At its most basic levels, The Show is fun, playable, and lifelike in a family-friendly way, but it has the depth, intensity, and detail for franchise or career growth that can suck in stat fans and drag them all through this season and beyond.

Overall Pokemon Black/White is still a great RPG that offers up the same addictive gameplay you've come to love, but don't expect anything new to entice you to catch 'em all again.

Inventive, original, whimsical, and fun as shit. Excepting some minor control hiccups, it's nearly the perfect platformer. If you think for one second that time has passed the platformer by, give Rayman: Origins a chance to prove you dead wrong, because it absolutely will.

If you’re a Pikmin fan, pluck the cash from your wallet, hand it to Nintendo, and enjoy the best Pikmin experience around. Just don’t be shocked if you’re left expecting a bit more in the way of story.

If you enjoyed The Stanley Parable or Dear Ester, or you’re a fan of narrative-driven games, you owe it to yourself to play Gone Home. For $20 it can seem quite steep so you have to be willing to pardon the linear gameplay and short length in favor of the journey. But the few tears I shed confirm that I feel the experience is worth it.

While gameplay is overall a great experience, I would like to see more control given to my fighter when it comes to the sway system, and I'm not completely sold on the new submission mini-game.

What matters is what Titanfall is. And that is an expertly formed shooter. It lacks many built-in charms gamers might expect, like obvious eSports functions and game modes that really promote how this experience is truly different. But it’s also clear that this is stage one of an ongoing process.

It’s really hard to be excited about the future of Tomb Raider after this game. It fails where more successful films and games of its kind succeed: in its characters. The way in which Lara goes from inexperienced to full-on action movie hero survivalist is so jarring that it’s near impossible as a player to remain on the same emotional wavelength as the story. Because of this the rest of the game falters.

With a surprisingly long campaign, infinitely replayable multiplayer, improved spectating and community tools, and access to hundreds of user-made game modes, Heart of the Swarm is an absurd value and a complete necessity for anyone that enjoyed any aspect of StarCraft II. Unless you just hate using your mouse in video games, buy Heart of the Swarm.

Crashmo is a really good game, but I didn't like it quite as much as Pushmo. I'm not sure if the reason for that lies within me, or the game itself, but I felt far less compelled to go back to each puzzle this time around...But Crashmo is still a hell of a puzzle game, and if you're more inspired than intimidated by a challenge, I can see no reason why you shouldn't snap this game up now.

Mortal Kombat is not only back, it's ripping off heads. This reboot has an unprecedented amount of kontent (with a k), unlocks, charm, and raw fun. Even if you haven't liked previous Mortal Kombats, believe me, you'll be hooked the first time you triple d.ck punch someone.

Brothers is a touching story that strays from the cookie cutter formulas we’ve come to expect from the industry. The brothers’ journey is full of raw emotion, even if it borders on the line of pretentious at times.

A fantastic downloadable title. Online play makes an already great game even better. Updated visuals, an in-depth training mode, and plenty of challenges to complete give Third Strike Online Edition plenty of replay value.

The familiarity of the controls in combat help in welcoming DmC's distinctive art direction and new look for Dante. The attention paid to the script and narrative manages to make these intermissions worth watching, and not because of over-the-top gunplay or sword work; that's for you to control in-game.

The freshness of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag puts any concerns of sequel fatigue to rest.

It's once in a blue moon that a game this special comes along.

Mechanically, the series holds up better than expected. But where Rockstar's influence really shines through is in the character of Max. He's one of the most compelling characters in recent memories and following him on this messed up journey of self-discovery is reason enough to play Max Payne 3.

The more time I spent with it, the more the new changes to the formula grew on me. The AI routines are less predictable and scripted, meaning every game feels like anything can happen.

I loved the huge variety of new maps but felt the meld upgrades sapped some of Enemy Unknown’s bite. The other half of that sentiment is that I now feel empowered to pick up my Hard / Ironman run again. The neatest summary I can give is this: if you want an excuse to play more XCOM, you’ve got it.

The presentation is wonderful and the attention to detail creates a game that has a charm and feel all its own. The controls are a little confusing at times but if you can get over them you’ll discover a fun game.

Radiant Historia delivers a compelling story coupled with entertaining gameplay that create a great package.

With a heart-warming protagonist, beautifully illustrated world, and addicting gameplay, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is another masterpiece of which Level-5 and Studio Ghibli can be rightly proud.

But if you're a glutton for punishment, itching to play more Trials Evolution and have a spare five bucks in your pocket, there's no reason to avoid experiencing the Origin of Pain.

Enthusiasts will love the throwback gameplay, and the unique spin on battles complements both veterans and newcomers. There are plenty of reasons to keep playing and replaying the game, not the least of which being the variety of jobs available to test.

There are very few games I’d recommend to anyone regardless of gaming experience or preference, but Runner 2 is one of them. It’s a fantastic reminder that sometimes games are most effective when they don’t try to emulate explosion-riddled Hollywood blockbusters and instead embrace solid gameplay mechanics and unfettered creativity.

Hotline Miami is one of the very few games that is a perfect union of gameplay mechanics and production values.

With this shift to an open world style, and storyline-driven progression, Forza has drifted into an area that the franchise probably requires, but isn't expertly realized.

I won't say that the framerate issue is a deal-breaker, but it's definitely keeping me from wholeheartedly recommending Armored Edition.