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Review: Bee Movie Game (360)

Lots of licensed movie-to-videogame properties end up stinking worse than Bill Clinton and Rush Limbaugh in a mud-wrestling contest. Yet somehow, the Bee Movie game manages to avoid most of the pitfalls and offers up a fun action-platformer experience. And on the Xbox 360, no less!

Part of the appeal of the Bee Movie Game is the game’s sense of playful humor. My wife commented that few games make her laugh, but some moments from the game had her laughing so hard, her sides started hurting. Of course, having some Jerry Seinfeld as the source material doesn’t hurt.

The game loosely follows the plot structure of the film, with lots of expanded content over the course of the game. All the elements you’d expect in an action platformer can be found here; what makes it stand out is the witty dialog and direction. The comedy tends to be of the slapstick/pratfalls variety, which would send people scrambling for the nearest Charlotte cosmetic dentist if it ever happened to them in real life, but it works here.

There is plenty to do, even for the ADHD crowd. There are plenty of objects to collect, puzzles to solve and enemies to defeat. Plus, there is, in essence, a trophy room where you keep mementos of your exploits.

Bee Movie Game may not be as inventive within the genre as Rachet and Clank or Jak and Daxter, but it earns praise for sheer cleverness and comic sensibilities. The bee character is funny and enjoyable, and the humor is kept at a kids-safe level. What more could a person expect, realistically, from a game of this sort?

Review: Garfield Gets Real (DVD)

Over the past 3-5 years, two live-action movies (with a 3D CGI Garfield) have been made from Jim Davis’ comic strip, Garfield. While Brecken Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt aren’t exactly my idea of an all-star cast, Bill Murray’s voiceover work for Garfield was entertaining enough and the movies made for good, light-hearted fare that was safe for the while family to watch.

Now along comes Garfield Gets Real, a direct-to-video movie. If you were expecting another Meyer-Love Hewitt-Murray outing, you will be sorely disappointed in Garfield Gets Real. The title would seem to suggest a blending of live action and CGI animation, but all that’s here is a poor man’s imitation of Toy Story-quality CGI. There is no “real” in Garfield Gets Real.

If you have kids who have seen the live action Garfield movies, they may find the concept of Garfield Gets Real to be a bit confusing and disconcerting. In this film, which takes a post-modern approach, Garfield is aware of the real world, aware of his status as a comic strip star. It’s how he makes his living. And that’s a concept that even the comic strip hasn’t played around with, as far as I know.

The plot is bordering on being incomprehensible and is, at minimum, very slow-paced. The story meanders around showing off Dagwood of the Blondie comic strip in one scene, a generic superhero flying by in another. The upshot, when they finally get to it, is that there’s a hole between Garfield’s comic strip reality and the “real world,” and those who cross over never get back.

This is where the decision to go 100-percent CGI is so disappointing. We could have been treated to a Wizard of Oz in reverse situation, where the beginning and end take place in Garfield’s brightly colored world, but when he lands in the real world, everything becomes drab, dull and less full of life; but by having both worlds in CGI animation, that opportunity was missed entirely.

So of course, Garfield and others do get trapped in the real world and the remainder of the film is spent concerned with getting them back to comic-strip land. The paper-thin plot is simply uninspired and does not stand up to comparisons with other CGI movies like Toy Story or The Incredibles.

The loopy, “let’s toss this into the mix” design of the plot makes one wonder if perhaps a few creative types out in Hollywood need to brush up on their business performance management skills. Just saying.

Despite being a relatively brief film, clocking in at under 80 minutes, the DVD is rather light on the special features; in fact, it’s one of those auto-play DVDs that doesn’t take you to a menu screen, but just starts playing the previews, FBI warning and then the movie itself.

All in all, Garfield Gets Real is a reel disappointment; the cleverness of the two live action/CGI movies is absent and the plot is, simultaneously, both hard to follow and yet not very engaging due to its shallowness. One has to wonder if Jim Davis was involved at all; while the film is still family friendly, Garfield Gets Real won’t hold up to repeat viewings, even among die-hard fans.

