Dragon Age: Inquisition is the role-playing game you’ve wanted for years. You glimpsed the future and now, with a few minor exceptions, that vision has been fully realized.

A solid puzzle game, but it really stands out from others in the genre due to its distinctive style. The fact that you have to devote so much time achieving a new high score to unlock things is one of its few faults, and when you wake up bleary-eyed in the morning because you wanted to finish your game before you went to bed, you'll be cursing this fault.

This is visually one of the best looking games on the market. And with an engine that's gunning it at 60 frames per second, and capable of 1080i upscaled, R&C Future is also running on one of the best engines, as well. The gameplay is precisely what we've all come to love, except louder, more heated, more energetic, more fun, and with all new gameplay mechanics added to the mix.

Provided you're willing to work at it, and you can look past a dash of cheap AI, you can easily spend the entire NBA season with this game and love every minute of it. If you're wondering if it's better than NBA 2K10, the answer is a big fat "YES."

Dark Souls tests you. It puts you in an absurd situation and asks you to not only survive, but to conquer. You have to be careful but at the same time, you can't remain idle.

It was a little heartbreaking to notice that Pure's controls were stiffer than XL; the aircrafts aren't quite as floaty and they don't respond as instantly either. So once again, those who were wishing for an XL-feeling WipeOut are left out in the dark.

If you're a fan of The Beatles, this Rock Band game is definitely the music game you want to own this year. It offers a ton of content and replay value, and truly makes for a great experience for you and your friends. I just wish they'd offer a patch to fix the microphone latency.

The developers should be applauded for trying such drastic changes, even if all of the new additions aren’t that enjoyable.

Boasting splendid atmosphere that is superbly woven by the audio, visuals, and the gameplay, Dead Space is also the scariest, most tense game to come out in a long time. If you're looking for an amazing survival horror game, then look no further - Dead Space is your ticket.

Restores any luster to the series that may have been lost with the mediocre reception of "Tekken 4." Its full complement of fighters, sweet visuals, various modes of play, and hidden goodies will keep players coming back for months.

NHL 10 is just about everything we expected, plus a little bit more.

Uncharted is one of those rare games that truly defines its respective genre, becoming the benchmark for everyone to follow. If you've been dying for a proper Tomb Raider game, and have obviously been left disappointed, you must pick up Uncharted.

It’s one of those games that draw you in with its unparalleled atmosphere and style.

Employing some of the best game mechanics in the genre, terrific balance, terrific multiplayer fun, and a technical package you can appreciate, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is an FPS you need to play.

It's difficult to find any messy balancing or inconsistencies, which is a tremendous accomplishment in and of itself.

It looks absolutely incredible on the Vita, the environment is endlessly immersive and imaginative, the overall creativity is impressive, and the controls rarely let you down.

The lack of any direct competition seems to be taking its toll on the series as each year it feels like it's slipping ever so slightly in quality.

It's a visually stunning game running at a superb framerate, with super tight action. While the camera can be a nuisance sometimes and the English voice acting isn't fantastic, the sum of Sigma's parts add up to an experience that no action gamer should be without.

Square did just about everything right the first time around, so despite not taking big enough strides with this remake, they can fall back on something that was damn close to perfection in the first place. And that's not a bad way to look at it.

The product perseveres on the strength of its "oomph" alone and in short, it's not everything it could've been but nevertheless, the entire experience is one well worth your time.

It would have been nice to see a few more concessions made in the transition to the handheld, such as the ability to save anywhere and restart missions immediately, but minor quibbles aside, it’s a heck of an effort from Rockstar.

Dark Resurrection is so great, that many will argue that it's the best Tekken game ever – and I’d agree. It plays tighter than "Tekken 5" (because it's based on the updated Dark Resurrection arcade update), and it has tons of features not found in the home release.

Bioshock 2 won't win any awards for its visuals, and maybe the sequel's story isn't as captivating as the first game. But for the most part, the sequel lives up to the original and fans of the original will still love every ounce of what this game has to offer.

