Last year's real-time strategy game was a very tough act to follow on any number of levels, and yet Blizzard has delivered a terrific, full-featured expansion for Warcraft III that makes an already outstanding game significantly more so.

The game has so much life in it - whether in the great, narrative-driven single-player campaign or the multitude of multiplayer options - you won't grow tired of it anytime soon.

Overhauled visuals and overloaded features makes this redux a top-tier Street Fighter game.

The action focuses on the turn-based management and strategic command of a small group of soldiers. This is a complex idea, but the gameplay of Tactics Ogre truly shines, and the Game Boy Advance is a capable platform for it.

The game seems dead set on making new players comfortable--but this inadvertently sucks out a lot of the challenge.

Enemy Within is great, but its greatness comes with qualifications. Players who have never played XCOM: Enemy Unknown will find their best entry point here, since it remedies some of the concerns of the original and manages to keep others from taking their place.

The action is top-notch in both campaign and multiplayer alike. Whether or not you're looking for a new shooter in your life, you owe it to yourself to play Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

An excellent addition that gives further insight into the chilling world of The Last of Us and its most interesting character.

I won't spoil any of the other monsters you'll come across, but there's seemingly no end to the cavalcade of creative monster designs coming out of Capcom. This has always been Monster Hunter's greatest strength. Whether you're alone or playing with others, Capcom understands the value of throwing you into one climactic battle after another in what would be a set-piece boss fight in almost any other game. Monster Hunter Wilds suffers from some performance issues, the environments are often bland, and the story feels superfluous, but when you're face-to-face with a fearsome monster, few situations are quite as riveting. Monster Hunter Wilds may only make iterative improvements to further refine the formula, but that's all it really needed to do.

Far Cry 3 is an excellent game, marred mainly by some irritating design elements and an inconsistent story that often defaults to generic "tribal" cliches to make an impact.

Tiger Woods 10 for the Wii is as close as you can get to a golf course without paying green fees.

Those qualities are part and parcel of this being an expansion to Dead Cells. It retains its own core identity, so the smaller randomized biomes and lack of shortcuts are just part of its nature. Those don't feel especially reminiscent of Castlevania, but the whole expansion is imbued with Castlevania flavor. Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania is a smart, frenetic fusion of a modern action-roguelike and classic gaming royalty.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is flashy and technically impressive without feeling self-important. It's just as silly, sweet, and earnest as the Ratchet & Clank series tends to be, while the new generation of hardware makes this entry look and play better than ever. Like the heroes and villains and their dimensional counterparts, this one may appear different or carry itself with a new accent, but there's an underlying truth to the person underneath. At its core, it's still your trusty old pals on another grand space adventure. That's what's important.

KCET's best soccer game to date, which, in terms of on-the-pitch gameplay, basically makes it the best soccer game ever made...even taking the seminal Sensible World of Soccer games on the Amiga into account.

Though it can take a bit to get the hang of it, the intricacies of Doom Eternal's combat, combined with its enhanced mobility and option-heavy level design, create a ton of white-knuckle moments that elevate everything that made Doom 2016 work so well. Its combat is just as quick and chaotic, but requires you to constantly analyze everything that's happening in order to come out victorious. Once you get the hang of the rhythm of Doom Eternal, it'll make you feel like a demon-slaying savant.

All of this makes Rogue Legacy 2 difficult to put down. The "one more run" effect is in full force as you choose yet another new heir to embark on another perilous journey. The introduction of distinct classes with their own unique weapons is a masterstroke that elevates this sequel by building on what was already a fantastic premise and satisfying roguelite loop. House Rules make it more palatable for a wider audience but also give players an opportunity to tailor the challenge to their liking, even if that means increasing the difficulty. The breadth of its biomes can sometimes induce backtracking as you search for the path forward, but this is a minor blemish on what is a fantastic game. Sacrificing your family tree has never felt so good.

There's a lot to like about Fight Night Round 2, most obviously a deep and involving boxing mechanic that allows you to be creative in your approach to the fistic arts.

If you've got opposable thumbs, a sense of humor, and a brain that you're not afraid to use, this puzzle-filled adventure is one well worth taking.

Shovel Knight is a memorable re-imagining of what I grew up with, but doesn't have the longevity or inventiveness to be great in its own right.

Rayman Origins on the Vita remains every bit as silly and charming as its console counterparts.

For pure style, speed, and immersion, grabbing a seat in any of PGR 3's intricately modeled high-speed rigs and tearing through the streets is what the next generation of gaming is all about.

Despite its few drawbacks, NBA 2K17's excitement for basketball is contagious, and it's hard not to get wrapped up in it. Apart from the lacking 2KU mode and stiff recreations of commentators, the rest of the game looks great and plays even better. After finally devoting a significant amount of time to one of these games, I now see why it's such a well-regarded series, and it makes me wish that every sport got the same treatment that basketball does in NBA 2K17.

Final Fantasy Tactics is a formative game in the tactical RPG genre, and still one of the greatest. Its unforgettable story has never been better told thanks to a retouched translation, stellar voice acting, and smart new tools to help track all of the palace intrigue. Combat remains incredibly rewarding and flexible, which is an especially impressive achievement given its smaller scale compared to many modern action RPGs. The Ivalice Chronicles lacks a few nice-to-have features, but it's easily the best way to play this all-time classic.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 boasts a fast-paced and thrilling campaign, as well as some of the most immersive and exciting multiplayer action ever seen on consoles.

The World Ends With You is a compelling and immaculately presented RPG from start to finish, and is a great way for Square Enix to kick off a new franchise.

Torchlight II doesn't innovate and it doesn't surprise, and the genre may need an infusion of new ideas if it's going to stay vital. But Torchlight II serves up the old, irresistible recipe about as well as it's ever been done.

It's mathematical, emotional, and thoughtful all at once. It's exhilarating, even in the face of failure. It's compelling, even though we often lose. Victory is the goal, but that's just an afterthought here--it's the complex journey that counts.

Dishonored 2 might lack challenge in its later levels, but the basic tools are a joy to play with regardless. And with two characters and two basic play styles to choose from--both of which noticeably impact the story and the world as you go--there's a lot of longevity to be wrung from the campaign. It's an incredible shame you can't restart the campaign with all your powers intact once you beat the game, but you can, at least, bring up old saves, adjust the difficulty, and see what unfolds.