Review: Mass Effect (360)

A couple years ago, when BioWare bypassed the chance to rework NeverWinter Nights in favor of working on their own RPG project, the Internet erupted with speculation on the nature and type of game the highly-respected developer might have in mind. Since the early days of the original Baldur’s Gate on PC through Xbox masterpieces like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, the company has produced respect-inspiring hits throughout their existence.

And yet, Mass Effect is nevertheless a jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring success. Even when you expect to be inspired, surprised and blown away, BioWare manages to exceed expectations and Mass Effect is no exception. As part one of a three-game trilogy, Mass Effect is an science fiction epic in the best tradition of Star Wars, Star Trek and, perhaps most noticeably, the new Battlestar Galactica.

From the opening moments, gamers realize they are playing a true next-generation videogame. The photorealism of the graphics is second to none – even the well-regarded Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Not only is one treated to a fantastically detailed 3D world, but everything in it seems the product of loving attention to detail. Hologram characters are see-through and when object behind them pass by, you can see distorted versions of those objects just as one might surmise the effect would be. That’s just one example.

More importantly, BioWare pulls off a goal that the folks at SquareEnix has been talking about since the launch of the PS2, and that is detailed enough character models that they can, through subtle, nonverbal looks, portray convincing and recognizable emotions. If you are harsh to a crewmate, a simple look can communicate whether you earned their respect or damaged their emotions. This helps place in-game characters on a level similar to real actors, in terms of conveying story in a videogame setting that has no live actors.

What helps deeply in achieving this goal is a new, far more complex dialog system for character interaction. Few if any games have ever attempted such a bold and ambitious branching dialog system as is found in Mass Effect, and your responses affect far more than in any previous game I am aware of, events throughout and the ultimate outcome of the story.

The story, at the outset, focuses on Captain Shepherd, who by default is a male, although you can create a female Captain Shepherd if you wish. In creating your Captain Shepherd, you are allowed to choose from a combination of backstory elements that could make Shepherd anywhere from a complete jerk to an idealistic hero; the choice is yours. There is not a large variety of costumes for Shepherd; he (or she) wears standard military issue togs, so you can’t deck your Shepherd out in gold chains or anything that exotic and out-of-tone, but that’s a good thing. However, the appearance of your Shepherd is highly customizable and effective, as well as subtle and natural-looking.

Either way, the central story centers around humanity as a new, promising, but relatively inexperienced member of a galactic community full of politics that cast humanity in every possible light, from favorable to demonic. The primary impression, however, seems to be one of jealousy as humanity seems to be climbing the ranks of the galactic council’s favored races far more quickly than species who have been waiting their turn for far longer.

Shepherd, it turns out, is a candidate to join an elite force of galactic enforcers who are necessary to keep order in the galactic alliance, but who operate so far above the power of the ruling council that when they go rogue, there is no balance to check their power. That’s the main reason for the galactic concern over a human joining such lofty ranks, as well as the initial plot device pushing things forward, as Shepherd is cast against an alien who, humanity believes, has indeed gone rogue.

What is especially impressive about Mass Effect is the size and variety of the explorable planets in the Mass Effect universe, each of them as fully realized and painstainingly individually designed as any one game world in any other game. Although the explorable worlds in Star Wars: KOTOR I & II was impressive for its time, Mass Effect takes this level of explorability to a new level of openness. Fans of Oblivion will find a comfortable home in Mass Effect, rather than feeling penned in.

And yet Mass Effect presents an entirely different sense of storytelling than did Oblivion. While Elder Scrolls IV was all about letting the story play out in action, Mass Effect’s story is more naturally integrated into gameplay, yet feels as tight as a cutscene, rather than a random encounter. Story elements trigger as you explore and play and battle your way through environments.

The battle system is also of note; gone are the optional turn-based/action-based options of Star Wars: KOTOR and in its place is an all-new action battle system that embodies the thrills of a squadron-based shooter, while maintaining the important character progression aspects of an RPG; Shepherd and his crew will grow in their skills and abilities as the game progresses and you level up.

The system is thoroughly enjoyable, delivering a smart combination of action-based visceral thrills as well as the tactical control and improvement aspects of the best RPGs. That allows a gamer to feel as they though have improved over the course of the game, rather than remained static and boring.

