Outside of the repetitious boss, there’s very little to complain about with Crown of the Old Iron King. As you descend deeper in Brume Tower, there’s much to uncover and you’re often given multiple paths to explore. Regardless of how you progress, that familiar sense of dread will plague every step. Crown of the Old Iron King only gets more insidious as it goes on and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

While its gameplay may not even come close to the depth or complexity of a title like Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey’s story and visuals stand toe to toe with some of the best the genre has seen. If it’s an epic voyage into the realm of fantasy you’re after, you’ve found it.

A lot of the fluff that has plagued the series for the last couple years has been stripped away, revealing a game that fast, furious, and focused almost 100 percent on the play experience.

There’s an old adage that says “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” FIFA 15 perfectly embodies that sentiment. This game subtly refines the mechanics of what was already a great series, and while it’s very similar to previous iterations, that’s largely a good thing.

Spore will leave you in a state of wide-eyed wonderment one minute, and disappointed the next. The limited online interaction and surprisingly short campaign make it easy to think about what could have been. The fact is, there’s no other game like it, and a lot of things that will be hated by some, will be just as liked by others.

The way the vehicles crumple, windshields shatter, and pieces of debris go flying in every direction is second to none, making you appreciate each and every impact. The only quibbles we have with the presentation are the absence of a driver, and one of the most annoying announcers ever.

So, it may play better with a 360 controller, it may quirk out, and the new stuff may be good but not great, but it’s still one of the most solid PC games of the year, with a great single-player game that can even be played cooperatively, and fantastic, team-based multiplayer that’s just a few notches below Team Fortress.

The melancholy can swell at times to border at overbearing, and one or two real head scratchers would have been nice, but Brothers is a yarn that hopefully won’t be forgotten after fussy first looks.

Unequivocally better than the original in almost every single way, XIII-2 presents a rehabilitated spin on one of the most polarizing Square-Enix releases in recent years, as well as a promising way forward for the franchise. It may not be enough to undo what's already been done, but for what it's worth, XIII-2 may just change your mind about the future.

You won't regret your excursion to these ursine lands if you've still got the spirit of exploration, the scars, and the fond feelings of battle etched into your heart. Those less into the prospect of jumping into WoW yet again may just as well stay in hibernation.

The inclusion of Ghost of Sparta makes this package a "must buy" for anyone seeking a great action game, particularly those who missed it on PSP.

That said, if you enjoy online, vehicle- and objective-based warfare, it has quite a bit of staying power. Just don't expect to get your money's worth from the campaign.

It’s a unique first-person experience that can only be done on the platform. Crysis manages to transcend the hype to go beyond the pixels and stand solid on its own.

The Broken Age will win you over in minutes, and what it lacks in length or difficulty it makes up for in pure personality.

The most well-rounded, entertaining, and error-free hoops offering this season. Plenty of modes and gameplay depth combine with stunning visuals and presentation to make NBA 2K7 this year’s king of the court and a must own for PS3-owning hoops fans.

The franchise has finally reached its next-gen potential with a gang of new modes and gameplay tweaks that make the experience much more realistic and skill-based. There’s a steeper learning curve to overcome, but it’s worth it to finally cast aside the 16-bit pass-pass-shoot trappings the FIFA series has endured for far too long.

Ultimax is a half-step in the same vein as Super Street Fighter IV or Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. But it’s a step that plants itself firmly and confidently. Practically everything new in Ultimax is outstanding and the core it’s built on is just as robust and exhilarating as it was two years ago. What could have been a meager effort to re-engage idle players is instead a triumphant rebirth. It’s time to enter the ring.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is one of those rare games where its flaws sound severe on paper, but often melt away when you’re actually playing. We can’t remember the last time we’ve been so thoroughly absorbed by a virtual place or so attached to a cast of characters. In that sense, Dragon Age: Inquisition is a flawed journey, but it’s one that we eagerly want to return to.

It will take a capable character about a dozen hours to make it to the bottom of this mega-dungeon, and once you do, the dungeon locks up its doors once more and fortifies its defenses with even more fearsome guardians to match your inflated level and newly-acquired loot.

At 15 dollars, Shadow Complex is simply a tremendous value, especially in the doldrums of summer. The lackluster story, superfluous 3D forays, and routine combat amount to mere nitpicks. The urge to scour and uncover that fuels the game makes it hard to put it down once you've started.