Familiar but hardly boring. The control remains top-notch, the audio is excellent, the developers should be commended for squeezing every last drop out of that engine, and the entertainment level remains high throughout. The campaign is too short (no surprise there), the AI is too erratic (and weird things can still happen when playing), and the story is a little uninspired. But when it comes to over-the-top thrills and plenty of "oh good goddamn" moments, the campaign brings the heat.

It can be a little tough to get used to and there are a few small hiccups here and there, but for the most part, LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is among the elite portable experiences available. Get it.

For fans of the series, there’s no question – you need this game. For someone looking for a solid racing game, this looks to be your best option for quite a while, so give it a look; just don’t expect a whole lot of variety.

It really is that good, and once you score your first knockdown, chances are that you’ll get as hooked as I have.

When you strip all of the bells and whistles off of Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition, you are still left with a painfully mediocre fighting game with a horrendous monetization system. Sure the fighting may be fun in short bursts, and the gore factor may be fun eye candy, but this game felt as though it didn’t have any care put into it outside of the basic fighting controls.

Burnout Paradise is the epitome of the entire franchise. It offers so much to the gamer, all without cutting corners or making any sacrifices in gameplay. It's online component can be added up to nearly half of the game's value, and the amount of things you can do in the single-player seems almost never-ending.

The bottom line is that Guacamelee! is one of the most entertaining, engaging, and even innovative titles we’ve seen in the past year, and all avid gamers owe it to themselves to give it a try.

A solid racing game from Codemasters - certainly my favorite from them, to date. But in order to enjoy it, you will have to endure a rather steep curve in familiarizing yourself with the touchy controls.

Downloadable games have long ago proven to be a worthwhile feature for both the PS3 and Xbox 360, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD does nothing but help solidify the fact.

I wish it wasn't quite as minimalistic and subtle as it is but that's a minor complaint. At the very least, you will be treated to one of the more challenging and satisfying experiences of the generation. And yeah, it's a lot different than the satisfaction you get in nailing down an awesome KDR.

One of the best 2D fighters to come out in the past decade. Not since Street Fighter III have we been given something this quick, accessible, intense, fluid, deep, and so well done overall.

Jeanne D'Arc is a huge breath of fresh air for those looking for a kick-ass S-RPG game. This isn't just an S-RPG you can play to tide yourself until Final Fantasy Tactics hits, but this is an S-RPG you can put alongside FFT and hold it up as a standard for others to follow.

While you may not notice any dramatic changes immediately, the more you play FIFA 09 the more you notice that it is definitely a step up from last year's game.

When all is said and done, DiRT 3 is a robust, in-depth and almost sparkling package that is immensely appealing to racing fans of all kinds. The realism combined with great accessibility is quite possibly the biggest draw.

Max Payne 3 is a rip-roaring success on many levels. It relentlessly hammers at your emotions and nerves and keeps you perched on the edge of your seat. The borderline unfair difficulty towards the end of the campaign, noticeable issues with the shootdodge, and a couple minor glitches notwithstanding, this is one hell of an experience.

Without question the best boxing game you'll ever play. Everything from the mechanics, to the value, the fun, and to the stunning visuals will not disappoint fans of both this game franchise, as well as fans of the sport. There is a ton of things to do and that helps keep this game's replay value high.

Heavy Rain isn’t just a masterpiece; it’s an ingenious step in the right direction...This may very well be the most “human” game ever made, and an absolute triumph for the industry. Take from that what you will.

A terrific, amazingly fulfilling game if you are a follower of the genre in question. If you are, there's absolutely no doubt about it; you need to pick it up and play it.

Final Fantasy 16 combines the flashiness of games like Devil May Cry 5 with a compelling story about family, hardship and eudaimonia. It is not without flaws, with its formulaic side missions, pacing issues, and inconsistent open-world design. However, Final Fantasy XVI is still one of the best games in the Final Fantasy series. With some of the best cutscenes and animation in the industry, along with compelling characters and mesmerizing moments, Final Fantasy 16 is undoubtedly one of the best games to play on the PlayStation 5.

