Yes, it’s frustrating at times, but it sure as hell got our blood pumping. Plus, the animations look unbelievably organic — especially contextual finishers that incorporate the surrounding environment —and the sound effects give every hit a satisfying sense of bone-crunching devastation.

A few tough boss battles drag on way too long, and at least one suffers from a game-breaking glitch that might force you to restart the entire level. That sort of crap is nobody’s idea of a good time. Truly dedicated soldiers might power through, but most will leave this contested rock to drift through space.

Endlessly bashing dim-witted hordes becomes mind-numbing almost to the point of hypnosis. Unless you’ve got some oddly strong hankering for scatological silliness, it’s probably best to simply flush twice and not look back.

For a game that plays up its characters’ sex appeal, Girl Fight is stupefyingly unattractive. The character models look like last-gen remnants, and their complete lack of personality and combat pizazz makes them utterly forgettable.

It's a by-the-numbers adaptation with more than 1000 built-in multiple choice questions, which should sate trivia buffs for a while, though the sluggish pace and the host's incredibly repetitive quips turn grating after only a few rounds.

With a song list that ranges from Louis Prima to the Ghostbusters theme to Katy Perry, and choreography that includes Charleston and chair dancing, JD2014 makes vamping like a diva (and shedding some pounds in the process) an astonishingly engrossing timesink.

You can still technically play through the entire adventure with just one Skylander, but to scratch that completist itch you’ll need both a fat wallet and the willingness to hunt down specific physical character figures.

If Episode 1’s satisfying twists and gut-punch of a cliffhanger are any indication, a pitch-black journey into fairytale land lies ahead. Count us in for the long haul.

Graphically gorgeous, especially when you crank up its brilliant dynamic weather effects, F1 2013 reproduces every car and track from the current season in stunning detail (making the game’s short, non-savable replays even more perplexing).

For the third year running, 2K has modified the right analog stick inputs, but luckily 2K14's Pro Stick is the best arrangement to date, letting you shoot, perform flashy passes, and put up your hands on defense with ease. It's a comfortable addition that streamlines some functionality, though the familiar button controls remain for series vets.

Dedicated fans of punishing classics like Mega Man might’ve relished the sense of accomplishment, but even they’ll grow tired of the drudgery, despite some tense boss battles against huge machines.

PES 2014 shows its strengths in the most important places, but ultimately could be more appealing to a wider audience with some polish in the right places. Even so, it's a strong entry in the series that proves there's definitely room for two on the pitch.

Ultimately, you either think giant stompy robots are rad or you don’t; if they’re your thing, and you don’t mind its split single-/multiplayer nature, Armored Core: Verdict Day provides an enjoyable stage on which to both rock and sock ‘em.

Apart from some death-by-bad-camera-angle moments and a few aggravating perfection-focused “challenge” sequences, Marlow Briggs is enjoyable enough. Just don’t expect to remember any of it next week.

[Skill Games] aside, FIFA 14 oozes style, authenticity, and bold design from start to finish. It looks and feels better than ever - and that's no small feat considering the series' incredibly rich tradition.

Foul Play won't tempt you to heave tomatoes at its cast, but you won't find yourself crying out for an encore, either.

From skydiving and submarine exploration to bounty-hunting and watching animated shorts, GTA V is absolutely crammed full of things to do, and it looks amazing while you do them.

Though Mars: War Logs marks an achievement for its ambition, rough patches in presentation and gameplay make it a tough recommendation to anyone not willing to weather them. [Nov 2013, p.73]

Despite the brevity and repetition, plenty of bugs plague these turtles. From low-level quirks like characters getting caught on objects in the environment, to high-level issues like A.I. partners abandoning us or a hacking minigame causing freezes, the amount of glitches in Out of the Shadows is pretty alarming.

While it looks like a second cousin to the Ice Age films, Freefall Racers is utterly devoid of personality, and it's also rather slight, with just eight tracks split between a handful of drab cups and no real long-lasting pull in sight. Frivolous as it may seem, however, it's still a rare bit of Kinect-enabled fun, especially for little ones.

