For everything it has to say, for all the questions it asks —many of which have no easy answers — BioShock Infinite's big thoughts and complicated narrative don't obscure the brilliant action game that carries those messages through.

It's the tightest, best-written, and most must-play game Atlus has ever created. Persona 4 started as a strong, singular RPG; with Persona 4 Golden, it is a masterpiece.

As a bombastic action-RPG with no previous context, Mass Effect 3 is a dark, engaging game with great combat, a well-written story, and all the epic space-opera you could want. But for those who have played through Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, it's something much more.

Developer Intelligent Systems has added just enough to the time-tested Fire Emblem formula to bolster its challenges without cutting away its roots.

So finely honed that it should be appreciated by a massive swath of people, from hardcore 2D platforming fans to racing fans to editor junkies to, well, douches who like rap/rock remixes and Ed Hardy tees.

Mark of the Ninja feels like Klei's coming of age game, a more mature adventure that salvages the gore, guts, and grime that defined its previous work, and scraps the rest in a surgical maneuver - the work of game design ninjas.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown brings the memorable turn-based alien invasion classic gracefully into to the modern age, but comes just short of fully reinventing the genre. While tactical, squad-based combat has never felt so effortless and rewarding, the strategy component takes just enough away to make the game as a whole feel like two slightly disjointed halves. One of those halves just so happens to be one of the best and most artfully-designed strategy games in recent memory.

It rewards skill and variety rather than mindless grinding. And it does all of this in a massive, persistent world without asking for a subscription fee.

The player-on-player and player-on-ball interactions, along with the AI improvements, sell the look and feel of true human interaction on the pitch. The infusion of real-life soccer developments throughout the game makes the experience come alive; you feel like you're part of a vibrant, passionate community of soccer fans.

Borderlands 2 is unquestionably a better game than Borderlands. The new emphasis on elemental weapons and dismemberment make for better combat scenarios, and the constant character improvement is a great push forward for players looking for long-term rewards. But sticking around for those payoffs requires more patience than I'd hoped.

Fez is the most authentic exploration of the NES-era of games I've ever played, from its sound and visuals to its obtuseness. It uses the capabilities of current systems to take those ideas farther, while limiting itself with specific intentions, deploying scrutability in bits and pieces. It doesn't just love the games it borrows from – it understands them.

Under no circumstance should these hiccups keep you from this incredible, gut-wrenching, dark, unprecedented experience.

Dishonored succeeds as an ambitious game not content to take one thing and do it well. It demands more than most games ever will of its player, and gives more to players than most other games will ever manage.

When the story isn't standing in its way, Far Cry 3 sees enormous success with its wide-open world and all the numerous things there are to do therein. Ubisoft has created a mechanically ambitious, exciting game.

It's new, in the sense that it wasn't in Torchlight, but it's hardly different. What you're playing, beneath all the polish, is essentially the same. Torchlight 2 is clicky nirvana. But Torchlight 2 isn't is a step beyond the familiar. The game feels like the cumulative work of perfectionists intent on making the action role-playing game of their dreams.

From a value perspective it'll absolutely stretch your three dollars over a dozen hours and many, many boring meetings. It's not to be missed.

The Witcher 2 stumbles plenty, stubborn in its lack of communication with the player and often failing to meet those aforementioned ambitions. But a clear sense of character, place and tone lets CD Projekt Red's violent epic pick itself up and largely succeed as a game confident in its own identity.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf's addicting, ceaseless progression is all in the service of creating an identity for yourself and your surroundings. The expansion of the series' multiplayer capabilities — a vehicle for you to actually showcase that identity — is one of the best things New Leaf has going for it.

At $2.99, it may sound like an expensive mobile game, but Rayman Jungle Run is not your typical title. It's a slice of one of last year's best console games. For the price of a New York cup of coffee, you get something special.

Games this thoughtfully crafted don't happen very often, and the care that Blizzard has taken with Diablo 3 shows in every facet of its design and execution. It might not be perfect, but after 45 hours, I'm not sure where it missteps, and after 45 hours, I feel like I've only scratched the surface of what it has to offer. Diablo 3 is almost evil in how high a bar it's set for every PC action RPG to follow, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that bar remain for a very long time.

The best thing on the Vita to date, a perfect fit formed between the hardware and the franchise. But it doesn't just succeed on a conceptual level; it's polished, addictive, and precious. In every imaginable way, LittleBigPlanet Vita is a knockout.

A respectable sequel, one that both incorporates the fiction of the brand, but also improves on previous games, progressing the franchise.

NBA 2K13 sits at the intersection of basketball and hip-hop culture, and Jay-Z's production sensibilities marry the two beautifully.

