Crafted with painstaking attention to inventive detail and charm, Dust is never less than an outright joy to experience.

Even if you don't care about the Persona mythos, there's a very solid competitive fighter here. Both local and online multiplayer are incredibly solid (the latter thanks to an update released two days after the game), with only the minor annoyance of no quick-rematch option. As it stands, anyone seeking a fresh, stylish take on traditional 2D fighting should enter this Arena.

We're glad to fire up our 360s for some Left 4 Dead 2, and the addition of four of the first game's campaigns (with the sequel's items, special infected, and new scavenge maps) is a nice touch. But we would have enjoyed our dip into Cold Stream more had Valve freshened the water a bit.

If only the price of unlocking new skills - a minimum stat combined with a hefty fee - wasn't unreasonably steep.

Unfortunately, Kinect problems abound: the fussy, imprecise motion-reading is frustrating(especially when you're blocking and deflecting attacks), and some of your physical actions require exaggerated movements. [Oct 2012, p.79]

This game is all about silly fun. [Oct 2012, p.79]

Overall, Madden remains quite raw. The engine shows a great deal of promise, and Connected Careers features a lot of interesting ideas, but there's no question that this is a rebuilding year. The best news is that EA finally seems to be on the right track. Give it another year, and Madden may at least be a true contender. [Oct 2012, p.72]

Even with some less-than-thrilling scenarios and its failure to reward player choice, Sleeping Dogs ultimately delivers a very good open-world action experience. It hits enough high notes to warrant the trip to Hong Kong, even if the route there feels a little too familiar. [Oct 2012, p.64]

As simple as it all may be, it makes for a frantic, dizzying, four- to five-hour rush. And that's Deadlight's strongest suit: you feel a constant, adrenaline-fueled urge to just. Keep. Moving.

Make no mistake: this is the definitive version of Konami's amphibian-driven arcade game. But because the original wasn't quite the masterpiece Pac-Man­ and Space Invaders were, it falls just short of those homages.

What redeems Wreckateer, ultimately, is its variety. Each gleefully cartoony castle is sprinkled with point targets, explosive satchel charges, cowering goblins, and special icons that make your shot speed up, bounce, and so on.

Online multiplayer and tournaments liven up the competition, but London 2012's uneven gameplay makes it more of a sampler plate than a main course.

Though we question these changes to the tried-and-true gameplay, the majority of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD works as well as (or better than) the originals did when they first captivated us nearly 15 years ago. This update isn't all it could have been, but it's the best take on those early games we've had yet.

Some folks might've relished lining up creeps for extended combo attacks, if such efforts weren't constantly interrupted because the attack button also retrieves items from the ground. Even at the best of times, nabbing goodies is a poor substitute for engaging action.

With a few frustrating puzzles, some unclear solutions, and no cooperative play, Quantum Conundrum isn't quite as polished as Portal 2 - but it's a very close homage at a fraction of the price. If you've been aching for more drops from Valve, this game will satisfy your quandary.

There's just not enough here to warrant even a $15 price. The game includes only eight fighters in two divisions, and no real career mode to encourage long-term play. With more fighters and more easily unlocked bonus video content, the game would've offered a better introduction to this relatively new fighting league.

Between the playoffs and the inevitable cribbing of Madden 13's bigger features (like Connected Careers), next year's NCAA Football will surely implement some bold changes. But NCAA Football 13 feels more like another effective iteration than a genuinely new, thrilling experience.

It's madness worth embracing.

For the most part, TASM merely refines the formula of prior open-world superhero games with better graphics.

One of the best add-on adventures in recent RPG memory, but take our warning to heart: save early, save often, and expect the unexpected.

Episode 2 does an excellent job of keeping the adventure going while setting the scene for plenty of struggles ahead. If Telltale stays on target, their full, five-part Walking Dead saga may prove to be one of the best, most ambitious zombie games ever.

It's not clear why handling, top speed, acceleration, and braking improvements apply only to specific livery paint jobs instead of to entire vehicle classes, and we never did figure out how the useless "clutch boost" feature was supposed to help us.

Naturally, the table artwork is gorgeous, doing the Marvel license proud, and the animated characters that leap around the playfields always enhance the look and never distract from the action.

Brave can be endearing and diverting, particularly if a parent and child work together via local co-op. Unfortunately, the whole journey lasts only four hours or so, and the bonus Kinect archery mini-game won't keep you playing for much longer.

Even by military-shooter standards, Spec Ops: The Line is an uncompromisingly bleak journey into the mouth of madness. Sharing almost nothing with its predecessors except the Spec Ops moniker, this squad-based shooter tries to make you think - sometimes successfully, sometimes not - about the lines you're willing to cross in battle.

Forget discs and standalone releases. Here's how to repackage old games: with tender loving care.

The best thing here is still the three games, which hold up amazingly well after all this time. You could get them by buying the now-very-cheap Ultimate Genesis Collection (which includes dozens of other classics), but for purists, these fully featured versions are a must.

Hardcore Battlefield 3 strategists will be disappointed by the sudden emphasis on breakneck speed over deliberate tactics, not to mention Close Quarters' 16-player limit and infantry-only focus. But even they'll be sucked in if they give this add-on a chance.