It plays to the DS' strengths, and when it all clicks, it's a lot of fun. Just be prepared to brute force your way through a lot of frustrating misfires if you decide to go for it.

EA Sports UFC boasts incredibly detailed fighters and great combat. However, this debut effort from a new publisher lacks the single-player balance and the variety of modes that previous UFC games brought to the ring.

Simple in design, but almost to a fault. The tower defense mechanics just don't work as well as we had hoped, but we did enjoy crushing hundreds of buildings and townsfolk with our rolling rock of doom. Oh, and steamrolling your friends so hard that they cry themselves to sleep? That's pretty neat, too.

For around five bucks, Paperboy is a worthwhile purchase. It’s still loads of fun. But like the newspapers our paperboy is tasked with delivering, the game has lost some of its appeal.

That's not to say that this game isn't a good choice to play with a friend – we'd actually highly recommend playing the main single player game and just take turns handing the controller back and forth.

Take away its vast environment and The Crew is decidedly mediocre. But the enjoyable story and great sense of actually driving, whether alone or solo, means there's plenty of fun to be had all the same.

It takes all of 10 seconds to understand but countless hours to perfect. Is there a better recipe for a portable game?

There's no other way to slice it: Disney Universe is for kids. Or perhaps for you and your kids. Much like the brand itself, the gameplay in Disney Universe is timeless, in that it's widely accessible and easy to understand. However, if you're looking for something deeper and more satisfyingly complex, there's not quite enough on the disc to stand on Disney fandom alone.

Mario and Sonic 2014 certainly has its issues, but it’s definitely a step above previous titles in terms of event design and overall enjoyment. It’s a more complex and engaging than the usual minigame menagerie, and the distinct franchise twists in the Dream Events are a welcome bit of fanservice. It’s not a gold medal winner just yet, but Mario and Sonic 2014 is a stronger contender than it’s ever been before.

Big kudos to Ivy the Kiwi for not killing the joy of discovery by overexplaining.

Though unequivocally fun, this release doesn't have "Lumines'" more cerebral underpinnings to fall back on, so the lack of truly differentiated game modes hurts its longevity - especially because most players will need considerable practice before getting more than a level or two in.

For the patient, the willing, and the people who know exactly what "Flashpoint" and its fans are capable of: go buy ArmA. View it as an investment for the future, because by the time PCs and Bohemia manage to catch up with the game engine it’ll be just as important as Flashpoint’s.

A cool game, and a gorgeous showpiece for Xbox Live Arcade, holding up well with the likes of other trippy titles like Geometry Wars and Space Giraffe. But the repetitive gameplay doesn’t really hold up like it should. And the game’s crazy presentation will only take most gamers so far.

Overall the game is not great, but better than your average movie-tie-in, and if you like sword fighting or pirates in general, it could be worth your time.

Dead Rising 3 excels at what it does best, which is mainly killing zombies in deeper ways as your undead-slaying skills grow over the game. And it’s smoother than ever to maximize that quality time of chainsawing a zombie in half. Yet the lack of combat annoyances only amplify the flaws of the writing and the lack of mission variety. Dead Rising is closer than ever to realizing its full potential, but its many mistakes make it clear that it isn’t quite there yet.

A playful co-op experience that shines with mates, but isn’t as precise or polished as a mainline Zelda.

Xenoblade Chronicles X offers a resplendent world, fantastic combat, and transforming mechs, but figuring out how everything fits together isn't always easy.

When the game works – that is, when you pull off incredible close calls and survive the onslaught – it's quite exciting. When it doesn't work, which will depend on your frustration threshold and/or skill level, it becomes utterly exasperating. All of this means it is stubbornly old-school, for better or for worse.

They say the devil’s in the detail, but Color Splash proves quite the opposite. In the minutiae it excels, while many of its broader systems hit a little wide of the mark. Despite its flaws, it’s very difficult to dislike, perhaps because every niggling issue is quickly followed by a moment of grin-inducing silliness or awe-inspiring beauty. This might not be the return to classic Paper Mario that its devotees have been awaiting, nor is it a bold reinvention that vindicates Nintendo’s need to innovate. It is, however, one of the most heartwarming games you’ll play this year.

It's got all the heart, some of the soul and a lot of missing plot pieces from the rest of the series, plus a unique gameplay concept. Too bad the control scheme and the camera suck.

Its pretty world and detailed monsters are slightly offset by a lack of variety, and its free flying segments feel kind of pointless when they don't let you do anything you otherwise couldn't on-rails. But its score-based, arcade core and digestible levels will keep you coming back for more until you're sittin' pretty on top of the leaderboards.

Once all of your goals are completed, you get a feeling of accomplishment, but lose some of the replayablity of other Sims games - you've seen one uncharted island, you've seen 'em all - and the thought of having to harvest all those vines, chop wood, find berries, pick leaves, catch fish, light fires, build furniture, find shelter and identify plants might not sound appealing.

Ultimately, SimCity Creator doesn’t offend and isn’t bare bones, but it’s definitely made for those new to the series than for those who were into it way before The Sims.

The biggest issue with the single player campaign was that half way through, we started earning money faster than we could spend it and had massive space stations, capable of repelling nearly any attack, at every world. That said, if there's a Star Wars fan out there who doesn't want more ships, vehicles, and heroes to play with, we haven't met him yet.

High on Life is a confident and capable Metroidvania that takes real pleasure in being as weird and outlandish as is reasonably possible. In presenting combat underpinned by chatting weapons and worlds wrought with endless distraction, Squanch Games has created something that is well worth your time, even if some of its elements lack refinement.

So, maybe this isn't really a Final Fantasy game. It doesn't really matter, because 4 Heroes is supremely challenging and occasionally inventive - and what recent, successful Final Fantasy game can you really say that about?

Deception IV: Blood Ties continues the legacy of Tecmo's cult series, and feels like a full realization of the original premise. If you have the patience for its late-game flaws, there's never been a better time to cast your lot with The Devil.

A good game, though not necessarily a standard bearer for shoot em ups. It's got a unique art style, tinges of Grasshopper's profane quirkiness, and offers some rather challenging wrinkles on the genre formula. Don't believe for a second that "casual friendliness" means putting a controller in the hands of your game-dabbler buddies and expecting them not to either melt down or wave a white flag.