Silver Medal: Rayman Legends (Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

While single-player is fun, it’s the multiplayer co-op that makes Rayman Legends such a wonderful, chaotic, hilarious game. I could keep throwing adjectives in there: beautiful, clever, creative, challenging, etc. etc. etc.

Basically, Legends takes everything wonderful about Origins and makes it better. The frenetic, musical gameplay is all that much more frenetic and musical.

The 2D hand-painted graphics look more three-dimensional than most 3D games.

Every stage and every world in this platforming gem offers up something new and different, from underwater stealth to parachuting toads to magnificent boss fights.

There’s so much going on here, it’s hard to keep track of it all, and playing with a friend (or spouse, or kid, or whoever) is a tremendously satisfying experience, especially on the Wii U with its innovative use of the touch-screen gamepad for co-op.