Despite its small annoyances and ancillary shortcomings, King of Fighters XIII is hands down the best, most polished and solidly constructed King of Fighters game there's ever been.

At first, I wasn't sure that Metroid: Other M would be a proper Metroid game or even a fun one, but as its action intensified over the course of the adventure, it didn't take me long to dismiss the second concern. As for whether or not it's Metroid ... I finished the game with a 45-percent completion rate, and I'm currently going back through the map looking for hidden Energy and Missile Tanks. You tell me.

Devil Survivor 2 isn't an anime, and it more than makes up for its lack of originality with well-drawn characters, a branching storyline and excellent mechanics. For that, I'm more than happy to accept any similarities, overt or otherwise, to the most popular -- and most screwed up -- anime ever made.

MMA is a fuller game that celebrates the broadest scope of the sport with a loving precision, while UFC brings out a roster of more recognizable fighters for a more casual, beer-and-buddies experience.

Despite all the problems, DOA Dimensions is fundamentally a good fighter, and a great DOA. The controls don't really require an arcade stick or six face buttons, and therefore translate nicely to the 3DS; the graphics look slick, especially the huge, interactive environments; the counter-heavy battles are as quick as ever. I can't ignore the egregious missteps made, but there's a lot to enjoy about the game despite those.

It can be too easy to write something off merely as a combination of popular ideas, but Monday Night Combat handily outstrips the sum of its parts, presenting a fresh, fun take on class-based shooters. There are so many variables -- twelve players, numerous bots, turrets, unique map features -- that it's hard to imagine a match playing out the same way twice.

Fall of Cybertron's multiplayer component also benefits from High Moon's sincere approach to the source material, always enabling those giddy moments in which you and your teammates leap into the air, transform and blast off to the next objective.

If the writing were as clever as the gameplay it supports, Orcs Must Die would be a comedy masterpiece. It oscillates perfectly between states of calm, cool and collected design and panicked damage control, and rewards your diligence with a gorgeous sight: A finely-tuned whirling chamber of death, which gnaws up enemies with tactical brutality reminiscent of Tecmo's Deception series, and a gory kind of whimsy reminiscent of Grape Escape.

Payday 2 proves that you can't plan for everything. No two jobs, despite being of similar set-up, go down in the same way – and without the help of few friends, you'll never survive long enough to reach that tropical paradise.

It sends you digging into the trenches of World War 1, but knows that leaving you to wallow in the mud and blood forever does not grant it emotional maturity. For every dour moment in Valiant Hearts, for every uphill struggle, there is a moment of warmth, of return, and reunion between old friends.

For one low price it manages to offer a hefty slice of what to expect from the full title, fill out the back story of Dead Rising 2, add more depth to the overall experience and, at the very least, give eager fans something to do until Dead Rising 2 hits the shelves...And seriously, try out the pitchfork-shotgun.

With the exception of food, water and, if necessary, important medications, I can't think of anything more worthy of spending $15 on this week. This is a high point for comedy in games, built on a solid foundation of time-tested gameplay and bacon that everyone should experience.

The Adventure mode at the center of LittleBigPlanet 3 is a grand showcase of bold imagination like nothing else out there, with a wellspring of charm and warm-natured humor at its heart. Even so, Sumo Digital's brief 4-5 hours of polished, pre-made contributions pale in comparison to what could be – but that's essentially the point.

It's one of the best military shooters I've played. It doesn't push the boundaries of what we expect from that genre, but Future Soldier takes an approach that leaves little room for stagnant gameplay or retreading ground.

The power of The Unfinished Swan – not unlike a Terry Gilliam film, coincidentally – lies in its engagement with our imagination, in its ability to remind us of that capacity for whimsy and fantasy. If your life could use a little less logic and a little more fascination, The Unfinished Swan should not be missed.

Dead Rising 2 doesn't stray from the core principle of the original. Murdering zombies in creative ways is immensely entertaining.

It's a refreshing, perfectly sized game that squeezes the fun puzzle process, of learning and exploiting the rules, into tidy little rooms.

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright drags on too long, but even towards the end it's enjoyable at its basest of levels.

Despite the frustration of the damage indicator, the worsened duel mode and a story that sort of loses its way near the end, Gunslinger is still an enjoyable experience. It's exciting and challenging, whether you're mowing down banditos in slow-mo with an engraved six-shooter or racking up 80 kill combos in arcade mode.

