Depending on your choices, "Sons of Winter" finally offers a payback for every loss the Forresters suffered. Every plotline lets the player experience a satisfying victory against your worst enemies - with the exception of Gared Tuttle, who is mostly setting up the North Grove story for next month. But with two episodes remaining and a last-second twist you might still lose it all - but it wouldn't be the Game of Thrones if you couldn't.

Heroes is perhaps the most accessible MOBA ever created - which can either be a good or bad thing for you. Regardless, you're getting Blizzard-level production values - at Blizzard prices, if you choose to spend money. For what it is, Heroes is a great game with some room for improvement. Whether "what it is" appeals to you or not is a matter of personal preference.

The game's single player is surprisingly in-depth for a title that has been marketed as a multiplayer game, combining elements of platforming and shooting in a style of game that reminds me of Ratchet & Clank or Jak & Daxter.

Magicka 2 is Magicka refined - the same wizard-killing simulator co-op fans love with the fixes and improvements players craved. While it doesn't break new ground or surpass the original, it's a blast to play with friends.

Not A Hero isn't a game for everyone. It's flawed, repetitive, but works so well when it works.

It innovates from prior games in the series, and is undeniably fun, but Galactic Civilizations III isn't the clear leader in a packed genre.

Star Ruler 2 delivers a unique, fascinating experience despite its reliance on sometimes obtuse systems.

Toren is a short but sweet game about growing up, climbing towers, and fighting dragons, all shrouded in symbolism and cosmic metaphors. While it has its flaws - including a noticeably limited playtime - it's an incredibly unique outing from Swordtales that's well worth playing.

95 percent of what makes up Titan Souls is boss battles, and fortunately, that's the 95 percent of the game that Acid Nerve nails. Its story is nearly non-existent, and its on the short side, but the quality of the battles against the many Titans mostly make up for Titan Souls shortcomings.

Mortal Kombat X offers the best story mode I've ever personally seen in a fighting game. Its cohesive plot and extended cinematics makes you feel much more like a participant in a film than a player on the couch. The fighting is frantic, fluid, and dynamic, with the glorious goriness of the X-Ray moves often turning the tides of battle.

Story of Seasons is a refreshing game offering a positive place of escape, and while it is definitely a niche title, it gets everything it does right.

Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries is a short, yet enjoyable platformer, offering little difficulty, but tons of story, which lets you immerse yourself into the grittier side of fairy tales.

It's the best new, isometric RPG to come out in years.

While the load times are a pretty big bummer, it doesn't change the fact that Bloodborne's combat is sublime, its challenge is second to none, and its world is unforgettable.

Sid Meier's Starships lacks the strategic depth of Civilization, but the added tactical layer, and shorter game times make it a fair substitute, especially if you're looking for bite-sized strategy.

Not as good as the original, Hotline Miami 2 delivers a flawed dose of the high speed ultra violence that's fun but not essential.

The finest city builder in over a decade, Cities: Skylines's few flaws are so minor I only noticed them after hours of enjoyment.

Total War: Attila brings an under-explored time period to bare to create a great setting and system of mechanics for a strategy game based more on tearing down your enemies than building up your own empire, but it's still plagued with some issues inherent to the Total War franchise.

The Order: 1886 is bland gameplay wrapped in admittedly gorgeous next generation graphics. It's not bad through and through, it's just disappointing.

This game preaches to the choir - the hunting faithful will love it, everyone else, maybe not.

Sunless Sea is a dark game combining Lovecraft-themed exploration with Victorian Gothic visual novels in exciting (and chilling) ways. The end result isn't perfect, but its sense of terror and wonder makes it a worthy follow-up to Failbetter's Fallen London.

When Evolve is working well, it's one of the most enjoyable co-op experiences I have had in a long time. It looks great, the varied classes are all fun to play, and there's almost certain to be one that becomes your favorite. It's a great addition to Turtle Rock's resume, and a solid entry into the early release slate for 2015.

Dying Light isn't a bad game, it's just one that feels like it goes on a bit too long, and was too invested in the trappings of an "open world" to make itself really stand out.

Majora's Mask holds up well, and even if it isn't as near-perfect as Ocarina, the comforting improvements make it more than worth your time.

Grey Goo is, frankly, fantastic. From the opening scenes through the entire narrative thread of the campaign, you'll want to improve your game if only so you can see what happens next as quickly as possible.

Gat Out of Hell is a comedic romp through myth, literature and video game tropes. The writing is smart, the gunplay is solid, and the city of Hell is a blast to fly though. Some may miss the more traditional mission design or lament its brevity, but Gat Out of Hell is a great way to cap off the story of the Third Street Saints.