In terms of balance, the game has stretches that become talky and make one anxious for some action, yet the ability to explore such vast worlds and converse with such a diverse cast of characters holds an appeal all its own. Planetside missions can vary from action-oriented sequences to such procedural detective footwork as traveling to various locations, talking to and reinterviewing folks to unravel various mysteries.

The subtlety of the game is that its characterizations are rarely stark black-and-white, good-versus-evil situations; even seeming villains have motives that can be understood and, at times, even sympathized with. This is the art of high drama and Mass Effect certainly delivers the message that it is possible in this new generation of hardware to have storytelling, rather than graphic prowess, take center stage in a gaming experience.

That’s not to suggest there is a lack of action in Mass Effect; there are plenty of battles, some thrilling boss-level characters of the bowel-emptying variety; and a wide variety of locations and environments in which the action plays out.

In the final analysis, Mass Effect is more than another RPG; it is the next big “true next-gen experience” in modern videogaming and it is found exclusively on the Xbox 360. Now, that may not remain the case, of course; BioWare was recently purchased by EA Games and is no longer, after the first Mass Effect title, under any obligation to only develop future sequels exclusively for the Xbox 360. That said, the company is fond of the 360 platform and appears to have some independence of EA Games’ corporate mandates, so the series may indeed remain a 360 exclusive, which Microsoft would certainly love to see happen.

No matter what hardware platform the game appears on, however, Mass Effect definitely qualifies as the next great “next-gen must-play” game experience. Who knows? In years to come, the Mass Effect trilogy may yet be spoken of with the same reverence as film trilogies like the original Star Wars and the more-recent Lord of the Rings movies.

Certainly, the story Mass Effect has to tell is on no less epic a scale.

Review: WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 (PS3)

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try and try again.

That is the maxim that has built THQ’s WWE SmackDown vs. Raw into a winning wrestling game franchise. When the franchise first appeared after THQ outbid Acclaim several years ago – and initially appearing on the PSone platform – the game was a pale imitation of Acclaim’s game, which at the time was pretty impressive.

Times have changed, though. After two outings on PSone, about six outings on PS2 and now the company’s debut effort on PS3, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 is a smooth, slick, deep and detailed pro wrestling sim that gets better every year pretty much off the virtue of listening to user complains and responding to them with surprising flexibility.

This year, one of the main roster twists is that the game finally acknowledges the ECW brand. The show, which airs on SciFi, is now part of the game’s WWE schedule in 24/7 mode, and their superstars now part of the roster. Yet, like so many features that have become part of this game, there’s still work to be done to fully integrate ECW into SmackDown vs. Raw.

For one thing, you cannot play through Smackdown vs. Raw’s 24/7 mode (more on that in a bit) as an ECW superstar on the ECW broadcast. Perhaps that’s due to the far more detailed and varied storyline mode; the developers may not have had time to incorporate a complete set of ECW storylines into the mix, although that’s just a guess. At any rate, hopefully the 2009 edition will correct this oversight and fully integrate ECW into the mix, so that ECW stars and the ECW show are a complete and equal partner to the Raw and Smackdown brands.

One major change to the game this year is the complete elimination of two modes from the past two or three seasons; gone are both Manager Mode and Career Mode. Given the shortcomings of both these modes over the past 2-3 editions, that’s not a huge loss because what replaces it is a much more complete and comprehensive mode called WWE 24/7.

Named for their On-Demand PPV site, WWE 24/7 mode is the new storyline mode and it marks a big upgrade in gameplay and appeal. It marks the first time the game has offered gamers a chance to simulate more of a realistic schedule that WWE superstars have to fulfill, even though some niggling details are still overlooked.

In the mode, you either select an existing WWE star, or create one. Which brings up a great chance to mention the Create-a-Wrestler mode, as an aside. On PlayStation 3, the create a wrestler mode has finally become a refined and subtle tool for creating a realistic and convincing superstar to play as; gone are the days of uncustomizable, wacky, butt-ugly mods and in are a set of features, from head-to-toe, that look convincing. It is a noticable upgrade, especially when playing in 720p high definition. (Unfortunately, the PS3 version lacks a 1080p True HD mode this season … another area for improvement in the future.) Most of the costumes are solid, and do not consist of ridiculous things like baby clothes.

