It tries to combine artistic vision and depth with traditional game objectives, and ends up being weaker for it.

With a few smart and unobtrusive tweaks to its thorny heart, Trials Fusion nails its balance between purity and cruelty. The new tricks system doesn't betray the game's simple roots, and instead makes a perfect landing seem even less attainable at times – and more rewarding. The primal pleasures of Trials live on and into the future, leaning forward just a tad.

MLB 14 might have its rough edges, but it lives up to the term "simulation" in the truest sense, offering players the means to realistically succeed any way they choose.

What ultimately brings down Conception 2, however, is that none of its elements manage to rise above a general feeling of mediocrity. The combat is too dull and repetitious to ever be addictive. The dating sim, jiggly boobs and all, is interesting, but too limited to carry the game on its own.

Taken by itself, it's unsatisfying and half-missing, but of course it's not meant to be taken by itself. It's the centerpiece of a larger whole, the lock that will let everything eventually make sense. Crooked Mile has a hard job to do, and has the bruises to show it.

Kinect Sports Rivals feels cheap. A few of the multiplayer games – namely tennis and water racing – are fun in short bursts, but other games – bowling and target shooting – are duds, even with another person. The biggest challenge in gameplay is often hassling with the Kinect and, overall, the games themselves are insultingly simple.

This is a deep experience backed by intricate mechanics and a concerted polish that makes gameplay immediately intuitive and rewarding. Age of Wonders 3 will keep you up until the wee hours of the morning, constantly muttering that you'll crawl into bed after just one more turn.

Escape Goat 2's soundtrack also stands out, thanks to its almost otherwordly feel. It's distinctly odd, yet charming and memorable.

The world of Ether One is a superbly detailed and well thought-out place. The gameplay hearkens back to an age when you needed three pages of notes to solve a single puzzle. The story is both heartbreaking and horrifying, as well as intriguing and enigmatic.

While previous Infamous games were often frustrating during their later campaign missions, Second Son maintains a steady growth in difficulty throughout, allowing players to rise to the challenge by progressing through its skill tree at their own pace.

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z knows it's a stupid, flashy arcade action game, and rolls with it. It doesn't try to be clever or witty, or even ironic and self-effacing. It's not deep or customizable, and it's clearly running out of ideas past the halfway point. It isn't perfect. To some people, it won't even be considered good.

The sense of flight and weightlessness is as intoxicating as the build-what-you-want nature of the game's war machines. And besides, dying is just an excuse to try out a new combo of parts, and I'm mighty curious to see how an armored, cannon-firing airplane with an underwater engine would handle.

The undoubtable quality of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes feels carved from a bigger, better game, and perhaps that makes it a better showcase for players who don't know their Snakes from their Otacons. Too good to be a cash-in, too calculated to be satisfying and too intriguing to spurn, Ground Zeroes is a fiscal test of patience.

Dark Souls 2 may not be what came before, but it is its own game, with its own hilarious deaths, ridiculous traps, haunting melodies, and foreboding bosses, and it still stands out with ease. That punch to the ribs may not wind as hard, but you'll still want to get up and explore this dark, devious world, over and over again.

It's a whole-brain game with minimal controls, and it's the most fun I've had with a bow and arrow since The Year Of The Bow – or even the 1980s.

Though it fails to elevate itself into the exalted ranks of the Very Best Mario Games, Yoshi's New Island is by no means a sub-standard experience. It's solid. Reliable. You come in expecting devious platforming levels that will test your gaming mettle, and that's exactly what you get.

Titanfall isn't tuned to perfection for everyone yet, but it starts as a smart, swift and startling movement in well-traveled space.

Unlike Deadly Premonition, Earth Defense Force 2025, or other games that hide genuine depth behind an awkward presentation, Magus has no hidden quality, charm or saving grace. It's entirely witless, and none of its mechanics strive for anything beyond mediocrity. Despite its issues, though, Magus is surprisingly breezy to play.

