The idea of combining vampire and werewolves with own skilltrees sounds great. However, the realization is imperfect. The quests are exciting and the landscape is in most parts great, but there are still some boring parts. It seems like Bethesda's B-team was at work.

A pricey expansion with only few additions? Not enough for those who played the original Sins. But as a package for newcomers this Rebellion is a fantastic offering – a complete, refined strategy game that still ranks among the best in the genre.

Ubisoft deliveres a fairly competent shooter with more than decent content. Fans of the series might not like the more action-oriented, streamlined structure of the newest iteration. And the promising online-mode has yet to overcome some quirks!

A solid third-person shooter that delivers intense action and a compelling setting, but relies too much on established mechanics, rather than delivering something new. The story however really stands out - a grim and challenging reflection on violence is something you won't find in any typical shooter. Fortunately it's also missing that dull patriotism you've come to expect from today's military action games.

Despite the new setting Max Payne 3 captures the cynical dark atmosphere of the series perfectly. New gameplay elements like the cover-system are implemented very good, but the lack of innovation makes the action a bit tedious towards the end. Nonetheless Rockstar delivers a good game and even more important: it deserves the name Max Payne.

Especially with the graphical design and the music and sound of the game Daedalic did a good job. The pen&paper-gameplay has been well embedded but the facial animations are rudimental. In general the puzzles are very diversified but lack hints most of the time. Therefore the game is at some points quite challenging, but in a few places even frustrating. Although Chains of Satinav is a very good adventure game with a convincing atmosphere in the world of The Dark Eye.

To elevate an enthusiastic fan mod like Iron Front to the level of a retail game, it definitely needs more work done than this wannabe-WWII-clunker. Horrible AI and an interface that would have been considered outdated in 1944 make this game about as impressive as a constructing a fake Tiger tank from a Fiat Panda, cardboard boxes and a few pounds of paper mâché.

Yesterday is a good adventure, which is different from the further Pendulo Studios games in it's style. The story about satanic cults and intrigues is present in a comic style and contains mystery and even horror elements. Most of the puzzles are logical, although too easy and often lacks alternative solutions. Yesterday kind of stands in it's own way and does not use all available possibilities to create a great game out of the story and characters. It's a proper game for genre beginners with nice graphics and presentation, but it's very short and veterans will be underchallenged.

Risen 2 transcends its shortcomings by boasting a wonderful living and breathing world and a refreshing new setting, masterfully crafted and executed. Although the combat is way too easy and the ending comes much too suddenly, Risen 2 is a great role-playing experience for any fan of open world games.

Excellent graphics, brilliantly designed levels and a chaotic but funny coop-mode: Rayman Origins is a triumphant comeback for Ubisofts limbless hero!

With good graphics, smart puzzles and a ton of secrets to discover Legend of Grimrock pretty much hits the mark. Sure, it may not be for everyone, storytelling is weak and to call it old-fashioned would be an understatement. But if you ever cared about classics like Dungeon Master, this one is for you. Not only a love letter to Old School Dungeon Crawlers, but also fine game in its own right.

A decent game with an original premise, good graphics, varied missions and solid multiplayer - it's a complete package for a low price, despite its strategic limitations. The shallow story and poor voice acting really hurt the experience, though.

Thanks to gunpowder and cannons, battles at land and sea are much more engaging than in the original. Add the well thought-out changes on the strategy map and it's purse-friendly price tag and you have one great addition to the Total War-series.

A great finale to a remarkable series. While Mass Effect 3 may not be perfect, the stirring story, smart writing and fast combat still make for an exceptional experience.

Finally! Alan Wake arrives on PC almost two years after it hit consoles. Was it worth the wait? Yes! Does its age hurt your eyes? No! Should you play it? Definitely! Alan Wake is one of the most creative and thrilling story-adventures we've seen so far – but you shouldn't buy it if you are expecting an action game.

The Darkness 2 introduces stunning new comic-book-graphics and some subtle, yet reasonable gameplay-changes. Further strong points are superb English (and solid German) voice-acting, an entertaining four-player-coop-mode and the bleak atmosphere throughout the game. The story is interesting, but not as gripping as in the prequel, and most of the boss-battles are pretty lame. Furthermore, the USK-version is heavily cut.

On the one hand Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning features one of the best combat systems I've ever seen in an RPG. It's fast, smooth and absolutely satisfying. The character individualization is quite big and the vast world of Amalur is a great place to sink in. On the other hand its dull story and severe lack of interesting characters are holding Reckoning back from being more than just a nice fill-in between Skyrim and Mass Effect 3.

Surprisingly, the new, controversial real-time-combat isn't the expected game breaker for Back in Action. Its much too aggressive, oftentimes stupid AI is. Add to that a bulky interface and cumbersome inventory and soon the liberation of Arulco becomes more of a chore than an enjoyable trip, motivating level-ups and non-linear gameplay notwithstanding.

A beautiful adventure game with original characters, good humor, tricky puzzles and a great art style. Even though the story suffers from an abrupt ending and loses its focus after a couple of hours, it's still a must-have for those who crave for a good point-and-click-adventure.

A solid update that brings the slightly better visuals from the WiiWare version back to the PC. While it's not as pretty as the 3DS version, the challenging gameplay remains intact: Cave Story+ is a successful tribute to console classics like Metroid and Castlevania.

Terrible physics, shoddy controls and unfair AI-Opponents bury the once great Flatout series under a pile of Chaos & Destruction.

After a less than awe-inspiring beginning Serious Sam 3 slowly gathers speed and delivers in its second half the fast-paced fun of shooting things the predecessors introduced. But even in its best moments the game never brings anything new to the table and the few innovations there are like the melee combat are poorly implemented. Furthermore Serious Sam 3 lacks the frivolity of the former games, often taking itself, ironically, too serious.

SWTOR: Bioware did it! Their first step into the "World of MMORPGS" is quite well done. Though the graphics in Star Wars: The Old Republic are not up-to-date and the game-mechanics are "business as usual", the game offers so much fun and exquisite entertainment. Especially the Story-Telling is awesome - every quest is told with good voice-actors. Nice Star-Wars-classes, funny PvP-arenas, nice space-opera-missions - definately a MMORPG with a very good start and so much potential for improvement in the further months/years.

After the very good, but unfortunately bugged FM 11, the developers are showing a little more courage to take risks again with the 12th edition. Last year’s version was limited to detail changes, while this year brings in a lot of new features. And this works out.

As expected: an open-world epic with a huge scope and a great atmosphere.

With being too close to its predecessor Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed Revelations is not daring enough to forge its own path. Nevertheless, the game concludes the saga of Ezio in a satisfying manner and tells an interesting story in an even more interesting setting.

A huge accomplishment that surpasses its predecessor in almost every way, with polished gameplay, great storytelling, fantastic atmosphere and outstanding voice acting. It's a deeply satisfying Batman experience and one of this year's finest video games.

EA studio Blackbox fails to combine a fast paced racing experience, Battlefield 3 graphics with a good entertaining and satisfying story in Need for Speed: The Run. While the action is fun and the different settings look very good, the Frostbite Engine 2.0 could have been used slightly better on PC and the story could actually be a story: not just an excuse to send some uninteresting dude from A to B.