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 that I've ever played, from its sound and visuals to its obtuseness. It uses the capabilities of current systems to take those ideas further, 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. It knows what it is and what it wants to be, and doesn't compromise on it. And for those willing to bury themselves in Fez's alien world and logic, there are plenty of treasures to be found.
Battlefield 4 melds elements of its predecessors, but their baggage weighs it down
Assassin's Creed 4 is constantly waiting for its dare-to-be-great moment
That absence of meaningful evolution might be Killzone: Shadow Fall's biggest sin. For all the next-gen bluster of its visuals and the repeated blunt-force attempts to ram a message home, Guerilla's first shot on the PS4 retreads shooter cliches, and poorly. In a launch lineup crowded with shooters, Killzone: Shadow Fall sits at the bottom.
A Link Between Worlds is the sequel I never knew I wanted
Forza 5 brings multiplayer to solo play
Peggle 2 is a burst of joy in a sea of brown and grey
Double Helix has competently filled the gaps in Killer Instinct's foundation
Strike Vector can't quite stick the landing
Strider takes the best parts of its lineage to heart
The elements of a better game never come together in Thief
Plants vs. Zombies is an elevating factor in a tired genre
Titanfall has all the makings of the next big thing
Luftrausers has a strong pull
Reaper of Souls reinvigorates an already great game
Child of Light seems content to only scratch its own surface
The New Order's got all the workings of a classic shooter. But in their trip back to the well, Machine Games has brought all of its talents to bear. The New Order is held together, even rocketed beyond the basic sum of its smart levels and effective mechanics by its characters. That humanity takes what would be a good shooter and makes it something truly memorable.
WATCH DOGS OPEN WORLD IS TRUMPED BY ITS SMART, LAYERED MECHANICS
EA Sports UFC feels barely held together, a collection of parts that are often as frustrating as they are poorly explained. Somewhere, in all of the complication and opacity, is a game unlike anything else out there, that finds the unpredictability and wildness that set MMA apart from other combat sports. But there's an awful lot of bad to dig through to find it.