IGN

It's a real shame that Mass Effect's legacy feels doomed to be That Ending, when this DLC far more appropriately sums up why the series meant so much to so many. Citadel doesn't change the destination, but it does offer a fantastic second chance to celebrate the journey and remember why it was worth taking. When one of Shepard's crew marks the end of both it and this era of Mass Effect with a version of "We've had a good ride," it's not only Earth's greatest hero justified in taking a last lingering look at the Normandy and the amazing universe behind her, and quietly replying: "The best..."

Eppure Mirror of Fate ha troppa buona volontà per essere bocciato. Prova talmente tanto a essere il miglior Castlevania di sempre, e riesce ad azzeccare anche dei gran bei momenti e delle belle sequenze di gioco. Mette sul piatto un gusto per il mostruoso e il grottesco che riesce a coniugarsi bene col passato della serie e, nel frattempo, può godere di una colonna sonora orchestrale davvero di grandissima fattura.

I simply don’t want to play anymore, which should tell you all you need to know. Because even the worst of the GBA/DS Castlevania games are more than worth seeing to statistical completion, but Mirror of Fate isn’t worth playing at all.

PlayStation gamers who are also baseball fans are a lucky lot. MLB 13: The Show is another winner in a series that’s easily the best baseball sim since EA’s since-shuttered MVP Baseball line. To be clear, MLB 13 suffers from the same feature crawl that many annual sports franchises do, meaning it’s largely similar to last year’s iteration with a player roster update. But the Road to the Show improvements, The Show Live mode, and the fielder’s throwing meter make this a worthy upgrade from MLB 12. The inevitable PlayStation 4 edition of this franchise next year will offer an exciting opportunity for Sony to do some serious innovation this excellent yet predictable series, but in the meantime, MLB 13 keeps The Show’s winning streak alive.

Intendiamoci: anche la fulminea Yamato di Vergil è comunque in grado di regalare soddisfazioni (specie per quanto riguarda la sua anima angelica), eppure, nelle schivate con teletrasporto, negli attacchi a distanza con il lancio di spade fantasma e nella micidiale tecnica doppelganger mancano quell carisma e quel feeling difficile da spiegare a parole - eppure così evidente controller alla mano! - che mi hanno fatto innamorare di DmC.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus isn't a bad action game by any means. In fact, at moments it can be wildly entertaining, but those moments come bundled with a terrible camera, uneven level design, and combat that tends to cheat you as often as it challenges you. Whether you loved Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 or not, this version's missing features and spotty performance are still impossible to ignore. Simply put, the original Sigma Plus is a better port of a better game, and far more worthy of your time and money.

The first three Etrian Odysseys are great dungeon crawlers, but with their high difficulty and monotony of purpose, they’re very much an acquired taste. Etrian IV matches its hardcore depth to appealing visuals and more inviting design, and in doing so allows the series to transcend niche status. Atlus has crafted a fantastic portable RPG, and the perfect entry point for Etrian newcomers.

La prima, nuova, avventura di Lara va intesa come un blockbuster hollywoodiano tutto polvere da sparo, sequenze mozzafiato e costole incrinate. Gli scontri a fuoco elementari, le dinamiche essenziali della caccia (tira tre frecce, ammazza il cervo, prendi punti esperienza) e una certa semplicità di fondo sono tutti fattori che contribuiscono a mantenere leggero eppure sempre interessante e in continuo divenire il ritmo di gioco. Se volete perdervi per una decina di ore in un gioco fracassone, Tomb Raider è una delle migliori scelte di questa fine di generazione.

The smaller scale, lopsided balance, and multiplayer lobby screwups may keep it from being mentioned in the same breath as the biggest and best, but being a successful minor power in the pantheon of strategy games is still a fine achievement.

Freemium games have to implement their business model in a way that doesn’t unbalance the gameplay, and they have to have gameplay high-quality enough to be worth everyone’s time to begin with. Real Racing 3 succeeds brilliantly on both counts.