Green Day: Rock Band
For: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
From: Harmonix/MTV Games/EA
ESRB Rating: Teen (drug reference, lyrics, mild blood)

Some would argue that “Rock Band’s” migration from honoring The Beatles last fall to honoring Green Day now is akin to Ken Burns following up his Civil War documentary with a 15-hour look at Wrestlemania. But that, like nearly everything else with regard to music, is entirely subjective.

Still, in case it somehow needs to be said, “Green Day: Rock Band” isn’t for anyone who doesn’t appreciate the musical stylings of Green Day enough to play the band’s songs ad nauseam. Just as “Beatles: Rock Band” featured nothing but The Beatles, this package contains nothing but Green Day songs, and while players can migrate the catalog into “Rock Band 2″ (and eventually “Rock Band 3″) this time, this game itself allows nary a note from any other band. So if you don’t like Green Day, you know what not to do here.

What is a little cloudy is what to do if you do like the band.

In every expected way, “GD:RB” is as solid as everything that preceded it in the “Rock Band” line. It’s compatible with all the virtual instruments you already own. The note charts are terrific on both ends of the difficulty spectrum, making it easy for players of all disciplines to participate. The band’s real-life likenesses transform into in-game caricatures to terrific effect, and the recordings the game uses are top shelf as always. Developer Harmonix caters to solo players with a healthy career mode but offers just as much to those who want to play together online or in the same room. Support for three-singer and six-member bands, introduced in “Beatles,” returns here.

But “GD:RB” has the same annoying problem “Beatles” had: Its song count, at 47 deep, is only slightly more than half as large as what a mainline “Rock Band” release gets for the same $60 price.

The thin “Beatles” roster was accepted as a byproduct of the labyrinthine procedures needed to digitize The Beatles’ well-guarded catalog in the first place, and the game countered it by at least sampling songs from the entirety of the band’s career and complementing that with memorable venues and set pieces from each turning point in the timeline.

“GD:RB,” by contrast, ignores the first seven years of the band’s existence and focuses almost entirely on 1994′s “Dookie,” 2004′s “American Idiot” and 2009′s “21st Century Breakdown.” The three albums that released between “Dookie” and “Idiot” receive only eight songs’ worth of representation, while the band’s first two albums may as well not exist. The availability of only three venues feels similarly lacking, especially when the one venue even non-Green Day fans recognize — the mud-slathered Woodstock ’94 show — isn’t one of them.

Harmonix has stated it has no plans to squeeze fans for additional money by releasing more songs as downloadable content, so it doesn’t really matter whether the incomplete timeline is a result of label politics, licensing issues, band preferences or something else. What you see is what you’re getting, so budget accordingly: You know what “GD:RB” can do, you know what it can’t do, and you’ll have to decide if that adds up to $60 well spent until “Rock Band 3″ touches down this fall.

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Joe Danger
For: Playstation 3 via Playstation Network
From: Hello Games
ESRB Rating: Everyone (mild cartoon violence)
Price: $15

Last year’s “Trials HD” took “Excitebike’s” time-tested brand of 2D motorbiking and modernized it with physics, stunts and lots of clever new modes. The only problem? After a few reasonably challenging batches of tracks, it grew oppressively hard, obeying the harsh laws of physics to a spirit-crushing degree. That’s a problem “Joe Danger,” which adopts the same perspective and general controls, does not have. Like “Trials,” “Danger” prefers its tracks be stunt playgrounds instead of straightforward motorbike races. But “Danger” ventures a step further by playing almost like a platformer, challenging players to maneuver obstacles, rack up stunt scores and complete the same track different ways to fulfill completely disparate objectives. That adds up to a surprisingly filling single-player mode, and because “Danger” is equipped with a terrifically responsive control scheme that respects but doesn’t worship physics, it’s well-equipped to challenge players different ways without ever undermining its own fun. The vibrant, cartoony exterior perfectly complements the increasingly crazy tracks, a threadbare story does just enough to make Joe a thoroughly likable character, and players who want more can create their own tracks and trade them with other players whose PSN IDs they know. About the only thing that doesn’t impress is “Danger’s” multiplayer (local only, two players), which is limited to straightforward races. But the game’s persistent leaderboard support provides some consolation by letting players constantly challenge their PSN friends’ highest stunt scores on every track.

Blur
Reviewed for: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
Also available for: Windows PC
From: Bizarre Creations/Activision
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ (lyrics, mild language)

Bizarre Creations has attempted to make it perfectly clear that while “Blur” uses vehicle and track designs typically reserved for the likes of “Burnout” and “Need for Speed,” the game it’s really targeting is “Mario Kart.”

Looks and a few other particulars aside, the comparison isn’t a stretch — for reasons good and bad.

While “Blur” doesn’t completely nullify the value of able and dangerous driving — the cars handle almost identically to those in Bizarre’s more serious “Project Gotham” racing games — the real key to victory comes from sabotaging the opposition with power-ups scattered around the track. The use of real-world graphics trickles down slightly to these power-ups, but while they don’t look as fantastical as “Kart’s” mushrooms and turtle shells, their general behavior certainly calls that game to mind. “Blur,” to its credit, introduces some nice improvements to the system by mixing in defensive items, including a shield, and by letting players go after the items they specifically want instead of picking up unmarked boxes and hoping what they want is inside.

The heavy premium on power-ups in what otherwise feels like another “Project Gotham” game certainly makes for a novel change of pace, but the degree to which “Blur” deemphasizes the importance of driving well is kind of disappointing. Ramming and sideswiping cars is practically worthless, and while there are occasional rewards for agile driving, most of the advancement through the game comes from pelting other drivers with items and zipping past them while they recover. Some of “Blur’s” constricting track designs practically mandate dull, safe driving, especially early on when the only vehicles available to drive are Class D cars that handle like tugboats.

Frustration with these and other factors, including some unfortunate difficulty imbalances (the game’s too easy on the easy setting, but gets ruthlessly, cheaply difficult on normal difficulty and beyond) and a long wait before the cars that are really fun to drive become available, makes “Blur’s” single-player component something not everyone will love. Bizarre has designed a inventive career mode that functions like a role-playing game and allows players some measure of forward progress toward unlocking better cars even when they finish dead last in an event. But while that setup gives the mode some serious longevity, it also feels designed to make players grind away by losing the same events repeatedly until they have the experience and cars necessary to win it. That this can lead to frustrating stagnation is both obvious and an understatement.

Fortunately, “Blur” has a similar system in place for online multiplayer (20 players), and it carries all the benefits of the single-player mode without the aggravations the A.I. brings to that table. The game matches players against others in their experience class, and because the playing field is completely level and factors beyond player control have no say on the outcome of the race, it’s a significantly better realization of what Bizarre envisioned when it first conceived this idea. Kart racing has always been a genre that shines brightest in multiplayer, and “Blur” gets major points for recognizing that and giving that crowd just as much to strive for as those driving solo.

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Backbreaker
For: Playstation 3 and xbox 360
From: NaturalMotion Games/505 Games
ESRB Rating: Everyone

The problem with “Backbreaker” — and there probably couldn’t be a worse problem for a football game to have than this — is that its diversionary modes are better than its presentation of a complete game of football.

The promise of “Backbreaker” — which champions a game of football based around a dramatically more intense physics engine than what “Madden” uses — is everywhere in the optional but recommended tutorial portion. The mode introduces the controls and physics via 25 lessons, covering everything from open-field tackling to the art of the interception, and it doubles as a validation of the concepts NaturalMotion has introduced to make this a step in a new direction for football games.

“Backbreaker” treats the two control sticks as extensions of a player’s body — the left stick controls the feet per usual, the right stick good for juking, hitting, passing, swimming around blocks and so on — and it presents the action from closely behind whichever player you’re controlling instead of from fixed angles a la “Madden.” You can switch between players at will, but “Backbreaker” encourages picking a player during the play-calling screen and sticking to him throughout the play. The camera unwieldiness that happens when switching mid-play certainly validates that approach.

The zoomed-in camera angles work well during the tutorials, which operate within controlled parameters. They also work in the terrific Tackle Alley mini-game, which finds players running through a gauntlet of would-be tacklers and racking up arcadey scores by dodging defenders and reaching the end zone.

