Nintendo serves up an immediately accessible and hilariously chaotic multiplayer experience, but a duff single-player campaign and hodgepodge assortment of other modes leaves you feeling that Mario Tennis Fever hasn't quite aced the complete package.

A compulsive SRPG fan’s dream come true, perhaps to a greater extent than ever before. If you can accept lackluster narrative in exchange for a fresh excuse to lose hundreds of hours wandering the Netherworld, you won’t do better.

You’ll need an appreciation for the cube itself to get the most out of this (and you may want to destroy whoever programmed the chirpy music and decided to call the cubes “cubies” and give them a story) but it’s a solid value for puzzle players.

Though a slowness to change and evolve hinders Tony Hawk Project 8's greatness, the developers sank a gargantuan lump of time into making the skating feel genuine, and it's enough to revitalize what is broadly the same game with a few newborn adoptions.

Martha is Dead will leave you psychologically scarred. Whether you enjoy the process depends on your constitution and hatred of bicycles.

The second best rally game on current-gen, after Dirt Rally. A straining game engine is its biggest issue, but accept its few shortcomings and you’ll find a fun and engrossing rally sim.

A disturbingly different take on interesting sci-fi concepts let down by a slow start and disappointing monsters, but worth it overall.

Killer Is Dead successfully separates itself from the pack, but it doesn’t live up to all its potential. It ends too soon, is padded with reused areas, and suffers from tech problems that should be defunct.

Buy it for its offbeat originality, and ponder the possibilities once developers really understand that there’s more to the DS than a little plastic pointer.

Featuring over 300 quests in total and a plethora of things to collect, monsters to defeat, and lands to explore, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a meaty title worth sinking your teeth into. Its high learning curve may dissuade some players inexperienced with the series, but with enough patience and resourcefulness, you’ll be able to get through any problem and feel proud that you accomplished it. If you’re looking for a great reason to bring out your Wii U and play and online RPG with friends, look no further.

Little gameplay innovation.

Micro Machines v4 doesn't stray one bit from its own gene pool and certainly doesn't impress on any level other than mindless, guilty arcade racing, but sometimes that's vastly preferable to all the stat-heavy, mod-crazy options out there.

Battlefield 2042 is a strong foundation for future expansion. DICE's multiplayer-only FPS has scale and spectacle, but there are elements in need of careful refinement and optimization.

A Call of Duty title that reigns everything in and is afraid to try something new, Black Ops Cold War gets the basics spot on but doesn't have enough content to warrant the price tag.

But it’s short on new ideas, with a fundamental template that hasn’t changed in the last five years. And in this brave, new, post-Arkham Asylum world, we need a little more than that to be really awed.

An enjoyable side-scrolling adventure that's elevated by its stylistic visuals and unsettling atmosphere. Fans of classic platformers like Castlevania or Ghosts n' Goblins will definitely enjoy the old-school gameplay, while everyone else will revel in the papercraft setting and dark humor that frames it.

You can’t go wrong in picking up the 3DS version, as it’s an impressive example of how much content and depth can go into one little 3DS cartridge.

If you can justify the entry fee, this Puzzle & Dragons two-pack offers a solid hybrid of enjoyable puzzle mechanics and RPG-lite monster collecting.

Crystal Defenders doesn’t do much that’s new or revolutionary, but with very slim tower defense competition on the 360, it’s an addictive distraction.

Madden 18 shines brightest with its new Longshot mode, but the lack of improvements elsewhere makes this year’s Madden offering an incremental – but still highly-playable – update.

A mixed package: a competent but bland single-player campaign, plus a considerably better co-op campaign, along with some creatively fantastic multiplayer modes. If you're easily scared by horror movie clichés you might get scared by the attempts at creepiness, but we didn't find it scary at all.

It would be nice to see a season mode as robust as the most recent PS2 version of MotoGP, but as portable games go, what's offered here is sufficient for decent racing action on the go.

Players who have grown up with the likes of "Final Fantasy," however, will be unimpressed with Etrian Odyssey.

Ratatouille’s defied our expectations by dishing out a solid adventure with loads of extras and minigames. If the missions felt a little less repetitive, then we’d really have film-tie in greatness here. Either way, this is one game adaptation that’s easy to swallow.

Phantasy Star Universe, in the end, is just more of the same thing: simple dungeon crawling. It's fun online; it's not fun offline. This is a hard one to rate, as it's pretty convoluted. It ultimately depends on what type of experience you're looking for when you load it up.

A mixed package: a competent but bland single-player campaign, plus a considerably better co-op campaign, along with some creatively fantastic multiplayer modes. If you're easily scared by horror movie clichés you might get scared by the attempts at creepiness, but we didn't find it scary at all.

