ShareThis"Top Spin 3"Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, DSGenre: SportsPublisher: 2K SportsESRB Rating: E, for EveryoneGrade: 4 stars (out of 5)The blessing of "Top Spin 3" is that you have the opportunity to truly become a tennis master and dominate the courts on all surfaces. The curse is that you will definitely need to practice, practice, practice.This is certainly the most realistic tennis game yet, one that even my pseudo-tennis-pro friend Scott would have trouble with (though he'd never admit it). With a nice collection of current tennis stars and a robust create-a-player feature, you can be on the courts and swinging away in no time.But you'd better set yourself up for disappointment and a lot of training, because for the first couple of hours you are gonna get whipped and will need to improve your skills with lots of practice.The game modes are nice, with the career mode being the dominant feature. Multiplayer modes are fantastic. Graphically the game is amazing, with courts showing wear over the course of a match and the weather even coming into play, making the whole experience more realistic. If you are a Wii owner, the graphics are less stellar, but the experience is smoother by far.The difficulty hurts the game's accessibility for casual players, but everything about the presentation and feel says this is a top-notch sports game."Arkanoid DS"Platform: DSGenre: PuzzlePublisher: TaitoESRB Rating: E, for EveryoneGrade: 3.5 starsTake a look at any typical Blackberry/Palm/cell phone and what you will most likely find is a classic game that has never gotten old and is a must-have for its fun, time-killing abilities. It's "Arkanoid," and there's a reason why in 2008 it's still on so many mobile gadgets. It's no surprise that it has finally made its way to the DS.If you don't know "Arkanoid" by now, shame on you. Even my mother knows what "Arkanoid" is. In "Arkanoid," you destroy various brick-made structures by batting a ball into them. Clear the level and you move on. A simple, yet effective concept that has worked for decades.On the DS, this game has been given a bit of a facelift. There are about 140 levels, some multiplayer modes and a stylus that makes playing very fluid. "Arkanoid DS" is not the world's greatest game, but it's a classic that never fails to entertain when called upon.A must-have."WALL-E"Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, PS2, PSP, DSGenre: PlatformerPublisher: THQESRB Rating: E, for EveryoneGrade: 2 starsWould you be shocked to hear that a game based on a movie fell flat? That's what I figured.But, in this instance, what is even more shocking is that the folks at THQ were able to devise a game based on "WALL-E" to begin with, and that at least is worth a pat on the back."WALL-E" is a movie of beauty, heavy on thought and light on action. So to reconstruct the film into a platformer had to be quite a task. Gamers who have seen the movie will no doubt recognize the two main characters, WALL-E and Eve, but the action will bear no resemblance to what they saw in the theater.(E-mail Chris Campbell at game_on_games(at)mac.com)
'WALL-E,' tennis and an old-school classic headed your way
Submitted by SHNS on Tue, 07/08/2008 - 16:20
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