An experience that is so startlingly, unexpectedly and enjoyably different than anything else on the market right now.

From a story perspective, Lara is now as interesting a character as (though wholly different from) sardonic Nathan Drake. This feels like Uncharted will have to start chasing Tomb Raider.

A game that looks very nearly as good as did on my Xbox 360 and in some ways plays even better, thanks in large part to intuitive touch screen controls that prove a fine fit for the game’s turn-based action.

But overall, NHL 14 captures the spirit of that revolutionary 94 game. The gameplay is fast, the moves are sweet and the hits are thundering. It feels fun, like the very best wide-open hockey games, but it doesn’t sacrifice realism either.

In its own way, Antichamber serves as an antithesis to modern day video game design. Just to experience solving a puzzle by thinking outside of the box makes Antichamber a must play for anyone looking to be challenged.

Fire Emblem: Awakening won’t go down in history as the game that revolutionized a franchise or genre. However, traditional turn-based tactics has rarely been more compelling.

Gear is the catnip that will keep you playing Ridiculous Fishing for hours on end. Whether it’s a new pair of duel-wield uzis that make it easier to perforate your catch, a hair dryer that you can tie to your line to electrocute the first fish that touches it (essentially giving you an extra chance), or just a redneck red cap to keep the sun off your fisherman’s head, every purchase is well worth the multiple casts it takes to earn it.

Columbia is a unique and unforgettable city meant to inspire its inhabitants — both virtual and player-controlled — to gaze in awe, shock, and horror at its bountiful marvels...So long as you remember to stop snooping through rubbish bins and take time to pause and look around, I have no doubt you’ll be properly amazed.

Frogmind’s debut side-scrolling action adventure game is the most beautiful iOS release I’ve played in a long time.

The combination of excellent level design, amazing art-style and spot-on combat should appeal to any gamer. But when you add in humorous dialogue and gads of tongue-in-cheek jokes, memes and homages to the video games, it elevates Guacamelee! to a must-purchase.

Developed by Dontnod Entertainment, Remember Me takes risks at every turn. Some of them expose the game’s many flaws, but other show the game’s strengths.

Nintendo’s 3DS is suddenly brimming with great first-party games, and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is a standout among them. Don’t miss it.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is short. I finished it in a single three hour Sunday afternoon session...But it’s also immensely gratifying.

If you’re looking for one of the most unusual and just plain fun games of the summer, you won’t find better.

The entire time I was playing Saints Row IV, I found myself constantly thinking "It would be totally awesome if..." and then the game would do that awesome thing before I could finish my thought.

A game which excels by making all of its moving pieces work together in unison. There are some rough patches, such as my beforementioned somewhat squiggy reaction to the storyline and the fact that the graphics sometimes seem to be pushing against the limitations of the current console generation, but it would be difficult for me to think of a more versatile or playable stealth game.

It’s one of the best MMOs on the PC and basically the only game of its type on the console. The company has made the game it promised when it when back and rebuilt FFXIV 1.0.

The first act of Kentucky Route Zero will take you about an hour to complete. It’s well worth your time to do a second play through and a third and maybe even a fourth just to experience what it’s like to live a life on the road.

Ninja Theory didn’t just overhaul Dante. It also infused the series’ plot with some big — and surprisingly timely — ideas.

At some point — I can’t say exactly when — my interactions with the GamePad screen became natural and intuitive, an organic part of the game that I didn’t find myself consciously thinking about. It just felt normal and fun. This is a crucial step forward in changing players’ perception of the GamePad from novel gizmo to worthwhile, game-enhancing peripheral.

Cart Life really is unlike anything else out there. I’ve never had a game that so pointedly puts you into a role and expects you to make its life work just like your own.

The Wii U version of the game isn’t perfect, however. The bigger screen and 1080p HD graphics do add to the flair of the game — the textures are redone for the more powerful Wii U, while most of the game models are the same — but no one would mistake them for something that wasn’t also designed to be played on a handheld. The framerate is much better and, most importantly, you can play online with other players.

Playing an $18 game like BattleBlock Theater leaves a fellow feeling like he’s been hosed on nearly every $60 game he’s ever bought.

All you need do is have a taste for platformers and a love of good stories.

From the character designs and the narration, to the tactical game play and challenging difficulty, there are few games out there quite like what the Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation has framed for us. You’re not quite at the level of M from the James Bond universe, but this might be as close as you get.

Perhaps the most interesting innovation of all is a multiplayer mode that allows one player to play as normal while an opponent takes on the more traditional role of tower defense, setting up alien robot turrets to stop the humans in their tracks.

It feels like the developers at Techland did a little soul searching on this new game trying to come up with ways to creatively tell players are story, not cover up a poor narrative with swearing and racial stereotypes.

This two-hour episode introduces players to a quintet of new characters, individual survivors who through random chance spend at least a little time in or around a lonely countryside gas station and diner during the first 400 days of the outbreak.