With four massive game modes to choose from that could all serve as standalone titles plus a strong core gameplay engine, NHL 14 is about as good as it gets.

Quest for Cool Stuff is short and simple: an adequate diversion for tykes, but lacking particular creativity or excitement. In an era of great, affordable downloadable games, $40 for a routine, bite-sized licensed game seems like a stretch.

Even if you don’t harbor the slightest hint of nostalgia for the original, Castle of Illusion offers up a great experience. It’s a fun update to yesteryear’s classic, but also a solid platformer in its own right.

Dispel any doubts you might have had: thanks to some smart tweaks and changes, Diablo III is a deep, spirited game that fits right into its new home.

This game’s not just bizarre, it’s downright schizophrenic. And while we’re used to — and even enjoy — some of these sorts of wild hijinks from mad-genius Suda51 and his team at Grasshopper, Killer Is Dead’s individual components never coalesce into a worthwhile experience.

It’s certainly a fresh take on the franchise, but sadly, it isn’t a particularly captivating one.

What's here is a smart, somewhat kinder, but no less addictive approach to the series' trademark challenge. And that's just the way we like it.

A wide-ranging and entertaining beast of a simulation, but it's showing its age. Issues we've seen for years now — like garish sideline details, poor transitions, and incorrect stadium surroundings — remain untouched, with new ones added to the mix (like odd facial texture glitching).

While its gameplay and visuals are better than they were in 1992, what was groundbreaking back then feels merely average 20 years later.

As a whole, you’ll find the roughly 4 hour Dishonored finale enjoyable, but not quite as thrilling as what came before it.

Declassified may not be innovative or even very pretty, and it certainly has its problems. But this is also a strategy-lite shooter that’s more than the sum of its often rough-hewn parts. It's entertaining from start to finish, and feels a bit brainier than other shooters when it comes to gunning down hordes of enemies. In that regard, Declassified captures at least part of what makes the XCOM franchise so special.

It's easy and incredibly fun to use, but also powerful, and content can be shared with friends. Even as additional play sets and figures are released in the coming months, it'll be the Toy Box that keeps us hooked, and it's how Disney Infinity remains so endearing even as it commands ample cash.

Like any human, Sam Fisher stumbles occasionally when the pressure’s on. But as long as you’ve got the patience to accept a handful of limitations, you can expect to have a damn good time saving the world once more.

It's all worth it...for the unbridled fun of wreaking havoc at high speeds and experiencing the laughs and unexpected emotional highs of Saints Row IV's storyline. Simultaneously more and less impressive than SR3, it's not quite the highest point the series has reached, but it's nonetheless a satisfyingly explosive send-off for the Saints.

There may be no such thing as the perfect heist in PayDay 2, but they’re rarely forgettable — proof that while this game isn’t quite the transcendent co-op experience on the level of, say, Left 4 Dead — it still offers up a nice change of pace in first-person shooters on Xbox.

Loads of fun, a delightful trip back to an era where simply jumping in the right spot could reveal copious hidden goodies. Whether you’ve played the original or not, this remake is worth every Number-One Dime.

Its tough-love formula offers fun and challenge in the short-term, but there’s just not enough variety or depth to make a lasting impression beyond those initial thrills.

At only 10 bucks, Charlie Murder is both a killer game and a solid value for solo artists; for anyone with a few friends willing to join the slaughter, it’s damn near mandatory.

Even when functional, however, Narco Terror lacks intrigue or interest, and feels like a lazy take on a well-worn blueprint.

The confusing narrative, poor voice acting, and lackluster puzzles make the game hard to love, but if “weird” is your niche, this trip offers some solid entertainment.

Magic 2014 manages to retain what made the previous games great, while more than justifying the series’ yearly releases.

The game does have a few bright spots. Its cel-shaded art style is fun to look at, and the level designs — which include a museum with a huge medieval-castle exhibit, plus an artificial forest inside a skyscraper — are unique and memorable. But that’s not enough to recommend what’s otherwise a stiff, banal mess of wasted potential.