The Walking Dead's impact lies in its relationships, and A House Divided plays to that strength. As an action game, it falls flat, offering a few sections of ho-hum zombie-killing. As a soap opera controlled by the player, it sings.

If you're well-versed in South Park history and can imagine cookies as a "health potion," you're off to a good start. If you can also forgive the repetitive nature of combat and some uninspired quests, it's worth taking up arms – or dildos – for The Stick of Truth's hilarious, disgusting adventure.

The first time you're taken out by a Sunflower's devastating laser, only to watch it skip away into a hail of peas and flaming footballs – and you find yourself laughing instead of pouting – you'll be hooked.

I'd rather have a short game that gets fart jokes right than a long one full of hot air.

Thankfully, even when the blades are dull, the writing is sharp. Even so, many jokes are of the family-friendly sitcom variety, and play off of RPG tropes. If you've never laughed at the convoluted plots, overdramatic heroes or NPC behavior seen so often in the role-playing genre, this weapon may not be for you.

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy feels like as good a way to sign off as could be expected.

Thankfully, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 almost always rises above its annoyances. There's plenty to see and do, from its magnificent moonlit views to its sensational bosses (infuriating stealth boss excepted).

Thief is best when it sticks to the involving, slow-paced stealth that made its ancestor such a tense affair. In its subtle moments, Eidos Montreal gives your creeping a sense of closeness and texture, in a game where you almost always have your nose pressed against things.

A solid hunting adventure, but hardly a departure from the monster hunting genre.

Every bit as fun as Earth Defense Force 2017 was, and it's a great improvement over Insect Armageddon. Though its rehashed content disappoints initially, EDF 2025 emerges as the best in the series in its latter half, delivering freakish new enemies, over-the-top weaponry and a solid and expansive multiplayer experience.

It would have been nice had Strider been a more difficult experience, but it more than makes up for its lack of arcade-style challenge with a rewarding focus on exploration. Long-forgotten franchises are rarely resurrected as successfully as Strider.

At this point, there's not much written here that couldn't have been repurposed from a review of 2010's Donkey Kong Country Returns – and that's both the problem and the recommendation.

Though it plays it safe in terms of mechanics, TxK is challenging and thrilling throughout. It's a treat for anyone who enjoyed any previous version of Tempest, and it's especially worthwhile if you missed out on Tempest 2000.

Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2 had some serious missteps, but Lightning Returns ends on a strong note by sticking to what really matters: great combat and a story you want to see through. No gimmicks, no tricks, no convoluted treks through time, no cliffhangers, no tunnels – just one last trip around the world with a pink-haired heroine, and then a fond farewell.

There's little power to the bland gameplay or awkward, convoluted story. Laika is a tragic figure whose real-life fate is depressing, but the Laika of The Sun at Night doesn't make me feel anything at all.

As bleak as "Smoke and Mirrors" is, it makes you want to help these characters, to give them something besides another day of nothing but despair and heartache. Things in Fabletown will almost surely get darker before they get better, but "Smoke and Mirrors" guarantees we're in this for the long haul.

The Banner Saga is a human story told with inhuman flair, and that somehow makes it all the more relatable. Even the fights themselves have grown on me – they're just tough enough to provide a challenge on normal difficulty, but not so unforgiving that I feel like giving up.

Not unlike a cartoon, Octodad: Dadliest Catch shines brightest when it allows you to revel in the insanity of its premise, but every running joke has a limited shelf life, even when the gag is this good. If you can forgive that, and the sometimes incongruous challenges, Octodad's charm may just win you over.

My major bugbear with Bravely Default is it drags on by the end. Not because of length, but rather because the story forces the game to retrace its steps in a way that's not as clever as it thinks it is, or at least not clever enough.

The lack of challenge and a dearth of branching dialogue (sorry – these dialogue trees resemble bamboo shafts) disappoint, yes, but Broken Age always elicits a smile and a desire to continue.

