By and large Legend of Grimrock's penchant for walking the incredibly fine line between chin-stroking challenge and hair-pulling frustration is superbly impressive. It will absolutely pounce if you let your guard down, but that's a major part of the appeal.

It doesn't possess the customization features of a Forza or a Need For Speed, and it lacks some of the arcade-friendly gameplay variety offered by a Mario Kart and a Blur. However, more than any other racer that precedes it, Split/Second creates dramatic tension and cinematic thrills in every single race, and it almost always leaves you trembling after crossing the finish line.

While it scales back the complexity that defined Princess Crown and Odin Sphere, its focus on deep, varied fighting mechanics make it one of the best beat-em-ups released for any platform in recent years.

The crux of combat holds Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance together despite its structural problems. The game's priorities are right, and cutting through cruft and seizing the core of the experience is a better result than the opposite end of the spectrum – a cluttered game that buries its heart in busywork.

Successfully executing plays in its more complicated control system, especially in trapping and dynamic one-two passing, does feel appropriately rewarding. There's definitely an appeal to the more challenging game in Pro Evolution Soccer 2013, and I happily encourage players to give it a shot.

Transformed should not be missed by anyone who truly values a fun, exceptionally well crafted racing game.

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.

A singular experience, at times strange, astonishing and even bewildering, but always captivating. The mystery will keep you going, but what the game does best is surprise. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has a great story to tell, even if it's not the one you were expecting.

A great adaptation of Robert Kirkman's comic, one that isn't a chore to play and is genuinely absorbing across its two-hour entirety, even with its hiccups. Also, if you're looking for the most depressing dad sim on the planet, The Walking Dead: Episode 1 is for you.

"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.

If the load times are a deal breaker, there is an alternative: the PSP version of ModNation Racers, which is nearly identical to the PS3 version -- minus the load times.

This is a beacon, a fine reminder that if you have talented people and a little respect for your audience, great storytelling in games can be not only possible but profound.

When SSX wasn't trying its best to push me away, I loved every minute of it. From a mechanical perspective, it's the best treatment the "extreme sports" genre has received on the current generation of systems thus far. Unfortunately, it's wrapped in a dirty old program from X-Games '98 and punctuated with frustrating moments.

Metro: Last Light does belong in the company of Half-Life, though. It's an unusual, meticulously detailed shooter inextricable from its environment – making its refuge in the railways of Moscow all the more apt. The survival and shooting aspects engage with what is considered valuable in the world, and both leave ample room for moments of solace, exploration and concise violence.

Maybe Joe Danger 2 doesn't stretch out of its comfort zone as much as it could, but its comfort zone is still a danger zone worth riding into, and easy to recommend.

Though it may seem standoffish and esoteric at first, patience and perseverance will reveal the charming eccentricities and personality quirks that make it so special. Like any relationship worth having, Catherine takes effort, but the end result is worth it.

A marvelous soccer game, and it's certainly better than FIFA 14, but the series' improvements felt even more marginal this year. The game captures the thrill of soccer unlike ever before, but the new, emotional player animations are only a small addition to what was already a great product.

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.

Closure offers up a unique puzzle experience set in a wonderfully moody environment caught somewhere between the designs of Dan Paladin and Edward Gorey.

Incredible storytelling and fantastically executed single-player modes. Even its online offerings, which may not be NetherRealm's best work, are worlds better than the majority of other solutions being floated by Capcom and Namco Bandai.

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.

Push through its uneven beginning and you'll be rewarded with clever level layouts that stretch a solid mechanical framework to its limits. Getting to that point may be more frustrating than you'd like, though, thanks to its sharp difficulty curve.

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.

Even with the infrequent hiccup, unavoidable video segment or occasionally tiresome menu, Madden 15 has taken major strides in defining its place in the series. Hammering QBs after slipping past a blocker is all the more invigorating thanks to a flattering, defense-minded camera.

Even without multiplayer, however, Torchlight on XBLA is as close as you can get to dungeon crawling nirvana for $15. Like its PC counterpart, it removes the cruft of the genre, allowing players to get right down to the loot-driven core with a minimum of fuss. And now, thanks to the streamlined controls, we get it all without the constant clacking of a mouse.

Renegade Ops is adequate for what it attempts to be, but it's more conformist than the title suggests.

This is the episode where it all starts to come together.

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.