Anyway, if you select an existing WWE superstar, you’ll start out on the brand they were in when the roster was finalized; if you create a superstar, you can identify him with either Raw, SmackDown or ECW, but even if you select ECW, he won’t get to compete on that show, which is a shame.

If you begin as a created superstar, your first concern will be making the WWE roster, which means wrestling a set of Heat matches to show the GMs of SmackDown and Raw where your skill levels are; of course, this is tough, even in easy mode, because unless you’ve accumulated some upgrade first, most superstars you create will start out at a skill level of 36, competing against a roster of superstars ranking at skill levels of 70-95. That’s just tough.

Of course, over time, you can overcome this, but expect to lose a lot along the way.

The 24/7 mode has plenty of out-of-ring features as well as a wide variety of in-ring match types and challenges, and solid story variety. The mode is a true career mode that lasts several seasons and not just one. It is as well done as it has even been, and finally realizes some of the potential of what such a career-type mode ought to be.

One way in which the 24/7 mode could be improved is if THQ were to pay attention to the dialog and interaction system created by BioWare for Mass Effect; if a similar system were implemented for the storyline mode in SmackDown vs. Raw, it could offer gamers an even deeper level of immersion and a feeling they are affecting the course of their storyline.

The controls for this year are standardized across all platforms and on PS3 do not take advantage of the SixAxis’ motion sensitivity, which is a shame, especially since the Wii version does incorporate that – although the game is significantly different on Nintendo Wii.

The grappling system is less complex this year, and an all-new struggle and submission system adds some drama to those submission hold and escape maneuvers. The system is now pressure-based and responds on PS3 to how much pressure you apply to the control sticks – just don’t break ‘em, homey!

Graphically, the game is a step forward, especially in 720p, although the lack of a True HD 1080p mode on PS3 is a sore spot for Sony fans who want to get the most for their HD money, which is why many early adopters probably bought a PS3 instead of a 360. Still, the game has a long way to go to achieve next-gen refinement; next to a true masterpiece like Mass Effect, the graphics still have quite a way to grow.

SmackDown vs. Raw, over the years, has overcome many obstacles. When THQ first took over the WWE license, the company was determined to do a different style of wrestling videogame for each hardware platform. Some of us still remember WWE Raw for the original Xbox, WWE Royal Rumble for Dreamcast and WWE WrestleMania for the N64.

Yet with most of those games, a more arcade style of game play predominated and eventually it was the sim-style of SmackDown vs. Raw the proved most popular with wrestling fans, leading to THQ eventually narrowing the franchise to one game appearing on all platforms.

While THQ’s stewardship of the WWE license was shaky at best for the first four or five years, the company has really grown into its role as a group passionate about capturing a true-to-WWE experience for fans, even if they have a prominent and annoying habit of releasing modes and features that are, at best, works in progress.

However, in the end, THQ has proven adept at continual improvement or, as Vincent Kennedy McMahon might term it, ruthless aggression. The ECW element of the game, as well as the lack of 1080p resolution on PS3, are the most obvious examples of this, this season. But as time has proven, we can now count on THQ to come back next year with noticeable improvements to these shortcomings, as well as a handful of new ideas that, likewise, will be rough and in need of refinement.

And so it goes.

Mass Effect and Blue Dragon are 360 home runs

If ever a couple of videogames were, by themselves, reasons to re-outfit your entertainment room with an HDTV and a plasma TV lift, as well as all the other accoutrements of of the new generation of videogame goodness, Microsoft and their Xbox 360 partners have come up with it this holiday season.

I’m speaking, of course, about Mass Effect, developed by BioWare, and Blue Dragon, developed by Mistwalker Studios and – basically – created by the same minds that brought us the first nine editions of Final Fantasy. I have recently spend time with both and am completely re-devoted to my Xbox 360, which only a couple months ago was gathering dust as I had run out of new things to discover in Oblivion.

Like Oblivion, Mass Effect and Blue Dragon are also RPGs; none of these games, however, are very much lick each other. Everyone by now should know what Oblivion is like. Mass Effect is an sci-fi RPG that is more completely cinematic, photorealistic and deep than any game you’ve ever played.

