You don't have to love the decade of Rubik's Cubes and Pac-Man Fever to get a kick out of Blood Dragon. But if you do, then all the better: this action-packed shooter will strike all the right synth-pop power chords.

Thomas Was Alone humanizes nondescript squares, creating an affecting and satisfying adventure.

In the transition to consoles, sharper controls empower you in ways that the stodgy keyboard wasn't able to, removing the slight frustrations entirely. Furthermore, there's downloadable content for those who don't want this journey to end.

God Mode may not be divine, but it delivers buckets of flawed fun for a few hours.

Dead Island: Riptide might look like an idyllic zombie-fest, but it's little more than a frustrating mess of half-baked ideas and repetitive combat.

And don't try enlisting a few friends for some four-player co-op: it doesn't make the game any more exciting. Sure, having a few friends around makes those hordes disappear a little faster, and there are some extra quests you can take on, but the core experience remains as glacial as ever.

The Redemption's varied missions and new powers are a lot of fun, but the predictable ending is a big disappointment for the series.

Dark Arisen adds some great new content to the excellent Dragon's Dogma, though the new dungeon's unbalanced difficulty turns fun into frustration.

Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine has noticeable problems that keep it from reaching its potential. The appeal of stealth ties in largely to how scared you are of being caught, and because it's so easy to escape in this downloadable game, the tension slowly evaporates.

Surgeon Simulator 2013 is hardly a simulation, but it makes medical malpractice an absolute delight.

The Knife of Dunwall is clever and exciting, an enticing invitation to dive back into the engrossing world of Dishonored.

The Knife of Dunwall ends with an interesting choice (and foreshadows the next planned downloadable chapter in Daud's story), but the real payoff of this DLC is how it takes the cocktail of discovery, exploration, and combat that made Dishonored so delicious, and adds an engaging twist.

The Knife of Dunwall changes protagonists with panache, delivering a compelling new chapter in the Dishonored saga.

Riptide is dumb, and mind-numbingly slow, and somehow manages to make the art of zombie-slaying feel like utter tedium. And if slaying zombies isn't fun in a game that's all about slaying zombies, why bother?

This first-ever English release of Soul Hackers shows its age, but the patient player will find a deep and rewarding experience.

ShootMania Storm's sleek action is an invigorating return to the days of speedy, purely skill-based shooters.

Motocross Madness is an enjoyable feature-packed dirt bike racer with boisterous offline and online components.

Defiance is the B movie of massively multiplayer games: rickety and unrefined, yet a good time all the same.

Much like its own arkfalls, Defiance offers treasure, but you have to battle an array of bugs before you can reap it.

The gameplay of Papo & Yo won't grab you, but its imaginative portrayal of a young boy's struggles makes it a worthwhile and special experience.

Defiance is the B movie of massively multiplayer games: rickety and unrefined, yet a good time all the same.

This high-definition edition of the classic real-time strategy game adds little more than bugs.

Injustice provides a complex fighter with some unique twists, but is found wanting in features that have become commonplace in its contemporaries.

A hard-hitting fighter that plays to the hardcore crowd. Its creative use of background objects coupled with satisfying fighting mechanics make it both fun and distinct from it contemporaries. But for newer players, the minimal instruction modes and disappointing story provide little incentive for your sustained interest. And the absence of replay support is a loss for everyone involved.

Evoland goes through the motions of imitating some great games, but never evolves into a good game itself.

One of the most terrifying games in recent memory.

Issues aside, this inventive, supernatural mash-up is absolutely worth possessing--demonically or otherwise.

The responsive controls and a grin-inducing sense of humor make it near impossible to put down, and the expressive use of color will warm the hearts of even the most cynical among us.

When Terraria sucks you in, you might find yourself digging and crafting for far more hours than you originally intended.

Terraria is just as magical and content-rich on consoles as it is on the PC, although the controls aren't ideal for every situation.

Hatty Hattington and his friends may be living through an absolute nightmare, but you're bound to be so thoroughly entertained that you won't have time to empathize.

What The Infamy promised, The Betrayal fails to deliver due to a glacial pace, repetitive missions, and an inconsistent new power.

It's as cute as a button, but dull, simplistic dungeon exploration drags Gates to Infinity into mediocrity.

It's not quite the smooth, finely tuned speed machine it could have been, but Need for Speed: Most Wanted U is still an exciting racer.

Shattered Haven's inert levels and unwillingness to let you naturally learn obscure its more brilliant moments.

HarmoKnight is the friendliest rhythm platformer around, but its simplicity does not always work to the game's benefit.

The elements that made its predecessors interesting have been all but destroyed, making Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel a functional shooter but little more.

There's nothing here to make a mark: no creativity on display, no clever competitive modes, no sense of accomplishment. There's only a seven-hour campaign, optional missions in which you try to keep the overkill meter consistently replenished, and the knowledge that in a month, you won't remember having played Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel.

