Batman: Arkham City is the best superhero game ever produced and it's a title well earned. It manages to capture the very essence of The Dark Knight and transform not just him, but his entire world into a playable experience.

Dungeon Defenders has a vibrant, cartoony look and feel while providing an addictive and solid tower defense gaming experience. Reinventing tower defense is a tough chore but Dungeon Defenders manages to pull it off.

But if you're doing just fine with non-Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and you can live without Ghost Rider, Nemesis, and Vergil, then I wouldn't recommend this for purchase at all. Hardcore fans and competitive players will likely feel that they need to own it and that's understandable, but they're on the short end of the stick as well. I love the game, I love the new characters but this is the kind of iterative nonsense that should not be rewarded with consumer dollars.

Need for Speed: The Run is a true black sheep trying desperately to fit in with its siblings, but simultaneously getting so much so very wrong.

Say what you will about the 2005 Spielberg film adaptation turning the invasion literature into an explosive action romp, it probably would have been a better starting point for the game adaptation. Then again, maybe this is a project that should never have got off the ground to begin with; after all, some pages are better left unturned.

But if you're doing just fine with non-Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and you can live without Ghost Rider, Nemesis, and Vergil, then I wouldn't recommend this for purchase at all. Hardcore fans and competitive players will likely feel that they need to own it and that's understandable, but they're on the short end of the stick as well.

It's still an important and hugely influential game and it should probably be played by anyone interested in first-person shooters. But unless you're part of the generation of gamers that are now in their 20s and you're looking to recapture your Halo heydays, this is definitely most gamers can skip even at its budget $40 retail price.

3D is used to good effect in some puzzles, but the same effect could be had by staring at a lamp and walking around it, furtively searching for hidden messages before finally quitting and seeing if there's any pie in the house.

Overall, the entertainment is there, but usability is lacking.

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.

Once you're finished, something that should only take about five hours, you can unlock the super hard Ragnorak mode, and maybe then your thirst for challenge will be sated, but at that point, why bother? There may be more moves to unlock and different costumes to flit about in, but by then you've seen all there is to see and honestly, hitting a giant with a hammer is only so interesting, regardless of how many different ways you can swing it.

There's nothing to complain about aside from the plain visuals (the up-rez helps, but it also serves to show how visually spartan the Wii game had to be to run so well on the hardware). This was a very good game last year, and it still holds up, despite not being the truly impressive achievement that it was on the Wii. There's no need to re-buy if you have already experienced it, but if not, this is a solid reboot of a true classic.

After communicating with the development team, they seem very attentive and are actively patching the game. So maybe in the near future the above-mentioned problems won't be an issue. Until that time, I can't recommend picking this one up. If the news of the HD release has got you itching for MDK2 again, think about hunting down a copy of the original.

In the last couple of years, Nintendo has absolutely spoiled me (and other platformer fans) with amazing 2D games. While this year's crop cannot compare to Christmas 2010's unbeatable combo of Epic Yarn and Donkey Kong Country Returns, Return to Dreamland more than holds its own in a crowded arena. This is exactly what you look for in a Kirby game – and I know I'll be hopelessly addicted to it well into the new year.

If Sega had spent some more time creating content for the game or giving its mechanics an overhaul, there'd be something here for new players to sink their teeth into. As it is, this is one of those titles that will likely only be appeal to folks looking for a quick drive down Nostalgia Lane.

There is not, however, any real drive or immediacy to the gameplay that you'll actually want to take Ultimate Tenkaichi up on its generous offer of playtime.

As it stands, if you want to get a swimming workout, take my advice and go sign up at a local YMCA instead.

The biggest problem with Modern Warfare 3 is that it doesn't surprise, aside from the fact that there's more for the solo player to do than you might expect. It feels very safe, which is understandable given the budget and its sales expectations-as well as the rabid fan base that doesn't necessarily want innovation.

Given a little time, Tropico 4 proves itself an excellent strategy title, which makes it a rare gem on the 360. It's not the perfect port of a PC game to the console, but if you can slog your way through clunky controls and a somewhat steep learning curve, it provides an incredibly deep, rewarding experience.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a remarkable achievement that despite from a few niggling bugs is an undertaking unlike any other. This could quite easily be the only game you purchase for the next several months and still provide you with a complete sense of satisfaction. There are few titles that offer such an incredible level of value without resorting to multiplayer and for that I applaud Bethesda. Skyrim is a role-playing masterpiece.

Volition has done an excellent job of giving you a place to play and toys to play with, so grab a partner, an SMG, and start making your own stories.

I know that it sounds like I'm giving you two very different pieces of advice, and I am, but it's not as duplicitous as it sounds. House of the Dead: Overkill is a great game that you should play. If you already have, you're not missing anything by skipping the Extended Cut.

Speaking for myself, I'd rather play through Cave Story again five times than have a second run through the tedious and dated Ocarina of Time, and discovering this game's unique world in a new 3D format has been surprisingly rewarding. It may very well be the 3DS' best game to date.

Ultimately, though, it's about the basketball on the court and that's where NBA 2k12 truly shines. It doesn't make any huge leaps from last year's version to this year's -some of the carryover problems are frustrating and it does need more precise control- but that doesn't stop it from being one of the best sports games on the market and a must buy for any NBA fan.

It's simply been done before and done better -- and will probably be revisited again in the future via Kinect or Move.

Uncharted 3 isn't a bad game, there's plenty of visual style and action to be seen, the characters are likeable, and there are a few puzzles that will make you think. The problem is that Uncharted 3 sometimes doesn't feel like a game at all, but a movie I'm watching play out without my participation.

Despite the story in this outing leaving me lukewarm, I'm still interested in seeing where the story takes Layton, Luke and Emmy. Level 5 has done such a great job making the characters so delightful to hang out with, that even a subpar addition by Layton standards still makes for a good puzzle game.

While gamers new to (or averse to) anime style may not enjoy Atelier Totori, the committed JRPG audience will likely be pleased with what the game has to offer. For us JRPG enthusiasts, a good game means beautiful anime-style graphics, expressive musical scores, eccentric characters and dialog and complex gameplay mechanics; despite its somewhat simplified approach to combat, Atelier Totori scores on all points.