Video Games: NBA 2K14, Infinity Blade III, Rain, Pokémon X and Pokémon Y

Released on Oct. 1

Developed by Visual Concepts

Published by 2K Sports

For PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC

Rated E (Everyone)

It’s possible that basketball fans have been spoiled by the highly polished NBA 2K series, which over the preceding four titles has churned out some of the most conspicuous year-to-year improvements from the brutal treadmill of sports video game development.

But NBA 2K14 appears to invoke a prerogative of a well-made series, choosing not to fix what isn’t broken. That is not to say this is a no-frills product or a disappointment: It remains an elite sports franchise and the only option for playing a virtual N.B.A. season on a major video game console. Unfortunately, a palpable sameness has been carried over from last year’s edition in the game’s two principal career modes.

A tribute to the cover star LeBron James lacks the oomph that made retrospectives on Michael Jordan and other N.B.A. greats so compelling. The Path to Greatness mode has the player controlling a virtual version of James during what could be the final year of his contract with the Miami Heat. The goal is to win seven N.B.A. championships through two different routes — either remaining with Miami or going on a “fantastic journey,” which doesn’t seem to let you pick the team where you end up.

Leading James through scripted fictitious encounters (both guards are injured, for example, so he has to play point guard for his team) is really no more intriguing than scenarios that may emerge when playing as your own pro. It’s a nice concept, but it feels thrown together.

INFINITY BLADE III

Released on Sept. 18

Developed by Chair Entertainment

For iOS (iPhone and iPad)

Rated 9+ (Players 9 and older) for cartoon or fantasy violence and infrequent or mild realistic violence

Like the two entries that preceded it, Infinity Blade III is a showcase of the graphical power of iOS devices and a demonstration of the Unreal Engine 3 technology that runs it and so many other games. That’s why the creators of this series keep getting up onstage at Apple events, including last month’s program to introduce the new iPhones.

Infinity Blade games are fantasy adventures involving swords, spells, armor and fighting. They have more to offer than graphics that appear advanced enough for a PlayStation console or a PC. They represent a successful combination of visuals and tap-and-swipe controls for touch screens.

The games play out as a series of duels, with each block, spell or sword swing activated by finger movements. There are branching paths to explore in each of the huge new levels; hundreds of weapons to customize and master; things to wear; potions to brew; and strange and wonderful creatures lining up to kill your expanded roster of playable heroes. While some iOS owners are content to fling birds and match gems, Infinity Blade III is the game to choose if you want a visual stunner and as epic an action adventure as there has been on these young machines.

RAIN

Released on Oct. 1

Developed by SCE Japan Studio

Published by Sony Computer Entertainment

For PlayStation 3

Rated E10+ (Players 10 and older) for fantasy violence and tobacco use

Rain is a quiet game set in a city full of monsters. You control a boy. You’re chasing after a girl. You’re invisible. When you walk uncovered under the incessant downpour of Rain’s world, water droplets outline your shape, making you visible to the monsters. Under the protection of some kind of cover, you’re invisible and hidden. And so are your enemies, should they get under there too.

Rain is basically a stealth game, with some puzzles and climbing tossed in. Generally, you’ll spend your time devising the best way to avoid the monsters. They seem most interested in a girl who’s around your age. You spot her frequently running off in the distance; she’s unable to hear your calls to her or see your frantic waves to get her attention.

The game’s signature piece of music is Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” Combine that with an unusual look and premise, and Rain raises hopes that it would be another interesting game for the art crowd. But there’s something off. The written narration feels forced, grasping at feelings and drama that just aren’t there. And while the stealth elements are charming, the scenarios and puzzles are not difficult.

Good ideas help distinguish Rain from the many more violent and ferocious games on the PlayStation 3, but this short, gentle adventure gets an A more for effort than for execution.

POKéMON X AND POKéMON Y

Released on Saturday

Developed by Game Freak

Published by Nintendo

For Nintendo 3DS

Rated E (Everyone)

One of video gaming’s most successful series, Pokémon, returns with its ninth release of paired games since the late ’90s. These two, Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, are set in a fictional version of France called the Kalos region and again pit the player as a boy or a girl who can roam the land, capturing and training Pokémon and using them to fight in turn-based strategic conflicts.

X and Y are mostly the same. As has been the tradition since the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, each version contains a few of the “pocket monsters” that the other does not. The idea is to encourage players to meet, battle each other’s Pokémon and trade them.

This is the first major Pokémon game released on the Nintendo 3DS, and with the new hardware comes the biggest graphical leap for the series in a long time. The hundreds of available Pokémon, so many of them returning favorites, are rendered in 3-D. It’s nice to see them like that, doubly so for some of the new, imaginatively designed critters.

The adventure feels breezy. It wants you to keep moving, even in areas that would have been a drawn-out drag in previous games. Are you in a long cave? No worries: There will be someone to heal you midway through. And your character can now get around much faster on foot, bike or skates. It may take more than 30 hours to play through X or Y, but the new games somehow refreshingly feel like they have no fat.

These edited and condensed reviews are from the writers and editors of the gaming site Kotaku.com. Full reviews are at kotaku.com/nytselects.