Polygon

Black Knight Sword has a strong first impression, with its unique visual style and playfully bleak story. But modern concessions like upgrades and saved games are broken by outdated design elements. Black Knight Sword seems unwilling to fully commit to making something fun to play above all else. The unforgiving difficulty will likely appeal to some, but for everyone else, take my word for it: You're missing a lot less than you think.

Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse is a functional, ordinary third-person shooter hobbled by simplistic AI and vulgar gags. In an early mission, Brian deadpans, "I'm no longer enjoying this" as a bad guy charges him. Given the circumstances, he probably should have kept his mouth shut. But that's something that neither he nor this game were ever interested in doing.

Planetside 2 is free, but that isn't why you should play it. You should play it because of the chaos of its big, beautiful wars. 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.

Getting back into a game like Skyrim after an extended absence is something of a toll itself. You have to relearn systems, try to remember what gear you were using, what power set, etc. 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.

Persona 4 Golden is more than a retread of past glory. It takes the core story and formula of the original Persona 4, but it builds on it in myriad brilliant ways â?? from the much more welcoming combat mechanics to a story whose few plot holes have been filled. 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.

For fans of Sega' legacy, it's something more. Sonic & All-Star Racing Transformed allows me to revisit those worlds I loved as a child, to catch up with those characters in a wash of nostalgia. 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.

A second Lego Lord of the Rings game is all-but-certain with The Hobbit movies in production, so having a bit of space to grow isn't the worst thing. Traveller's Tales will have to work hard to top what it's created here, though.

If you can look past its thematic problems, Far Cry 3's story isn't without genuine invention and surprise there's a hallucinatory aspect that allows for surprising, disorienting sections of narrative and character development, as well as gameplay moments that defy the basic reality of the rest of the game. 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.

But under no circumstance should these hiccups keep you from this incredible, gut-wrenching, dark, unprecedented experience. Like the Flyer’s first lift off or a scratchy vinyl of Love Me Do, The Walking Dead can be a bit rough in patches. But it’s impossible to shake the feeling that the experience you’re having may just change everything.

Hitman: Absolution is a faster, more streamlined game than its predecessors, but that only makes it different, not bad. The dark humor has been toned down, but still peeks through. The same anti-hero menace and professional purpose remains. And more importantly, the core purpose and gameplay that's always driven the Hitman series is still there. 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.