As with its predecessors, it's a rare game that earns its difficulty through the weight of its decisions rather than its gameplay, and it sets an increasingly high bar for narrative excellence in video games.

A lot of the fluff that has plagued the series for the last couple years has been stripped away, revealing a game that fast, furious, and focused almost 100 percent on the play experience.

There are one or two things to be wary of here, but if you're willing to sign, you'll have a chance to earn a feeling of true accomplishment.

Expansion packs don’t get much more solid than this.

Madden continues to improve upon its solid foundation with worthwhile additions like Draft Champions. Most importantly the offensive changes bring more strategy and depth to the core gameplay that makes this one of the more engaging Maddens in recent years.

It isn't the most serious affair, but if shooting the breeze in the bowels of the Normandy provided you with some of your fondest Mass Effect moments, you'll absolutely love this one last chance to bond with your crew.

With its deeply satisfying series of campaigns, solid battle and progression systems, and a worthwhile multiplayer component, you'd be foolish to pass this one up.

The increased emphasis on weapons is clearly the right move for Resistance 3. Trying out different guns and upgrading each is a blast, and there are some fun surprises as the game goes on. Despite some neat boosters and abilities, the multiplayer doesn't do too much to stand out, but the variety and pacing of the campaign makes it the best in the series so far.

The franchise has finally reached its next-gen potential with a gang of new modes and gameplay tweaks that make the experience much more realistic and skill-based. There’s a steeper learning curve to overcome, but it’s worth it to finally cast aside the 16-bit pass-pass-shoot trappings the FIFA series has endured for far too long.

It's hard to argue with the general direction the series has taken, and most players will be happy with the end result, but if you're hoping for a game where true skill always determines the winner there is some disappointment to work through.

The way the vehicles crumple, windshields shatter, and pieces of debris go flying in every direction is second to none, making you appreciate each and every impact. The only quibbles we have with the presentation are the absence of a driver, and one of the most annoying announcers ever.

Lack of character progression aside, this is a substantial chunk of DLC, lasting 12 to 15 hours and including some great payoffs at the end. You’ll find tantalizing mysteries to explore along the way, and a few more side quests unlock after the main quest. Assault on Dragon Keep is the funniest and most expansive bit of post-launch content for Borderlands 2. Fantasy nerds, this one’s for you.

Guerrilla Games needs to recognize that it's not plot points and politics that move its games, but the bullets and guns. If the campaign could take a step back from the spectacle to focus on core concepts and feedback loops, the qualities that make the multiplayer suite so flexible and entertaining could make the campaign even stronger. Killzone Shadow Fall is easy to recommend as a launch title, and it's also a fantastic shooter on its own merits, regardless of hardware or history.

The atmosphere is Metroid Prime, and the structure is Resident Evil, but everything else is all its own. The strategic dismemberment, mixture of weapons and supernatural abilities, and relentless intensity make for a game that you’ll be scared to keep playing, but won’t want to stop.

Serious wordsmiths may bemoan the lighter difficulty and more streamlined puzzle play, but it's hard to grumble when the simple act of noodling around with your wacky word creations is so blissfully absorbing on its own.

Though it can sometimes feel that the series is in a perpetual state of catch-up with Rock Band, Guitar Hero 5 strikes back with a considerable set of new features and improvements that truly count. The band experience is cohesive and party play is at its most effortless yet.

With an immersive world, crisp combat, and a venomous gameplay hook that refuses to let up, Diablo 3 delivers a slick revitalization of the action RPG, even if it isn't a complete re-invention of it. If you've yet to repent for your grubby, loot hoarding ways, consider this your next guilty indulgence.

Offering slick, fast-paced gameplay, white-knuckle multiplayer, a lengthy single-player experience, and more B-movie cheese than a plate of microwave nachos, there’s a lot to like about Command & Conquer 3.

The whole experience is even more remarkable at its price point of $10. Sure, clearing towns might get a little stale and the occasional blip of aimlessness is annoying, but the outstanding writing and attention to detail more than make up for any pockmarks on this putrefied gunslinger.

The only real shortcoming of F.E.A.R. is how repetitive it eventually becomes.

