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.

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

A complex story attempts to give meaning to each quest, but even the most hardcore 4Xers will feel betrayed by Elemental. There's very little to love here, and it's so unbalanced and frustratingly crippled no magic will fix it.

A superb blend of twin-stick shooting, platforming, exploration, and tactical combat.

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.

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.

Overall the frustration factor feels very low for a competitive shooter, yet at the same time it's very hardcore skill-based, so it can appeal to all skill levels. Even when we lost matches or got crappy kill/death ratios, we were still having fun, which can't be said for a lot of shooters out there.

It's not a standout season, unlike some past hallmark Maddens that hold up well today. The guts are there for greatness, but there's still some work to be done until it reaches that high level.

Like the movie and comics, Scott Pilgrim the game speaks perfectly to a specific generation of people that will absolutely enjoy this breezy blast from the past. And anyone who's wanted a new yet classic brawler will be satisfied by this no matter how they feel about Scott Pilgrim getting a life.

Would we have preferred a new 2D, HD Castlevania that employed stunning new sprites instead of recycled heroes, villains and environments from the past 13 years? Hell yes. Does that make this game inherently bad for not being what we hoped? Definitely not. Just be aware of what you're getting yourself into.

It looks like racing junk food, but is in fact totally hardcore. We're betting many players will give it a whirl and dismiss it as shallow before ever getting to the serious, beautifully crafted design underneath.

It's also not like there are many JPRG options on Wii right now, so if you're really eager to play a traditional, if uninspired, RPG on Wii, Arc Rise definitely offers a respectable 40-ish hour experience – just don't expect it to throw you any curve balls.

Continuum Shift improves on Calamity Trigger in every way, and it's undoubtedly one of the best fighting games available; it oozes style, incorporates some truly radical ideas into its gameplay and sports a level of polish not always seen in fighting games.

Continuum Shift improves on Calamity Trigger in every way, and it's undoubtedly one of the best fighting games available; it oozes style, incorporates some truly radical ideas into its gameplay and sports a level of polish not always seen in fighting games.

The wait was worth it. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty delivers on all fronts with unique singleplayer missions, a gripping story for the campaign and excellent multiplayer. Prepare yourself for the definitive RTS of the decade. StarCraft II is the new standard and will cast a shadow over all RTS titles that follow for quite some time.

The problem is that it's all very rote, all content we've played before in better games, and all the promise seeded in that term, MMO, goes unfulfilled.

If you like clever game design, intelligent horror, or well-realised artistry, you really have to play through Limbo. It's an immaculate production, as close to perfect as it gets, and it will stay with you for a very long time.

For $5 there's enough fun to be had with Young Thor to justify the price, but if you need your games to be highly polished then you'd best look elsewhere. The combat is extremely uneven, and the controls can be imprecise at times.

At least Alien Swarm doesn't try to be anything other than what it is. It's an online action shooter with plenty of things to shoot at.

If you've played any Diablo-style RPG and any Monkey Island-style adventure and enjoyed them, you know you'll like DeathSpank. It's a hilarious and seamless combination of the two genres more than worthy of your 15 bucks and a couple weekends of your time.

Even with our small list of complaints – add sluggish menus and lack of meaningful updates to Road To Glory and TeamBuilder to them – NCAA Football 11 is a triumph. It's the best college football game we've ever played, offering a tremendous experience to gridiron fans.

Even with our small list of complaints – add sluggish menus and lack of meaningful updates to Road To Glory and TeamBuilder to them – NCAA Football 11 is a triumph. It's the best college football game we've ever played, offering a tremendous experience to gridiron fans.

If you've played any Diablo-style RPG and any Monkey Island-style adventure and enjoyed them, you know you'll like DeathSpank. It's a hilarious and seamless combination of the two genres more than worthy of your 15 bucks and a couple weekends of your time.

While this could have been an awesome game to geek out on, its numerous technical problems kill the mood pretty quickly.

Though certainly not a huge shift for the series, Dragon Quest IX has a near-perfect mix of classic JRPG style and grand (for the DS) visuals to make a great portable adventure.

For longtime fans, that commentary track alone is worth replaying Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. For everyone else – even those of us who aren't entirely enthusiastic about the methodical pace and heavy exploration of the genre – the wonderful art, stellar cast of characters, challenging puzzles and killer comedy warrant at least an attempt at adventuring.

If you're bored with what's currently on the table, the visuals (while not jaw-dropping) are certainly pleasing if you're into the whole dystopian future Russia fetish, the familiar controls are very easy to master, combat is fluid and fast-paced, and the customization options and wide range of player modes keep the game continually interesting. If you're not convinced, consider this: for all you get, it's really hard to argue with fifteen bucks.

What was good is still good, but rarely better. What was bad is still bad, and sometimes worse. Changes have been made, though only the addition of four-person co-op makes much of a noticeable impact on the experience. This is a sequel you've sort of already played.