While still not meeting the revolution that 1942 was, the addition of Titan mode makes it feel more than “another year, another title” but it’s cutting it close.

A Boy and His Blob is a slow burn that requires patience, so those looking for a bit more action should stay mindful of this. However, if you're hankering for a great 2D platformer with clever, inventive puzzles, you'll find plenty to love here.

For a free-to-play game, World of Tanks offers a surprising wealth of entertainment, although you may feel the need to fork out a bit of cash for some armor upgrades. The best part of this armored adventure is that enjoying a few rounds of battle doesn't take the time commitment required by other MMOs.

Hunting down your prey as the police or getting to your hideout in the nick of time is exhilarating, and constantly sharing a social sphere with other players feels like a natural step forward for a series intent on putting players on opposing side of the law.

Mixes up the series' gameplay fundamentals in interesting ways without fouling up what makes it unique, reinvigorating the multiplayer game in process. It's a remarkably ambitious standalone expansion, and at a mere $30, it's a great introduction to those who've yet to take up arms.

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.

The Wii controls are integrated almost seamlessly into the gameplay, making for a port that’s actually better than the original and worth at least renting for vets of the series. There’s no second opinion needed on this one.

Tiger Woods 08 will definitely give you your money’s worth when it comes to sheer play options.

It's missing a few elements that would make it an ideal starting point for anyone unfamiliar to the series and is unlikely to attract new fans with its straightforward approach, but in terms of value and quality, Broken Destiny is an excellent handheld fighting game.

Online play holds up admirably to the lobby features and netcode standards of the original, and dedicated pad players should find little trouble adjusting their links, loops, and launchers to the Vita's crisp controls.

The Last Story employs some bold mechanisms in an attempt to chart new territory. If not for a few undercooked components like the multiplayer, it would stand among the best on the Wii. Still, it's a strong RPG in its own right, excelling precisely where you'd expect such a game to. The Wii could have done much worse for a bookend to its storied history.

Strives to replicate the Masters, and it succeeds on an impressive level. It's got the sort of variety that'll keep you playing for a good long time, and its treatment of the Masters is slick and educational, doing honor to the venerable tournament.

While the omission of co-op play in this outing is an unexpected disappointment, Lego City Undercover is the best game in the series so far. It's consistently fun and surprising, offering the freedom of a great open-world game without all the guilt.

The real enjoyment in Luftrausers doesn’t really come from experimenting, it’s more about finding the right fit. It’s really about performance, not options, and the game’s longevity and value come from excellent tuning and feedback. You launch, then you thread the needle, push the envelope, curse your foes, and go out in a blaze of glory.

Though it leans a little too heavily on well-trod genre conventions, there's no denying that Reckoning has a whole lot to offer in terms of sheer breadth. Similarly, though the challenge tapers off dramatically toward the end, its combat is welcoming, gratifying, and hypnotic.

With so much to do, achieving 100% completion will take some real effort. It’s fair to say the game earns the Deluxe in its title, and almost everything here is well done. Charming and light like its hero, Kirby Triple Deluxe has some real substance under all the pink fluff.

It’s like a great amusement park ride: fun while it lasts. But peel off that shiny paint and pause the adrenaline rush and you see there are some core problems hiding in the shadows, like underlying structure and play that just don’t completely congeal. Even so, it’s a hell of a ride, and it’s hard not to be forgiving and embrace this darkness.

Thanks to a wealth of content, solid presentation, and overall playability, the new Duels of the Planeswalkers is an excellent way to enjoy a game of Magic.

Second Son is visually stunning with rocking dynamic music to boot, but with its repetitive side-tasks, the finely crafted Seattle streets feel a bit lacking in things to do. Nevertheless, the game's characters and core story arc holds strong. The varied and eccentric powers give you a lot to experiment with, and you truly feel like a super-hero with the city at your fingertips.

It’s not better or worse than the old method, but it’s new, and at times it’s incredibly taxing on the brain - in a good way.

While Proteus doesn't evoke a sense of lasting emotional impact, it provides a brief escape to zone out and let your senses soak in its world, whether you're following your nose in discovery or simply relaxing and watching the sunset.

UEFA offers a solid game of soccer with no glaring flaws, a slightly steep learning curve, and a deep amount of play options that should keep most players satisfied--at least until next year's installment hits the market.

NBA Live 10 is a vastly improved game, making key strides in the areas of AI, controls, and atmosphere. While there are a few stumbles here and there, hoops fans sour on the franchise will be pleasantly surprised with what the developers were able to accomplish.

Wii Fit has it's own style and look, but there's no hiding the fact that very little effort has gone into its presentation.