If your goal is simply to be more active, of if you're just starting to dabble in dedicated personal fitness, Wii Fit U will probably fit the bill. If you're willing to put in the legwork to create a regular regimen and stick with it, you can definitely get a good workout. Anyone seeking detailed fitness guidance and structure should look elsewhere.

It's my new favorite installment in the series, and it offers a great example of how to update old-fashioned RPG mechanics for the present day.

In spite of its minor faults, OlliOlli is fun to play. It eases you along at a very careful pace, doling out chains of more complex gaps and trick requirements as you advance through levels. I suggest you give OlliOlli a chance, because for every ten failed attempts, you'll find one gained success – and, best of all, you'll feel like you earned it.

It's a noble and sweet idea, held back by monotonous grinding and technical issues. And by "technical issues" I mean "the camera."

It's a hard-won thrill, and one errant bullet or second of distraction is enough to undo it all. If you can accept that challenge, if you can pick yourself up and start all over again whenever you fail, you will lose hours to Risk of Rain. Whether you mean to or not.

As if getting excited for the involved games wasn't difficult enough, NES Remix's ideas for challenges are repetitive and widely underwhelming. The arbitrary goals friends assign each other for games they've mastered are better than all but NES Remix's few fleeting moments of greatness, and that's genuinely disappointing when considering Nintendo's usual brilliance at reworking its history in enjoyable ways.

The action sequences in the premiere episode are well-paced and fraught with tension. They're streamlined from the first season's experiments, offering a mix of timed clicks, button mashes and swipes, alongside a frantic search for the right weapon in the surrounding area.

Doki-Doki Universe isn't for everyone. It doesn't challenge your reflexes, and adventure game purists will likely turn up their noses at the simplistic and easily-solved puzzles.

There are more cars, granted, and the feeling of speed and tinkering with vehicles is as good as ever, but that's to be expected given how little has changed. Don't get me wrong, Gran Turismo was already the top of the heap when it comes to hardcore console racing simulations – the additions presented in Gran Turismo 6 just push the top of that heap a few feet higher.

Peggle 2 remains a foregone conclusion for existing Pegglers and puzzle fans alike, even if it doesn't quite live up to the addiction that destroyed everyone's work ethic back in 2007.

NBA Live 14 is a bungled attempt to produce a viable basketball simulation, and its failures are likely to linger in the minds of players for years to come.

It's accessible and adorably illustrated. It has a streak of dark humor embedded in its cast of Frankenstein furballs, and it's just relaxed enough to let its physics-driven puzzles slide out of control every once in a while, giving its challenges a spark that chores don't have.

Crimson Dragon isn't bad, and there's plenty to do if you simply must unlock and evolve every dragon, but it runs out of ideas long before it runs out of missions.

Sure, it's missing the current-generation's marquee mode, but the on-court action is every bit as engaging and hospitable as it's always been, and the visuals are more impressive than ever.

Ryse: Son of Rome falls into the trap of your typical launch game: it does well to show off the power of the system, but it's slim on substance. Production value aside, Ryse is short, easy and lacks the punch of other action games. For all of it's pomp and flash, Ryse: Son of Rome is a shallow bore.

One of the best comedic diversions in Forza 5 is a trip through the Top Gear test track, this time set to a tongue-in-cheek London simulation mode. Some say that some variant of the Stig is also represented somewhere in the game ... though it's probably too nice to be his Drivatar.

Tearaway is cheerful, clever, and colorful, but never quite attains the masterful blend of art and gameplay exhibited by developer Media Molecule's previous efforts, the LittleBigPlanet games.

Put simply, Super Mario 3D World is stunning. Its world is beautiful, its design is impeccable, and its fun is infectious. I'm running out of superlatives here, so let me finish where I started: Go play it.