In some ways, Forza Horizon 2 doesn’t feel that different from the original, but its proficiencies are expressed in new ways as you joyfully tumble across wide stretches of terrain. It gets open-world gameplay right by continually encouraging you to explore, and you may climb a hill just to look out over the scenic landscape and watch the clouds roll in.

Beautiful environments, persuasively appetizing fruits, and a quirky personality are matched by thoughtful and challenging game design. Nearly a decade since the previous game, there's still nothing quite like Pikmin, and it's fantastic to see new growth finally take root.

The engine is a bit long in the tooth and some of the content isn't entirely worth exploring, but if you're looking for an unforgettable top shelf action/adventure, heed the creed.

The five or so hours it takes to escape this den of iniquity are rife with high caliber direction. It balances the new gewgaws with the series' hallmarks to deliver a fitting send-off of BioShock's under-the-sea story.

With its old identity stripped away you've left with a massive action game that tends to check all the boxes instead of creating new ones, yet measured against its contemporaries it remains near the top of its class. Big, brash, and full of memorable moments, Resident Evil 6 deserves to be played by any fan of the action genre.

Lumines II improves on its predecessor by offering up the same great core gameplay and a ton of new modes and features that are sure to keep you busy.

There's a certain straight-to-DVD feel with this sequel, which constantly evokes the original without ever eclipsing it. But perhaps it's callous to stack it up too harshly against its brilliant predecessor. BioShock 2 houses great combat, an entertaining multiplayer game, some truly standout set pieces, and a story you'll want to see through to the end.

"In Sheep's Clothing" nails it where it counts. Not since episode one have we felt so fascinated with The Wolf Among Us.

Normally games that borrow a lot of elements from others end up being less than the sum of their parts, but for everything Dead Space borrows it gives something back. The atmosphere is Metroid Prime, and the structure is Resident Evil, but everything else is all its own. The strategic dismemberment, mixture of weapons and supernatural abilities, and relentless intensity make for a game that you’ll be scared to keep playing, but won’t want to stop.

At $10, Bionic Commando Rearmed is a steal. It's one of those games that feels organic to play.

Despite the downgraded visuals, the Reflex Edition of Modern Warfare lives up to its heritage with a strong campaign and multiplayer that will keep you up until sunrise.

Requiring you to think a lot more than the average shooter and providing a wealth of online content, Rainbow Six Vegas is a great addition to the PS3 line up, even if it does come several months late.

It can be digested in small chunks making it perfect gaming for the on-the-go types, and there’s honestly no other handheld game like it.

While its action and playful aesthetic are easy to admire, perhaps The Wonderful 101’s best quality is evoking a child-like innocence.

There’s a whole lot of game here, but that was true last year, and for every gameplay improvement there’s something annoying to dampen the enthusiasm. It’s still an excellent football game, but the casual player is going to like it a lot more than the grizzled vet.

The action is high-quality, free-roaming stuff, and the game earns major points for its smart way of dealing with getting shot up, patched up, and bailed out. The story does keep you on a leash and your objectives tend to repeat without too much variation, but if you enjoy this line of work, Far Cry 2's dangerous African landscape is a great place to be a merc.

Despite its goofy title and questionable marketing tie-ins, Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed deserves to be taken seriously... just not too seriously. It's a fun, challenging, and easily enjoyable racing game that uses a lot of familiar mechanics and ideas but knows well enough to try and do its own thing. And it does that thing pretty well.

As with the first game, Infinity Blade 2 expertly plays to the iOS platform's strengths, rendering many, if not all, of its contemporaries in sharp relief. Future updates promise an augmented game experience that includes multiplayer raid-style encounters called Clashmobs, but for the present, this aspirant of the app store is more than equipped to deliver a deep and satisfying experience sure to bleed into multiple lifetimes.

The action is high-quality, free-roaming stuff, and the game earns major points for its smart way of dealing with getting shot up, patched up, and bailed out. The story does keep you on a leash and your objectives tend to repeat without too much variation, but if you enjoy this line of work, Far Cry 2's dangerous African landscape is a great place to be a merc.

Though not an astounding improvement over the original, Left 4 Dead 2 successfully rekindles that magical zombie-hunting feeling with great new content, and a cool competitive multiplayer mode to boot. It may take some convincing to draw you to its cause, but cooperative team-based shooting is rarely more fun, or hectic, than this.

