Unapologetically surreal, which can make it tough to look away from, and its toylike gameplay model makes for a surprisingly satisfying experience.

That The Lord of the Rings Online is such an accessible experience is bound to draw comparisons to the genre's leading title, but that it's so enjoyable to play is a testament to its great design. Its inventive aspects are peripheral, but they are there, and combined with slick and engaging questing, the package makes for plenty of appealing exploration.

Vice City Stories is more like a sidestep for the GTA franchise--it's a great deal of typical GTA fun, but doesn't really move the series forward in any meaningful way.

Desperados 3 is a superb package. It's a clever, cunning game of stealth and tactical thinking that, thanks to a generous quick-save system and wealth of informative visual cues, entices you to tinker with all the toys it has on offer and fully explore the possibility spaces of its elaborate levels. There's no need for a do-over here; Desperados 3 is a dead-eye shot on the very first try.

While we'd be tempted to say that the skirmish and online multiplayer modes are the main attractions in Dawn of War, that's actually not quite the case. Instead, it's the game's four different sides, each brimming with personality and intriguing tactical potential, that steal the show.

Fun action, great audio, and multiple memorable moments make Mass Effect 2's latest add-on a winner.

The exquisite visual design is so breathtaking that I continually found myself staring at the scenery instead of pushing onward. Tomb Raider is a great reinvention of this enduring franchise that made me eager to see where Lara goes in her future.

Streamlined mechanics keep the act of fighting furiously exciting no matter what your skill level, and comprehensive tutorials encourage you to dig into the nitty-gritty. There's a diverse roster of interesting characters and playstyles, and the story mode is an entertaining romp. The randomization of Krypt rewards and the odd issue with the game's always-online nature can occasionally chip away at your patience, but Mortal Kombat 11 absolutely hits where it matters.

I’ve always thought of the Stories subseries as a commendable yet modest spinoff series, but Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is anything but modest. It takes Monster Hunter's core loop and successfully translates it into turn-based combat, evolves the monster-taming genre thanks to Habitat Restoration, and does all this while telling a thrilling story with a great presentation. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection easily stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best Monster Hunter games.

The powerful abilities of the diverse character classes are fun to use, the world is varied and enticing, and the constant promise of more riches and better gear makes conquering that next group of foes an alluring prospect indeed.

Despite the lack of innovation in Franchise Mode, MLB 19: The Show excels when it comes to the sheer variety of single-player content on offer, while significant improvements to fielding round out the on-field package, making this one of the best baseball games ever.

GRAW2 offers up a better, though shorter, single-player game than its predecessor. But the bulk of its gameplay can be found in its impressive and deep multiplayer game.

Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack mixes puzzles, platforming, and charm to provide a slimy good time.

With its gripping narrative, brutal violence, and fantastic implementation of Max Payne's bullet-time ability, this is a distinctive and outstanding game through and through, and it's easily a worthy successor to the Max Payne games that preceded it.

Skate's analog trick system is revolutionary for the genre, but the game surrounding those mechanics isn't quite as good.

Engaging player-versus-player combat makes this an online role-playing game to reckon with.

NBA 2K12 retains its crown as the best basketball franchise by offering a number of worthwhile improvements across the board.

Whether you liked these games originally or are just playing them now, Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection is a great place to experience them. Put another way, it's going to take you for a ride.

By the end of the campaign, I was ready for the game to be over, but that's okay. RE7 ends just as it starts to outstay its welcome, and after the fact, I felt like I'd survived a truly harrowing journey. The boss fights may be slightly inconsistent and certain sections might drag after a while, but RE7 is still a remarkable success. It has a clear vision and executes it with impressive patience and precision. By returning to horror, Resident Evil has once again become something special.

Little things mean a lot in NHL 12, which subtly refines the best arcade hockey game ever made.

As a third-person adventure game, Rise of the Tomb Raider excels. Rather than collide, gameplay and story share the space, supplementing each other and emerging as a cohesive whole.

An incredibly atmospheric and disturbingly gruesome deep-space adventure that will haunt your dreams and leave you begging for more.

Even if the stiff challenge and clumsy new "serious" tone don't make it the most accessible or recommendable entry in the series, there's still a lot to like about Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, especially if you're looking for some really compelling online action for your Nintendo DS.

Whether you play solo or in a group, successfully executing adaptive tactics to win intense, high-stakes firefights makes for an incredibly rewarding experience. Every player has unique stories of their most memorable matches, and even after hundreds of hours, PUBG continues to inspire rousing tales of victory and defeat.

This new frontier in rhythm gaming is electrifyingly fun, but the cover charge is steep.

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.

Despite the lack of a defining new feature to attach itself to, FIFA 14 is far more than the sum of its parts. It's a fundamentally different experience to last year's game, and an entertaining one at that, moving the series ever closer to the realism it so proudly strives for. The only competition FIFA has this year is itself.

It makes an already great game even better, not only by piling on new features, but also by adding enough significant enhancements that the result stands out as being not just broader than its predecessor, but legitimately different.