Taken as the sum of its parts, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror isn't just one of the best games on the PSP; it's one of the best games to come out for any platform, period.

The technical aspects are not only eye-popping but they’re also quite stable. The graphics are slick, the sound is stellar, the control is rock solid, and the gameplay variety is downright tremendous. I love the blending of puzzle, stealth, action, and adventure, and you have to give mad crazy props to the overall game design. I still say the story could be less predictable (perhaps give the player a little more credit in terms of literary comprehension) and the Batmobile, as awesome as it can be, is just overdone.

There’s a lot of heart, a lot of innovation, and a clear feeling that this game wasn’t just developed by a talented group of developers, but by people who are truly passionate about Spider-Man.

It's exactly what this franchise needed: A modern-day wake-up call that revamps an outdated character and gives us a role model of whom this industry can be proud. Our pride - however misplaced it may have been before - no longer resides in Lara Croft's chest. The setting is excellent, the character's transformation is emotional and effective, the control and combat is rock solid, and the pacing and variety is top-notch. They could've done more with the ideas they present and the multiplayer is lacking but beyond that, this one is a can't-miss for all serious gamers out there.

I never felt like it was particularly new or fresh in terms of gameplay mechanics, but it does tackle a setting and issues that rarely come up in the world of video games, because the industry, media, and (sadly) many gamers are too caught up in getting all googly-eyed over empty violence to appreciate when a game tries to rise above such shallow meanderings.

Tearaway is a triumph of the imagination. It’s a showcase for gifted minds that seek to entertain and even enlighten via quirky creativity.

MLB 13: The Show is a great simulator, there’s no doubt about it. Baseball aficionados will appreciate the huge amount of depth, reliable and responsive control, top-notch presentation, and added enhancements. The improvements are relatively minor and in general, this is essentially a slightly better version than last year’s game. But there’s nothing wrong with that.

FIFA 14 is a rip-roaring success on the PlayStation 4. The older version is great, too; it’s just an understated greatness when compared to the upgraded version.

Hotline Miami doesn’t apologize for what it tries to do. It’s a throwback to the golden age of gaming but at the same time, it reminds us that over-the-top violence was always tongue-in-cheek in those days.

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift is about as excellent as fans would expect. If you liked the first, there's almost no chance you won't like the sequel; the only question – as I stated before – is whether or not you think it's enough of an upgrade to warrant a purchase.

A pristine racing game. Nevermind that it's focused on rally, it feels so damn tight and responsive, on top of looking like a dream. It's one of the best playing game engines out there, and one of the best looking too.

Supremely difficult, extremely rewarding and, above all else, absolutely unrelenting, id Software has once again set the bar for the hyper-violent twitch gaming genre with Doom Eternal.

If you can get past the really bland game visuals and a choppy framerate, then in Dragon Age: Origins you will find one of the very best RPG experiences in years. Masterful gameplay mechanics and an amazing story grab you and don't let you go until either a power-outage or sleep deprivation.

The best-playing baseball game available this year, although its presentation is the weakest.

MLB 12: The Show is yet again the victor. More than anything, it just feels like baseball.

What counts, though, is that these games still excel at what they set out to do, which is tell a compelling and ambitious story in a unique and engaging way, while providing a gameplay experience full of innovation and bold design. Despite having sunk hundreds of hours into these games years ago, I was still awed by the sheer scale of the project, still moved by the more intimate moments between characters, and still heartbroken at the resolution of some plot arcs. Even after all these years, Mass Effect still has the ability to provoke emotions in me that only a handful of other games ever have. To me, that’s more important than a fresh coat of paint or some extra DLC, and why Mass Effect will always, in my book, be the greatest trilogy of RPG games ever made.

“Inglourious Basterds meets Fast and Furious” – a multicultural group of irreverent, colorful characters on a globetrotting quest to ruin Hitler’s day, week and life in a fantastic revenge fantasy setting. Brutal, absurd, clever, insightful and touching, The New Colossus is a rollicking adventure that has reset the bar for what first person shooters can, and should, be.

