FIFA 12 isn't perfect; the franchise still has some work to do in the AI department and the new physics model, which is a significant leap forward, needs its kinks worked out. However, this is the future of the series and you can see how it's taking shape. Despite its shortcomings it's absolutely worth the upgrade if you are coming in from FIFA 11.

All told it’s a compelling package that makes NHL 10 an outstanding upgrade over NHL 09 and it’s hard to ask for much more than that from a yearly sports release.

The control of the Hulk is a love/hate relationship.

Gameplay is definitely the most fun and/or frustrating I’ve had with Madden in sometime. When everything works, it is an awesome experience. On the other hand, when you are trying to think what motion you have to do with the Wii mote to hurdle, and you do the wrong move, it can be frustrating.

Grab your sense of humor and your plastic axe and give Lego Rock Band a try.

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.

A worthy successor to the Phoenix Wright series, even if the first outing seems a little too eager to hold on to the characters from its predecessor.

What you will find though, is a very engaging and flexible method of combat unlike anything you're playing right now. I know I was doubtful when I first heard of the game, but if you're looking for something that lights a new fire under the RPGs of old, put your doubts aside and give Battle Slots a try.

Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy is a challenging, quality adventure game.

The new Colonization walks the fine line between mod, expansion and remake.

There is definitely value to be had in Midway’s Ultimate Mortal Kombat for the Nintendo DS. While it doesn’t bring anything new to the table, the tried and true gameplay works very nicely on the handheld and is a great pick up and play game for those times when you’re waiting for the bus to pick you up or have 15 to 30 minutes to kill.

If you want a deep strategy game, this is certainly not what you want to play. Spore is more diversion than obsession.

The game isn't going to bowl you over with its presentation or provide a casual games revolution, but it will give you plenty of fun games to goof around with, and possibly an excuse to get take-out for dinner.

It is an easy game to hop into and play, so people of all ages can join in.

Rush for Berlin has some of the best sound effects in any wargame to date.

Overall, Section 8: Prejudice is quite the surprise. This is a lot of game for 1200 MS Points. TimeGate is promising that it plans to release further DLC on an "aggressive" schedule, but in the meantime get some friends together, hop online, and start blasting.

Even with its repetitiveness and awkward camera angles, Devil May Cry 4 provides a solid addition to the series and even towards the end, with its descent into a puddle of annoyance, the game features some exceptional gameplay and cinematics.

A pretty impressive strategy builder and while it doesn't surpass Glory of the Roman Empire's ease of use or CivCity: Rome's good looks, it does offer the most robust city building components of the three.

This is a $20 "budget" game, about as low as retail DS games go, and it's as flawless as any "match three" puzzler as I've played, so it gets my recommendation.

The new “player weapons” feature is just a gimmick.

Still, there's more to life than money and the interesting firefights, further fleshing out of the Mass Effect universe and satisfying emotional resolution to Liara's story is reward enough and acts as a fitting epilogue to Mass Effect 2.

FIFA 09 has two interesting features, and while they don’t always live up to their full potential, are exciting and intriguing enough to warrant giving the game a shot.

The only thing I could find wrong with it was the occasional issue with the camera, not allowing you to fully rotate it. The storyline is fun, even though it is lovey dovey.

Lost Planet is great because of the sum of its parts and for serving up action that is paced perfectly and a lot of fun.

Packed with so much stuff to see and kill, Borderlands offers plenty of things to aim your spiffy new weapons at, all the while providing one of the best co-op experiences of the year.

Zuma is another Xbox Live Arcade game that is highly recommended. It’s only $10, and you’ll make that back quickly with the amount of time you spend with it.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon turned out to be quite a nice surprise considering that I didn't have very high expectations for it and it wasn't exactly on my radar this jam-packed Fall release season.

In spite of the clunky control, it's still very easy to use, and the action is slow enough to allow you plenty of time to scheme.

I’m still a bit miffed at the lack of any Slaaneshi units for the Chaos side and that the campaign still has those annoying boss fights, but Chaos Rising is a worthy expansion to Dawn of War II all the same because, really, Warhammer without Chaos is sort of like Star Wars without the Emperor or Middle-earth without Sauron or the NFL without the Steelers.

The minigames are a blast although the replay value probably dies off once you have won the World Tour.

Undeniably charming. Technically, it's not the best role-playing game on the market but it is loaded so much personality that its problems melt away underneath a blanket of just plain fun.

While it does lack some of the polish of Nintendo's best, Sonic Colors is very, very good and offers enough truly unique features to sit at the table and hold its own. Welcome back, Sonic – we've missed you.

While it risks being overlooked due to some of the series' less than stellar versions, Super Monkey Ball plays like a dream on Nintendo's latest handheld. It's a true return to form for AiAi and the bunch, and one of the best uses of 3D I've seen yet on the system.

Pikmin virgins and curious Wii owners should definitely take a look at this quirky, satisfying little game, especially if they have a craving for something a bit different. Vets will probably be fine with their dusty GC copies, but this is certainly a game worth experiencing, in its old or waggle-enhanced form.

