NFL BLITZ EA for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network; Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older. Gameplay: 8.5 Graphics: 7.0 Sound: 9.0 Replay Value: 8.3 Overall Score: 8.3 Pros: Over-the-top gaming, strong online mode, players catch fire. Cons: Graphics are on the weak side, needs bigger playbook, “hard mode” isn’t difficult enough.

But football isn’t quite over: The Super Bowl is right around the corner.

So the time might be right for this truly over-the-top arcade game.

NFL Blitz is a cartoon-ish, downloadable tidbit featuring crushing hits on defense and amazing 50-yard throws. Add the sometimes-hilarious comments from the color guys in the booth and strong online play. The result is a game that’s really hard to put down.

If Madden is the lengthy mega-meal for fans of sports videogames, NFL Blitz is the quick dessert. You don’t have many plays to choose from, just 9 on defense and 17 on offense. There’s no create-a-player. There’s no draft. There are only 7 players on each side of field.

WHAT YOU GET

But what you get (as you do with NBA Jam) are wacky players that get so hot when you’re on a roll, they give off flames. You’ll play the Blitz Gauntlet, a ladder of teams, over and over until you play all NFL clubs. And you’ll encounter some surprises. These include some fantasy squads – bosses like gladiators, peg-leg pirates and smiling hot dogs in a bun.

I find that playing on Hard Mode is the best way to go after getting your feet wet on Easy Mode. Otherwise, there’s very little challenge. After you defeat the fantasy teams mentioned above, you can play as them, too. Just key in their special codes at the beginning of each game.

On offense, winning is often about looking down the field to find an open player and pressing buttons to throw the ball at the right time. But there is some wiggle room as far as creativity during plays goes. On offense, you can leap high over the pack or spin like a dervish. You can even give the tackler the stiff arm. With a satisfying “ding,” down he goes. His bell has been rung!

The comedic announcers are also essential to the kooky mayhem. Sometimes they wish they were more famous so they could be in a bigger game like Madden. Sometimes they say silly things like “in the end zone like a mobile phone!” They seem to like corn dogs a lot, too. And they get as excited as fans. You never see them, but you imagine they’re shaking with glee as they call the action on the field.

ONLINE WITH BLITZ BUCKS

The makers of NFL Blitz really want you to play online, so they’re offering Blitz Bucks to entice you. Win online and you’re rewarded with fake money that helps you get cool things like Big Head Mode when you play. Plus, you get Blitz Bucks if you’re the player who presses the taunt buttons the most.

Blitz Bucks are also essential for creating your Blitz Elite League. These card packs full of players require strategizing if you want a balanced team. Or you might choose to buy some powerups like an Earthquake, which shakes the field, possibly causing a fumble.

I’ve rarely had as much quick fun online with a sports game than I’ve had with NFL Blitz. While there’s the occasional lag during plays, I quickly was matched up with three other people to play in co-op mode, two for each team. Whoever my partner was, he knew the game as well as I did.

Yet the real key is on defense. Take control of a player and constantly try to sack the opposing quarterback. The same goes for blocking a punt or a field goal. That’s the way to winning online – and offline, too. Also, you can try to time your interceptions. The game makers say that if you’re near the ball and press the top controller button at either one-third, one-half or two-thirds of a second after a pass, your defenseman will catch the quarterback’s throw. That’s hard to time, so just try for an interception without thinking too hard about it.

THE BAD AND THE GOOD

There are things that I don’t like, however. Every player seems to have the same physical attributes, so they look nothing like the real-life players. So quarterback Eli Manning looks just as muscular as defenseman Justin Tuck. And while they often throw tantrums, when you check out their faces, there’s no emotion whatsoever.

Still, the old NFL Blitz used to sell for around $40 when you bought it in the store. The downloadable version is about $15. It’s completely worth the price of admission for access to one of the more clownish, cartoon-ish, generally super-fun games out there today.

BEST WII GAME

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

The action-filled puzzles, the touching adventure story of Link and Zelda, and the smooth way you fly on the back of your loftwing! All of these combine to create a world you’d have so much fun living in. Since creator Shigeru Miyamoto might be retiring soon, this could be the last great Zelda game of this era. Sure, there are some camera-angle issues. But overall, this is a superior game.

BEST XBOX 360 GAME

Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure (Activision)
Rated E10+

Skylanders heralds an amazing comeback for Spyro. The ambitious adventure story has all the cool elements of a role-playing game. But here’s the key: When you buy Skylanders, you can use your characters and your saved game on your pal’s system via the Platform of Power – whether it’s Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, PC or 3DS. And those computer-chip-enhanced action figures are nicely detailed, too.

BEST PS3 GAME

LittleBigPlanet 2 (Sony)

So many people these days want to be game designers. With LittleBigPlanet 2, you can make all kinds of games — from platformers to shooters to role-playing games. If that weren’t enough, the story mode featuring Sackboy and an intergalactic vacuum cleaner is one of the most engaging tales of the year.

BEST NINTENDO 3DS GAME

Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo)

This Super Mario is just super inventive. From the get-go, the way the levels are designed make you smile and wonder, “How’d they do that?” The 3D works well (unusual for a 3DS system that has had its problems to overcome). And it’s the world’s greatest Mario in all his heroic, comedic glory.

BEST NINTENDO DS GAME

Professor Layton and the Last Specter (Nintendo)
Rated E10+

The Layton games always bust your brain. But they make you think while you have fun – and that’s hard to do. Here, you deal with a giant, long-fingered, dark specter as you solve the mystery of Misthallery. It makes you feel like you’re in a world that’s slightly creepy. But it’s one full of artistic graphics and superior music, too.

BEST COMPUTER GAME

Portal 2 (EA for Mac, PC)
Rated E10+

The great writing makes you laugh constantly. The puzzles leave you slapping your head, but always make you come back for more. If you love science fiction, Portal 2 lures you into its strange world, a world you don’t want to leave (well, except when you can’t figure out a puzzle). This is a game to savor; you never want it to end. A couple of puzzles each day did it for me and made my time with that excellent wit and sidekick Wheatley last even longer.

BEST MASHUP

Nicktoons MLB (2K Play for Kinect)

It’s really a game that’s pretty darn smart. Combining a vast selection of kooky Nicktoons characters like SpongeBob with real-life baseball players like Big Papi, it’s a total blast to play. It’s also probably the first game to let you pitch, bat and field by using Kinect. While it has a few flaws (sometimes it’s too easy), it feels like the real thing – in a hilariously inventive Nicktoons world.

BEST OVERALL SPORTS GAME (TIE)

NBA 2K12 (2K Sports for PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PSP, PC)

There’s just so much to NBA 2K12. If you like old-school basketball superstars, you can match up Michael Jordan against Magic Johnson. If you’re a hardcore fan, NBA 2K12 lets you tweak and coach to your heart’s content. Go deep and start out before the draft as coaches interview you for a life in the pros. It only gets better from there.

NCAA Football 12 (EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)

In some respects, NCAA Football 12 is better than this year’s Madden. The attention to detail is admirable. When you type your last name in your profile, it not only goes on your player’s jersey, the announcer also calls your name when you play. You can play as your high school team, too. And that’s just the beginning.

BEST RACING GAME

Forza Motorsport 4 (Microsoft for Kinect)

Boy, is this a smooth game or what? You can play it casually and just use your hands as a controller to steer via Kinect. Or you can get as complex as you want and make it a real racing simulation. If you dream of being a racecar driver who travels the world for speedy adventure, this is the game for you.

BEST GAME FOR YOUR LITTLE BROTHER OR SISTER

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster (Microsoft for Kinect)

You’ll have fun, too, as you play with your younger siblings in an interactive storybook. The graphics are like something from a fairy tale – beautiful and mysterious. Because many characters from the show are here, it’s a great way to start young kids out with games.

BEST WRAP UP OF A GREAT SERIES

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5 – 7 (WBIE for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, 3DS, DS, PSP, PC)
Rated E10+

They didn’t reinvent the wheel, that’s for sure. But they didn’t need to. The last Potter books and films were pretty dark. But the intelligent people who made this game were able to add a humorous lightness to that darkness – without any dialog. That’s not a simple thing to do. Plus, the graphics, puzzles and magic are really terrific.

BEST MOVIE ADAPTATION (TIE)

Cars 2 (Disney Interactive for Xbox 360)
Rated E10+

Here’s a case in which I think the game was better than the movie. Full of thrills and spills, Cars 2 even has an enjoyable tutorial. Each Car has its own personality, and the addition of a spy story is often full of drama. The replay-ability is really high, so you have fun beyond the story mode. Too bad you have to pay to go online.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Game (Ubisoft for Xbox 360)
Rated E10+

Here’s another case in which the game sometimes exceeds the action within the movie. Before it was released, I had my doubts. After all, the Tintin movie is based on an old kids’ book that’s more popular in Europe than in the U.S. But the gamemakers combine a real love for boy journalist Tintin with some truly hair-raising adventures. The result is entertainment that’s as good as the movie – and, once or twice, even better.

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME

Bastion (Microsoft for Xbox 360)
Rated E10+

It’s almost worth buying a 360 just to play this little game that could. The big-voiced narrator is both dramatic and hip. The cool weapons do all sorts of crazy things. The music is so memorable, you’ll be humming it when not playing. The epic story and smart dialog is better than those in more expensive console games. If you haven’t gotten it yet, what are you waiting for?

BEST iPAD/iPHONE GAME

Contre Jour HD (Chillingo)

This little game that costs a buck is as much fun as Cut The Rope. But there’s something about that little one-eyed blob you control. It feels like a friend. That’s because its expressions change slightly as you play. On the surface, there isn’t much of a story here. But the soft, effective music and atmospheric artwork makes you feel there’s something bigger going on here.

GAME OF THE YEAR (TIE)

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Bastion

Runner Up: Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure

Runner Up: Portal 2

LEGO HARRY POTTER: YEARS 5-7 WBIE for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, 3DS, DS, PC; Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older. Gameplay: 8.5 Graphics: 8.5 Sound: 8.5 Replay Value: 8.5 Overall Score: 8.5 Pros: Lots of spell casting; fun puzzles to solve; beautiful environments. Cons: Repetitive gameplay; nonplayable characters get stuck on each other; no online play.

This finale to LEGO Harry follows the same blueprint that all the LEGO movie-based games do. Collect a ton of studs. Build bridges and vehicles to get from one place to another. Solve puzzles, such as finding an escaped toad for a wizard.

GETTING STARTED

Begin in a playground featuring some slides and a seesaw. Boy, are there a lot of studs in this small area.

It’s fun to use Harry’s wand to make toast of the environment and collect your LEGO pieces. And the zapping, crashing sounds along with the vibration in the controller help make the experience feel real.

Immediately, you find a helper in this first level to, in this case, help open the gate. Ron is helpful, too. His power lets you build or open things when they’re colored blue.

GETTING AROUND THE GLITCHES

There are a lot of LEGO people around, sometimes too many. In a small error of game design, these nonplayable characters can get stuck on one another. If that happens to you and they block your way, just bump into them to separate them.

It’s nice to see game designers devise new ways to use the Xbox’s processing power by adding so many characters to a crowd scene. But I really don’t know what purpose they serve beyond overpopulating places, such as a town square.

SPELLS AND SECRETS

The biggest fun feature in LEGO Harry is dueling with other characters. Use various spells depending on the weaknesses of your particular foe. And you need quick reflexes to win. Dueling was in the LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean game, and I’m really glad it’s in Harry, too.

This LEGO Harry is darker and creepier than last year’s game, just like the last movies in the series. But there’s always some humor to temper the scarier moments. This is a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

And you’ll find more of the strange secrets hidden within once you finish the main game and return for Free Play mode. In fact, you’ll see that when you complete the primary storyline, you’re only 50 percent done. Go back and have some more fun!

While it’s not that different from the last offering, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 gives you a ton of enjoyable gaming. And you’ll meet 200 Potter characters along the way, a huge number.

If you don’t want to say goodbye to Harry just yet, here’s a fine way to spend time in his world — throughout the holidays and beyond.

The Games Guru reviewed LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 on an Xbox 360.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SKYWARD SWORD Nintendo for Wii, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older Gameplay: 9.0 Graphics: 8.0 Sound: 9.0 Replay Value: 7.5 Overall Score: 8.7 Pros: It’s a brand-new Zelda; inventive ways to play; riding Loftwing. Cons: Jaggies on graphics show the Wii’s age; tips can be confusing; controls take getting used to.

Nintendo has brought you another thrilling serving of the silent hero Link’s mysterious epic adventures. This time, he travels between two worlds to rescue the lovely Zelda. (The reason it’s called Skyward Sword probably has something to do with the controls. You lift your Wiimote high over your head to the sky to get super sword power.)

RESCUING LOFTWING

Begin your escapade high above the clouds in a fantasy kingdom overseen by a beautiful ancient goddess. There’s an awesome monument high above the town. You must check out the goddess statue and explore its nooks and crannies to move forward in the game. You also meet the quirky townspeople along the way, including kids who want to bully you.

In the first hour or so, your primary goal is to rescue your beloved Loftwing, a giant red bird who is your loyal friend as well. You ride on his back for a competition — but you must free him from a well-hidden dungeon first. Tip: When Zelda comes to help you find Loftwing, don’t leave that green perch on the cliff (like I made the mistake of doing). Just look around there — carefully.

Soon, you’ll jump off a plank into the clouds. Don’t worry; you won’t die. Coming to your rescue is your trusty Loftwing. Take off on his back and fly down, down, down through a hole in the swirling clouds. It’s an exciting ride.

THE CHALLENGES

Skyward Sword comes packed with a soundtrack CD celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the Zelda game series. Another package features a special golden Wii Motion Plus remote. You need the precision of Motion Plus to, say, aim your sword properly when fighting bosses at the end of levels. But sometimes either your aiming or the device isn’t that precise. That causes you to lose a battle.

Like many of the Zelda games, the puzzles can be difficult, and that’s usually a good thing for the series. With Skyward Sword, Nintendo added a feature that lets you get a hint when you’re stuck. Just press down on the Wiimote’s D-pad.

Beware: The hints can be vague and confusing. At first, they can be more puzzling than the puzzles themselves. Early on, these hints can feel especially useless when you have to rescue a cute Kikwi from a tree. Tip: Roll into the trunk.

DESPITE GLITCHES, AWE-INSPIRING

Once you figure out the ins and outs of the game, the lands that you explore are vast and wondrous ones. Move through a treacherous volcano to get to the eerie Earth Temple where you fight the fiery-mouthed Scaldera. Feel awe when you travel to the Isle of Songs. Halfway through, explore the Ancient Cistern, defeat the six-armed Koloktos and get yourself a very useful whip.

Sure, the Wii is showing its age as far as graphics go (which is why there will be a new Wii next year). While Skyward Sword tries to give you the best graphics ever on the Wii, it still suffers from the jaggies. It’s a credit to the people at Nintendo that the story and game are so compelling, you don’t always notice the problems with displaying the artwork.

Despite its few glitches, Skyward Sword is the Wii game to get this season. With over 40 hours of play, it will keep you magically occupied for weeks on end.

SKYLANDERS: SPYRO’S ADVENTURE Activision for 3DS, Xbox 360, PC, PS3, Wii. Rated E10+ for Cartoon Violence. Gameplay: 8.7 Graphics: 8.8 Sound: 8.5 Replay Value: 8.8 Overall Score: 8.8 Pros: A deep world, action figures store your powers, action figures work on other consoles. Cons: No online play, a few camera angle issues, dialog can be corny.

Combining a toy with a game is a good idea that might put new life into the Spyro series. That’s why I gave it a Boys’ Life E3 award back in June. But now that it’s out, is Skylanders all it’s cracked up to be?

Let’s find out. When you start with the console version of Skylanders, you’ll get a couple of movies telling you about this magical land that floats high in the air. You’re introduced to Master Eon, the wise old Skylander with a British accent who looks after The Core, the power source for this bright and happy country. Well, it used to be bright and happy.

When a hooded evil creep called Kaos brought his dark cloud over the land, Spyro and his gang tried to fight off his minions. And they did well. So Kaos went to Plan C and blew up The Core. Now, it’s up to you to restore calm to this peaceable kingdom.

EXCITING AND FUNNY, BUT CORNY

The story can be exciting and funny, full of tornadoes and weird monsters like Chompers. But it’s corny, too. Some of the things the characters say are just too dorky. And they sometime repeat themselves, yammering on about how you’re going to save them constantly.

Still, there’s so much to the story and game, you block this out as you play and level up. Skylanders isn’t really a platformer. It’s an action adventure with some role playing game elements. So as you get more powerful, you’ll get some kooky things, too, like a pot that’s a hat. And your weapons will get stronger, too.

If you’re really into exploring, the game will take a longer time to complete. So the replay value is high. But as you search the nooks and crannies, the camera angles sometimes block your vision. This doesn’t happen as you move through the main story. Mainly, it happens when you get obsessive and go hunting for hidden treasure chests and goodies that aren’t easily seen.

PORTAL OF POWER

But the big bell and whistle for Skylanders is that the game comes with three action figures. Each one has some intricate features. For instance, the three-inch Dark Spyro has red eyes with black pupils, white fangs and silver horns and wings.

Each of them has special abilities. For instance, the blue, fish-like Gill Grunt shoots water and can go into special areas like rushing waterfalls that are forbidden to those without water powers.

Also included is a Portal of Power that lights up. Plug it into the console. Boot up the game. Put your action figure on the platform. With a magical whoosh and some bright colors onscreen, Spyro is in your game. Over 30 other action figures can work with the game, too, if you choose to collect them all. It’s pretty darn cool.

Additionally, if you have the action figures that come with the 3DS, you can take them to your pal’s house, even if he has another format like the Xbox 360. All of the powers you’ve accumulated from playing the game on the 3DS are transferred as you play on the Xbox. These are smart toys that remember!

CHALLENGING IN A GOOD WAY

So how’s the game itself? At first, you think things will be easy. Shoot a few Chompers, collect the booty in treasure chests, move some turtles around to reach protected areas, and level up. But that’s just early on. As you go through the game, it gets harder. I was actually stymied for a while at a pretty difficult puzzle that asked me to move a bunch of square stones in exactly the right way to get to a portal. And if that’s in the first few levels, you know it’s going to get more challenging (in a good way).

Here’s a special note on the 3DS version. The game looks impressive in 3D as the towns in the sky come to life. The game doesn’t have the deep beginning and dialog to the story that’s on the console and PC versions. But the upside is, it gets you into the game more quickly. I also noticed that you have more powers right away, like the ability to jump and double jump.

Finally, the 3DS platform is powered by batteries, unlike the other versions which use the energy from the console. But some powerful batteries are included. (Yet why they added a screw on the bottom to put in the batteries, I’ll never know. It should just have been a latch. You have to find a screwdriver before you can play!)

Overall, this is a fine reboot to the Spyro series. The characters have so much personality and the world is so lovingly created, I bet there might be a TV show or movie based on the game sometime in the not-so-distant future. It’s a game that everyone can pick up and play. But it’s also one that takes some thinking to master. I’m not going to say it’s the perfect holiday gift, but it will be a really good present to have. And the 30 action figures? Some of you are going to want to collect all of them. I know you’ll be sending in questions about how to get past certain areas in Skylanders soon. Rest assured that my thinking cap is already on!

BASTION

Bastion reminds me of Mario because the characters are so darn lovable. There are lots of upgradeable weapons like those in Ratchet & Clank. The science-fiction story never lets up on adventure. And the dialog is full of a comicbook humor that just might make you laugh out loud.

BASTION Microsoft for Xbox Live Arcade Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older Gameplay: 9.0 Graphics: 8.7 Sound: 8.6 Replay Value: 8.5 Overall Score: 9.0 Pros: Great comic book feel; inspired use of game design; excellent, moving story Cons: Could use more online play; ending feels abrupt; great music, but repetitive

Early on, your weapons don’t do much. But by the time you’re halfway through the game, the things they do will make you go, “Wow!”

As The Kid, you’re a strong, silent hero. Your world needs help badly because a mysterious disaster called The Calamity has ravaged the world. It’s now populated by monsters with stealthy powers, like a strange gator that attacks you from underground. Your guide to unraveling the mystery is Rucks, who adds wit and warnings as you journey. Even in your darkest moments, he believes in you. In his deep, powerful voice, he says, “You ain’t in this alone. That’s a promise.”

What a great gaming experience Bastion is.

FRUIT NINJA KINECT

Fruit Ninja Kinect is one of those games that’s easy to play but hard to master. It’s done so well, you don’t even need instructions or tutorials. Your instincts tell you that all you need is arms that hack and slash.

FRUIT NINJA KINECT Microsoft for Xbox Live Arcade Gameplay: 9.0 Graphics: 8.5 Sound: 8.0 Replay Value: 9.5 Overall Score: 9.0 Pros: Fun, easy play; lots of modes; truly fun facts Cons: No online multiplayer; upgrades cost money; sounds could be better

All kinds of fruit are tossed up into the air, and it’s up to you to cut them. When they’re sliced, they make a satisfying cutting sound, something between a slurp and a smash. And you earn points as you go. Watch out for cannonballs. Hit one and your game is over. But avoiding them without missing a chop of the fruit will allow you to rack up a high score, which you can post online.

There are bonuses, too. At one point, I got to chop one piece of fruit 33 times to add extra points. After the game is done, you even get a fun fact about fruit. Did you know that some pear trees can grow in -40 degree temperatures?

Maybe it’s just that the idea of mixing a powerful ninja with fruit is funny. But I found that playing with a friend is really amusing to the point of laughing crazily. Just don’t chop too hard in case someone gets in the way!

Unfortunately, they’re charging Xbox Live points for upgrades to your ninja sword. They should be free. But you don’t need no stinkin’ upgrade to love this fun game. It really is a step forward for Kinect.

INSANELY TWISTED SHADOW PLANET

I’m not sure how to describe the look of this game. If I said the world was often black and white, you’d think it’s boring. Well, it’s black and white but often really exciting.

INSANELY TWISTED SHADOW PLANET Microsoft for Xbox Live Arcade Gameplay: 8.5 Graphics: 8.5 Sound: 7.0 Replay Value: 8.0 Overall Score: 8.2 Pros: Pilot a flying saucer; mysterious artwork; lots of powerups Cons: Can feel repetitive; could use a better tutorial; story needs fleshing out

The short intro has no dialog. But, to the tune of Star Wars-like dramatic music, you see a small, evil alien at a control panel. He’s changing a world full of brilliant color into one full of shadows and strange beasts and poisonous plants. And, lucky you – you’re dumped into this weird world.

You start out with a lowly flying saucer. But as you move through the nooks and crannies of the levels, your vehicle becomes bigger and stronger. And you get useful tools, like laser rays and a device that helps you move rocks. Plants bite or use tentacles to grab at you. Giant spiders try to stomp on you.

But don’t go too fast through these dark caves in an effort to escape. You might miss a cool upgrade hidden in the crevices or caves. If you do miss it, you can come back later. Just call up a map and check out the areas where you haven’t been.

As you move through the many environments, you’ll notice the game feels a little repetitive. But the whole idea of exploring the world in your own flying saucer is really engrossing in a Metroid kind of way. And the art style is so unique, it feels like a whole new world of scifi magic.

FROM DUST

It’s a little like the Pikmin series, except with a twist. In From Dust, you take control of a tribe that lives during a time when odd, dinosaur-like beasts roamed the world with humans. Your goal is to create a village oasis for the tribe, no small feat in a world full of natural disasters and crazy-large animals.

FROM DUST Microsoft for Xbox Live Arcade Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older Gameplay: 7.5 Graphics: 8.8 Sound: 7.5 Replay Value: 7.7 Overall Score: 7.7 Pros: Create your own civilization; timed missions; beautiful artwork Cons: Way too hard in many places; can’t opt out of timed missions; repetitive

To help your tribe survive, you can manipulate soil and sand to make dunes, mountains and hills. It’s a lot more fun, though, to take a big batch of steaming lava and move it to where there’s too much water. And you can move what amounts to a small plane full of water to where it’s needed (often near fire-breathing plants).

The lush world you make is often beautiful and so is the background music. But, whoa, if you don’t make a village or two and get to the end of a level in time, something like a tsunami roars in to take down the village you just created.

From Dust could have been an outstanding game. But the game makers made this one too hard!

Nicktoons MLB 2K Play for Kinect/Xbox 360, Wii, DS

That’s going to change when Nicktoons MLB is released on September 13.