Now, that’s not to say Mass Effect can’t be beaten quickly. I know one killjoy who bragged about “beating” the game in 30 hours. Personally, I like to take my time in good games and really explore and enjoy every nook and cranny, every encounter, every bit of dialog. And that’s where Mass Effect excels; with the quality of the animated actors, combined with the voice acting and an all-new, more complex than anyone’s ever seen before in a videogame dialog system, Mass Effect is a complete winner and probably the new winner of “a real next-gen RPG experience” award type of game. That honor previously rested with Oblivion.

Blue Dragon is completely engaging as well, but in completely different ways and for different reasons. Blue Dragon makes no pretenses of being photorealistic or completely immersive. Instead, it is quite simply chock full o’ action and never stops dishing up the thrills.

Of course, unlike Oblivion and Mass Effect, Blue Dragon is turn-based, but the system is do fun and fast, you might not notice.

Anyone who says the 360 is allowing PS3 to catch up hasn’t played Mass Effect or Blue Dragon.

Review: Fish Tycoon (DS)

I first discovered Fish Tycoon not on the Nintendo DS, but on the internet, as a shareware game. The “real-time” raising and breeding of fish stirred an interest in me because of the uniqueness of the theme. Also, it reminded me of my off-campus college days when I started an aquarium and, for a long time, raised, bred and occasionally even sold fancy-tailed guppies. I became very good at selecting guppies to cross-bred to come out with unique tail designs.

So a game that lets me relive that without all the mess, fuss and an open package of brine shrimp stinking up my freezer held a lot of appeal. I loved the game on PC because it was cheap, addictive and fun. And the real-time promise was pretty spot-on; depending on your speed settings, you could leave the game for a day and your fish would still be thriving if a bit hungry. The graphics were dated but sharp. And the game never required too much of you in any one setting.

That’s where the Nintendo DS version falls short by comparison. Although the touch-screen feature is incorporated well into the game, for some reason the DS doesn’t handle the “real-time” thing very well. While reviewing the game, I had a busy weekend where I played the game briefly Saturday morning and couldn’t get back to it until around noon on Sunday.

Every single one of my fish was dead; I was wiped out, even though I had set the game to half-speed. That’s just messed up and certainly not reflective of the original PC game. To make matters worse, the graphics on the DS look markedly worse than the admittedly-dated PC graphics. And we all know the DS is capable of better than what is on display here graphically.

That said, there are literally hundreds of fish types to breed, raise and sell in the game, and plenty of items for you to acquire and manage in your tanks as you enjoy the highs and lows of fish breeding. So there’s no lack of game depth.

In the end, though, the sloppiness of the graphics and the poor execution of the “real-time” code just kind of ruin the experience on DS. While Fish Tycoon is a long-time “casual gaming” favorite, I simply cannot recommend the DS version; the PC version has the same shareware price, looks better, and plays the way it is supposed to – in real time.

Review: Final Fantasy Tactics War of the Lions (PSP)

I was one of the first people in line to buy the original Final Fantasy Tactics for PSone, back when the first version of this game was released. I was more intrigued by and excited about the title than the game everyone else had been anticipating that had landed a few months earlier, Final Fantasy VII. I think at the time, the steampunk influences of Final Fantasy VII were a bit of a turnoff for me (I eventually came ‘round), but the original FFT simply had a more traditional feel; it was more the sort of traditional sword and sorcery style of game I wanted from an RPG at that time.

Despite a “so awful it’s funny” localization that rendered some plot elements incomprehensible, and an incredibly high difficulty level, Final Fantasy Tactics became a long-standing personal favorite of mine and still ranks as one of my Top 5 PSone games of all time. Simply put, it was a dream-come-true title.

Of course, I was pleased to see a whole subgenre of Tactics-style RPGs emerge from the popularity of that title, and while it’s still somewhat of a niche RPG subgenre, it’s now a well-populated one. About the only complaints I’ve had over the years about Final Fantasy Tactics is that the game was on PSone and took so bloody long to play, I could never finish it.

Finally, after a decade of devotion, SquareEnix as released a “remix done right” version of Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP system. I call it a remix done right because Final Fantasy Tactics is far more than a straight port of the PSone classic onto PSP. There is a surprising amount of new content.

