Easily the best game the franchise has produced. Engaging for pros and newcomers alike, packing tons of content and wrapped in a gorgeous presentation, it's not just a show of love for fans of the series, but a game likely to make many more.

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.

Despite the matchmaking quibbles and the occasionally stilted friendly AI, Section 8: Prejudice is a tremendous package, one that easily keeps up with -- and in some cases surpasses -- the retail competition.

Ultimately, Patapon 3 is the product of big dreams half-achieved. Around every corner, it buckles beneath the weight of its own ambition, hoping that its catchy, four-measure jingles and visual charm can redeem its rage-inducing missteps.

A delicious blend that masks its less welcoming ingredients with the grace of Tom Cruise in Cocktail. Its innovative, genre bending mechanics, forgiving design, brisk pace, and lovely setting more than compensate for the occasional unlucky circumstance or superfluous battle.

Between real, actual co-op and Chell's adventure, Portal 2 provides a stupendous package. So stupendous, in fact, that I feel tremendously guilty admitting that somewhere, way deep down in whatever critics have in place of a heart, I kind of wish it didn't exist.

This is the worst sort of throwback: It neither recalls fond memories of 1985, nor keeps pace with the state of games in 2011. It does not need to exist.

What could have been a return to form for the series ends up suffering an almost total loss of form. If this game didn't carry the SOCOM name it would be just another functional third-person military shooter that you might recognize when you saw it in the markdown bin after a few months.

A tepid pursuit of the bare minimum, resistant to the creative nudge that could have made it feel like something worthwhile. Everything works, it does what it says on the tin, but there's not a spark of personality in there.

A title that reeks of being over-designed, leaving the player with very little agency over how they want to complete the challenges set out for them. For every level that allows for a smidgen of strategy and exploration, there are several that force players down a single, unchanging path, which is pretty far from fun fun.

While not thoroughly original, it's at least consistently enjoyable during its short ride.

A hell of a single-player challenge, which should only be taken on by the sort of sadist who one-credit-clears Cave shooters. For the time being, however, even as Moon Diver hardly feels like a modern-day Big Damn Deal, it is at its best when posing as the over-serious side-scrolling equivalent of a party game.

A brilliantly executed, whirling dervish of a game that all but demands to be ripped open and played to death. Grab your kitty-cat, gas up your chainsaw-arm and sharpen your blades. It's gonna be a bloodbath.

If you're in college or live near lots of friends who regularly visit your abode as a group to play games, Slam Bolt Scrappers is perfect for you. Unfortunately, I don't have either of those luxuries. If you're in the same boat, you may want to think twice before laying down your money.

The core gameplay in Pro Evo 2011 3D is enjoyable, but it's constantly failed by the rest of the cart's fundamentals. Even with the game's limitations and shortsighted exclusions of some modes, the few options available to customize your experience makes for one of the best portable soccer games on the market. That may not be saying much, though.

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.

With the release of Shift 2 Unleashed, the Need For Speed franchise now holds the distinction of representing the best of arcade-style and simulation racing on consoles. It's an evolution of the original -- not a revolution, but still markedly improved across the board -- and a worthy sequel, easy recommendation for those who enjoyed the first game and great entry point to "real" racing in general.

WWE All-Star revels in its absurdness. By moving away from what pro-wrestling actually is -- slow, fake, melodramatic -- WWE All-Stars is closer to what we imagine wrestling to be -- fast, violent, an epic battle between two, three or even four men who unleash not one, but dozens of blows and acrobatics that defy mortality and take a folding chair to Isaac Newton's head.

Stepping onto the greens at Augusta National for the first time was nerve-wracking, but I did it. I walked away a winner in stylish bravado, the green cloth of victory a sign to all that I came and conquered.

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.

I have to hand it to Namco-Bandai: With the exception of omitting online multiplayer, it really put together a solid entry in the series for the 3DS launch, one that's easily high on the list of best titles available for the new system.

Swarm is a good idea in need of better executions.

While the single-player campaign is something I can see myself returning to a couple more times in a quest for Achievements/Trophies, the multiplayer side of Crysis 2 has me utterly hooked. I came for the pretty graphics, was happy with the solid shooter underneath them and am pretty much beside myself with how unexpectedly good the online play is.

While the single-player campaign is something I can see myself returning to a couple more times in a quest for Achievements/Trophies, the multiplayer side of Crysis 2 has me utterly hooked. I came for the pretty graphics, was happy with the solid shooter underneath them and am pretty much beside myself with how unexpectedly good the online play is.

Truth be told, its an extremely challenging side-scrolling ... well, it's part shoot-'em-up, part submarine simulator and part strategy game. The sum of these parts is actually a lot more compelling than the game taken at face value.

Taken in "shotgun" form, Pilotwings Resort's difficulty curve seems harsh, and the game stressful. But if you enjoy a few missions at a time, perhaps going back through them to refine your score and your abilities, you'll get a better sense of the relaxation and freedom that comes from taking to the skies.

Shooter 2 is not as consistent of an experience as its predecessor. Given Q's record of creating terrific "Encore" expansions for previous PixelJunk games, it's a bit disappointing that the franchise's first real sequel falls a little short. Still, I imagine it'd be a welcome addition to anyone's PSN library.

As good as any portable Street Fighter game can be. The touchscreen implementation, in fact, makes it a little better than that baseline, by adding an exclusive input method that actually works. It's no replacement for a genuine arcade button layout -- and you'll never forget that for a minute -- but it's a unique, and differently effective, way to interact with the game.