Battlefield 3's multiplayer continues to excel at providing a FPS experience beyond just shooting each other with handguns. The single-player barely holds up.

A brilliant romp. The controls can be frustrating at times, but the overall journey is exceptional.

An action-heavy realization of what makes Batman such a compelling hero, complete with a fascinating world, a smart story and loads of rewards for exploring it all.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is solid fun for anyone wanting to experience cinematic dogfighting, though subsequent playthrough are going to reveal the smoke and mirrors behind the illusion.

Another Professor Layton game, another bit of puzzling brilliance. Some of the brain teasers feel a bit recycled - instead of foxes and chickens, you're shuttling dogs and cats across the river, for example - but there's more than enough variety to warrant doggedly tracking down every last one. But if you only solve the ones you need to move the story forward, that's ok, too.

Playing as NBA legends in their prime is awesome, and the My Player improvements are great, but the amalgamation of modes and features doesn't transcend the genre like last year's game did.

An above-average brawler/platformer, held back by issues with repetition and missed potential, and a severe lack of J Jonah Jameson.

Genesis is only successful at translating the intrigue of underhanded diplomacy that characterizes Martin's books, but the poor mission design and interface balances out to a firmly mediocre game.

If you know you're the kind of player that can appreciate the depth and difficulty of Dark Souls' experience, you should run out and buy it right now.

With a running time of just about 4 hours from start to finish, it seems obvious that you're meant to play X-Men Destiny with all three characters, but there's no reason to. It's repetitive, ugly, stupid, and boring.

If you haven't picked up a copy of Madden in a while, 12 is a lot of fun. If you're still getting fun out of more recent versions, there's nothing here you can't live without.

A brilliant remake, Star Fox 64 3D sports all the fun and fast-paced action of the original with an excellent visual redesign and only a few minor drawbacks.

Space Marine combines gameplay elements to nail the feel of being a 7 foot armored tool of destruction. The game will simply leave you wanting more in both good and few bad ways.

Despite some lingering flaws, the gameplay is fantastic in both single and multiplayer. A big part of the game's audience won't care about the lack of variety or depth among the characters, but the monotonous tone still holds the game back from being as great as it otherwise might have been.

Its rough edges will distract and annoy you, but Dead Island's quest-based zombie slay-a-thon is still loads of fun. There's tons to do, plenty of toys, and the chance to pick up and play with buddies is always appreciated.

Achron will probably be the most unique RTS you'll play this year. The implementation of free-form time manipulation really takes the genre in some new and interesting directions, but only if you're willing to work through some flaws.

The game hits on a lot of levels; it's challenging, full of charm, and genuinely fun. I just wish it wasn't over quite so soon.

A visually stunning game with simply fun action and challenging platforming, El Shaddai is only slightly marred by the death system and unoriginal mechanics.

A worthy sequel to one of the most celebrated PC games of all time. Aside from a few, easily overlooked missteps, this is easily one of the most enjoyable games of the year.

Like all good party games, Fruit Ninja is a bit bland by yourself, but add some friends into the mix and it becomes a goofy good time. You won't spend a lot of time with it when you play, but it'll be a surefire hit at your get-togethers.

At first impression, From Dust might look and play more like a tech demo than an actual game, but there is some enjoyment to be dug out of the experience. From Dust combines some fun mechanics, with great visuals and some satisfying puzzle inspired gameplay.

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is good fun, with striking visuals and a great setting. A few issues keep it from being totally brilliant though.

The combat in Captain America is actually fun but there's no substance to the story and no challenge for the rest of the gameplay.

Bastion is an intriguing and eclectic action-heavy RPG with great audio and visuals, and it mixes some interesting mechanics with tried and true gameplay. $15 might be a little steep for some gamers, but this is a game you ought to play, particularly if you care about replayability.

The shooting mechanics and levels are getting better but the encounters themselves are too repetitive. I hope someone takes the basic idea and does something more with it. The absence of basic storytelling and scene transitions make it hard to enjoy on its own.

Catherine is oftentimes agonizing, but like the blonde vixen that bewitches Vincent, it keeps you wanting more, just the same. The story, helped along by beautiful animation and first class voice acting, never stops being interesting. The puzzles test your mettle with genuinely clever design.

