Tiny Heroes is an excellent game, but with a few caveats: there's no iPad version (and this would be perfect for an iPad), placing traps/weapons precisely can be difficult, and sometimes the levels are just too hard.

A high-energy romp with a fun, 90's anime style story (the G Gundam references are much-appreciated), easy to grasp mechanics, and plenty of things to find and collect. But I think its real strength is that lush world and the truly outstanding cel-shading, which makes me want to take back every bad word I ever said about the Nintendo DS and its 3D graphical capabilities.

A landmark sports game. Not only is it the greatest football game we've yet seen, it's a masterclass in how to capture the essence of a sport. From they way it looks to the way it makes you think about how you play the game, FIFA 12 is brilliant, through and through.

A landmark sports game. Not only is it the greatest football game we've yet seen, it's a masterclass in how to capture the essence of a sport. From they way it looks to the way it makes you think about how you play the game, FIFA 12 is brilliant, through and through.

For the most dedicated puzzle fanatics, Cubixx HD will likely become a quick favorite, with an abundance of levels, modes, and leaderboards to compete on. However, due to some unfortunate design decisions, the majority of its players will likely never see all that it has to offer.

This charming destruction-based puzzler is a literal blast, but it suffers from a short shelf-life and a meager selection of levels.

This top-down arcade game based on Burnout's Crash mode is addictive, but it could've used a little more focus on mindless carnage and less on planning and repetition.

This top-down arcade game based on Burnout's Crash mode is addictive, but it could've used a little more focus on mindless carnage and less on planning and repetition.

While Resident Evil Code: Veronica X remains an interesting (and difficult) side-story in the Resident Evil franchise, an impressive coat of HD polish just can't make up for terrible controls and archaic game design.

While Resident Evil Code: Veronica X remains an interesting (and difficult) side-story in the Resident Evil franchise, an impressive coat of HD polish just can't make up for terrible controls and archaic game design.

It's not as bite-sized as the rest of the iOS puzzle elite, but the patient are aptly rewarded with a satisfying challenging experience.

The combination of puzzles, exploring, and Phoenix Wright-style point-counterpoint gameplay is honestly an interesting concept along with the attractive art, but the production is mired in soulless English dialogue, badly looping music, and awkward navigation controls.

If you can get past its price and lack of online multiplayer, though, Rotastic should at least keep you happily swinging-and-flinging until the holiday release schedule heats up.

No two matches -- even between the same teams -- ever feel quite the same, and it's that element of surprise that just might, at least offline, make Pro Evolution my go-to soccer game this season.

No two matches -- even between the same teams -- ever feel quite the same, and it's that element of surprise that just might, at least offline, make Pro Evolution my go-to soccer game this season.

But for a reasonably priced downloadable game where you're driving/flying around in tiny vehicles, Renegade Ops certainly doesn't feel small. In fact, it's genuinely one of the most entertaining and polished action titles I've played on a digital platform.

But for a reasonably priced downloadable game where you're driving/flying around in tiny vehicles, Renegade Ops certainly doesn't feel small. In fact, it's genuinely one of the most entertaining and polished action titles I've played on a digital platform.

RO2 is an acquired taste and brutally punishing to newcomers.

What Monsters Joker 2 really does best is to create a bright, vibrant world that does a great job of paying homage to the Dragon Quest franchise while also giving it a different spin. It's a bit slow to start -- monster synthesis takes a bit to unlock -- but it's an overall rewarding experience and one of the best Nintendo DS games to be released this year.

P2, while a good game, is very much a product of its time. Players were more willing to overlook a lot of the JRPG's stereotypical frustrations and foibles back in the late 90s and early aughts. With shifts in consumer tastes and the desire for fresher experiences, however, a brand new game structured like P2 -- with its somewhat clunky story presentation and traditional, slow-paced progression -- simply wouldn't fly in the marketplace either in Japan or abroad.

You can cut corners and do the developer a solid by paying for experience points, but you won't feel like you're getting a lesser experience if you don't.

Sadly, Saga is slightly gimped when measured up to its Wii counterpart, Bit.Trip Complete. Aside from sometimes-wonky controls (gyroscopic movement for your paddle in Beat or Flux are inexplicably absent, for one), 3DS owners have been bafflingly shafted on the extras Complete offers Wii users, though the bonus of 3D effects here isn't a terrible compromise. Minor gripes aside, this is still a must-own 3DS title.

Most gamers will balk at being asked to pay $15 for a WiiWare title, and considering the game's visual presentation and accelerated difficulty level, that's a legitimate gripe. However, MotoHeroz has so much to offer and is so much fun, you shouldn't let that get in your way.

Resident Evil 4 is still an outstanding shooter, but as I keep re-iterating with these recent high-def rereleases, your mileage is bound to vary.

Resident Evil 4 is still an outstanding shooter, but as I keep re-iterating with these recent high-def rereleases, your mileage is bound to vary.

The most ruthless design decision is found in Astro Tripper's unforgiving and unflinchingly old-school life system. You start out with just a few lives and only gain new ones after reaching score benchmarks. The problem is you're forced to re-start a timed stage from scratch every time you die, and when you run out of lives altogether, that's it. Game Over. Add that to the cumbersome controls and absurd difficulty curve and you get an experience that's not very accessible or enjoyable.

Kirby Mass Attack rewards you for replaying it many times over, with several impressively polished mini-games (my favorites being the RPG and pinball ones), big fruit bonuses, and very frequent references to past Kirby titles.

Regardless, I think it goes without say that Spray is both very bad and very broken; and that's in addition to the ugly pastel graphics and terrible animation (like I said, the main character skitters). Let's just forget it ever happened, shall we?