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.

To say Total War: Attila is complex would be an understatement. At times it can feel like you are studying for a final exam. If you manage to get past the steep learning curve however, Total War: Attila is a rewarding historical strategy game. There’s a wide range of possibilities on the battlefield and conflicts are a marvelous sight to behold. Unfortunately a few technical problems and an insignificant political system hold it back from greatness.

The experience is a good length, without even engaging the replays, and its feel-good manner and attention to its source material is unmatched for a licensed game.

The Broken Bond isn’t a huge advancement for the Naruto franchise, but it does a fair job of matching battles and missions with the proper plot points.

Picking up Pushmo World isn't the most exciting prospect up front. It takes far too long to really get going, and we wish there were additional challenges and incentives to retry old puzzles. That said, it really does get more interesting as you dig deeper in, and there are more than enough individual puzzles to keep you busy for quite some time.

Despite infuriating DLC practices Forza remains a fantastic drive, and with some improvements, Drivatars could set a new path for competitive AI.

Rather than encourage you to engage this striking world as a real place with coherent rules and consequences, you're asked to internalize its shortcomings and game them mercilessly. When it truly makes good on the open-world stealth thing, it certainly has its moments, and nowhere is this more evident than in the Contracts mode. But even in these cases, its flaws are merely papered-over. If you mean to accept this contract, bear in mind the numerous potential complications.

This year may go down as the year of change, and WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 isn’t going to hurt its chances. It’s a solid entry for the series, with more notable innovations and improvements than the last couple games in the series. No molds are broken, but maybe next year it’ll come through with a solid TKO.

Wolfenstein: The New Order suffers from minor inconsistencies in nearly every aspect of the game from its storytelling to its action, but the good news is the game never feels consistently bad.

This nightmare is decidedly brief, clocking in at around an hour or so. At the five dollar price point, though, it won't break the bank. If you're hungry for another dose of horror, don't hesitate to check it out.

Yakuza 3 brings together enough different gameplay styles that it's more or less pointless to assign it to one particular genre. It's the way it combines these individual parts and invests you in its world that really matters.

As a solo experience it can come off as repetitive and robotic. When played against friends it's an absolute riot.

King of Fighters XIII accomplishes the difficult task of redeeming a previously failed attempt at revitalizing the franchise. Everything that makes a great fighting game, from an interesting and balanced cast to well-conceived mechanics and visual flair, are here in abundance.

Within Unplugged's clever title lies an unmistakable truth: it really is Rock Band without the instruments. But though it succeeds at capturing the series' core gameplay, the experience is largely a lonely one, something that runs counter to the jam session vibe established by its predecessors.

The decision to give Samus a voice is sure to be controversial thanks to the ho-hum script, and this coupled with a plethora of side characters clamps down on the feeling of isolation. Even so, it's a solid game from top to bottom that rolls the dice several times without them ever coming up snake eyes.

Mom and dad might even enjoy themselves as well.

It's hard to recommend Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. It's too complicated for kids, and too convoluted for adults, If you're the creative type, you'll enjoy fiddling around with all the parts, but if you're looking for an accessible game that you can play in short bursts and make headway, then steer clear.

EA Sports MMA comes out swinging with a solid first entry, but only time will tell if its defining features will truly sustain the game over the long term, especially with regards to its bold decisions when it comes to online play.

Scribblenauts is a terrific toy and a decent puzzle game. Its ambitions are bigger than the tiny screens that house it. The clumsy controls and ill-simulated nouns don't break the game as much as they fuel frustration, but as a toy and a portable game, Scribblenauts succeeds even if it doesn't exceed its big aspirations.

For a few bucks, the first episode of the Walking Dead lets you slip into the well-traveled waters of the zombie blight and experience it from a new and interesting perspective.

Overall, the DS version of Sonic Colors is certainly better executed than its counterpart on the Wii. If you're looking for a portable platformer, you could certainly do a lot worse.

Lost Planet is a nice evolution of an older genre, but in some ways, it’s also stalled by its legacy. It’s definitely not the next breakthrough, but it will please anyone looking for a straightforward experience with stunning visuals.

The electro bleeps range from the avant-garde Philip Glass to the avant-hard of Orbital, and likely your love of this type of music will determine if this is a must-have or an impulse purchase.

With all of these musical elements in tow, gorgeous cel-shade graphics with fantastic designs and fluid animations round out the package for a complete storybook aesthetic that’s a refreshingly fluorescent sashay away from the gravelly grays and browns of next-gen post-apocalyptic realism.

