Polygon

Tekken's complex mechanics can be difficult to grasp, but Tekken Tag Tournament 2 marks the first time that novice and veteran players alike have been given the means to understand and improve. Tekken Tag Tournament 2's kitchen sink approach could have turned this game into a messy jumble of modes, characters, and features. Instead, this massive fighting game looks downright elegant. It's a polished, vibrant fighter with very few faults.

LittleBigPlanet Vita is the best thing on the Vita to date, a perfect fit formed between the hardware and the franchise. But it doesn't just succeed on a conceptual level; it's polished, addictive, and precious. In every imaginable way, LittleBigPlanet Vita is a knockout.

NHL 13 manages a rare feat, the holy grail of game design: organic teaching through game mechanics and systems, rather than text pop-ups or distinct tutorial modes (although it has those, too, for novice players). The new skating physics and player AI don't just deliver a more accurate simulation of hockey; they elegantly convey the complex interactions blade on ice, right winger versus defenseman that are at the heart of the sport.

In every way, Jet Set Radio HD is a prototype, full of ideas only half-realized and poorly put together, ideas which would be put to better use in the much-improved sequel Jet Set Radio Future (which featured comparatively huge city levels of greater complexity and infinitely more-responsive controls). Jet Set Radio HD is the best Sega has pulled off with regards to their Dreamcast re-releases, but the game can't live up to its own monumental reputation.

Double Dragon Neon's throwback sensibilities cut both ways. The basic play isn't particularly evolved from 8- and 16-bit brawlers even the NES Double Dragon had experience levels. But the nostalgia and goodwill for '80s specific sensibilities manage to set Neon apart from pretty much anything else in the genre.

Mark of Ninja is cohesive, a triumphant meeting of creative level design and well-executed controls. The story is memorable and rewarding. When the credits rolled, I wanted to go again, playing differently than the first time through. Mark of the Ninja feels like Klei's coming of age game, a more mature adventure that salvages the gore, guts, and grime that defined its previous work, and scraps the rest in a surgical maneuver the work of game design ninjas.

With such stark differences between RPGs and fighting games, the marriage of the two genres in Persona 4 Arena shouldn’t work as comfortably as it does. Various fighting games have attempted to implement a worthwhile story, but Persona 4 Arena is the first time where that plot is vital. It chokes on its ambitious word count more than once, but never enough to make it anything less than a must-play game for anyone eager to see where Atlus is taking the Persona series next.

But more importantly, it's fun. Rock Band Blitz's multiplier system makes for a frantic game of chicken with checkpoints and the meter on the side indicating how far ahead your closest leaderboard rival is score-wise.

Madden 13 gives players a ton of options without explaining them in detail, and that's an issue. But Madden 13 represents a giant leap over its predecessors. It's easily the best Madden title of this console cycle, and it's notable for the ways in which it clearly sets the stage for Tiburon to make a graceful transition into the next generation.

The disappointment of flying or driving solo notwithstanding, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron's relentless iteration on its own design and its constantly expanding scope set it apart from other third-person shooters. While Transformers fans like me will bask in the escalating glow of their favorite series done well, everyone else should be interested in something dedicated to being different while still getting it right.