Shatter is brick breaking at its best--simple, innovative, and beautiful.

Superb handwriting recognition and other nifty features make a strong argument for ditching traditional paper crosswords in favor of ones on handhelds like the Nintendo DS.

Smite is a godsend for the MOBA genre, with the heart of its gameplay proving that innovation to the war plan for tower siege games is possible. With just a few changes to what other games have delivered before, Smite manages to feel like a brand-new game.

The surrealistic nature of Dead Take reaches a fever pitch in the game's final half hour, and it loses me a bit there. Overall, however, this is a great game, and I would have loved to chase down more USB drives and watch many more FMV recordings--these performances left me rapt and I was always eager to search out more. But even beyond this gameplay loop, Chase's efforts to delve deeper into a bizarre mansion and splice together corrupted recordings of people is rewardingly symbolic in a narrative sense. You're going into a person's twisted and guarded psyche and unearthing the painful truths hidden within to not only beat a video game, but also witness, as Cain so often puts it, "something real." Those truths are sickening and scary and it propels the experience of Dead Take into one of the most harrowing I've experienced this year. These are not five hours I'll easily forget.

Top production values and exciting gameplay make Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood one call you should definitely heed.

But even when it falters, it’s hard to hate Ys VIII for long. The feel of fighting your way through a big, beautiful island of untamed wilderness to save a group of people brought together by circumstance while uncovering an ancient mystery is an absolute delight, and will compel you to keep exploring for hours on end. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer to the exploits of Adol Christin, you’ll find a lot to enjoy in the exotic world of Ys VIII.

Tooth and Tail is a bizarre cocktail of a dozen great ideas. It's a minimalist RTS that tosses out complex tech trees in favor of action-packed but accessible play. It's set vaguely in Eastern Europe in the 1910s, with both the Russian Revolution and World War I in full swing. Playing up the grim tumult of the era, Tooth and Tail also casts itself with all manner of cute--though ragged and crestfallen--critters. With so many disparate items, it's a wonder that Tooth and Tail manages to work at all, but it excels with but a few minor blemishes.

This funny, fast-paced multiplayer shooter will have you repeatedly begging your friends for just one more rematch.

Aside from introducing many Legend of Zelda fans to the Warriors franchise, Hyrule Warriors adds little innovation to Koei’s megaseries as a whole, but nevertheless brings an undeniable spark ignited by the crossover cast itself.

Whatever awaits Clementine at the end of this road, she goes there with a full heart. If the finale lives up to the future set up in Broken Toys, so will we.

Bangai-O Spirits is an intense, challenging shooter with terrific tools for creating and sharing your own levels.

Black Ops has everything you could want in a portable Call of Duty game.

A storyline based on Norse mythology isn't the only thing that's unusual and original about this tough, complex, and action-packed Japanese role-playing game.

Konami has crafted a whimsical take on baseball that's as deep as you want it to be.

DmC succeeds both in its story and in its brilliant combat, and it looks the business too, despite a few minor glitches and the more colour-soaked levels looking like they've spent a little too much time in an Instagram filter.

Ultimately, the excitement that comes from commanding powerful ships during explosive battles on the high seas overshadows these faults. The thrills that await, along with the promise of unlocking advanced ships down the road, make World of Warships an enticing expedition into the sometimes turbulent waters of free-to-play games.

Still, at 10 hours, Thymesia is short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome. You wind up feeling more like a general badass than a vastly overpowered killing machine for the most part, and the game's great ideas culminate in some intense, memorable boss fights. While a few elements of the overall experience don't gel, Thymesia understands what matters most about its inspirations, while adding a few spins of its own to create a small, smart, and rewarding Souls-like experience.

BlazBlue is a worthy successor to Guilty Gear. It's also a fast-paced, colorful fighting game with a lot to offer.

Even with a few PC issues and a less-than-perfect Switch port, Cities: Skylines remains the best city-builder on the market right now. The game's presentation is stodgy, but it is all but guaranteed to provide you many hours of carefully crafting cities, laying out zoning, and establishing districts for specifics residential and industrial uses…all free from real-world mayoral headaches like 6 a.m. phone calls griping about snowplowing. Right now, there is no better way to take a peek at life as a mayor without filing your papers to run for office in the real world.

Skylanders SuperChargers is a fast-paced affair, never lingering in one spot for too long, always offering something new and fun to do. It's a great game to play with kids, and one grown ups shouldn't be ashamed to try.

F1 2011 is a great sequel that faithfully represents the thrill and difficulty of driving the world's best racing cars.

Olija's best asset, truly, is its brevity. Its story is impeccably paced. Its mechanics never wear out from overuse. From start to finish, it finds new ways to gently goad you into using the harpoon in different ways, until it says its piece. I was taken with how emotionally resonant and mechanically pleasing it could be in such a short time. Succinct and satisfying is a rare combination, and it makes Olija a rare treat.

Lone Sails is a transfixing, lovely experience, one that takes recurring indie game tropes and does something unique and fun with them. It's short enough that you could play through it in a single two or three-hour session, but it will likely stick with you for a long time. I can see myself going back in a few months just to revisit the ship, like checking in on an old friend.

This is another expertly designed entry in the enthralling series. Though the core action remains largely unchanged, it's as exciting as it has ever been, thanks in part to the gorgeous visual design that brings each location to life.

You don't need a surgeon's patience or precision to appreciate this quirky, inventive, very likable remake of a remarkable Nintendo DS game.

Olija's best asset, truly, is its brevity. Its story is impeccably paced. Its mechanics never wear out from overuse. From start to finish, it finds new ways to gently goad you into using the harpoon in different ways, until it says its piece. I was taken with how emotionally resonant and mechanically pleasing it could be in such a short time. Succinct and satisfying is a rare combination, and it makes Olija a rare treat.

The PSP game mostly has the same great gameplay, gorgeous graphics, and sublime commentary the PS2 iteration has.

This entertaining and varied sci-fi shooter doesn't break new ground; it's just a bunch of goofy, gory fun.