Makes me feel like a graceful performance artist, a skillful sorcerer, and a master musician all at once.

For better or worse, Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition is not that much different from your standard issue Game of the Year Edition. That is to say, you'll be treated one of the best open world crime adventures in recent years, and the game still looks great, if not dramatically different on its new hardware.

Falling Skies picked a fun, unique genre to hitch its wagon to, but it's woefully behind the curve. There’s not enough of the television series in it to make it interesting, and frequent strategists will breeze through it in a weekend. The end result is a game without an audience.

Regardless of comparisons, TRI: Of Friendship and Madness is a fantastically executed return to the well of first-person spatial tinkering.

Come to Short Peace for the variety of content, stay for the imaginative and masterful animation, but leave Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day at the door unless you're in desperate need of something to pass the time.

A game made by game developers, for game developers, featuring humour that only game developers are likely to fully appreciate.

Costume Quest 2 retains the child-like irreverence and genuine heart that make it a game worth becoming something like your favorite Halloween movie: an experience to revisit every holiday.

After an ambitious start and far too much repetition, the magic is drained from Reveria and, in the end, all you’re left with is the mundane.

Elpis is a beautiful place to behold, yet with its deep craters and creepy multi-eyed extraterrestrials it feels like a hostile and alien world.

No, it never reaches the furthest edges of space, but Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel still offers some the best of what the series has to offer: good loot, good laughs, and good times for many hours.

Repetition and a lackluster story are its biggest shortcomings, but Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is different enough to separate itself from the shadows of its older siblings.

It is a masterclass in pure, unadulterated action-game design, where its insane eye-popping visuals meld effortlessly with some of the sharpest, most joyful combat to have ever graced a video game.

Each new game in Endless Legend feels different and exciting thanks to its well-crafted factions and earliest uncertain moments, but those initial distinctive stories begin to meld at some point therein, becoming the same experience. Yet it's hard not to look at the experience as something very special.

I could never call it good, or imaginative, or varied. I can see through its obvious attempts to appeal to my most primitive impulses. But I can also say that Ryse succeeds in tickling your brain stem even when you know your time is better spent. I don't believe, however, that it deserves congratulations for having done it.

By conforming to the mold of most Dark Souls II bosses, Crown of the Ivory King offer comfort in providing much of what you expect.

Crown of the Ivory King is a melancholic victory lap in the only way a Dark Souls game can present a finale.

The lethal and regal presence of the king's phantomlike tigers makes for a welcome change of pace.

You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that this is one of the best adventures of the year, or that the game is continuing to make a good case that this series needs to be recognized as one of the best adventure franchises of all time.

2K Sports took significant technical strides with last year’s NBA release, but it’s the reinvented movement system and improved physics that make 2K15 such a success.

Battling for space and effectively using a screen to set up a wide-open jumper is superbly satisfying, and while it can be a struggle to keep up on defense, the interaction between all 10 men on the court at any time has never looked or felt this real.

In some ways Styx feels like a stealth game from an earlier era, but one that's more dated then vintage. It tries to pick up a few tricks from more modern games in the genre, but much of its core wouldn't have been out of place alongside the earlier Tenchu or Metal Gear Solid games.

Driveclub is ordinary menus and ordinary races, standard time trials, and a few drift events. Driveclub is bland social competition. Driveclub is the fear of risks and the embrace of the ordinary.

Taken as a whole, however, P4AU is a great package. The fighting is solid, there's a lot to keep you occupied in both single-player and multiplayer modes, and the new characters and additions refine a game that was already impressive to begin with.

The real miracle here is that the game communicates its gut-wrenching horror without a single drop of blood, yet still belongs in the upper echelon of horror games.

Horizon 2 is about careening into the sunset while Beethoven symphonies blast from your speakers, as if you might leap off the edge of the Earth and straight into the arms of God.

It's the endless meandering in between that proves troublesome, much of it intended to build tension, but most of it falling victim to a neverending sameness. I say neverending, but in reality, Alien: Isolation limps to its frustrating ending after many hours more than it can support.

This is four hours' worth of a great idea stretched into 14-plus hours of messy stealth gameplay, creaky video game cliches, and limp exploration.

Alien: Isolation provides us a glimpse into a future that holds the Alien game you've always wanted. It is not, however, the vessel that carries you there.