Endless Legend is a lovely game with deep strategy that's a singular pleasure to play, but can sometimes disappoint you in finer details. Know that if you're never going to play multiplayer, you're not getting the whole experience - so bring a friend.

The feeling of accomplishment from solving The Talos Principle's puzzles is almost like a high, and the game does a mostly great job of guiding you in the beginning and then letting you figure things out for yourself. Some hiccups near the end drastically change the pace of problem solving for the worse, but it's a game that will seriously challenge you to think and to reason.

The Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy isn't worth rebuying if you already have the iOS versions or still have your DS copies in rotation. However, all three games are as great now as they were upon release, and it's hard to complain about getting more of a good thing.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U delivers hour after hour of fun fighting game play, even if you hate fighting games.

There isn't much reason to play Escape Dead Island. The narrative has a few standout moments and you'll occasionally meet an enemy that will throw you for a loop. Those moments are, unfortunately, needles in a haystack of monotonous gameplay that's ultimately boring.

The first episode of Telltale's Game of Thrones series isn't exactly groundbreaking but it successfully draws you in to learn what happens next to the Forresters. The art style and the vocal talents are superb and the new characters feel ripped from Martin's pages, for better or worse.

Warlords of Draenor provides a new look and feel to an old franchise. It may disappoint some of the hardcore in its apparent simplicity, but for the regular and new players, this expansion shows a lot of what made the game so appealing when it launched 10 years ago.

Assassin's Creed Rogue is gameplay-wise more or less an unofficial sequel to Black Flag, in that it inherits virtually every enjoyable element from last year's title. The combat can be a bit repetitive, which is particularly true for those who played AC4 extensively, but it's a solid last-gen entry in the series all the same.

Mechanically, Far Cry 4 is an excellent shooter. It adds further polish to the open-world and action of its predecessor with even more involved and dynamic gameplay, and is loaded with rewarding side content on top of featuring a huge game world you'll spend hours exploring. The narrative isn't quite as solid, and falls through in several places with some aggravating characters and a lack of context to drive your actions.

BioWare has created a role-playing game which feels like a massive monument to our culture. Inquisition is an absolute blast to experience for one hour or 150.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare upholds the status quo and aims no higher than that. Its sci-fi trappings are but shallow appeals to progress, and while the multiplayer is still able to provide some entertainment, the CoD formula feels anything but "advanced" these days.

Lords of the Fallen, a shameless and sloppy copy of Dark Souls, shouldn't be as enjoyable as it is. Somehow, through all its imbalance and oddity, it remains a surprising amount of fun, even if its propensity to make the player laugh is a sheer accident.

Sentinels of the Multiverse: The Video Game is a faithful adaptation of the card game that maintains much of the fun of the original, while alleviating some of the issues with handling the math. Its UI can be a little confusing to navigate at times, but its one real flaw is that it doesn't maintain the cooperative nature of the analog version that makes it so enjoyable

While its commitment to madness can be maddening itself, Sunset Overdrive is an energetic, fun-focused adventure. The jokes don't always hit home, but this is a game that loves being a game, and you can't hate that sort of honesty.

Samurai Warriors 4 is a faster, greatly expanded addition to the series. Each character feels fresher, and there's a ton of stuff to do. I just wish the online play would actually be something acceptable for the modern day.

An overall solid turn-based strategy game that suffers from information overload resulting in analysis paralysis for the player, Beyond Earth has a few really interesting systems but ultimately doesn't transcend those mechanics into something unique or awe-inspiring.

Bayonetta 2 may be nonsensical, tacky, and visually anarchic, but its got some of the finest combat an action game could offer. It's packed with style, looks magnificent, and is as elegant as spectacle fighter as you could hope for.

The Evil Within is a noble attempt at bringing back classic survival horror, but it could have learned a thing or two from games that aren't almost ten years old. It has its moments of brilliance, scattered through periods of antagonizing design.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is a funny cartoon shooter that compels you to keep playing and score more guns. Just like the last two. Laser weapons and moon bouncing add a little extra flavor, but if you don't like Borderlands by now, this won't change things.

Still a very good game, but it's on the more pointless end of the rerelease spectrum, and they really should have fixed those bugs.

Arrowhead made a very true-to-source Gauntlet game, no doubt, but the source is 30 years old, and could use some modern accouterments. Gauntlet is as much fun as it has ever been, but it'll get old fast for those who still remember slogging through the original.

Alien: Isolation can be frustrating, but it's mostly terrifying in a near-perfect way. The Alien is scarier than it's been since Ridley Scott first showed it to the world, and the atmosphere is thick enough to cut.

Trap Team delivers a new gimmick on top of an old gimmick and does it damn well. The strong scriptwriting and voice work keep both adults and children interested in the story, even if you have to spend a lot of money to get the full effect.

