Bugs, connection issues, and other basic flaws dampen Conviction's great storytelling and violent executions.

The game is fraught with dangers and failure, but it frames the handful of seconds you are able to hang on as something exciting, something to be proud of. Disc Room helps you feed on those tiny bursts of success, in addition to providing success in failure, to keep you moving and pushing through all its trials. Maybe we could all learn something from these... rooms full of discs. Like all great twitch-action games, Disc Room is at once exciting and stressful, challenging and fulfilling, and its spinning saw blades can seep into your everyday thoughts. But moreover, Disc Room feels like a pleasantly positive take on difficulty-first games--you didn't die after 10 measly seconds, you managed to survive for 10 whole seconds. And that's good enough for Disc Room. Thanks, Disc Room.

The spirit of the franchise remains intact in Tribes: Vengeance, from the thrilling speed of jetpacking and skiing to the depth of the team-based action in multiplayer. The game's excellent presentation is merely the icing on the cake for a game that excels in just about every aspect.

Capcom's superdeformed puzzle game benefits greatly from the inclusion of online play.

Some of the new ideas in Arceus have rough edges, and it's slow to start before you get access to many environments and mounts. This is an awkward first step, and it was a big adjustment for me, a longtime fan of the series, to make. Once Pokemon Legends: Arceus finds its stride, though, it's the most daring and inventive the series has been in years, breaking apart the staid core and creating something new and exciting from its pieces.

Though very similar to the last two games in the series, the open-ended stealth action gameplay offered by Hitman: Blood Money is still just about as tensely exciting as ever. A few new twists to the formula, an intriguing story, and a memorably diverse, cinematic sequence of missions further make Blood Money worth it.

Creativity and innovation make this touch-centric Kirby adventure a must-play.

Though zombies mode is stagnating and the novel new social features are a flop, the rest of Black Ops II is lively and entertaining, and it's great to see some shifting in the familiar structure.

Guitar Hero III ups the ante with increased difficulty and new modes, and though not everything it adds is fantastic, the excellent tracklist and stellar gameplay are sure to keep you hooked.

Creepy atmosphere, fantastic combat, and clever storytelling make Alan Wake's quest thrilling from beginning to end.

In the ever-crowded live-service shooter landscape, Helldivers 2 manages to carve out a place for itself with its fun narrative tone, punchy combat, intense firefights, and rewarding progression track. Helldivers 2 has plenty of tense moments against gargantuan bugs and hulking tank-like machines, but the entire experience is largely meant to make you feel good and have a laugh with friends, a refreshing notion for how darkly serious most major shooters are today. This provides Helldivers 2 with a sensation of potential longevity and lasting power I haven't felt from most new live-service games in recent years. Helldivers 2 is just a really good time, and it banks on that being enough to convince you to stick around for a long time. Frankly, I'm sold--it's the most fun I've had in a new shooter in years.

This amazing tribute to metal delivers a hugely entertaining gaming experience despite missing a few chords.

L.A. Noire's length can vary significantly, depending on how many street crimes you respond to and how much of your own driving you do, but in any case, the 26 story cases (up from 21 in the original console release) make for a complete and satisfying experience.

The art is stunning, the atmosphere fascinating, and the puzzles are incredibly devious and clever. Gorogoa might not be a long game, but it is easily one of the most engaging puzzle games in recent memory.

Raven improves upon the great work it did with the X-Men Legends games, creating a lengthy adventure that touches nearly every last corner of the Marvel Universe.

Despite a forgettable story and some constricted level design, The First Berserker: Khazan's excellent combat is more than enough to cover for these missteps. It's challenging, engaging, and consistently satisfying, complemented by a cavalcade of dynamic enemies and a versatile progression system that extends beyond the typical XP-based approach. It can feel derivative at times, yet The First Berserker's confluence of ideas and influences makes for a thrilling souls-like that stands out in what has become an increasingly crowded genre.

Life is Strange paints an excellent, vivid picture of a young woman's struggle for acceptance and justice, but trips itself up by trying to make things gamey.

Minor gripes aside, Killer Queen Black is the very definition of a great multiplayer game: easy to learn, fun to jump into, and packed with the sort of clutch moments that make you jump up and cheer.

Bully offers plenty of memorable moments and crafts an adolescent world that is both surreal and painfully truthful, so don't be surprised if it causes you to relive portions of your own painful youth.

No doubt, this is a more brutal, bloody, and foul-mouthed effort than last year's game, but this emphasis on mature content is backed up by great gameplay and an incredible atmosphere.

The Plucky Squire is a joyful story about creativity and inspiration that is itself both creative and frequently inspired. In the world of the game, The Plucky Squire is a beloved franchise and popular character with multiple entries in his long-running series. Here in the real world, he deserves to be a star too, and I can only hope this is the start of his success story.

For the most part, however, Lies of P is content to adorn existing mechanics and ideas with its own story and aesthetic. This may be a derivative approach, but it nails the core Souls-like experience, with each of its various mechanics seamlessly coalescing to create a thrilling action game that's challenging, varied, and dripping with atmosphere. It's easy to be reductive when a game wears its influences on its sleeve as boldly as Lies of P does, but plenty of other games have tried and failed to recreate the same magic. It's not an easy endeavor, and while it doesn't shake up the formula or reinvent the wheel, Lies of P is still one of the genre's most accomplished and enjoyable entries--and that's the truth.

Life is far from perfect. Everyone would agree, yet it's in exploring that obvious fact that this team has achieved something so memorable once again. Nice Dream Games' Goodnight Universe is both mechanically simple and emotionally complex. Presented as a story about a baby, it's more accurate to say it's about the time we spend on Earth, with whom we spend it, and what we leave behind when our time is up.

Dust: An Elysian Tail periodically stumbles, but impressive visuals and enticing exploration make for a successful journey.

Easily the best space sim since "FreeSpace 2," and in several ways it exceeds that game. Particle Systems has successfully created the type of game that fans of the genre have been waiting for years to play.

Ultimately, what's most impressive about Myst III is that it combines intellectual challenge, solid storytelling, and scene after scene of stunning, imaginative beauty.

A serviceable futuristic racing game that is perhaps a bit too similar to previous installments in the series.

Just as the addition of the Online Dynasty mode will satisfy many, the lack of significant improvements to other key modes of NCAA Football 09 will disappoint many others.