Stronghold Crusader 2 understands the art of the troop blob, but that alone doesn't make it a good game. Its lack of interesting units, underdeveloped castle-building options, and terrible tutorials hold the game back. Blob warfare is still fun, and directing an army never gets old. But man cannot live on blob alone.

When systems reach a certain level of complexity, they start prompting greater expectations. Why can't you set rally points to automatically ferry your newly produced units where you need them? Why can't you specify hotkeys for fleets or production centers? Why does everything need to be clicked in order to see what it's doing?

A game that seems stuck in an uncomfortable middle ground, harboring more intricacy and challenge than the Gauntlet pedigree implies, but too bare-bones of a package to stand tall next to the action role-playing games currently competing for your time.

A stirring tale that walks a fine line between the human and the supernatural. As the layers begin to peel back, what you'll find is a story told with a level of cleverness and elegance rarely seen in games. It confirms the feeling you had from the first breathtaking view; when you enter into Red Creek Valley, you're in for something special.

I'd still crown Super Meat Boy king of this genre, but thanks to inspired mechanics, variety-packed pacing, and satisfyingly steep challenges, Fenix Rage can proudly stand next to its protein-packed inspiration.

Bad Blood is the furthest thing from a collection of repurposed missions with a character reskin.

Bad Blood introduces new mechanics that fit snugly within an already fully-featured world. It's these qualities that make Bad Blood an essential purchase for Watch Dogs fans.

It's not that your time with Kraven Manor won't be well spent. There's fun to be had and there are scary things to jump at, but this short adventure comes up shy of other great first-person horror games from recent years.

I found so much raw joy in my time with Super Smash Bros. 3DS. And even though I played to the point where I was literally in pain, I didn't have to keep playing Smash Bros. 3DS. I wanted to.

Easy comparisons aside, this is a great game in its own right, narratively disjointed but mechanically sound, made up of excellent parts pieced together in excellent ways.

Regardless of how you derive your enjoyment, Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition has countless hours of it, whether you explore its lands alone or alongside some good friends.

In many ways, though, Wasteland 2 represents everything about classic computer role-playing games that the modern iterations of Fallout aren't.

If you're looking for football that is exciting, exaggerated, and immensely entertaining, FIFA 15 is the game to get.

Unfortunately, most of Natural Doctrine's greatest challenges to your patience don't arise from a fair and balanced battle system, but from the game's failure to adhere to comprehensible logic.

D4 is insanity distilled into adventure-game form, more self-consciously wacky than another Swery game, Deadly Premonition, but more human, too.

Cannon Brawl is interesting enough to enjoy in small doses, but it wears out its welcome once you realize its efforts to inject a little variety into the proceedings only go skin deep. If you can find a few friends at a similar skill level to challenge, you'll likely enjoy several hours of strategy mayhem. Otherwise, you're better off in another castle.

Roundabout works well as a short chunk of oddbeat humor and arcade-like gameplay. It's unapologetic in its goofiness, and it tells a fun story on top of its relatively unique gameplay. Sure, you can draw comparisons to the games that inspired it, but when was the last time you played an absurdist 1970s limousine game that was this much fun?

It takes time and actual, honest-to-goodness skill to make anything remotely playable, which makes the new additions to Toy Box in 2.0 extremely welcome ones.

Aside from introducing many Legend of Zelda fans to the Warriors franchise, Hyrule Warriors adds little innovation to Koei’s megaseries as a whole, but nevertheless brings an undeniable spark ignited by the crossover cast itself.

While Lichdom makes a strong case for a shorter game, it also makes the case for another Lichdom game. If there is any game this year deserving of a sequel, it’s this one.

Despite my distaste for all the hand-holding, Murasaki Baby's mesmerizing art style and strong emotional backbone left me too invested to let go.

I was expecting to simply giggle at a nonsensical game in which I tried to woo feathered men, and what I received instead was wholly and wonderfully unexpected. Anyone with a taste for the unusual would do well to enjoy the company of these fetching fowl.

A multiplayer shooter that cobbles together elements of massively multiplayer games but overlooks the lessons developers of such games learned many years ago.

Destiny prefers telling the same stories time and time again, hoping to transfix you with its rinse-and-repeat pace and ply you with the possibility of better loot, rather than with gameplay diversity that intimates surprises hovering on the horizon.