Even with numerous technical problems, Cart Life offers more than simple entertainment. You’ll cringe when Andrus’ rent is due and despite your best efforts, you’ve come up short. Dealing with the landlord is more frightening than most survival horror games and it has a lot to do with the fact that you aren’t shooting zombies. This isn’t escapism at all; Cart Life puts the trials of life front and center. For once, the player has to think about issues rather than blasting them with a shotgun.

The Evil Within is a survival-horror masterpiece. Anyone concerned this is just another action game soaked in blood needn't worry. Tense pacing, stunning atmosphere, and terrifying enemy encounters come together to create a journey you may never forget.

While there could be some further improvements to the motion controls, presentation, and AI, NHL 2K10 should be considered a must-buy for anyone remotely interested in the sport.

The prognosis is good: Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 channels the spirit of the first game and then some with a tighter presentation and a developed story sure to reward players who've persevered with Derek in the first installment.

Review forthcoming.

Strives to replicate the Masters, and it succeeds on an impressive level. It's got the sort of variety that'll keep you playing for a good long time, and its treatment of the Masters is slick and educational, doing honor to the venerable tournament.

With a series of meaningful improvements that culminate in a more interestingly designed campaign and sustainable multiplayer experience, Fall of Cybertron continues the franchise's upward trend in quality with a sequel that's definitely worth attention.

The ability to skip challenges after failing multiple times and an inconsistent driver assist option does nothing to make the game accessible to anyone that lacks serious dedication.

If you're a tower defense junkie, download Orcs Must Die! without hesitation. The lack of multiplayer is disappointing, but at around $15 you'll get five or six solid hours of play.

Despite its strengths, the original Payday sometimes felt as though it were little more than a Left 4 Dead clone with the zombies switched out for swarms of police officers. A touch of that still remains, but elements such as the new focus on stealth, a multitude of unlocks for gear and marks, and the greatly increased mission variety allow Payday 2 to assume a life of its own, and one far more in tune with the heists we've come to love in films like Michael Mann's Heat.

These problems don’t dilute Valiant Hearts’ message, however. Rarely has war been examined with so much honesty and earnestness in a videogame. It only makes us yearn for more games that were less about guns and more about the people behind them.

Case Zero makes a lasting impression when it comes to slaughtering the undead. However, given its short two hour duration and the oppressive race-against-the-clock structure, it's hard to recommend without qualification.

What’s most surprising is just how well Until Dawn manages to pull you in. What starts as funny and lighthearted eventually becomes quite terrifying. At the beginning, you’re just shaking your head at the ridiculous things these guys say, ready for a self-centered character to get horribly maimed, but once you’ve spent most of the night with them, you eventually want to save everyone you can. And of course it wouldn’t be complete without some shocking revelations.

Though the modes and extras in the console port aren't solid gold, they still add a good bit of value to an accomplished fighting game. Like your nose, neck, or kneecaps, if a fighting game isn't broken, there's not really any need to fix it.

DeathSpank maintains a tongue-in-cheek quality throughout that mocks hackneyed game conventions even as it celebrates them. If you've played several RPGs before, you'll definitely be in on the jokes, but the never-ending fetch-quest gag isn't quite as funny when you actually have to do the legwork.

With the challenge of bringing such a distinct franchise to a brand new platform while retaining all of the things that have made it great, including the hard work of the community, all things really were considered.

If you buy games for the single-player experience it's hard to recommend Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Once you hop online it's a different story as the tactical, objective-driven modes manage to fill the five-year void left since the release of the superior Advanced Warfighter 2. It's heavily reliant on teammates who are willing to play specific roles, but with a group of dedicated soldiers it's a war that you'll want to keep fighting.

The Unfinished Swan is a treat for the senses, with thoughtful music and a poignant, elegant, and ever-so-slightly enigmatic story with tinges of the bittersweet, as well as humor and hope. This is the sort of game that offers up that rare spark of ingenuity that manages to thread both its form and function between narrative, aesthetics, and game design.

Dissidia boldly marries an interesting new approach to fighting with some of the touchstones that the Final Fantasy series is built on. And though it takes some sizable risks at being different, the end result is great. It's everything that you wouldn't expect a Final Fantasy game to be, but if you're looking for a feature-rich time-sink with fight and flair, then Dissidia is well worth your consideration.

EA should be commended for creating a console control scheme that works well in real-time strategy games. But that doesn’t mean that this is the best way to play Battle for Middle Earth, or an Xbox 360 game for that matter.

The small improvements, like the extra save slots and crafted weapons, are just that--small improvements. The joys of co-op are obvious, but not always available. If you can deal with dead time and like kill counts in the thousands, let the dead rise so you can lay them to rest.