A modest revision from last year's game, NCAA Football 12 brings adequate football gameplay with robust multiplayer dynasty features, for a price.

An accurate port of the Resident Evil Mercenaries minigame - and that's all it is.

An excellent adventure with just enough challenge to keep it intriguing without scaring off players looking for an engaging casual experience. Old school adventure fans will likely find the game to be a bit too shallow and easy, but casual gamers will appreciate the pace and polish.

Shadows of the Damned's slick visuals and offbeat sensibility is worth checking out, despite its ordinary gameplay. Besides, ordinary doesn't mean bad. Beheading demons with a shotgun that fires skulls has a certain amount of appeal, after all. It's pretty brainless, but it's a weekend's worth of stuff to shoot, and sometimes that's all you really need.

If you're a fan of adventure platforms like Metriod and Castlevania, but you always felt they could be a little more sandbox, Terraria is a must have.

With a regular controller, Child of Eden is a finely-tuned, lovely shooter. With Kinect, it transforms from being something you play to something you become. It's impossible to see someone playing Child of Eden with Kinect and not want to try it yourself. And once you start, you'll keep coming back for more.

The engine of the game hasn't changed, but the chrome is super-polished and new multiplayer modes are great new features.

Perhaps Fear 3 is horror for the squeamish, but if you're looking for something to scare you enough to keep you up at nights, you best look elsewhere. However, if you are in the mood for a fun and solid shooter with a creepy aesthetic, Fear 3 delivers a viscera filled romp that's worth checking out.

I love playing Dungeon Siege III despite its many flaws, and if you don't mind that the overall experience is pretty shallow and meant for single player, you probably will, too.

My Recommendation, then, is clear/ But so I don't deprive/ You any longer, here it is: / You'll love it if you strive/ To overcome the boring bits.

Everything that made Ocarina of Time one of the greatest games ever is still in the 3D version, but all it does is make you reminisce for a simpler time and a better controller.

Infamous 2 improves upon the original in nearly every way with a fantastic setting and great mechanics but the story just wasn't quite a home run.

A deeply flawed game that I would have stopped playing after five minutes were it not a requirement of my job to play longer. Although no amount of money could have convinced me to press on all the way to the end.

Frozen Synapse is an amazing refinement of the tactical strategy genre. It's both approachable for those new to the genre and deep enough to keep you coming back.

Good for a quick and fun diversion, Hunted is far from the perfect coop game or fantasy dungeon crawl, but the storytelling almost makes up for it. Almost.

A polished and satisfying reflex shooter that removes meaningful decisions from the game and trivializes its own greatest technology.

At one point I put the game down and was planning on going to bed, but I soon realized I wasn't as tired as I thought and opted to tackle another quest or two.

As a world-building exercise, The Witcher 2 succeeds masterfully but there are deep flaws in its game design.

Section 8: Prejudice offers a fun set of shooter mechanics, with a complete campaign and robust multiplayer package without costing you a full $60.

LA Noire is the type of game we jump up and down over - full of story and style and oozing playability and charm. Unfortunately the single, awkward mechanic of the interrogations mars what could have been a flawless recreation of a classic genre.

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean is a rollicking good time. You have to play through a few times in order to track down all of the secrets, jokes, and prizes, but even if you just play once, you're bound to enjoy yourself.

I like Brink quite a bit, but it's definitely not for everyone. The cumbersome interface is the antithesis of the modern streamlined shooter. If you can get past all the obstacles the game puts in your way, there's a lot of fun to be had here.

Ultimately it's really just disappointing.

Ultimately it's really just disappointing.

Outland will put your skills to the test, but strikes a pleasant balance between frustration and triumph. It's not the easiest game in the world, but the effort it takes to master is well worth it.

Conduit 2 suffers in comparison to what's available on the other consoles or the PC, but the addition of motion controls that (mostly) work make it worth a rental, as long as you can get past the goofy story.

Mortal Kombat finally gets over its overwrought heritage and laughs along with us. It's a great fighting game, stuffed with things to do.

Sony wants SOCOM 4 to be COD in "tactical" clothing, but all they ended up with is an utterly bland amalgam of missions and cutscenes that lacks any soul.

