Twisted Metal

This Twisted Metal packs the best multiplayer the series has ever had. But you still have plenty of options if you want to wreck shop solo and face off against massive boss characters. Unlike past Twisted Metal games, the latest Twisted Metal divides its story between just a small selection of characters, including Sweet Tooth, Dollface, and Mr. Grimm. During Sweet Tooth's campaign, everyone's favorite demonic clown runs into the Brothers Grimm -- the first major boss. An intimidating encounter, considering the "boss" is actually two house-stomping monster trucks equipped with a small nation's worth of weapons. This battle will heighten blood pressures within moments. Both trucks unleash devastating ordnance onto the stage causing buildings to erupt and cars to swerve in response. The trucks also release a shockwave attack that requires a well-timed jump to avoid.

RAGE

The RAGE story setup is simple: the world was nearly wiped out by an asteroid and you emerge from an underground vault. Blinking in the bright light of the sun, you take a few moments to admire the scenery and are then abruptly attacked. Id's wasteland is not a friendly place. Most of those you meet in Rage desperately want to kill or capture you, and gradually you begin to find out why. Despite the presence of upgrade systems, mini-games, side quests and car racing challenges, Rage is primarily a shooter. It's a fairly traditional shooter, too, favoring smaller zones of combat instead of the open spaces seen in Far Cry 2 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Larger explorable areas exist in id Software's wasteland, but they're merely playgrounds for the vehicles.

Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle

Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle primarily takes place one year following the events of Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, in the fictional city of Montdol. Montdol, sometimes referred to as the city of miracles, is a sleepless, European-inspired town in the middle of a carnival as the game begins. Legends state that the town was created with the power of the Mask of Miracle, an artifact capable of granting wishes to the person who wears it. The mask has been donned by a man known as the Miracle Gentleman, who has used the mask's power to transform people into things such as statues and horses.

LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars covers seasons one and two of the popular animated series. Fans of the show get to act out their favorite moments (albeit as adorable LEGO characters), playing a variety of characters ranging from powerful Jedi to the lowliest droids. And like the other LEGO games, players have to use each character's unique abilities to overcome enemies and environmental puzzles. The puzzles and combat in LEGO Star Wars III aren't amazing. You might occasionally be surprised at a moment where a puzzle is genuinely clever, but they mostly either held my hand entirely or made the solution so obfuscated that they were frustrating rather than rewarding to solve.

Journey

In Journey, the player takes the role of a robed figure in a desert. The game features no map or instructions, only a large mountain in the distance that the player journeys toward. While traveling the player can encounter other players, one at a time, if they are playing online. Players cannot speak to each other, but can help each other in their journey or not as they wish. Players met online will not be identified with a username and voice or text communication will not be possible with the other player. According to designer Jenova Chen, "it's about two strangers who meet online.

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

Jiminy Cricket organizes his two journals chronicling Sora's journeys one of which contains the "Thank Naminé" line he had written at the end of Chain of Memories when he discovers a second line he doesn't remember writing: "We must return to free them from their torment" (rewritten as "Their hurting will be mended when you return to end it" in Re:coded). King Mickey has the contents of the journal digitized to investigate this second message, only to find the datascape has been corrupted with bugs, which take the form of red-and-black blocks. Mickey thus guides a virtual Sora named "Data-Sora" through multiple worlds in the datascape to debug the journal, which includes destroying the digitized Heartless that appear.

PixelJunk Shooter 2

Pixeljunk Shooter 2 places you in control of a tiny vessel, which, in case you didn't play the first title, has been eaten by a gigantic alien life form. Spoilers. You have to battle your way through the guts of the alien and through a bunch of other stages, rescuing scientists and collecting gems in order to progress. Along the way, you get to blast foes, go for the high score, and solve some really cool puzzles. OK, maybe puzzles isn't a fair term; Pixeljunk Shooter 2 challenges you to see how certain elements like lava, volatile gas, ice and water in the environment play off one another. For instance, you might have to use water to cool lava or use lava to blow up some volatile gas that's filling a cavern. Just like the first game, each stage is full of moments where you intuitively figure out what elements you need to mix together in order to progress.