How much is new? Well, let’s start with the crappy localization. GONE! AT LAST! This time around, the script reads well, as though written by someone to whom English was not a fifth or sixth poorly-studied language. And while the game seems just a bit too fond of certain King Jamesian archaic phrases, for the most part the script is readable, comprehensible and even witty in places.

OK, so the game is more pleasant to read. But that’s not all. A considerable amount of new story elements have been added in the form of FMV story segments. Pulled off in some gorgeous animation that honors the original character designs but brings some new style to the game – think animation with some cool texturized colors that make it look like it was drawn in colored pencil and pained in watercolors. Add that the story segments fill in some of the blanks in the storyline, humanizing the characters, and what already was considered to be one of Square-Enix’s best stories ever told improves even more.

There are also some new items added to the mix, new characters (including a cameo by Vaan from Final Fantasy XII), new storylines and twists, and just a lot more than I expected in order to make this more than just a replay of the same game from 10 years ago.

Don’t go in thinking it’s all-new, though; this is still Final Fantasy Tactics, the original, even with all the new bells and whistles. The vast majority of the changes are wonderful; but not all the changes work as well. Need an example? OK.

One of the big drawbacks of the game being redesigned to play on the PSP is that the little tavern missions have been redone. In the PSone original, these were missions you could send your lower-level characters off on in order to help them level up more quickly. They’d be gone from your party for a number of days, and then you could pick them up at a guild, to collect a report of their success and also a reward if your party member did succeed at the task.

This time out, those missions are extra battles and you get to play them out rather than having them happen off-screen and receiving a second-hand report of the action. Instead, you must – and I mean MUST – find an online opponent or companion in order to make use of them at all. This is annoying because it’s not easy to always find someone who is online with their PSP, playing Final Fantasy Tactics at the same time you are, and ready and willing to agree to mutual terms. It’s not as simple a matching process as sports games are.

Even so, I could tolerate the online awkwardness if these side missions could also be completed the traditional way. That’s not an option, though. It’s play ‘em out online or don’t get access to those missions at all. This is not wise design.

The bottom line for me, though, is that having Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions released and remixed and available on a portable platform is indeed a wish come true. I’ve always loved FFT and other Tactics-style RPGs that have followed since, and my only complaint has been that they all take 100s of hours to beat, which is just not always practical on a home console system. Now that it’s on my PSP Slim, I can play it in bits and pieces throughout my day and really make progress in the game.

Anyone who doesn’t think Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions isn’t worth owning just doesn’t like RPGs. Along with Jeanne d’Arc and Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, this year has been OWNED by PSP, especially the second half of 2007. The PSP is hot again, and, at least for me, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is a big part of the reason why.

Review: Neverwinter Nights 2 Mask of the Betrayer (PC)

One of the best things Atari ever did with the Dungeons and Dragons license after splashing onto the PC scene with the Baldur’s Gate series was to create its spiritual successor, the original Neverwinter Nights, which not only offered epic storylines in the package, but a robust set of tools to encourage user-created adventures and mods so that, quite literally, there’d never be any real reason to stop playing the game.

It worked well, and last year’s upgrade of that PC classic, Neverwinter Nights 2, was long overdue and much welcomed, even though BioWare, creator of the original Neverwinter Nights, had sadly moved on to other ventures, including the recently released Xbox 360 blockbuster, Mass Effect.

The first expansion to Neverwinter Nights 2 continues Atari’s fine tradition of long-term support of the series. Mask of the Betrayer contains an all-new, full-length adventure that basically picks up where the previous adventure left off, with your party trapped in a underground cavern, sitting at around Level 18, and wondering what happens next.

The story, which is richly realized, especially by PC RPG standards, is an entertaining one, though I can’t say too much about it without giving up tons of spoilage and, well, we wouldn’t want that now, would we? So let’s just say that the fine storytelling standard of the first game does not go missing here.

While there are graphical tweaks and lots of new objects in the game, there’s no real graphic upgrade to speak of, which is done to ensure that mods created by anyone using the Neverwinter Nights 2 toolkit will be able to be played by anyone else playing the same game. So don’t expect a new leap forward in graphics until Neverwinter Nights 3 starts being a gleam in Atari’s eye, sometime around 2010 or beyond.