It's hard to imagine fans of Final Fantasy not leaping at the chance to reconnect with their memories and some of the most beautiful music from the history of Final Fantasy, and playing Curtain Call is the perfect way to do so.

The Sims 4's biggest problem is that The Sims 3 exists, and describing where it stumbles by necessity means looking at where the series has been. This is a lovely and lively game that elicits constant smirks, but The Sims 4's moments never feel like part of a bigger picture.

The gameplay isn't so much better that it offsets what has been lost. The only way that EA could further annoy hockey fans with this game would be if the company had Gary Bettman personally deliver every copy.

Plot is more of a protracted errand through drab, gray streets that are a chore to navigate.

Rather than beef up the feature list, Harmonix has taken the opposite approach: it's slimmed down the game, offered way more value, and removed the obstacles between you and just getting out there and dancing. It's a different take on Dance Central, but the party is just as fun as ever.

Despite its artistic aptitude, The Last Tinker lacks identity. The combat is remedial, the platforming is robotic, and the puzzles are little more than frustrating roadblocks that fail to mystify.

Velocity 2X is interactive poetry. All of its pieces, all of its movements, all of its systems and mechanics flow seamlessly into and out of one another to create a constant tone of movement and a feeling of endless flow.

Although the main mission path isn't difficult to finish, completing Gunvolt's optional trials and seeing everything through to the end will challenge and please even the most hardened veteran looking for a fresh, Mega Man-like experience.

The settings of Crown of the Old Iron King are both fantastical and relatable, but nowhere near practical. Gigantic suits of armor hang inexplicably under elevator platforms, hinting that humans10 times normal size once protected Drangleic.

What is noteworthy about Crown of the Old Iron King is how it conveys a deep sense history without the help of a flashback.

This messy ending is an appropriate way to wrap a season that evolved into a morality play loaded with grim, philosophical musings about what it means to be a human being, whether you're struggling to survive in a zombie apocalypse or simply learning how to get by in the real world.

Deficiencies in the passing game along with technical hiccups stemming from the game's often-comical physics still exist, but Madden 15's few missteps do little to detract from an otherwise strong outing.

The feature set remains fundamentally unchanged, but each of the core modes have increased in breadth and decreased in clutter, making it easy to dig into features that might have seemed too dense from a distance. Madden 15 looks sharper than ever, but its biggest achievement is its dedication to improving core systems that have held the series back in the past.

It's hard to invest in lore that's so inextricably tied to the grind of missions or side-quests, hard to suspend your awareness of that grind when you're awash in constant pitches for boosters and special unlocks.

Given Second Son's greatness, I had hoped for something more than a time-waster, but this Infamous has no bite.

Danganronpa 2 is a simultaneously terrifying, uplifting, painful, thoughtful, funny, and heartbreaking delight. Anyone who cherishes engaging stories, unique gameplay experiences, and great characterization would do well to invest themselves in this series.

The Golf Club falls short of the green in its current state. There is a tremendous amount of potential here, and the game is immensely satisfying at times due to the demanding nature of the simulation and the wide variety of courses available to play. Off-kilter swing mechanics and noteworthy performance problems have to be addressed, but this is a game to watch.

It would be a shame if Duel of Champions' lack of innovation caused it to slip through the cracks, because though it's stuck in the familiar, its commitment to making card games feel more epic is both fun and commendable.

It's unashamed of its roots, sometimes to a fault, but as an attempt to recreate a classic it succeeds far more than it falters. It doesn't do anything that would make the Shadowgate name as revolutionary as it once was, but it's an enjoyable adventure for old admirers and newcomers alike.

It might be short, but I enjoyed almost every minute of my time with CounterSpy. The movement and gunplay are smooth and responsive, and the lovingly crafted presentation remains stunning throughout. This is a stealth game that makes you feel as silent as you are deadly, and is wonderfully, wholly refreshing.

Here's the thing: lack of accuracy in the controls is the whole point of Surgeon Simulator. That is the joke. However, when it comes to the difference between fun and frustrating, it's a matter of degrees. Playing Surgeon Simulator on PS4 is like listening to someone stumble through the telling of what could have been a hilarious wisecrack.

Akiba's Trip has a bizarre concept that might turn a few heads, but once you strip away the promiscuity, there's little left to keep your attention.

An excellent tour through the best and worst of a society in ruins.

