The game is incredibly accessible, but it's also incredibly deep. It's the warm shore of the Pacific Ocean, with a teeming coral reef 30 feet below the surface. A reef made up of hideous demons and, when PVP is released, ruthless, hardcore players, of course. But they will find it beautiful, while casual fans and curious semi-gamers will be perfectly content splashing around in the shallows.

Despite some minor issues (and a couple that aren't so minor), Max Payne 3 still manages to be a first-class third-person shooter and is thus one of the better games of the year. More importantly, it's a welcome return for one of the shooter genre's better series. The years may not have been kind of Max, but it seems he hasn't missed a beat.

There's clearly room for improvement, including a more aggressive AI, but over 30 hours later and I'm still playing it. Not bad for a simple take on Civ with some dragons thrown in.

Despite the constant worry of carrying too much loot around, and even with some small interface issues, The Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition is a marvelous game. It's more focused and has a vastly superior combat model than Skyrim, is more realized and contains better writing than Dragon Age, and treats sex like a mature theme and not a juvenile goal. It's not to be missed.

It's short but sweet, which I personally prefer over games that overstay their welcome. It's also a pleasure to play, with a satisfying mix of action/platformer pizzazz and puzzle elements with a steady, addictive progression from those simple first stages to the devious concoctions of the late game.

If you opt to try it out, beware that this is the sort of thing you really do need to play with others. Playing is fun, watching others play is fun – but flailing through a bunch of Kinect minigames alone in a darkened apartment is not the Happy Action way.

SSX is a worthy addition/reboot (whatever we're calling it) to the series, although the whole Survive It shtick isn't nearly as robust as it was originally played up to be, and probably explains why EA dropped Deadly Descents from the name. While some feature are questionable, or questionably absent, as in the case of multiplayer, shredding the slopes in outlandish fashion is as enticing as ever.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is close. It's so very close to being a truly great golf sim and the Kinect support is far and away better than I could have possibly imagined.

Raccoon City isn't the next real Resident Evil game (though its improved controls do bode well for that game). Instead, it's a mostly solid third-person, cover-based shooter set in the same universe. Granted, it's a little too Evil in spots for its own good, and not Evil enough in others, and certainly not as good as Left 4 Dead unless you don't play well with others. But overall, it's a fun spin-off.

Silent Hill: Downpour is not for gamers who've gotten used to having the path pointed out to them over the last generation of survival horror games. Its moments of brilliance tend to shine through the fog of frustration. Having played through the game a single time, I feel like there were many, many things that I missed. Diehard Silent Hill fans shouldn't miss this one, and anyone else hurting for a new horror game could certainly do worse.

In the end, Mario Party 9 remains what each game in the series has been: a party game. Part of me wants to berate Nintendo for making nine Mario Party games in little more than a decade, but I've got to applaud them in this case. There's no flashy new control scheme or extraneous microphone peripheral in Mario Party 9. No, in lieu of any fancy new hardware, Nintendo simply gave the old gang the keys to the company car and actually changed the rules of the game for once-and it works surprisingly well.

Fighting game fans have been blessed with an embarrassment of riches over the past few years, and SFxT is definitely a top shelf example of the genre.

For the right person, Puddle will get in your head and refuse to leave until you've unlocked every damned Au in the game. That's precisely what makes it an excellent puzzler – and a completely pure experience.

In the end, though, none of this simplification really matters all that much. Sure, this smaller scope may diminish the game's scale, but it doesn't diminish its impact, as Mass Effect 3 is ultimately only slightly - and not always that noticeably - less fun than Mass Effect 2 (and is still a slight bit better than the original).

Just like the big budget, small brained sci-fi action movies it emulates, it won't leave you with any lasting memories, but it will entertain you nonetheless.

THQ has, once again, put together a strong MMA fighting game with the UFC license. UFC 3: Undisputed will, ultimately, please MMA fans. Its attention to detail and inclusion of many likable fighters and big personalities from the sport will draw you in and the hefty fighting system will keep you coming back, despite its flaws.

This is a brilliant game, a masterful work by the people at Paradox. Perhaps the biggest praise I can give it is that I plan on playing it on a regular basis far beyond the time it takes to review it. It's rare when a game captures my imagination to this degree, but Crusader Kings II still has its hooks in me.

This direct sequel isn't an improvement in every single way, but it's a huge step forward that corrects many of the most glaring mistakes the fan base took issue with. What of Lightning and her gorgeous Valkyrie-inspired costume? You'll have to play to find out, and I recommend that you do.

I loved Alan Wake, but American Nightmare makes me more optimistic for its future and I'd really like to see Remedy pursue future installments on a smaller, episodic scale like this.

The mechanics are solid, the quest is meaty, the graphics and animation are beautiful, and the world is a pure pleasure to spend time in. Plus, we're talking about a game based on the voyage of discovery of a badass little girl with an octopus for an arm – what's not to like?

Just because Shank 2 isn't terribly innovative doesn't mean it's a bad game. In fact, it's a total blast. It's ridiculous and goofy and completely over-the-top. If you want something that delivers a totally original gameplay experience, don't bother. But, if you want something that's just a lot of fun, look no further: This little gem will keep you grinning like a maniac. Just like Shank does when he revs up his chainsaw.

It's also an important game for the 3DS in particular because it demonstrates the viability of a hardcore-oriented franchise as well as how powerful the 3D effect can be in creating a game environment.

From the opening attack on the restaurant that evokes the car chase that opened the original, to the game's focus on storytelling as much as killing, it's clear that the developers knew not to mess with a working formula. Even if some of the narrative moments fall short of the original, the new content and new powers more than make up for it. The Darkness II didn't knock its predecessor from the top of my list of favorite narrative shooters, but it comes in as a very close second.

This game is definitely a case of one step forward, two steps back. It's a modern, fresh SoulCalibur but it doesn't offer anything that you can't get from previous incarnations other than the more robust online offering.

The game is cute, well designed, well implemented and just the thing to show off your big brain to all of your friends.

TNT Racers is a great little racing title that feels like it's something out a Saturday Morning Cartoon thanks to its goofy tone, lush visuals, and over-the-top action. It's not perfect, but it'll provide you with an incredible amount of bang for your buck.

This is precisely the sort of game I'll bust out every time I find myself on a long flight: it's addictive, challenging without even a whiff of frustration, and packed to the brim with content. I honestly have no complaints about Pushmo, and fully believe that unless you are deeply offended by baby-rescuing sumo wrestlers or block puzzles somehow killed your firstborn, you should download it immediately.

In creating such an enormous experience you'll need to devote a huge swath of your life to it, and yet it does remarkably little to make that moment to moment grind even moderately fresh. This is a must play for fans of Star Wars who want a traditional MMO experience with high production values and a lot of spoken dialogue. If you're looking for an innovative MMO set in the Star Wars universe, you will likely be disappointed.