It’s basically the same game we’ve been playing for the past five or six years, but it’s received a nice visual upgrade and it’s hard to knock a game too much for repeating such a consistently enjoyable performance.

If you're a fan of traditional Picross or similar puzzles like Sudoku, you shouldn't miss Picross 3D.

If you’re looking for the perfect replication of sliding around a gravel corner with all four tires holding on for dear life, then buy it with no reservations. The learning curve is just right regardless of your experience level, there’s a ton of content despite the lack of true online play, and it’s a very pretty game, despite some occasional draw-in.

Prince of Persia is a well-made product with production values to die for. But as an interactive experience, some conscious design and gameplay decisions will lesson the enjoyment for experienced players. The platforming is fluid yet only vaguely interactive, and the combat is robust but easy.

There are a few hangovers from its prior design that keep it from reaching the upper echelon of video game-dom, but next to Zelda, you won’t find a more robust or addictive game available for the system.

Focusing on what's most important to creating a good fighter, Tekken Tag 2 sets a moderately high bar and confidently clears it. It offers a ton of fighters, the tag system is interesting, it plays well online, and it preserves the goofy sense of humor that defines the series. Spinoff or not, this is the best Tekken game in years.

A top-shelf effort that spiffs up the series with touched up visuals and plenty of extras. Having all three games together in a collection like this is a golden opportunity for veterans to get reacquainted with Dante. And if you've somehow missed out on Devil May Cry, then this is your chance to finally experience a trilogy that played a large part in paving a new road for action games.

Offers a good deal of mischief to get into, and it's all backed up by a great stealth system and a solid shooting game. With its variable story, as well as how it encourages you to alter your approach to obstacles, it's also a game that rewards multiple playthroughs. The future is bleak and at times ugly, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

If you are a new, returning, or current player in Destiny, the Taken King is absolutely worth checking out.

PixelJunk Shooter is slick, addictive, and memorable, and more than worth the $10 dollars it'll set you back. It's also clear that this is just the first installment in what we're hoping is a long, ongoing inquiry into the science of fun.

If you're the kind of player that can get completely lost in these sorts of open world RPGs, you're going to eat Dragon's Dogma alive. However much its reach exceeds its grasp in certain respects, this ambitious game succeeds in taking the form in an altogether welcome direction--one that does not sacrifice minute-to-minute gameplay on the altar of expansiveness.

F.E.A.R. 2 doesn’t depart much from the original formula, retaining what was good about the first game while punching up the weaker areas. The improved variety in weapons, locations, and enemies is great, but standards have increased a great deal since Alma’s debut. What you get is an atmospheric shooter with a lot of tried-and-true concepts that fails to push the envelope. Fans of horror and first-person shooters will find it a nice blend of the two.

While the technical hitches are disappointing, Midnight Club: Los Angeles is still a frantic, open experience that's even more fun for anyone familiar with the city. There's a lot of room for personalization, and the nearly overwhelming lineup of modes and events ensure that players won't be taking the bus out of town any time soon.

The low-rent visuals are a disappointment, even for the Wii, but it’s a clear demonstration of how well the Wii controls can work in the right hands. Best of all, it comes from a place that no one ever expected.

Making good on the aspirations of its predecessor, PlanetSide 2's vision of large-scale warfare is the most exuberantly realized yet. And with a payment model a good deal more generous than the 14 day trial teased by Everquest all those years ago, there's certainly little reason not to give it a go.

For all the careful planning that might go in a stickup, it all usually comes down to clutching out impromptu, split second shootouts. Sometimes these quirks manifest as incompetent A.I. behavior or exploitative gameplay, but for the most part, it all congeals in a remarkably tense and satisfying experience with depth to go with its style.

Despite these minor issues however, Splinter Cell Blacklist impresses with its scope and versatility. Level designs aren't limited to paint-by-numbers solutions, and the game not only gives you the option to play how you want, but pushes you to perfect your play-style.

Soul Calibur V enjoys its triumphs, most notably the strong online element, as well as its shortfalls, such as the flat story and relative dearth of extra content. In spite of its mostly positive gameplay tweaks, though, it's in no real danger of reinventing the wheel. That's OK with us. In this fifth installment, Soul Calibur is as easy to enjoy as it ever was, and it brings with it enough new stuff to more than justify its existence.