Maybe one day hordes of fans will gather in local arcades to play LocoCycle ironically and quote some of its notoriously terrible lines – Mi espalda! – but until that day, it's just a bad game, and there's nothing funny about that.

As much as Killer Instinct is a sound and inviting fighter mid-battle, it's an experience that ultimately feels hollow everywhere else. Online play – as spare as it is – may present a limitless well of competition to draw from, but with only six fighters to master and very few modes of play, Killer Instinct lacks the value and staying power offered by most other modern fighting games.

It knows that all you really want to do is discover and create new playthings to dismember the undead. As a vehicle for that, it's a comfortable ride.

A perfect handheld Zelda experience, offering the classic gameplay you cherish at a snappier pace. Link's new 2D ability, combined with the nonlinear progression, provide a flexibility that makes exploring the land – both Hy and Lo – exciting all over again.

There is a certain purity to admire in Contrast, spotted throughout its dream-like world and theatrically contrived platforming, but it's just a little too concise and a little too thin, like a fleeting shadow.

Knack fails to capitalize on its own ideas and structure, and is successful only in acting as a reminder of the shallow, punishing platformers of a time when we really cared about how many bits there were on your console.

Resogun is a smart, merciless little shooter, with just enough substance to match its extravagant flash. The humans are a welcome pain, as they always are, conspiring with relentless enemies and ostentatious graphical effects to exterminate boredom at every opportunity.

Killzone: Shadow Fall loses its sheen at times, usually when pursuing moments that are cinematic but not sensible. As a shooter, it's better at thriving on eye-catching environments and supportive combat abilities that don't just come for free.

The "Challenge Mode" is a decidedly harder New Game Plus option that started me off with all the weapons, bolts and raritanium I had acquired by the end of that first game.

No matter what powers, weapons or gear you end up with, Eldritch challenges you to learn its systems. You can't memorize the level layout, so you'll have to take into careful consideration your surroundings, what you're capable of, and how you can put your abilities to proper use.

Call of Duty: Ghosts is a solid installment, but it lacks creativity and innovation. Its new engine already looks dated in the face of the competition, and it eschews many of the solid concepts seen in Black Ops 2.

WWE 2K14 offers a huge dose of familiarity with some welcome tweaks to the formula.

The critical path through Gotham City is feeling worn, even if tread by different, younger actors.

The delta between the bosses and the moment-to-moment gameplay make Blackgate a frustratingly inconsistent experience, but the good parts are truly impressive.

Beyond its present-day feature set, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is a vibrant historical adventure, drawn from bold characters and edge-of-your-seat sailing. It's not the proper return to form for the series, but it is a concerted acknowledgement of what that form is today, and what works for the monster of gameplay systems, stealth, ships and oceans that lurks underneath.

The main draw for the Battlefield series has always been the chaotic camaraderie of its multiplayer, and that's no different here. But the sum of Battlefield 4's parts shows that DICE is capable of more. Not only has the developer iterated on and progressed its marquee multiplayer, it's provided a tight and cohesive campaign that is everything a military shooter needs to be.

Dual Destinies is aggressively oddball, but it's also sharply written and cleverly constructed. It trades the typical staid approach to murder mysteries and puts a pair of magic panties on its head (yes, there are magic panties), spinning a clever mystery that will please your crime-solving brain.

Fans of the comic may enjoy a new way to experience Blue Estate's universe, directly from the creator himself, but the game's pacing is forced and its characters ill-developed. I wonder how many Blue Estate comic fans own a Leap Motion in the first place.

Wii Party U isn't terrible, it's just uninspired. If you're looking for something that can be replayed for months and months, like Wii Sports, you won't find it here.

It's this bouncing between serious tone and irreverence that makes The Stanley Parable so special. You never know what to expect and the thrill of discovering something new is reinforced by great narration and often capricious events. But more than anything, it's this choice at the center of it all that makes The Stanley Parable a game about self-discovery.

