IGN

Massive, beautiful, and graced with some of the best mounted combat ever seen in an MMORPG, Turbine’s labor of love recalls the sense of exploration and adventure that’s always set LOTRO apart. Its revised endgame won’t satisfy players more accustomed to a hardcore raiding framework and the Hytbold quests eventually feel like a grind, but players looking to lose themselves in a vividly realized MMORPG with refreshingly unique gameplay will find few better alternatives.

Doom 3 is a very good game, probably better than you remember. For PS3 owners who've never gotten any of this content, it's a particularly great deal. BFG Edition is a tough sell for the PC crowd, but console jockeys who missed it when it was the next big thing should dive on in. While several nagging issues can make it feel more like a rushed port rather than the definitive director's cut it should be, there's no denying that Doom 3 has improved with age.

So here's the easiest way to sum up Silent Hill: Book of Memories: it mixes solid but underwhelming gameplay with a lackluster presentation. If you just want dungeons to crawl through and couldn't care less about polished menus and engaging stories, great. Everyone else, don't feel bad if you skip Silent Hill: Book of Memories.

Two years ago, Aksys was shocked by 999's success. This year, they shouldn't be shocked when VLR matches, then exceeds, its predecessor. This sequel is more twisted, more brutal and more memorable than that first volume, it's solidified Zero Escape as a series, and it's an experience I recommend to every gamer – if you're over 18, and if you've played 999 first.

Free-to-play games are great because of how accessible they are. Anyone can get in, try them out, and make a decision with little to no monetary investment. But in order to be a good free-to-play game, you also need depth to keep people coming back.

Code of Princess is a game that I'd love to like more than I do, as it isn't often we get new designs that call back to classic, pioneering genre hybrids like Guardian Heroes. Beyond the winning localization and expert voice acting, though, playing through this adventure just felt lacking – its various unique ideas and innovations never came together to create a real sense of fun. If you haven't bought it already, feel free to skip this release.

There's plenty to like about Retro City Rampage from its nods to our childhoods to its easy to get behind gameplay to its arcade mini-games, but the story -- the main hook of the title -- just doesn't stand up. Player's quest is just an excuse to get to the next reference, the missions tend to be cheap, and checkpoints aren't forgiving.

Dance Central 3 continues to proves Harmonix is one of too-few developers that understands why Kinect can be special. The track list is varied and playful in a way that works with its terrific, tough story mode, and no matter how much time you spend banging your head against tutorial walls, your effort pays off in spades. The choreography here is complex, as well as diverse in genre, style, and energy – and nailing a routine feels incredible.

If you love Forza 4, this is the perfect companion. If you love cars, this is essential. The school of thought may be that it’s hard to push racing games this late in a generation, but Playground Games hasn’t just moved the needle here. It’s buried it.

It just invites you to have fun with it, whoever you are and whatever music you like. It’s wildly silly, creative and colourful, relying on daft, characterful choreography and to evoke a party atmosphere that puts everyone at ease. There’s not a lot here that wasn’t in Just Dance 4, or even Just Dance 3, but the series’ talent for getting people up and dancing is still unmatched. Dancing is fun no matter what, but this game is a master facilitator of that fun, a catalyst for laughter.