The recipe is this: Take the photorealistic real-life players from The Bigs series of games. Then, add a team full of humorous Nicktoons characters, everyone from SpongeBob to Danny Phantom.

If that’s not enough technical wizardry for you, there are Kinect features like Distance Derby, basically a home-run derby mode. But it’s more than that; you can bat and pitch through a full game as well.

LOTS OF CHARACTERS, PLAYERS AND MORE

Here’s the big question: Do the wacky animated characters like the hilarious Fanboy and Chum Chum work well with the real-life sports heroes like Big Papi? Or does it all seem weird and fake?

Because so much work has been put into this game, the combination never seems odd. There are 300 major league players in the game. Most of the MLB players are presented in an almost photorealistic way.

Yet it’s not the superstars who give you the most joy. It’s the Nicktoons characters. All two dozen have their own unique way of walking to the plate. For instance, SpongeBob’s cohort Patrick always seems to fall down before he gets to the strike zone.

They play at a dozen venues, everywhere from Giants Stadium to Fenway Park and strange locations like an underwater baseball coliseum called the Poseidome, inspired by SpongeBob’s Bikini Bottom. My favorites are Danny Phantom’s wraith-filled Ghost Zone and Fanboy and Chum Chum’s Frosty Freeze Field (where you can homer a ball into the mouth of an abominable snowman).

ON KINECT

I previewed the game on Kinect, and while it’s a little strange to bat or wind up and throw a ball without holding a Louisville Slugger or a Rawlings, you get used to it. Batting is a little tough, but once you get into the groove of timing the pitches, it works well. In fact, it gets easy. (That means your dad won’t mess up.)

The most variety of movement using Kinect comes with pitching. There were at least three different pitches to choose from. Cup your hands as if you’re gripping the ball. Then, as you wind up, move your hand to the fastball or slider or curve ball area in red to your right. It’s pretty cool.

And the Kinect camera is very responsive to your movements – most of the time, though not every time.

Of course, you can play with the controller as well, when your arms get tired from batting and throwing. It’s too bad you can’t play as your Xbox Live avatar, though.

The one thing I couldn’t detect is whether or not each player has his own strengths and weaknesses. But I could see that each batter had a blue-colored batting area in the strike zone where you shouldn’t pitch to. Those were sweet spots that can result in a mammoth home run – and embarrassment on your part. That’s because GIR, one of the announcers, might call you out for your error. “You’ve got mashed potatoes for a hand!” snickers the scrappy robot.

COOL BONUS – AND VOTE!

As you play, you’ll unlock one of 54 baseball cards featuring characters from your favorite shows, some of which aren’t featured in Nicktoons MLB. All have fun facts on the back, and the occasionally funny one-liner. After loading the bases, I unlocked the Sandy Cheeks card. As I read the short nugget of information, I discovered that the perky squirrel that lives on Bikini Bottom has the world’s largest collection of acorn memorabilia.

Ultimately, there’s something uniquely imaginative about having so many different cartoon heroes on your team at the same time. You can’t hear the banter in the dugout, but you really wish you could.

Although the game won’t be released until Sept. 13, there’s a kind of All Star voting that you can participate in right now. You can choose the characters and MLB players who will compete online on the 13th in The Epic Showdown, a veritable battle of the ages. Here’s the link: www.2KPlayball.com

Nicktoons MLB will be released in plenty of time for the baseball playoffs and the World Series. If the game makers tweak it properly, it could be the coolest fantasy league you’ll find.

NCAA FOOTBALL 12 EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360 Gameplay: 8.7 Graphics: 8.0 Sound: 7.4 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.7 Pros: Road to Glory feels very real; Mascot Mash is hilarious; High School Mode! Cons: Occasional graphics glitches; far too much advertising; needs to feel even more exciting.

Arguably, college ball is a more exciting sport. When fans go wild in mutual appreciation of a touchdown play, it’s a roar of human power like nothing else.

So does NCAA Football 12 live up to the real-life experience? It comes pretty close, even though there are some issues.

THE TOUCHDOWNS

The first thing I did when I booted up the game was play Mascot Mash. Here, all of your players look like the enthusiastic mascot of your favorite college team, whether it’s LSU’s Mike the Tiger or USC’s Tommy Trojan. When you play four quarters of Mascot Mash, you get the feeling of an arcade game, maybe something like Big Head Mode in NBA Jam.

But mascot mode, fun as it is, is just window dressing to a varied game that can be extraordinarily deep. There’s strategic coaching and crucial player trading – if you want it. Or keep it simple by choosing from the limited number of plays you’re given, then passing, running, kicking and defending.

It all depends on how you want to play.

Another fun part of the game is the really cool Road to Glory. You’ll begin as a high school player. (They probably have your high school to choose from.) Type your name when you create a player, and that goes on the back of your jersey.

The announcer will even call out your actual name from time to time. Plus, as you progress and get better, you’ll get interest from colleges and even offers for scholarships. The background graphics aren’t all that and the players look older than teens, but it’s very exciting.

LEARN BY DOING

When you play the high school circuit, you have one play to choose from (unless you call an audible). It seems like the early portion of Road to Glory is kind of a subtle tutorial that doesn’t exactly tell you how to do things. It lets you learn by doing. It’s more fun than the tutorial that explains everything.

Once you’re done with your high school career, choose from a few scholarships offered from big colleges that want you as a second-string player. Or you’ll be first string at a smaller school.

I picked a scholarship to USC, where I had to practice, practice, practice passing against an amazing Trojan defense to please the coach. Despite my five-star high school career, practice before a game was the only way to get to play — eventually — on Game Day.

For some reason, NCAA Football 12 made me really want to get on the good side of the coach. So I practiced carefully to get experience points. It wasn’t easy! Every time the USC defense intercepted one of my passes, points were deducted.

For this review, I’ve concentrated on the Road to Glory mode. But there’s a lot more here.

In Dynasty Mode, you can work your way up as coach. Or you can just play the season. You can set one of 200 sounds for the pregame show. As you choose from nearly 400 plays, your goal toward making the bowls becomes more real. When you tackle defense, the strength of your hit has an impact on whether the runner or receiver goes down. If you’re not close enough to reach out and grab, you can lunge and leap to get your man. The list goes on.

THE FUMBLES

This doesn’t mean NCAA 12 is perfect. You will see frames drop, which results in the occasional jerky-looking movements. You will see words misspelled when you’re given hints that too often repeat themselves during long load times. And sometimes on 4th down in Road to Glory, the plays you’re given don’t include a field goal option – even if you’re close enough to kick it through the uprights.

When I first played, the EA server for playing online was not working. But then it worked fine.

And then there’s the rampant advertising. It seems to be everywhere, not only in banners around the field. Ads are part of score recaps and half-time, too. It’s really annoying, especially since the price of the game is $60. For those dollars, you’d think they’d limit advertisements. I just hope that there won’t be video commercials in games any time soon.

Despite these issues, NCAA Football 12 has moments that are far more electrifying than Madden. It doesn’t have the big football superstars with million-dollar contracts. But it has something that’s just as important: It has heart.

CARS 2

When I first saw the Cars 2 game at a Disney event a few months ago, I thought, “It’s too familiar. It’s Mario Kart with Pixar characters.”

CARS 2 Disney for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, DS Gameplay: 8.5 Graphics: 8.5 Sound: 8.0 Replay Value: 8.0 Overall Score: 8.5 Pros: Very nice re-imagining of the Cars characters. Imaginative levels. Excellent controls. Cons: Online play eventually asks you to pay. Can’t customize the Cars. Story could be better.

But when I play Cars 2, I see that it’s so much more. The experience is enjoyable beyond being inspired by Mario Kart.

A lot of this has to do with Pixar humor and attention to detail. While there’s not much story in Cars 2, the idea that you’re a spy agent of C.H.R.O.M.E. (Command Headquarters for Recon Operations and Motorized Espionage) who races all over to save the world is a good one. And you’ll get a few hearty laughs as you move from level to level to complete your spy training.

Every car you choose from is balanced for a different speed and power. More than 20 cars have their own unique personalities. They each look different: even the eyes on the cars move and react. The cars say things that are funny; even more important, they say them at the right time during the race. If you’re hit by another car, Lightning McQueen will say, “Hey, watch the paint job!”

A fairly lengthy (but interesting) tutorial tells you how to leap in the air, drift and use weapons. During this learning experience, you’ll see how nicely the controls are tweaked. All this makes for a smoother race – even when others are showering you with bombs and you’re spinning out.

Cars 2 is made by the same people who developed Toy Story 3, a real gem of a game. While Cars 2 isn’t as complex because it doesn’t have an open world to roam around in, you can still see how much the game makers cared about the characters – and your game play experience as well.

Cars 2 connects to World of Cars online. That means you can play for free for a while. But if you upgrade your cars, you’ll be asked to pay money. It’s nice that Cars 2 connects online. But in this day and age, the game should have its own online play. You should not have to pay more cash to play.

Overall, though, this is a fine racing game, one that you’ll enjoy before and after seeing the Pixar movie.

KUNG FU PANDA 2

In Kung Fu Panda 2, you are the panda warrior. In the Kinect version – which I reviewed – without a controller, you kick, punch and block with your body in front of the controller. You vanquish all manner of cartoon beasts.

KUNG FU PANDA 2 THQ for Kinect/Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS. Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older Gameplay: 6.8 Graphics: 6.5 Sound: 8.0 Replay Value: 7.0 Overall Score: 7.0 Pros: Fun to do Kung Fu moves. A variety of things to do. Kinect is a great controller. Cons: Game doesn’t seem finished. Characters’ lips don’t move in synch. Long load times.

First, you start with tutorials, which actually can be fun. The first time Po the Giant Panda moves when you move is pretty cool. You almost feel as if you have another identity.

But is there enough game inside to keep you going? I was surprised to see that Panda 2 isn’t a collection of mini games. There’s a story to it that mirrors the movie.

But there’s a problem. As you go from story to game play, there’s a lot of time spent waiting in between. And then there’s the time wasted waiting for the game to save. To play, then wait, then play, then wait is kind of jarring. So you sit there looking at a scene and realize the characters’ mouths don’t really move in time with the dialog. And sometimes the dialog is cut off as the scene ends.

Despite this, Panda 2 can be fun. Kicking and punching strange animals that act like humans gives you a good workout, too. Sometimes, you even get to call your other Kung Fu Panda pals to help you out.

And, for variety, you race in a rickshaw, which sometimes soars in the air off a platform.

But the game is really slowed down by the lack of great animation, the sluggish load times and the uneasy change from story scenes to gameplay. Overall, Kung Fu Panda 2 was a fine idea that suffers from not being quite polished enough. Rent it first to see if you want to own it.

TRANSFORMERS DARK OF THE MOON: STEALTH FORCE EDITION

Since the new Transformers movie is in 3D, I took a look at the 3D game version of the big mech summer blockbuster. And with the 3DS, you don’t have to wear glasses! You can’t say that about the movie.

TRANSFORMERS DARK OF THE MOON: STEALTH FORCE EDITION Activision for Wii, 3DS, DS. Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older. Gameplay: 6.5 Graphics: 7.0 Sound: 6.5 Replay Value: 7.0 Overall Score: 6.5 Pros: 3D looks good. It’s kind of like a demolition derby. Uses various weapons. Cons: 3D doesn’t appear in story scenes. Controls aren’t great. You can’t transform into a robot.

So it’s a slam dunk, right? Well, not exactly.

You’d think a movie story in which the main characters have to defeat big robots would be full of cool action and a thrilling story – and big robots.

But the story sequences aren’t in 3D. That really takes you out of the experience.

And you can’t even transform into one of those giant robots. You just have bigger, better weapons on your vehicle.

The game begins in a parched desert area. In a moment, you’re asked to infiltrate the Decepticon fortress base. But you first have to deal with other cars that are out to get you. In the 3D screen, you see directly ahead of you. It does display a lot of 3D-ness. On the bottom screen, you have radar.

As you play, you can move around and transform into Stealth Mode to shoot strong weapons at the many Decepticons that have their sights on you. But the Stealth Mode runs out quickly. When it runs out completely, you have to start the level over again.

Often, by the time an audio cue suggests that you drive over more icons of health, you’re a second away from failing the mission. Sometimes the audio cue gives you a little more time, but overall I think this voice from above is misplaced. It should give you a shout out much sooner.

Also, the difficulty ramps up too quickly. Partially, that’s because there are two different control modes, which is confusing. When you’re in Vehicle Mode, you drive forward and steer with the circle pad and shoot with the B button. But when you’re in Stealth Mode with those bigger weapons, you have to steer with the bumper buttons, drive forward with the circle pad and shoot with two other buttons. It’s annoying to make this switch constantly – especially when you’re always under attack.

Still, there are 18 cars from which to choose, and the battlefields look very good. The game makers’ original idea of making Transformers into a giant demolition derby is a fun idea.

It’s too bad that those amazing, giant robots aren’t in the game. And the controls make this harder than it should be. Definitely rent this before you buy.

BOYS’ LIFE BEST OF E3

Here are the Games Guru’s picks for the best stuff to be found at the 2011 E3 gaming conference.

Game of the Show: Batman: Arkham City (WBIE)

There’s just so much here. You seem to be able to travel anywhere in Gotham City to get the many bad guys in this big, big story. In my demo, I tracked down the Riddler in a game full of action and intrigue. You can even grapple a helicopter to take you around the city and get an amazing view.

Most Promising Cross Platform Game: Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure (Activision)

It’s a toy. It’s a game. And it brings you back to the world of Spyro the Dragon. The package is a big one. It comes with the game, three action figures, a poster and the power platform that lights up. You can play it on just about any game machine, too. The 32 collectible action figures are so detailed and the game world is so compelling, can a movie be far behind?

Most Promising Movie to Game: The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn (Ubisoft)

This adventure game is so big that Steven Spielberg, the winter movie’s director, made a video to extol its virtues at E3. But Tin Tin is a charming game about a boy reporter that’s full of action on the high seas, in the air on a plane and through the desert on a motorcycle.

Best Comeback: Rayman Origins (Ubisoft)

This Rayman game is so much more than a platformer. And what a magical, inventive game it is. It starts off easy, then gets harder and harder. Do you have what it takes to beat it? You will if you play co-op with your pals.

Most Promising Kooky Sports Game: Sonic and Mario at the London 2012 Olympics (Sega)

The fantasy games make this cool. For instance, you don’t throw the discus. You ride on it and collect golden rings. And who doesn’t like Sonic and Mario characters together in one game?

Best Downloadable Game, PlayStation Network: Journey (Sony)

Journey is an amazing experiment. There’s no dialog at all. But the desert world is beautiful, and the mystery you encounter as you slide along the desert sand is compelling. Finally, the music is otherworldly. Just one brilliant game.

Best Downloadable Game, Xbox Live: Bastion (WBIE)

Oh, man, is this a game I didn’t want to stop playing. It’s part platformer, part RPG and all personality. The funny comic-book-type narration is cool enough to make the price of admission worthwhile. But really, it’s the 20 or more hours of gameplay that make Bastion a bargain.

Most Promising 3DS Game (Nintendo): Luigi’s Mansion 2

I love Halloween games, and this will be full of spooky thrills. It’s always great to see Luigi get some props because Mario always steals the show. Go, Luigi!

Biggest Question Mark: Wii U (Nintendo)

When the Wii premiered, everyone got the idea without having an explanation. Plus, Nintendo needed a new console because the GameCube was so old school. Wii U is like an iPad as a controller with a Wii base. But why should we want it as a replacement? One reason is that games will be HD. But exactly why is it cool? Nintendo needs to explain that.

Most Promising Kinect Game: Kinect Disneyland Adventures (Disney Interactive)

If you ever wanted to meet the great Disney characters, play games with them and hang at Disneyland, this disk will immerse you in that world. It’ll be great to fly like Peter Pan!

Most Promising Peripheral for Kinect: Nyko Zoom

It’s simple. It lets you stand closer to the Kinect if you don’t have a lot of space. Everyone with a small living room will be so happy.

Most Promising Quirky Cool Game: James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes (Ubisoft)

This game was so hidden at E3, I had to search for it like an Easter egg hunt. The idea is brilliant. Combine a detective story with a game show with fun puzzles to solve, and you have the quirkiest game at E3. This one really should have been given more space to shine.

Coolest Celebrity Appearance: Dwight Howard

Sure, there were tons of celebrities at E3. But Orlando Magic superstar Dwight Howard stole the show by being humble and gracious when he promoted an upcoming exercise game for THQ called MiCoach. The sports world needs more honest people like Dwight.

DAY 3: GAMES GALORE

On the convention floor at E3, there are so many thousands of people, you sometimes think it’s New York City at rush hour. And what a rush it is. Everyone’s hurrying to get from one booth to the other to check out as many games as they can.

And you have people paid to dress up in all sorts of costumes at the booths, everyone from Harley Quinn for Batman: Arkham City (which is going to be an awesome game with lots for the Caped Crusader to do) to a very blue Sonic to everyone’s favorite plumber, Mario.

Phineas & Ferb

As the afternoon approached, I saw a huge line outside the Disney booth. Signing autographs were the creators of the TV’s wackiest and most popular cartoon series, “Phineas & Ferb.” I spoke with Dan Povenire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, who are really excited about their new movie and game, “Phineas & Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension.” (There will be more “Phineas & Ferb” news in BL soon.)

Spyro

Activision isn’t forgetting kids this year. They’re offering up a bold experience that combines the Spyro the Dragon universe with cool, detailed action figures. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure asks you to put, say, a small figure of Spyro on a lighted platform that connects to your console. Place the toy on the console and press down. Magically, it’s transported into a colorful world of wonder, one full of battles and kooky characters.

But there’s more. Say you have an Xbox 360 and your pal has a Wii. Your action figure stores your saved game. Then, you can take your figure to your pal’s power platform to play at his house. Pretty cool – especially because there are dozens of figures to collect, each with special powers in the game.

Journey and Bastion

While you already heard about Sony’s press conference, inside their mammoth booth was a strange adventure game that was also relaxing to play. Journey for the PlayStation Network is made by the same company that gave you Flow and Flower. This time, the experience takes place in a mysterious desert. You move through the barren areas, sliding on the sand and flying over the landscape to investigate ancient structures that have a key to an odd mystery.

Another small but amazing game is called Bastion. It’s a platformer with role-playing elements that wins because of its comic book-like and very humorous narrator. He’s got this big, booming voice, full of personality.

LEGO and Zoom

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5–7 takes on the darker elements of the famous book and movie series. But they’ve kept the game light by adding doses of humor to some of the sadder and creepier portions of the story. Like Years 1–4, it’s going to rock.

If your living room is small or just has a lot of stuff in it, Nyko has a pretty amazing idea for Kinect. Zoom is a plastic magnifier that fits over Kinect. It lets you cut the space you need to play by 40 percent. It’s a really useful idea.

While this isn’t the most exciting E3 I’ve ever been to, it’s been a strong one with lots of important news and some truly imaginative games.

DAY 2: NINTENDO NEWS

The lights went out and it was all Zelda. The big Nintendo press conference at E3 didn’t begin with a speech or statistics about how well the Wii is doing. It began with a full orchestra and a powerful choir — all doing Legend of Zelda songs.

It’s the 25th anniversary of Zelda, and this rich tribute in music lasted 20 minutes. It included an appearance by the great creator himself, Shigeru Miyamoto. Everyone went wild when Nintendo announced the release date of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword as this fall.

There was also some 3DS news, including a new Luigi’s Mansion that will come out this Halloween. What was shown on the big screen was full of ghosts and mummies. The game will offer several mansions to explore with that crazy vacuum cleaner.

Bigger news: Wii U

But, of course, there was bigger news to come. The new Nintendo console isn’t called Wii 2. It’s called Wii U and will probably be released in November 2012. There’s no price yet, but my guess is that it will be priced at around $300 or $350.

So what’s new? Wii U will present games in HD. That means future Zeldas and Super Mario Galaxys in crisp, clear high-definition graphics.

Wii U is totally going to be worth the wait. The Nintendo bigwigs said the “U” is used in the name because the letter is supposed to evoke unification and uniqueness. What it’s really about is a new-ish way to play games.

That experience starts with an iPad-like device with a six-and-a-half inch touchscreen placed on a wireless, white controller. There’s also a Wii-like console that sits near your TV set. Wii U will play your old Wii games, too, but probably not GameCube games.

After the press conference, I was one of the first to get my hands on Wii U. There were no full games to play because the device is still in development. But some of the demos I played showed off bells and whistles that will change the way you play games.

The Wii U Lowdown

Mii Chase, for instance, is a four-player game in a maze. I held the tablet controller. The three others held traditional Wii controllers. Since my controller had a screen, I could see the whole maze from a bird’s eye view. They couldn’t. With a 15-second head start, I began to find hiding places within the vast maze as the other three tried to track me down. But they couldn’t see where I was — unless they saw me briefly on the TV screen as I ran through the maze.

This experience showed off the cool advantage of using a screen that’s twice the size of the 3DS, and not that heavy either.

I also checked out a demo called Shield Pose. A bunch of pirates were shooting arrows at me, and I used the tablet to block them. It had to be done in a kind of musical rhythm, so it wasn’t that easy!

Wii U also allows you to switch from the TV to play on the controller screen if someone in your family wants to watch something on TV. Then, you can switch back when they’re done.

Yet Wii U doesn’t seem like the groundbreaking device that the original Wii has been — yet. It feels and looks like an iPad connected wirelessly to a console. Maybe that’s because Nintendo didn’t reveal all of its functionality. For instance, will it be connected to the Internet for multiplayer? Also, the tablet controller looks like it might be too big for small hands. And it’s complex, too, with a lot of buttons in addition the touch functions. One game maker said it is the “Swiss Army knife of controllers.”

Nintendo has a ton of time to reveal its full plans for world domination with Wii U — and to blow us away with cool snippets and secrets all the way up to launch time. But a little more information would have gone a long way at the press conference.

DAY 1: KINECT AND SONY NEWS

E3 is like the most amazing carnival you’ve ever seen. For four or five days each June, downtown Los Angeles is transformed into a videogame circus. It’s noisy. It’s crazy. And it’s very magical, too.

The first act into the circus ring this year was Microsoft. So many new games were shown on a giant high-definition screen, it was hard to keep track of them.

The big news from Microsoft is all about Kinect. Last year, Kinect seemed like a Nintendo Wii clone: mini games without the controller. This year, Microsoft is going deeper. It really seems like Kinect can do a limitless number of things.

For instance, you’ll see Madden, FIFA and PGA games make use of Kinect soon. These are all intense simulation games, not games like Wii Sports that are easy to pick up and play. Can Electronic Arts and Microsoft make these harder games easier to play without a controller without sacrificing deep gameplay? I can’t wait to find out.

And say you’re playing a Star Wars game and want to know more about Star Wars. Via Kinect, you can search with your voice on the Xbox 360. Just say “Star Wars,” and all the games, cartoons and movies will come up on your screen for you to check out.

Speaking of Star Wars, there’s a pretty intense Kinect version of the George Lucas-made sci-fi world coming to the Xbox 360. Lightsaber fighting and Jedi adventures without a controller? Count me in!

And if you love Disneyland, you just might like Disneyland Adventures. Using Kinect, you get to fly like Peter Pan and even fight Captain Hook. This looks like a winner for kids of all ages.

Later, Microsoft showed off something smaller for Kinect that struck me as the ultimate way to personalize your avatar. You can soon have Kinect scan your body to create your avatar, right down to the graphics on the cool t-shirt you’re wearing. It looks a lot more like you than the avatar now created with your controller, that’s for sure. The possibilities here are endless. Imagine scanning your customized skateboard and putting it in a game.

Sony rocked, too

Not to be outdone, Sony had its own carnival in the evening. It took a while, but Sony’s big boss, Jack Tretton, apologized for the recent PlayStation Network hacking. Then, he got to the games.

This fall’s new Uncharted 3 for PS3 looks like an action movie with some Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure. Usually, I’m a good note taker. But there was so much action on the churning high seas and elsewhere, I forgot all about it. This is one game that truly takes you into its world. It will have 3-D capabilities, too.

Sony’s biggest news was about its new PSP. It’s now called PSVita, not NGP (New Generation Portable). And, boy, it’s so powerful that the graphics almost look as good as those on the PS3. Just wait until you play ModNation Racers and LittleBigPlanet on it.