When it hits its stride, Shadows of Doubt feels like it might be one of the greatest detective games of the 21st century, but it's hampered by outrageous bugginess and vestigial mechanics. The core is rock solid, but it still feels several major updates away from reaching its final form.

If you can deal with its quirks, Caesar IV offers a stunning economic model that is sure to challenge even the best money managers while providing hours of play.

State of War doesn't offer much variety in terms of gameplay, but it does offer up a fun hack-and-slash game that can be picked up and played for a few minutes or a few hours.

Phantasy Star Universe, in the end, is just more of the same thing: simple dungeon crawling. It's fun online; it's not fun offline. This is a hard one to rate, as it's pretty convoluted.

Sometimes Nintendogs + Cats can feel like homework, and other times it can be a sweet little distraction where you spend time with adorably well-realized puppies and accurately uninterested cats.

If you're of the appropriate level, there are plenty of riches to be found out in this Desert.

Regardless of how you choose to play it, Evil West feels like the best version of the AAA "B-tier game" that we don't see as often as we used to. It's not technically polished and I wouldn't call it innovative, but it's mechanically solid and comes equipped with a lot of fun ideas that mostly pan out. Sometimes you just need a game to punch out some bad guys; it can feel familiar and straightforward, just as long as the punching feels good. Evil West fills that specific, but very relatable need quite well.

Secret Saturdays is for the most part an enjoyable experience for fans of the show and preteens that need something to do on their DS. The rest of us might be better off with Pokemon and Bionic Commando elements in their pure forms, however.

Sometimes Nintendogs + Cats can feel like homework, and other times it can be a sweet little distraction where you spend time with adorably well-realized puppies and accurately uninterested cats.

It looks fantastic, and it's definitely sexy, albeit in an unabashedly slutty, so-tacky-you-should-probably-feel-ashamed kind of way. If that sounds cool, take this babe out on the town tonight.

There's still plenty of fun inside the good ship, especially in the excellent home base where unlockables are abundant, but the LEGO series seems to be losing its new toy shine. Pirates has its moments, but we're ready to set sail in a new direction.

With a lengthy campaign, an addictive battle system, and a cooperative multiplayer mode, Luminous Arc is the kind of title that you can lose yourself in.

Sometimes Nintendogs + Cats can feel like homework, and other times it can be a sweet little distraction where you spend time with adorably well-realized puppies and accurately uninterested cats.

Visually, the game is lacking, with muddy textures and graphics that hail from a long time ago. The Kinect controls are also unreliable at times (but also work brilliantly well most of the time). Overall, though, Kinect Star Wars fulfills most of the promise of a one-to-one lightsaber game, with enough variety (including that goofy dance mode) to make for a solid Star Wars experience.

London Heist is the clear winner experience-wise and there’s terrifying joys to be found underwater in Ocean Descent, but it’s a shame that there’s not more to shout about in this uneven collection.

We’ve rarely been so conflicted about a baseball game, but MLB 2K9 is a paradox. It’s undeniably fun and accessible, offering plenty of addictive options for hardball fans. It also suffers from too many gaffes that are impossible to ignore.

Okay, the story isn’t winning any Pulitzers, but Kirby Squeak Squad will certainly please the kiddies, yet may only whet the palate of those aching for the next great side-scrolling throwback.

Skylanders Giants is essentially more of the same. Developer Toys for Bob has added more characters, collectibles, and mini games to the already solid offering of the original title, but if you were expecting the giants themselves to make a significant impact on the gameplay, you might be a little disappointed. Still, the lengthy campaign is fun while it lasts, and gathering Soul Gems, leveling up your figures, and grabbing hats is as addictive as ever.

If you want to see an action/RTS hybrid that actually gets the strategy part right, then Guilty Gear 2: Overture will deliver the goods. Unfortunately, even though this one element is great, it’s the only gem that stands in this title.

The story may turn off fans of the first two Parasite Eve games, but if you can get past the inane plot and characterizations, there's still a solid action-RPG underneath.

NHL 21 is the best hockey game around by default – but it seldom genuinely stands out from this generation's pack.

After Us combines stunning vistas of environmental decay with a dreamlike flow to its light platforming challenges. Despite some missteps, such as ill-fitting combat, exploring and affecting its world is a gratifying process that comes with a wave of emotional ups and downs.

F1 2014 is a fun, accessible and authentic racing sim. But the differences over last year's game are slight and with the classic mode removed, the package it offers is inferior to F1 2013.