A good little story with a bleak atmosphere that nonetheless provides some relaxing puzzle solving.

While designed for your pocket, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS does not skimp on the features. A full-fledged Smash game, packed with stuff to discover, and boasting a roster of familiar and thoroughly inventive new characters, this is a beautiful fighting game than everyone can enjoy. Just a shame that the online isn't that hot.

As an open world game set in Middle-earth, Shadow of Mordor delivers unique emergent gameplay, finely-tuned combat mechanics and a story which avoids typical fantasy fare. While the main storyline can be finished relatively quickly, there is a lot of content in Mordor for you to pursue however you like.

Defense Grid 2 is a fairly typical Tower Defense game at its core, but the layers of complexity give it a lot more staying power and replay value than you are likely accustomed to. With 21 campaign levels, and plans to offer countless more as downloads, there is no end to how much time you can spend with DG2, and that's not even counting fighting for placement on the leaderboards... or multiplayer. DG2 is a shining example of Kickstarter done right.

As a children's game, Disney Infinity 2.0 definitely delivers an adorable casual game experience. But as a game solely for grown-ups, it's a little lackluster due to repetition and lack of online play in the current Play Sets available for Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes.

D4 is ridiculous. It's weird, and silly, and makes very little sense. It's also hilarious, and packed with some of the most engaging motion-controlled sequences I've ever played. Coming from someone who generally doesn't like the Kinect, that's a damn big achievement!

Omega Force superbly balances the beat 'em all combat of Dynasty Warriors with the enchanting world of The Legend of Zelda. With a meaty combat system and tons of stuff to uncover, Hyrule Warriors is a mad idea that should logically get old after an hour, but never does. It's a novelty that can't quit being novel, and I love it to death.

With an remarkably robust spell crafting system and spectacularly entertaining combat, Lichdom: Battlemage finally brings the glory to the magic user that it has long deserved.

With its banal universe and flavorless style, Destiny is packed with content, but just ... well ... content. There's a great PvP mode, and the leveling system can be rewarding, but nonetheless this is a pretty, rock-solid, ultimately pedestrian product.

Devolver Digital and Mediatonic's Hatoful Boyfriend is a faithful upscale to the original game by Hato Moa and has the same charm and humor.

The Sims 4 is basically The Sims 3, but shrunken and sterile. While some tweaks and enhancements are nice, none of them can offset the overall lack of engagement provided, and the looming promise of DLC is no compromise.

No Going Back provides not one, but three fitting ends to The Walking Dead's second season, each one satisfactory - and saddening - in its own right.

Metro Redux revitalizes the original Metro 2033 in a smart way, offering a choice between the original experience and something more welcoming to newcomers. With the inclusion of Last Light, this is a two-hit punch of some damn fine FPS bleakness.

Mountain explores our hopelessness, our despaired yearning, and so much more besides. Like a buzzing bee buzzing with the buzz of electric in a buzzing city where everybody's looking for the next big buzz, it flits and darts from one concept to the next, seemingly erratic in its pace, but deceptively calculating with its predetermined patterns.

Bloated in the mission department, threadbare everywhere else, Risen 3: Titan Lords is cobbled together from rehashed material, and the series' many flaws are enhanced a hundredfold in the process.

A fantastic dungeon-crawler that is still mercilessly addictive two years after the fact, Diablo III turns out to be a surprisingly good console fit. Just don't leap at the chance to get a current-gen version if you already have it for the prior systems.

Sacred 3 is a mildly fulfilling hack and slash game that, while fun in limited doses, isn't a patch on previous entries, and does very little to stand out within the genre in which it wishes to now be housed.

If you like Dark Souls it's more new Dark Souls to explore.

With its improved detail, better draw distance, and slick 60fps presentation, The Last of Us Remastered is a beautiful update to a beautiful game. It is, however, a re-release of a game that isn't very old to begin with, and that bears taking into account.

Just as Abe's Oddysee was a classic of the PlayStation era, so too should Oddworld: New n' Tasty be a classic of the modern age. More than just a remake, this is a contemporary puzzle-platformer that charms, exasperates, and delights. This is how you do a reboot.

The most memorable episode since the season premier, Amid The Ruins fleshes out the supporting cast, provides some nasty scenarios, and takes Kenny's personal arc to some very haunting places.

By nature of its very premise, Infinity Runner is an addling game that ought not work. It succeeds far better than it should, however, and surprises in how fun it can be.

Imagine if David Cage were even more of a dribbling lunatic. Welcome to 4PM.

The last episode of the series completes the arc of Bigby's investigation, and you'll be able to exact some final judgment on the perpetrators, but the resolution stumbles a bit after a spectacular climactic action scene. The whole series is excellent, and the conclusion may want to make you replay it to figure some stuff out you might have missed.

