As he writes his own escape from the Dark Place, the tale ironically lacks the narrative punch of his first trek into the shadows. Even so, it invites us back into Alan's world, takes us on a new adventure and sheds new light on his predicament. The writer is correct: we love our characters, and if you love Alan Wake, you really don't have a choice. You must survive his American Nightmare.

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.

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 music in Fate is dark, ominous, and really cool.

Black Ops is a terrific action game with a solid story and a deep, rewarding multiplayer mode.

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.

For now I'll happily mock Kasumi for wearing next to nothing in Antarctica, roll my eyes at Christie creeping on boys in an oil rig bar, and question the practices of Helena Douglas, a supposedly French CEO who dresses for sultry cabaret and literally beats up her employees.

Ultimately, Puzzle Quest 2 manages to add some new strengths while still clinging onto some old weaknesses, resulting in a game that's addictive and engaging in short bursts, but slightly repetitive in extended sessions.

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.

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.

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

This is an easy one: Buy this game. There's a ton of content, and you're almost scientifically certain to like some of it. It's rare that I'm able to make this strong of a recommendation, but honestly, six games on one disc? How am I supposed to argue with that?

It seems odd to slam Serious Sam 3 for a lack of restraint, especially if you've spent space arguing that it's not as mindless as it appears. So, a piece of advice, rather: play it in spurts, play it with friends in sixteen-player co-op, and shoot many monsters.

What it does offer, though, is enough to warrant a recommendation, namely its fun dungeons, great bosses, an enjoyable chain-flinging gimmick, and emotional warmth in the relationship between Aeron and Elena.

Multiplayer is king in Black Ops 2, offering plenty of in-game and inherent rewards for its ravenous online community. It's paired with a lackluster story that fails the ambition shown by the branching campaign, reflecting the overall game's forward-thinking but imperfectly executed ideas.

The overall game doesn't get the polish on Wii U that it needed on other platforms back in August, but it remains a majestic blend of melee combat, puzzle solving and exploration. And if you squint, it's the best Steven Tyler game since Revolution X!

While it's puzzling to watch so much effort go into streamlining Fable 2's already superb design without fixing its obvious technical shortcomings, try not to let that distract you from what remains an exceptional game. It may not be revolutionary, but it is royally fun.

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

Young Thor may be light on content, but what it does offer is polished and well-executed.

The clumsy evolution of combat aside, I'd heartily recommend Guacamelee – once for its devilish difficulty, again for its luchadorable charm, and one last time for its even-handed treatment of the lowly video game chicken.

Ultimately, Explodemon doesn't coalesce into a product that's as refined or as beautiful as the Treasure classics that inspired it. But thought it may be a bit rough around the edges, it's also precisely the kind of game I would've bought used from a Japanese import store -- so, in that sense, it's still something of a gem.

If you just want to shoot things with friends, you'll enjoy your time with Destiny, even when you're mocking the lame story. If, on the other hand, you love the loop – town, dungeon, loot – you'll be more likely to stick around after the story's over.

There's something about the heart of the game that keeps me pressing forward. Despite the bony exterior, Dokuro feels like it has a real soul, like it was made by people who truly loved and believed in it. It's inspired, well-made, and thoroughly enchanting.

Developers! If a battle has several clear stages of pattern recognition, there had better be checkpoints between them.

Ultimately, though, these are the new trappings of an old, old game -- one you may have already played three or four times before.

Based on its initial look and feel, Spelunky is a whimsical adventure. It's adorable and exciting, but it's true, underlying plot to destroy your soul is what will keep you coming back. It offers a randomly generated world of fantastic possibilities, though all of them amount to what is essentially an infinite, irresistible quagmire. You'll love it while you hate it.

Ultimately, though, these are the new trappings of an old, old game -- one you may have already played three or four times before.

Rare's work on Kinect Sports really demonstrates what the camera is capable when it's used by a capable developer. If you've already got the hardware to play it on, consider Kinect Sports a must-have.