Halo 4 is most like the original Halo, where the novelty and wonder of exploring something really alien and different is a key factor. While Halo 4 continues the series' tradition of iteration on its own design more successfully than any one of its predecessors, that sense of awe, of discovery, has been light since the first game, and I didn't realize how much I missed it until I played Halo 4.

MLB 13 is remarkable in that it is almost uniformly excellent. Annual sports games consist of numerous discrete pieces, but they rarely come together as well as they do here.

We may be playing Spelunky forever...Spelunky is more than a platformer. It transcends the genre, creating an experience easy to pick up and difficult to master, each session unlike the last.

It's easy to point out the many ways that Tomb Raider borrows bits and pieces from other popular games of the last five years, but Crystal Dynamics has blended these disparate strengths into something remarkable. It's cinematic yet open, intense yet laid-back, fresh yet polished.

The game's tone falls apart as it fluctuates between deadpan and dopey, but the action never falters. Fights are fast, intense and fun, and they're aided by a world where nothing is what it seems and nothing stays the same for long. I just wish Ninja Theory had matched the mesmerizing level design with a character who I actually want to spend time around.

It's a game with so much baggage that I'm stunned that it's come together so well. This is the first time Rockstar has made a game that excels best as just that, supported and expertly augmented by the production values and attention to small details that its games have always been known for. It is uncompromisingly excellent, with a sense of focus that has secured Max Payne's legacy once again.

Everything about the game - its preposterous storyline, its madcap multiplayer modes - peels away at the inherent, inextricable humiliation of dancing in front of your peers. To start a dance battle in one of those modes, you have to high-five your opponent in real life. Rest assured, you are in very, very good hands.

Dark Moon has lost a bit of the soul of its predecessor — the ghosts have lost their motivations and personalities, such as they were. They're just monsters now. But by nearly every mechanical design metric, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is a better game than its predecessor.

Level-5 hasn't created a bad game but an inconsistent one that doesn't seem to understand its own strengths and weaknesses. The flashy look and cheerful tone will pull some people through, but at its core, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is missing a chunk of its heart that's hard to ignore.

Bit.Trip Runner 2 uses a simple premise, a beautiful universe and a giddy set of songs to conjure an overwhelming sense of happiness. It's a game everyone can play.

Hotline Miami is exceptional not because it's violent, but because it's violent for a reason.

Horizon's accessibility gives way to a lack of foresight. Its open world feels empty, its economic model is questionable, and its armada of cars are powerless against arbitrary AI escalation. Forza Horizon has more flash than its predecessors, but it's hollow by comparison.

Taking an elaborate collection of blocks and engineered something special with it, The Behemoth has created a player experience far more sophisticated than the goofy theme belies.

Gunpoint isn't a long game - for $10, it doesn't have to be - but it's a delightfully lean experience. From the mechanics to the artistic direction, any trace of bloat has been done away with (if it was ever there to begin with).

You should play it because its most exciting moments don't occur when you turn the corner and paint a target in your sights. They occur when you're sitting in a troop transport, rolling towards an opposing force, and wondering how the battle will unfold - even if those battles aren't always perfect.

Even without the content creation mode, Sound Shapes would be something unlike anything else on the Vita, or even on consoles. While some might complain about Sound Shapes' willingness to be finished and enjoyed, I dare anyone to go through it remaining non-transfixed by exactly what Queasy and their musical and artistic partners have assembled. Sound Shapes is video game pop music, and those don't need to be dirty words.

Assassin's Creed 3 has a host of issues that pop up throughout the game, issues which by themselves have been enough to drag other titles under. But there's so much good in Assassin's Creed 3, it's so ambitious, so singular, that I can't stop thinking about it, and what's more, Ubisoft may have finally cracked the riddle of inventive multiplayer that doesn't rely on a large playerbase to enjoy.

To have a game that not only focuses on story but tells one compelling enough to keep thinking about once the console is off? That's something no one should miss.

Need for Speed Most Wanted is marred somewhat by a fussy, restrictive and self-defeating interface. But it's one of the best racing games of 2012 regardless. And if Criterion's track record of post-release support with Burnout Paradise is any indication, it will only improve over time.

The team at Drinkbox has studied the greats, but they've forged their own path with a consistent, engaging art style, and meticulously perfected controls and level design. This passion for Drinkbox’s influences has produced more than homage; Guacamelee is remarkable on its own.

Most playthroughs of FTL end the same way, but this pulse-poundingly vital, consistently surprising game manages to make death feel like merely the beginning of another great adventure.

What separates New Super Mario Bros. U from its "New" predecessors: It adds something to the Mario formula. It's exciting and full of inventive ideas.

Success is a road lined with pain and failure, and no amount of frustration, agony or doubt is comparable to the pleasure of conquering yet another blank map.

I'm infatuated with how these characters, these brilliant mechanics, were molded from crude, 8-bit blueprints that are older than myself. And now, I want more.