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.

Ultimately, if Final Fantasy XIII took the series five steps back, Final Fantasy XIII-2 takes it one hesitant step forward. Features like non-linear dungeons, optional side quests and NPC-populated towns are wonderful and all, but they were RPG staples twenty years ago. While Final Fantasy XIII-2 does quite a bit to fix the mistakes of its predecessor, it does very little to stand out on its own merits. It's enjoyable, but it's also disappointing in many ways. Final Fantasy deserves better.

LHP is easily the best Lego title to date.

Although the bite-sized puzzle play of Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! initially seems no more enthralling than what you could find on a free Flash game site, it takes only a few minutes for the game's quality to shine through.

Retro City Rampage is still worth playing for its simple, accessible gameplay and charming, lovingly crafted world that Provinciano created. It's the perfect game for gamers, an experience carefully executed to appeal directly to them.

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.

Having waited seven years for another helping of Golden Sun, cozy is exactly what I was looking for.

With the exception of food, water and, if necessary, important medications, I can't think of anything more worthy of spending $15 on this week. This is a high point for comedy in games, built on a solid foundation of time-tested gameplay and bacon that everyone should experience.

By the time the last sword was swung in Dragon Age 2, I had enjoyed some great conversations, participated in some thrilling battles and even been at the center of an interesting story. I just never could shake the feeling that it was a story I was telling myself.

The creepy atmosphere, the single-minded focus on extremely minimal actions, and the mocking self-awareness all contribute to a deft statement on games and how we play them.

A good tower defense game is an addictive and beautiful thing, and Anomaly: Warzone Earth is no exception. It offers a couple of twists on the familiar formula, but more variety and perhaps a few more missions could have pushed it over the top.

A diligent approach to ensuring that no two encounters are the same keeps it from ever feeling stagnant or like a waste of your time. You're always moving, constantly pushing through the next enemy stronghold, never sure of what you'll face, and it's always harrowing.

This community engagement is not only smart from a marketing and outreach perspective, but it's what gives Don't Starve its depth: All of these features bundled into a survival game with streamlined, robust mechanics and infinite ways to die.

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.

What a game. I passed a few dozen hours leading a contingent of scumbags-with-hearts-of-gold through a convoluted gangster soap opera full of betrayals, redemptions, posturing, overdramatic gestures, and profoundly awkward dates, and played Boxcelios 2 in the Club Sega arcade on Theater Square when I didn't feel like doing any of that stuff.

If it's survival-of-the-fittest thrills you want, Skylanders can do that.

Every year, the series brings a balance of improvement and ongoing flaws. Considering this year's game as a whole, improvements like the new presentation style and lack of player suction heavily outweigh the more minuscule issues that remain. It's a good kind of frustration for players, the kind where this year's game is definitely better than last year's, which may actually be enough incentive to give it a shot.

Festival of Blood is campy, vampy fun and an absolute steal for $10. Best part: you don't even need Infamous or Infamous 2 to play it. Happy Halloween.

Where WWE 13 shines in its attention to detail, especially in the dedicated ways it brings the Attitude Era to life, it falls just a few steps short in other modes.

The ending, and therefore the episode, may please many players. However, from a storytelling standpoint, No Going Back falls flat.

It's not a bad game, but it's certainly not a friendly game -- something that you'd notice even if you weren't coming off of Dragon Quest IX, and something that is only exacerbated for those who are.

I enjoy the base gameplay, and the music, enough that I have no problem replaying each song repeatedly; however, I cannot ignore that I am, in fact, replaying each song repeatedly. Depending on your temperament, this might be an irritant.

Teleglitch is a harsh mistress, but the cruelest lessons are often the ones that truly stick with us.

So while more hardcore players may scoff at the very idea of party games, and Guilty Party definitely doesn't necessarily avoid the inherent pitfalls of the genre, it's still some of the most fun you'll have on your Wii with a crew of interested buddies.

Though it hews closely to the traditional ratio of exploration and critter killing, Tales of Xillia has more than enough unusual and refreshing elements to keep pushing you forward.

In the crowded puzzle genre, especially on a handheld like the 3DS, Minis on the Move doesn't stand out in any significant way. There is no impressive gameplay twist, no mechanic that feels fresh or noteworthy. It may attempt to mesh hectic action with mind-bending challenges, but it doesn't particularly succeed at either.