But “Backbreaker” tumbles hard when placed in real, 11-on-11 game situations. The camera zooms too far in for players to have any field presence in unscripted situations, and while we get a nice look at the cool tackling physics, it’s too difficult to find open lanes while running, check multiple receivers while passing, or do just about anything near the line on either side of the ball. It’s sometimes preferable to just break the system: Lining a defensive end on the opposite side of the play makes it far easier to sack, for instance, while running the ball east and then north makes for much larger gains than following the block.

Which leads to the other problem: “Backbreaker’s” A.I. is both too easy to exploit and excessively prone to undermining the fun. Quarterbacks randomly throw directly to defensive backs nowhere near the route, and your teammates go on spurts of committing the same penalty multiple times. Turnovers are way too commonplace, and the afflictions affect human and A.I. teams alike on all difficulty settings.

“Backbreaker’s” dead-simple playbook isn’t bad news for players overwhelmed by the sea of formations and plays in “Madden,” and the absence of the NFL license doesn’t necessarily sting thanks to a customization tool that lets players extensively edit the name, look and roster of 32 teams. (Players can’t share created teams online, but even if they could, the lawyers that be likely wouldn’t allow the sharing of user-created NFL teams anyway.)

But the features and arguably refreshing simplicity are for naught until “Backbreaker” figures out how to get the main course right. First effort or not, too much goes wrong here to recommend this, novelty factor or not, as a serious alternative to “Madden’s” brand of football.

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Planet Minigolf
For: Playstation 3 via Playstation Network
From: Zen Studios
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ (comic mischief, mild suggestive themes)
Price: $10

The good thing about “Planet Minigolf” is that its biggest problem is potentially treatable with a patch. The bad thing, unfortunately, is that if that never happens, that problem — control — rates pretty high on the list of issues not to have. On every other front, “Minigolf” is an extraordinary package for $10. The 16 nine-hole courses, which disperse over four different environmental themes, look great and offer a healthy mix of surprises and homages to classic minigolf traps, and a surprisingly rich course editor allows players to create their own courses and share them online. There’s a single-player campaign as well as online/local multiplayer (up to six players), and players can customize their character’s look for both components. “Minigolf” even supports three-on-three team play, and the truly patriotic can represent their country and contribute their scores to an inspired multinational leaderboard. So it’s too bad about those controls: The default analog stick scheme is way too touchy to feel natural, and the button-centric alternate controls (in addition to being entirely too easy to miss completely in the menus) suffer the same problem to a smaller degree. Practice makes that touchiness easier to anticipate, and the present settings are nowhere near unreasonable enough to completely derail the experience. But “Minigolf” will need some developer fine-tuning before it feels as effortlessly intuitive as the PS3′s best traditional golf games presently do.

ModNation Racers
Reviewed for: Playstation 3
Also available for: PSP
From: San Diego Studio/Sony
ESRB Rating: Everyone (cartoon violence, comic mischief)

“ModNation Racers” successfully reinvigorates the cobwebbed kart racing genre by allowing players to design and share fully customized drivers, karts and tracks with enormous ease and boundless creative license, and the interfaces through which it does this are brilliantly conceived.

How remarkable, then, that even without any of those tools, this still would signify a badly-needed leap forward.

Credit for that goes to “MNR’s” actual racing action, which, even against A.I. opponents, is often as exhilarating as its creation and community tools. The sense of speed and danger is leagues beyond anything seen in recent “Mario Kart” games, and there’s more for players to do than hold down the gas, look for shortcuts, dispatch power-ups and hope no one cheats them out of a lead when they finally take one.

Drifting, catching air and drafting all build turbo, which players can apply to speed boosts. But the turbo also works as currency for a fantastic sideswipe maneuver, which lets players drive offensively without waiting for a power-up, as well as a forcefield that allows frontrunners to fend off power-up attacks instead of simply drive scared like sitting ducks. Timing a perfect forcefield defense isn’t easy at all, but the ability to even do so at least puts players’ fates in their own hands for a change. (Take notes, Nintendo.)

All of these ideas gel thanks to a control scheme that just feels great. Driving dangerously and racking up huge drifts is fun without being punishing if you mess up, and perfecting the timing and distance needed for a perfect attack on another driver is satisfying not only because of how fluid the controls are, but also because of how great everything looks when a strike hits its target.

For those who pick up “Racers” with no desire to play with others, the selection of on-disc tracks is nicely varied and the default difficulty a strong balance of accessible and tough. The career mode tells an actual story, and the cutscenes between races are funny and surprisingly polished.

But to play “MNR” this way is to completely miss the point of its community and creation tools, which, outside of some unfortunately long load times, mesh together under one staggeringly slick umbrella.

“MNR’s” driver and kart creation interfaces should feel familiar to anyone who has created a customized character or vehicle in another game. Both are easy to use, and while playing through the game unlocks more useable parts, the extreme flexibility of the sizing, placement and coloring tools makes the default selection feel nearly limitless as is.

The track editor, somewhat shockingly, is just as simple to use. Terrain tools allow players to model the environment like clay, and laying track is as simple as driving a track-laying-vehicle around an blank canvas. Ambitious players can overlap track and add numerous props to the area however they please, but “MNR” also provides auto-complete and auto-populate shortcuts for those who want to do something quick and dirty.

All of these creations come together in a supremely slick virtual online world that allows players, driving around in their karts as if in an MMO, to mingle with other players, download other players’ creations, and challenge anyone in the area to races on the fly. Even those who had no intention ever to race online might change their mind once they see how fantastically accessible doing so is here.

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Red Dead Redemption
For: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
From: Rockstar San Diego
ESRB Rating: Mature (blood, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, use of drugs)

The problem with most video game westerns is that you don’t need to appreciate the Old West to appreciate them. They’re typically designed in the mold of other games, subbing in Old West iconography but otherwise bearing little distinction from so many other shooters covering completely different periods.

“Red Dead Redemption” doesn’t have this problem, because while many of its underpinnings are unmistakably lifted from Rockstar’s “Grand Theft Auto” games, the degree to which Rockstar caters those parts to the setting — instead of the usual other way around — gives it more Wild West conviction than the sum of almost every virtual western that preceded it.

The level of conviction isn’t fully apparent until the storyline is a few hours old, but “Redemption” hints at it almost as soon as the tutorial missions end and players are free to explore the world on their terms.

At first, it’s a little disconcerting. New Austin’s vast wilderness sits in striking contrast to Liberty City’s bustling streets, but it’s no smaller a landscape, and there appears to be less to do between towns. Despite some clever control touches, riding horses naturally is slower and more laborious than driving cars, and the overly simple early missions provide little solace when players retreat back to the storyline for excitement.

But “Redemption” gradually brings its world alive. Characters met early on come together for significantly more exciting (and challenging) missions, and as players’ renown increases, so does the variety of activities in town (poker, duels, horseshoes, bounties and more) and on the frontier (herding challenges, persistent missions for strangers, even some light agriculture appreciation).

Perhaps most impressive is “Redemption’s” attention to detail with regard to wildlife. The horses display personalities and credible mannerisms. Coyotes and wolves attack at night, and bears are to be feared just as skunks, deer and birds scurry at any sign of trouble. (Sidebar: “Redemption’s” audiovisual presentation of weather patterns and day/night cycles is magnificent.) The game offers challenges to players who wish to hunt for profit, but they’re entirely optional if you’d rather just observe and save the bullets for the bandits.

Per Rockstar tradition, “Redemption” allows players to be as good or evil as they please, and the systems in place for outrunning the law make it tempting to be the bad guy.

But “Redemption’s” central storyline — which puts players in the shoes of a reformed scoundrel-turned-devoted husband whose only desire is to protect his family — makes it equally difficult not to want to fly right. All the things that made “Grand Theft Auto 4′s” story so good — strong characters, terrific voice acting, meticulous dialogue and a true sense of setting — are present here as well, and “Redemption’s” leading protagonist is easily the most likable Rockstar creation yet.

