HD Remix makes most of those older releases look like cheap cash-ins. It may cost more than most arcade updates available for consoles today, but with the number of important changes being made and its extreme attention to detail, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix sets a new standard for downloadable arcade games... even though I still think Blanka's face doesn't look quite right.

It’s rare we get a new IP from a big publisher like Capcom these days, especially one with production values like this. It’s a risk when you could just keep pumping out Resident Evil remakes and sequels while making guaranteed money. Well, this risk pays off. Pragmata is exhilarating, emotional, and … some other word that starts with “e.” Engaging? Engaging!

I may have been left pining for more of what I saw from each approach, but there’s no denying that I had an excellent time with Requiem. It’s the most I’ve enjoyed a mainline Resident Evil game in 20 years. As good as 7 and Village were, I have to admit it was nice to go back to some series mainstays rather than continuing along with the narrative detour of the Moldman Chronicles. Grace’s chapters had me holding my breath and running for my life during late night sessions with the game, and the bombast and doofiness of Leon had me laughing out loud. Resident Evil Requiem is an excellent culmination of everything Capcom has learned during 30 years of making this franchise, and it serves as a tantalizing glimpse of what its future may hold.

Longtime Hitman fans will undoubtedly be put off by some of the changes Io has made here, but if you're willing to dig a little deeper, you'll find a game that's as rewarding as any Hitman prior.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories takes some bold, unpredictable risks with this venerated franchise, and the result is a heck of a lot more interesting than yet another survival horror game with motion-assisted aiming might have been.

Despite its early growing pains, Fat Princess manages to walk a pretty straight path between frenzied combat and larger-scale tactics. It's a unique take on team-based multiplayer with a lot of personality and charm--and, with any luck, a lot of staying power on the PlayStation Network.

While Sid Meier has been quoted as saying that this is the Civilization game he always wanted to make, Revolution's got plenty of shortcomings, and the scope of its vision can sometimes outstrip its mechanics. That said, this is a really satisfying strategy game, and though it might be old hat for PC players, there are few experiences quite like it on consoles.

For all it's got going for it, though, Muramasa's problem is that it simply overstays its welcome. This is a good 14-hour game, and the gameplay cannot support that kind of play time. I found myself wishing that the game was about half the length it is, which would've left me satisfied, rather than fully exhausted.

NBA 2K13 is phenomenal, if familiar. Go in with the right expectations, and you'll be enjoying it all season long.

If you don't like Green Day, and you don't want to play their music in a Rock Band game, you're not going to get a whole lot out of Green Day: Rock Band.

While there are clunky bits at the fringes of Red Faction: Guerrilla that give it a handful of frustrating or disappointing moments, the core moments of the game are exciting and well-conceived. Factor in a thrilling multiplayer component and the sheer satisfaction provided by the wholesale destruction of huge structures and you've got more than enough reasons to get your ass to Mars.

The action is solid and the story is interesting enough to make Singularity worth checking out.

You should know that Rocket Riot will eventually wear thin. But its great looks, clever gameplay, and huge roster of unlockable characters give you plenty to do, and the end result is quite a bit better than the game's $10 price tag might initially lead you to believe.

It's short and a bit thin on content, but what's there is pretty, well-produced, and a satisfying if slightly silly curiosity for anyone who remembers the first Resident Evil even a little bit fondly.

Its weird, half-hearted political gestures aside, Vanquish is the kind of video game that reminds you that these are video games. Perhaps more than any quality, video games allow for visceral thrills unfettered by the real-world logistics of physics and general plausibility. Sometimes a game just needs to look cool and make you feel like a space-age badass, and Vanquish accomplishes both with vigor.

There's something about the return to a standard numbering scheme for Guitar Hero 5 that suggests to me that this is, more than anything else, a commodity, a manufactured product, albeit a very attractive and energetic one. Neversoft seems more comfortable and confident than ever with this series it has inherited, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of passion behind the craft.

While you can explain a lot of things about Darksiders by listing off other games that are directly referenced during the adventure, the game doesn't feel like some simple clone. If you like Nintendo's Zelda games and want to see an altered, darker take on its concepts, portions of Darksiders will absolutely blow you away.

The game weaves a powerful narrative web around a core third-person action model that's largely satisfying even when its lack of variety becomes apparent in the later stages of the game. Even a thousand plaid-wearing axemen aren't enough to slow the driving momentum of these uncanny events, or make the game's foreboding forests one iota less unsettling.

Shatter is best-suited to people who have a friends list full of scoreboard fiends. That's what'll bring replay value to a game that's only going to take you a couple of hours to see in its entirety. But even if you're not that type of player, Shatter still has enough style and action in it to be worth checking out.

It would probably benefit from an additional mode or two (which, if the trophy list is to be believed, will be coming in the form of a DLC add-on), but with a $10 price tag and a terrific frame rate, Super Stardust Delta makes for a good, strong opener for the Vita's download-only catalog. If sharp-looking action is your thing, it's certainly worth your time.

The add-on also gives hope for what's possible when blockbuster-driven creators take risks with material. There are missteps in Freedom Cry, more ethical than mechanical, but it hits as often as it misses. That's undeniably an important step forward.

Its weird, half-hearted political gestures aside, Vanquish is the kind of video game that reminds you that these are video games. Perhaps more than any quality, video games allow for visceral thrills unfettered by the real-world logistics of physics and general plausibility. Sometimes a game just needs to look cool and make you feel like a space-age badass, and Vanquish accomplishes both with vigor.

It's unapologetically immature, boner-obsessed, and grotesquely violent. And yet, unlike other unapologetically immature, boner-obsessed, and grotesquely violent games of recent memory, there is no meanness of spirit to Shadows' intentions. Practically every gag in the game seems to come from a place of easygoing silliness, rather than a need for forced edginess.

It's a bit barebones, and the turntable controller feels like it could have been better in a couple of spots. But as the start of something new, DJ Hero provides a very strong foundation that things like additional downloadable content or full-fledged sequels could really build on.

It took me a good five hours to play through, and it wraps up enough story threads to be satisfying, while leaving enough open to keep me eager for Episode Two. If the humor and the combat can retain this level of quality, this could be the start of something great.

But if you've ever had an inkling of interest in Capcom's previous attempts but found them too impenetrable, MvC3 is probably your best bet at finally cracking that code and getting some enjoyment out of all this crossover madness. Just make sure you've got some like-minded, similarly skilled opposition to take on, or else it's going to get messy and decidedly unfun.

It's a much fuller and funnier experience than the first episode.

But if you've ever had an inkling of interest in Capcom's previous attempts but found them too impenetrable, MvC3 is probably your best bet at finally cracking that code and getting some enjoyment out of all this crossover madness. Just make sure you've got some like-minded, similarly skilled opposition to take on, or else it's going to get messy and decidedly unfun.