The lack of tutorials, tedium of grinding, and huge investment of time required will likely scare off a lot of new players not interested in playing through the entire original game first. But for a certain breed of obsessive RPG fan there's a lot here to enjoy, and giant quantities of it.

You'll especially enjoy the additional "Separate Ways" missions featuring Ada Wong, the spicy Chinese secret agent who manages to kick ass without ever ripping her slinky, split-leg wardrobe. Just don't expect anything brand new, aside from Achievements, Trophies and a return to the GameCube's difficulty setting.

Quite a pleasant surprise. It's short, sweet, and compulsively addictive while it lasts. Better still, if you're all about chasing high scores and roundhouse-kicking your friends off the winner's pedestal, you can ring quite a bit of value from this one.

While the leveling mechanics are a little too shallow to keep true RPG fans invested, the dark cel-shaded visuals and easy-to-pick up combat system can make for a fun weekend with friends. Just be sure to make the right choice if you're only willing to buy one character.

Like most games by developer Treasure, Radiant Silvergun is an acquired taste, but this version is a fantastic port of a classic shooter. It's still worth experiencing today – especially now that you don't have to sell a kidney to afford it.

Joker 2 is one of those games that's fun in short bursts, but isn't all that memorable. It does borrow some of the great parts of Pokémon while carving out its own identity in the rich Dragon Quest world. But of all the things it had to borrow from Dragon Quest, why, why did it have to be the endless grind?

Kirby's newest and likely final DS outing is one of his best in years. It might not reach the heights of adorability that Epic Yarn did, but it's definitely a stronger game when it comes to gameplay and longevity. There's a ton of replayability, numerous unlockables, and more than enough content to justify a purchase.

Every major issue in F1 2010 has been addressed, making an already great game even better. We'd still like to 'live the life' a bit more off the track, but in terms of racing, it's just an absolute blast, whichever skill level you approach it from.

Gears of War 3 boasts the best co-op and multiplayer of the series, by far, easily making up for the less-than-satisfying campaign. The end of the trilogy may not live up to your epic expectations, but somewhere in the tenth – or hundredth – hour of Beast and Horde 2.0 modes, you'll forgive it.

The Gunstringer has a few hang ups, but it's fun nonetheless.The presentation, narration, and humorous world coupled with the simple, intuitive controls make it a game to consider for your Kinect collection. However, the shortness and laggy controls could be a deal breaker for the hardcore audience.

It's certainly got the "accessibility" part down, and – despite its lack of long-term appeal – it's a uniquely humorous city builder that's worth a look on the merits of its well-honed core mechanics alone. As a sequel, though, Tropico 4's just passable. If only its developers had time control powers; then maybe they'd have eased off the fast forward button and taken the time to flesh out their game.

Our only complaint is that EA should have let the Legends simmer for a season or two until a compelling, "holy crap this is awesome" way to integrate the greatest players in history could have been dreamed up. To be frank, the Legends detract from the game more than anything else.

Its most impressive feat, though, is that it throws down the gauntlet and laughs in the face of every competing developer. We're still trying to wrap our mind around this as an indie game, because, in terms of quality, it's on the same level as any AAA shooter out there.

This sort of inoffensive and undeniably unique bite-sized offering should play well with families, and for the rest of us, we can only hope it's but a stepping stone on the path to richer and equally affordable Kinect experiences on the horizon.

It sacrifices a lot of its character to focus on creating a solid core experience, but it's good dumb fun that will easily keep you entertained all the way up to its anti-climactic end.

These are brilliant, memorable, inventive and emotionally involving adventures, and the combination of remastered visuals, 3D options, Trophies and a $40 price tag make them more irresistible than ever.

Outside of a perfunctory multiplayer mode that's cute so long as you have friends nearby with a 3DS (there's no online play) , Star Fox 64 3D is a fine diversion, but at its full price of $39.99, it isn't a must buy.

Driver: San Francisco blows our minds; it's 100% more fun than we expected and immediately re-establishes the franchise front and center in the marketplace.

If you absolutely love to be beaten into submission by a game, perhaps BB will serve as your cruel mistress, but you will have to wrestle with the controls. Anyone looking for simply some 2D action to pass the time should stay the heck away, unless you think you have a secret masochist inside.

Fixes the stumbles of its predecessor, reinvigorates the excitement factor, and has exemplary pacing in its single-player (and co-op) campaign. The Chimera are the most terrifying they've ever been, while you control the most empowering arsenal yet. The multiplayer is as tight as ever, rounding out a complete package of polish, mood, and adrenaline.

Could have been a passable romp through a zombie-infested castle of terror, but the frustrating controls, lack of horror elements, and sub-par presentation make it a game that's difficult to recommend, especially for the mature audience it's meant for.

The game's foundation is utterly unique, hypnotically compelling, and seriously scary in weird ways horror games don't normally pull off, and if it had been more polished I would have given it a higher score. It really is an unfinished game, though, and its problems are not minor annoyances. I really, really enjoyed playing the game for most of its humongous play time, but it also brought spectacular bouts of frustration.

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.

There's a lot to love here, but gamers with hatred for Laharl and company won't find anything to change their minds. At the very least, those who appreciate the series for all that it is will find this entry more than satisfying, as it does everything better than before.

Aside from the enjoyable and well-weighted multiplayer, pretty much everything around that core experience of destroying things with big weapons is flaky. Big time flaky. But thankfully, happiness really is a warm gun, even if it is on the 50th respawn before that damn warehouse.

There's something special with Innocent Sin, but only the most dedicated RPG fans will ever be able to truly appreciate it. At least they can finally experience the part of Persona 2 they never knew.

Taken together, the games make for a slick, compelling package that offers a much more attractive way to play two important chapters of the God of War series.

While we're happy overall with Madden 12, and it's a notch better than last season's game, it remains a far-from-perfect experience. Those of us that plan on spending a hundred hours or more playing online franchise and community games will surely compile an enormous laundry list of issues – but in the end, we'll still play all those games. Even so, we're left wanting much more than we're getting from EA's venerable football series.