The best sequel we could have expected. The levels just plain aren't as challenging, but the new toys and characters manage to distract enough from the cracks in the paint to keep the whole ride breezing along. It astounds in some ways and disappoints in others, which, while not perfect, is good enough for science.

Its main boasts - the soul subclasses and the dynamic content - are fantastic ideas that occasionally go clunk every now and then, but the core there is solid and makes the game feel worthwhile.

Lego Clone Wars nails the Lego look and sense of humor, but completely fails when it comes to evoking the lighthearted fun the series is known for. Surprisingly difficult and repetitious, it seems to be working against the player as hard as it can.

Maxis wagered that adding fun new game elements to its blockbuster franchise would work, and The Sims Medieval succeeds sufficiently to start its own branching franchise. Expect an expansion pack or ten.

Combining an outstanding setting, tremendous visuals, and an open-ended play style, Crysis 2 is the whole package. Small problems with the story and some minor design annoyances don't get in the way of an otherwise amazing experience.

The series has scaled down from Empire but lost none of the drama or excitement. The smaller scale makes it easier to appreciate all the things the game does right.

There isn't enough game in Homefront The Game to contain Homefront The Multimedia Concept. It would work great as a film, and works just fine as a game-based counter-culture argument against the complacency of modern Americans. As a game, however, it just doesn't cut it.

The advancements in RPG mechanics would be enough to set it apart, but the real achievement of Dragon Age II is in the story-telling. I could point out the improved combat and graphics till there's blood covering my face, but BioWare is one of the few companies that uses the advanced computing power available to modern game designers to let you actually play a role.

With slick and fast-paced battles, a more adult take on the traditional Pokémon concepts and an entirely new roster of characters, Pokémon Black & White is as close to a "reboot" as the franchise has ever seen, but it doesn't reinvent what doesn't need reinventing.

With slick and fast-paced battles, a more adult take on the traditional Pokémon concepts and an entirely new roster of characters, Pokémon Black & White is as close to a "reboot" as the franchise has ever seen, but it doesn't reinvent what doesn't need reinventing.

Magic the Gathering Tactics is a very well-designed tactical game surrounded by a mediocre economy and bad supporting interface. The skeleton is sound, and if SOE improved the musculature and skin, MTGT could be the six million dollar game.

de Blob 2's cheerful demeanor and simple goals make it a natural for the younger set - or anyone suffering from Grim Shooter Ennui.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 definitely has its moments and I can't deny the game's quirky charm. But the great strength of the roster of cars, the enjoyable driving model and compelling location can't eclipse the lack of enjoyable content or the confusing economy.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a clever concoction that will stretch your brain in pleasantly unusual ways. It strikes just the right balance between whimsy and challenge, always just the right amount of difficult and bizarre.

Bulletstorm is the evolutionary "next step" for first-person shooters that makes up for its jerk-off story by adding plenty of new wrinkles to a heretofore tired genre. This is a game that will be remembered for years to come (for a few reasons).

The generally short length of the campaign (5-10 hours) will leave some consumers wanting more for their 60 bucks but the beautiful graphics and balanced multiplayer will be enough to keep most pining for Killzone 4.

A fantastic fighting game, full of flashy moves, fast action, and heaps of sincerity for the franchises and the genre as a whole. It's approachable enough for newcomers and deep enough for hardcore fans but it doesn't help the new guys out enough.

Mario Sports Mix is a good game, especially for a younger audience that might enjoy the cartoony sports action or to play with friends. It's just not great.

If you like to shoot things, you should absolutely have this game. It builds upon its predecessor in all the right ways, delivering a healthy gaming challenge. Fans of movies like Aliens and Event Horizon in particular will enjoy the game's blend of sci fi and horror elements.

You feel like a superhero playing alongside your favorite characters in an open MMO world thick with action but with a frustrating user interface. The fun combat and beautiful scenery more than make up for any shortcomings.

LittleBigPlanet 2's controls leave a bit to be desired, but the game is so charming that it's begging to be played anyway. The main story is pretty short, but the player-created levels will offer near-endless supply of Sackboy experiences. The level creation tools, with their new additions, are so vast and easy to use that you might even wind up creating a few levels yourself.

Whatever it ought to have been, it's not. It has a few new features, but nothing to separate it from the more popular, more polished games that cover exactly the same ground. It may be inexpensive, but the cost-to-value ratio is still too high.