Players with a morality complex might prefer to just flash their evil side online. “Redemption” includes a couple traditional competitive multiplayer modes, but its best asset is Free Roam mode, which drops up to 16 players inside a world full of A.I. characters and allows anything to go. Players can level up and unlock new gear by teaming up and completing co-op challenges scattered around the map, but they just as easily can turn on each other or wreak random havoc against the A.I. It’s your Old West playground, and Rockstar cares not what you do in it.

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Looksley’s Line Up
For: Nintendo DSi via Nintendo DSiWare Shop
From: Good-Feel Co./Nintendo
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Price: $5

Shortly after Nintendo announced the Nintendo 3DS earlier this year, Youtube users mistook a video of “Looksley’s Line Up” as a sample of what games would look like on the futuristic forthcoming handheld. They were wrong, of course, but if that isn’t a testament to how cool “LLU” is when it’s working, nothing is. The object of “LLU” is pretty simple: Find hidden letters and objects in the environment. But rather than be just another mindless object finder, “LLU” presents its levels as virtual, layered 3D dioramas. The game tracks the player’s head movements with the DSi’s front-facing camera, and players, holding the device like a book, must move their head or the device around to line up scenery different ways to make those objects and letters appear. As might be expected when using a very low-definition camera, “LLU” can be a finicky game, and while setting up the head tracking is painless, there will be times when you’ll have to recalibrate due to changes in lighting or just because the camera won’t cooperate. But that’s the price of innovation, and it’s a price well-paid when “LLU” works. Altering the environmental perspective with just a twitch of the head is extremely cool, and the normally mundane endeavor of finding objects feels fresh and rewarding with the extra element of deciphering optical illusions thrown into the mix.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
For: Wii
From: Nintendo
ESRB Rating: Everyone (mild cartoon violence)

Nintendo has made zero bones about “Super Mario Galaxy 2″ being more of the same stuff that made “Super Mario Galaxy” what it was, and because “Galaxy” was one of 2007′s best games, no one really seemed bothered by the idea of “SMG2″ being, at worst, the same fundamental game with new levels.

And at worst, that’s exactly what this is. But that’s also what the first “Galaxy” was — a prototypical 3D Mario game that had the same old story and was more notable for the unbelievable variety of new level designs it unleashed than any revolutionary change to the way players controlled Mario.

This time, just like last time, Nintendo relegates motion controls to special self-contained challenges that serve as diversions more than the main course, which plays out using the same traditional control scheme Nintendo has been using since Mario first entered the third dimension in 1996. A second player can once again use a Wii remote to help (or hinder) Mario in a few minor ways, but this doesn’t change the core game so much as give it a light social element. Like its predecessor, and unlike last year’s “New Super Mario Bros. Wii,” “SMG2″ isn’t designed with multiplayer in mind beyond sharing turns and passing the controller around.

With none of “Galaxy’s” basic ingredients needing any repair, Nintendo did as it should and focused primarily on unleashing two-plus years’ worth of whatever crazy new level ideas it could conjure.

The result, without getting too specific and spoiling anything, is nothing short of exquisite. “SMG2″ reuses bits and pieces of certain “Galaxy” levels, but it largely reinvents the wheel, constructing worlds that play liberally with the laws of gravity, collapse upon themselves, make Mario feet 2 feet tall, dream up impossibly crazy boss fights and even pay tribute to Mario’s past adventures. New characters join in, old favorites return, and the whole thing is an unapologetically colorful ball of joyful, brilliant design that perfectly toes the line between welcoming players of all stripes and challenging the best of them to bring their A-game. Picking every level clean will take a good 15 skillful hours to do, and there isn’t a moment in those hours where Nintendo’s level designers just coasted by.

“SMG2″ expands Mario’s suit repertoire by combining his classic (Fire Mario) and “Galaxy” (Bee Mario, Spring Mario, Boo Mario, Rainbow Mario) power-ups with a couple new entrants. Rock Mario can wreak havoc as a living boulder, while players who could use a hand will appreciate Cloud Mario’s ability to create his own platforms.

But perhaps the most welcome addition — along with being able to occasionally play as Luigi without beating the whole game — is the return of Yoshi, whose unique abilities come into play much more effectively than they did in his last appearance eight years ago. “SMG2″ generally reserves Yoshi’s appearances for specific levels, but the upshot is that those levels better cater to Yoshi’s ability to eat this and grab onto that than would be the case if Mario could enlist him at any time. Yoshi gains a few new powers of his own, including the ability to illuminate like a light bulb and turn into a makeshift blimp, but the same abilities he’s had for 20 years remain the most fun to use here.

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Split/Second
Reviewed for: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
Also available for: Windows PC
From: Black Rock Studio/Disney Interactive
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ (violence)

It’s pretty clear how “Split/Second” wants to set itself apart as more than just another arcade racing game. The game’s premise exists inside a reality television show, which exists inside a fake city that players can thoroughly blow to pieces while simultaneously working their way around otherwise traditional racetracks.

Less obvious, but perhaps more important, is how well “Split/Second” does the little things — difficulty balancing, single-player rewards, a pattern of destruction that relies on timing and physics instead of simple scripted explosions — to make the big thing work so splendidly.

“Split/Second’s” core racing component should ring mostly familiar to anyone with a cursory knowledge of how arcade racers work. The game is generous with the crash physics, allowing and encouraging dangerous driving over pristine technique, and players who draft, drift, catch air and otherwise live dangerously are rewarded with further abilities toward gaining an edge.

In this case, though, those abilities translate into limited-use but freely deployable triggers that level portions of the environment and brutalize all cars that happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those triggers translate into everything from helicopters dropping bombs to collapsing bridges to a yacht taking out a piece of highway, and “Split/Second’s” outstanding graphics engine brings every calamity to eye-popping life.

But it’s the physics more than the graphics that keep those explosions fresh beyond the novelty period. “Split/Second’s” impressively spartan heads-up display offers clues as to when it would be best to trigger a disaster, but simply hitting the button doesn’t promise anything. A.I. drivers can sidestep a poorly-timed trigger, and players very easily can trigger an attack on their own car if they don’t think it through. Nothing about the mechanic is scripted, and A.I. drivers are as prone to making the same mistakes.

For the same reasons, dodging other drivers’ attacks is arguably even more exciting than setting them off. The arsenal of trigger possibilities shrinks considerably for players who lead the race, but driving with seven targets on your back changes the game enough to more than compensate. “Split/Second’s” superb driving controls make skirting disaster by inches a tangible thrill, and the game’s diversionary events — which find players dodging bombing helicopters and outrunning semis bent on sabotage — play to this thrill as perfectly as the more traditional races do.

A point could certainly be made that “Split/Second’s” single-player career mode is hampered by some ruthless A.I. that can send players from first place to last in the blink of a single mistake. But the game rarely trips players into making unfair mistakes, and the career mode counteracts by rewarding players who finish in fifth as well as first with some kind of progress compensation. Players can repeat races at any time (and with better vehicles acquired by accumulating progress elsewhere), and while the system occasionally feels cheap, there’s something refreshing about an arcade racer that challenges you to conquer it from the very first race.

Naturally, any grievances with the A.I. fall away in “Split/Second’s” multiplayer mode (two players splitscreen, eight online), and all that’s great about the on-track action in single-player play applies here as well. Just don’t expect much beyond that: It works, and it supports most of the single-player modes in multiplayer form, but that’s about as fancy as it gets.

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Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Reviewed for: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
Also available for: Windows PC, Wii, PSP and Nintendo DS
From: Ubisoft
ESRB Rating: Teen (violence)

Five “Prince of Persia” games in seven years after three in the preceding 14 has taken the franchise from nowhereville to sequel city in a hurry, and “The Forgotten Sands” does itself no favor by abandoning the dramatic visual and narrative makeover that made the 2008 reboot such a pleasantly fresh surprise.

“Sands” instead is a direct sequel to 2003′s “The Sands of Time,” which provides the basis of the “Persia” film currently in theaters (and, consequently, should answer whatever questions you had about Ubisoft ditching that reboot and rushing “Sands” out 17 months later).

Early on, “Sands” feels less like a sequel to “Time” than a capable but uninspired imitation of it. It plays like a typical “Perisa” game, mixing some ambitious environmental platforming with sword combat that’s more fun than special. Per series tradition, the massive traversable environments — ledges, trapeze swings, poles, cliff sides — feel like gigantic environmental riddles more than simple action game playgrounds, and the game uses an assisted character movement scheme that doesn’t hold players’ hands but also doesn’t require angle-perfect precision jumping. As with “Time,” and per story dictation, players eventually receive a limited-use ability to rewind time and correct mistimed jumps without reverting back to a checkpoint.

