Giant Bomb

Darksiders II builds upon the previous game in some really exciting ways, but even people who can't make that comparison will enjoy the weighty combat and multifaceted character development.

It's derivative as hell, but Sleeping Dogs' borrowed ideas are of a high enough quality to form an entertaining open-world experience.

Both aesthetically and mechanically, Sound Shapes is an absolute delight.

Whether you're interested in the Arc school of fighting game design or reading a Persona 4 visual novel set two months after the events of the real game, Persona 4 Arena has you covered.

The Expendables 2 somehow manages to turn the act of blowing anything and everything up into a dreadful bore.

The zombie-survival setting fits nicely with its deliberate style of 2D action, but Deadlight sometimes plays too fast and loose for its own good.

There are flashes of old brilliance in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, but a lot of those moments are buried under questionable design decisions and a sterile feeling that leaves this downloadable release feeling a bit flat.

Skyrim's first DLC offers a broad array of quality new content that smoothly integrates into the game without feeling forced.

Some of Lego Batman 2's new ideas work better than others, but at least this isn't just the same old Lego game.

If this is the best Kinect can do with a "hardcore" game, you should just pack it up and wait for the next Xbox.

Civ V's first real expansion is no revolution, but it's as good an excuse as any to take the plunge back into Firaxis' wonderfully addictive strategy game.

Though Gravity Rush's gravity shifting mechanic is genuinely awesome, the game itself doesn't offer enough interesting ways to use it.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier has everything you'd expect from a modern shooter, but it doesn't really complete any of its tasks in an especially satisfying way.

There is probably a great role-playing game to be made out of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, but Game of Thrones isn't it.

Prototype 2 gives you some interesting abilities that can be fun to use, but it doesn't give you enough good opportunities to cut loose with all that power.

Rockstar Games modernizes and makes Max Payne its own, creating something grittier and more grounded in reality, if not quite as singular.

Bloodforge is the half-baked XBLA God of War clone you never asked for.

Evolution gives you just about everything you could want out of a Trials sequel.

The weird, wonderful world of Fez operates on multiple levels, but only the people who are willing to dig all the way down to its core will come away satisfied.

Competence is the greatest achievement The Splatters manages, and that's not quite enough to justify its price.