Do yourself a favor: leave R.I.P.D. in its grave.

Dynasty Warriors 8 should be the pristine, refined culmination of a long-running franchise, but instead it’s a reminder of how much a series can deteriorate when it coasts on its success.

You might well opt to buy stat upgrades or temporary performance-boosting items instead, for the sake of simple one-on-one multiplayer confrontations. But because stat upgrades make little difference in the field, and you can carry only a single boost item at a time, you're probably better off just playing something else altogether.

And however you play each story, Telltale’s seemingly simple presentation reveals its writers’ skill in surfacing humanity in even the most inhumane acts. (After all, in the zombie apocalypse, does “doing what’s right” even matter anymore?) Action segments come slightly faster and more furious in some of these stories than they did in most of Season One, with rudimentary gunplay and weapon-handling conveying a more grisly side of survival, but decision-making remains the game’s biggest challenge — and draw.

Predictably, you’ll have a much better time blasting away in by-the-numbers deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture-the-flag engagements — well, if you can find any other players in the ghost town that passes for Scourge’s multiplayer lobby. Given the game’s crippling problems, it’s hard to blame folks for staying away in droves.

EA Sports has removed some modes and features this year (like Heisman Challenge) while others return or debut, but ultimately, the end experience feels about the same. As expected, NCAA Football 14 is an entertaining game of college ball, but rarely much more than that.

A now-linear mess of awful mechanics, broken A.I., and constant glitches that wouldn’t have been remotely acceptable even in the console’s early days.

When stages start stretching past 10 to 15 minutes apiece thanks to minimal checkpoints and dozens of cheap deaths, though, the game known as a breezy pick-up-and-play classic on phones instead feels like a bitter grind on 360.

Tiny Tina’s snarky adventure manages to dance on the precarious barrier between shooters and fantasy RPGs with surprising dexterity, and the amount of content more than justifies its price. For those disappointed that Dragon’s Keep marks the final DLC for season-pass holders, take heart: Gearbox saved the best for last.

The goofy ending shenanigans are worth the trouble, of course, but it’s always a shame to see a runner stumble just before the finish line. Luckily, the rest of Deadpool is so light on its feet and so steadfastly amusing that you’re bound to remember all of the pleasure and none of the pain.

This expansion’s biggest problem: the woeful lack of people with whom to play. Days and even a couple of weeks after Lost Island’s release, finding even a single match often felt like an endurance trial, which is a shame — this add-on’s neither truly spectacular nor a fantastic value, but it is worth playing.

But the biggest bug of all came when Fireburst simply stopped working, and hard-froze our console any time we tried loading an event. Deleting and downloading the game anew didn’t help; we had to start over using another gamertag. Were we not reviewing this horrendous, bug-ridden racer, we would’ve taken that as a welcome sign to burn it from our memories and never look back.

Chronicles of Mystara isn’t going to set the world on fire, but it nonetheless offers quality multiplayer fun with plenty of razzle-dazzle behind its vintage veneer, making it a worthy addition to any retro fan’s game library.

Even players with an insatiable lust for fiery explosions will be disappointed when they find that the whole affair’s easily finished in under four hours. Thunder Wolves is mindless fun if you're in the right mood, but it's just too flawed and fleeting to be a good value.

But even with its less-satisfying endgame, Storm’s conundrums still offer an offbeat way to stretch your brain.

Naturally, this mortality will drive some players nuts, while others will relish the undeniably heightened sense of danger.

While we have issues with some of Remember Me’s major features, the overall adventure is well worth experiencing. Even if some fights and branching paths lead you toward frustration, they’re merely parts of a journey that showcase a wildly unique story and the visuals to match.

Grid 2 might not be quite up to the lofty standards of an all-inclusive open-world competitor like Forza Horizon, but it does more than enough to carve out a comfortable niche worth exploring.

