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.

Apocalypse has high expectations of the player, but the reward for hard work, diligence and patience is one of the most exciting racing games available. Even with the lingering issues, this is Motorstorm at its most extravagant, at its most intense, and at its absolute best.

Frankly, though, it's unlikely that the gameplay will hold your attention long enough that you'll want to sample these extras.

Conduit 2's cheeky dialogue and creative weapons are amusing, and there are enough multiplayer options to keep you busy, although not likely for the whole of spring. Conduit 2 isn't top of its class, but it's a fun B-movie experience nonetheless.

Just like its predecessor, this sequel manages to wring every last ounce of enjoyment out of seemingly simple core concepts. If you're strictly into action its slow, plodding, calculated pace will be a turnoff. Yet, somehow Valve has managed to make a puzzle game that will make your pulse rise with a never ending daisy chain of positive reinforcement.

Darkly decadent as one of its sadistic X-ray moves, the new and improved Mortal Kombat emerges as an impressively realized reboot that elevates the series to a new plateau of excellence. If your interest in Mortal Kombat has remained in stasis until now, unfreeze your expectations and take a dip in the dark side. You will that find ripping someone's head off is a lot more fun than you originally remembered.

If you've never experienced old school Final Fantasy, this is the perfect way to get acquainted.

Patapon maniacs will find a lot to keep them interested: this is a long game, especially at $20, and there's a lot to the online if you can deal with its rough edges.

Rift is a young game, so it's natural for it to exhibit some growing pains during these early months. Still, even amidst the relative flux of rapidly-changing classes and other early-game kinks, the experience feels remarkably complete and cohesive.

The game makes several middling attempts to align itself more closely with other successful designs while keeping its identity mostly intact. Despite a few stumbles in engineering its single-player experience and some irregularities with its controls, this is still a unique and solid experience provided you plan to enlist in online multiplayer.

Last year's biggest problems--the graphics and glitches--still plague this year's installment, which is a letdown for a series that seemed to be on the cusp of becoming something more than just an alternative to MLB: The Show.

The challenge level in the Dishwasher is nearly pitch-perfect, skillfully walking the fine line between punishment and reward.

Battlegrounds is a competent enough shooter, though it could use more depth and originality. The single-player portion can be completed within an hour, and the multiplayer games lack the depth to sustain long-term play.

Pays as much tribute to the classics as it does the games and superstars of today, reinvigorating the wrestling genre with a fast, fun pace that most anyone could appreciate. If you dig classic wrestling games but are turned off by the ultra-complex, sim-oriented direction the genre has taken, then WWE All Stars is exactly what you've been waiting for.

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.

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.

Sure, the graphics are ho-hum and the 3D does little to enhance gameplay, but if you value substance over style, Shadow Wars stands as one of the stars of the 3DS launch.

Visually, Asphalt has decent car models, but suffers from choppy performance, lots of pop-in, laughable animations, and tire marks that float above the road in 3D. It's as if it was made merely to look good in screen shots.

Ridge Racer has enough content to keep you busy, but despite the visual depth, the gameplay is too shallow to hold your attention for long.

Yakuza 4 builds on its history and its strengths, using four well-differentiated playable characters to multiply the value of its character-driven drama and exhilarating fights. The game sometimes feels dated and a bit too stodgily conventional, but its virtual tour of a bizarrely attractive, crime-soaked, hyperbolic slice of Japan as seen through the eyes of its underworld nobility is certainly worth taking.

It's over in a flash, but when it's done, you'll be eager to find out what happens next.

It's hard to deny the fundamental appeal of Nintendogs + Cats. These lovable virtual critters are a pleasure to play with. However, the package would've benefited greatly from more options, especially ones that broadened the ways you interact with your pet.

It's hard to deny the fundamental appeal of Nintendogs + Cats. These lovable virtual critters are a pleasure to play with. However, the package would've benefited greatly from more options, especially ones that broadened the ways you interact with your pet.

It's hard to deny the fundamental appeal of Nintendogs + Cats. These lovable virtual critters are a pleasure to play with. However, the package would've benefitted greatly from more options, especially ones that broadened the ways you interact with your pet.

Parasite Eve this is not. The 3rd Birthday squanders some clever concepts with clumsy execution, and the end result is just another mediocre shooter that has very little in common the PlayStation classics that preceded it. This is one birthday that is not worth celebrating.

The extra modes are more forgettable than fun, but the core Monkey Ball experience passes muster, though keep in mind that using the gyroscopic controls kills the 3D. For best results, pick your primate, turn your circle pad on, and the 3D slider up.

It's a fighting game that successfully infuses RPG elements to provide depth and variety. It doesn't quite strike a perfect balance, and the lack of true online functionality hurts, but Duodecim delivers on the thrill factor with its cinematic battles.

With options that are barebones and gameplay that can be at one moment exhilarating and the next maddening, PilotWings Resort isn't a great showcase for the 3DS' capabilities. It's a different kind of game that will appeal to specific players, but the lack of content won't keep anyone coming back for long.