A classic case of a game sequel giving you what you need, but not necessarily all you want.

A trip back to golf's past moves Tiger Woods 14 into the future with some great new features, but the core game on the links holds pat.

Alien Spidy's cool momentum-based platforming is both unique and uniquely infuriating.

Starseed Pilgrim makes saving the sky from a virulent blackness an especially rewarding challenge.

It's not zombies you need worry about in the painfully dull The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct.

The whole thing is just so dull and tedious that it captures all the worst qualities of a road trip, but none of the exciting ones.

BioShock Infinite isn't afraid to magnify the way religious and racial extremism inform our culture and change lives. It isn't afraid to depict a less-than-holy trinity diseased by power, deception, and manipulation. As the story circles back on itself, you're left wondering whether redemption cleanses us of our atrocities, or simply invites us to commit greater ones. Once the finale comes, you will want to play again, watching each event and image through the lens of information you can never un-know. BioShock Infinite is more than just a quality game: it's an important one.

A stupendous game, portraying a beautiful and broken city that will absorb your every waking thought.

You'll be haunted by this thematically devastating adventure, and indeed, its phenomenal final minutes, which are bound to be discussed and dissected for some time to come.

For all the shortcomings of WRC Powerslide, nothing stings so much as the absence of a split-screen local multiplayer mode.

Fresh combat and stylish visuals make Vergil's Downfall a fun addition to DmC: Devil May Cry, despite a less-than-stellar story.

A mostly pleasant game marred by the possibility of moments so frustrating, they threaten to overshadow the entire experience. These missteps are all the more disappointing because the better elements of the game are so charming. You may still want to take up the PolterGust 5000 and explore these haunted houses, but be warned: the things lurking in these dark places aren't likely to scare you, but they may well have you seeing red.

Twisted Dreams combines satisfying gameplay with dazzling environments to create a worthy platformer.

The lackluster story is disappointing, but taking control of the Zerg--those nutty world-devouring insectoid-dinosaur hybrids--makes Heart of the Swarm well worth the investment.

It still stands in the shadow of those that came before it, and little flaws like loading hiccups and soft textures underscore the fact that Judgment feels like a lesser achievement. Still, it's a heck of a lot of fun, and if you still enjoy utterly destroying hulking monstrosities with one blast of the sawed-off shotgun, you'll find a lot to like in Gears of War: Judgment.

Rather than resolving what came before it, Awakened simply shrugs its shoulders for a couple hours before throwing another cliff-hanger ending your way. Sure, it still plays perfectly well, with plenty of intense dismemberment and a pleasingly varied selection of necromorph enemies to fend off.

Control issues and a lack of online play hamper what's otherwise an outstanding Monster Hunter game.

It's easily the best Monster Hunter game so far, and while it would be nice to see a console sequel with more up-to-date visuals and all-new locations, Ultimate is an great entry into the Wii U catalog.

Satisfying stealth and shooting make Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 a notable improvement over its predecessor.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2's story and stealth make for a satisfying and entertaining single-player campaign. The frustratingly few-and-far-between checkpoints and MIA multiplayer are disappointments, but this is a worthy sniping experience, especially given the game's budget price.

The frustratingly few-and-far-between checkpoints and MIA multiplayer are disappointments, but this is a worthy sniping experience, especially given the game's budget price. This thoughtfully designed sequel makes good on the promise of its highly flawed predecessor.

Taken as a whole, however, Etrian Odyssey IV is the most impressive and entertaining entry in the series yet. It may be somewhat old-fashioned, but modern sensibilities make it both challenging and welcoming, and rich lore draws you into its world.

Darkstalkers Resurrection combines two fantastic games with an abundance of useful features to make one outstanding collection.

Wizardry Online is jagged around the edges, but manages to pull off a few interesting tricks.

There are bigger, more complex, more beautiful open-world games on the market. But none of them are this good at making you feel so young at heart.

But with its excellent controls, engaging heroine, thrilling combat, and fascinating setting, it doesn't need to. Lara may be covering some previously charted territory here, but Tomb Raider is so well-crafted, you won't mind at all.

An exhilarating action adventure that serves as a terrific origin story for the iconic Lara Croft.

It's understandable that Sony wants to link the two versions of the game every year, but more acknowledgement that these are two different games for two different platforms and even two somewhat different audiences would make the Vita version stand on its own much better.

MLB 2K13 is a complete and utter retread with all the appeal of used chewing gum.

You have to wonder how much time was even spent on prepping this game for release, since 2012 was believed to be the last in the series until a surprise January announcement that the series was back from the dead.

While the game remains challenging, the frustration factor of hitting has been dialed way back, which will draw in new players who want to get good wood on the ball like a real big leaguer.