The epitome of value.

Resistance 2 is a sweeping, grand epic of a masterpiece issued in staccato bursts of ceaselessly entertaining action, which ultimately provide the gamer with a wonderfully paced and satisfying adventure.

The experience is almost indescribable, and even if you’re not a big fan of motion sensing (and we’re not), you will smile throughout your experience.

NBA 2K16 remains a great basketball game at its core, but makes a mistake in trying to give us a narrative-driven MyCareer mode.

If you’re lying in wait for some Christmas presents and don’t have anything to play, and there just so happens to be a winter storm blowing outside, jump online, quickly download this 108MB game, and be satisfied for quite some time.

An excellent, fun, and whimsical game that once again proves how well Disney and Final Fantasy can play together.

So, what's the verdict? Simple: buy the Xbox 360 version.

Even though the formula of this series hasn't seen a dramatic overhaul, the gameplay does continue to offer a very solid experience, complete with enough new features to keep it feeling fresh.

Fallout 4 is a masterful production that features a wildly ambitious and nigh-on unparalleled scope. There’s just so much to do that it often feels overwhelming, but this isn’t going to stop the franchise faithful. In fact, I’m sure they’ll welcome the deluge of options, content, and endless exploration.

But the story really does take too long to unfold, the battle environment is far too repetitive and often boring, you don't have as much control as you would like (only controlling one character isn't much fun), the soundtrack gets ridiculously repetitive at times, and there's no actual world map you can physically explore.

A brilliantly executed arena-based first-person shooter, with a plethora of depth, speed, and a virtually infinite scope on replay value. User-created content will drive this game and its online community for years to come, just as it has on the PC. It is visually stunning to behold, with superb texture detail everywhere you look.

It nails down its position as a multiplayer-oriented (and thus, party-oriented) game and succeeds beautifully. Still, there's a part of me that resents the lacking single-player campaign, and the learning curve may prove frustrating (or maybe it's just me).

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is exactly what you’d expect. The first game doesn’t quite measure up and could turn off newcomers (always a concern), and the games really don’t have a lot of “new” in them. But really, the brilliance of this top-tier action/adventure series remains in full view throughout, and the remastering veterans at Bluepoint did a good job.

A very good game, but minor issues, and lack of new material make the game fall just short of the high expectations that surround it. Don’t be mistaken, it’s a blast to play, and anyone who has enjoyed any of the previous games will certainly be happy.

Valkyria Chronicles is indeed one of the best games of 2008, and certainly the best strategy/RPG of this generation.

Someone once said that Shenmue crawled so that Yakuza could run. If that’s true, then Like A Dragon is the Usain Bolt of the series. There is so much to love and discover in the game’s 50 to 70-hour main story. Top this off with a new game plus mode, and you have an RPG that I can easily see being played for hundreds of hours.

The complete package is supremely well done; the immersive atmosphere is second-to-none, the action is always either tense and intimidating or all-out madness, the diversity of the levels is a joy to experience, and the story ain’t half bad.

So, do I recommend Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road? In short, yes. If you’re a fan. If you like football games and have ethical concerns with supporting certain real life football organizations? Yes. If you like engaging and genuinely very nice stories? Very much yes! At full price? I would also say yes, but that’s wholly and only if you can justify the expenditure, and don’t have a backlog of games already. It’s 2025, it’s been an amazing year, and we’ve a wealth of games to play as is. Did you play soccer as a child, and partly want to get lost in your own memories as you play it? That’s a considerably more personal statement, and I cannot comment on it. Although that does apply to me, personally. Do I, personally, love this game? If it wasn’t obvious, yes!

Guitar Hero: Metallica is the best damn Guitar Hero game ever.

It is one of the most refreshing titles available for the little unit, and I highly urge everyone to give it a shot. At a mere $20, it won't break anybody's bank, and it'll certainly open your mind up to a world of gaming that you may have never considered before.