You’ll be able to use button or touchscreen controls as you play. And you can use them in any combo that you desire. With ModNation, watching an alpine village rise from the screen after a few swipes of the fingers was an awesome experience.

PSVita will cost $249 when it’s released in time for the holidays. If you want a version that’s constantly connected to the Internet using 3G, it’s $300. Those are fair prices.

But don’t forget the PS3 and the Move. A game called Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest takes you through a world full of hordes of humorous skeletons, insane puzzles and dimly lit dungeons. It’s all controlled with the Move, everything from sword fighting and moving gears to solve puzzles.

LEGO PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Disney Interactive for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, DS, 3DS, PC Gameplay: 8.0 Graphics: 8.0 Sound: 7.5 Replay Value: 8.0 Overall Score: 7.7 Pros: Relive action from all the movies; fun swordplay and barrel rolling; many characters. Cons: Puzzles sometimes are too easy; game can feel repetitive; no online multiplayer.

SAME OL’ LEGOS, BUT FUN!

While the game is very good at times, they haven’t improved the patented LEGO gameplay very much. When you’ve played everything from LEGO Star Wars to LEGO Harry Potter, you notice that the way they are constructed doesn’t change much from game to game. You kind of wish they’d do something completely different, at least for part of the game.

Having said that, it still can be a lot fun, especially for fans of the movies.

You start out with a long movie-like scene that introduces the elegant tall ships and the high-seas adventure that’s in store. Then you meet Jack Sparrow, who falls down into a fireplace and burns his behind (which he cools off in a bucket of water). Immediately, you’re into some puzzle play, and you even have to use a horse to help you move a giant gear or two.

But the authorities catch Jack, and you have to bust him out of jail. Here, you have to switch off to inhabit a character on your team that’s a dog. Supply him with a nearby bone to help Jack. Once outside, the views are awesome: the beach, the piers, the water, everything sparkles. Tip: Go swim in the ocean to get an early achievement for the Xbox 360 version. But watch out for the giant shark.

Of course, you collect those famous studs and, for this game, ships in a bottle as you play. You’ll make all sorts of things: planks to walk on, pieces of boats, platforms to jump onto and more. One of the early features I really enjoyed was getting on top of a barrel and rolling it to a contraption with pulleys and using the barrel as a kind of gear to open a door. You also get to zipline to a ship, which is a thrill.

CHALLENGES, CHALLENGES

Try to get everything you can in an area before you move on. At one point, I couldn’t return to an area to finish up. (I like to get 100 percent of everything in LEGO games, and I only got 80 percent.) Don’t worry about getting everything in the first go around. Once you finish a level, you’ll unlock free play and get more stuff when you play the level again.

One of the things you might have found in the Pirates movies is that the plots are difficult to follow. That’s even more the case here with the video game because LEGO characters don’t talk. So you if you want to know what’s going on, watch the movies again. Or look at a synopsis on Wikipedia.

When you play Sparrow, you can pull down a compass full of his added abilities. And you have 70 characters to use during 20 long levels before you’re done. Then there’s more with the Free Play option.

You also get a couple of cool extras inside the game box. While the game booklet isn’t worth a fake gold doubloon as far as a tutorial or real game info goes, there’s a playing card inside with a code on it. It allows you to download some goodies.

COOL 3DS VERSION

It’s worth mentioning that the 3DS version of LEGO Pirates is nearly as good as the console versions. The graphics, which are just as detailed, have the added sweetness of depth (which is great for viewing the high seas and ghosts, too). And the 3DS tutorial is really good. In fact, it’s much better than those for the console versions.

Fighting can be a little different, though. You press buttons in the same order as they appear on the screen as you duel it out with swords. There are some items and parts of the environment in the console versions that are missing from the 3DS version. But you don’t really miss them much. Overall, the 3DS version gives you just as much bang for the buck.

While LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean isn’t quite the treasure I expected, it’s still a pretty deep experience. You’ll love the funny way Jack Sparrow moves – with his hands raised up and leaning back on his heels, almost as if he’s going to fall over. And you’ll enjoy playing with a pal on the console versions.

With a couple of reservations, it’s a Yo Ho Ho of a game.

NASCAR The Game 2011 Activision for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 Gameplay: 6.5 Graphics: 7.5 Sound: 6.5 Replay Value: 7.0 Overall Score: 6.5 Pros: Has potential for next year; many modes; cars are nicely modeled. Cons: Play isn’t well-balanced; online play has issues; doesn’t feel real too often.

This isn’t an arcade game. It’s a simulation that let’s you tweak the most minor detail – including your engine and the amount of air in your tires.

And, boy, the opening video sure gets you in the mood. You feel like you’re in the middle of the big pack, and when a car flips and comes at you, almost like you’re in one of the Transformers movies. And the rock music before your first race really gets your heart pumping.

PUT ON THE BRAKES

But when you start career mode, the complex tutorial becomes confusing. How exactly do you rewind and turn back time if you crash? It’s really uncertain. You’ll figure it out as you play, but it’s not explained well.

Then, when an announcer gets you psyched about your first race, the bird’s eye view from above Daytona shows something that’s somehow lonely. You should see what you really see at a NASCAR race: tons of people having a great time, many camped out inside the racetrack itself. All you see are cars or buses on the inner track. It’s like everyone left to do something better.

CATCH A DRAFT

Once you begin the race, you immediately feel like a fool. You’re really not a fool. It’s just that the game is so unbalanced, the difficulty ramps up way too early.

The key to winning a race is to follow behind another car and catch its draft for a few seconds. You’ll see a spike of energy build up in a meter. Once it’s built up, you can race forward past another car, and another and another.

That’s not too easy to do, however. And it should be easy early on because you have to get used to the controls, not to mention pro racing itself. Later, I found that I could adjust the game’s ease of play. But even that was hard to find, so that initial hour or so of difficulty soured me.

THE GOOD STUFF

There’s a lot in this game: tons of pro racers, two good announcers and lots of trivia during the long load times before each race. Radar shows you where the other cars are, either behind you or to your side. There’s a Draft Indicator that tells you when to slingshot in front of the next car. There are many modes, including online (which also has issues).

And there’s your spotter who, in a calm voice, gives you hints on how to progress in a long race. But often his words come late. If you hit the wall, it takes him a few seconds to respond. That doesn’t seem real, and it takes you out of the game.

BUYER BEWARE

NASCAR 2011 The Game has potential for next year. At its core are the makings of a solid game. But what should be the heart-pounding, tense thrill of racing in the pack often becomes a worry that you haven’t stayed in the draft. Too many times, you get left far behind, never to get the draft again.

Rent this one first to make sure it’s for you.

Shift 2: Unleashed Electronic Arts for PS3, Xbox 360, PC. Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older Gameplay: 8.0 Graphics: 8.5 Sound: 8.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.5 Pros: Very well-balanced; exciting to play; Helmet Cam. Cons: A little repetitive; option to buy upgrades stinks; drifting is too hard.

On the other hand, you have to give kudos to the people who made Shift 2: Unleashed. They take what could have been a scary, crash-filled experience – racing at night – and make it really thrilling.

STRONG START

Right from the beginning, you know you’re in for something special with this arcade and simulation combo. The opening movie is full of hot graphics and stop-action video. Soon, you find that it’s easy to tweak the game to your level of expertise because the options screen pops up before you play.

Then, Formula Drift champion racer Vaughn Gittin Jr. takes you through the tutorial like a great teacher: He gets you excited, but you learn a lot, too.

And even if you don’t adjust the options to your play level, the game will do it for you after your first race. That’s important because it not only prevents crashing into walls, it also makes for a deeper, more enjoyable experience on the tracks.

MAINTAINING MOMENTUM

One of the early three-minute races is a little frightening, with a lot of twisting curves before the straightaways. And somehow, those three minutes shine because you seem to see everything around you perfectly.

Your goal is to move up the ranks to become the winner of the FIA GT1 Championship. As you race, you’ll collect XP and eventually move to the next circuit. You’ll get fake money to buy new cars and receive gifts like paint jobs, too.

With the Helmet Cam function, you can see what a real driver sees as he races. You can follow behind arrows on the road to achieve the fastest speed. (Or you can turn the arrows off for more realism.)

When you’re experienced and ready for a tough challenge, turn on Elite Handling for new excitement.

CHECKERED FLAG FINISH

Because Shift 2: Unleashed is a well-balanced game, you never get winded or bored. You just seem in the zone and ready for more. Ultimately, almost everything about the game feels alive – the people mingling on the tracks, the flags tugged by winds and the constantly revving sounds of other drivers trying to beat you.

I don’t like the fact that the drifting challenges are too difficult and that you have the option to buy upgrades with real money. (You’ve already paid $60 for the game! It’s insulting to ask you to spend more.) These are minor problems, though.

Overall, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Forget those goofy glasses. The 3DS lets you play games in 3D without them. It lets you watch movies in 3D, too.

Why is the 3DS so cool? Let’s take a peek under the hood.

First, the system has a computer processor that’s more powerful than what’s in the Wii. You can see this in the games’ graphics, everything from Super Monkey Ball 3D to Steel Diver. People have said that what you see is as good as what you see with an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. It’s not that good, but it’s close!

With this system, more than games come to life. You can take photos in 3D. Word is, they’re even working on letting you take video in 3D. It’s really a brand-new world.

BUT WAIT – THERE’S MORE

You can use the round stick on the left to control many games. Or use the gyroscope inside and tilt it back and forth the way you control an iPhone or iPod Touch game. You can try out augmented reality, too. With six included cards, you can see 3D creatures and manipulate them. I fought against a dragon that sat on my table. It was so detailed, I almost forgot it wasn’t real.

Take time to create your own Mii, too. It just might pop up in the games you choose to play. (Unfortunately, the Mii it creates based on a photo you take doesn’t really look like you.)

The 3DS is also a pedometer. It tracks how far you’ve walked and gives you virtual gold coins that let you unlock rewards in games. There’s even a graph that tells you how many steps you’ve walked and how much time you’ve spent playing.

HOW IS THE 3D?

When the effect of depth works well, the 3DS shows itself to be the best handheld machine ever made.

There’s a downside, though, when you get too excited during play. There’s only one viewing angle for the 3DS – straight on. When you use the tilt controls, you have to move your head exactly at the perfect angle or you lose the 3D effect. With super-fast games, this happens a lot. The solution? Turn off the 3D via the slider on the right side. And, like the instructions say, don’t play too long at one sitting. You might get a headache or nauseous.

The best use of 3D will probably be with role-playing games like the reimagining of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, which drops later this year. That’s because in a role-playing game, you’re moving more slowly. The slower you move with the 3DS, the more you experience the joys of three dimensions.

Let’s get to the launch game reviews!

STEEL DIVER (Nintendo)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

Steel Diver looks like a simple submarine shooting game, but it’s more complex than that. The console uses its gyroscope as the sub’s periscope. You have to move the 3DS all around you in a circle to find the enemies targeting your vessel. At first, it’s easy. But when the water gets murky and you’re being targeted from behind, things get frantic. The sub springs leaks when hit, and you have to tap the touchscreen to fix it. Plus, there’s Mission Mode, in which you have to get from point A to point B. Sound easy? Just try it.

How’s the 3D? Cool! Realistic-looking water flows dramatically like something out of the movies.

SUPER MONKEY BALL 3D (Sega)

First, there’s the trademark banana collecting as you move through maze-like chutes that always increase in difficulty. Plus, there’s a racing game. And there’s a platform-type fighting game that’s really addictive. Get punched by another monkey and you’ll lose your bananas. The key to winning? Use defense to avoid getting hit.

How’s the 3D? Pretty impressive. But you sometimes lose the 3D effect when you get excited and move the console out of your viewing angle.

PILOTWINGS RESORT (Nintendo)

Wow. This arcade flier has elements of a flight simulation game. With a plane, rocket pack or hang glider, soar around the island in timed missions. You’re scored on accuracy of flying through rings and your soft, careful landing in specific spots. Later, you get bigger planes like souped-up jets. And there’s a cool surprise: a suit that lets you soar without a rocket pack, like a flying squirrel.

How’s the 3D? Great. Volcanoes, waterfalls and clouds all make for a visually thrilling experience. You might need to turn down the 3D with a speedier jet, though, to prevent dizziness.

MADDEN NFL FOOTBALL (EA)

You know what they say when a team loses the Super Bowl? “Wait til next year.” That’s what you should do with Madden for the 3DS. This football game just isn’t ready for full 3D experience. There’s no online play, no multiplayer and no Franchise Mode. You don’t really seem to control it as much as watch it. It will be better next year, though.

How’s the 3D? Not great. There’s depth. But a lot of it is played from overhead, like a bird looking down at the field. It needs better camera angles to make the 3D pop out at you.

LEGO STAR WARS III: THE CLONE WARS (LucasArts)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

Near perfection! It’s a lot more than building vehicles and collecting studs. Immersed in the Clone Wars universe, you get to play three characters at first, including Yoda. Later, you can unlock a half dozen or so characters, including R2-D2 and Darth Vader. Unfortunately, it has one of the worst instruction booklets I’ve ever seen for a game. But that’s a small thing compared to the highly detailed weapons, characters and weird space worlds you’ll encounter during play.

How’s the 3D? Amazing. As far as 3D goes, this is the best game out there among the launch titles for kids. You can tell the 3D is carefully created, and the science fiction worlds are strangely beautiful. You want to stop and look around every few minutes to check out the environments.

RAYMAN 3D (Ubisoft)

This humorous adventure tale takes Rayman through lands full of awe and wonder. Try to capture the glowing lums, all 1,000 of them!

How’s the 3D? Superb, although turn it down when animals like butterflies get in your face. Check out the awesome waterfalls and swim in the underwater locales for a real 3D fantasy.

RIDGE RACER 3D (Namco)

The latest edition of the arcade racing sim puts you behind the wheel in 3D, and when you use nitrous to speed up – whoa!

How’s the 3D? More subtle than in the other games. See it best by changing the camera angle to behind your racecar.

MARIO SPORTS MIX Nintendo for Wii Gameplay: 7.0 Graphics: 8.0 Sound: 6.0 Replay Value: 7.0 Overall Score: 7.5 Official Web Site Pros: Many lovable Nintendo characters, fun arcade sports play, online play (rare on Wii) Cons: Not enough depth to half the games, games sometime play slowly

Strikers was hilarious and fun. It also was a completely immersive sports game that took the reflexes of a tiger and nerves of steel to win.

By now, all the games in Mario Sports Mix have already been on the system – multiple times in various ways. You’ve seen NBA Jam as the premier arcade basketball game. And you’ve seen NHL Slapshot as the killer arcade hockey game.

So why get Mario Sports Mix?

FOR THE CHARACTERS AND THE POWER UPS

After you download a three-minute upgrade, it’s all about the zany characters: Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Wario and Donkey Kong and eight others. If you’re a true Nintendo fan, there’s nothing like playing as these animated wonders and adding your Mii as you play on their team.

Beyond the wacky personalities, it’s all about power ups. At the opposing team, you can throw slippery bananas, blasting bombs and mushrooms that make you tiny. Pass over a question mark on the floor, and you’ll get a coin that adds points to your score. Using power ups, I added about seven points to a Basketball game when I was behind. And then I came out as a winner.

Plus, as each game progresses, you have enough strength to pull off your power move once or twice. That comes with a powerful but chuckle-worthy animation and an almost indefensible move that results in needed points. Save it for the right time. But don’t wait too long.

BASKETBALL AND HOCKEY RULE

Basketball is really sweet, although the characters sometimes move like they have weights in their shoes. Still, only with the creative minds of Nintendo can you find a basketball arena with a Luigi’s Mansion haunted theme. The court can get dark and ghosts can grab the ball. And your basket? It’s a big, creepy chandelier!

Hockey, too, is superior fun. You can scuffle (Nintendo’s term for a hockey brawl) and get the puck away from someone hugely monstrous, like Bowser. In the western-themed rink, you’ll have a goaltender who also uses a kind of train. His tracks come out to center ice and he’ll throw bananas all over. If you can get close to the net and pass the bananas while he’s out, you can score easily.

VOLLEYBALL AND DODGE BALL, NOT SO MUCH

Volleyball, certainly in the single person mode, feels slow as you play. Much of it is also controlled by the Wii, unless you change the settings. The game’s OK, but not that interesting.

While Volleyball is kind of fun, Dodge Ball is really kind of boring. Dodge Ball is the kind of game you need to play in real life to enjoy. There’s not enough nuance to Dodge Ball. It just doesn’t lend itself to being a great video game – even with unusual power ups.

GO ONLINE

Online play is relatively easy to enjoy in Mario Sports Mix. It’s a breeze to go online with your broadband connection. You’ll play with folks from around the world – the same way you do with Mario Kart. And you can add your Mii to the games.

But if you want to invite your pal to play online, you have to enter that long string of numbers called the Friend Code. It should be a little easier to get online with your besties. There’s no real keyboard with the Wii, just point and click with the remote. Adding those numbers for multiple people you know is kind of a pain.

START EASY, AND TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

When you begin the games in Mario Sports Mix, try Easy Mode. It’s a great way to hone your chops. Move on to Hard Mode when you’re comfortable with pulling off your many moves. Expert Mode is nearly impossible to win (as it is with most games). Expect to get a royal beat down against the Wii.

The game’s music is iffy. You really don’t want to hear the casual Wii Bowling-type elevator music as you play a tense Hockey or Basketball game. It just slows you down mentally. Sometimes you’ll hear some powerful trumpets of victory, though.

While Mario Sports Mix can be a ton of fun to play, it’s only the Hockey and Basketball games that are truly worthy efforts. With these sports, you’re transported to fun worlds and you stay focused on the game.

My suggestion is to rent the game first. See if you like it enough to plunk down $50 for it.

LITTLEBIGPLANET 2 Sony for PS3 Gameplay: 8.8 Graphics: 9.0 Sound: 8.5 Replay Value: 10.0 Overall Score: 9.0 Official Web Site Pros: Many challenging levels; make your own RPG games; online multiplayer Cons: Making a level can take a while; community Web site is too complex; too much freedom

The first edition of LittleBigPlanet was one of the great gaming experiences. If you bought the game, you had a terrific time getting to know the engaging little characters.

In addition to playing through levels in story mode, you were able to play game designer. You met the very cool Sackboy and made your own platform-style game. He ran. He jumped. He rocked your 2D gaming world.

SACKBOY IS BACK

In LittleBigPlanet 2, here’s what happens: To get you in the mood for game making, go for the single-player missions first. There are dozens of challenging levels with all kinds of powerups, weapons and stickers to collect.

In Sackboy’s universe, the things humans find to be normal appliances can be big monsters to the toys. When the game begins, the skies over Craftworld are blackened by something mysterious. Sackboy and the town’s innocent residents are sucked up into a big, noisy vacuum cleaner called the Negativtron.

It’s not just a cleaning device. It’s a crazy robot that has interdimensional powers!

But all is not lost. Sackboy joins The Alliance, a motley group led by Larry DaVinci, a wise old man with a beard made of shredded documents. He also wears weird 3-D glasses, and he comes to Sackboy’s aid throughout the game. The characterization is smart and surprising. For instance, you eventually meet a wild-eyed character called Dr. Higganbotham. That’s obviously a nod to the real-life scientist who made the first video game way back in 1958.

LUSH, FUNNY AND CREATIVE

The graphics are occasionally more impressive than those in “Toy Story 3” (the movie), and that’s saying a lot. They’re downright lush, so much so that you want to live in Craftworld and its surrounding areas.

LittleBigPlanet 2 can be royally funny. It’s not just the adorable look of the characters that makes you smile. You use desserts as weapons. And there’s a huge robotic turkey gobbling along. You can even command wacky fireflies.

The quirky, beautiful revelations of the story mode make you really want to create your own game. When I started to construct a level, I marveled at all the choices. Particularly, I liked creating beings called Sackbots. In addition to programming how they move and where they move, there are other cool options: You can have them guard a treasure. You can give them personalities and make them dance. You can make them your loyal followers.

THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS

With over 1,600 new things to play with, there’s just so much to do here. The possibilities truly seem endless. It’s all up to you and your imagination.

You can fly on a paper airplane. You can play the old-school way and make a Space Invaders game. You can string your levels together to make a longer game.

You can make racing games and role-playing games. You can compose your own music on a variety of instruments. I even made my own basketball game with a super-high basket. Generally, this is great. That’s why I gave it the highest replay value I could.

Once you make your levels or even a full game, you can upload them to a community Web site for others to play. I found the site a little too cluttered with stuff, though. It’s great to play new levels made by other people, but the site should look a lot simpler and cleaner.

A LITTLE OVERWHELMING?

I wonder if there’s a little too much in this ambitious game, though. Do you really want to take the time to make your own cut scenes for the game and record sound effects to add as well? I guess you do if you’re an aspiring game designer or movie maker. (While the tutorials are good, they don’t explain things in the most kid-friendly way.)

And even game designers have a whole team to help them out. So LittleBigPlanet 2 can be a little overwhelming due to the vast number of choices available.

There’s an easy solution though. You can savor LittleBigPlanet 2 and enjoy the game’s brilliance the whole year round by playing a little bit at a time. Just don’t try to do everything at once. You’ll give up.

Finally, if you have the money saved, think about getting the Collector’s Edition. Packed with cool stuff, it even includes a Sackboy figure and intricately detailed Sackboy bookends.

BEST PS3 GAME

ModNation Racers (Sony)

Not only do the makers of ModNation Racers let you customize your car, they also let you build your own tracks, full of hilarious powerups. Then, they let you build your own towns, too. It’s like creating your own Mario Kart game, except with better graphics.

BEST XBOX 360 GAME

Toy Story 3 (Disney)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

Toy Story 3 was the first sandbox video game for kids. The game is full of exploration and fun missions to enjoy. By the end of it, you feel like you know Buzz and the gang a lot better. It’s great when game makers don’t treat kids like babies.

BEST WII GAME

Guilty Party (Disney)

There have been a lot of really good Wii games this year, but few have felt as completely new as Guilty Party. If you love solving a mystery, you’ll always laugh and wonder at the motivations behind the characters here. With 50 mini games, the game design is so good, you’ll rarely play the same mystery in exactly the same way. Talk about replay value!

Runner Up: Super Mario Galaxy 2

BEST DS GAME

Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs (Nintendo)

Yes, there have been other games in the Ranger series. But this is the one that kept me coming back for more. I loved watching the various Pokemon waddle along as part of my crew. Plus, the branching story and the earnest characters are touching, too.

BEST PSP GAME

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (Square-Enix)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

There aren’t many games released for PSP anymore. But Birth by Sleep is a must-have. The series that mixes Final Fantasy characters with Disney characters takes you to amazing places, such as Never Land, the Dwarf Woodlands and into Deep Space. Plus, the racing and music mini games alone are worth the price of admission.

BEST DOWNLOADABLE CONSOLE GAME

Costume Quest (THQ for PS3, Xbox 360)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

This Halloween-based role-playing game is cute, but it’s so much more. The dialog by renowned designer Tim Schaefer makes you bust a gut laughing. And the cranky, charismatic characters feel real, so much so that you wish they’d come back with a sequel for Christmas. Even the leveling-up (which can be boring) is compelling. More, please.

BEST IPAD GAME

Angry Birds (Rovio)

Everyone’s playing Angry Birds, and it’s best on the iPad. Tossing those exploding birds onto hundreds of structures takes real skill. But watching the strange structures topple down onto those nasty pigs is just as much fun. If you love Boom Blox, you’ll adore Angry Birds.

BEST GAMING PLATFORM

iPad (Apple)

The iPad has so many amazing games. It’s like a treasure chest that constantly replenishes itself with games, many of which are new and innovative, some of which are free. You may not have an iPad yet. But you probably will soon. (It’s not only for games, you know.)

BEST OVERALL SPORTS GAME (TIE)

NHL Slapshot (EA for Wii)

There’s something about playing with other kids on an icy pond with plastic hockey-stick controllers that really makes this Wii game shine. And that’s just the beginning of your career in NHL Slapshot. If you don’t know who the legendary Wayne Gretzky is, well, you will now. He’s your coach in the game. (Lucky you!)

NBA 2K11 (Take Two for PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PSP, PC)

You’re stunned by the realistic graphics. Then, you feel 10 feet tall as you dunk like a pro. Getting to play as a rookie Michael Jordan doesn’t hurt, either. And the soundtrack will really get you pumping.