That rewind trick becomes indispensable once “Sands” comes into its own and gives the Prince powers that dwarf anything “Time” did. Players gradually receive the ability to alter the environment — freeze and unfreeze water, make entire structures appear and disappear — while simultaneously jumping through and climbing around it in traditional and (thanks to yet more abilities) exhilarating new ways. “Sands’” early levels aren’t exactly dull, but the designs in the second two-thirds of the game, which mix and match abilities with abandon and place a premium on meticulous timing and some serious thumb gymnastics, put them to shame.

“Sands’” combat, which pits the Prince against several dozen grunts and the occasional heavy at once, is considerably less impressive, but also an improvement on the 2008 game’s drab one-on-one combat. The Prince has a modest array of upgradable sword attacks and spells, but the combat typically amounts to little more than mashing buttons to kill a few dozen enemies while dodging the glacial attacks of the handful who get a chance to fight back. It’s nothing other action games haven’t done considerably better, but it is good for a mindless break between the more cerebral platforming parts, and it never carries on long enough to become a detriment to the fun.

What can be a detriment is “Sands’” occasional ability to just act up and not play nice. During the course of this review, for instance, a segment near the end of the game proved impossible to pass until the game was rebooted, after which point everything clicked and the same attempted maneuvers worked perfectly. The game’s checkpoint system is generous enough to make this an inconvenience more than a deal-breaker, and there’s no telling how likely it is you’ll even encounter this problem. But if you suddenly find certain techniques failing you no matter what you do, your best recourse may be the reset button.

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10 Pin Shuffle
For: iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad (Universal App)
From: Digital Smoke
iTunes Store Rating: 4+
Price: $4 (free demo version available)

The complexity of mobile games has skyrocketed since the iPhone development floodgates opened a couple years ago, but sometimes the best games remain the simple ones that just use the touchscreen perfectly right. “10 Pin Shuffle” aims to replicate the shufflepuck bowling game found in arcades and bars everywhere, and while the default control setting is excessively sensitive, the Easy Controls setting perfectly nails the sensation of sliding the puck at those pins. That alone makes this one of those games that even technophobic non-gamers don’t need instructions to play. “Shuffle’s” feature set nicely complements its intuitiveness: The 3D graphics look great, the little touches in the sound and presentation departments are a treat, and the game’s stat-tracking is impressive in its details. Best of all, there’s a bounty of modes, including traditional bowling, a really clever poker mode that combines bowling with video poker, and a version of straight-up, pins-free shufflepuck with customizable win conditions. In-progress games are autosaved if interrupted, and almost all modes support solo play, single-player with an A.I. opponent and pass-the-device or Bluetooth multiplayer. (The poker mode can’t support pass-the-device multiplayer due to its design, but it does support Bluetooth play.)

Alan Wake
For: Xbox 360
From: Remedy Entertainment/Microsoft
ESRB Rating: Teen (blood, language, use of alcohol and tobacco, violence)

Until now, “Alan Wake” was best known in gaming circles as a title in development since before the Xbox 360′s mere existence was public knowledge.

The effects of the lengthy development are apparent in the final product, which occasionally looks older than it is and forces players to contend with some unwieldy (and slightly incomplete) third-person shooter controls. But all those years also have been very kind to the titular character and his story, which are so carefully and cleverly constructed as to render any shortcomings almost completely moot.

It’s no great surprise that “Wake’s” storyline — which finds Alan, a famous mystery writer, racing through a secluded resort town to discover why the pages of his unfinished manuscript have come true and made his wife disappear — is a cut above. Remedy Entertainment produced some of the best storytelling of the early 2000s with its “Max Payne” games, and while the particulars have changed, the ingredients — narration from the playable character, generally stellar voice acting, a word-perfect script that touches darkly comedic, self-depreciating and noirish nerves in the right ways at the right times — have all returned.

Where Remedy outdoes itself is with its thorough understanding of the art of the cliffhanger.

“Wake” presents its story as a six-episode miniseries, complete with “Previously on…” recaps at the top of each episode. The approach greatly enhances the game’s personality, but it also provides a means to drop a terrific reveal at the bottom of each episode that makes it awfully hard not to immediately dive right into the next one. (Sidebar to alleviate potential confusion: “Wake’s” generous checkpoint system does not require players to play entire episodes in single sittings.)

What initially begins as a collection of winks at nods toward classic horror tropes gradually becomes its own creation, and by the time the third episode kicks into gear, “Wake” has enough great characters and distinctive twists to keep its ultimate destination a genuine mystery. (Whether the culmination of that mystery satisfies or aggravates will, of course, come down to individual taste.)

All that wonderful storytelling is enough to offset issues with “Wake’s” gameplay, which is fun but would be unremarkable and kind of repetitive without the story and setting taking it down new avenues.

Though “Wake” utilizes an over-the-shoulder perspective, Alan’s aim — be it with his flashlight or his firearm — isn’t exactly refined. That in itself is an arguable service to the game’s immersion, given that he’s an author and not a soldier. But it also allows the game’s possessed but combat-savvy enemies to flank rather easily, and the shaky aiming translates into some poor field awareness that can prove fatal. A slick dodge mechanic comes in handy when things get hairy, but “Wake” is begging for a melee button that would have made fighting out of a jam more flexible and fun.

Again, though, when all else fails, the checkpoint system is pretty benevolent. “Wake’s” higher difficulty settings pose a nice challenge to those hungry for one, but Remedy ultimately wants to show the ending to anyone who wants to see it. Balancing those two priorties and pleasing everybody is an unenviable task, but Remedy does a very enviable job of pulling it off.

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Lost Planet 2
For: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
From: Capcom
ESRB Rating: Teen (animated blood, language, suggestive themes, violence)

“Lost Planet 2″ is the most aggravating kind of game there is, because when it isn’t busy being unreasonably toxic, it’s kind of awesome.

At its core, “LP2″ is, like its predecessor, just a ton of dumb third-person shooter fun. The weaponry packs an exaggerated punch (both in recoil felt and damage dealt), the operable mechs allow for joyously destructive rampages, and the explosions and screen-sized bug enemies are as impressive here as they are anywhere. “LP2″ primarily squares players off against human opposition this time around, but it still takes frequent occasion to bust out some show-stopping encounters against absolutely gigantic bugs.

The net visual and tactile effect of all this action remains incredible and distinctive fours years after we first experienced it, and while the run-and-gun controls feel slightly archaic in this era of cover-based shooters, they’re a perfect complement under these conditions.

Sounds great, right? It should be, and it would be if “LP2′s” overlying particulars didn’t have more left feet than an groggy millipede. But they do, and most of the fault lies with an startlingly unfriendly implementation of co-op play into what used to be a single-player-friendly game.

Like its predecessor, “LP2″ tells a story — and, at some 15 hours long, a lengthy one at that. But instead of present it like any other single-player game with co-op functionality, Capcom dresses each chapter in a multiplayer lobby interface. Players load out as a foursome, and those who wish to play alone are gifted three A.I.-controlled players with immersion-shattering fake screennames floating above their heads. The interface is similarly kludgy, offering no way for players to drop into games already in progress and never bothering to explain the confusing setup to players who played the first game alone and expected a similar road through the sequel.

But the real trouble awaits in the gameplay, which operates by multiplayer rules even for those who play alone. That means no checkpoints or save spots during the span of levels that often take an hour to finish. “LP2′s” complicated health math means players can respawn upon dying a limited number of times, but should that math run out, any progress in the level is lost. Players can’t even pause the game — something other co-op games allow even with friends aboard.

These inconveniences turn into deal-breakers once it becomes clear “LP2″ has no issue with dishing out some staggeringly cheap action even on its easiest difficulty. One-hit kills, psychic enemy A.I. and unavoidable boss attacks abound, and because Capcom put zero effort into making solo players’ A.I. teammates anything beyond borderline catatonic, what feels cheap with friends assisting is a nightmare alone. Challenge is a wonderful thing, but “LP2″ goes about creating it in entirely unfriendly and joyless ways.

