This is more story than game, so there's little challenge in the hours you spend fleeing and fighting and talking about the zombie hordes. But that approach works here, allowing the game to build upon the cruel, character-driven comic series and stand apart from more mayhem-oriented zombie games like Left 4 Dead and Dead Island.

With its distinctively clean retro stylings and deceptively simple set up, Videoball may blindside you with the pace and depth of its gameplay. It's reminiscent of arcade classics, and is easily one of the best multiplayer experiences of the year.

While features like multiplayer and base-building certainly put more proverbial asses in seats, they're also the least memorable additions to an otherwise thoughtful experience.

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.

This fast and exciting racer continually finds a way to keep you circling around for another lap.

Beyond Light might not be the biggest expansion, but it does feel like we've entered a new chapter in the game's life, with new priorities and an approach that makes the game more resonant in a way that goes beyond satisfying shooting. On the whole, Destiny 2 might be more of the same than it is different, but what's the same about it--like its phenomenal raids and tight, satisfying gameplay--is still largely pretty great, and what's different is mostly making the game all the more worthwhile.

The core game--and its various problems--is definitely starting to show its age, but if you've ever enjoyed The Sims at least a little, you'll probably find Unleashed to be a worthwhile add-on.

While its presentation and game modes fall further behind the competition, PES 13 has made improvements where it really counts. There's a fabulously entertaining football game at its heart, one that finally lives up to the high standards of the PES games of old. Sure, it may have given up its pick-up-and-play accessibility to get there, but with such satisfying, thoughtful, and tactical gameplay on offer, it's well worth the effort.

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

The original Etrian Odyssey is remade with refined customization, enchanting visuals, and an intriguing story.

Much like last year's game, this mixed martial arts fighter impresses inside the octagon but doesn't do nearly as well outside of it.

The huge change in player mobility is less of a paradigm shift and more of an overdue retooling for an 11-year-old FPS franchise, especially in a year of mobility-focused shooters. Yet for all its predictability, Advanced Warfare is a deluge of action-film bravado, and it's difficult to not be carried away by its tidal forces.

One of my favorite moments is when Amicia spots another wildflower in a lone trek across the city, nestled among the decay of the rats’ revolting nests. Without her brother around, she picks it up, and places it gingerly in her own hair--a personal reminder to keep trudging on amidst the hardships, and a testament to her growing strength and tenacity. Despite flashes of predictability, moments like these will bring a lump to your throat, as it did mine.

Three Kingdoms feels like a breath of fresh air. By harkening back to the intricacies of older titles and builds on some of the foundations laid by Thrones of Britannia, it offers a distinctly contemporary and thorough experience. This is the most ambitious that Total War has ever been, from the variety of different ways that you can enjoy the game to the sheer scope of the stories that they've weaved around each unique character's playable experience.

Dragon's Dogma takes chances, and it's that riskiness that makes this role-playing game so unique among its peers.

A lushly produced and riotous game with an uncanny ability to push you from one task to the next, each of which is just as fun as the last.

The Golf Club 2019 remains a challenging and ultimately rewarding golf sim with a solid swing system that puts a premium on skill and strategy. The addition of the PGA Tour license is a welcome but limited addition that gives the game a further level of realism and authenticity, while the course-creator again shines as one of the franchise's standout features. Despite its issues, The Golf Club 2019 is the franchise's most attractive package yet.

Absolute Power adds great new scenarios and buildings to Tropico 3, along with some welcome fixes and frills.

With its upgrades and considerable bonuses--particularly the Sub-History--even those who think they got their fill by beating the original game should check out this definitive edition.

Powerfully ghoulish depictions of the plague and rats aside, Innocence is ultimately an emotive story of resilience against harrowing odds.

By introducing new job-related skills, the ability to hire and fire employees, and a healthy number of new items, Open for Business makes it fun to put your sims to work.

One thing it isn't is a generic rehash. Dragon's Dogma will remain with you, frustrations and victories alike, when your memories of other games have long since faded.

Decryption mode, in which two teams of four are confined to a portion of the city and seek to nab and hold on to sensitive data, is anarchy in its most captivating form.

Space Run shines from the depths of space, from the challenging gameplay to the deep strategy mechanics. I looked forward to every cutscene with glee, whether it featured Buck Mann talking terms with an employer, or had me trading fightin' words with pirates.

Even with an imperfect roster and a selection of modes that doesn't compare to the comprehensiveness of Forza 6 at launch, Forza Motorsport 7 is still a feature-rich and competition-diverse bundle of racing events that keep you coming back for more. The ability to control the weather to create rich, painterly cloudy backdrops goes a long way in making up for the lack of zombie modes and the Toyota MR2.

This is a captivating adventure, but it's also a very dark and disturbing one that touches on depressing real-world themes and doles out psychological horror along with monsters and gore. Still, this gives the game added depth and a literary weight that elevates it well above much of the horror genre in general, especially in a game that arrives without much pretension and with a plot device about murderous pig-men.

Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are delightful reimaginings of the series' origins and a deep RPG in their own right. It makes a lot of smart improvements on the original Red, Blue and Yellow while holding on to what made them so special in the first place. Fans of the series might be let down by the lack of features they've come to expect, but Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee take the Pokemon formula in some exciting new directions.

There's a lot to love about Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf. It's set in a beautiful world that's filled with gorgeous color and fantastic music, and it teases you with mysteries that you want to unravel and feel excited about for doing so. A good-but-not-great first half holds it back though, as the best platforming puzzles and story revelations are saved for the dramatic finale. If the ending of the game is any indication, we should expect another game in this series. And if the latter half of Planet of Lana II is evidence of the direction of where the gameplay of this series is going, I cannot wait to see that third game.