The scores of happy families, the gentle and caring characters you've grown up with your entire life, and the chance to virtually wander around a place that is so beloved can't help but make you smile.

Even though some things need to be tightened up, WWE '12 shows that the video game side of the franchise is still improving.

Even though some things need to be tightened up, WWE '12 shows that the video game side of the franchise is still improving.

It might not be worth $40 for some gamers, but series fans will appreciate it.

Admittedly, critiquing Minecraft's ready-made dungeons and NPC villages is a bit like complaining about the beans served alongside an immaculate five-star steak. Sure, the side-servings might be mediocre, but at its core Minecraft is one of the most forward-thinking games ever created. It spits in the face of the conventional games industry, and it's raked in millions of dollars while doing so

When met with the game's linear nature and over-reliance on quick-time events, these technical issues tear away at what could have been the perfect tribute to the original film.

Ultimately, Freakyforms is a game of two halves. Playing mad scientist in the creature creator is fun and it's a great reward seeing your monsters come to life. The problem comes from what to do next. I know that when I was a boy, I envisioned my legion of monsters doing a lot more than gathering knick knacks.

If you were hoping for a game with the personality of Parodius, look elsewhere -- there may be a decent, if flawed, Gradius design somewhere inside Excellent, but finding it may not be worth the trouble.

Though maddening at times, it's easy to see Another World's rigidly scripted cinematic nature as a precursor to modern linear blockbusters like Uncharted, making it a fascinating, albeit antiquated curio.

Fusion: Genesis is an ambitious title that is well presented, but I can't help feeling XBLA is the wrong platform for it. The slow pace of gameplay is more suited to a PC title, and the interface, which is cumbersome and unclear to navigate with a controller, would work just fine with a mouse.

Originally on WiiWare, there are some concessions to the touch screen with virtual buttons occasionally getting in the way of objects you need to move. This is a small price to pay for such a wondrous platformer at a fraction of the price.

The journey across America is beautifully rendered, capturing the varied landscapes spectacularly as you travel over the Sierra, across the Great Plains, and head towards the East Coast. The quality of the movies is very good too, and the characters' faces are nicely rendered to convey emotion. But the story and the gameplay just don't hold up their side of the bargain, and the game ends up falling short of its considerable potential.

The journey across America is beautifully rendered, capturing the varied landscapes spectacularly as you travel over the Sierra, across the Great Plains, and head towards the East Coast. The quality of the movies is very good too, and the characters' faces are nicely rendered to convey emotion. But the story and the gameplay just don't hold up their side of the bargain, and the game ends up falling short of its considerable potential.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is still a spectacle, but compared to the first time around, the hype feels far more subdued.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is still a spectacle, but compared to the first time around, the hype feels far more subdued.

And yet, even with the flaws, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary dramatically succeeds in being a celebratory look back at what was considered a "perfect" first-person shooter experience 10 years ago.

At its core, this is the Assassin's Creed we've grown to love in recent years, and it still serves as a pretty good time sink -- plus, it's a necessary bridge to next year's already-announced follow-up. But obligation shouldn't be the primary reason to play something, and sadly, that's too often the case in this humdrum campaign.

At its core, this is the Assassin's Creed we've grown to love in recent years, and it still serves as a pretty good time sink -- plus, it's a necessary bridge to next year's already-announced follow-up. But obligation shouldn't be the primary reason to play something, and sadly, that's too often the case in this humdrum campaign.

It's not a flawless package: there are some localization hiccups every now and then, and it's frustrating to waste time and money using crafts and erecting facilities that turn out not to yield much. But Oh! Edo Towns' combo of engaging simulation gaming, interesting theme, and distinct Kairosoft charm makes it well worth your time.

As an overall experience, Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest was a lot of fun, but the rigid precision of its motion controls forced me to take more breaks than I would have liked, and the on-rails style gameplay left me feeling bombarded way too often.

It's juvenile, it occasionally objectionable (I'm sorry, I just don't like blasting away at bikini models, even if they are trying to kill me too) and sometimes after playing I feel like I should go take a shower. But I can't remember a game I've played recently that was so dedicated to letting the gamer have as much fun as possible any way they want to. And when it comes to having fun, Saints Row: The Third is like a big party that you don't want to see stop.

It's juvenile, it occasionally objectionable (I'm sorry, I just don't like blasting away at bikini models, even if they are trying to kill me too) and sometimes after playing I feel like I should go take a shower. But I can't remember a game I've played recently that was so dedicated to letting the gamer have as much fun as possible any way they want to. And when it comes to having fun, Saints Row: The Third is like a big party that you don't want to see stop.

Skyward Sword​ is absolutely packed with content. There's hardly any fluff to be found in the 35 hours or so it takes to complete the main quest, outside of the typically sluggish opening scenes. But I feel like Zelda should be going back to its roots and becoming less linear, rather than moreso. It's a curious decision, and I'm not sure it'll sit particularly well with longtime Zelda fans.

Like every other game in the series, Skyrim is going to eat hundreds of hours of my gaming time over the next few years. It has that sense of wonder that makes he Elder Scrolls games so great, and with the changes to skills, the Shouts, and dual-wielding, I think any gamer is going to have a lot of fun with Skyrim (and its eventual expansions) as well.

The game is crafted with so much love, so much humor, and does so many things right, that it's impossible not to have a blast.

If you're looking for something with a light sense of humor that's kid and family friendly and inexpensive, this might be the title for you. But for those searching for a deeper experience in their downloadable games or a nostalgic trip to the past, BurgerTime World Tour might not cut the mustard.

In short, it's one of the best value PC games you'll ever buy.

The tired, princess-saving formula never seems to change, but somehow Nintendo makes every visit to the Mushroom Kingdom feel like the first time.