The news is better for the subset of players who enjoyed “LP1″ for its competitive online multiplayer (16 players). “LP2″ borrows some of the single-player game’s health math but otherwise resists the temptation to fix time-tested modes that aren’t broken, and the dreadful A.I. is nowhere to be found. For players who want to experience all the game does right without dealing with all it does wrong, this is the way to do it.

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Smiles
For: iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad (separate version for iPad)
From: Sykhronics Entertainment
iTunes Store rating: 4+
Price: $2 (sale pricing; subject to change soon)

Given the number of perfectly good “Bejeweled” clones lurking in the iTunes Store, it’s impressive to find one, like “Smiles,” that goes its own way by changing just one rule. As with its ilk, the object of “Smiles” is to match rows of three or more identical blocks. The difference is that instead of switching two blocks around within the grid, players must swap in a block from outside the grid to match three and then use the block they just swapped out as the next block to swap in. There’s a loss of strategy in always having to use a particular block, but “Smiles” counters that by encouraging players to think quickly and keep the board constantly in motion while the score multiplier rockets upward. The fast pace of the main game mode is a surprisingly fun departure from “Bejeweled” proper, and a nice level of polish — both in the presentation and the responsiveness of the controls — makes it work. For a change of pace, “Smiles” includes additional variants, including an outstanding Zen mode that changes the game in the complete opposite way by once again hitting just one switch. The lack of online leaderboards is disappointing, particularly in light of how slick the score- and stat-tracking systems are, but an absolutely gargantuan mountain of unlockable achievements gives dedicated players plenty to shoot for regardless.

Skate 3
For: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
From: Black Box/EA
ESRB Rating: Teen (crude humor, drug reference, language, mild violence, suggestive themes)

“Skate 3″ arrives a mere 16 months after its monstrous predecessor, and there’s no sane point in pretending that doesn’t factor. Everything that was great about the first two games — the awesome control and open-world freedom the first game introduced, the bonanza of features the sequel brought along — is here, and some nice new features and a brand-new city make this one a no-brainer for fans of the series, but the roster of changes isn’t as dramatic this time as it was last time.

That isn’t to say what’s new isn’t welcome, though — particularly if, as “Skate 3″ clearly encourages, you plan on enjoying the experience with friends.

Black Box has done a surprisingly thoughtful job of injecting the right amount of storytelling continuity into the “Skate” games, with callbacks and inside jokes for seasoned players that new players starting fresh need not even recognize. This time, the story shifts to team play, both in terms of winning team competitions and developing a profitable new skate brand.

“Skate” has never shied away from making online play a big part of its appeal, and “Skate 3″ takes it further by essentially allowing players to engage the entire game online. Antisocial types can enroll computer-controlled teammates during the story mode’s team challenges, but calling on up to five friends to assist and/or antagonize — players can slip between cooperative and competitive play dynamically — is so much more fun with the right crowd. Along with the new city to explore, the dynamic multiplayer also presents the biggest fundamental shift to the story mode, which otherwise leans upon familiar challenges and the same general structure (the “don’t fix what ain’t broke” rule) to move things along.

The socialization extends to “Skate 3′s” creation tools, which function like they did previously but now present themselves within a social networking interface that makes it easier for friends to find each other’s clips, graphics and photos. The bigger addition here is the skate park creator, which functions just as any fan of the old “Tony Hawk” series’ park editors might wish it to. “Skate 3″ also increases players’ ability to modify their environment as they wish by allowing them, a la “Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground,” to place common skate park objects in any part of the city at any time with few button clicks.

Elsewhere, it’s a series of little things that some will appreciate and others won’t even notice. A new Skate School feature (starring a very funny Jason Lee, who upholds the series’ terrific voice and character acting standards) helps initiate new players, who might also appreciate an optional new camera angle that’s straight out of classic “Hawk” games. Players who wish to perfect their technique on their own time can employ the optional trick analyzer, which charts joystick movements and breaks down why attempted tricks don’t go as planned. The Hall of Meat, which scores players based on their ability to maim themselves, is a little more flexible and, for those who prefer, able to score all bails automatically without being activated first. The off-board controls are no longer absurdly stiff, and while the trick bag is pretty full by now, a few new ones, including advanced underflips and darkslides, make welcome debuts.

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Iron Man 2
Reviewed for: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
Also available for: Wii, PSP and Nintendo DS
From: Sega
ESRB Rating: Teen (mild language, violence)

If you’re bound and determined to enjoy “Iron Man 2″ in video game form, here’s a tip even the most skilled of you may wish to follow: Play the game on its easiest difficulty setting.

That isn’t a testament to the steely challenge “IM2″ poses to players so much as — as was the case in the first “Iron Man” game — its aggravating propensity to let some truly sloppy execution get in the way of what otherwise could be an ideal action gaming playground.

Like its predecessor, “IM2″ kinda sorta keeps in step with the movie throughout a series a linear missions in which Iron Man (or War Machine; outside of one mission, “IM2″ lets players select whichever character and corresponding weapons loadout they prefer) performs some occasional bodyguard duty but mostly just shoots and blows stuff up.

When it’s done well, the results are perfectly, mindlessly fun. Both characters can dash, hover, fly, engage in airborne hand-to-hand combat and fire short-burst and explosive weapons, and “IM2′s” flexible controls allow players to mix and match those abilities as they see fit.

But any time the action enters a tight space or finds our heroes surrounded by a barrage of enemies — which, by the way, is often — things just fall apart.

Nine times out of 10, it’s the fault of a spastic camera and auto-targeting system, which finds the former spinning around wildly while umpteen targets fire liberally from all angles and play tricks on the latter. On the easiest difficulty setting, it isn’t terribly difficult to just dash away and rebuild the deck, but those who engage the higher difficulty settings should expect to die repeatedly and cheaply at the hands of these technical failings.

The headaches come to a head during a final boss fight against an absolutely gargantuan Ultimo. The scope of the showdown is visually fantastic, but it’s entirely beyond the camera’s capabilities, and the hysterical fit that ensues will leave some players dizzy and others just scrambling for the off switch. What should have been “IM2′s” shining moment instead becomes its lowest low.

The co-op applications for “IM2″ are pretty obvious given its two-protagonist cast, but in another sign that the game was probably rushed to stores in concert with the movie’s release, the relatively short single-player story is all there is. An interface for upgrading and unlocking customizable weapons and suits is nice (if a bit user-unfriendly), but once the end credits roll, there’s nothing to do beyond replaying old missions.

Hopefully, some developer will one day get a chance to do with Iron Man what Activision is doing this year with Spider-Man: create a proper game that isn’t tied to the creative direction and release date of a film. The ingredients for gaming greatness are there, and a proper development cycle and all it entails (polish, a stable camera, a storyline written specifically for the game and some value on the features side) would probably produce something pretty special.

Beyond “IM2′s” startling inability to improve on the well-publicized failings of the troubled first game, no such significance exists here.

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Tecmo Bowl Throwback
For: Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation 3 via Playstation Network
From: Southend Interactive/Tecmo
ESRB Rating: Everyone (mild suggestive themes)
Price: $10

How faithful is “Tecmo Bowl Throwback” to 1991′s “Tecmo Super Bowl?” One button press holds the answer. “Throwback’s” biggest shortcoming — the missing NFL license — is a big one, and while it makes concessions by allowing players to rename the fictional team and player names, the loss still stings. Had Southend Interactive gone a little farther and allowed players not only to customize team colors but also create entire online leagues with friends and their customized teams, “Throwback” might have the legs to be a full-blown sleeper sensation. As unsensational callbacks go, though, this one’s still got it. The modernized audiovisual presentation is a surprisingly good fit, but it changes nothing about the series’ celebrated two-button gameplay and dead-simple playbook. “Throwback” is so faithful, in fact, that players can switch between the new look and the old 16-bit graphics and sound instantaneously — even mid-play — with one button press. The gameplay has aged just fine despite all that’s happened to football games since its heyday, and those discouraged by the increased complexity of EA’s football simulations might find such pleasurable simplicity to be the chief selling point here. While “Throwback” doesn’t go as far as it should in terms of features, it also isn’t threadbare: Along with local and online multiplayer (two players), there’s a very simple (no general manager tools) but sufficient (if some continuity and stat tracking is enough) season mode for solo players.