BEST RACING GAME (TIE)

Gran Turismo 5 (Sony for PS3)

It takes half a decade for the developers to make a new Gran Turismo. This time, they’ve outdone themselves. Over 1,000 licensed cars, 26 locations and 70 tracks make it endlessly playable. There’s kart racing, a fine soundtrack and 3-D (if you have a 3-D set). Gran Turismo is like a realistic painting—except you can play inside this one.

Split/Second (Disney for PS3, Xbox 360, PSP, PC)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

Driving these fantasy racing cars as you take part in a fictional game show is a hoot. But it’s the “powerplays” that are fun. Explosions, destructible environments, crashes and implosions are what really make Split/Second one of the year’s great games.

BEST ADAPTATION

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Warner Bros. for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, DS, PSP, PC)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

Sure, you liked LEGO Batman and LEGO Star Wars. But this Potter endeavor isn’t just another LEGO game. There is something just as dark, eerie and adventuresome in this game as there is in the books and movies. It grabs you from the first moments, and it doesn’t let go until the game is over.

BEST NEW TECHNOLOGY

Kinect (Microsoft)

Yes, the games are a little like Wii games. And yes, some of them aren’t great. But imagine the possibilities in the future! With Kinect, Microsoft proved that controller-less games are really fun. Now, they just need a killer game so everyone will want Kinect.

BEST COMEBACK GAME

Sonic Colors (Sega for Wii, DS)

Let’s face it: The last few Sonic games weren’t so hot. But Sega got it right this time. Here, there are lots of amazing powerups, like the Cyan Laser Wisp. That allows Sonic to bounce off all kinds of surfaces—and to travel through power lines. There’s much more speedy fun, too.

BEST MMO GAME

LEGO Universe (Warner Bros. for Mac, PC)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

Sure, this is a terrific kids’ MMO, but any gamer would love to play. It’s a world full of clever story-telling, careful building of your environment and, of course, great LEGO characters.

GAME OF THE YEAR

LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4

Runner Up: Costume Quest

DISNEY EPIC MICKEY Disney for Wii Gameplay: 7.0 Graphics: 8.0 Sound: 8.0 Replay Value: 7.0 Overall Score: 8.0 Official Web Site Pros: Wondrous re-imagining of Mickey; brain-busting puzzles; detailed graphics Cons: Dizzying camera angles; gameplay can feel repetitive; graphics sometimes have jaggies

But, sadly, it also has gameplay issues.

First, here’s the good stuff: You’ve never seen Mickey like this, frightened but so heroic. During the opening movie, some strange, scary things begin to happen. By the end of it, Mickey is pulled through his mirror by a monster. The offending evil being is known as the Shadow Blot, and he has the upper hand.

Mickey is stuck in Wasteland, a creepy but cool place where everything has gone terribly wrong—and it’s kind of Mickey’s fault. Wasteland is wonderful to explore, inspired by old Disney cartoons, classic rides and amusement parks.

YOUR MISSION

It’s no small task, but your job is to restore Wasteland to its beautiful former self. In doing so, you’ll defeat the Shadow Blot as you solve the puzzles and meet the motley and varied characters that originally sprang from the minds of Walt Disney and his team of animators.

One of these characters is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Mickey’s brother. As the story goes, Walt Disney created Oswald before Mickey. But he lost the rights to make Oswald cartoons. So he created the mouse. If Oswald had gotten a green light, there would probably be no Mickey!

In the game, Oswald ruled over Wasteland before Shadow Blot took over. But now Oswald is mad at Mickey for unknowingly making Wasteland into a place run by the nasty Blot.

Will Mickey reunite with Oswald by the end of the game? Will they become friends again? That’s up to you, gamer.

THE POWER OF PAINT

Epic Mickey features some gameplay you’ve seen before, like spin moves and double jumps. But what’s amazing is the ability to use paint to create things and paint thinner to destroy things. Use paint to add roads or bridges. Use thinner to get rid of floors or piles of boulders blocking your path. You can even use them on your enemies to make them your friends. Once an enemy is your pal, he’ll fight against his former brothers for you.

All that is really top-notch stuff. Add a soundtrack with sweet violins full of sweeping moods and you’ll feel like you’re in a Disney movie that you control. Mix in weird bosses like the sneering Clocktower, and you’ll think you’re a hero after beating him.

Plus, at the end of each level, you get a surprise: a short extra that works like a 2-D platformer game. The extras are based on cartoons of yore, like Mickey and the Beanstalk.

THE DRAWBACK

As interesting as Epic Mickey sounds, this review comes with a serious warning.

What hurts the game are really bad camera angles. Not only do they make you feel lost and disoriented in Wasteland, they can make you feel dizzy (like you want to hurl).

The camera angles are the real enemies in Epic Mickey. There’s just no excuse for such an expensive-to-make project to have these issues. It’s the difference between a score of 8.0 and a perfect 10.

So to prevent getting dizzy, I recommend that you don’t play more than 30 minutes at a time.

ALL IS NOT LOST

If you play safely that way, you’ll probably enjoy the riches that Epic Mickey has to offer. And you’ll find your way past annoying enemies, like the long-eared Bunny Children. They swarm around you, pick you up and toss you in a Thinner pool (which drains your health). Also, watch out for the very powerful and very round purple Slobber. He sucks you in with his breath and spits Thinner at you. Gross.

Finally, look for Film Reel icons along the way. Trade them in at Mean Street’s Cinema for everything from power ups to cartoons.

There’s much here to enjoy in Epic Mickey. It’s really a shame about those dang camera angles.

BAKUGAN: DEFENDERS OF THE CORE Activision for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, DS, PSP Graphics: 7.0 Gameplay: 8.0 Sound: 6.5 Replay Value: 8.0 Overall Score: 7.5 Official Web Site Pros: Really feels like Bakugan; vivid, colorful battles; customizable characters Cons: No online multiplayer; graphics have jaggies; story needs focus

Bakugan has always been a fascinating strategy game. The cards fire your imagination and with a toy, you play them as if you were one of the big beasts yourself. Last year’s video game was like the card game, even though it had a lot of variations. Remember that battle arena filled with tornadoes?

But the changes with Defenders of the Core are significant and generally cool. Sure, as the game starts, you’ll wish you had more than five options on eyes or outfits to customize your character. But the customizing is quick and easy.

ON TO STORY MODE

In Story Mode, you find some animation scenes. The story isn’t that clear at first. Soon, though, you’re told that Earth is under attack by the scheming Spectra and the wicked Vexos.

Your job? To join The Resistance and travel from city to city with Mira, Baron and Ace. You’ll take on the Vexos and break the mammoth crystals that are sucking up Earth’s energy. You also have to protect certain landmarks from being destroyed.

The first couple of levels include tutorials, which you need since every button and trigger on the controller does something important. What’s good about the tutorial is that it doesn’t seem like learning. Instead, it is woven into the story. So when Interspace starts shaking and breaking, you’re moved right into the tale and the first mission.

BATTLE ON

The first battles are pretty easy to win. Before each of them, you travel around the city avoiding traps and getting Core Energy to help you when you get hit in battle. You also retrieve Vexos Passes, which let you go free if you’re captured.

Occasionally, you’ll find a chest with a battle card with a special ability to help you in your fight. Be careful how you used them; they only work once.

One cool aspect of the story is that you start out unsure of yourself. But as you progress and prove yourself, you become more confident in your abilities. Just like real life.

BRAWL ON

Additionally, you can brawl in Battle Arenas, a holdover from last year’s game. Here, you can move around and battle freely, almost anywhere you want to go.

You can pull off hits in the air. You can smash nearby buildings. You’ll also have fun pressing the X and Y buttons to pull off combos.

At first, you’ll just want to button mash. But if your opponent knows Bakugan well, that’s not going to help for very long. Aim carefully and block frequently.

THE BOTTOM LINE

If you’re a stickler for detail, you’ll wish the graphics were better. You just shouldn’t see jagged edges on an Xbox 360 game. Also, there’s a half second of lag between the time you talk to a non-playable character and when you can move your character again. With last year’s game, you could play with friends if they were at your house, but you couldn’t go online for multiplayer. Unfortunately, you still can’t go online for multiplayer, a big mistake.

Even so, the crazy abilities of the battlers, their sheer size and the brilliant colors emitted from weapons and hits are always exciting. But for the next version, the game makers need to tighten the story to make it flow more naturally. They certainly have to add online multiplayer. And wouldn’t it be great if there was some Kinect functionality, so you could feel like you’re really brawling without a controller in your hands?

Microsoft’s Kinect was released to great fanfare, including a party in New York’s Times Square. But does the cool, high-tech camera that lets you play games without a controller really deliver the goods?

KINECT (and Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Kinect Sports) Microsoft for Xbox 360 Graphics: 8.5 Gameplay: 7.5 Sound: 8.0 Replay Value: 8.0 Overall Score: 8.0 Official Web Site Pros: No controller needed; futuristic technology; great graphics. Cons: Too much space needed to play; some technology hiccups; needs truly amazing game.

It certainly does—with a few exceptions.

GETTING STARTED

Kinect itself looks really futuristic. And it’s easy to set up. All you need is a broadband connection and an Xbox Live account to download the update that makes it work (and to play online with friends). After you plug it in, follow onscreen directions that are so easy, it only takes between 10 and 15 minutes to set up.

Then, you hear this mysterious, robotic whizzing sound. It’s actually the motor in the camera, adjusting itself to your height and the distance you stand from the TV. But there is problem: If you have a small living room, which many apartment dwellers do, you might not have enough room to play. Make sure you have about eight feet between the television and you. Also, make sure the room is well lit. If it isn’t, your Kinect won’t see you. Sometimes, the Kinect microphone doesn’t recognize your command. So you have to say something like “Play” again.

GOT GAMES

So what about the games? Kinect Adventures, which is included in the Kinect box, is pretty awesome. Take, for example, the bubble-bursting mini game with a science-fiction theme. You move your arms and body around to rid the screen of bubbles. Most players won’t play much beyond the first 10 levels. But if you can get beyond that, this feels like more than a mini game. It’s as tough and tricky as any game you’ll play.

The white-water rafting game, which takes you through a lush river and caves, has awesome graphics. When you jump, it makes you feel like Superman, leaping tall mountains in a single bound.

Kinectimals has great graphics, too. Sure, there are cute beings in the game, very detailed wild animals that do tricks for you. But Kinectimals also has various game challenges. Some of them are like the courses in dog shows—with the added joy of an amusement-park feel.

Also, check out the sports game for Kinect. Kinect Sports gives you a zippy soccer challenge. Both bowling and volleyball games are engaging, too. I didn’t like the table tennis game, however. In the later levels, it’s too hard. You also feel like you need a real paddle to play, not just your hand.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Overall, it’s totally fun to play without a controller. But just as you did with the Wii, make sure you give yourself a break from time to time. Moving around and flailing your arms can become tiring.

Finally, what Kinect really needs is a game that’s completely different from what you’ve played on the Wii. It’s not there yet. But when (and if) it comes, watch out. It’s then that Kinect will be a real game changer.

POKÉMON RANGER: GUARDIAN SIGNS Nintendo for DS Graphics: 7.5 Gameplay: 8.5 Sound: 7.5 Replay Value: 8.5 Overall Score: 8.0 Official Web Site Pros: Engaging adventure story; fun touchscreen action; Ukulele Pichu. Cons: Story is overtold; graphics could be better; leveling up is repetitive.

It’s about freeing ’em all. In Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs, it’s up to you to defeat the evil Pokémon Pinchers in their speedy UFOs. These wicked aliens have taken 300 Pokémon captive and made them their slaves.

GETTING STARTED

The game begins with music that you’d think is from an Indiana Jones movie. You save a Pokémon high in the skies, avoiding the flying Pinchers who shoot at you with plasma cannons. You fall from high in the sky, race to catch up to an underwater being and find your lost Capture Styler (which helps you to befriend and also free the Pokémon).

Then, you meet Ukulele Pichu, a peaceful, song-playing being who runs away to avoid the Pinchers. And that’s just in the first few minutes!

The action-filled story keeps going. You travel to the ruins-filled Oblivia to become a hero—if you dare. You can keep up to seven Pokémon in your crew to help you fight and to clear obstacles in your path.

NEW MISSIONS

There are many missions to complete. And Nintendo also provides some new ones. Download them for free if you have a WiFi connection. These are gifts for making it through various stages in the game. And once you complete the “Investigate the Old Mansion” mission, you can play multiplayer missions with up to four people.

As you free the Pokémon, your Capture Styler becomes more and more powerful. It’s through your Capture Styler that you level up. Here’s how: You capture wild Pokémon by drawing a circle around them with your stylus. They try to zap you while you do this. But keep drawing quickly and they’ll soon become friendly to you. The Capture Styler is also your health bar. If you see your health growing low during a battle, tap the “Flee” button in the lower right-hand side of the touchscreen.

THE BOTTOM LINE

I found the story in Guardian Signs to be intriguing. It’s fun to meet all the characters with their varied personalities. Sometimes the dialog really needs an editor, though. It needs to be more fast-paced. And, like any role-playing game, leveling up can become repetitive.

But overall, this is a very good (although not super great) game. You have to love Ukelele Pichu, whose ukelele playing gets more powerful as the game proceeds. Finally, you’ll love collecting mysterious, well-hidden Ranger Signs. Just wait until you get Feralgatr’s wild power.

COSTUME QUEST (THQ for Xbox Live, PlayStation Network)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

Costume Quest is the year’s best Halloween game. Reynold and Wren are arguing about who gets what on Halloween when, suddenly, Wren is abducted by an alien. Reynold is annoyed by this because this cuts into his Halloween night. Still, he sets out on an adventure to trick and treat his way into rescuing her.

There’s never a dull moment in this adventure with role-playing game elements. You’ll collect candy and trade it in the store for powerups. And you’ll gain experience to level up by fighting in a strange world full of ghosts and aliens. Along the way, the dialog made me laugh out loud. The graphics are cartoony, but they immerse you in the crazy town in which the big-eyed kids live. You have all kinds of wacky costumes to discover, even one that’s the Statue of Liberty with special powers from her torch. Let’s put it this way: When I started to play Costume Quest, I couldn’t stop for about five hours. It’s that cool.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (WBIE for Wii, DS)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

Who doesn’t like to dress up like Batman or Robin? Get your fill of the dark superhero with Batman: Brave and the Bold, a stylish side-scroller. You not only have a terrific comicbook look, you have witty dialog, too. Beyond that, you’ve got well over a dozen moves to punish the baddies. Batman comes armed with his trusty Batarang, but there are many powerups to increase your strength. Surrounded by enemies? Press 1 on the Wii remote to bring in, say, the Green Arrow to help you out.

HAUNTED HOUSE (Atari for Wii, PC, Xbox Live)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

Atari created the original game many years ago, but this is a brand-new update. Your world-traveling grandfather has gone missing. Find him by carefully searching the many levels of a creepy old house called Graves Mansion. (Get it? “Graves,” as in cemetery?)

Collect matches to see in the dark because if you run out of them, all you see is your character’s fearful eyes. Stay away from those floating ghosts and fast rats that try to eat away at your health. You’ll find strange but helpful entries in diary pages along the way. Eventually, they’ll lead you to pieces of an urn that is your answer to the mystery.

SCOOBY DOO AND THE SPOOKY SWAMP (WBIE for PS2, Wii, DS)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

In search of grub, Scooby and Shaggy follow a long, thin wisp of fog through a dank Louisiana swamp to a witch named Lila. Lila gives them missions like defeating a huge skinny-legged spider before she gives up any food.

There’s a lot here: secrets areas, the ability to change characters, and a lot of pulling levers and gears to move forward. You can even wear the masks the bosses drop and take pictures of ghosts. The dialog could be funnier, though. And while the background graphics are lush and eerie, the characters you control aren’t well-drawn enough. Still, stick with it. The Spooky Swamp is full of things that go bump in the night.

GORMITI: THE LORDS OF NATURE (Konami for Wii, DS)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

Hailing from the magical land of Gorm, four kids band together to save Earth. The quartet of adventurers has fun costumes, sure. But they also control the powers of Earth, Forest, Sea and Air. You’ll stop the evil Magmion, who’s trying to find pieces of a powerful amulet.

With the amulet, this enemy can open a portal to Earth and conquer all of us. Despite the fact that this game has the least helpful info booklet I’ve ever seen, the cooperative gameplay is unusual enough and the monsters strange enough to give you that Halloween spirit.

EYEPET (Sony for PS3, requires Eye camera and Move controller)

Think of the EyePet as your own personal Halloween gremlin. Use your PlayStation camera and he’ll appear right on your living room floor. Pet him, feed him, even toss him around. The sometimes-cranky virtual pet even has a toy with a ghost hanging on the end of it. Press the PlayStation Move button as you swing it, and the ghost goes “Boo” to scare your little creature.

You can draw your own plane, too, which becomes a 3D flier that your gremlin can pilot high into the heavens. As you play, you’ll find hundreds of costumes for the little bugger. Too bad you can’t take him out to do some trick-or-treating with you.

MADDEN NFL 2011 Electronic Arts for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PSP Graphics: 8.5 Gameplay: 9.0 Sound: 8.5 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.8 Official Web Site Pros: The biggest-ever overhaul of Madden; faster games; extensive online play. Cons: Madden himself is completely gone; animations can be jerky; way too much in-game advertising.

Madden NFL 11 certainly speeds up the game. Gone is the one-hour mode. Games now last 30 minutes—or even 20. That speed is exciting, and it’s made even faster through GameFlow.

Basically, GameFlow chooses the plays for you. But there are various options. On offense or defense, you can choose all the plays your coach calls by choosing them before the game. You can go to a full playbook with more than 350 plays at your disposal. The plays themselves are ranked with up to five stars. This ranking tells you how often a play is used by your team.

Or you can call audibles to change the play right before the snap.

To make things more real, you can even don a headset to experience the game like a quarterback hearing the coach from the speaker in his helmet.

FASTER, BUT DEEPER?

EA claims that it’s not only faster, it’s a deeper experience, too. I really can’t see that, except in one instance. As you prepare for each play, your coach explains a little about why you’re running the play. This should be tweaked to show what exact play you’re running. And it should be more specific as to why you’re running that play. But it’s a very good beginning.

Another small addition I really like is the way you push a button when you pass. If you just tap it, the ball is thrown softly through the air. Press the button and hold it, and the quarterback throws it as quick as a bullet. It adds a lot to the offense.

Since the game is now speedier and time clicks away more quickly, Madden is based more on offense than ever before. I might be wrong, but that seems to give you an advantage if you want to call a running play as an audible at the line of scrimmage. Any defense I played seemed surprised that I called a running play.

MODES AND MOMENTS

This year, you can go directly to the Super Bowl without playing the Franchise Mode. If you want to enjoy all the pageantry of the Big Show without putting in the work to get there, this mode is for you. I even noticed a Holiday Mode in which people in the stands dress up like Santa Claus during the game.

There’s a simplicity to some of the modes that recalls the Maddens of yesteryear. Returning this year is a meter system of kicking off and kicking field goals. Click the button to start. Click it again when it gets to the meter’s far right. And click it again when it gets to where you started on the left. It’s a lot more fun than using the sticks to kick.

In the upper right of your TV screen, you’ll see an icon for the Strategy Pad. By scrolling through plays on your controller pad, you can shift your lines. And you can call up Hot Routes, a way of changing your offensive plays to the receiver.

Another cool addition is the AFL Mode, featuring all eight teams from the grand old league that’s now defunct.

And you can relive and replay Madden Moments, the top plays of last year’s season. This year, the Moments will be available as weekly downloads. If you win online, you’ll have enough free coins to purchase the downloads. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay a small amount for them.

BUGS AND BLOWOUTS

While Madden NFL 11 is an above-average effort, there still are the occasional bugs. In one of my first games, the Jets’ Jerricho Cotchery, after catching a pass, was injured badly enough to put him out of the game. But, like magic, there he was on Special Teams after the kickoff. Also, the game sometimes doesn’t run smoothly and the players’ movements can look jerky.

And there’s just too much advertising in the game. You even have fans eating Doritos during cut scenes. You’ve paid $60 for this game, and now you have to watch and listen to advertising? Come on.

Yet there’s nice attention to detail that continues to astonish me. When you’ve blown out another team, the opposing fans get disgusted, shake their heads and leave the stadium during the fourth quarter. You don’t want to rub it in that you’ve won, but it still gives you a little ego boost.

The upshot? There’s a lot more in the game this year, and it has been streamlined to make playing easier and more fun. If you haven’t bought Madden in a while, this is the year to do it.

LEGO HARRY POTTER: YEARS 1-4 WBIE for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PSP, PC. Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older Graphics: 8.0 Gameplay: 9.0 Sound: 8.5 Replay Value: 8.5 Overall Score: 8.5 Official Web Site Pros: It’s LEGO! Lots of characters to play; really captures the feel of Potter movies and books. Cons: No online multiplayer; can’t bring in your avatar to play as a character.

So what’s the deal with LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4? If you’ve played LEGO Star Wars, Batman or Indiana Jones, you’ll have a good idea of what’s in store for you.

And it’s all good. Traveller’s Tales, the guys who make the LEGO games based on movies and books, have refined their formula over the years. That means you’re in for another game full of the magic, humor and feeling, this time with Harry Potter and a ton of studs to collect.

GO WIZARDING

Once you get the controller in your hands, you’re ready for wizardry from moment one. While you don’t have wizard’s power until toward the end of the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley level, Hagrid does, and he’ll help you change blocks into springboards and pull heavy chains to open doors. You’ll find strange devices that are only there because they’re cool to ride around on as a diversion, like a street-sweeping thing on stilts with two brooms.

There’s a ton of collecting studs along the way, which help to unlock new characters. In fact, there are about 170 characters, all of whom are playable—when you need them. Early on, you can choose to play as Harry, Hermione or Ron.

If you get enough studs, you’ll become a True Wizard before the end of a level. This rewards you with a gold brick. And gold bricks are cool because they unlock bonus content.

MOVING THROUGH THE LEVELS

I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed Harry’s world even though I already know it pretty well. In the first level, I wanted to stay in that world until I uncovered everything.

While the game doesn’t break much new ground, the way the environments are presented is really alluring. Candlelit rooms, slightly creepy characters such as goblins, nooks and crannies to explore—all these abound. And the level design seems flawless. The camera angles never mess up.

While there’s beauty in the detailed backgrounds everywhere, I like the sometimes creepy outdoor levels the best. If you do somehow get lost, a ghost trail of studs will appear to lead you back to familiar territory.

Of course, in a LEGO videogame, even when you finish the level, there’s more gameplay in Free Play mode. Here, you can use any character you’ve unlocked to find secret areas.

As you move through the levels, you’ll collect pieces of Hogwarts crests many times along the way. Each completed crest will give you a Super Kit piece. Collect all 24 for a special Super Kit achievement.

QUESTS, SPELLS AND MUCH MORE

There’s a lot more here because the game covers the first four J.K. Rowling books. Check out the Student in Peril missions. These quests require you to save an unfortunate pupil. If you do, you’ll get a gold brick.

You also have the opportunity to create spells when you see Nearly Headless Nick. Take the spell lesson and collect the token to use the new spell, perhaps in the mountain-troll battle in the girls’ restroom. Plus, you can mix potions, which will help if you’re turned into some strange animal. But be careful. If you put the wrong ingredients together, something weird and unexpected might happen.

Some characters have Dig Ability, which lets you look underground for all sorts of stuff. And the Cloak of Invisibility helps you in the direst of situations. Watch out for fire-breathing dragons (who just might burn Harry in the butt)!

Play and fight underwater, compete in the TriWizard Tournament and lock horns with Lord Voldemort in a tombstone-filled graveyard. Slide through giant tunnels and battle massive spiders. Rediscover the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. And you can use the characters’ pets to play during certain times, like Ron’s rat, Scabbers.

There are thrills every minute. It’s kind of like a jack-in-the-box popping out to delight you constantly.

A TREASURE

The one thing I don’t care about is Madame Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions. Here, you can customize your character. I’d rather be able to use my Xbox Live avatar instead because it looks a little like me.

Also, there’s no online multiplayer access, which is something that gamemakers should have been doing for years now. There’s no excuse for not adding it. [EDITOR'S NOTE: According to the LEGO Harry Potter folks, online multiplayer for Xbox 360 and PS3 is expected to be available as a patch in the coming months.]

