While Hardboiled Chicken loses out on some fundamentals, it does get a fair bit right. Best enjoyed in bite-sized chunks, players can find a lot to enjoy if they're simply looking for something to pick up and play. If you're a fan of side-scrolling shooters and have a weekend to spare, Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken may be just what you're looking for.

Like the rest of the Layton series, it's hard to imagine anyone who likes to use his or her brain not enjoying Professor Layton and the Last Specter. If you liked any of the other games in the Professor Layton series – nay, if you've ever enjoyed one brain teaser in your whole life – The Last Specter will undoubtedly delight.

Between the price, the modes, and the online play, it's a gem.

The game's main failing is its short length, mostly because it's so fun while it lasts.

With the inclusion of multiplayer, Dance Central 2 has become the definitive dance game on any console far surpassing its competitors. Thoughtful and intricate choreography that is still fun but accessible, a song list that is familiar and current with a depth of gameplay has made this title both challenging for previous Dance Central converts yet still welcoming for newcomers.

Batman: Arkham Asylum was the greatest superhero game of all time. The sequel, Batman: Arkham City, is five times bigger and about a billion times better. You do the math.

But for instant pleasure, a deep and meaningful career mode and constant fan-pleasing cosmetics, such as the little camera men turning where the action is, PES 2012 is back on song. Looks like there is room for two top football games this season after all.

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.

A great educational game that children can enjoy with their parents or on their own. The intuitive controls, easy-to-follow story, varied gameplay, and impressive dedication to the tone of the source material make this a great choice for young gamers, especially those who are already in love with the Sesame Street franchise.

A great game for those out to revisit Dead Rising 2 and those who avoided the series until now. It fixes or at least improves on several major issues with the series, making Capcom's zombie slayer more fun than ever.

Ace Combat Assault Horizon walks that dangerous line many modern franchises are attempting these days: make an old formula more accessible and streamlined without alienating the hardcore fans.

The story is serviceable for moving you from one puzzle to the next, but not particularly engaging, and there isn't much to do in the world except tap through dialog and receive the next puzzle in a fairly linear fashion.

While Just Dance 3 may not take the prize for the most challenging of rhythm games, its a good party game for groups and accessible enough for all skill levels.

Crysis was, and still is, a brilliantly designed shooter that anyone who enjoys FPSes should play.

It may look unassuming, but beneath its well-crafted RTS-lite design, Eufloria speaks to a much more powerful message than many games attempt. It subtly explores the very basic themes that RTSes take for granted, and asks players to find that meaning. In that, it's extremely successful.

For the devoted, Edge of Time is a nice rental with a weekend of passable web-slinging, but we hope, for Peter Parker's sake, that this one marks the end of the character's downward trend.

Forza Motorsport 4 is a big step forward from Forza Motorsport 3 in almost every way. The only flaw is the nonadjustable, overaggressive AI that occasionally makes the game overly frustrating. The pros far outweigh the single con though, and this is the new standard for racing sims.

An enormously entertaining experience. For those not daunted by challenge, in the market for a game that's quick to jump into and a great deal of fun, The Binding of Isaac is a fantastic way to spend five bucks.

The combination of sublime gameplay, unprecedented level of compelling historic team matchups, and an excellent update to My Player puts NBA 2K12 at a level no hoops game has ever been. The absolute mountaintop.

Rage is many things: open-world driving and racing game, meticulously designed first-person shooter, stunning realization of a living post-apocalyptic wasteland, and it does all of these things well. It ends just as the party is really getting going, but even the pre-party is fantastic.

The game is challenging, visually stunning and is truly a unique experience not found anywhere else. Although you can use the controller, playing with the Move and its use of vibration makes the PS3 version of the game truly a unique experience.

Axis might not be the best Tetris of all time, but it's filled with so many features that its $29.99 price tag is be easily justified, no matter how many times you've bought this game already.

The cure for the common Triple A title, Dark Souls takes every gloriously strange and punishing moment from Demon's Souls and expands and improves upon it. While its fundamentals hew closely to the original's, Dark Souls is a completely unique experience with no direct competition on the market. For those who get it, it's undoubtedly one of the year's best.

A solid RPG, but it's far from an excellent one. It's like the party you'll attend because you don't have much else going on.

The passing has been given an overhaul to eliminate the ping-pong passing that plagued online games and made EA sad as it didn't represent a real game of football. But I fancy they've gone too far in the opposite direction.

We would have liked to see more inventive uses of the clingy-liquid properties of the element, but the game manages to fling a decent number of twists at the player throughout its generous helping of levels. This mercury may not heal your wounds, but it certainly won't poison you either.

Pictures don't do Rochard justice; it's gorgeous and overflowing with color from beginning to end. If you've got free time and ten bucks to spare, Rochard is worth its weight in unobtanium (or whatever obscure space rock they were looking for before Rochard started shooting people in the head).

Some boss battles are absolutely thrilling, and the plot, while somewhat convoluted, definitely feels like a proper X-Men story, but the dull, monotonous battles and lack of polish hamstring the game.