Dead to Rights: Retribution
For: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
From: Volatile Games/Namco Bandai
ESRB Rating: Mature (blood, intense violence, strong language, suggestive themes, use of drugs)

Six years ago, games like “Dead to Rights: Retribution” — third-person action games determined to do everything under the action game sun — were everywhere. Since then, most developers learned to specialize and substitute polish for versatility.

Volatile Games didn’t get that memo, and “Retribution” mostly carries on as if time never passed, competently doing a number of things (third-person brawling, shooting and stealth action) without knocking any one of them out of the park the way games today typically attempt to do. And here’s the funny thing: Because games like this don’t come along very often anymore, and because “Retribution” is nowhere near as bad as the few games that do typically are, it emerges as a much more enjoyable experience now than it might have been when this style was still in vogue.

Part of that is due to “Retribution” not completely ignoring the present. The shooter component, for instance, incorporates the over-the-shoulder perspective and environmental cover as well as the old-fashioned ability to run around and fire from the hip. The system isn’t perfect — certain objects that should provide cover simply don’t, and the welcome ability to freely switch between brawling and weapons combat also gives way to some awkward controller gymnastics and occasional camera disorientation — but it does work.

That goes as well for the brawling itself, which isn’t always pretty but is pretty enough. “Retribution” doesn’t pull any fancy tricks to make this anything but an old-school 2D brawler in three dimensions, but the control scheme is perfectly responsive and the block/counter/grapple system gives it the extra ounce of depth it needs to avoid being a completely mindless button masher.

Namco has positioned “Retribution” as a narrative reboot for embattled supercop Jack Slate, but regardless of whether such a thing was necessary — the story is fun in a dumb way but hardly special — the important point is that Jack’s canine sidekick remains at his side.

Shadow the attack dog, in fact, provides “Retribution” with its shining moments during some ridiculously improbable but wholly enjoyable stealth challenges in which Shadow must pick apart a room and clear a way for Jack.

A suspension of disbelief clearly is in order for a game that presents a dog with the intelligence and skillset of a special forces soldier, and “Retribution” flashes some additional technological obsolesce with regard to enemy awareness and overall artificial intelligence. But just as the cracks in the brawling and shooting segments’ polish aren’t deep enough to ruin a good time, the stealth segments are versatile enough to shake off their issues and stake a claim as the arguable highlight. Hunting thugs in the dark as a sweet-faced dog is great fun, and “Retribution’s” level designs, though never extraordinary, set the table nicely for some terrific stealth takedowns.

At the very least, when the camera and control schemes fail and Jack’s best-laid plans go to waste, “Retribution” displays a contemporary understanding of how never to let frustration linger for long. It’s forgiving in the field without being a cakewalk — when all else fails, dashing for cover and hiding out should heal wounds quickly — and the generous checkpoint allotment means that even when things go completely south, players don’t have to travel far to recover any lost ground.

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Monster Hunter Tri
For: Wii
From: Capcom
ESRB Rating: Teen (Blood, Use of Alcohol, Violence)

Capcom has tried and failed to persuade America to love “Monster Hunter” the way Japan does, but “Monster Hunter Tri” — imperfect and saturated with old trappings though it still is — might be where that persistence finally pays off.

Should “Tri’s” breakthrough happen, credit likely will go to the surprising support for four-player online co-op and downright shocking support for voice chat via Nintendo’s neglected Wii Speak peripheral.

Glorious absence of friend codes aside, rounding up a party still isn’t as elegant on the Wii as it likely would be on the other consoles. Additionally, the Wii Speak integration — assuming everyone even has the device — doesn’t always produce clear communication. If it’s logistically possible, a nearby PC and Skype account will better suffice.

Beyond these antiquities, though, the actual act of playing “Tri” online is very rewarding — due as much to the kind of game “Tri” is as its capacity for sharing the experience.

Though framed within a storyline, “Tri” structures itself like an MMO more than an adventure game. Players (solo or otherwise) accept quests centered around hunting different monsters for food and sport, and the overwhelming focus of the game centers around the act of conquering different monsters different ways than whatever rewards the story has in store for successfully doing so.

“Tri’s” environments give life to an impressive array of land and sea creatures whose mannerisms and capacities to fight back vary considerably, and after some early handholding, the game provides numerous weapons, items and tactics toward dispatching monsters any number of ways. The gist doesn’t deviate much from beginning to end, but it doesn’t need to: “Tri” zeroes in on the art of the hunt to a degree no other game does, and taming the game’s most impressive beasts is a rewarding endeavor alone and exponentially so when a plan of attack among friends succeeds.

If the concept sounds appealing, “Tri’s” unique bent should overcome some unwelcome callbacks (can’t save anywhere, overlong attack animations, large areas regularly interrupted by load screens) to outdated design. The camera controls are awkward, even when using the dual-sticked Classic Controller or Classic Controller Pro, and the control scheme takes additional adjustment when using the button-deficient Wii Remote and Nunchuck. The storyline also comes almost entirely free of voice acting, but that’s less of an issue when it becomes apparent how little a role the narration plays in the game’s enjoyment.

The good news is that all these issues are annoying more than damaging, and most of them are likely to cease mattering long before those who get into “Tri” are done picking it clean. More than 100 hours of gameplay is an easy feasibility for those who embrace all that lies within and challenge themselves to conquer every last creature, and the ability to lose oneself in a world this enormous more than makes up for the shortcomings with which it coexists.

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Blokzilla
For: iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad (universal app)
From: Tomato Interactive
iTunes Store Rating: 4+
Price: $1 (introductory price)

The concept of a Memory tribute providing thrilling, frantic action might sound ridiculous, but “Blokzilla” makes it happen by infusing the timeless card game with a bunch of timeless arcade game tricks. The concept is no more complex than matching two identical squares and clearing them from the screen, and “Blokzilla” would presume to be a cakewalk by leaving each square face up instead of face down. But rather than fight the failings of one’s own memory to succeed, players must sort through some deviously slight differences between squares that at first glance appear identical. Pick a bad pair, and the score multiplier resets. But carefully poring over each shape’s intricacies is equally damaging: “Blokzilla’s” score attack modes give players one, two or five minutes to clear as many squares and score as many points as they can, and the score multiplier melts away through inactivity as well as bad activity. The ticking clock, impatient multiplier and a delightfully loud visual and aural presentation combine to make the whole experience a startlingly intense good time. The only bad news about “Blokzilla” is the lack of online leaderboards, which are essential in a game so classically driven by high scores. But Tomato Interactive has indicated a willingness to add the feature in short order to a future update, so that may not be bad news for long.

Super Street Fighter IV
For: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
From: Capcom
ESRB Rating: Teen (alcohol reference, mild language, suggestive themes, violence)

To decide whether you should pick up “Super Street Fighter IV,” just take this simple test:

A) If you scoffed at the notion of Capcom rereleasing the year-old “Street Fighter IV” in enhanced form as a $40 standalone product (instead of, say, a $15 downloadable update) but played enough “SF4″ over the last year to justify its asking price several times over, then yes, you should.

B) If you squealed with delight upon hearing the news of “SSF4′s” arrival, then yes, you should.

The old-fashioned sensibilities of Capcom’s business model aside, “SSF4″ earns its worth by leaving the underpinnings alone but adding, improving and occasionally swapping out parts in just about every department.

Most apparent straight away is the boost to the roster. Eight fighters from the series’ past (DeeJay, T. Hawk, Guy, Cody, Adon, Ibuki, Makoto and Dudley) and two new fighters (Tae Kwon Do expert Juri and wonderfully bizarre Turkish oil wrestler Hakan) join “SF4′s” existing cast to bring the total to 35. All characters are unlocked straight away, and the original 25 fighters all receive a new ultra attack.