But overall, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is a fine game. It’s a great way to relive the movies and books and get ready for The Deathly Hallows movie this fall. With all of its bells and whistles, it’s a small treasure. And you know what J.K. Rowling wrote about treasure, right? She wrote, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

BOYS’ LIFE E3 AWARDS

At this year’s E3, game developers got serious about kids games. You see, they think you’re as important as adult gamers. Looks like it’s going to be a very, very interesting year for games.

Here are the Boys’ Life E3 Awards. Drum roll, please!

Best New Hardware, Maybe Ever: Nintendo 3DS

Usually when you hear the phrase “marvel of modern technology,” it’s a cliche. But the 3DS gives you Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Kid Icarus and all your favorite Nintendo pals in a brand new dimension. Beyond playing games and movies in 3-D, it has a 3-D camera to take pictures of yourself. We want to have the 3DS now — right now.

Best Hardware for Active Kids and Parents: Kinect (Microsoft, Xbox 360)

Microsoft’s Kinect device will debut with more than a dozen games this fall. Most of them ask you to get up off the couch and jump around while playing. So if you’re into a bit of a workout while, say, whitewater rafting or playing football, Kinect is for you. Best games so far: Kinect Adventures and Child of Eden.

Best Game of the Show: Epic Mickey (Disney, Wii)

Epic Mickey will be one of the finest games ever made for the Wii. It will rival the best of Nintendo games, and you parents will love it, too. It’s so deep and beautiful you’ll want to play it over again. Plus, renowned gamemaker Warren Spector’s favorite magazine growing up was — you guessed it – Boys’ Life.

Best Kids MMO Ever: LEGO Universe (WBIE)

Speaking of deep, this is one deep game. You can make any world you want to with LEGO blocks, and every block ever made is in the game. It’s going to be updated every month with new quests and minigames. You won’t want to leave this game, but you probably should eventually, especially if you have homework to do.

Best Deal for Kids: Little Big Planet 2 (Sony, PS3)

Sackboy returns triumphantly. You’ll be able to make so many kinds of games with the tools inside, you’ll want to share them with all your friends. The game just may just might make you want to be a videogame developer when you grow up.

Best Sports Game: NHL Slapshot (EA, Wii)

This seemingly simple hockey game is so addicting, you won’t want to put down the hockey stick attachment that comes with the game. It takes you from PeeWee League to the NHL in a hilarious but oh-so-real career mode. Look for tips in an upcoming issue of Boys’ Life!

Best Puzzle Game: Guilty Party (Disney, Wii)

Just when you think they’ve run out of ideas for the Wii, out comes Guilty Party, which lets you solve what seems to be an endless array of mysteries. You’ll love interrogating the fascinating suspects, too. Keep your eyes out for this one in August.

Best Wii Game: Donkey Kong Country Returns (Nintendo)

Bang those tribal drums. Donkey Kong is back with a classic sidescroller that’s sure to have you playing in this lush universe for hours and hours. The story is fun, too. The animals have turned on Donkey Kong because they’re under a devious spell. Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong team up to restore order.

DAY 3: SURPRISES

The best thing about E3 is the surprises. You never quite know what’s going to happen.

Take Konami’s press conference. First, it was great to see hip-hop legend Russell Simmons talk about Def Jam Rapstar. But when Karaoke Revolution: Glee, a singing game, was introduced, the Powerhouse Choir of about 60 high school kids came on to belt out Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

They brought down the house. The crowd of journalists went wild. It was such an emotional, riveting performance, I now want to play Glee (based on the TV show), which I otherwise might have overlooked. (That’s because I sing like a dying chicken.)

More 3D and Some Disney

In the Sony booth, I had a hands-on demo of the EyePet in 3D. Sure, you can virtually pet the little monkey-like creature. But you can also draw things and make them come alive. The developer drew a Batman logo with the PlayStation Move controller. It transformed into a 3D flying batwing, and the little guy hopped on to fly up into the stars.

At the Disney booth, Epic Mickey looked awesome. This reinvention of Mickey Mouse in a crazy cartoon world pays homage to the 80-year history of the mouse, all the way back to “Steamboat Willie” (Mickey’s debut movie). It’s beautifully detailed, and the gameplay is unique. You don’t fight anything. You just use paint or paint thinner to cover up or erase your enemies.

Disney seems to be on a roll as far as quality games go. Take Guilty Party for the Wii. Guilty Party lets you play detective and interrogate a large cast of wacky characters to see who committed a crime. It’s humorous, but it really makes you think. And the puzzles always change. The developer told me that you’ll never really repeat a puzzle. So the replay value here is immense.

Other Excitement

On the show floor, the IndieCade is a place where people in college show off the games they’re experimenting with. One game, Maum, had you wearing a headset with sensors on it. It would actually read your brainwaves. Your “good vibes” let you make friends with Jack-O-Lantern people you encountered.

E3 is also about people meeting their videogame heroes. One guy lugged around his heavy PlayStation 3 and stood in line for a really long time, just to have it autographed. That’s a true fanboy!

DAY 2: THE LATEST FROM NINTENDO AND SONY

Forget what you know about video games because Nintendo just changed everything. And I mean everything.

Yesterday, Nintendo premiered their new 3DS, a handheld portable gaming machine that lets you play games in 3D—without the glasses.

I’ve seen it. I’ve played it. And it’s probably the most astounding piece of videogame hardware I’ve ever seen—and that includes the Wii and the original PlayStation. It’s looks like a true game changer.

It was so cool, director Steven Spielberg was in the Nintendo booth checking it out in a room full of hundreds of the new marvel. Outside, as many as 500 people waited in line to get their hands on it for a few minutes.

While there’s no release date for the mighty little machine, I don’t think it’ll be cheap. So start saving your nickels and dimes.

The 3DS scoop

Here’s what it is: The machine still has a touchscreen on the bottom. But the top screen is where the magic happens. There’s a 3.5-inch-wide screen that displays 3D games—and movies, too. I saw the trailer of “How to Train Your Dragon,” and it had real depth.

You can adjust the level of 3D to suit your taste with a slider control to the right of the screen. Or you can turn it off completely.

There was a version of Paper Mario in 3D that showed off the effect really well. Mario, his enemies and the blocks Mario jumped on and over were clearly in the foreground. In the upcoming PilotWings Resort game, I flew high in the sky and over a small town. I felt I could reach out and touch the clouds. And when I flew, it was slowly, so I never got dizzy from the 3D.

You have to look at the screen straight on, however. You won’t get the 3D from an angle. Some of my colleagues said they got a little dizzy when playing. But I’m sure Nintendo will deal with this as they ready the system for release.

In the coming months, I’ll see more gameplay and give you the complete scoop on how the 3DS stacks up to everyone else’s machines. Will there be a 3D PSP in your future, too? Stay tuned.

Sony stuff

Speaking of the PSP, Sony showed us a camera for the device with a game called Invisimals. It’s a game in which you take the PSP around your real-life world and discover invisible creatures in places like your kitchen.

Sony was quite proud of its PlayStation Move controller, which will sell this fall for about $50. It does seem to be very precise and cool, but perhaps not as precise as Microsoft’s Kinect.

Sony had an update last week for the PS3 to make it 3D ready. But you have to buy a new TV and glasses to make it work. It looks very good, however. They’re going to collect all the old Sly Cooper games, put them on a disk and make it 3D.

Also, Little Big Planet 2 is going to rock your world. With the new tools on the disk, you’ll be able to make any kind of game—sports games, role-playing games, even real-time strategy games—all starring Sackboy and his cool pals.

And, if you have a PS3, check out Home, Sony’s virtual world. They’ve re-created their E3 booth in home and have added a lot of cool trailers and surprises. And it’s free, too.

DAY 1: INTRODUCING KINECT

E3 started on Sunday with Microsoft’s party for Kinect. For the intriguing Xbox 360 attachment that lets you control games with your hands, Microsoft spent millions on a very big show. They hired Cirque de Soleil to transform a basketball arena into something out of “Avatar.” And they made those of us in the audience wear these crazy white robes, too. It was really a cast of thousands.

Fun for the entire family

High above was a living room in a giant box. The room could spin all the way around, and inside was a family playing games from Kinect.

These games seem like graphically intense versions of the Wii minigames you’ve come to know and love. There were sports games, racing games, dancing games, virtual pet games and a kind of amusement park game, too. The family of four played together, running, jumping and giving each other high fives after every short game. “Fun for the entire family” was the phrase of the night.

The next morning, Microsoft’s honcho Don Mattrick said that Kinect would be released on Nov. 4 with 15 games available for it. Unfortunately, Microsoft wouldn’t say what the price would be, for the games or the device.

Aside from the casual games, Microsoft showed off how the big-time racing game Forza Motorsport would work with Kinect. You can walk around a sports car and check it out closely. And you can drive the car without a wheel just by placing your hands at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock. Then all you have to do is steer.

Kinect Adventures, Sports, Dance, Kinectimals

One of the cool casual games was Kinect Adventures. The minigame shown was a kind of roller coaster in which you had to jump in real life over obstacles in the game. It looks like quite a workout.

Kinect Sports has six games, kind of like Wii Sports. You have javelin throwing in which the javelin seems to go as high in an arc as a pass thrown by Peyton Manning. There’s soccer, too, and the very detailed crowd goes wild when you score a goal. It looks like you’ll be able to play all of these games on Xbox Live if you have a gold account.

If you liked Nintendogs, Microsoft has a graphically richer game called Kinectimals. They showed off a very cute tiger cub. You could pet it, call it (Kinect has a microphone) and make it roll over. There also looks to be a Sonic game coming this fall for Kinect as a launch title. But it wasn’t demo’d by Microsoft.

Later in the day, Electronic Arts showed off Kinect Dance Central, a dancing game that looks as if it lets uncoordinated nerds like me move like a hip-hop star—with practice. It also looks like quite a workout. (In non-Kinect news, EA also brought out Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana to talk about how intense the new Madden is. You’ll read more about Madden in BL soon.)

Kinect or not?

So should you buy Kinect? While it’s cool, I couldn’t help thinking I’ve played a lot of these games before on the Wii. Kinect refines the experience and lets you lose the controller. But you also wish Microsoft had come up with a completely new game that would cement Kinect’s place in the videogame world—and make you want to run out and buy it immediately.

You’ll want to consider Kinect, of course. (And you’ll read more about it in the magazine very soon.) But how much will it cost? That’s the big question. If it costs much more than $100, you might want to wait until there’s a sale. I’ll keep you posted.

TOY STORY 3: THE VIDEO GAME Disney Interactive for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, DS, PSP Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older Graphics: 8.7 Gameplay: 8.5 Sound: 9.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.7 Official Web Site Pros:Toy Box mode is great; really imaginative; many hours of play. Cons: Some camera-angle issues; super-thin instruction booklet; no online play.

STORY MODE

There are two ways to play Toy Story 3. First, you can play in story mode. That game follows the tale of Pixar’s new movie (which is probably the best movie of the summer). That portion, which follows the movie’s plot, is pretty brilliant itself.

In the movie, Andy is heading off to his first year in college. But he only wants to take Woody with him. When Andy’s mom accidentally places Woody in a box to be donated to a daycare center, the action-filled story begins.

That’s how it is in your game, too.

TOY BOX MODE

Then there’s the sandbox aspect called Toy Box mode. When you relive that exciting first scene from the movie, you’re transported to the Wild West to jump on a horse and leap onto a moving locomotive. You pass amazing rock formations under a big blue sky in a sprawling desert.

As Woody, you have to save the orphans from the clutches of Hamm The Piggy Bank, who has changed into his alter ego of the evil Dr. Porkchop. He shoots at you from a flying saucer.

Think of this level as a wild roller-coaster ride. For 10 minutes or so, you ride through canyons and caves, twist through crazy train tracks and then run on the tops of train cars. Save those orphans, bucko. They’re just blocky toy figures, but you feel they need you. The whole thing is exhilarating—and can be a little dark and scary in spots.

Actually, all this action occurs during your first tutorial level in which you learn how to use the controller. Bouncing balls are your ammunition against the aliens and Hamm. You probably won’t need it, but crash open a little box with a question mark on it and a see-through image of Woody moving forward appears, showing you what to do next.

MISSIONS AND MUCH MORE

After you finish the opening level, you’re dropped into a Western town where you get dozens of missions from various characters like Stinky Pete, who shows you how to mine for gold with an axe.

Finish another mission and you might get Bullseye the horse to ride on. Once you jump on, race for a bronze, silver or gold medal. I spent a half hour on this alone, trying to beat my time while following a burning red ring through dimly lit mines and up through vast mountains.

All the things that you win from missions go into your Toy Box. And that’s where Toy Story 3 gets really interesting. You win and purchase all sorts of gifts like hats and colors to paint the buildings of the town. With the money that you earn from completing missions, you can buy things such as a barbershop. In the barbershop, you can give townspeople the strangest, funniest haircuts.

But there’s so much more.

You travel through those mines and encounter creepy but funny ghosts. You find a car to race around in. You customize your town and its hilarious residents. And you get to really get to know some of the crazy characters who appear in only a minor way in the movie.

A FEW GLITCHES

There are a couple of glitches, however. If you fall during the race on Bullseye, you might get caught in a canyon. You can get out, but the camera angles down in the gully aren’t very helpful. What the camera really should do is pull back so you know where to go. It’s in these instances that you really need that box with a question mark that tells Woody which path to take. But it’s not there.

Also, since this is one of the first sandbox games for kids, you’d think the manual would be thicker and packed with info (like Super Mario Galaxy 2’s booklet). Instead, you get some measly pages that really aren’t detailed enough. Sure, the in-game tutorials are good. But why skimp on the print? It makes no sense.

Despite these things, Toy Story 3 is a landmark game. It’ll provide you with fun “to Infinity and beyond!”

SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2 Nintendo for Wii Graphics: 8.5 Gameplay: 9.0 Sound: 8.5 Replay Value: 8.0 Overall Score: 8.7 Official Web Site Pros: Yoshi is playable; drill through planets; 2-player multiplayer Cons: Not that much different from the last game; no online multiplayer

Is this sequel new and cool enough for you to take another interplanetary ride with the plumber who’s always dedicated to saving Princess Peach?

I want to make it clear that Nintendo hasn’t redesigned the wheel here. It’s very similar to the last game. However, if you’re one of the millions who loved Super Mario Galaxy and yearned for more when you were done, you’ll be happy to take another wild trip through space.

WHAT A TUTORIAL LEVEL

As Mario, you’re invited to Princess Peach’s palace to have cake and watch the beautiful falling stars as they rain from the heavens. But mayhem ensues. On your way to the castle, you see that a giant Bowser, so big he takes up the whole TV screen, has kidnapped the pretty princess. He’s fanged, ugly and angry, and he mocks you. Are you going to take that lying down? No way!

On your quest, you explore the outer reaches of the galaxy, planet by planet, each with its own unique environment. There are surprises all along the way, even in the first half hour of play. First, you’ll find Baby Luma under your hat. Not only is he cute, he’ll be the source of all kinds of helpful things as you travel the cosmos on your journey.

The first big thrill happens when you meet a group of friendly Lumas, headed by a tear-drop shaped, purple space mechanic named Lubba. Lubba and his pals don’t care for Bowser and when you promise to help them, their planet turns into a spaceship that looks like Mario’s head—with grass for his hair and mustache!

Essentially, this is your tutorial level. But it’s a lot of fun. Make sure you explore and find the entrance into your ship’s engine room. Check back often for new mysterious rooms that open up.

SAVOR AND SEARCH

Everything is carefully made and presented here, so take some time to look around and explore. Don’t rush through the game. As you spin into enemies to stop their attack, collect the falling star bits, coins and the occasional star. Find the Grand Star, and you’ll travel to a brave new world.

Along the way, search for Comet Medals, the majority of which are very well hidden. When you have enough of these, you can summon Prankster Comets, which make changes to the universe and offer you new (and sometimes really tough) challenges.

Playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 is like having a super-imaginative amusement park fun house right in your own home. You swing, triple jump, leap onto moving platforms, swim underwater, avoid buzzsaws, speed like Sonic through chutes, defy gravity and play upside down. And that’s just the beginning.

NEW STUFF

You can become a cloud and make your own puffy platforms to get to places you otherwise couldn’t. You can become a boulder, rolling into hard objects that a spin won’t break into. Of course, you can grab a Boo Mushroom to become Boo Mario, a ghost that can pass through walls. All of these powerups don’t last very long. Keep that in mind, or you’ll fall and maybe lose a life.

Mario can soar and glide on a colorful bird with a huge wingspan called a Fluzzard. You can use a handy drill on your adventure, too. Just shake the remote to bore right down through the planet. And you can use the drill on monsters.

If there’s a black hole nearby, you might be in for some heart-stopping action. Watch out for the many Void Marios that emerge. They look like Mario, but they’re black and fast and not very nice at all. Get away because they multiply quickly. The one thing I don’t like is the Star Ball, which has you jump up and balance on a huge see-through globe. It’s sometimes too hard to maneuver.

TEAMING UP

There’s nothing more fun than playing the game with Yoshi. Hop on and ride as you command him to eat food and enemies with his super long tongue. You can also use that tongue like a handy grappling hook to swing from place to place. Plus, Yoshi can transform into a floating blimp. And when you chomp down a Bulb Berry, Yoshi shines a light that reveals special paths you couldn’t see by yourself. He’s indispensable to winning the game.

Overall, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a very fine game, one that you can play with a friend in multiplayer mode (sadly, there is no online multiplayer capability). Even though you sometimes wish there were more new things to do, it’s a pleasure-filled experience that slowly ramps up from easy to very challenging. And, hey, there’s nothing like the heroic feeling of saving Princess Peach from that mean ol’ Bowser.

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA EA for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PSP Graphics: 8.0 Gameplay: 8.5 Sounds: 9.0 Replay Value: 8.5 Overall Score: 8.5 Pros: Captures the feverish excitement; two-button play; revamped shootout scenarios. Cons: Too much advertising; occasional graphics hiccups; needs better ending.

Is 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa worth the price of admission — especially if you already have FIFA 10 from six months ago? If you’re a soccer nut, the answer is generally “yes.”

This game is not just about being the best in a country, region or even a continent. World Cup is about bragging rights, about being the best team on the planet. And it happens only once every four years with 32 of the world’s finest teams.

WHAT’S NEW

First, you can import your Virtual Pro player from the FIFA 10 game. But he doesn’t just play at the same strength. You add achievements and experience boosts as you play World Cup. Or you can create a new player to step up in the ranks from a B Grade International player all the way up to the captain of your World Cup team. You even have an in-game page full of your statistics. They call it a Web site, but it’s mainly just a screen for your accomplishments and ranking.

In one key way, World Cup has become easier to play than FIFA 10. Even newbies will enjoy the play that lets you use just two buttons on your controller, one to pass and one to shoot. This doesn’t “dumb down” the game, though.

Included are small innovations that come together to make FIFA World Cup a well-thought-out simulation. For instance, say you’re visiting a team that is at a higher altitude, such as Ecuador. If your team hails from, say, England, players onscreen will get winded early, and the home team will have the advantage, even if they’re generally a weaker club. It’s a little tweak that makes it closer to a real-life game.

Returning from World Cup 2006 is a scenario mode that’s packed with action. But this mode has been revamped. It includes 55 scenarios in which you relive some of the most extraordinary in-game situations in this year’s World Cup preliminaries, along with those from the 2006 finals.

For online play, EA has gone Madden on World Cup. They’ve created a very in-depth experience, their most innovative yet for any FIFA game. It will have you virtually traveling the globe to vie against the best teams in the world.

GET EXCITED

You feel the excitement even before the early rounds of the game. As you prepare for battle, you hear enthusiastic English announcer and former pro Andy Townsend, who played in two World Cups himself.

As you ready to play to the sounds of music from around the world, you see the enthusiastic fans — even one with a red, white and blue Mohawk — dance and get a little rowdy.

Fireworks explode; confetti covers players and fans alike. Then Townsend and commentator Clive Tyldesley provide the sometimes thoughtful and occasionally mocking play by play.

A FEW HICCUPS

Once you’ve finished some games, you’ll notice the graphics have a few hiccups. Essentially, you see play from above the field as if you were high in the stands. And sometimes two players near each other will move in exactly the same way. Or they will stutter step.

Even so, with 22 players running on the field, a constantly moving camera, the loud cheering and a kind of small radar screen that shows you the whole field with zippy dots for the athletes, you’ll be so caught up in play, you may not notice the small glitches.

However, there’s one big downside beyond the small graphics problems. You see a ton of advertising around each stadium. You’re already paying $60 for a game; you don’t want to be bombarded by more stuff to buy.

Finally, no sports game, including World Cup, has figured out how to give you the real excitement of winning the whole enchilada. There’s fanfare and fireworks, the deafening crowd and team jubilation, which is cool. But there needs to be something more. Maybe it’s something humorous or dramatic. Maybe it’s a mini-game within the cut scene that shows the ultimate victory.

If you already own FIFA 10, a real soccer fan has to think seriously about getting this World Cup game. It does give you the true thrill of winning. And if you’re strapped for cash, you can always rent before you buy. Finally, there’s a free demo up on Xbox Live for you to download. It doesn’t have all of the features, but it will give you a taste of the gameplay.

MOTOGP 09/10 Capcom for PS3, Xbox 360 Graphics: 8.5 Gameplay: 8.5 Sounds: 9.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.5 Pros: Nice remake of the series. Great graphics. Easier controls. Free downloadable content. Cons: Could be more immersive. Could use a fantasy track or two. Racers need more personality.

ARCADE MODE

In MotoGP 09/10, you get a smart combination of simulation with arcade-style racing, topped off with Hollywood movie-style graphics.

You first see this in Arcade Mode, which is all about timing … and danger. These bikes have only a few inches of rubber on the ground. Much of the time, your rider’s body is within inches of the asphalt as you turn. A blur effect to the graphics makes the races seem even faster.

In this mode, you progress through races with various classes of bikes. But you’ll fail if you run out of time. Probably the best strategy is to get to the front of the pack if you can and stay there. If you’re in the back, you might be part of a major crash, even if you don’t cause it. In front, however, you might speed too fast and spin out.

As you pass motorcycles and reach your top speed, you’re given more time to finish the race. But if some hotshot passes you, precious time will be deducted, and it will be more difficult to win.

CAREER MODE

In Career Mode, move up the ladder to fame and fortune by collecting Rider Reputation points. How do you earn them? Get behind another bike to slipstream or do a little showboating while riding. But don’t get too cocky. If you’re in a collision or you wipe out, you won’t get some cool upgrades to your bike that make it more powerful in races.

Another advantage of Career Mode is the ability to create your own player. Sure, it’s great to customize how he looks. But even beyond this, you’ll pretty much deal with every kind of pressure a real rider does, on and off the track. This includes hiring engineers and team managers to advance your career.

CHAMPIONSHIP MODE

Perhaps the strongest feature in MotoGP 09/10 is Championship Mode. That’s because it feels so real and current. Capcom is giving free download packs based on real-life races that make your experience as up-to-date as it can be. The first download pack will include two new circuits, from England and Hungary. The second will update the riders, the bikes for 2010 and the liveries. (The livery is the color and graphic design of the motorcycle body.)

Online, you’ll be able to play against the best video-game racers in the world. And, as races go into the record books and the best top the online leaderboards, you’re able to download the racing lines of the winner. Can you beat him or even stay within a few feet of him as he speeds to victory?

What’s also intriguing is traveling to the many different countries for races, everywhere from Spain to China to Australia. Some of the tracks are really challenging, especially the one in Australia. And the track in Qatar is really fun to drive at night because the paint on the track seems to glow.

IMPROVEMENTS NOW AND LATER

Fortunately, the game makers threw out the difficult controls from the last version of the game. You had to use both sticks on the controller, which made you feel like you had to jump through hoops just to get started. Now the controls are more familiar to racing-game fans. Speed up with the right trigger, and brake with the left trigger. Use the left stick to move your weight from side to side on the curves.

Despite the many improvements, you still wonder if there’s a way to make the racing feel even more realistic in the future. Maybe there’s a way to give more personality to the racers in a cut scene before or after the race. Maybe there’s a way to create your own tracks or put some of the real-life tracks together to make your own fantasy track.

While the game is greatly improved from its previous version, there’s still a need to make the player feel more inside the whole MotoGP experience. But judging from the strides made with this year’s model, they’re probably working on making the next game even better.