The lack of online play, or any real enhancements, is a bummer--making The Takeover a quick and dirty port. But when the original game is so strong that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Rochard has a fair number of idiosyncrasies, including its off-key attempt at Southern, blue-collar comedy humor, but its heart is in the right place. It's not on-point 100 percent of the time, and it doesn't concern itself with optional modes or bonus content, but you'll mine more fun than frustration from this endeavor.

Whether you're a Layton and Phoenix expert or a newcomer, the game does an admirable job of demonstrating why each series is so beloved in the first place. The few rough edges do little to dull the wonder of Labrythina, making us hope that these erudite heroes will someday reunite.

If you can overcome navigating pre-rendered backgrounds and enduring countless random battles, Devil Summoner 2 turns out to be an enjoyable experience.

Quite unlike anything else out there. It's a game that pushes back and challenges you to think on your feet. If the confounding puzzles don't hook you, the branching, variable story, and the steamy, nightmarish vibe certainly will.

If you have a tendency to rage quit and throw controllers, Trials Fusion may not be for you. Sometimes satisfaction is only found after hours of failed attempts, but the ease of giving it "just one more try" can be absolutely engrossing. The game’s outside-the-box goals are brimming with creativity, and the uncompromising level design pushes you to keep digging deeper to conquer every roadblock in your path.

There isn’t much like Fat Princess on any platform, and though it’s clear that it can grow in any number of ways, the game is already hectic and fun.

For a series that frequently touches on such dark themes, Harry Potter is surprisingly amenable to the Lego treatment, even at its grimmest moments.

Those with a keen eye for the nuts and bolts of puzzle composition will walk away moderately enriched by this effervescent anthology of game design haikus.

The game exudes authenticity. From the fully-modeled firehouse headquarters to the way that tombstones shatter and bushes ignite when you spray them with proton, Ghostbusters transcends its modest tech with a careful attention to detail. One warning, though: you'll never want to hear the Ghostbusters theme ever again after sitting through a few loading screens.

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.

It's taken a long time for this sun to rise again, but Dark Dawn is a substantial RPG that will appeal to both newcomers and veterans.

Prey is something of a paradox, because it’s got a ton of original ideas wrapped up in a package we’ve seen a dozen times before.

UEFA offers a solid game of soccer with no glaring flaws, a slightly steep learning curve, and a deep amount of play options that should keep most players satisfied--at least until next year's installment hits the market.

With just seven hours of play and little replay value it’s the ultimate rental. While it includes a few new ideas, it isn’t a revelation that will rock the world, but it’s still one of the better action games available for the PlayStation 3.

Though it doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor when it comes to sheer breadth, Dragon Age II has quite a bit more soul.

Vesperia features rich characters, a well-balanced, deep combat system, and impressive presentation. In fact, it’s hard to find many faults with it.

Tiger Woods 08 will definitely give you your money’s worth when it comes to sheer play options.

Your enjoyment of Eye of the North will depend largely on your own personal desire to collect trinkets and doo-dads while following a reasonably interesting story.

If this if your first contact with this unique take on a beloved genre, you'll find several hours' worth of fast-paced strategy waiting for you in Anomaly's agreeable warzone.

Pigsy's three hour adventure isn't perfect, but it's an entertaining side-story for players interested in a slower, more strategic take on Enslaved's combat mechanics. Like its slovenly hero, Pigsy's Perfect 10 comes off a bit sloppy, but it has a good heart.

MotorStorm has lost little in its transition to the PSP. Arctic Edge may not have the eye-popping HD visuals of its PS3 counterparts, but it continues the franchise's frenzied attitude, which makes for a great racer on the go.

With cheats to unlock, multiplayer ranks to climb, and new, devious, level-specific crown awards to figure out, this blast from the past is still a blast to play as an un-evolved envoy of modern-day shooters.

It’s solid, it’s capable, it fits with the identity of the series. In short, it’s Gears.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 focuses most of its attention on gameplay this year, keeping its traditional controls intact while adding the focus meter to the mix, which adds a nice level of strategy to the game.

Straightforward in approach yet exceedingly effective in delivery, it elevates the notion of melee combat past a last ditch combat maneuver and into a realm of medieval, multiplayer bliss.

Part one offered a promising foundation, but lacked a reason to care. This episode puts faces to everything that’s happening and generally moves at a much quicker pace. We can’t wait to see where Hope’s quest for freedom takes her next.

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.

MLB 2K7 is absolutely gorgeous with thousands of animations and all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a modern hardball game. But numerous bugs and gameplay quirks keep it in the minor leagues.