As dated and tired as any of the games it tries to copy, Enemy Front fails to make World War II shooters exciting again, and may actively be reminding us why we got so bored of them.

Replay one of the previous games. This one is dull as ditch water and half as tasty.

EA Sports UFC doesn't cater to button mashers, so be wary if you're not eager to learn an overly-complex control scheme. More technical gamers will be able to appreciate the gameplay to a greater extent, but the laggy servers make even this an exercise in frustration.

A fun action platformer that remains incredibly frustrating by taking a few too many cues from Castlevania's jerkiest moments, Shovel Knight is satisfying and infuriating in equal measure. It's also a damn fine callback to the days of yore in a world where callbacks are a dime a dozen, and rarely this well done.

Despite taking shape as a rather unambitious adventure game, Valiant Hearts: The Great War nonetheless tells a beautiful story of loss and companionship with overwhelmingly evocative success.

BotW is best played on your TV from the couch on a console, and best enjoyed by players looking for a challenge. If you don't like dying, you should probably avoid it entirely, but if you're a persistent sort of player that doesn't mind having to try a segment a few times, it has a lot to offer.

While its skin-deep qualities suggest something artistic and maybe a little philosophical, this middling arcade game packs not enough wallop to be worth more than a bit of a shrug. While not awful, it's certainly not intriguing enough to maintain interest even in spite of a brief running time.

A solid, accessible city builder, Tropico 5 gets out of the way and lets you have the fun you came for without pissing around in fiddly details.

Tomodachi Life is a promising concept, and its abstract sense of humor can be very charming. It does, however, get old fast, and you'll find yourself making the characters say lewd things to keep yourself amused.

Murdered: Soul Suspect has some neat concepts, but it is not a success. A few elements of its supernatural murder mystery may hold your interest, but it ultimately feels hollow because it lacks any real challenge or entertainment in solving that mystery.

The story is moved forward, and the quick time events and character development make you wish you could play the concluding episode right now. So, in essence, this episode does its job quite well, I just wish it had more internal resolution.

A hot mess of gibberish that still manages to be vastly amusing, Drakengard 3 is as close to Deadly Premonition as a hack n' slash game gets. It's bizarre and it's disheveled to the point of downright idiocy, but it knows what it is and it goes the whole hog. I laughed, anyway.

Cute, and sometimes unnerving, Among the Sleep draws the player to an affecting conclusion, but its banal puzzles and shallow storytelling doesn't do a lot to inspire many thrills.

Polished to a mirror sheen, and bursting with content, Watch Dogs is a great looking game with a thriving open world and an empowering premise. It suffers from being an amalgamation of every other major Ubisoft game, to the point where it doesn't feel as fresh as it deserves to, but it's still a varied, rich, thoroughly dense experience.

Sometimes frustrating in terms of both gameplay and narrative, Transistor manages to be a redolent title with a ton of imagination. While not quite as clever as its presentation suggests, it's a pretty little title that ends on a beautifully bittersweet note.

This latest entry into the beloved Wolfenstein series accomplishes pretty much what it sets out to do - deliver a fuss-free roller coaster of setpieces and guiltless butchery. It's not exactly the most impressive of goals, but it's not without merit!

Like much about the game, it balances frustrating randomness with exercises of supreme timing and skill. It balances the old, iterative parts with the shiny and new. It is very much Mario Kart: Take it or leave it.

In Harm's Way is one of the most violent installments TellTale's overall series, if only for the disturbing intimacy of it all. At times, Episode 3 is hard to experience, but it's well worth sticking it out.

That Borderlands 2 has been squeezed onto the PS Vita with all of its extra content is commendable. That it had to become a far worse game in the process is not.

Warlock 2 offers a lot of options for a fantasy strategy fan, and the Exiled mode is fun the first time, but there's something missing in the formula to make it a truly memorable game.

I had high hopes for Moebius: Empire Rising, but while it shows early promise it ultimately falls far short of living up to it. I suspect that Jane Jensen has a good story to tell, but this is definitely not the way to go about it.

Bound By Flame would be an immensely likable game, were it not for just how slipshod it ultimately feels. Its individual components are well crafted, but when brought together, the result is something that just isn't quite right.

Outlast: Whistleblower isn't quite as memorable as its parent game, but nonetheless provides plenty of grisly encounters and tells a more complete story.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is serviceable, and serviceable is as good as it gets. Competent, with admirable attempts at original storytelling, this movie tie-in is the perfect example of a middle-ground title.

Predictable, trite, and convoluted, Daylight is more likely to make you yawn than scream. It's every single horror game ever made, and it's less than the sum of its parts.