Even with its quirks and bugs, NFL Head Coach 09 is the type of game that will silently siphon away hours of your free time. Sitting down at night after the family has gone to bed to get in an hour or so of game time only to discover that all of a sudden it’s the middle of the night and your eyes are straining.

The true value of this release is how it represents another glorious step forward for the ongoing lean towards of co-operative gaming in the industry. In that sense, it's a huge success.

You will find destroying environments very satisfying, as well as the enemies. The storyline is fantastic and true to the Marvel world.

DJ Hero will only give you a glimpse into the realities of mixing and scratching, with some of the coolest mash-ups I’ve ever heard to entertain along the way.

Grab your sense of humor and your plastic axe and give Lego Rock Band a try.

No matter how you slice it, though, UFC Undisputed 2010 is another blissful, brilliant recreation of the sport.

Yes the controls can be imprecise and some may balk at the unfriendly save system but the colors, the whimsy and the style keep things entertaining. Most importantly, the game is just plain fun. Oozing with style and Day-Glo colored antics, de Blob takes platforming and transforms it with a beautiful new coat of paint.

Everything flows from turn to turn, and the objectives are nicely outlined. The characters are quite unique which allows you to have free rein over the level of strategy you wish to use to conquer your opponents.

All things considered, this is a Final Fantasy game that expects you to pray at the altar of grind. 4 Heroes embraces the goddess of grind unapologetically, but throws in enough changes to the system to create something that's worth experiencing.

The AI could use a little boost, but the design itself is rock solid. Giant robots are cool again.

Soul Calibur IV is one of the best fighters currently available on the PS3 and is certainly the best weapons fighter. The core fighting system is still there and the additions of online play and the Character Creation mechanic really bring more fun to the game as a whole.

In so many ways, this feels like a return to the simple, all-ages fun that the older Mario Kart games offered. It’s totally satisfying, challenging (though never frustrating) and completely ridiculous in the best way.

It's not as consistently awesome as Shadow Broker, but that's ok – The Arrival more than does its part in setting the stage for a killer third installment of the series.

If you haven’t taken to the Age of Empires series, Asian Dynasties won’t be different enough to change your mind. But it’s nice Eastern breeze for veterans and dabblers alike.

Assassin’s Creed 2 isn’t perfect – the controls continue to requite a bit more fine tuning but it’s also impossible to deny that the sequel improves upon the original in almost every conceivable way.

Free form exploring obviously has it's advantages, but the real meat of the game revolves around these boss missions that net you new biometals, and these biometals not only give you a wide variety of new powers but also a fresh new look.

It’s unfair to criticize the game too much for being just a Souped Up World Cup version of FIFA 10. It’s really more than that. Yes, you can make the argument that dropping 120 bucks for two similar soccer games in a six month stretch is asking a tad much, but when the actual World Cup starts play in June and you want to get in on the act you’re going to want a copy of this game—and EA Sports knows it.

An excellent game that I honestly don't think could have been any better.

A refreshing change from the well-worn gameplay Koei has become famous for, and the epic battles provide a satisfying fix for loyal fans of the genre.

Even with its quirks and bugs, NFL Head Coach 09 is the type of game that will silently siphon away hours of your free time. Sitting down at night after the family has gone to bed to get in an hour or so of game time only to discover that all of a sudden it’s the middle of the night and your eyes are straining.

“Easy to pick up but hard to put down” has become a trite phrase but it fits Picross DS perfectly. It’s hard to believe that such a fun and puzzle packed game only costs 20 bucks, especially when many “next gen” games clock in at three times the price with barely as much content.

A decent collectible card game that can be picked up by players of all stripes in a relatively short amount of time. The game’s mechanics as they relate to the eye itself can be clunky at times but the overall experience is a lot of fun online, against the game’s AI and especially against friends who want to have a traditional sit down battle.

NBA Live 10 can easily stand toe to toe with NBA 2K10, a franchise that now no longer holds complete sway over the genre. The flow of the games, the resourcefulness of the AI, and the immersion factor provided from the fantastically dynamic crowd, all serve to make this an absolutely worthwhile pickup.

The online-focus and lack of plot are sure to rub some people the wrong way, but FPS-fans and zombie aficionados have never played anything quite like Left 4 Dead. It is a near-perfect mixture of decayed ambiance and relentless pacing that pushes the boundaries of sanity to the breaking point.

Even with some missing features that longtime sport gamers have become accustomed to and some notable flaws in the gameplay balance on the field, nothing stops the pure fun factor of playing All Pro Football 2K8 from shining through. Here’s hoping we see the continuation of this series.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

One of the best “pick up and play” renditions of a 4X space strategy title I’ve seen to date, and with the possibility of third-party mods opening up and even an expansion pack, I’m looking forward to seeing that the future brings for this interesting title.

Just about everything in the Hulk can be destroyed and just about everything you can find can be used as a weapon.

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.

Fight Night Round 4 provides exactly what I wanted - with only a few caveats. The training could be better. The load times could be shorter. The “lucky punch” could be adjusted. However, those are relatively minor points in an overall good, solid boxing game.