Want to go deep-sea diving? How about getting up close to a massive whale and its one-month-old calf? Even if you’re a licensed diver, you’ll enjoy the underwater adventures and the attention paid to detail in Endless Ocean: Blue World.

ENDLESS OCEAN: BLUE WORLD Nintendo for Wii, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older Graphics: 8.5 Gameplay: 8.0 Sounds: 7.0 Replay Value: 8.0 Overall Score: 8.0 Pros: Good story line and quests, multiplayer via WiFi connection, tons of sea creatures. Cons: Characters don’t talk via audio, just text; petting wild animals such as bears makes it seem unreal; not enough weird undersea creatures. Official Web Site: www.endlessocean.com

You’ll like Blue World even if you didn’t care for the first version of this game. That’s because Blue World is not just about exploring the sea and its creatures (which is pretty cool in itself). It’s about completing quests and becoming involved in a story that’s almost as deep as the ocean is blue.

GETTING YOUR FEET WET

Before you can begin, you have to complete a system update. This takes longer than usual, about five minutes. But then you’re ready to jump in.

Right away, you’re introduced to the sea during a scene at a long wooden dock leading to a tropical island. You hear the soft splashing of the sea. Then you hear a kind of sappy opening song sung a little too seriously. Thankfully, it doesn’t last long.

As you watch the opening, you discover an undersea building. Who knows? Maybe it’s part of the lost city of Atlantis. You’re also introduced to tough Captain Louvier, who reveals that he can no longer dive because he got a bad case of the bends during an adventure. It’s a warning to you that the sea is not always kind to adventurers.

You also meet Oceana, the captain’s cute daughter. This independent-minded girl will be your undersea guide during expeditions. You’re also asked to customize your character, but there’s not much here. Choose male or female, skin color and a couple of facial features. That’s about it.

The captain and Oceana tell you about the mysterious Song of Dragons, bit by bit. As you journey to solve the mystery, you go from coral reefs to the rivers of the Amazon filled with sharp-toothed piranhas. In the Arctic, you find penguins and polar bears you can pet. In the distant Pacific, a scientist helps you find Okeano’s Treasure.

Unfortunately, you must read the characters’ words and scroll through the text with the ‘A’ button. But you get used to it pretty quickly. It’s the diving that you want to be exciting, and it really is.

DIVING IN

What’s it like to dive? It’s pretty easy. The game starts you off much the same way a real-life instructor would if you were just starting out in open water. The water’s no deeper than 13 feet. You see a magical paradise full of tropical fish, some a few inches, some a couple of feet long.

To check out a fish, point your Wii remote at one and press ‘A’ to focus in on, say, a goby or clown fish. Press ‘A’ again, and you get a pretty detailed story about the species, including some cool trivia.

You can feed and touch some of them, too. (Some don’t want to be fed or touched, though.) You have useful tools at your disposal, including the Pulsar device, which helps you cure sick creatures and slow the more aggressive ones that might come after you. The Underwater Pen lets you mark locations in case you need to go back and search more carefully. With the Camera, take and save pictures of any of the 300 forms of wildlife you encounter.

Eventually, you’ll come upon a smart dolphin. You’ll be able to teach the mammal tricks and marvel at his jumping. Then you can latch on to his fin for some super-fast swimming. (You can also latch onto the whale at the beginning of game.)

You can explore these new worlds with a friend via your WiFi broadband connection. And since the game comes bundled with the WiiSpeak microphone, you can chat as you check out the reefs and caves.

ON A QUEST

It’s the story and quests that keep you curious. What is that underwater civilization all about? (You’ll eventually check it out. Just don’t run out of air in the maze of ruins.) And what’s the meaning of those coins that you find along the way?

Of course, the aquatic lover in you will constantly check out the various rays, sea turtles and more.

As you complete your quests, you’ll level up and be able to dive deeper into the sea. You might even see an oarfish or a 30-foot-long giant squid, something real-life scientists rarely find. This beast has giant eyes, the biggest of any living animal on the planet. I won’t tell you the trouble he gets into. It’s pretty awesome, though.

Be careful of that shark. Swim away as fast as you can if he decides to head your way.

As you root around underwater, you’ll come across salvage items. Keep them and take them to a trader named Nancy on Nineball Island, your home on land. In exchange, you’ll get new wetsuits, masks and the like.

Finally, Endless Ocean: Blue World has a nice price. Compared to other Wii games, it’s about $10 less. If you’re willing to take a chance on a game that isn’t full of crazy action every second, you’ll be rewarded with a truly memorable experience.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SPIRIT TRACKS Nintendo for DS, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older Graphics: 8.5 Gameplay: 8.5 Sound: 9.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.75 Pros: Drive a cool train. Save Zelda. Control Phantoms. Great soundtrack. Cons: Hard to pull off some moves with the touch screen. Every player needs a game to play wirelessly.

ALL ABOARD

The adventure begins with Link at the helm of an old steam-engine train. Passing through green countryside, you see Zelda is with him, sitting happily on the roof of the passenger car.

Once that movie is finished, you get to captain the train yourself all the way to the palace, where Zelda is waiting with your official engineer’s certificate. What fun! Just chase the animals off the track by blowing your whistle, and avoid other trains along the way.

You can explore the castle’s grounds. But stay away from the trees in the upper left corner—there’s a nasty swarm of bees in there. You’ll meet a variety of non-playable characters who will give you information.

LEARNING YOUR MISSION

As you accept the engineering certificate, Zelda hands you a secret letter with a special route to her room that bypasses her protectors. She needs your help because the Spirit Tracks, the routes the train takes through the kingdom, are disappearing. If we can go to the Tower of Spirits, she suggests, maybe we can find the answer to the mystery.

First, though, you need to strategize. How do you get Zelda past the many guards keeping her in the castle? Do this by leading Zelda away from anyone’s notice via the touch screen. Then you can distract the guards. Once this is done, tap the “Call” button and Zelda will come back to you.

But it’s a Zelda game, which means things won’t go that easily. As you head to the tower, Chancellor Cole, a meany with two strange hats, separates Zelda’s body from her spirit. Now, only her spirit can accompany you on your journey.

Once you arrive at the tower, a wise being tells you something startling: If all the Spirit Tracks disappear, the long-imprisoned Demon King will be freed from his shackles underneath the kingdom. And no one wants that.

CHALLENGE AFTER CHALLENGE

The difficulty ramps up quickly from here. Take driving the train, for example. At one point, you’re gritting your teeth as you try to avoid another train speeding at you.

Then, an angry mob of snowmen throw their heads at you as you try to pass. You have to launch cannonballs at them to complete the mission. If you thought being an engineer would be a peaceful experience, think again.

As you move through this lengthy but enjoyable journey, you’ll have help from cool Phantoms. Just power up your sword with one of the Tears of Light you find. Then tap the Phantom on the back. At that point, the spirit of Zelda will possess the ghost, and you’ll have full control of the character.

BEAUTY IN THE DETAILS

There’s much more here, too. You’ll also encounter various monsters, including one made of rocks that appears as you try to move the train through a tunnel. You’ll get to play the Spirit Flute by selecting a note and blowing into the microphone. Play a tune correctly, and some secrets of the kingdom will be yours.

Since this is a role-playing game, you’ll find tons of small things you’ll enjoy along the way. Various potions will make you briefly very powerful (and some might make you laugh). Collecting postcards from your travels hither and yon will eventually get you prizes.

You can soup up your train by trading in treasures you’ve collected at Linebeck Trading. Plus, you can use the force of Whirlwinds to solve some puzzles and force enemies back if they get too close. A boomerang helps defeat some smaller monsters, too. Link even has a bullwhip that can act like a grapple to help him across canyons.

SMALL DRAWBACKS

Using the stylus to get around and do battle can be frustrating at times. Nintendo needed to tighten up these controls a little more to make the generally magical Zelda experience more precise.

The other annoying thing is that to play wirelessly in Battle mode with up to four players, each player has to own a copy of the game. It would be a lot better if only one person needed the game to play with friends.

These are small things, however. What the Nintendo team has done with Spirit Tracks is to add some new-fangled gameplay to a terrific series that’s a tried-and-true videogame tradition. It makes you want to play the upcoming Wii game (supposedly due at the end of the year)—right now.

BEST PS3 GAME

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Sony)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
Battle in space. Explore pretty much everywhere in the game—even the sky, with your Hoverboots. The graphics are as ingenious as those in almost any animated movie. And since this concludes the Ratchet & Clank trilogy, the game makers have outdone themselves by adding surprises everywhere.

BEST XBOX 360 GAME—TIE

Mini Ninjas (Warner Bros.)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
Mini Ninjas is one of those games that lets you escape into its ultra-cool world. Once in that vivid adventure, you just don’t want to leave. In addition, the idea of changing enemies into animals to fix the balance of nature never gets old.

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (LucasArts)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
There’s a lot here. You get the classic, silent LEGO humor and the trilogy of movies plus “The Crystal Skull.” There are tons of new levels, and you’ve got to love the way the whip tosses an enemy over LEGO Indy’s shoulder. “Adventure” is right!

BEST WII GAME

New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
Mario creator Mr. Miyamoto puts his Nintendo team’s best stuff into the Mario and Zelda games. In this latest Mario, you get a very fine game that offers multiplayer in the always-charming Mushroom Kingdom. You have to love that helicopter thing that the characters can do. Plus, it’s one challenging game to beat.

BEST PSP GAME

Hammerin’ Hero (Atlus)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
Hammerin’ Hero is a quirky platform game that never lets up as far as challenge and thrills go. It may be a side scroller, but some of the artwork is so intense, it feels 3D. And in what other game can you be a deep-sea diver, a baseball player and a sushi chef?

Runner Up: LittleBigPlanet PSP (Sony)

BEST DS GAME

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
Link’s return is triumphant and so is his relationship with The Phantom, the ghostly and helpful knight he pals around with. Plus, there are the sweet game mechanics like the Whirlwind and the whip. Finally, who doesn’t like to ride a steam-engine train and defeat enemies while you do it?

Runner Up: Big Bang Mini (Southpeak)

BEST PC GAME

Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
Who knew a real-time strategy game could be so much fun and so full of laughs? The cute undead characters look like they’re out of a comic book. And there are so many weird weapons the zombies use, like catapults and even a Zamboni machine, you have endless fun trying to choose the right plants to counter them. Don’t let ’em get in the living room!

BEST NEW PLATFORM

iPod Touch and iPhone
There are more than 20,000 games for these platforms. While a lot of them stink, the iPod Touch and iPhone are giving the makers of the PSP and DS a serious run for their money. Plus, the price is right—even at this time of year. Until January 2010, Konami has a sale on its games for just 99 cents each at the iTunes store. Some of the other, independently made games are free to download, too.

BEST MUSIC GAME

Band Hero (Activision)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
Sure, LEGO Rock Band is good, but Band Hero wins: With 65 tunes from so many eras of rock, the replay value is immense. And you can play with up to eight people on Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network and even the Wii.

BEST OVERALL SPORTS GAME

FIFA Soccer 10 (EA Sports)
Even if you’re not a soccer fan, you have to appreciate all the upgrades that went into this latest version of FIFA. If you are a soccer fan, it’s pure heaven. FIFA 10 plays like the real thing because the controls and graphics have been mightily improved upon. Plus, there’s so much to do when you really get into it, you’ll find it difficult to find time to play any other sports game.

Runner Up: MLB The Show 09 (Sony for PS3)

BEST RACING GAME

MX Vs. ATV Reflex (THQ)
There are tons of vehicles to drive, and you can customize them your way. The dirt tracks take real-time damage, which you can use to your advantage if you know the right moves. The upshot is that Reflex feels real, and that’s why it’s an exciting game.

BEST MOVIE ADAPTATION

Disney’s A Christmas Carol (Disney for DS)
Boy, did this come out of nowhere! Even though A Christmas Carol has a great variety of games, it’s no mere mini-game collection. You play the games when the time is right and to move the classic Dickens’ story along. They even included the book for you.

Runner Up: A Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Majesco for Xbox 360)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older

BEST NOD TO OLD-SCHOOL GAMING

A Boy and His Blob (Majesco for Wii)
Not only is A Boy and His Blob touching and beautifully animated, it’s a remake of one of the hardest-to-find Nintendo games. Then, there are all the fun things you can do with the blob, like making him into a ladder and a parachute.

BEST MINI GAMES COLLECTION

Medieval Games (Vir2L for Wii)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
Just when you think there’s nothing more that can be done with mini games for the Wii, out comes Medieval Games. On three ingenious game boards in 30 games, you can play as a wizard, jester or knight. Jousting is challenging, and so is fighting that dragon!

Runner Up: Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

BEST OVERALL SERIES

Petz (Ubisoft for DS)
The Petz series takes the virtual pet idea and spreads it across a variety of games that include hamsters, monkeys, horses and dolphins. Some of the games even work with the other games. In Hamsterz Superstarz, you get to bowl and parachute, and in Dolphinz Encounter, you meet 50 underwater species. Very impressive.

GAME OF THE YEAR

Band Hero (Activision)
Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
It’s about time kids got a family-friendly music-based rhythm game. In addition to the cool stuff mentioned above, Band Hero has most of the features in the T-rated Guitar Hero 5. In addition to the many modes of play, you can even create your own songs.

Runner Up: FIFA Soccer 10 (EA Sports)

FIFA SOCCER 10: OLE, OLE, OLE!

FIFA SOCCER 10 Electronic Arts for PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, DS, PSP, PC, iPhone Graphics: 8.5 Gameplay: 9.0 Sound: 9.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 9.5 Pros: 360-degree play; add a photo of yourself to a player; high replayability. Cons: Ads are present in the game; there’s so much to do, it can be confusing.

EA made this year’s FIFA Soccer gameplay so intriguing and exciting, even those who don’t play soccer will be impressed. And real players will simply go ga-ga over the new stuff.

The first thing that’ll get you going is the amount of personalization in FIFA Soccer 10. You can upload your own photo and place it on the player you create. Yes, that’s you playing against the greatest players in the game.

What really makes the soccer offering so cool are the small things. Check out the coaching portion of the game, for instance. Manager Mode alone has added 50 new upgrades. The Player Transfer System isn’t just about money. It’s about a cornucopia of stats. In fact, this portion, along with the Player Experience and Growth System, almost feels like a role-playing game in which you level up and increase strength.

Most players will just want to hit the field and feel the thrills of offense, defense and scoring goals. This year, you can move in a full 360-degree circle. It doesn’t sound like much, but upgrading from eight ways to move the ball to nearly limitless ways adds a lot of joy to the game. FIFA 10 feels more real because soccer is all about precision and angles. After all, this is a true simulation, not an arcade game.

You’ll also be witness to a massive number of teams throughout the world—almost 600 of them—along with 50 stadiums. You can play online among as many as 20 people. That may be too many, but you get your money’s worth with this game.

NBA 2K10: SO REAL!

NBA 2K10 2K Sports for PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PSP, PC Graphics: 8.5 Gameplay: 8.5 Sound: 9.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.75 Pros: Real-time scores and standings add serious reality. Create online teams of up to 15 with pals. Hip-hop soundtrack. Cons: Way too many ads. Minor glitches appeared in first hour of play. Could be faster.

It’s all about reality. As you play NBA 2K10, you get real-time updates of basketball games from a ticker and, yes, from the announcers. To witness it, you have to be signed into Xbox Live. It’s just one thing that makes the game feel ultra real—just as if you were watching the game on TV and playing at the same time. If a player gets injured in real life, he’ll be injured in the game, too.

I saw two problems, which actually appeared in my first hour of play. First, there are too many ads during the game, even more than you see on TV in a game. Also, when a graphic came on the screen with the leaders in the division, it stayed up there during gameplay, obscuring vision on the court. So the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki hit a 3 pointer from way downtown. Ouch!

You can just play a season, or you can start low in the ranks as a hungry, undrafted player who’s sweating it out on the Summer Circuit. As you gain strength, move up to a shot at the big leagues in training camp. Then, move up the ladder to become a superstar.

Top players like LeBron have what 2K Sports calls Signature Style. That means the superstars act and play like the real person, more so than ever before. Every quirk before free throws is there. So is every annoyed facial expression the players have when hearing they got a foul.

Sometimes, you feel like the players should move more quickly. Again, it’s just the game being real. Players get tired like they do in real life, and the really big guys generally don’t speed up and down the court like Dwyane Wade. Still, you wish they were speedier.

Pull and hold the left trigger to start Intense D, which should help with blocking if your team isn’t one of the best. Pulling off alley oops and hop-step spins can be done, too. There are a lot of moves to learn with the controller. Once you get them down, you’ll be on your way to superstardom.

NHL 10 SKATES STRONGLY

NHL 10 Electronic Arts for PS3, Xbox 360 Graphics: 8.5 Gameplay: 8.5 Sound: 9.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.75 Pros: Wild animations; online play; over 200 tweaks in gameplay since last year; great soundtrack.. Cons: Ads are all around the ice; not as much of a leap forward as last year’s game.

It’s not the big makeover that the game got last year, but it’s still a terrific experience. And NHL 10 is not easy. Even in Pro mode, which is just one step up from Rookie mode, it’s hard to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins and even the Ottawa Senators. And there are a lot of buttons to remember. Unless you’re playing against a ringer, however, you should be able to do decently by moving around with the left stick and shooting with the right stick.

You can also use the left stick to aim for a place in the net. Sometimes, you’ll freak out a goalie with a shot that doesn’t seem possible in reality. For instance, I was Drury, the center from the Rangers. I stood parallel to the net near the boards. The goalie was on the right side of the ice. A well-aimed slap shot got so close to a sliver of space between the goalie’s pad and the net that he kicked the puck in with his skate. Score!

The announcers add thrills, more so than in the basketball and soccer games. They’re accurate with names and facts almost all the time. The crowd’s enthusiasm is pretty infectious, too. That and the soundtrack definitely get you going when you’re down a goal or two.

Customization makes the game even more fun. You can decrease the number of penalties the ref gives (and he does give a lot of them on the default mode). You can turn on a goalie mode, which lets you block the shots instead of the game’s artificial intelligence. You can change the camera angles from bird’s eye view to a view that’s closer to what a player would experience. You can even add plays via the D pad.

Just like FIFA 10 and NBA 2K10, there’s a huge amount of depth here. Not only can you play in the AHL, you can also play European teams. There’s a fantasy draft, online play with up to 12 players and a new way to battle it out on the boards for possession of the puck. All these make the replay value of NHL 10 very high. It’s so good, you can almost feel the spray of the ice.

POKÉMON MYSTERY DUNGEON: EXPLORERS OF SKY Nintendo for DS Graphics: 6.0 Sound: 7.0 Gameplay: 7.0 Replay Value: 8.0 Overall Score: 7.0 Pros: Five new Pokémon to play as; WiFi offers many features; many Pokémon stories. Cons: Too much like the previous games; gameplay graphics aren’t detailed enough; needs even more new Pokémon.

GETTING STARTED

To a big Pokémon fan, this new game is like a road trip and heroic adventure combined. But it might be more interesting for the new Mystery Dungeon fan because of the similarities in gameplay to the last two games. For instance, remember the beginnings of Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness? You’re thrown into darkness. Then you see lightning and rocks that look like a wolf baring his scary teeth. It’s exactly the same in Explorers of Sky.

As in the other games, you have to take a personality test before you can play. You’ll answer questions such as whether you like karaoke and day-old cake and if you consider yourself to be a pushy person. To figure out your aura, it then asks you to press your finger on the touchscreen gently. (Actually, you’d better press hard or it won’t register.)

My aura was deep green, my favorite color. It was determined that I was brave type with a strong sense of justice and that I won’t turn away from someone in trouble. But I might be too pushy. I became the Electric Pokémon, Pikachu, and chose as my partner a Chimchar, a kind of monkey.

When the actual game begins, you’re washed on shore to meet your cowardly cohort, a Pokémon of your choosing. No matter which Pokémon you choose, he’ll start out as a wimp. And, as in the other games, you’ll start quests by retrieving your shy Pokémon’s stolen treasure.

GETTING STRONGER

As you go down, down, down into the deep Beach Caves, you’ll level up and become stronger quickly. Just remember to keep an eye on your health when you find the baddies who took that treasure and called your partner a wimp. Otherwise, you’ll faint and have to start all over again. One way to fend off fainting is to eat berries and apples when your HP meter is low. Keep an eye on that meter and eat often!

If you faint later in the game, you’re returned to your base of operation, Wigglytuff’s Guild. The penalty here is the loss of half of your money and some of the items you’ve been carrying.

Throughout the game, you’ll enjoy Special Episodes, including one with beaver-like creatures called Bibarels, hanging around outside a huge lodge they’ve built in a river. I have beavers near my house, which are sometimes annoying and sometimes cute. So it was a lot of fun to see something like them in a Pokémon game.

You can access the Special Episodes before you finish the main adventure, but you can only play one at a time.

CHOICES, CHOICES!

You can play as five new Pokémon characters, including Phanpy, Rioly, Shinx, Eevee and Vulpix. With his long nose and elephant-like look, Phanpy might be the coolest. He’s certainly the only Ground Type available in the game.

You’ll also learn the back stories of a few characters such as Wigglytuff and why he decided to become an adventurer and how Bidoff was inducted into the Guild.

One of the coolest parts of the game comes when you meet the new Pokémon, Shaymin. He’ll become your pal and guide to the very top of Sky Peak. Climbing all the way up is a thrilling trip.

You can play the game either with the stylus and touchscreen or with the D-pad and buttons. This adds a little variety to the game. I like to switch between the two. But I do like the three ways of tapping an enemy to fight against him. One tap throws ammo at the enemy. A Double Tap uses a move you predetermine against your foe. And holding after tapping begins your normal attack.

GET A JOB

Along the way, you’ll take several jobs to save the Pokémon. Sometimes, you’ll find a bottle on the shore with a message inside that’s actually a new job. And sometimes, you’ll see a job posting in the Guild. Then you’ll have to fight an evil Pokémon.

Not too long into the game, a feature called Chimecho Assembly becomes available. At that point, you’ll be able to recruit defeated Pokémon to join your exploration team. Some won’t want to join, but many will.

In Treasure Town, you’ll find that new shops keep opening up. There’s a juice bar, a storage facility and Marowak Dojo, where your team battles wild Pokémon. Chansey’s Day Care is where eggs you have won as gifts for finishing jobs will go. Chansey helps hatch small Pokémon in just a few days.

SOME OF THE SAME

Many dungeons can feel the same because the graphics don’t really change. However, the layout of the dungeons changes every time you enter, making each excursion somewhat of a new experience. But it’s not quite new enough.

There are WiFi features from the other games. If your team faints during battle, you can call on a friend to rescue you. Before your pal gets to the rescue point, he’ll have to defeat a bunch of tough foes. Also, when you’re using the WiFi features, look for the Wonder S Mail Service. Here, you can download special jobs that are otherwise unavailable in the game. Finally, you can trade your team for a friend’s team via WiFi.

If you’re picky about your Pokémon, you might find that this game is too much like the other games. However, the diehard Pokémon fan will discover hours of exploration. Through reading, you’ll learn new tales about creatures that are pretty entertaining. But if money is a little tight this year, think about renting the game to see if it’s different enough for you before buying it.

MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER’S INSIDE STORY Nintendo for DS/DSi Graphics: 7.0 Sound: 9.0 Gameplay: 9.0 Replay Value: 8.0 Overall Score: 9.0 Pros: Good, long RPG; laugh-out-loud funny; unusual gameplay. Cons: Levels and art are somewhat repetitive; graphics should be more detailed; not enough use of touchscreen.

FUN AND FUNNY FROM THE START

Most of Mario’s pals are in the humorous Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. Even the title is a pun: Much of the game takes place inside Bowser’s body. The gruff dragon swallows Mario, Luigi, even Princess Peach.

You know Bowser is a bad guy, but why would he do such a thing? Blame that weird, bespectacled Fawful (from the two earlier Mario and Luigi games for DS). He entices the dragon-like turtle to swallow a Lucky Mushroom. It’s a Vacuum Mushroom that makes Bowser inhale Mario and the gang.

There’s much more to the story. Citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom have eaten The Blorbs. It makes them grow into big bloated balls that roll around uncontrollably. It’s like a huge epidemic has taken over.