It's that ebb and flow, that movement in and out of danger, and the panic you feel when danger finds you even when you think you should be most at peace, that makes Metro Redux such an excellent tour through the best and worst of a society in ruins.

This compilation is about a place. It's a place where you can hear the laughter of children long since dead, and the screams of aircraft passengers moments before their incineration. It's a place where you must fear both the hideous mutants that prowl as well as humankind--and yet it's only with humankind that you might find safety.

Even if you don't fall in love with Path to Thalamus, I suspect you won't be fully immune to its gravity.

Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition feels like the happy conclusion of a two-year public beta, with the initial purchasers on PC bearing much of the grief with the auction house and the slow pace to reach level 60.

It's just a shame that some newcomers won't appreciate what the early adopters went through to make the fantastic game it is today.

Risen 3: Titan Lords is not the studio's grandest gesture, but the tendrils of this fantasy saga still grab you. The glitches and irritations poke at your patience, but the promise of buried treasure on a distant beach still compels you. Risen 3 has the potential to sweep you away, provided all that driftwood doesn't keep you at shore.

It’s easy to get lost in Hohokum’s enchanting scenes, but it’s just as easy to come crashing back down to Earth when you lose your way.

Sacred 3's primary primary flaw is that it's so easy to forget. It contains too little of what you look for in an action-first RPG, and distances itself it so far from its two predecessors that there is no meaningful connection left between the games besides the name and the setting. And that, as you can see from this example, doesn't mean much.

It's still great fun, particularly in short bursts, but it's hard to justify plunking down extra cash for Wii Sports Club.

Halfway's environments, writing, and musical score convey a sense of quiet perseverance, but the gameplay doesn't communicate that feeling as clearly as it should.

Metrico looks and sounds the part of a critical darling, but laborious controls and empty narrative agency mar this chromatic trip.

Road Not Taken is an ambitious endeavor, a substantial puzzle adventure with that special something that keeps you returning for yet another trek through the harsh wilds. It's sometimes too unforgiving for its own good, but the urge to travel along another path is difficult to resist.

Duels of the Planeswalkers 2015 gives players what they've wanted for a long time by implementing deckbuilding, but it doesn't excuse the bare-bones package and needless extra monetization.

It's almost unfair to compare Rogue Legacy to other games that emphasize permanent death. It doesn't have the secrets of Spelunky and it's more predictable than The Binding of Isaac, yet at the end of every game comes a desire to hop right back in, spend your gold on some upgrades and rack up more monster kills, something the game encourages with a challenging new-game-plus option that appears after the credits roll.

Buggy behavior and clunky locomotion make it a mechanical failure, leaving the story and themes to make good where gameplay could not. Alas, irredeemable characters and loathsome dialogue aren't appropriate pillars upon which to erect a substantial tale.

Gods Will Be Watching was close to being a must-have puzzler, but it's doubtful that even the gods would have the patience to see it through to the bitter end.

The game's insistence on mixing things up makes it joyful throughout. Siesta Fiesta may not keep you coming back when it's over, but it's a lot of fun while it lasts.

The Last of Us is a great action game that you should play if you haven't already. And if you have played it before, the improvements here aren't so dramatic as to make the game feel like a new experience, but it is definitely one worth revisiting. In the world of The Last of Us, as in our own world, love might destroy you, but it's also one of the only things worth fighting for.

This is one of those cases where familiarity and excellence peacefully coexist, and that approach tends to work well whether you're singing about vanished rock stars or gaming with creatures of the night.

Crown of the Sunken King's standout exploratory design and abundance of engaging enemy encounters make it a terrific adventure, though a hair short of being essential. Equally significant is that it succeeds at raising the stakes for the next installment.

Crown of the Sunken King's standout exploratory design and abundance of engaging enemy encounters make it a terrific adventure, though a hair short of being essential. Equally significant is that it succeeds at raising the stakes for the next installment.

Despite the ads, and occasional frustrations from the fiddly analogue movement, this is a remake that feels as though it was crafted with love and respect.

Super Comboman is severely flawed, but buried beneath controller-snapping frustration is a game that with some control tweaks, less lag, and some bug fixes could have been enjoyable. Sadly, in addition to its numerous deficiencies, it is riddled with annoying bugs that keep the camera from focusing on you or that prevent your character sprite from loading at all, though to the developer's credit, patches have been frequent.