One aspect that is nice about this game is that you get to explore a completely different neck of the Forgotten Realms woods; the game takes place an entire continent away from good ol’ Neverwinter. That frees the developers up to add new monsters, new races, new classes and yet maintain an internal consistency to the Neverwinter Nights 2 universe.

The presence of more puzzles and mysteries to be solved helps diversify the game play a bit more this time out; sometimes in D&D games, combat is the first and primary option for resolving anything, which makes sense given that the franchise’s name is not Pleasant Conversation and Dragons. Even so, it’s nice to see some diversity brought to bear on how one spends their time in the game world.

Overall, Mask of the Betrayer is a fun adventure in and of itself and adds a lot to the arsenal of the “create it yourself” crowd that keep so many of the rest of us playing this game endlessly. Nearly every expansion pack for the Neverwinter Nights and Neverwinter Nights 2 series has been a must have. This is no exception.

Review: Smallville The Complete 6th Season

You can tell when a series like Smallville is winding toward its ultimate resolution. When the show began back in 2001 – the same season 24 premiered – they made viewers some specific promises. No capes. No costumes. No flying. Just plenty of the human story of Clark Kent, the Superman-to-be coming into his own. A peek behind what made him and those around him who they were.

Actually, Smallville was sort of the second pitch of its kind entertained by the then-WB Network. A year before, a series pitch had set Internet message boards ablaze that promised a very similar treatment of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Whether the deemed the show too dark, or whether it was because the Chris Nolan-directed Batman film was already in pre-production or whatever, The WB never greenlit the pilot. A year later, the same “Superman: The Early Years” concept got the go-ahead and became Smallville.

Basically, the show was Dawson’s Creek with superpowers and the element that soon became the show’s signature was the unique early friendship – which everyone knew was doomed – between a young Clark Kent and his rich pal, Lex Luthor. Seeming to remember the central lesson of all comic books, and the M. Night Shyamalan movie Unbreakable, the show reformulated the Superman mythos so that the two men destined to become the bitterest enemies would start out as friends.

In season six of Smallville, that friendship is now in tatters as Lex is evolving into the villain he is destined to become, and the shows creators are having fun bringing foreshadows of his future into his present. The biggest addition this season was the casting of the Oliver Queen hero Green Arrow, who played prominently in forming a nascent version of the Justice League of America, something mentioned only as a insider joke in season five when Aquaman was featured and was attempted to be launched as a spinoff show, Mercy Reef.

During the season, there was some talk of a JLA spinoff show, but it came to nothing. Still, all the fireworks provided comics fans so serious thrills over the course of the season as Smallville began to look a bit more like a comic book and a bit less like Dawson’s Creek. But a sense of the series winding down continues to hang over the show.

With the Justice League formed, the Clark-Lex friendship beyond repair, Johnathon Kent long dead from season five and Supergirl headed into the picture in season seven, there are serious questions about how much longer the show can go on and maintain its roots; most of the show now takes place in Metropolis rather than Smallville and it just plain feels like the season that comes after this collection, this year’s season seven, could be our final ride, unless the WGA Strike messes things up.

This full-season collection has all the requisite special features one has come to expect from such things; there are episode commentaries, though unfortunately usually by writers and directors rather than Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, Allison Mack and the like. Those are the people most series fans want to hear comment on a favorite episode.

Personally, I would have enjoyed more behind-the-scenes features, but the scattering found here is better than nothing. Then again, I’m usually all about the special features when it comes to collecting series on DVD.

Unfortunately, too many of the special features found in this season collection were actually available on the CW Web site for the show during the season and are only being collected here, rather than being original content in and of itself. Of course, for those folks who don’t subscribe to Verizon Wireless, some of this content will at least seem completely new.

Whether facing off with Phantom Zone creeps or rescuing Lana from a fire while trapped behind fire glass, this collection is a solid addition for series completists. However, while the show is still entertaining, the days when the opening strains of Remy Zero’s “Save Me” really stirred emotions are indeed starting to fade. It’s been a good run; let’s hope they end it classy and before the show really starts to go downhill.