Just one warning: The co-op missions do not scale with player count at all, and they are definitely designed to be tackled with four players. Three players? You'll probably do fine, if you're careful. Two? Really stretching it. And solo? You'd have to be a masochist to even try.

Sure, it lacks the depth of something like Dead Space: Extraction, but if you're just looking to blast zombies with old friends, it's hard to do much better... on the Wii.

Yes, the action can get tedious over time, as you realize that strategy takes a back seat to cheap super-moves and quick fingers. But there's something here.

The story campaign entertains and the multiplayer modes entice you to come back after the credits roll, but the out-of-place melee segments, polish issues, and dropped features from the first game make it fall short.

Much like a lot of the arcade games back then, Golden Axe is fairly short and doesn't have a lot of replayability, as every enemy will appear in the exact same spot every time you play, and there are no branching paths. But for 400 MS points, a classic brawler with functional online play is something that belongs in your Live Arcade library.

For the lady gamers out there: if you like cute things at all, don't be afraid to pick this up, and don't be surprised if your man ends up cooing at that damn monkey-dog right alongside you.

Not remotely as long as its title. Rather, it winds down after about 12 hours or so, with no multiplayer options. Nor is it the most original. But the story is above par for a game or a TV show, and the sum of its parts equals a good, old fashioned, popcorn gaming experience.

As a game, MLB 2K6 feels more than competent, but it fails to excel. Much like last year’s Cubs, it has its shining moments, but in the end you’re left with the distinct feeling that it could have been so much more.

Rogue Trooper may not be cutting edge, but as a simple, straightforward shooter, it’s more than capable of delivering a quick action fix.

Vibrant and full of personality, but has also tightened up the series gameplay so you’ll actually need to pay attention, strategize, and conserve your resources to defeat its challenges.

Traditionalists will cringe at the new controls, but we applaud EA's attempt to simplify things so more folks can get involved. It may not work perfectly, but it's the right thing to do (and the right console on which to do it).

In 2D, it's a damn fine platform game. In 3D, it's a surprisingly good showcase for the hardware. Put them together and you've got by far the best modern version of the game, with better controls than iPhone version and better graphics than the old DS.

It might not make a great first impression, but it’s going to be awfully hard, even this early in the year, to find a downloadable game that can offer this much content. You’ll always find more and more excuses to just keep digging away.

All the trudging, mundane puzzles, and hours spent on air vents are worth it at the end when secrets are revealed and the scattered memories all start to make sense.

This is about as solid a next-gen port as we’ve seen on Wii, but it’s probably going to take an act of God to make us think a downscaled port is better than the original. Other than an earthquake, we mean.

Perfecting a true-to-life golf swing resembles an experiment in OCD, akin to trying to tie your shoes while turning the stove off six times. But it's nothing short of a tragedy that it doesn't live up, both visually and in approach, to what came packed in with the Wii at no charge.

Ultimately, Rise & Fall is about pretty units killing each other in a beautifully drawn environment and little more. It's a good strategy skirmish, but it falls short of eternal glory.

De Blob 2, like its predecessor, is an undeniably cheerful, whimsical, and infectiously amusing venture that's impossible to dislike unless you're Ebenezer Scrooge (pre-spiritual epiphany, that is). It has some creative gameplay and it satisfies that primitive need to finish a page in a coloring book once you've started it. It's not as deep as it wants to be, but it has enough substance to pick up and play after buying it for your kids (or younger siblings).

All the trudging, mundane puzzles, and hours spent on air vents are worth it at the end when secrets are revealed and the scattered memories all start to make sense.

But everything here is still solidly done, funnier than almost any other game, and holds a unique place in the DS library. You really should start up your own Robocalypse.

Slicker graphics and a couple of exclusive minigames just aren’t enough to make us put down the Wiimote and turn on the Camera.

If you missed it on the PSP (or just hated the controls), then it's absolutely worth grabbing, but don't expect anything revolutionary.

While it's an improvement over the first game, Kane & Lynch 2's high production values and streamlined focus are overshadowed by its thudding repetition, narrowly linear design, five-hour campaign and hugely unappealing protagonists. It's still a decent shooter, but it's definitely not for everyone.

De Blob 2, like its predecessor, is an undeniably cheerful, whimsical, and infectiously amusing venture that's impossible to dislike unless you're Ebenezer Scrooge (pre-spiritual epiphany, that is). It has some creative gameplay and it satisfies that primitive need to finish a page in a coloring book once you've started it. It's not as deep as it wants to be, but it has enough substance to pick up and play after buying it for your kids (or younger siblings).