Does it all have to do with Fawful? Maybe. Fawful is such a weird guy. The character that originally appeared in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga talks like Yoda-meets-E.T. He also wants the Mushroom Kingdom for his own dastardly plans.

ROLE PLAYING

In this multilayered role-playing game (RPG), it’s up to you to save the day. You get to play as Mario and Luigi deep within the guts of Bowser. You also get to play as Bowser, who’s trying to save his castle from Fawful.

As with any RPG, you have to level up constantly to gain more power. That’s because you need more strength to battle the bigger bosses. Sometimes you have to beat the same creatures over and over again. But that’s the nature of this beast: There are only so many varieties of enemies that fit into any RPG.

However, the Mario & Luigi portion of the game often plays like a platformer. You have to run and jump through Bowser’s guts to proceed in the game. If you’ve never played an RPG before, this is a great way to ease into it. When you level up, you get a kind of pat on the back for doing so. It all makes you feel sure and powerful.

To help you in your fighting, you can earn special badges that protect you along the way. Find them during play or buy them in The Shop with coins you’ve collected.

POWERUPS, BUGS AND BOTS

The coolest early powerup you get is a green shell. You use it almost like a hockey player does a puck. Mario shoots it into an enemy and it rebounds off the baddie to Luigi. As the puck moves faster and faster, you knock it back between the brothers and the monster to eliminate it. But you have to be precise. If you don’t kick the green shell at the right time, either Mario or Luigi will miss it and fall down.

At another point, there’s something like a virus bug inside Bowser. One thing you have to do to get rid of it is jump on the thing’s tongue. Later, you deal with a weapon called Super Ultra Wonder Ultimate Ruthless Great Iron Ball. And watch out for the Super Ultra Great Mega Trashy Monster Bot.

Whoever wrote the game’s script is a true goob. It’s hilarious. Now and then, you might even miss a move or hit due to a fit of laughter.

BOWSER’S BATTLES

Mario and Luigi help Bowser, but that doesn’t mean Bowser doesn’t have anything to do. In his portion of the game, he deals with all manner of monsters and kooks, including an odd Frenchman stranded on an island. If you take the rope and pull the island to shore (with help from the plumbers inside Bowser), the Frenchman gives you a special powerup.

Sometimes Bowser becomes a giant when he fights, so much so that you have to turn the DS vertically to witness the sheer size of the battle. Here, you’ll use the DS stylus to attack. But you can’t simply brawl. You have to hit at exactly the right time. Early on, you’re told that the baddies will give a signal regarding how they will attack you. So keep your eyes open to win.

Exhaling into the microphone will make Bowser breathe fire during these battles. Breathe deeply and blow hard.

THE FINAL WORD

If you like the old-school games, you’ll love some of the mini games. One is a tribute to the classic Space Invaders game. There’s just so much variety in Bowser’s Inside Story gameplay, you won’t get a better deal (unless you buy the upcoming Pokemon in October).

Some folks have quibbled, saying Nintendo doesn’t have the great games this year. Sure, there’s no new Zelda for Wii, and we’ll have to wait another year for Super Mario Galaxy 2. But truly great games like Bowser’s Inside Story should silence many naysayers. It’s the must-have Nintendo game for the DS this season.

WII SPORTS RESORT Nintendo for Wii Graphics: 7.5 Sound: 8.0 Gameplay: 9.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.5 Pros: Island looks like fun; 12 challenging games; Wii MotionPlus can be cool Cons: No online play; two games repeated from Wii Sports; Wii MotionPlus can act weird

GAMES GALORE

Wii Sports Resort takes you to a magical island where the sun shines, the ocean is always blue and people are forever friendly. Oh, and they love to play games.

There are a dozen different games, many with their own specific challenges and modes. In fact, a game like Archery is very different when you compare the easy mode to the expert mode. If you count all of the extra modes, you have about two dozen games.

The game  includes the Wii MotionPlus snap-on, which is supposed to make you more accurate as you play. The package also sports a rubber sleeve to keep the two controllers tightly together and from breaking when they fall.

WU-HU!

The cool thing about the game’s introduction is that you arrive via plane. Plus, you’re a skydiver who must leap out of the aircraft. As you fall to Earth, you can hold hands with other parachuters to form a cool, many-person ring high above the ocean. Then, open your chute and softly glide down. It’s a surprising, exciting way to land on WuHu Island. (Hey, even the name sounds like fun!)

My first game was Island Flyover in a seaplane. I felt the best way to check out the place was to give the complete landscape a good look from a bird’s-eye view. First, I held the Wii remote as if it were a model airplane. Flying high above, the sights are many: whales, other islands, a waterfall, even solar windmills that power WuHu Island. Fly close and check out the points of interest (those with an “I” over them) to collect points.

IN WITH THE NEW

Next, I took up Table Tennis. I had the pleasure of meeting a variety of Mii characters, each a little more powerful than the last. If the character ends up lobbing a ball, you can snap the remote and hit a super fastball that it’ll dive for and probably miss.

There are wacky environments and three modes of difficulty included with Archery. At one point, you shoot arrows over molten lava to hit a moving bull’s-eye. Use your remote’s “A” button to aim. As you use the nunchuk as your bow, pull back, aim, then release the “Z” button to shoot. In any mode, it’s quite challenging: You almost never hit the bull’s-eye for 10 points.

In Swordplay, you’re on a giant pedestal high above the ocean. The goal is simple: Hit your opponent with your non-sharp sword and knock him off the platform. It’s really fun to watch as he flails and flips on his way down to making a great big splash. You can also unlock Showdown mode, in which you fight tons of enemy fighters. Use “B” to block because if you’re hit three times, the game ends.

Two of the tougher boat games with obstacles include Power Cruising, in which you pilot a kind of JetSki, and Canoeing, in which you use the remote as a paddle. Other games include Wakeboarding, Frisbee and Basketball.

NOT QUITE OUT WITH THE OLD

Both Golf and Bowling are reprised from the original game. Even though the 100-pin mode on Bowling is a ton of fun, you have to figure that the minds at Nintendo could have come up with two new games for you to enjoy. They probably did: You have to wonder what was cut from the package.

While Cycling adds the ability to drift behind other players to catch some speed, it feels a lot like the running and jogging game in WiiFit, except you use your arms to pedal, not your legs. In fact, the course looks too much like the WiiFit course, almost as if some of it has been repurposed.

SOME DRAWBACKS

Unfortunately, there’s no online play. It would be enjoyable to play against competitors worldwide, in a Wii Sports Resort Olympics of sorts. Also, it would be cool if they had added some Balance Board functionality to one or two of the games.

As for Wii MotionPlus, this add-on not only makes games more precise, it also makes them harder. MotionPlus can be quirky, especially when you try a subtle tap of a Table Tennis paddle: Sometimes it will hit a ball, and sometimes it won’t. And without warning in the middle of a game, MotionPlus will sometimes start recalibrating. You almost always lose a point in Table Tennis when this happens. (The way to prevent this, I think, is to lay the remote down for a minute every 10 minutes between points. Then it recalibrates itself.)

BOTTOM LINE: IT’S A BARGAIN

Overall, though, Wii Sports Resort has to be considered a bargain. Wii MotionPlus can be played with dozens of other games (but only those that say “Wii MotionPlus” on the box). Plus, the games within Wii Sports Resort will make you laugh. It’s some of the happiest, most joyous family gameplay that you can find today.

People will be buying this one in droves through the holidays. That’s why you’ll find some helpful tips for the game in the November issue of BL.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Electronic Arts for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, DS, PSP, PC Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older Xbox 360 and PS3 Graphics: 8.0 Sound: 8.0 Gameplay: 7.0 Replay Value: 6.0 Overall Score: 7.0 Pros: Great graphics, dueling club, casting spells Cons: No online play, characters’ lips move weirdly, not enough that’s truly new Wii Graphics: 6.0 Sound: 6.0 Gameplay: 6.0 Replay Value: 6.0 Overall Score: 6.0 PSP Graphics: 6.0 Sound: 6.0 Gameplay: 5.0 Replay Value: 5.0 Overall Score: 5.5 DS Graphics: 5.0 Sound: 5.0 Gameplay: 5.0 Replay Value: 5.0 Overall Score: 5.0

FIRST, THE BAD NEWS

I’m afraid I have to tell you to stay away from the handheld versions. Both the PSP and DS games are pretty similar. In some ways, they just don’t look finished and corners have been cut. In an adventure game that isn’t too full of true adventure, the gamemakers add a lot that isn’t in the book, and it’s boring stuff.

There’s so much going-here-and-going-there to accomplish tasks, you often don’t want to play. Plus, the mini-games based on Gobstones, the marble game, and Exploding Snap, the card game, just don’t inspire a sense of wonder. There’s very little that’s magical here.

The Wii version is almost as much of a disappointment. Like the last game, you’ll make potions, play Quidditch and explore Hogwarts. What makes this game lesser than the other console versions is that the movements you want to make with the Wii remote aren’t always the ones that end up happening on the screen. It’s been years since the Wii was released; shouldn’t you be able to pull off really precise moves by now?

NOW, THE GOOD NEWS

The slightly more thrilling versions of the game are the ones made for Xbox 360 and PS3. The first thing you see is a bunch of quick scenes from the game, which gets you energized. After meeting Hermione and Ron and riding really fast through some hoops and navigating via the left stick, you’re transported far outside Hogwarts.

In a beautiful but somewhat creepy night full of shadows and moonlight, the quirky Luna Lovegood leads you up the road to the school. During the trip, you learn that there are 150 Crests to collect during the game. Also, shimmering and glowing objects such as street lamps contain Mini Crests. Collect enough, and you’ll eventually unlock extra bonuses and shortcuts.

Once inside, you meet Nearly Headless Nick, who’s your helper in case you get stuck during missions or become lost. Early on, you learn how to lift and throw an object with Wingardium Leviosa. You need to do this to collect a Crest that’s high up on an old brick wall. Sometimes Crests are really difficult to get. Exploding cauldrons and dungbombs help when Wingardium Leviosa isn’t enough.

MORE BAD NEWS

You follow Nearly Headless Nick to the Potion room to do some timed mixing of the weird liquids and powders that make spells. While the designers try to make this cool by adding sound effects and vibrant potion colors, mixing things together is just not that interesting.

I also discovered that moving down circular staircases got me dizzy, especially when I ran quickly. If you’re prone to getting motion sickness in a game, try to move slowly and take a break every 15 minutes or so. There’s no need to finish the game in a hurry. In fact, moving more slowly lets you check out the detailed environments that fill the Half-Blood Prince and set the mysterious mood.

While the characters’ faces look pretty close to the real-life actors, their lips don’t look right when they say certain words, especially when the words begin with b, f, m, n and p. I know this sounds like I’m nitpicking, but check it out yourself. It’s pretty distracting.

It also would have been great to have Quidditch and dueling in online modes. But it looks like EA still believes (like many developers) that kids don’t want to play with their pals online.

BUT MORE GOOD NEWS

Yet there are some compelling things. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment when you unlock shortcuts in the game. And it’s fun to interact with characters. You can even talk to lion statues (if they feature Crests) and get small missions from them called Good Deeds.

One of the most enjoyable things to do is dueling. Once you take on Ron, you’re admitted into the Gryffindor Dueling Club. In these battles, which get harder and harder, you can use Levicorpus to levitate your foe and Petrificus Totalus to freeze your opponent. Basically, the dueling is practice that helps when you eventually take on the crafty Death Eaters.

Overall, diehard fans of the Harry Potter series won’t care about the glitches and lack of new gameplay. But do yourself a favor and rent before you buy, especially when it comes to the handheld versions. You’ll want to make sure you really like it before you make a financial investment in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

REEL FISHING: ANGLER’S DREAM (Natsume; Wii). Reel Fishing is close to real fishing, with vivid graphics and advice from the Fishing Master. In lakes, rivers or oceans, those Boss Fish are truly hard to catch.

 
 
ONLINE FISHING GAMES. This site has nine free fishing games, including one with a giant shark in the ocean: http://www.onlinefishinggames.net/

 
 
 
 
IPHONE FLICK SPORTS FISHING (Freeverse). For 99 cents, fish in many locations, including a raging sea. Use the iPhone as rod and the touch screen as reel. (Just don’t throw the phone when you cast!)

 
 
FISHING MASTER WORLD TOUR (Hudson; Wii). With lots of tournaments, 200 fish species and many places to visit such as Japan and Africa, this is a fine starter game if you haven’t fished with the Wii before.

 
 
 
FISH TYCOON (Last Day of Work; Mac, PC). If you’d rather collect ‘em than catch ‘em, this aquarium game lets you find more than 400 species and breed seven Magic Fish. http://www.fishtycoon.com/

And keep on the lookout for RAPALA’S WE FISH (Activision Value; Wii), which comes out in August.

So does the bundle, which costs $60, live up to the hype? Does it make your golfing experience more real and fun?

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 Electronic Arts for Wii Graphics: 8.0 Sound: 9.0 Gameplay: 9.0 Replay Value: 10.0 Overall Score: 9.0 Pros: Wii MotionPlus; real-time weather effects; many modes, including online. Cons: Wii MotionPlus; graphics could be better; no miniature golf.

LOTS OF STUFF WITH LOTS OF HELP

The box reads, “Feel The Drama.” Tiger is looking to the sky, making a fist and shouting in victory. It all makes you want to play.

Tiger games are simulations, not arcade games. That means they play like actual golf. And sports games from Electronic Arts have more bells and whistles than any other type of game. With 27 courses, there’s a lot here.

Don’t worry: There’s a pretty deep tutorial that tells you what you need to know, and it’s the first thing you see when you power up the game. It tells you how to hit the ball and how to include draw and fade with your shot by pressing left or right on the D-pad. Basic swinging is very simple. You just hold the Wii remote down, press the B button and whack the ball as hard as you can from the tee.

MOTIONPLUS IN MOTION

As far as MotionPlus goes, just click it onto the bottom of the Wii remote, lock it on with a button and slip on the plastic sleeve. It lengthens the remote for a better grip. But it makes it a bit heavier, too.

Even with the tutorial and MotionPlus, you’ll probably end up hitting the ball too hard when you’re putting. If it’s your first time, expect to be frustrated at least a little on your first 18 holes. After maybe two more rounds, you’ll get the feel of how hard to hit your ball.

GETTING REAL

Tiger has one of the finest visual experiences you can find on the Wii. Still, even though the wind is blowing, you won’t see the trees move when you’re putting. And sometimes Tiger seems pasted onto the scene as opposed to being part of it. But the trees, mountains, water hazards and white-water river on the majestic Banff course in Canada were really impressive. It made me want to play there for real.

This year, the game adds real-time weather to the courses (if you’re connected online). If it’s raining in Augusta, it’s drizzling when you play, too.

If you’re really brave, play against the pros in real time. Want to challenge Tiger at an actual tourney? Now you can if you have a broadband connection. I was best off playing with friends; even in the amateur level, there are a lot of hustlers at the pro level who won’t be easy on you.

To play online, register to take advantage of all the modes. You can bring your Mii with you, too. But since you have to add an e-mail address and password, ask your parents if it’s O.K.

COOL EXTRAS

There are neat history lessons within the Tournament Challenge mode. You’re plunked down in various scenarios from the days of yore. While Tiger’s caddy helps you in most of the game, Tiger himself tells you how the strategy he used helped him win some of golf’s most maddening challenges. Win here, and the character you’ve created will level up and become a better player.

In any mode when you’re playing tourneys, the crowd and announcers will be with you if you’re doing well. But everyone will be hard on you if you end up with a triple bogey on a tough hole — especially the play-by-play folks.

You’ll find some decent mini games, too. The best lets you toss a Frisbee-type disc into a basket hanging on the putting green’s flag instead of hitting balls into a hole. It’s pretty addictive. But I’d love to have seen some miniature golf included.

MOTIONPLUS OR NOT?

So should you buy the game only or the version with Wii MotionPlus? The device takes into account both the arc of your backswing and the power of your stroke.

I found that I didn’t really need the controller add-on for this game. While it adds accuracy, it made putting harder (and I often hit the ball too hard). Remove MotionPlus for an easier time of it, and try All-Play mode. MotionPlus did help a good deal in making the Frisbee-like game more exact, though.

In online games, you have an edge if you’ve mastered MotionPlus. That’s because the online games don’t separate people who have the device from those who don’t.

It’s clear that other games will also make use of the little device. I played Wii Sports Resort at E3 — the big video game convention — and MotionPlus definitely made the archery mini game more challenging.

So if you plan to get more games that use it, I’d say go for the bundle that includes the game and Wii MotionPlus.

It was also the most star-studded E3 in history. At Microsoft’s news conference, rock-and-roll legends Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr took the stage to promote Beatles Rock Band. Then Tony Hawk came out to talk about his new game. Finally, the great movie director Steven Spielberg emerged to talk about Project Natal.

LOOK, MA—NO CONTROLLER!

Project Natal is revolutionary. When it’s released, you’ll be able to play all kinds of Xbox 360 games without a controller. You’ll use your hands, fingers and feet to progress in soccer and golf games.

There’s more: Milo is a cool “kid” of about 10 years old who is part of one interactive Natal game. Not only are the game graphics amazing, you feel that Milo is real and that you have a new friend: one who throws you a ball and sometimes would rather fish than do his homework. And when you put your hands in the “lake,” it feels like you’re touching the water and the fish. We’ll have more on Natal in BL soon.

NINTENDO PLUS

At the Nintendo news conference, they showed off Wii Motion Plus, the Wii remote add-on that makes gaming more precise. I checked it out in an archery game that’s part of Wii Sports Resort. It really adds a lot to your gaming experience.

Also, you’ll get New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii this fall, along with The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks game for the DS. I got the chance to play both. I thought Zelda was a deeper experience that lets you engineer a locomotive in addition to dungeon crawling and boss battling. But you’re going to love Mario, too, especially the function that puts a propeller on your character’s head. And guess what? Late next year, you’ll see Super Mario Galaxy 2. And maybe a big new Zelda for the Wii, too.

SONY EXCITEMENT

Sony’s giant news had already been leaked just before their news briefing. It’s called the PSP Go! The sleek, slimmed-down handheld system will play downloadable games only. It’s smaller and lighter than the PSP, small enough to fit in your pocket. Check out the October 2009 issue of BL for more on Go.

There’s a great new Ratchet and Clank this fall for the PS3 called A Crack in Time. The weapons will be hilarious, and there might even be multiplayer functions with the game.

Another Sony highlight was Afrika, a PS3 game in which you play a photo-snapping journalist on safari on the plains and in jungles. You progress by taking pictures of zebras, lions and such in the wild. It sounds simple, but it’s very fun to play. For younger kids, there was World of Zoo, which lets you play zookeeper to scores of cute animals.

But the Sony game I wanted most won’t come out until next year. ModNationRacers is a mix of LittleBigPlanet and Mario Kart. Here’s what makes it unique: You can create your own tracks really easily with the Sixaxis controller. And you can add water features and mountains and towns, even animals to the environment. So cool.

STAR ATTRACTIONS

I got to sit down with skateboarding guru Tony Hawk at E3. We talked about his new Activision game, Tony Hawk RIDE. The skateboard add-on that comes with the game is wireless and, amazingly, really lets you feel the skateboarding experience. Says Tony, “If you’ve never tried skateboarding, this is a really safe way to check it out.” The music in the game is pretty cool, too. Much of it was chosen by Tony, who helps design all of his games. Check out our October issue for more.

On the convention floor, Sonic and Mario (well, guys in costumes) hung out at the Sega booth to promote the winter Olympic Games disk, coming next year. At the Warner Bros. booth, LEGO Rock Band looked like a lot of fun. It’s probably going to rock your world. Those cute, blocky characters strike essential rock ‘n’ roll poses as you play. It’s just as challenging as Rock Band, but a lot funnier.

Pele, the great soccer player, made an appearance at the Ubisoft booth to play and promote Academy of Champions Football for the Wii. It’s a challenging game that’s part adventure story and part arcade soccer. You meet the heroes of Ubisoft in the game like Rayman and the Rabbids, as well as Pele, who gives you tips and encouragement.

E3 was full of amazing games, great trailers on big screens and a terrific party atmosphere. But there was one thing that none of the companies talked about: The fact that economic times are tough for both parents and kids, too. It would have been great to see some price cuts on consoles and games, just to show that the big game makers understand that not everyone can buy any game he wants at any time.

BOOM BLOX BASH PARTY Electronic Arts for Wii Graphics: 7.5 Sound: 7.5 Gameplay: 9.0 Replay Value: 10.0 Overall Score: 9.0 Pros: Many new Versus modes; lots of cool environments; new kinds of blox; downloadable levels. Cons: No online multiplayer; graphics and music are kind of weak; needs a story.

LOTS OF NEW STUFF

With nearly 450 new levels, Boom Blox Bash Party gives you a lot more to do in both single and multiplayer modes. There are many new features, too, including one that lets you use the remote as a slingshot. And there’s another that spreads explosions like a virus, infecting nearby blox and getting you gems (which turn into fake money to use in the game).

You start out with a tutorial for single players. While many tutorials are boring, this one keeps things short and fast while introducing you to Bash Party’s new features. My favorite is a blue cannon that you light with a virtual match to shoot at blox. When the blox scatter into the air, it’s like a fireworks-filled 4th of July. At other times, you’re able to make the blox shoot like bottle rockets through the air to hit a target. Amazing stuff.

BLOX GO BOOM

The way things move in Bash Party is a marvel in itself. The game makers have tweaked the physics in the design. What’s that mean for you? When buildings, spaceships and other structures explode, it looks like something out of a great action movie.

As far as controls go, use the A button to aim and lock. Then, using a throwing motion, knock blox in the hope that many will fall at once. You can move the camera around using the B button. It’s simple.

Strategy is the key to Boom Blox. If you choose the right place to aim, all the blox might fall at once, domino style. When this happens, it’s really exciting—and it’s a true psych-out when you’re in multiplayer mode.

And you want that to happen in single-player mode, too. Getting a gold coin by knocking everything down in a couple of tries is something you can really boast about. Sometimes, you have to take a few cracks and restart the level. Sure, going for the gold may take longer. But it also extends the playability of the game.

PENGUINS, PIRATES AND MORE

The first environment is a cool amusement park, which you get to explore in single-player mode. Sometimes, you get to shoot characters like blocky lions and penguins through the air. Other times, you’ll play underwater (watch for that weird, tentacled creature emerging from the seabed). Sometimes, you get to play in deep space where there’s no gravity, which is an extra cool challenge.

There are more multiplayer modes this year than last, making this one of the must-have party games for Wii. There are eight multiplayer options in Versus play. One of the best is Pirate Ship Battle in which you fire that cannon to sink the ships of your opponent. Another winner is Space Battle in which you use Bomb Balls to defeat your bud’s spaceship.

MORE UPSIDE THAN DOWN

Unfortunately, there’s no online multiplayer. Game producers and publishers think kids don’t care about playing online. I disagree, and probably you do, too. But you can download levels made by other Bash Party fans (as well as by its top-notch in-house designers). You can upload levels that you create, too, so everyone can share in your genius.

The best thing about the downloadable levels is you can get more of an environment you really like. If you like spooky, for instance, just check online for the dozens of levels with that theme.

There is a downside or two to Bash Party. There should be a story to it. After all, director Steven Spielberg (on whose bright ideas the game is based) has said there could be a movie with the characters in the works. Wouldn’t it be great to know a little about their stories now? What’s the origin of Super Pig or the evil rabbits and their strange robots?

Also, the graphics aren’t the best you’ve ever seen for Wii (a system that isn’t known for its graphical excellence). The background art could be richer with more movement in it. And the music could be a little less like a Saturday morning cartoon soundtrack.

But these are small things. Boom Blox Bash Party is a decent deal at $40. If you have any doubts, you can always rent it first.

MARIO: The mustachioed plumber is always saving Princess Peach. He has been in more than 200 games, including last year’s terrific Mario Kart Wii.

CRASH BANDICOOT: The wacky marsupial continues his fight against Dr. Neo Cortex, most recently in Crash: Mind Over Mutant (Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older).

SONIC: The speedy adventurer is featured in more than 100 games, 36 for mobile phones alone. He currently stars in Sonic and the Black Knight (Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older).

LINK: The Legend of Zelda hero proves his bravery with his Master Sword in every game, most recently Phantom Hourglass.

POKEMON: With about 500 Pokemon, it’s hard to pick just one hero. Maybe that’s why the series, with the new Pokemon Platinum, has sold more than 175 million games.

