Despite these problems, though, Liberation brings a hugely engaging and interesting gameplay mechanic to the series, one that's informed by the character herself. For that reason alone, it's impossible for me not to recommend this game.

The developers have masterfully adapted everything that made the original Painkiller so enjoyable to a new engine that looks fantastic and plays liquid smooth.

If you stick to the online mode, have a good group of friends to share the road with, and love fast, sexy cars, you'll probably enjoy the game. It's not incredibly deep, so look elsewhere to scratch that driving itch, but it works for a quick, pulse-pounding hit of action and adrenaline...It's a shame the poor design that plagues the offline mode is so ingrained into the fundamental fabric of the gameplay.

There's a certain amount of diminishing returns on the mechanical evolutions made but the fresh, authentic setting along with a brand new protagonist go along way in rekindling the fire.

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

This DLC is a must-buy for anyone that played and enjoyed Serious Sam 3: BFE. While the Egyptian setting is worn threadbare at this point, content exhaustion is mitigated with clever map design. It would be nice to see new environments, but this is a great booster pack of content until that day comes.

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.

Now what is the reason to own Street Fighter X Tekken for PlayStation Vita if you already own it for the home consoles? This version is packed full of extras geared towards owners of the PlayStation 3 version of the game. With this you receive the extra 12 DLC characters and 38 alternate costumes for the core characters of the game.

With a brand new story, more game modes, extra levels to gain for your old and new toys, and enough content and replay value to keep you entertained for weeks, Giants is an easy recommendation to any gamer looking for a fun and approachable RPG.

007 Legends isn't completely terrible; Bond fans could even enjoy it. But for every step forward it takes two steps back.

Doom 3 has aged fantastically well. Provided you haven't already played the games in this collection, BFG Edition is also a solid value.

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.

In all, it's a solid start to what is to be a promising roll out of Borderlands 2 DLC and it's an especially manageable adventure if you're level 15 or higher in your current playthrough (not counting raid bosses).

It's got some nice simple puzzle sequences, some shootouts, and a truck full of drama. Let's just hope the final chapter doesn't take forever to come out.

Orcs is not a game for everyone, but you should absolutely give it a look if you're interested in ambitious design or interesting worlds.

Worms Revolution is more Worms, but it's more Worms with a few quirky twists. Though the water looks like jelly, it adds some never-before-possible mechanics into the world of Worms that make you ponder your plan of attack more thoughtfully.

At no point did the FPS component of Gaea Mission feel relevant, let alone necessary.

Though the variety of gameplay gives Retro City Rampage a broad scope, the redundancy of driving back and forth quickly becomes stale.

Wii controls continue to disappoint.

It's totally fine, and if you feel like devoting an afternoon to this game, you could certainly do a lot worse. But considering the robust, low-cost options that offer solid online multiplayer action on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, why bother with a game that's content to be merely better than average?

The word unique gets thrown around a lot in gaming, but The Unfinished Swan is truly unique, an experience not to be missed. It will show you that games don't need combat to be engaging, and they don't need color to strike a chord with your imagination. Simply put, this is one of the best games of the year, and my very favorite gaming experience of 2012.

Everything about this game is fantastic except the parts where you have to actually play it. That's what makes recommending this game really tough. Devout Fable fans will enjoy the check-in with the world as well as promises of what's to come, and some children may be indiscriminate enough to not care about perfect accuracy in controls. Everyone else should avoid the heartache.

NBA 2K13 improves upon its already solid foundation of basketball gameplay and presentation, and turns it up a notch. Improvements and additions to MyCareer mode as well as the addition of MyTeam mode will provide for great depth this season.

For the Poke-Maniacs out there, these two games are easily the definitive versions of this generation, but only because they offer a few added side missions and graphical enhancements. For anyone that played and enjoyed the two games before, Black 2 and White 2 can be skipped without question.

With Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, the game is starting to feel stale. The Pokemon series has been living off its laurels for some time now, and the series is in need of change.

It's clear that Enemy Unknown was made by people that both really loved the original XCOM and understand how to make games more approachable and enjoyable. Yes, some of those adaptations cause Enemy Unknown to lose some of the bite that the original had, but it's an unquestionably better game for it.

The average visuals, clunky animations, clumsy controls, and nonexistent lip-syncing represents a distinct lack of polish, but this doesn't ruin the otherwise solid game tucked within.

It's fun, easy to pick up for any newcomer, and something to play when friends come over. It's also a nice little distraction when you want something that's fast-paced yet demands less attention than a triple-A game might require.