IGN

• X360
• PS3
• 8.2 / 10
• États-Unis

For some gamers, myself included, it will be enough just to rock out to Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son" on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. The songs themselves and the TAB that accompany them are far and away the best part of this game, and if your goal as a guitarist or bassist is to learn how to play note-perfect renditions of songs like "Hard to Breathe" or "The Black Parade," BandFuse contextualizes that learning in a format that's fun and genuinely productive. If your hope is that the Shred U teaching component will further strengthen your general technique or theory knowledge, you'll be significantly let down. You will make significant gains as a guitarist this way, but more because playing through the songs themselves is so fun.

• PS3
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

The two games in Tales of Symphonia Chronicles definitely feel their age, but that’s far outweighed by the charm and engaging battle system of the original Tales of Symphonia. The best I can say about Dawn of the New World is that it’s a nice extra, but it’s clear which is the better game here. Still, Chronicles as a whole is incredibly enjoyable and certainly a worthy HD port of a beloved JRPG.

• VITA
• 8.2 / 10
• États-Unis

Tampering with a classic doesn’t always go as planned, but TxK successfully navigates these potentially treacherous waters by sticking to Tempest’s time-tested mechanics while making everything else brighter, shinier, and louder. The updated art style proved overwhelming at times, but the winning soundtrack and forgiving save system were always there to encourage me to play through the frustration. In the end, I simply couldn’t put it down. See you on the leaderboards!

• PS3
• X360
• 6.5 / 10
• États-Unis

Earth Defense Force 2025, a game about fighting giant bugs, has been dragged down by significant performance bugs. I can forgive (and even enjoy) the quirky physics and awkward voice acting EDF is known for, but the terrible frame rate turns this fast-paced action game into a slow-motion chug-fest when it matters most. Killing bugs with these varied classes and weapons is still a ton of fun (especially in co-op) but not what it should be.

• PS3
• PS4
• PC
• X360
• XONE
• 7.5 / 10
• États-Unis

This reimagining of the original Strider establishes developer Double Helix’s firm grasp on the essence of the joy of movement that makes Strider Hiryu such a great character. It lacks environmental variety and a sense of fairness when it comes to some of the boss battles, but it shows great potential for a revitalized series.

• VITA
• 6.2 / 10
• États-Unis

There’s nothing horribly wrong with Toukiden, but there’s nothing especially great about it either. It’s a well put-together, decently entertaining, and entirely unambitious demon-slaying action game with neither the depth and character of Monster Hunter nor the arresting, gruesome strangeness of Soul Sacrifice. There’s better than this available on the Vita.

• WIIU
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a great platformer full of tense sequences and tough levels. Boss battles are a huge highlight, and it’s packed with hard-to-find secrets and collectibles. Multiplayer could use some improvement, but I found myself laughing whenever my teammate and I wiped out on some of these unforgiving setups. But a rewarding sense of accomplishment stuck with me each time I overcame a new obstacle, and that feeling kept me going all the way to the end.

• PS3
• 9 / 10
• États-Unis

• 3DS
• DS
• 8.5 / 10
• États-Unis

WayForward has struck gold once again, as the studio continues to prove its skill at crafting superb game designs for Nintendo platforms. Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage? brings together all three of the studio’s key strengths into one package – it faithfully adapts a popular media property, it features incredible art and music, and its gameplay pays homage to a vintage Nintendo classic. Adventure Time fans couldn’t have hoped for more from the cartoon’s first true video game, and this adventure is so well done that I’m sure sequels will follow – hopefully with WayForward handling development once again.

• PC
• 9.2 / 10
• États-Unis

Even though you play on the same few maps with similar items, there’s so much depth and strategy going on that no two matches of League of Legends ever feel the same. It’s distinctive style encourages surprise attacks and frequent use of skill-shot powers, and its colorful art style makes everything pop on the screen. Learning how to make the most of its characters and to become an asset to a team is a long and challenging process, but once you’ve got it down, it’s incredibly satisfying to work together to destroy your enemies in this amazing MOBA.

• PS3
• X360
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is a strange end to Square's trilogy. Its fresh combat system is a great success, and the well-designed world provides more than enough reason to play through the end of Lightning's journey. At the same time, the incredibly inconsistent tone and underwhelming plot caused any story-based satisfaction to completely elude me. Lightning Returns is a good game, but one that forgets that a big part of what make the Final Fantasy games so memorable is how they created characters we could care about.

• PS3
• X360
• PC
• 8.5 / 10
• États-Unis

• IOS
• ANDROID
• 5.4 / 10
• États-Unis

Flappy Bird isn't a good video game. It's arguably not even a fun one. But its no-frills approach and exacting, relentlessly repetitious gameplay make it an addictive short-term distraction for the skill and score-obsessed. It's a bird that sings only one note, and though it sings it well, it does so while flying needlessly low to the ground.

• PS3
• X360
• VITA
• 6.6 / 10
• États-Unis

Battle of Z’s faithful models, beautiful settings, and chaotic action are an excellent fit for those seeking another tribute to the legendary anime and manga series. Fighting on both sides of every major encounter from the show is a treat, and overcoming the challenge of downing particularly difficult enemies is extremely satisfying, especially with a couple friends at your back. However, with its relatively simple combat system, useless AI teammates, and horrifically unbalanced multiplayer, Battle of Z is a game only diehards should spend any significant time with.

• PC
• WIIU
• 7 / 10
• États-Unis

Unepic is an unabashed homage to classic 8-bit adventure and role-playing games. Its sharp wit and bevy of nerd-culture references offset the frustration that arises from an unrelentingly challenging dungeon crawler. Uneven character balance and some exploitable enemy AI limit the ways you can play enjoyably, but there are still rewards to be found in the careful exploration of the sprawling castle.

• X360
• PC
• 8 / 10
• États-Unis

Fable Anniversary’s personality has proved truly ageless, even if some of its mechanics haven’t. Inevitably, its doesn’t feel as fresh today as they did in 2004, but the strange and beautiful world of Albion, with all its weird idiosyncrasies and wildly varied accents, is as absorbing and lovably, peculiarly British as it ever was.

• PC
• XONE
• X360
• 6.7 / 10
• États-Unis

• PC
• 7.8 / 10
• États-Unis

I wish that Blackguards' character progression system wasn't such a mess, because if it worked, I'd be delighted to recommend the entire low-fantasy role-playing package without hesitation. But character development is such an important and defining part of any RPG that this cluttered and confusing system has a big impact on what is otherwise an excellent tactical game with well-designed battlefields.