It's a solid effort all-around and a surprisingly fun way to get fit.

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.

A little panache and daring can go a long way towards standing out on the real-life fairways, and it would've done so here as well.

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.

It's a digestible version of football that even the biggest sports cynic can enjoy. And, in the unlikely event you don't have a good time, the typical game only lasts around 15 minutes, so your stint in hell is at least guaranteed to be brief.

Skullgirls should have spent another year in development. What we got is good for what it is and will adequately fill a very niche void for serious fighters pining after a non-Blazblue Guilty Gear methadone, but it could have been so much more.

The technical hurdles are very steep at first, but once I put about five hours in, the sting started to dissipate. These flaws mar the atmosphere that State of Decay tries to create. If you can stomach them, however, the game's sense of urgency and its mountain of tasks and systems will be a nice vacation away from the societal constraints of your everyday, zombie-free life.

Despite all the insanity around the concept – and aside from all the weird "challenge mode" variants, unlockable ships, cute level descriptions, and all the other quirk – Retro/Grade is a well-designed music game with a completely original soundtrack. And that's as rare as a backwards shmup these days.

To say that this game comes as a surprise would be an enormous understatement. Sonic fans, I know it's hard to believe, but there's a reason to believe again.

Shmups are hardcore enough, but Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury somehow feels like a niche unto itself. At least death is served up à la carte, so you can move between stages at will if you die three times.

Not particularly great. There's fun to be had with its flashy battles and who's-who roster of familiar faces, but if you're looking for depth or longevity, you'll want to start kicking up dirt elsewhere. Make no mistake: this is the best Dissidia's ever been. Problem is, it could still be much better.

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.

Amid the Ruins forces us to swing that axe again and again and again in unsavory situations; it forces us to feel each step through a mass of hungry zombies, and it makes the steps leading up to an uncomfortable conversation just as tense.

Oddly enough, using a standard controller instead of a plastic guitar is hardly the most jarring aspect of Rock Band Blitz. The freebie DLC still makes it a no-brainer purchase, but Rock Band fans might find themselves alienated by the strange score focus, social game elements and absent multiplayer.

Despite its many worthy additions, Skylanders Trap Team is the first game in the series to disappoint me. The new villain characters are charming - seriously, who could hate a floating, magical vegetable named Broccoli Guy? - and the talking portal accessory puts a fun spin on traditional series elements, but the uninspired level design really drags down the overall experience.

It's hard to tell where the punk lifestyle ends in Charlie Murder, whether in the game or with Ska Studios itself, and the game's insane, patchwork gameplay is a thrill.

Grid 2 has its moments, but every racing game comes down to the relationship between car and driver, and here it is almost exclusively an adversarial one. Were the cars more fun to drive, the events more coherently constructed and the AI given a sense of a self-preservation, Grid 2's best moments could have been the norm, instead of the exception that proves the rule.

Speaking as someone firmly on the casual end of the flight spectrum, I've never had more fun in the Wild Blue Yonder.

The experience of a game so elegantly, artfully designed in both mechanics and visuals is something that will stay with me, even if the plot wasn't totally coherent.

There are plenty of things that were great the first time you saw them, and work together to provide a pleasant experience, but there is no element of surprise, no attempt to dazzle you with new elements.

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.

An exciting, shocking and mammoth adventure through the ghostly, unvarnished segments of space – and you do, thankfully, get to spend some more time flying. There aren't many games that can match the elegiac, liberating movements of Isaac Clarke in nullified gravity, or his vengeful, squishy stomps of victory...Huh, maybe I enjoyed more of Dead Space 3 than I thought.

The pacing and presentation of objectives is what's really different: They make Tropico 4 feel fresh, despite the truly remarkable ripeness of the franchise's core mechanics.

The complexity of the GamePad makes it best suited for people who know their way around a video game, at least at first. Tying some of the fun to recognition of familiar Nintendo series helps the right initial audience self-select.

If you can look past these issues, the uninspiring gunplay and ho-hum campaign in particular, Starhawk offers up plenty of multiplayer freedom. If you can pull together a cohesive team, building defenses and barreling through enemy territory can be deeply rewarding.

