves as a great change of pace for players who don't mind putting the guns and explosives aside once in a while.

Thirty Flights of Loving is precisely as long as it needs to be, and contains exactly what it needs to contain. This efficiency makes it a richer experience, not a poorer one, because it insists that the player engage with the story and piece it together himself, rather than sitting back and absorbing an endless train of cinematics.

Not only is Dishonored a strong game set in a fascinating universe, it's one of those rare and incredible titles that holds the player's attention right from the start and then leaves them wanting more as the credits roll.

In any event, The Walking Dead has been one hell of a ride up to this point. Even the less-intense episodes are better than the vast majority of releases in 2012.

For most of its length, FTL is good, bordering on great, but the end is so poor I'd rather quit than win the game.

Fractured Soul is not a bad game by any means, but its keen concept is played out again and again with a taskmaster's sternness, and little else.

There are endless variations on the small level/three star structure made popular by Angry Birds, and I've come across many that don't warrant a second look. That's not to say that the structure has nothing left to offer, however. Creative developers can certainly put a new spin on things, and that's just what's happened with Space Holiday.

It's easy to learn, it's got a sexy design, and it's entertaining alone and with friends. Without a doubt, this has been one of the best iPhone games I've come across so far.

Players should be aware that the first batch of twenty levels are free and function as a demo. It's over pretty quickly though, and the remaining areas of the game are split into two in-app purchases at .99 each.

Gamers who can't stand reading should probably stay away, but for everyone else, Judge Dredd is great stuff.

After all is said and done, Resident Evil 6 isn't a runaway success, but most of the time, it succeeds at what it sets out to accomplish. Unfortunately, it's such a departure from the rest of the series that those expecting more of the same will find themselves frustrated and foiled-despite the "6" in its title, this is an entirely new animal, and the developers have hamstrung their own work by doing an unforgivably bad job of explaining what the game is, and how they intend it to be played.

Neon is probably the best Double Dragon game yet, and it contains enough great elements it to warrant a sequel or two.

Tokyo Jungle is exactly the sort of unconventional project that I live for, so it's easy to forgive its issues; the low-end production values, two extremely ill-conceived stealth missions that don't suit the mechanics, and a few boss fights that were more frustrating than fun. Although irritating, none were dealbreakers-just be prepared to restart a few missions here and there.

While the developer is on the right track, Risen 2: Dark Waters feels choppier than the last game, and will test those with little patience.

Deponia looks lovely, but it squanders its wonderfully screwball setting on unremarkable puzzles and unlikable characters. In the end, that all adds up to a game that's completely disposable.

Issues aside, it's hard to discount the feeling of nostalgia that permeates Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time. Gamers like me, who experienced the golden age of the JRPG firsthand, will undoubtedly enjoy this title despite the occasional misstep.

Speaking frankly, there are certain levels of expectation associated with any given piece of hardware, and games which don't live up to that standard will inevitably suffer. Legasista is a solid title that knows what it wants to be and hits that target... It's just that the bullseye isn't hanging in the right place.

In any event, my quibbles with this series are quite small, and easy to forgive when compared to the overall experience that Telltale is crafting. There's nothing else available today able to affect me to a similar degree, or that can resonate with me as a human being. That's the sort of thing that carries a great deal of weight, and it makes The Walking Dead easily one of 2012's best.

In general, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 should be seen as a master class for Tekken devotees, and is certainly one of the best titles the genre has to offer.

Its stealth-as-power mechanics perfectly articulate the mystique of the ninja without compromising on challenge.