If you viewed the first Darksiders' borrowed gameplay beats as a potential sign of laziness from Vigil Studios, Darksiders 2 provides hearty evidence of a team with genuine skill and ambition. It doesn't always nail the pacing or polish, but Darksiders 2 adds so many valuable ideas to the series that a path to its future seems clear for the first time. For Darksiders, Death brings a much-needed spark of life.

Black Ops 2's campaign and Zombies mode are disappointments, especially coming off the across-the-board success of its predecessor...But it's a testament to the extraordinary quality of its multiplayer that Black Ops 2 won't go down as a forgotten entry.

Monster Games' 3DS version further tweaks the formula, with better controls and a new difficulty mode that feels just right. This is the best version of a densely packed, fast-paced and beautifully designed platformer.

Bad Piggies is a promising start. Like the jury-rigged craft, how far it goes will depend on what its creators choose to add.

With such stark differences between RPGs and fighting games, the marriage of the two genres in Persona 4 Arena shouldn't work as comfortably as it does.

The new skating physics and player AI don't just deliver a more accurate simulation of hockey; they elegantly convey the complex interactions - blade on ice, right winger versus defenseman - that are at the heart of the sport.

It can be repetitive, obtuse and occasionally difficult to control, but it's one thing above all else: Joyful. And for that reason, Gravity Rush is the most interesting thing happening on the PlayStation Vita.

The vast majority of Dust is so good that all but the most fervent furry-haters will overlook the art. Dust uses a formula that's been done countless times, but a modernized combat engine and smooth animation leave a powerful mark on the genre.

McPixel has two clear inspirations: first MacGyver, the 1980s television series in which a secret agent combines practical scientific knowledge with household supplies to survive life and death scenarios; and secondly, MacGruber, a Saturday Night Live skit in which a secret agent loses track of time and gets everyone killed. McPixel is the step further, a parody of a parody. But it's stranger, grosser, funnier and far more blasphemous.

At a buck, Spellsword is a steal, ideal for hack-and-slash RPG fans and high score addicts.The team behind Spellsword might have started with Super Crate Box as their inspiration, but thankfully, they knew when to split off and do their own thing. They've created a game with an entirely different look, feel and play from their influences.

The plethora of in-game tips and tutorials make Minecraft far less intimidating to gamers with little time or patience to stumble around blindly looking for the fun, much of the mystery and discovery of the original game has been stripped away by the very things meant to make it more palatable.

With over 40 hours on my first character, I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate has to offer, and I'm eager to keep hunting.

Dyad is one of the best pure arcade experiences to come along in years, and for players who fall prey to the siren song of its leaderboards, it might just devour their summer.

Even Antichamber's most punishing designs can't bring you down if you've got a sense of good humor, which its dramatic, shifting world instills in you at every turn.

It's a hand-wringing, apologetic shooter that offers great gunplay alongside more peaceful options. Last Light has every opportunity to be bloated and inconsistent, but it never succumbs to the pressure of its own expectations — and that's worth tolerating a few frustrating technical hiccups.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2's kitchen sink approach could have turned this game into a messy jumble of modes, characters, and features. Instead, this massive fighting game looks downright elegant. It's a polished, vibrant fighter with very few faults.

While "Dragonborn" is certainly a worthy addition to what I consider one of the best games of last year, the rewards don't justify a return trip for an adventurer who's already moved on.

For every puzzle that rewards experimentation and inventive thinking, there are a handful where you're supposed to find a button blending into a random panel of the dungeon's wall.

Here are all of the great songs and stars, flush with bright colors and silly in-jokes. It's all of my fond memories without any of the overwhelming disappointment of actually revisiting them.

I know retention is a big problem for episodic games, but I wouldn't miss seeing how my story plays out for anything, and I suspect you'll feel the same way.

Make no mistake: Telltale has done some amazing things with The Walking Dead, and one episode away from the end it's already a landmark moment in interactive storytelling. I'm just hopeful that with the next series of episodes, the studio is able escape the corners that its experiment with malleable narrative has painted it into.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a downloadable, stand-alone title that could stand with many AAA offerings on the shelves. It's not as deep, it's not as long, it's not as developed — but at 15 bucks, it doesn't need to be.

Knowing that it's all up to you - not cheap shots, not a roll of the dice - justifies the grinding struggle that occasionally slows the journey from disrespected general to shogun of the afterworld.

Terraria could do a better job of leading players toward the treasures they need for basic survival and the knowledge they need for basic progression without robbing them of freedom to discover most of what it has to offer at their own pace. There's an alluring game buried under these little issues; it just takes some digging to find it.

The on-field experience is stellar, and Connected Careers' staggering scope allows it to transcend its shortcomings. For the first time in ages, Madden's future is bright.