Overall, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a huge improvement over its predecessor, with a beautiful world to explore, lots of varied quests and tons of new features. If not for the mediocre combat mechanics and annoying camera, the game would've earned an even higher score.

It's the ultimate example of the full console experience in the palm of your hands.

Sometimes it’s just too darn hard to figure out what you need to do, or where you need to go.

There's no denying that Soul Calibur III is the most refined, most feature-rich, and most artistically pleasing fighting game ever released for a home video game console.

The Zodiac Age is mostly a triumph. The few issues that do exist aren’t enough to detract from the overall quality of the underlying game, and most of the updates, upgrades and tweaks really work in the game’s favor.

With full voice acting of over one million enrapturing lines of dialogue, new quests, and an undeniable painterly look, Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is a landmark RPG. Boasting an excellent murder mystery, it also challenges the player in deconstructing a broken socio-political system and interacting with its inhabitants. The game then slowly unravels itself a dense meditation on the human condition, made possible by your dialogue choices and their consequences. What’s more, most bugs are now fixed, making the PS4 port a near-enough perfect platform for playing this near-perfect game.

It isn’t a sequel the true sense, but more of the full game that Katamari Damacy should’ve been.

Do I recommend Silent Hill f if you like horror, the Silent Hill series in general, and good games? For the love of God yes, I do. I may not be the right audience, but I do know that, and I freely admit this might be recency bias and I’ll have to come back to this question at the end of the year when it’s GOTY time, that this is currently tied with Silent Hill 3 as my favorite game in the series. It’s terrifying, you want to see what happens next, and, this is somewhat unusual for a horror title, you want to play it again immediately afterwards, because there are unanswered questions on a first playthrough that do in fact get answered on further returns. I genuinely love this game and cannot recommend it enough, especially ahead of October and horror month.

Joe Danger surprised the crap out of me. I'll freely admit that. It's just so much fun and so ridiculously addictive.

Taken strictly as a puzzle game, it's pretty good. However, when you factor in the surreal Yellow Submarine style cinemas, the happy-happy music, the twisted dialogue, and the sole play mechanic of steamrolling people and towns into a giant ball of stuff, the end product is one of the most unique and altogether satisfying games ever published for the PlayStation 2.

It's library of fantastic mash-ups are really something worth listening to, and certainly worth playing. The turntable controller isn't perfect, but it's good enough to experience a vast majority of the game and love every single second of it. With every session I pick the controller up for, it becomes harder and harder to put the game down - it's that good.

While the puzzling itself racks your brain adequately, if frustratingly, the real pull of Bonfire Peaks is its ability to make you feel personal nostalgia through mementos—the memories that shaped you, both happy and sad. Topping it off with pleasant voxel pixel art and a rousing soundtrack, the game offers a distinctly unique experience.

For the cost and time involved (it won’t take more than a few minutes to download), Shatter is an absolute must-buy. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

I simply cannot resist. And as a little tidbit, I discovered that Sony's SingStar mics work with the game, as well. Once again Activision has put together an extremely convincing soundtrack and have earned my attention.

The single-player campaign is both challenging and satisfying, the online multiplayer is fast and furious (fans of Resistance: Fall of Man should give it a try, even though it's slightly more sensitive due to its pseudo-sim nature), and it looks and sounds exactly the way it should.

We're sure you've already got your copy of the game, but in case you don't...just go and buy it.

There are gameplay and visual improvements, and they’re significant enough to make the game feel like a totally fresh experience when compared to the original title.

Gameplay is just about equal between both, but if you're the type where visuals make or break a game for you, then you may want to sway towards NHL 08. Otherwise, run, don't walk, and check out both. You'll be happy that you did.

The story is clichéd and even boring at times, the writing isn't anything special, and the AI and some design decisions are questionable. There's just no denying any of that in my eyes. But it's so beautiful, so likable, so charming, and so well prepared with such loving care, that it's impossible to come away unimpressed or unsatisfied.