Arguably more impressive is “SSF4′s” mode expansion, which potentially caters to terrified newcomers as well as “SF4″ pros. The Quarter Match mode from 2008′s “Super Street Fighter II” reboot finally arrives here as the Endless Mode, and it supports up to eight players and spectators in the closest online approximation of the arcade fighting game scene. Newcomers, meanwhile, can enter the Replay Channel to download replays of better players’ matches and put their newfound knowledge to safe use in the freeform Training Room. The new Team Battles configuration, meanwhile, falls under the “something to bridge the gap” banner, allowing players of different abilities to team up in team elimination battles supporting up to four fighters per team.

Ultimately, though, it’s the devoted students of “SF4″ who stand to benefit the most from the additional year of fine-tuning Capcom has invested in its baby. The immediate availability of all characters allows the truly confident to skip the single-player warmup and jump online immediately, and Capcom’s up-and-down tweaking of the entire roster gives players both a conceivably more balanced game and volumes of new discoverable matchup minutiae on which to feast.

Presumably, once the cream rises to the top of the online universe, the Replay Channel, team-oriented modes and year’s worth of improvements upon “SF4′s” online matchmaking system should also allow an easier uphill climb for new players who want to cut their teeth online without getting completely obliterated. But if you tried “SF4″ last year and found the game too imposing for your tastes, it’s worth noting that this year’s edition doesn’t change the basic underpinnings in any way that would make it any less of a climb toward mastery. Nor has Capcom produced a more guided means of understanding the game beyond the hands-off Training Room and admittedly outstanding instruction manual. If you want to get good at “Street Fighter” and are hoping “SSF4″ contains shortcuts its predecessor did not, consider that hope officially — and, as “Street Fighter” devotees would tell you, deservedly — dashed.

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Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
Reviewed for: Xbox 360
Also available for: Windows PC
From: Ubisoft
ESRB Rating: Mature (blood, drug reference, intense violence, sexual themes, strong language)

“Splinter Cell: Conviction” is a magnificently pretty example of how to present a mature game using vibrant environments and bright colors, so it’s a little bittersweet that its most beautiful moments take place when the lights are off and all that color is chucked by the wayside.

But only a little bittersweet.

“Conviction,” in a nutshell, is the reformed “Splinter Cell” game we’ve long been promised. Sam Fisher remains in the lead role — forced out of retirement to address a personal vendetta that cost the lives of his best friend and daughter — and he still does his best work by stealthily dispatching enemies instead of barreling forward with guns blazing.

But where previous games imposed all-or-nothing restrictions that left Sam as good as dead the instant players accidentally blew his cover, “Conviction” finally lets him give as good as he gets.

With bullets flying, “Conviction” plays like a contemporary third-person shooter: Players have powerful weaponry and environmental cover to aid their fight, and Sam is agile and tough enough to win a shootout when clandestinity fails. (During some of “Conviction’s” later missions, which take place in the bright light of day, barreling forward practically is encouraged.)

But what makes “Conviction” special is how deftly it mixes run-and-gun gameplay with the methods that have always defined the series.

Ubisoft introduces a number of new interface tweaks to make the pursuit of a perfect sneak attack accessible to anyone, and all of them pay off. The game’s graphics go gray whenever the player is safely concealed in the shadows, and alerting enemies of Sam’s location briefly marks the spot with an outline of his body. Disabling some light sources, tipping enemies off, executing an end-around and dispatching them from behind as they descend on your former position is as fun here as Jack Bauer makes it look on television, and “Conviction’s” engine is flexible enough to allow players who get caught in the act to fight their way out or at least attempt a dash for cover.

Experienced “Splinter Cell” pros might not appreciate all this emphasis on accessibility, but the Realistic difficulty setting should satiate their thirst for challenge. A brilliant mission inside a parking garage, where detection isn’t an option, also temporarily resurrects the original games’ sensibilities with exemplary results.

“Conviction’s” single-player storyline suffers a bit on the voice acting side — grunt enemies have roughly three sayings, and they spray the air repeatedly with them — but the actual plot is refreshingly personal compared to Sam’s previous assignments. Considering how concentrated that storyline is, the environmental diversity, and Ubisoft’s repurposing of different set pieces as stealth playgrounds, is absolutely terrific.

But “Conviction’s” arguable shining moment happens during a collection of two-player (online or splitscreen) co-op missions that doubles as a prequel to “Conviction’s” single-player story. (Quick aside: No competitive multiplayer. Sorry.) Neither player stars as Sam, but the full complement of his abilities lay at both players’ disposal, and coordinating stealth attacks with a teammate opens the door to numerous strategic possibilities that aren’t possible when fighting alone. Solo players can engage in most of this content by themselves if they prefer, but modes centered around cooperation — storyline portion included — are off-limits without a second player.

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Crush the Castle
For: iPhone/iPod Touch
From: Armor Games
iTunes Store Rating: 9+ (infrequent/mild cartoon or fantasy violence, infrequent/mild realistic violence)
Price: $2 (free lite version also available)

Anyone who ever took delight in setting up action figures with the sole intention of knocking them down can take similar delight in “Crush the Castle,” which skips step one and lets players use a catapult, some projectiles and gravity-intensive physics to reduce shoddily-built castles and their inhabitants to rubble. “Castle” isn’t a terribly demanding game: A couple taps determine the angle and force of the catapault launch, and beyond the arsenal of projectiles (rocks, bombs, mystical potions) players accumulate by advancing through the game, that’s all the strategy there is. But “Castle” provides as much enjoyment in watching the aftermath as it does in creating it: The physics are wonderfully condusive to chain reaction collapses, and whether it’s intentional or the byproduct of a shoestring budget, the sound and non-animated animation of the inhabitants is genuinely funny in a “Monty Python”-esque way. It’s unclear whether Armor Games plans to support “Castle” with new levels: The 90 levels available now are fun but quickly mastered, and while the level creator is outstanding, an inability to share creations with others hurts its value. But even if “Castle” never updates again, the fun and amusement it provides makes an easy return on the $2 investment it commands if you possess the mischievous state of mind that likely made its existence possible in the first place.

MotoGP 09/10
For: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
From: Monumental Studios/Capcom
ESRB Rating: Everyone (mild suggestive themes)

Criticizing a racing simulation for being imposingly difficult is like docking points from lemonade for making your lips pucker, because that’s arguably the whole point of a good simulation in the first place.

So what follows isn’t a criticism of “MotoGP 09/10,” and for fans of serious sims and the venerable and resilient “MotoGP” line, it might as well be high praise. But casual racing fans who look at Monumental Studios’ motorcycle racing game and envision a chance to relive their glory days playing “Super Hang-On” in the arcade, take note: This most certainly counts as a warning, because “MotoGP” most certainly is not the game you have in mind.

The gravity of the situation makes its presence felt regardless of difficulty level or whether players venture down “MotoGP’s” season/career modes or settle for the arcade mode, which at least emulates “Super Hang-On” in structure if not in any other way. Even on the easiest setting, “MotoGP’s” A.I. riders rarely lay down for anybody.

More immediately pressing, though, are the riding controls. As with most driving sims, they treat gunning the gas pedal and careering around turns about as kindly as a mother bear treats a human being walking into her den. Disrespect a track’s racing line and take too long to brake, and it’s entirely too easy to enter a turn so wide that it takes you right off the track.

In a car racing game like “Forza Motorsport” or “Gran Turismo,” your problems likely would end there, with the car skidding out and maybe dusting a wall before coming to a stop and ceding control back to the player. But in “MotoGP,” trying to fight a skid also entails leaning hard on the bike, and players who lean too far in either direction will see their bike careen out of control from a distance while they fly off of it in another direction. Slightly missed turns very quickly can mushroom into problems that send a player from the head of the pack to 10 places back in the span of a single mistake. See how much fun you’re having if this happens near the end of a race you’ve led the entire way to that point.

But again, that’s the point of a racing sim — either ride smart or lose big. And while “MotoGP’s” learning curve is considerably more imposing than that of just about every other racing game out there, Monumental Studios never stacks the deck so high as to be unfair. The A.I. is good, but it isn’t cheap, and the controls are responsive and perfectly tenable if players take the time to master their subtleties.

For those who overcome the curve, most of “MotoGP’s” other frills reward in kind. The career mode incorporates team management, reputation management and the ability to research new bike technology on top of a lengthy trip through the 2009 MotoGP season, and Monumental promises to offer whatever free downloadable content is necessary to emulate the 2010 season as it happens. (Hence the game’s title.) The multiplayer component (20 players online, two splitscreen) is very basic, but the 20-player support certainly is nice if the game develops a hardened following of skilled players.

