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.