This game is only for those who care to see Naruto's story continue to play out, and though it has its moments, it doesn't deliver quite the level of excitement you'd hope for from a game bearing the Naruto Shippuden name.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 retains the series' impressive visuals and its accessible combat, but gets bogged down by its focus on storytelling.

Citadel caps off the Mass Effect trilogy with an outrageous storyline that plays exclusively to the series' diehard fandom.

SimCity (the game) isn't the pinnacle of the series, but it's super fun. SimCity (the service) is a disaster. What you get out of the package as a whole rests solely on how many flaming hoops you're willing to jump through before arriving at your just reward.

If a real-time version of Risk on steroids mixed with Diplomacy's double-dealing sounds appealing, then March of the Eagles is well worth picking up.

The troubled real-time strategy dungeon sim Impire fails to recapture the charms of its inspirations.

The multiplayer's a bust, but God of War: Ascension's campaign is a gloriously bloody adventure filled with exhilarating combat.

Artfully blends entrancing music and accessible gameplay to create a joyful experience.

It's a wonderful sensation to lose yourself in this game, whether you are facing down the formidable challenges of The Mounting Sadds or simply going for a breezy run in The Emerald Brine. Runner 2 doesn't just offer you an entertaining experience; it throws its arm around you companionably, ushers you into its whimsical world, and makes you feel like part of something special.

Mirror of Fate is a fun and occasionally challenging action game with successful elements and an unfortunate, but small, selection of poor design choices.

Its unconventional and addictive blend of classic platforming action and basic strategy segments makes every accomplishment more meaningful and every failure more devastating, and the very real possibility that you will fail to vanquish Demonaica raises the stakes enough to make everything more interesting still.

This stand-alone zombie expansion for Sniper Elite V2 can be a lot of fun in 4-player co-op, but the action gets monotonous over time.

Brutal Legend's heavy metal take on real-time strategy makes a solid transition to the PC, though playing with a controller is still the way to go.

Although rage-inducing difficulty spikes exist, The Bridge generally offers a middle path that should appeal both to newcomers and to expert puzzle solvers.

The single-player campaign here is the main attraction, and it is excellent. It doesn't try to rewrite the book on third-person action adventure games. But with its excellent controls, engaging heroine, thrilling combat, and fascinating setting, it doesn't need to.

The fun, challenging Oozi: Earth Adventure loses its charm in a sea of recycled ideas.

As if the lure of an evil founding father weren't enough, The Tyranny of King Washington ups the action with enjoyable new abilities and a stimulating plot.

The visuals may not sing as sweetly on the Xbox 360 as they do on the PC, but it looks marvelous, regardless.

Its attractive visuals make Crysis 3 a pleasure to look at, and the game is plenty of fun, though not up to the high standards of its forebears.

Crysis 3 is stunning to look at, successfully portraying an uneasy partnership of the natural and the artificial. As the story presses on, the conflict deepens and the visuals darken; it's as if you can feel the evil spreading throughout the city. As a piece of technology, Crysis 3 lives up to the series' legacy. As a game, it doesn't reach the same heights.

Revengeance is ultimately a departure from the old way of doing things. Almost every scenario demands conflict rather than silent infiltration, and instead of conforming to his environment, Raiden can transform it in a matter of seconds.

The story may not wow you with its political trappings, but Raiden's transformation and the gameplay that springs from it are the most alluring reasons to give him another shot as the leading man. If you're even vaguely interested in the Metal Gear series or intelligent hack and slash games, do not pass up a chance to play this exciting and addicting hybrid.

Above all, Anodyne never lets you forget that it's a game more concerned with the journey than with the destination, and at 10 bucks, it's a journey worth taking.

You might just find something you like, something completely different, or something that emotionally affects you in ways you never thought possible from a video game. And that alone makes Proteus a winner.

The Alien franchise deserves better than this. Aliens: Colonial Marines is a disappointing exercise in bland corridor shooting, dragged down by laughable dialogue and cooperative play that makes the game worse than when you adventure on your own. Colonial Marines is unremarkable in every conceivable way: it's far too easy, generally devoid of tension, and lacking in the variety it so desperately needed.

And that's Colonial Marines' biggest problem: enemies come, and you shoot them down easily, again and again. The game is remarkably light on variety. A couple of battles masquerade as boss fights, but they require no strategy and are just as easy and thrill-less as the rest. The four- to five-hour campaign has no thrust to it; it feels the same from beginning to end, and the finale just drops with a thud. And by being so easy and predictable, the game lets down the license.

It's gorgeous to look at and fun for a short while, but Akaneiro: Demon Hunters is an unvaried grind that wears out its appeal long before the level cap.

Omerta feels like nothing but work, and dull, repetitive work at that. It's certainly not a success, but a soulless, bland, incoherent experience that frequently frustrates with its inability to capitalise on a handful of good ideas.

Retrovirus is a nod to the classic Descent series that makes battling virtual viruses a mostly pleasant pursuit.