Twin Mirror has interesting new mechanics, well-realized characters, and a good understanding of what makes exploration rewarding. It's just a shame that the pacing undercuts so much of what makes it work.

Avadon: The Black Fortress offers up some good old-fashioned role-playing, as long as you can handle the dated production values and a few design quirks.

Right now, though, Pokemon Champions provides two different experiences for seasoned players and newcomers respectively--and unfortunately for newcomers, it's an uneven one that will require a lot of their own dedication and time to improve. Perhaps the barrier to entry for competitive Pokemon can never be smashed entirely, but Champions wears it down, and those willing to push through it will find one of the most thrilling competitive games on the other side.

This board game translation is a lot of fun, but it could have been so much more.

Some ultimate game where nerd and jock fuse together and assume their final form.

Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 offers fast, fun games of Magic: the Gathering, and the PC edition is the best, thanks to its mouse-driven control scheme.

Magnetica is a good, solid rendition of its chosen formula, but there isn't necessarily enough to the package to pull you away from your current addiction to any of the DS's other, better puzzle games.

Gamers who like their games action-oriented may find Broken Sword to be too slow, but patient folks who like a good story that continually unravels will be delighted by this game.

Puzzle Kingdoms is a worthy addition to the growing list of puzzle/role-playing hybrid games.

Tron: Identity is a sharply written story that offers not only a fresh look at Tron, but also an interesting visual novel/puzzle hybrid format. The pacing of the story, the agency I feel when making choices, and the immediate weight of those choices make this a fine new addition to the visual novel library--even if the puzzles routinely pull me out of the story for a moment. I just wish there were more story told here, as my initial disappointment when finishing the game came not from what I'd played, but that the game was over so quickly. Ultimately, that's the mark of a well-made game, but I hope we get to learn more about this new Tron game's identity in the near future.

With the addition of Snowfall on top of the After Dark expansion released last fall, Cities: Skylines is starting to take shape as an expansive city-building franchise that offers something for any wannabe mayor. One caveat here is that you don’t really get a tremendous amount of content, and that what's present is pretty much relegated in specific maps, leaving the impact of this expansion on the overall game fairly minimal. That said, the winter wonderland atmosphere does freshen up the visuals so even while this expansion is not essential, spending a little time in a virtual snow globe city remains awfully appealing.

While the unlockables fit right in with the whimsical spirit of the Plants vs. Zombies franchise, you're left feeling like Garden Warfare needed a little something more to make it a meal rather than a side salad. Still, it's that rare shooter whose world and characters might put a smile on your face, making it a refreshing entry in a genre that usually takes itself really seriously.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations improves on the series' fun and flashy fighting mechanics, but drops a few features along the way.

Golf: Tee It Up! offers respectable arcade gameplay and slick production values.

Meticulous attention to detail makes even the most mundane things, like a forgotten book in a corner or a bottle of shampoo, captivating, and strong voice acting and writing gives surprising depth to characters who are physically absent from the story itself. But its two levels never really intersect in meaningful ways, culminating in an ending that's thought-provoking but short of being revelatory.

Dirt 5 adopts the arcade sensibilities of the series' past, but its frenetic action is dampened somewhat by an uninspired handling model.

Nintendo World Championship: NES Edition feels more like a platform than a game in itself. It's a set of tools to gently introduce players to speedrunning, and to encourage some light competitive hooks. Even the "NES Edition" part of the name suggests this is envisioned as an ongoing project with room for further exploration in the future. I hope it does, because this could serve as a great introduction to invite newcomers into the speedrunning community.

A difficult game that's clearly designed for experienced role-playing gamers, but these are the same sorts of people who might have already lost their patience for this antiquated style of gameplay.

But even though it's not quite as good as Danganronpa's dizzying roller-coaster highs, Rain Code is a solid detective adventure that entertains and engages for the majority of its runtime. It's got an intriguing concept, enjoyable dialogue, an interesting and plenty of bold, outlandish strangeness to hold a player's interest. I, for one, certainly hope this isn't the last we see of Shinigami's sublime snark.

Some flashy action, a playful sense of humor, and a clean visual style bring this otherwise straightforward beat-'em-up to life.

This motion-based minigame collection is inconsistent, but it gives you a good excuse to start leaping and scrambling around with your new Kinect.

What is somewhat surprising is that the gameplay is pretty solid for a game aimed squarely at kids, the voice actors do a good job of capturing the inflections of the film's characters, and the game features a nice boon of unlockable content to make up for the short quest.

Lords of Shadow 2 should have been a much shorter game. Still, though the game's stealth sections and drab modern settings represent the worst elements of the three-part saga, the tail end of the game contains the best of every aspect that the series is currently known for.

This series has a beautiful visual style and an aggressive combat rhythm uniquely its own. But while the core mechanics remain intact, Generations drops some features found in its predecessors and offers shallow alternatives.

What doesn't work is the fact that the disparate parts of puzzles and message board threads don't really have anything to do with each other.

Off the Record provides as much entertainment as last year's Dead Rising 2 because it's almost exactly the same game.

Code of Princess is a fun and funny fantasy brawler that's unfortunately hampered by technical issues.

There's a beautiful simplicity to Resident Evil HD that serves as a reminder that the best mysteries don't need convoluted stories to be enthralling.