From its unspectacular graphics to its utterly predictable, objective-based spin on Horde mode’s wave-based skirmishes, Fuse never fully comes together.

Showdown may have slick cars, death-defying moments, and corny dialogue like the films, but it lacks the punch and precision that’s made the top Fast & Furious films so darn fun.

At $50, Revelations is cheaper than most AAA retail releases, but it’s decidedly lower-budget in scope and style. While it’s a serviceable throwback for those sick of survival-action, we’d have liked a bit more polish and a deeper quest.

Though you’ll hunt pigs, turkey, elk, and many other animals across the 30 core missions, Hunter’s Trophy 2 is absolutely exhausting in its monotony. Neither the pursuit nor the kill proves remotely interesting, and it makes for a terribly tedious time.

What is surprising, however, is that content of this quantity and quality costs just $15. With its meaty eight- to ten-hour campaign and near AAA-caliber execution (plus an endlessly replayable arcade mode), this game could have easily been a full-priced offering just two or three years ago.

CastleStorm's unusual mix of elements never quite congeals into anything too brain-taxing. But hurling bombs at buildings and flinging pointy sticks at barbarians is bound to get your blood pumping for a little while. [July 2013, p.76]

It's truly a wonder what could've fizzled into a pat, saccharine-sweet puddle of a tale ends up being much more, making Brothers an experience definitely worth having. [July 2013, p.70]

For a rather simplistic platformer, Alien Spidy’s ultimately just too challenging, in all the wrong ways. Even after many play sessions, we didn’t feel like we were learning what we needed to eventually master it, and that’s a big turnoff.

While the game feels rough around the edges, the core is so entertaining that such flaws don’t dominate the experience. Whether you play solo or with pals, solving Sanctum 2’s many challenges proves deeply absorbing.

It’s a consistently enjoyable romp that takes one of the most potentially depressing settings imaginable and makes it vibrant, fun, and fascinating. Metro: Last Light is an excellent follow-up to an underrated game, and if you’re looking for a good, meaty first-person adventure, its subterranean world is worth delving into.

Snoop has been involved in some lame non-musical ventures over the years, but Way of the Dogg may be a new low.

Despite clocking in at around 2.5 hours, The Redemption rushes you through the final paces of the three-part Tyranny of King Washington saga so doggedly — and with such gaping holes throughout the narrative — that we were left with a sense of nagging unfulfillment, not closure.

Pine and Quinto deliver the goods; if only this rollercoaster ride sped up instead of slamming the brakes every time we started to enjoy ourselves.

However you look at it, the so-so cardplay (you can choose Texas Hold ’Em or Omaha this time) does offer some nifty real-world prizes for winning challenges and tournaments: several unlockable heads and skins for use in Borderlands 2, plus five 360 Avatar items. It’ll take a number of hours to get them all, although while you’re working on that, you can also spend your in-game cash on custom chips, decks, and felts for use within Poker Night 2 itself.

Blood Dragon becomes too easy too soon, thanks in part to the steady stream of health-bar upgrades and damage-reduction bonuses you’ll unlock as you tear through 30 experience-based levels of personal progression. By the end you’re practically unstoppable, so you’ll almost certainly overcome all seven story missions, and complete every optional hunting excursion and hostage rescue, in under five hours.

The visuals and consciously retro soundtrack show a sense of style, but Sacred Citadel lacks the heart that defines the greatest brawlers. Use it to scratch an itch if you must, but if you’re new to action-RPGs, XBLA games like Castle Crashers and Guardian Heroes will prove far more rewarding.

Knife of Dunwall sharpens Dishonored’s storytelling and combat in one slice.

Playing solo is incredibly difficult and very little fun, and once people stop playing on Live, God Mode’s as good as dead.

The story extends Daniel's tale, but Hell & Damnation's 14 levels are merely somewhat revamped versions of environments from the original Painkiller and its Battle Out of Hell expansion. [May 2013, p.77]

A fun game unlike anything we’ve seen on Xbox. Don’t be surprised if it sneaks off with your time and money.

