No, you won't find volumes of content or progressive new ideas, and the forced touchscreen controls are a minor strategic bungle. However, the well-paced single-player campaign is punctuated by a strong and varied weapon set and online multiplayer that hits an unprecedented level of quality for a handheld.

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.

Dirt Showdown is certainly a different type of racer, trading bumpy wheel-to-the-road driving mechanics for the dents, scrapes, and screams of vehicular mayhem. In some ways, it feels more like an expansion pack than an all-new game, but if you don't take this departure too seriously, it makes for some great summer parties online.

There are some great ideas in Sniper Elite V2--they're just buried under a few too many bad ones. Asking you to stomach the poor game that exists between the solid sniping sequences is frankly a tall order.

Sorcery embraces the Move's functionality to deliver something only possible with gesture-based controls, even if they're still not quite optimal. It's unfortunate that Sony couldn't muster a more complete package with extra content and incentives to come back after completing the single player mode.

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.

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.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode Two ultimately feels loose where it should be tight, slow where it should be fast, and tedious where it should be exciting. Sometimes it's best to let sleeping 'hogs lie.

For those wanting to explore the wilds of Westeros, climb to the top of The Wall or engage in a thrilling battle with a direwolf, this Game of Thrones falls completely flat. However, if you don't mind suffering through the combat, the visuals, and the lackluster environments, there's actually a decent interactive story to experience. Of course, that's a very big "if."

Mario Tennis Open's single player mode is fun for a few hours, but it will ultimately leave you wanting more. Thankfully, the multiplayer mode with its online functionality will keep you coming back well after you've plowed through the main course.

On its loftiest promise of redefining massively multiplayer combat for good, Tera delivers a stunning new model of action that can't be ignored. Its only flaw is keeping the focus of its ambitions narrow, choosing to play it safe in almost every other regard with the form and function of an otherwise conventional MMO.

Attempting a character study of a deeply flawed action hero is an interesting gamble that just doesn't pay off, and the single-player experience continually struggles with leveraging the character's identity or unique skills. So it's got some issues. That said, the surprisingly entertaining multiplayer modes and a virtuoso treatment of extreme violence stand out as legitimate highpoints. It all basically comes down to your tolerance for pain.

Minecraft on the Xbox 360 does an admirable job of reproducing the essence of its forbear, and on the strength of the local co-op, it also manages to improve upon it in a small but essential way.

Datura just doesn't seem to go far enough, offering just a quick dip into occasional oddity instead of a full-on baptism in the truly peculiar. Even its most attention-grabbing moments can come across as a little dull. With gimmicky motion elements, threadbare puzzles, and a ghost's whisper of a narrative, Datura ends up as an underwhelming experiment.

With a mix of on-foot gunplay, full on dogfights, and strategic base-building, Starhawk lets you find your niche or switch roles at the drop of a hat. While it doesn't leverage this versatility to create new game types to call its own, its territory-based gameplay offers a wide range of tactical options to explore.

At a reasonable 800 Microsoft points, Awesomenauts offers a unique and vibrant entry point to the DotA-style game on consoles. With a fun-filled sense of competition and replayability to spare, it's definitely one downloadable multiplayer game worth paying attention to.

While the swift pace and simplified mechanics might seem appealing, the combat is wholly unsatisfying, the environments are shallow and stifling, and the camera is annoying.

Risen 2 has more than a few issues, but there's plenty of buried treasure waiting here for players who are willing to dig for it. Unfortunately, the excavation is demanding, and the slaphappy combat and bland quest structure might prove too overpowering for players who want to sample one of the few examples of a genuine pirate roleplaying game.

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.

Where the original was intriguing for its gratuitously unhinged take on sandbox-enabled chaos, Prototype 2 feels like it's just going through the motions. The series badly needs an injection of creativity if it's to merit another installment.

The feature in Bloodforge that lets you create and send online challenges to friends stands out as a great idea, but given all the other ways that the game falters, it's not enough.

Keeping pace with the infectious, obstacle-based hook that made the original a hit while boldly charting new ground with tuned up features and an ambitious outdoor angle, Trials Evolution brings the breadth of its namesake to bear in a well-equipped and enthusiastically realized sequel that fans of the original shouldn't pass up. When it comes to providing an endless loop of frustration, fun, and harebrained antics on wheels, you'll find few other stunt racers quite as hopelessly addicting as this.

Legend of Grimrock is an excellent throwback to a genre that seemed in danger of dying out, and with the promise of future dungeons and a level editor to extend the replay value, it comes highly recommended for those looking for something a bit more focused, more challenging, and more atmospheric than the typical RPG. If you've been wishing for a game that stimulates your gray matter as much as your bloodlust, you'll find Grimrock offers a mountain's worth of enjoyment at a molehill's price.

The Xbox 360 version has some rough edges, but these annoyances aren't significant enough to sully the experience. The Witcher 2 is a beauty to behold with a rich, involving fiction framing strategic and challenging combat. Most of all, its mature implementation of morality, choice, and consequence is a step forward that more games would be wise to follow.

It's not for players who demand immediate gratification from their games, but those who appreciate the simple pleasure of overcoming challenges within a team environment will find a lot to like. It's deep, customizable, and provides a lot of latitude for different play styles.

Keenly channeling the wit and spirit of a bygone age while keeping its stubby little feet firmly planted in the present, Fez is a remarkable little gem of a game that truly deserves the attention it's been given in its long maturation period.

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.

Skullgirls uses its personality and a masterful execution of the genre to punch well above its weight as a $15 downloadable upstart. Even if it isn't quite pound-for-pound on par with the giants of the genre, it's bold enough to aim for the top and accomplished enough to put up one heck of a fight.