Ultimately, those limited failings will either be seen as quaint by longtime RPG addicts or tolerable by newcomers that will appreciate everything else Shin Megami Tensei IV gets right. It advances the genre in subtle ways, exhibiting once more that JRPGs are alive and well on handhelds. Numbered Shin Megami Tensei entries are few and far between. Thankfully, SMTIV makes the most of it.

Capsized isn’t without its fair share of problems, nor does it provide something you haven’t seen before. Still, it does a great job telling a story of survival and creates an eerie ambience worth experiencing. Not everyone will appreciate its perplexing soundtrack, nor tolerate its iffy controls, but if you don’t mind putting up with some irritating moments and would rather play the game on your console, this little astronaut tale is for you.

Visually, Muramasa Rebirth is stunning. The Vita's sharp screen enhances the already gorgeous graphics and rewarding gameplay, resulting in fast-paced combat and satisfying boss battles that have never looked better. Although backtracking and repetition will eventually take their toll, it's still a fine choice for your portable action-RPG fix.

Brave New World might not feel incredibly new or brave, but it's an impressive expansion that any Civilization V fan should enjoy.

Although it may not look particularly different from its predecessors on the surface, nor include any groundbreaking, never-before-seen modes, NCAA 14 hits a ton of high notes and marks a great start to the upcoming fall sports game blitz.

Even though you'll never spend more than 30 minutes with any of the characters, you'll still find that you're invested in their well-being.

The visual representation of the duels, as well as rewarding Challenges and time-consuming Sealed Deck mode, all make for a fun experience for the player. Now if only they’d use their powers to make a dedicated custom deck building tool with every magic card ever made. That would be something.

If you’re ready for the heightened difficulty of solo play in New Super Luigi U, then you’ll find it rewarding. Otherwise, it’s a taxing platformer that’s only made more rage-inducing in multiplayer.

With its creaky, ancient-feeling game mechanics and ultimate lack of replayability, Reloaded feels like it would be much more at home on mobile platforms at a much smaller cost than its $20 release price tag.

With such impressive new features in store, it’s easy to lose a few hours just fiddling with your houseboat or adding things to your resort. Though its underwater sections are lacking, the rest of Island Paradise is a great display of what The Sims 3 can still offer fans of the game four years after it first launched.

With the wealth of RPGs, and even great SRPGs, that have arrived on the 3DS in the last several months, it would almost be unconscionable not to recommend one of those games instead of Project X Zone. Fun combat and screaming Tekken characters can only take you so far.

While its well-crafted array of puzzles are fun whether you’re new to the games or not, its controls and technical hiccups take away from wanting to play the game. Jack Keane may have what it takes to be your next daring adventurer, but Fire Within may not be your next go-to adventure.

There’s no denying that Neverwinter is derivative. It’s a game of borrowed parts and tweaked ideas that sometimes seems a little behind the times. But each of the game’s systems, from combat to crafting, is expertly crafted--simultaneously offering depth, fun, and accessibility.

If you're new to Hotline Miami, and you want to play on handheld, you should definitely check the game out on Vita. If you have a PC, though, that remains the best way to play the game on a big screen, as the controls work better with a mouse and keyboard.

High Moon Studios has created not only one of the best superhero games, but one of the funniest games you'll ever play--period. Sure, it's low brow and a little heavy on the dick and fart jokes, but... wait, actually, that's not a bad thing. It's a great thing.

As long as you can get past the graphical hiccups, this XBLA title will pull you in like a hungry undead cannibal. If you've been looking for a game that will drop you into a deep, zombie-infested world full of all the tough choices and exploding heads you'd expect from the genre, State of Decay most definitely provides.

Those four minigames join the singleplayer offerings to provide an underwhelming experience, even if the game is launching at a low price.

While not quite as innovative as the original, Company of Heroes 2 does little wrong besides weigh itself down with the mildly superfluous and fail to push the envelope of video game narrative--though at times it really seems desperate to try.

With a unique gameplay premise that is explored to its logical ends, both in terms of the problems you’ll be solving and the narrative wrapped around them, and a stunningly atmospheric backdrop, The Swapper proves to be a satisfying and thought-provoking adventure that all puzzle fans will enjoy.

The game offers plenty to do and an impressive breadth of characters and skills to master, but some polish in certain areas could really help make it a game you’d want to pay to play. If you’re looking for a new MMO or a game with Diablo-like replayability, play Marvel Heroes first and pay for it later (if you want, that is.)

Its storytelling is peerless, as affecting and multi-layered as it is grounded, underplayed and real. In terms of everything the modern action game has strived to be, The Last of Us is the full-stop at the end of the sentence, leaving no more to be said. Until next-gen. If this is our starting point for that, then the next five to ten years could be truly amazing.

If only New Leaf had taken a few bolder steps forward from its predecessors, this would be utterly essential. As is, it’s ‘merely’ one of the finest social games ever made. Get involved, and you’ll be forever bragging to your friends about your latest item. For instance, a tarantula. Bet you haven’t got one of those.

An inconsistently enjoyable experience. Its world provides an interesting glimpse into a could-be future, and the Memory Remix puzzles and Pressen system help offset its extreme linearity and stiff combat. There are enough good ideas here to keep you playing from start to finish, but Remember Me's rougher edges mean it'll fade from your memory far sooner than you might like.

CastleStorm offers plenty of tactical elements to please fans of the tower-defense genre, yet it also provides plenty of twitch-reflex action to keep players on their toes.

A slick, powerful racer that's the result of a clear vision of intense, streamlined competition. It takes few risks yet scratches many itches, offering a compelling experience to fans on all sides of the racing spectrum. While some will question a few design decisions, the overall package delivers on many levels.

Its special guns do some amazing things, but they're boring to shoot. Its tight, responsive controls means it plays like a dream, but they merely offset the tedium that comes with blasting away thousands of generic enemies. And its progression system gives you something to strive for--until you give it a once-over and find useful upgrades to be few and far between.

CCP has a history of making their games better over time. But if you’re playing in the hopes that DUST 514 eventually delivers on the promise of a completely player-controlled galactic struggle, it’s likely to be a long wait--one tinged with equal parts frustration and fun.

It doesn't last all that long, and the wonky difficulty spikes early on may deter some players. But there's something refreshingly terrifying about staring down a faceless, leech-tongued shambler, or fleeing for your life from a razor-toothed water beetle that's as big as a sack of potatoes.