A World of Keflings is a little too shallow to really satisfy the true builders in the crowd, but if you've ever felt overwhelmed by Sim City and others of its ilk, AWoK's casual approach may be more your speed. Plus, the appeal of shooting Keflings out of musical cannons simply cannot be overstated.

This is old school side-scrolling beat-em-up. As such, it's a bit of an anachronism. If you can get into the spirit of it, it's fun, but it's not as compelling as it was in the arcades.

If you're willing to put in the effort of replaying 999 to examine its many paths, you'll be rewarded with a multilayered, oftentimes horrifying, story and some satisfyingly creative puzzles.

Raskulls is cute, and it's funny - even if it tries a bit too hard sometimes.

There's definitely some potential here but it feels like a tentative step in a new direction. It's less sure of itself than Telltale's other premieres.

The game perfectly recaptures that time in our lives when we're still too young to know how much we don't know, and still manage to believe that pinning a towel to our shirts makes us a superhero. The time when bravado counts for more than experience and candy can fix just about anything. It's adorable, but not cutesy, oozing with charm and a fantastic sense of humor.

Deadliest Catch: Sea of Chaos is a fun game for casual players or fans of the series looking to spend more time with the crews, but hardcore gamers will be turned off by the relative simplicity and loading times.

This one is good for a rental at best, but only if you're so in love with Star Wars that you can see past its faults.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn has plenty of great spells, enjoyable environmental puzzles, and enemies whose heads desperately need caving in. The magical djinn are its only remarkable feature, but unfortunately turn the combat into child's play. Dark Dawn is a perfectly serviceable JRPG, and fans of the two previous Golden Sun titles will undoubtedly enjoy it. But it could be far, far better.

The recycled brawling mechanics and frustrating platforming don't do anything to support the cliché story and no amount of blood, profanity or nudity can save Splatterhouse from mediocrity.

I picked up Michael Jackson The Experience as a skeptic, but I had a lot of fun dancing with my sequined glove despite myself. There's not much of a game beyond mastering the choreography, but it's worth it if you ever wanted to dance with a legend.

The Undergarden is laid back, gorgeous, and pretty damn weird - the main character is some kind of strange grinning monkey thing and your mission is to grow flowers in underground caverns.

If you've been dying for a classic Final Fantasy title that's closer in mechanics to Final Fantasy IV than Final Fantasy XIII, you'll enjoy 4 Heroes of Light. If you despise retro RPG conventions, 4 Heroes is not for you unless you really want to morph into a chicken.

The core gameplay of Hot Pursuit is functional and entertaining, though the game fails to make its case until it pits cops and racers against each other in high-speed hunts, giving players on both sides the tools they need to see justice done - or evade its grasp.

More than just a remake, GoldenEye 007 lives up to its predecessor and then some by not only modernizing the story but the multiplayer as well.

It's a platform-lover's dream and the kind of game you buy a Wii for. Do whatever you've got to do to play it.

Epic Mickey is the most disappointing kind of game: a high-concept affair that does so much right, it's crushing that the one thing is does most wrongly is not be fun to play. This will be a frustrating game for core and casual gamers alike, but mostly for casual gamers who, attracted by the story and presentation, will be put off by the dated and difficult play.

It may not re-write the book on action games, but for licenses, it just might.

There are games that deserve to be relegated to the bargain bin, or played when there's simply nothing else on the shelf. This is one of them. It's not broken, it's just bad.

If you happen to be the one person in the world who has never played Bejeweled, this is a great place to start. If you've already had your fill of the series, there's nothing here that will bring you into the fold.

Apply Devil May Cry's stylish, breakneck sensibilities to the run-duck-and-gun of Gears of War. All of the trappings are perfectly sound if not extraordinary, and despite one or two incredibly vexing design decisions, Vanquish's combat is blisteringly fast and a genuine pleasure to watch and play when it's going well - but an exercise in maddening frustration when it isn't.

Blizzard tears WoW to the ground and builds it up more skillfully than ever before. The new content is creative, has a tangible sense of story and progression that you wouldn't expect from an MMO, and is implemented so skillfully and smoothly that the bumps in the road are actually a bit jarring.