Its gameplay variety is appreciated up to a point, but Sonic: Lost World misses the mark more often than it succeeds, as frustrating level design and unimaginative boss encounters are enough to overshadow its fleeting moments of brilliance.

Unfortunately, Lost World tries to pack in so many mechanics that it suffocates the rapid-fire platforming segments, which are breathless when all the mechanics are suited to Sonic.

Skylanders Swap Force is fun from start to finish, and outclasses its predecessors in depth and breadth of content.

"Faith" is the perfect beginning to a new adventure from Telltale, effortlessly pulling you in and making you invested in protecting these curious creatures from our storybooks.

Though it uses the language of both games and movies, it's usually the most interesting when it abandons big-screen bluster to focus on minor dilemmas that strengthen the protagonist as a person. Beyond that, you're just the ghost in a ghost story, only appearing when the scene calls for a cheap scare.

Most importantly, the game seems to have been designed with usability in mind, while also maintaining the endless reams of Pokémon trivia and esoteric references that longtime fans demand.

Whether you've wrangled dozens of Charmanders or couldn't pick a Pikachu out of a Safari Zone lineup, Pokémon X/Y is hands-down the best in the series.

As a work of art, Rain masterfully captures and maintains a mood that will speak to players, but as a game, it's soggy and unrewarding. It's also quite short, so if you'd like to explore which side of Rain appeals to you more, you can do so in an afternoon – rain or shine.

As a game full of puzzles that just happen to star DC characters, Unmasked isn't as fun as last year's Unlimited, which I'd suggest over this release for those who want the best Scribblenauts experience.

It's the finest simulation of basketball out there and this year's entry in the series is bolstered by smart and simple additions.

FIFA 13 took larger strides than this year's offering, but even with only minor improvements and changes, FIFA 14 remains an excellent soccer sim.

An enjoyable nostalgia trip for Etrian Odyssey veterans. Etrian Odyssey Untold's tedium-reducing improvements elevate it above the original game, and for first-timers, it's the best entry point in the series.

Foul Play takes the brawler genre and twists it for the stage, adding flair with the Mood-O-Meter and a range of quaint characters.

An ambitious game, attempting to meld three very different characters together to tell one encompassing story of survival in what amounts to the worst place in America. That story stumbles, but the open-ended gameplay remains a showpiece for the vast amount of content that can be poured into a virtual world.

Whatever issues might plague Wonderful 101 are glossed over with charm and an idiosyncratic vision. Sorting through dozens of heroes, picking out your leader and imbuing him or her with a personality feels like dumping your toy box on the floor and gathering up the ones you want to play with.

Puppeteer is an excellent example of the 2D platform genre, but it wouldn't be nearly as memorable or enjoyable if it weren't for the way it so fully commits to its puppet show aesthetic.

Unless Pokémon are an essential part of your toy-based video game equation, you'll find better, more engrossing options in the Skylanders series or Disney Infinity.

Mechanically, A Machine for Pigs deviates significantly from The Dark Descent, and this is where it's most disappointing. The Dark Descent employed several mechanics that ratcheted up the fear and tension, most notably the insanity system.

Looking only at its core mechanics, Project Diva F is about as basic as a music game can get. It's not that it makes any huge missteps; more that it simply fails to do anything particularly interesting in a very well-trodden genre.

On the ice, NHL 14 is the best the series has ever been, and that alone will be enough for many returning fans. I love playing it and I'll keep playing it. Between the face-offs and outside of the rink, however, NHL 14 shows a laziness that is not befitting of a franchise that proudly touts its accolades on its sleeve.

Outlast perfects this self-inflicted madness in every area of its design, and it's absolutely petrifying. I love it.

While it's hamstrung by flaky multiplayer functionality and a lack of new ideas, it is impressive just how well the first-person action of the Killzone franchise has translated to the Vita. As competent as it is, however, Killzone: Mercenary is teetering on the edge of being something truly great.