Gods & Kings feels like what Civilization V wanted to be all along. It doesn't so much "expand" the game as evolve it. Strategic combat finally feels strategic, and the diplomatic game, enhanced by religion, espionage and a few new tweaks, finally matters.

Black and White 2's improvements make it the franchise's most accessible entry point to date.

Even with the occasional silliness, Lego Lord of the Rings perfectly captures both the great action of the franchise and the majesty of the world Tolkien created. It's the first Lego game since 2005's Lego Star Wars that I can recommend with very few caveats.

The multiplayer succeeds at making God of War work as a cooperative and competitive experience, but doesn’t have the depth to exist on its own. The campaign feels derivative and lacking the forceful confidence that made the series a showpiece for cinematic character-driven action games.

In fact, Black and White 2 takes a major step back from the bravest thing about its predecessor: Its story.

Their plotlines may not be great, but at least they're all really believable in the moment...Moments that work in a story that almost does - that's Sleeping Dogs. It has all the open world elements - tons of collectibles and outfits to buy, a vibrant city that looks fantastic - but a convoluted layout makes navigating it irritating.

Almost exactly what it needs to be. Familiar without feeling the same, comprehensible but more demanding.

While the retail element is a justifiable red-flag, as an ecosystem for toys and play, Skylanders Giants is well-written, well-designed and engaging stuff.

It wants to be so many games, and for each of its inspirations, it delivers a different demand. As a logical and unfortunate result, Pokemon Conquest is just too damned demanding.

Platinum Games has done something incredibly rare: honoring a beloved series while successfully broadening its reach into a whole new genre.

Considering it has to avoid the salacious scenes and hyper-violence used to spice its genre brethren, Lego City Undercover is pretty darned impressive. But it's hard not to be a disappointed that Lego City Undercover doesn't play more to Lego's strengths, trading the carnal for the creative or the wanton for wonder.

It's not as cerebral as Hitman: Blood Money. But that doesn't stop Hitman: Absolution from being a smart, unique action title, and a hell of a lot of fun.

Between the jokes, the writing and the soundtrack — which alternates between dissonant scratches and transcendent melodies per each scene — it hooked into my emotions.

When Monaco is working — when two or more people are picking through its stages, evading traps, conking out guards, and breaking into dangerous territory, it clicks like an expensive safe. It nails the white-knuckled, Hollywood heist motif with style. But you’re going to need like-minded friends — and a whole lot of patience — to get there.

Need for Speed Most Wanted for Vita makes do despite its many flaws, because it is still, essentially, the same game I played on console, and that game is top notch. Need for Speed Most Wanted on Vita is a worthy companion that can be played anywhere - just don't let it drive you away from choosing the superior console version first.

It's encouraging that Traveller's Tales has finally made some big, worthwhile changes to its formula.

The disappointment of flying - or driving - solo notwithstanding, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron's relentless iteration on its own design and its constantly expanding scope set it apart from other third-person shooters.

While the last half hour doesn't ruin Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, it is a disappointing coda to a game struggling to find a reason to exist. There are glimmers of Red Storm's previous dedication to authenticity and feel, but in a quest for a wider audience, Future Soldier loses sight of the series' earlier appeal, and struggles to find a new role.

Other western games may better capture the grandeur of the American West, but pure, outlandish spaghetti western gunfights have never been more thrilling than they are in Call of Juarez: Gunslinger.

As a side-experiment with class-based multiplayer and more aggressively arcade-influenced shooting, Gears of War: Judgment doesn't feel essential in the same way its predecessors did. If three games in five years left you with your fill of Gears of War, Judgment may not be enough to change your mind. But as a well-executed supplement to its parent series, Gears of War: Judgment is easy to recommend.

WWE '13 may seem like just another licensed product trading on nostalgia, but it displays an understanding of why the Attitude Era was so revered and unique.

One of the smartest games Square has released in the FF line in some time. It pulls players in right away but hides a great amount of depth and bonus content. It pays reverence to the past but tries something new and isn't above making a joke or two at its own expense.

The challenge level is spot-on and the individual stages are cleverly built. These are the hallmarks of great puzzle game design, and Minis on the Move demonstrates them handily.

By tying so many systems together with tough choices and the constant spectre of death hanging over it, Undead Labs has created something singular. Small complaints notwithstanding, State of Decay is one of the most cohesive, terrifying and engaging open-world games I've ever played.

As you're juggling lanes and building up overdrive, all while nailing more hectic note passages, Rock Band Blitz effectively channels the feel of Rock Band proper, all without a plastic instrument.

Ultimately that failure to feel as fresh as Super Mario 3D Land is going to define New Super Mario Bros. 2 for many people, but it hides deeper treasures for those willing to look past the familiarity.