While it’s got some irritating rough patches, Dead Island: Riptide’s 15-hour campaign still manages to be a lot more fun than it has any right to be.

Celebrity cameos by Ray Liotta, Michael Madsen, Chazz Palminteri, and Joe Pantoliano are fun perks, but what really stands out is how expansive and enthralling this hour-or-so mission is.

We see Defiance’s potential in the little interactions and grand moments alike, and while our first impression has been rougher than hoped, we’ll be back in six months or a year to see how the concept has been expanded and refined. It’s just unlikely that we’ll spend much of the meantime watching Defiance struggle through its growing pains.

Besides delivering the roots-respecting experience seasoned demon-slayers demanded, it’s brimming with enough replayability (via Chapter and Tests of Valor challenges, competitive Clan Battles, co-op Ninja Trials, and all of Ninja Gaiden 3’s DLC) to keep players butchering away long after the blood’s dried in the main campaign.

Injustice is fast, destructive, and extremely accessible without sacrificing its hardcore edge, and its slick visuals and nonstop craziness put it in a class by itself. This fighter is DC and NetherRealm at their finest, and while certain aspects (like Super Moves) wear thin, there’s enough great content here to keep fans busy for months.

XBLA’s Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons pulls the beating heart out of Technōs’ 1988 coin-op Double Dragon II: The Revenge and stomps on it until it barely resembles the sequel we once loved.

You'll ace every event in a handful of hours without much difficulty, and only the truly obsessive will pocket every collectible. But just ten bucks buys at least a few afternoons of enjoyable airborne antics.

All three tables look gorgeous, and all the familiar dialogue clips and sounds are a treat, too. Star Wars Pinball never up-ends the formula quite as much as Avengers Chronicles’ selectable balls and upside-down table did, but silverball and sci-fi buffs will adore it nonetheless.

Between the remarkably replayable eight-hour campaign and competitive multiplayer, BattleBlock Theater already offers an exceptional value for your $15. But the cherry on top is a level editor that allows anyone to create, decorate, and upload their own collections of linked levels, complete with secret areas.

Storywise, The Betrayal is a shade sillier than The Infamy, and a few moments in its missions are strange to the point of absurdity... If you’re invested in its alternate-universe narrative, though, The Betrayal is an important piece of the puzzle, and its ending hints at something potentially amazing for the final chapter.

What sets Terraria apart from its obvious inspiration is more than just 2D design; it’s the action-centric tone that emerges the more you dig around and buddy up with pals, especially online ones who have cultivated their own worlds and arsenals (though local split-screen multiplayer is included).

Even if you couldn't care less how efficiently you put hundreds of drug-dealing scumbags to rest, you may well be surprised by how enjoyable a bit of this disposable ultraviolence can be.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 doesn’t deliver the presentational kick in the pants that the series still needs, but the Legends of the Majors mode serves as a superb centerpiece to perhaps the most expansive entry to date.

It’s a generic zombie story to a Z, and not helped by horrible visuals that awkwardly recycle character models and stages. Together, these elements make the game feel like a reanimated corpse.

As fun as its combat is, BioShock Infinite’s real strengths are its weirdly lovable characters, its richly realized world, and its story, which stays addictively convoluted from its eerie intro to its lengthy, jaw-dropping ending. It may not always be quite as inventive as the original BioShock, but it’s just as — if not more — unforgettable.

Just entertaining enough to buy when it’s accumulating dust in the bargain bin. But for a richer sniper experience with more gruesome kill shots, last year’s Sniper Elite V2 is a better bet.

From the initial menu screen, it’s clear that little has changed over the course of a year beyond pasting in David Price as the cover star. The interface is essentially identical, the play modes are unchanged in execution, and the on-field action is precisely where it was last season. Even the Achievements are carbon-copied.

The joy of exploration occasionally tips over into frustration, as when untouchable background scenery seems to offer a safe place to land, or during an infuriating and unnecessarily time-consuming final boss fight. But for the most part, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a charming adventure and a reasonable value.