The greatest strength of Life is Strange is that the excellent character work, supernatural twists, and serene environments manage to overcome any technical issues. It was easy for us to get hooked on guiding Max through this tumultuous time in her life, and the ending left our hearts and minds drained.

Loaded with content and the driving is generally tight, it just fails to break any sort of new ground.

Call of Duty: World at War is a great game that feels all too familiar, yet it's undoubtedly the best shooter based on the conflict. Comparisons between it and Call of Duty 4 are inevitable, but even on its own merits, it's a paint-by-numbers affair. The single-player campaign is intense and the cooperative play is engaging, but the competitive multiplayer, despite some added perks and tweaks, is subdued by the era it so accurately replicates.

Virtual Fighter 5 Final Showdown shines in its utilitarian simplicity, delivering a premium experience that's focused on the fighting at an economical price. If you've ever wanted to see what the hubbub was all about in the arcades of Akihabara, consider this your ticket to find out.

Enemy Within isn’t the definitive version of XCOM, but it’s a smart and satisfying extension of a game ideal for enticing players back for a second, third, or fourth playthrough.

Blur is essentially Mario Kart with deeper driving mechanics and more strategy, but those characteristics are potent enough for it to stand on its own. The unpredictability of races packed with drivers, as well as the wealth of vehicles, tracks, and challenges, ensure that you'll keep coming back for more.

While the more obvious gating puzzles aren’t as charming, Antichamber still manages to craft its conclusion to a crescendo, with the swelling geometry taking on a personality, successfully building a narrative despite a lack of story.

While Puppeteer's unique construction doesn't always make for the most fluid action, it presents some new ideas across an undeniably fun and diverse journey. Creatively fashioned visuals and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor lend an impressively elaborate feel to the overall production.

NBA 2K15 has an awe-inspiring amount of customization that makes the game accessible for new players, and finely tuned for veterans. Each mode has addressed and improved upon criticisms from previous years and despite a slight misstep on defense, offense has never felt better.

While some of the interface experiments are hit or miss, the gameplay in Need for Speed: Most Wanted provides a solid mix of heart-in-your throat speed and playful discovery. Whether you're weaving through traffic or lining up for big air, Most Wanted's densely-packed automotive playground is fun to explore on your own, and really comes alive with friends.

There’s a lot to see, and a lot of it’s worth seeing. It may not be in the echelons of excelsior, but we feel it’s safe to say: make mine Marvel.

With less than half the songs you'd normally get in a Rock Band release, The Beatles could use a lot more music. But for fans of the band, buying this game is a no-brainer.

It’s a far more nuanced game than you might expect, but it’s also very forgiving, allowing the player to find his own role in the fight. You could think of it as a multiplayer game that’s very friendly to the single-player mentality. Or you could think of it as a kick-ass online action game. Either way you’d be right.

The sheer scope of the episode and what it accomplishes with the story makes it feel essential. Even more importantly, episode two is the best kind of DLC by being both distinct and deeply connected with its associated game. If you’re willing to invest in the struggling first episode, episode two considerably strengthens this interesting extension of Bioshock’s world.

FIFA 09 may or may not have 250 new additions, but it's a strong-playing game with an extensive amount of modes.

Once you get into the rhythm of each faction's style of play, Natural Selection 2 opens up the throttle on one of the most interesting and intense multiplayer experiences you'll find on PC.

The quality of the combat, the diversity of the dialogue from lead characters to two-bit crooks, and the sheer amount of things to do make this stretch of Gotham an enjoyable place to visit. Origins proves the Arkham formula is strong enough for another team to tamper with, but if the series wants to really break free of its restraints in the next generation, they’re going to have to teach this old bat even more new tricks.

Super Mario Maker is worth checking out to prove what’s possible with the Wii U’s often-ignored gamepad controller. Few games have you staring at the second screen for longer stretches of time, and it just feels good to put stuff together.

Space invaders Extreme 2 reaffirms that remaking a classic can be done in a very thoughtful and entertaining way. Its gameplay is clever and addicting, and its stunning presentation makes a strong impression.

Half-Minute Hero moves like a bullet train, with non-stop laughs and light speed gameplay. There's more depth to it than you'd expect, but its bite-sized chunks make it great to play in short bursts. If you've ever wanted your RPGs to pick up the pace, don't pass this one by.