It is entirely possible to play through the game using just the three figures that come packed with it, thereby sidestepping the financial minefield upon which Skylanders: Giants is so precariously stationed. Possible, but not particularly realistic. Much of the fun and variety in Giants comes from the abilities lurking inside its many different characters, and with an estimated $500 in new figures to collect, Giants becomes even more difficult to recommend.

MMA is a fuller game that celebrates the broadest scope of the sport with a loving precision, while UFC brings out a roster of more recognizable fighters for a more casual, beer-and-buddies experience.

I'll never have the kind of relationship with SoulCalibur 5 that I did with SC2, but I still plan on the two of us spending as much time as possible together. I love this game, I'm just not in love with it.

MotorStorm Apocalypse really nails the whole apocalypse thing, no question. It's the actual racing that's taken the back seat. There are moments when the planets align and the experience becomes pure arcade racing magic -- but they're only moments. The rest of the time you're just an angsty, glorified crash test dummy.

Compared to Colors, Sonic Generations is a weaker, above average effort. Even taken as fan-service, the game's wavering quality, apparent lack of creativity and meandering filler feels like it's stalling until next year's birthday, and next year's game.

This is awesome stuff. I couldn't recommend it more highly, especially at 10 bucks, and I'm sure you'll be telling everyone you know the same after you clear the first stage (if not sooner).

Shank 2 doesn't do much that's new or original. It's a refinement of what came before it, from the original Shank to manic classics like Metal Slug. But there's a lot of quality fun packed into this inexpensive download, making it a perfect choice for simple, fast-paced action.

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.

But the complete lack of difficulty makes what should be an enthralling game sometimes boring.

And that's probably the best summation of Dungeon Defenders: a great (virtual) place to hang our with your friends.

But if you have a willing friend, and don't have a history of heart disease, this is a journey worth taking.

If you can ignore the jarring, clipped dialogue and attempted story, play Quantum Conundrum to enjoy the tranquility of practiced physics – tranquility that may frustrate you to the point of destroying a beautiful keyboard, but tranquility nonetheless.

Rocksmith doesn't teach the player anything; they teach themselves, and there are much more entertaining and fulfilling ways to be a self-taught guitarist.

If you have an Xbox One and a Kinect, you should have Fantasia: Music Evolved in your library, not only because it's the thing that shows off how well your Kinect can work, but also because it's an immediately accessible and fun party game.

I think Soul Sacrifice is worth the asking price, but playing it may exact an unexpected toll on your thoughts. To enjoy it is to engage with its unvarnished contract, and to recognize your adventure as a sequence of repetitive harvests that culminate in some kind of relief and freedom.

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.

As a whole, NCAA Football 14 is boom-or-bust; with all of its big gains this year, it missed some opportunities to be truly excellent.

At five bucks, it's an easy recommendation for anyone even remotely interested in role-playing games.

With all the chaff you have to swipe through on the Kinect, you can forget just how good it feels when something just works. That's exactly what The Gunstringer does: It works, and in a smart, slick way that feels simultaneously natural and fresh.

With all of its expansion packs, the first game has greater card variety; but if you're looking for some innovative changes to the classic gameplay formula, Planeswalkers 2012 deserves your attention.

These minor problems, however, rarely interfere with the pulse-quickening thrill of diving into a mass of infected and coming out alive on the other side. ZombiU isn't for everyone, but those who stick with it, through its unforgiving and occasionally frustrating difficulty, there's a an exhilarating experience to be had.

It's just a shame that the game doesn't do more to make newcomers feel as welcome.

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.

It's the series' tried-and-true mix of campy charm, fast action, and a borderline-artistic knack for wringing entertainment from time-worn cliches that keeps fans coming back for more. In those areas, Tales of Graces F truly excels. It's far from a bastion of genre progressiveness, but as far as achingly traditional JRPGs go, you could do a whole, whole lot worse.

As a palate cleanser, A World of Keflings certainly does the trick, though you may feel your sanity begin to ebb after extended sessions.

This isn't Conker's Bad Fur Day. It is still very much a game, if not bluntly for kids, that kids can play. The co-op and difficult unlockable objective stages present the game, intentionally or not, as a adventure that a parent plays with the kid. It's not a perfect game for kids or adults, but it's good for both.

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.

Spinning around an opponent is fun enough, but the lack of of variety in game modes leaves you hanging after a few trips to the court. The latest FIFA Street could be the foundation of a great game down the line; it just isn't one now.