The action-centric gameplay is as intense, over the top, and engaging as any John Woo work should be, and combined with the visuals of the Unreal 3 engine the game is essentially a next-gen Max Payne.

The game is also disappointingly a little on the short side, and a dedicated player could probably blast through the game’s missions (of which there are less than 20) in a good day of playing – it’s primarily in the unlockables and different avenues of play which give the game any semblance of staying power.

There’s little doubt that Prinny is good old-fashioned frustrating fun, with loads of replayability granted by its six difficulty levels packing myriad trinkets to be picked up along the way.

Patapon is a bargain for the price. It’s a fun game that combines many genres into one package and is a great reason to dust off the PSP and start playing again – just make sure you have headphones.

An incredibly enjoyable game. Cute, almost overwhelming in its depth, and bursting at the seams with value, Disgaea 3 once again demonstrates the care NIS America takes in catering to its gamers.

Sure, there's still plenty of room to cram more into the game (I'd love to see some kind of proper multiplayer support), but as it stands, this expansion pack is definitely worth the purchase.

Space Bust-a-Move doesn’t significantly improve upon its classic arcade predecessor, but there’s nothing wrong with that. It offers the same intense, fast-paced gameplay that we all know and love from Bust-a-Move, except that it’s in an outer space setting.

As Pokemon games go, it's definitely the most polished version yet and the new additions all add up to make the overall experience even more enjoyable.

Madballs in Babo's weapons offer a lot of variety and are the main source of fun in the game.

With a story that’s worth replaying, a cast of characters that are both fun and unique, and a skill/battle system that just begs to be used and abused, it’s easy to see why the original PS1 version is still heralded to this day.

You've seen these gimmicks in other games, so it's ultimately a familiar grammar involving water, gravity, light beams, and so forth. The charm comes from the execution and the funky artwork.

It plays fast, has good AI and best of all there is no clean up.

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.

This is a good game. It’s a really good game. It’s only failing is that it has a mark of greatness upon it and, ever so cruelly, fails to completely achieve it.

Both “x-treme” racing fans and racing aficionados alike will find something to enjoy, making it the possible Great Uniter of racing videogames.

Battlefield: Bad Company provides some fantastic gameplay on and offline and features some of the best audio of any game in recent memory.

If you've already played Disgaea 2 and abused the Magichange system of Disgaea 3 for all it's worth, the handful of bonus content is probably not enough to do it all over again. However, if you haven't sunk 200 hours into your elite team of Prinnies, or won’t dry heave at the thought of another geo panel puzzle, Disgaea 2 is probably the perfect portable SRPG.

A solid and slick fighting game that beat 'em up fans and Dragon Ball z anime fanatics will love. There are a lot of small improvements (like the ability to jump into Super Saiyan mode more easily) to look forward and a ton of gameplay and extras to keep players occupied for a very long time.

This is easily worth the $30, especially if you happen to have friends over on a regular basis.

Despite a few frustrations, this is a fantastic basketball game with enough variety to keep each game fresh and enough replay value to keep it in the rotation for many months to come.

FIFA 09 has two interesting features, and while they don’t always live up to their full potential, are exciting and intriguing enough to warrant giving the game a shot.

As archaic and sadistic as The Dark Spire will surely seem to gamers raised on the post-FFVII world of Square Enix, it is proof that luscious graphics and orchestral scores will never oust the foundations of solid, old-fashioned gameplay.

For the most part, those who've played either Assassin's Creed II or Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will know what they're getting. Revelations does very little to change Ubisoft's golden goose and in this case that's mostly a good thing.

Unlike many racing games, it doesn't feel repetitive. It feels as though you're always doing something new.

When it comes down to it, Opposing Fronts delivers much of what the original did just remixed. The pair of lengthy single player campaigns and full multiplayer options makes it as valuable as the first game. Slight balance issues comes with the addition of the British and Panzer Elite factions, although it comes with the benefit of having access to two inventive new strategic styles.

Turn based gaming on the 360 is rare, but hopefully Allied Assault finds its niche with gamers looking for yet one more way to win World War II.

Ultimately, the biggest problem with Portal 2 is Portal 1, which was a lean mean meme machine driven by one of videogaming's most unforgettable characters. So when the sequel has a minor negative space problem, and closes with a credit sequence that I can't hum for the life of me, is Portal 2 ever so slightly disappointing, or was Portal 1 just flat-out ingenious? I suspect a little of both. But with this much awesome Stephen Merchant, and with my status as a frickin' genius puzzle solver reaffirmed, and with a unique co-op experience, it's like complaining that I was promised the moon and the stars, but I only got the moon.

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.

The finest NHL game EA Sports has ever produced.

Although platforming may not be the key gameplay mechanic here as it was in previous games, Rare has obviously grown with the current state of gaming and brought a breath of fresh air to the genre as a whole with the whole vehicle system.

It's a little small, and most of it is available individually through XBLA or Steam, but what's here is gold.

I defy any gamer with even a modicum of affection for Star Wars or LEGO to play this game and not have a good time with a big grin on his face.

One of the best games this year for the PSP and one of the only solid RPG experiences out there right now.

True to its predecessor, Zuma's Revenge is overall an entertaining game.