Reckoning provides many hours of good, solid fun based around character development and skill progression. Those looking for a deeply immersive experience should probably look elsewhere, but don't be surprised if your Civic runs nice and smooth while the other guy is busy patching the crap out of his Ferrari.

At the end of the day, Freedom Cry is a terrible game.

What's frustrating about Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 is that it's a game with a good concept and a battle system that has the potential to be fantastic if refined. What it ends up being, though, is a game with the smallest bit of quality at its core, surrounded by a suite of atrociously subpar elements.

With a strong narrative chocked full of fascinating characters and choices, DS2 ably sprints ahead with the torch passed on from the first game. Simply, those underwhelmed by the first game will not like this installment, while those who lauded the former only have to decide if the safety and security of structured, neat opportunities and a lack of tension hinder the experience.

When it all works, it sings. It IS Star Wars and you are living in it. But when it doesn't, it frustrates, perhaps because the best moments are so good that you wonder why it all can't be that good.

Tales of the Abyss is a completely straight port to the 3DS, with limited 3D included in a haphazard manner and no additions to the base game. However, when the base game is one of the best the series has to offer minus the technical problems that bogged it down during its initial release, it's hard to make too many complaints.

Despite lackluster music, Hakuoki is an enjoyable visual novel that could actually make gamers rethink their perception of Idea Factory.

This is a disturbingly conservative action RPG that functions as a museum of bad game design.

While Venetica is completely playable, I never would have beaten it without a review assignment. Gamers deserve a little more incentive than the bare pleasure of leveling up and hoarding loot to no real end. Even if that's your only ambition, there are much more attractive and fun venues for it. The developers seem to have infused Venetica with at least a portion of their hearts, and I hate to see passion so wasted. Then again, I could be wrong, and Venetica is the dreary result of pure industry.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was clearly a labor of love from creative people with the ways and means to bring their ideas to fruition, and it shows.

I find myself oddly pleased with my playtime of Final Fantasy XIII-2. The game isn't long for those who want to just take down the story - perhaps 25 hours at most - but it was a mostly enjoyable experience.

Dungeons of Dredmor isn't without problems, but the good humour and addictive gameplay make it an amiable purchase. It might not be to everyone's tastes, and the random generation can be frustrating, but for only a few dollars it's pretty easy to recommend.

It's trite but true: if you liked earlier Disgaea games, you'll like this one, but if you didn't like the rest, this one won't change your mind. If, however, you've never played the series, Disgaea 4 is a great place to start.

It's easily the best game I've played in a long time and the benchmark by which future Zelda titles will be judged.

Might & Magic Heroes VI's entire experience is driven by repetitious, mechanical tactics; it should be reserved for those with masochistic tendencies. The average gamer should definitely pass this up.

The game may look like Chrono Trigger, but it is decidedly not a traditional RPG. It is definitely more adventure game than anything else, as the doctors need to find various "memory triggers" inside Johnny's memories in order to move backwards from his most recent memories to his earliest.

There are better visual novels and better RPGs out there than Fate/Extra, and with similar themes to boot, so skip this title and play The World Ends With You; Chaos Rings; or 9 Persons, 9 Hours, 9 Doors instead.

The gameplay hasn't really changed, but it's more than serviceable and will keep you entertained as you make your way from punchline to punchline. If you're in the market for some cheap laughs, this game is an easy recommendation.

The latest Elder Scrolls has such confidence in the allure of its open-world structure that it shirks the need to compete. And, it largely succeeds in being better than the sum of its parts.

Mage Gauntlet takes everything that was pure fun about the best 16 bit action RPGs of old and tosses it into a light hearted, easy to play, and most importantly, FUN package.

It's a well-put-together adventure title that should appeal to people with fond memories of old school Zelda, and an excellent first effort from its creators. If there's one big drawback though, it's that Fara is short.

At $5.00, Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is a steal.

Lord of the Rings: War in the North is far from perfect, but it's an incredibly well-balanced beat-em-up.

I love this series, and even if they developed a Layton title comprised entirely of sliding block puzzles, I would still play. Such thoughtlessness is only fantasy, of course, because Level-5 pours their heart into this series. Regardless of how much heart they muster, however, the Layton formula just doesn't have infinite vitality, and with The Last Specter, a bit of wear is finally starting to show.

I know it sounds like I've bagged on Alpha Kimori here and there, but it's got it where it counts, and every complaint I have can be remedied. I enjoyed the 5 hours I spent with this game and look forward to Episode 2, which should reportedly drop in early 2012.

The decision to make a season-specific game deserves recognition, even if the gameplay and script might lack the imagination required by my favorite holiday.

Diehard DQ loyalists and tacticians will enjoy what this game has to offer, but those who want an experience – a game with heart and a story to tell – should spend their hard-earned medals elsewhere.

I expect Dark Souls will sell more copies than its predecessor, but I'm sure many won't know what to make of this curious title. It harkens back to the days when our parents bought us a game and we played it all summer.