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Bird Strike
For: iPhone/iPod Touch
From: PikPok
iTunes Store Rating: 9+ (infrequent/mild profanity or crude humor, infrequent/mild cartoon or fantasy violence)
Price: $1

“Bird Strike” understandably draws comparisons to the mega-popular iPhone game “Doodle Jump,” because the base object of both games — continually ascend higher and higher without exhausting all means of doing so — is identical. But while “Jump” finds players helping a scribbled, spring-loaded alien bounce between platforms with no room for error, “Strike” is both a little more lenient and a little more open in its design. Beyond the initial leap off a sling, your obscenely charming cartoon bird friend doesn’t even jump: Rather, he soars upward using stray rockets and jetpacks, and upon reaching the top, purposely careens back downward to wreak obscenely cute havoc on all the obstacles he avoided on the way up. Reaching the top in “Strike’s” puzzle levels is a challenge, and the ceiling-free endless mode makes it impossible. But where “Jump” penalizes almost any downward descent with a “Game Over” screen, “Strike” lets players attempt a recovery by catching any unused rockets they spot on the way down. The overriding goal, regardless of mode or technique, is to score as many points as possible during a single flight. Players who fly solo can aim for the gold medal-worthy scores in each level, but those who take advantage of “Strike’s” OpenFeint support — and one of the better examples of how to integrate leaderboards into an iPhone game — can chase and surpass their friends’ marks as well.

Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle
For: Playstation 3 via Playstation Network
From: Relentless Software
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ (alcohol reference, cartoon violence)
Price: $7.50 per episode, $15 for a bundle that includes episodes 1-3

As is always the case with a Playstation 3 game, “Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle” requires a Playstation 3 controller.

Not required, but arguably equally valuable to those who wish to maximize their immersion and success, is a pen and some paper.

Superficially, “Riddle” is, like the recent “Sam & Max” and “Tales of Monkey Island” reboots, part of the pleasantly surprising revival of point-and-click adventure games, which have found new life as downloadable games served in episodic installments. In this case, the three available episodes center around the murderous developments taking place in the quaint English town of Little Riddle, and players are tasked with solving each crime before the killer gets away.

But where most point-and-click adventure games employ a system of cause-and-effect in which players figure out how to use various objects in the environment to trigger story advancement, “Riddle” takes the murder mystery motif to heart.

The storytelling in each episode comes punctuated by 16 challenges that unlock clues and paint a clearer picture of the killer. But while some of the challenges are self-contained brainteasers in the traditional sense, “Riddle” just as often tests players’ memory of events that have transpired up to that point. That includes information about the environments of Little Riddle, the answers its residents give during questioning, and pretty much any other cue that might be construed as a clue. Some of these challenges are straightforward quizzes, but others are packaged within something more clever, and “Riddle” doesn’t necessarily focus on the obvious in either format. So don’t feel bad about using the aforementioned pen and paper: Real detectives don’t commit every last detail to memory, and “Riddle” seems to prefer challenging players to pick their observations carefully rather than simply memorize and regurgitate the obvious stuff.

The nature of the action, or lack thereof, seems an odd fit for a Playstation 3 library better known for the likes of “God of War” and “Uncharted,” and it’s an understatement to note a game that’s niche even by adventure game standards isn’t for everyone.

But “Riddle’s” presence on the Playstation Network makes more sense when you realize the same folks who created Sony’s phenomenal “Buzz!” quiz games are behind this series as well, and many of the same things that make “Buzz” special also are present here. The same cartoony character design that makes Buzz such a distinctive character does similar favor to the people of Little Riddle, and the writing and voice acting that give life to the narrator and characters are more polished (and spirited) here than in most $60 games.

The addition of four-player multiplayer support (local only) is another nice touch in a genre where lack of multiplayer functionality is practically a foregone conclusion. “Riddle” doesn’t do anything fancy with the multiplayer component, but the ability for players to work together on clues or compete to outsmart each other is all it needs to turn itself into a surprisingly successful party game.

“Riddle’s” first three episodes are available now, and the fourth, fifth and sixth episodes will be available at the end of April.

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Supreme Commander 2
Reviewed for: Xbox 360
Also available for: Windows PC
From: Gas Powered Games/Square Enix
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ (fantasy violence)

The bad news about “Supreme Commander 2″ is the same bad news that’s held true for every real-time strategy game developers have attempted to migrate from PCs to consoles: If you’re playing it this way, you’re settling.

The good news? You’re settling a lot less this time around.

Contrary to the buggy volcano that erupted when Hellbent Games ported the first “Supreme Commander” to the Xbox 360, “SC2″ generally functions as it should. It isn’t as pretty as on a top-shelf PC, but it’s pretty enough, and outside of the occasional framerate dip, it keeps up on the performance side as well.

A handful of interface changes also makes “SC2″ more accessible to consoles without neutering the depth that has made the series what it is. The number of unit types in each faction has decreased in favor of fewer unit types with higher upgrade ceilings, and the new tech tree and research points system make upgrading these units notably less laborious than it was in the first game. That adds up to a less imposing learning curve than what “SC1″ threw at players, which allows the game to get off to a faster start and drop players into battles that neither overwhelm nor insult them.

Most important, “SC2″ does not — as happened in “Halo Wars,” for instance — nullify players’ ability to build units and structures how and where they want. “SC2″ softens the curve without flattening it, meeting players halfway for an experience that’s approachable but free of the lingering suspicion that the kid gloves are on.

This isn’t to suggest “SC2″ completely closes the gap between a controller and the keyboard and mouse. The game maps all major commands to buttons in ways that make sense, and the one-button shortcuts that allow players to select multiple units certainly help. Even better is the ability to zoom so far out that the map turns into a virtual game of Risk, with units represented by easily-identifiable icons that are just as easily dispersed as needed.

But when the battle is in full rage, it’s still easy to get rattled when there’s no keyboard and mouse to provide the flexibility and speed a controller simply cannot replicate. Even with the action zoomed out and the whole map visible at once, the analog stick’s cursor control is too loose to replicate the more natural sensation a mouse allows. That isn’t the game’s fault, but it also can’t not be mentioned.

Fortunately — arguably — “SC2″ is designed in a way that encourages players to face off against equally disadvantaged human competition. There are three campaigns (one for each faction) and a so-so story accompanying each, and the Skirmish mode allows solo players to set up custom matches with computer-controlled opponents and allies. But online play is the real heart of “SC2,” which supports any combination of four human and A.I.-controlled players one can devise using the three factions. The large maps and lack of unit construction restrictions become enormous assets when combined with customizable victory conditions, and the shortcomings imposed by the controller become less of an issue when they apply to everyone equally.

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Final Fight: Double Impact
For: Playstation 3 via Playstation Network and Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade
From: Capcom
ESRB Rating: Teen (animated blood, mild violence, suggestive themes)
Price: $10

Most longstanding game publishers are savvy enough nowadays to tap into players’ nostalgic nerves. But nobody has as much fun doing it as Capcom does, and if the PSP compilations, “Mega Man” revival and brilliant “Dark Void Zero” weren’t proof enough, “Final Fight: Double Impact” should do it. “Impact’s” main attraction is, naturally, the arcade-perfect translation of 1989′s “Final Fight,” which endures remarkably well as one of the best 2D brawlers ever made. The port is spotless, and Capcom does it modern justice with online leaderboards and two-player local/online co-op support. That alone would comprise a job well done for most publishers, but Capcom showers its source material with additional love by way of a superbly remixed soundtrack, an awesome optional visual presentation that filters the graphics through a mock arcade cabinet screen, and a large assortment of in-game achievements that unlock various “Final Fight” multimedia and give longtime fans of the game entirely new challenges to overcome. Additionally, and because Capcom can, “Impact” also includes an arcade-perfect port of another game, “Magic Sword,” that’s too obscure to sell on its own but a fantastically fun sidescroller in its own right. The same care that goes into “Fight” — co-op support and achievements included — graces “Sword” as well, giving fans of arcade gaming’s most golden years something to discover as well as something to treasure.