SPONGEBOB: The buck-toothed sea sponge appears in dozens of video games (even Monopoly), including 2008′s standout Drawn to Life.

SPYRO: The perky purple dragon joined forces with former enemy Cynder in last year’s Dawn of the Dragon (Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older). Keep an eye out for the Spyro movie in 3D.

THE LOOK

The new handheld console is slightly smaller and lighter than the DS and DS Lite. It doesn’t come in a rainbow of colors (yet), just blue and black. The surface is matte, slightly grainy, not soft and smooth. That’s supposed to prevent fingerprints.

But it doesn’t look as sleek as, say, a white DS Lite with a glossy finish. The LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen is a bit larger (by a quarter inch) and much sharper, too. You’ll notice that improvement right away.

That brightness comes at a bit of a price. While the battery lasts between nine and 14 hours, it doesn’t give you as much playing time as the DS Lite, which has up to 19 hours of battery power. Your DSi battery will last through about 500 full charges.

BEYOND GAMES

If you need a handheld device that does more than play games, this could be a good buy for you. First, you can use it as an MP3 player by loading one of those tiny SD (Secure Digital) cards in a slot on the right side. You can play tons of your favorite music—up to 32 gigabytes worth. But only iTunes type music and nothing else.

The small speakers are crisper and clearer than before. But they’re not that powerful. So use your headphones for the best experience.

By finding a WiFi hotspot and downloading a free Web browser, you can surf online. Unfortunately, the speed is pretty slow. Plus, you can’t view videos or play online games, at least right now. But it sure is useful for checking e-mail and news.

THE CAMERAS

The DSi sports two 0.3 megapixel cameras. The one on the outside of the case lets the DSi act like a camera for outings, travel and candid snapshots. The second camera, visible when you open the device, is used more for funny apps and playing games. Sure, the camera is fun. But couldn’t Nintendo have added at least the standard 1.3 megapixels to one of the two? What they’ve given you in camera resolution is so ’90s.

The system comes with a couple of software apps that let you change your photo in kooky ways. By manipulating the picture with your stylus, you can make your face funny, like you’re viewing it in one of those fun-house mirrors. You can also make the photo into kaleidoscope. Then, you can share it with your friends who have DSis. Another neat aspect of the photos is the ability to upload them wirelessly to the Wii Photo Channel.

DSi SHOP

You’ll also use the camera in small, inexpensive games in the DSi Shop online, in particular during a $5 Wario game. These are like the WiiWare games you might have purchased already via your Wii. They download in a minute or two. You’ll hear some pleasant music and watch Mario and Princess Peach fill a glass of water while you wait. There’s a lot more storage space in the DSi for games, too, four times as much as the DS Lite, a very nice 16 megabytes.

The DSi comes with 1,000 free points, which you can use in the shop for two or three games that range from 200 to 800 points each. When you buy points, 100 points equal $1. No game is over $10.

THE GAMES IN THE SHOP

Right now, the games are O.K. or above average. Aqua is like Tetris with an underwater diver theme. But you don’t use the touch screen to play. It’s definitely sweet, but the instructions are kind of hard to find.

WarioWare: Snapped looks like the best so far. It makes use of the DSi camera. The problem here is that my face wasn’t recognized by the camera because my walls are white, the same color as my face. When I tried this against a green wall, it also failed. Hmmm.

NO GAME BOY GAMES

The one huge negative about the DSi is that there’s no slot for your Guitar Hero World Tour peripheral, which used the Game Boy slot. It also means you can’t play old Game Boy games. That means no Pokemon, a big loss for gamers.

Nintendo feels that the old games aren’t being played as much anymore. If you still want that option, you’ll have to hang on to your DS Lite or DS. My guess is that Nintendo will begin re-releasing the old Game Boy games as DSi Ware so they can make more money on them.

While the DSi has a lot of enjoyable bells and whistles, you might already have some of these in your MP3 player or cell phone. The Internet and online options for the DSi are the true selling points of this system.

Maybe by the holidays, there will be a greater variety of DSi Shop games that work better than they do now. Unless you’re the kind of person who needs the newest thing right now — or unless you win a DSi from a cool Website like boyslife.org — the holidays might be a better time to consider buying the DSi.

SONIC AND THE BLACK KNIGHT Sega for Wii Graphics: 8.5 Sound: 7.0 Gameplay: 6.0 Replay Value: 7.0 Overall Score: 7.0 Pros: Very impressive graphics, signature super-fast Sonic play, nice acting. Cons: Nunchuk control is slow. Wii-mote control is imprecise. Needs more variety in gameplay.

MARVELOUS MERLINA MOVIE

The game starts out with an amazing movie that’s funny, dramatic and sets up what looks like a thrilling adventure. A wizard named Merlina calls Sonic from way up in the skies. He falls down through a cloud, down, down to earth with two chili dogs in his hands. And he won’t help anyone until he finishes his meal!

Unfortunately, the artwork and acting is the best thing about Black Knight. After the movies, you’ll see nice touches in the levels, such as frogs that hop out of Sonic’s way and castle walls that Sonic bounces off of like a pinball. And the voice acting for Merlina makes you think the story is original, even though it’s a retelling of the King Arthur story with role-playing game elements thrown in.

As the story unfolds, Merlina tells you that the once noble Arthur is now corrupt and Sonic must stop this arrogant king.

NICE START

You go along really fast with a decent tutorial. You’ll use the nunchuk to move around and the Z button to block and knock minor monsters out of the way, like fat boars. Press the Wii-mote’s ‘A’ button once and Sonic jumps up. Press it twice and he speeds powerfully forward.

Move the Wii-mote in a slicing, slashing motion to use his sword (although the prompt on screen suggests that you move it up and down). Caliburn, the sword, also talks and calls Sonic “Knave The Hedgehog.” (Sonic hates this. )

The first levels in Black Knight are kind of cool. You collect rings by moving through fairies that look like fireflies. Along the way, you’ll collect items and powerups in the role-playing portion of the game.  You’re also timed in the levels. The faster you collect the rings and hit targets, the better your score will be.

CONTROL ISSUES

But here’s the problem with Sonic and the Black Knight: the controls. You just can’t be precise. For instance, the nunchuk’s stick doesn’t move the famous blue animal right or left quickly enough. That means you’ll miss picking up rings and miss hitting targets. You’ll want to go back to get them all, which adds tons of time to complete the level.

The Wii-mote can be wonky, too. Early on, you have a duel with the Black Knight in which you have to time your hit exactly to when he begins to hit you with his blade. There’s one moment in which your hit doesn’t work because you’re supposed to increase the speed of your slash. But nothing in the tutorial informs you of the speed differences. You might have to go back three or four times to complete what should be an easy early level feat. Plus, the boss takes back too many of the rings you’ve collected each time he hits you.

In the fight with the huge boss dragon, it takes way too long to hop on the dragon’s head to chop off his horn. You have to move way back, double tap the A button and then maybe you’ll get close enough to the top of his head to swing your sword.

A FEW FINAL WORDS

Sonic slides up, down and all around this medieval world with supersonic speed, but you really can’t control him. It’s done for you much of the time. Sonic will climb walls, and you can save him from falling off a ledge by shaking the remote. Also, you’ll speed along in a fair number of cool vehicles like horse-drawn wagons.

You’ll collect a lot of items such as armor and flowers, which appear at the end of each level. Use these when other characters become playable toward the middle of the game. But it doesn’t seem like equipping your hero with this stuff makes much difference in how the game plays.

It takes about 10 to 12 hours to play Sonic and the Black Knight. You can go back to each level to better your score, which adds a fair amount of replay value. Plus, you can play any of 10 games such as Ring Battle and Battle Phantoms in the multiplayer mode, which allows up to three of your buds to join in. There’s no online play, however.

As Sonic and the Black Knight stands, it’s just a decent game. Sega should have made the controls more precise. They should have given you a careful and complete tutorial. And they should have mixed up the gameplay some more, too.

If you’re on the fence about Black Knight, do yourself a favor and rent it first. Better yet, try Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection (Xbox 360, PS3), a collection of 40 old-school games that includes six early Sonic games at a nice price.

RETRO GAME CHALLENGE XSeed Games for DS Graphics: 6.0 Sound: 8.0 Gameplay: 9.0 Replay Value: 8.0 Overall Score: 8.0 Pros: Deep old-school living-room game experience. Virtual magazines give you codes. Music adds to the tension. Cons: Saving doesn’t happen automatically after each completed level. Spelling errors. Could use a few more games.

A COMPLETE EXPERIENCE

Retro Game Challenge isn’t just game playing; it’s a complete experience. Sure, you’ll hear ancient-sounding 8-bit music compositions and see some old-timey graphics. For a moment, you might think “I don’t want to play this; it’s too old.”

But you’re hooked right away. The first thing you see is this guy’s head with a crown, a kingly presence suspended in a green background of 1s and 0s. It’s as if you’re taken inside an old console to see someone living in there.

Game Master Arino bets you can’t finish all the challenges he gives you. You won’t take a challenge like that lying down, will you?

TIME WARP

Arino transports you back to a 1980s living room where you have a “new” friend to play against. The graphics here are much better, and Arino as a kid is cool, if a little temperamental. When he loses, he wants to throw the controller down. Weirdly, he also wants you to beat his older Game Master self.

Your first four challenges occur within a game called Cosmic Gate, which is like the old Galaga. Colorful insect aliens move in swirling formation, trying to blast your missile launcher out of existence. The challenges? For example, you’ll be asked to use a special warp mode and then get 200,000 points (which is difficult, but not crazily so).

Just as cool as the game is a virtual magazine called GameFan that you can browse through for tips on powerups. You’ll get codes to enter into the DS, too.

Since this game is all about the classic stuff, you won’t use the touchscreen and stylus much. In Cosmic Gate, use the B button to shoot and the D-pad to move around. (When pausing, press up, up on the D-pad, then AA, then BB for a cool powerup.)

CHALLENGE AFTER CHALLENGE

Robot Ninja Haggle Man is a fast-paced platformer like the earliest Mario games. You even save a princess, just like Mario does in pretty much every Mario game. In Haggle Man, you throw ninja stars and close doors to defeat enemies. Sometimes you have to jump on their heads. Later, play Haggle Man 3, a much more difficult version because the enemies are more powerful and faster, the game design more treacherous.

In Rally King, take the wheel of a fancy racecar. You control it from above, not in a first-person mode. But you do have the ability to drift and even a drift boost option to keep you far ahead of the pack.

Star Prince gives you a spaceship with many powerups. You battle bigger, more complex ships than yours, while moving your ship up and down to avoid being shot.

But the most complex (in a good way) of the bunch is a pretty intense role-playing game called Guadia Quest. Here, your king has a mission for you, if you’re brave enough to take it. You’ll travel many roads and find things like the Light Soul, the Royal Key and the Mirror of Truth. Watch out for the last boss, the horrible Scream from the Darkness.

IT ALL ADDS UP

Taken individually, the games wouldn’t be all that. But put them together with the many challenges, the magazines, the living room and the bickering of the strange Game Master, and you have a DS game that’s varied enough to be a cut or two above many other games available now. Plus, you can play the games all the way through in Free Play mode once you’ve completed the challenges. In Free Play, Cosmic Gate has 64 levels.

The game isn’t flawless, though. If you don’t “save” before shutting down, you might lose your progress. I completed three levels of Cosmic Gate, then shut the game off. I had to start all over again. So make sure to save, which is done after clicking on the “Quit” portion of the onscreen menu. Then there are the spelling glitches in the game, especially the one that uses “shooted” as a verb instead of “shot.” There’s just no excuse for that, even in the 80s.

SIMANIMALS Electronic Arts for Wii (also for DS) Graphics: 7.5 Sound: 8.0 Gameplay: 8.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 8.0 Pros: Deep, fun simulation; many cool animals, plants and environments. Cons: Graphics could be better; icons onscreen get in the way of play; no online mode.

PICK IT UP AND PLAY

Learning to play is super easy. Your Wii controller shows a hand icon on the screen. You pick up, touch and move both flora and fauna (plants and animals) to make the forest your own environmental oasis. If you’re nice to the animals and feed them, they’ll be nice to you. If you neglect them or are mean, they can get pretty nasty. Some animals just won’t get along with others, so you have to watch how you populate your surroundings.

You begin your journey at the forest’s edge, near a big, brick house. You hear the sounds of the forest, the trickling of water, the chattering of squirrels. The first animals you encounter are small ones: mice, rabbits and birds. By feeding them, you gain their trust, so you can eventually pet them. They smile like humans when you touch them.

But don’t tickle or touch them before they trust you, or they’ll freak out. When you pick up an animal from the skyview angle, be careful not to drop it from too far above. It won’t like it (who would?) and you’ll lose some trust.

QUEST AT YOUR OWN PACE

You’re asked to complete various tasks to get these creatures to move into your patch of the outdoors. For instance, to get a rabbit to make a home, plant and grow carrot patches. To get a mouse, place the hand icon over the branches of some pine trees. Shake the Wiimote back and forth and collect 10 pinecones after they fall to the ground. That hungry mouse will move in quick as a flash. Birds are a little harder to lure, since they’re shy and skittish at first.

Above the action on your screen is what’s called the Happy Bar, which increases when you care for your wildlife. The main keys to happiness are a full stomach and occasional petting. To the lower left, you have a backpack to carry food … and a few animals as well.

As you complete various quests, more areas open and more animals are discovered. Sometimes, challenges will pop up one after the other. Don’t worry: There’s no time limit. Just complete them at your own pace. Plus, a friend or two can join in anytime to help you out.

UNLOCK FUN AND FACTS

When butterflies flit above clover or flowers, shake your Wiimote above them. Out will pop a seed for growing food. Put it in your backpack to feed an animal later, or plant it right away. As you unlock these things, you can see info about them in an encyclopedia. Actually, Electronic Arts overstates what this is. It’s nowhere as detailed as a big reference book, but it will give you a few fun facts.

As you trek deeper into the forest, you’ll meet all manner of beasts along with various challenges. While these animals can look cute, they’re pretty wild. Bears rear up and growl. A beaver gnaws on trees to fell them for its lodge. A red fox eyes you suspiciously.

It’s not like a Scout trek where you might have to wait a long time to see, say, a great horned owl in an open field as evening falls. The animal action keeps on coming.

A FEW DRAWBACKS

As you move around, you might wish the graphics were more realistic and less jaggy. But this is the Wii, and its powers are limited. Nonetheless, SimAnimals makes you feel like you’re right in the woodlands.

Although you can play with just the Wiimote, I found it’s easier to move around by adding the nunchuk. Even when I used both, I still found myself accidentally clicking the bar on the bottom of the screen (which keeps you aware of your challenges).

The same goes for the info on the right of the screen. When you’re trying to pick up animals or nuts, sometimes it just gets in the way. Another drawback is that there’s no online play.

CONNECTIONS AND CHANGES

As you progress through the 11 areas in this varied ecosystem, things your animals do in one area will affect other areas. If a beaver makes a dam in the river, another part of your stream might dry up. If you have too many mice in one meadow area, you might want to take them to the thicker forest.

All the while, things change in time. Night falls and many animals sleep (unless they’re nocturnal). Acorns sprout into green sprigs after they fall from a tree. And, when a log rots, mushrooms might grow from its softening, earth-filled bark.

When all is right with the SimAnimals kingdom, you can enjoy the peacefulness of nature, listen to the game’s cheerful music and just live the good life for a while.

GAME OF THE YEAR

LittleBigPlanet
Sony for PS3
Sure, Sackboy is cute. But there’s a lot more to LittleBigPlanet. You make and customize your own running and jumping game. Then you share it with the world. The single-player game isn’t too shabby, either. And the story’s introduction is so well written and acted, you’ll think you’re in a movie. It’s a truly impressive comeback for Sony.

Runner Up: LEGO Batman
Warner Bros. for all platforms, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
This isn’t just the best-looking LEGO video game. You really feel the spirit of superhero cooperation when you play it. In addition to Batman and Robin, you can play as all the villains. The vehicles are way fun to drive, too.

BEST XBOX 360 GAME

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Microsoft, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
Take a great tale in which you vie for Spiral Mountain. Add amazing graphics. Throw in humor and gameplay that includes building cool vehicles. Add online multiplayer capabilities and extra goodies if you choose to finish the original Banjo Kazooie on Xbox Live Arcade. It’s the recipe for one terrific game that’ll keep you playing for hours and hours.

BEST WII GAME

Mario Kart Wii
Nintendo
Sure, the Mario Kart series has been around for years, but this one includes a driving wheel and serious online capabilities. You can strut your stuff against people all around the world, over and over again. So much fun.

BEST COMPUTER GAME

Spore
EA for Mac and PC, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
You get to make your own creature with all kinds of kooky parts. Watch it grow and, eventually, take over a planet. Then upload your creation so everyone can play it, and play in everyone else’s world, too. It’s endless fun.

BEST DS GAME

Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Nintendo
It’s a can’t-put-it-down mystery that’s full of a wild number of puzzles for you to solve. Put together crazy machines, chase a cat, talk to the townspeople, go through mazes and do a few math puzzles, too. You get a lot of bang for the buck.

BEST PSP GAME

Wipeout Pulse
Sony, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
As part of the Anti-Gravity Racing League, you can speed really fast in the wackiest environments. The varied soundtrack adds to the drama. Customize your cars and play via Wi-Fi, too. Finally, it’s got a nicer price than most PSP games. Want more? Download extra tracks at the PlayStation Store.

BEST FAMILY GAME

Boom Blox
EA for Wii
At first, it doesn’t seem like much more than an amusement park ball-throwing game. But even though it’s easy to pick up, it’s tough to master. You can’t play just one game, and neither can anyone in your family. It proves that movie director Steven Spielberg knows how to design a game, too.

BEST TOY-MEETS-VIDEO GAME

Nerf N-Strike Bundle
EA for Wii, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
Forget the Wii Zapper. This toy gun is way cooler. And the simple-to-learn shooting game has a decent story that unfolds like the panels in a comic book. Also, you can use the Nerf N-Strike gun with soft darts without the video game.

BEST MOVIE-BASED GAME

Kung Fu Panda
Activision for all platforms, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
You won’t just relive the movie. You’ll be immersed in an experience full of humorous kung fu, including combo moves that are exciting to see when you pull them off. You get to play as Po or other members of the Furious Five. Those jumping puzzles high in the clouds are a blast, too.

BEST SPORTS GAME

Shaun White Snowboarding Road Trip
Ubisoft for Wii, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
NHL 09 came very close. But for sheer creativity that makes use of the Wii Balance Board, Road Trip wins hands down. If you don’t have a Balance Board, it’s almost as cool with a Wii controller. Who wouldn’t want to go on a snowboarding road trip with Olympic champ Shaun White as your teammate?

BEST PET SIMULATION

National Geographic Panda
Namco Bandai for DS
Not only do you get to raise your own panda (and pet it virtually), you also learn lots of fun facts about the animal as you play. They throw in a cool National Geographic DVD about pandas, too.

BEST PARTY GAME

Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
Ubisoft for Wii, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older
If the crazy Rabbids don’t make you laugh, nothing will. This is one of the most enjoyable collections of mini games you’ll ever find. And if you have a Balance Board, you can control one of the games with your rear end.

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME

PixelJunk Monsters
Sony for PS3, PlayStation Network
This tower defense game looks like a lovable cartoon, but it can get really hard to play. Yet somehow, you just keep coming back to defend your townspeople. They finally added a patch so you can play on easy mode, too. There’s also a recent Encore edition with levels inspired by Pac-Man and Space Invaders.

Most games are less than $15.

FLOWER
PS3, Playstation Network
Guide a flower petal through a field and through other flowers, getting wonderful bursts of color upon color as you go. Sounds lame, but it looks great. Check out this video:

FLOCK!
Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade
In 50 humorous levels, herd unwilling sheep, cows and other farm animals to a UFO mothership. There’s even a level editor for you to make your own stages for endless fun.

ROCKETBOWL
Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade
This bowling and mini golf mash up includes 20 kinds of balls, 10 courses and green pins that give you virtual money. Loops and obstacles abound in this topsy-turvy game.

ELEFUNK
PS3, PlayStation Network
Lead your elephant across four continents by making bridges for his passage. It’s a challenge. For a break from the puzzles, try the Jenga-like Elefunk game with a pal online.

PIRATES VS. NINJA DODGEBALL
Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade
Play in single and multiplayer modes in this hilarious riff on the classic game. Launch a ball while standing still, jumping in the air or running. Teams include zombies and robots.

LITTLEBIGPLANET Sony/Media Molecule for PS3 Graphics: 9.0 Sound: 9.0 Gameplay: 9.0 Replay Value: 9.0 Overall Score: 9.0 Pros: Make your own game; share it with others online; cute yet deep. Cons: Stopping your character takes some getting used to; some downloadables are too expensive.

MORE THAN JUST FUN

LittleBigPlanet might look cute. You create your own platform game with the doll-like Sackboy and his cheeky pals. But there’s more than fun to the levels you make. It’s about being your own person, a true individual. Your fascinating adventure is only limited by your own brain.

As you play through the first level, a helpful British voice tells you how to use all the controls in the game. Happy music plays in the background. A world full of kings with big red lips and flapping birds with green feathers awaits you. The voice even tells you what to do if you get stuck in a canyon with no way out. (Just press a couple of buttons and you’ll be whisked away to your last checkpoint. Thankfully, there are many checkpoints.)

SHARE THE LOVE

Since everybody has a unique story to tell, the games you create with LittleBigPlanet will probably be interesting to other people as well. That’s why Sony lets you upload your game to the PlayStation Network so others can indulge in the whimsy you’ve worked so hard on.

The bonus? Your labor of love conceivably can be enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people. You can check out the work of others, too, and play for free.

Once you find a level you want to explore, just click Play Online with your controller, and you’ll be transported to that brand new world. You can invite your friends to play there, too.

REALLY OWN IT

You can customize your game by taking pictures of your favorite things with the optional PlayStation Eye camera and inserting them. Images of your fave posters, pets, gadgets, toys, heroes and places can be backgrounds others encounter as they move through your personal action-filled fantasy world.

You probably won’t want to make a game right away without getting the hang of things. First, you’ll climb inside your POD space station, which is kind of a cross between a bedroom and a secret tree house. You can decorate it any way you want. There’s a handy virtual PS3 controller in your POD that acts like a computer. Step up to it, press X and you’ll get into the single player Story Mode.

Story Mode is full of wild environments with lush backgrounds that seem to be made from colorful scraps someone had lying around the house. It’s guaranteed to get you in the mood to design a game. As you play through the levels, you’ll unlock items you can place into the game you’ll eventually work on.

COOL TOOLS

In the My Moon section, you can construct your project through the Create mode. The PopIt Menu is a cool tool that floats above your head when you press the square button on your controller. This tool helps you make your own running and jumping game. It also lets you access the items you’ve collected in Story Mode. These items help you make your level and decorate it.

Copy the objects you like and place them throughout the environment. You can delete the ones that don’t quite fit, too. You’ll use bolts, pistons, string, rods, glue, elastic and winches to make all kinds of machines. You can add danger spots, ones full of toxic gas or shocking electricity.

While it sounds a little complex, it’s pretty easy to get the hang of it. The game’s colorful booklet is helpful with instructions and tips. And so is that guy with the British voice.

LittleBigPlanet lets you add free downloadable content to your characters. For instance, there’s a jack-o-lantern mask for those who like Halloween year round. Love outer space? There’s a spacesuit, too. There are other downloadables you pay for, and some of these are too expensive.

You can only put so many materials and objects into a level, though. When the thermometer on the left of the screen is full, you’re done.

REAL, WEIRD SCIENCE

One of the best features in LittleBigPlanet is the attention to physics. The weight of your character and all the objects in the game move like things in real life do. So when you swing on a rope from, say, one ice cream cone to another, there’s nothing fake about it.

The only problem I had with LittleBigPlanet is a minor one. SackBoy doesn’t really stop on a dime. Just as in real life, momentum has to slow before you halt—as if you’re putting on the brakes. So until you get a real feel for your character, you’ll fall from a cliff more than once.

Overall, though, LittleBigPlanet is one of the year’s best games. Like the best movies or books, it takes you into its world, making you believe that world is an actual place. Unlike movies or books, you can make this planet into your fantasies. You’re not just in control of a character you can customize. You’re in control of a world you create from the bottom up.