Great God Grove's system that has you sucking up speech bubbles remains novel throughout, with plenty of quirky characters and stories to uncover. With some fantastic highpoints, some more straightforward areas will have you yearning for a bit more depth.

Though it's a little too short and a little too expensive, the mostly unseen world outside the Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace is charming and impressive, and absolutely worth experiencing.

While it's an improvement over the first game, Kane & Lynch 2's high production values and streamlined focus are overshadowed by its thudding repetition, narrowly linear design, five-hour campaign and hugely unappealing protagonists. It's still a decent shooter, but it's definitely not for everyone.

The big selling promise was that you could be a villain, but the worst we could manage was to kidnap ... villains from other gangs. That's not a dark side, that's a shade of gray.

There's no other song list on the market like it, and the dance controls in the game are spot on, so it's a must buy for any Jackson fan. But if you really want the Michael Jackson "experience," you might want to pick up This Is It while you're at the mall, because this rushed-together Wii game doesn't exactly deliver on the Jackson-gasm scale.

In spite of its flaws, PQ is an extremely addictive, innovative title that gives PSP-owning puzzle fans a welcome break from falling-block games.

De Blob 2, like its predecessor, is an undeniably cheerful, whimsical, and infectiously amusing venture that's impossible to dislike unless you're Ebenezer Scrooge (pre-spiritual epiphany, that is). It has some creative gameplay and it satisfies that primitive need to finish a page in a coloring book once you've started it. It's not as deep as it wants to be, but it has enough substance to pick up and play after buying it for your kids (or younger siblings).

Again, good moves – and Madden 25 is a good game. But it isn't a great one. And with a more fun football experience now housed in the same building, it's tough to see how that changes anytime soon.

What it all boils down to is this: if you're hurting for a Metroid-style adventure on a handheld, this might be your cup of tea. If not, then you'll probably be just fine skipping over this good-looking, though clunky 2D adventure.

It's gorgeous, and a clear labour of love, but the controls might drive you, err, N.Sane.

All this enthusiasm leads us to the sad reality of the game's release. This would have been a glorious XBLA title at $10-$15, but Deathsmiles comes as a boxed copy and asks the uncanny price of $50. Sure, the game has replay value, but after a few playthroughs, only the ultra dedicated score chasers will have reason to keep going.

All in all, this might not be the most revolutionary Galaga to date (that credit of course belongs to the original), but it's a mighty fine diversion worth sinking your teeth into.

Bayonetta Origins shows a great new side of the Umbral Witch, in a tale that's heartwarming as it is enjoyable. Combat and puzzles are a great one-two punch, but Cereza's restricted role and Cheshire's unfaltering nature undermine a little of the former.

Short, simple, and wonderfully inventive, Hohokum's bizarre aesthetics and enigmatic level design make for a consistently surprising, enjoyable romp.

As solid as the core gameplay is, it's hard to shake the 'been there, done that' vibe of the whole package.

All of this gameplay does come at a price: There are extremely long loading times to suffer through before each entrance video, before the actual match, and after the match is over.

If you're sick of the same old formulas and you're open to some indie eccentricity, Retro/Grade is just the trippy time-sink you've been looking for – and it'll finally give your dusty plastic guitars a use past Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

Combat is incredible, and the cities of Boston and New York deliver some of the strongest open-world gameplay you'll experience this generation. And yet, it's still an extremely uneven experience, even if the strong gameplay outlives the issues to make for a solid package.

For gamers seeking to initiate their offspring into massively multiplayer gaming, though, it's certainly worth a look.

The quirky and sometimes innocent sense of humor is omnipresent. Why, even after a heated and bitter battle that ends in his tank being utterly destroyed, Rocket's rival will usually pay him a sincere compliment before scampering off in defeat.

It may not last long and it may have issues with its save feature, but the time spent adventuring in this futuristic vision of Seattle will be well worth any frustrations you may encounter.

Just more of the same thing: simple dungeon crawling. It's fun online; it's not fun offline. This is a hard one to rate, as it's pretty convoluted.

Something surprisingly fresh, fun, and satisfying for only $10.

WWE 2K14 is at its best celebrating WWE history, so it’s forgivable that the game wants to hang on to its recent past instead of blazing a trail to the future. In a transition year like this one, it works as a fitting capper to another gaming generation of wrasslin’. However, 2K hopefully has something more original in the pipeline.

Transformers: Autobots and Decepticons are essentially one game split into two “campaigns” in a shameless grab for fans’ wallets. All of the fundamental game mechanics, including controls, combat, and mission structure, are exactly the same, and even the first few levels are near-mirrors of each other.