Review: NBA 2K8 (360)

One thing that’s great about NBA 2K8 on the Xbox 360 is that it’s always easy to find an online opponent. After playtesting for review Sony’s NBA 08 on PS3 and finding the online lobbies almost always vacant, it was a relief to get into what is arguably the best NBA videogame on the market for several years running, 2K Sports’ NBA 2K8.

Sure, EA Sports partisans will argue in favor of NBA Live 08, but EA has treated its pro and college basketball games like some pig farmer’s boot heel for some time now. I mean, the company still hasn’t implemented something as simple as linking the college and pro games via draft files last I checked; how simple is that? As simple as installing car spoilers, really; simpler, even!

Pretty simple for NBA 2K8, for which something that basic is a given, so that their energy goes into more critical improvements. This year, team chemistry is a theme, and considering some of the team chemistry blowups we’ve witnessed in the real NBA, like Marbury and the Knicks, Bryant and the Lakers, and before the season started, Garnett and the Wolves, it’s a wonder that this element was given short shrift for so long.

Keeping all the player egos in check is a key to success in the single-player franchise mode; if players start becoming discontent, you can see the results more noticeably on the court this season. That’s nice because although a lack of production may frustrate some gamers who want arcade-style thrills, those seeking more realistic performances and results will not be disappointed.

Back this season is my main man, Kevin Harlan, heading up the announce duties; this man IS the voice of the NBA for me, since he cut his teeth calling Wolves games on KFAN AM 1500 in Minneapolis, back in the pre-Kevin Garnett days. 2K Sports is wise to keep him on for another season.

On the court, the physics are solid and even the online play via Xbox Live seems a bit smoother this year. I’ve run into a lot more “good sportsmanship” types this season than last year and, thankfully, a lot fewer “quit if they start losing” types. The graphics are a marginal upgrade at best, though, since the developers seem to have put more energy into other aspects of the game, such as refining the franchise mode, working on new online play features, and getting animations smoother, rather than a general detail-level upgrade graphically.

While the game is always fun to play, in all candor there’s not a revolution going on with this game, this time out. The game is a solid upgrade over last year’s version, but doesn’t introduce anything world-changing. If that’s enough for you as an NBA fan, NBA 2K8 is still the cream of the pro hoops crop this season on any gaming console. (And no, I’m not counting text-sims on PC like Wolverine Sports’ Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball, which is in an entirely separate category.)

Review: Folklore (PS3)

Billed by Sony as “the next generation in dark fantasy games,” Folklore, like so many action platformer games, tried to bill itself as an action RPG but the truth is the game more honestly has more in common with Rachet and Clank than it does with Final Fantasy XII. Although filled with gorgeously detailed graphics, the designers sometimes went overboard in artistry and didn’t think enough about legibility for game elements like the bits of dialog that have to be read on-screen instead of being spoken.

The game has two playable characters, a young blonde girl named Ellen, and an older male character, a journalist named Keats. Both end up traveling to Doolin, Ireland and entering a dark fantasy world where they must fight individually, and ultimately together, to survive in a world filled with monsters known as Folk.

Sounds a bit more intriguing than it becomes in execution, however. The unique gameplay element is supposedly how you defeat monsters using the motion-sensing SixAxis controller. Basically, after beating them down to where they are stunned, you rip their souls out of their bodies by … waving the SixAxis up and down. A lot. Not as innovative as it sounds, and it grows kind of boring and repetitive, fairly early on.

The story is somewhat interesting; Ellen is searching for her dead mother, which draws to mind the plot set-up of Silent Hill 2, while Keats is tracking down a lead springing from a call by a mysterious woman. While such is the stuff true dark fantasies like Silent Hill are made of, Folklore is far less dark, belonging more to the world of Papa Smurf than to the living dead. And while it’s a nice framing sequence, the story just isn’t all that deep or intriguing once they toss you into the game itself.

As for depth, there are over 100 creatures to encounter in the game, which plays out over seven different realms. The real problem is repetition and tedium; once the novelty of the game’s battle system wears off – which happens quickly – you are able to step back and realize just how simplistic the combat actually is, which destroys the charm. There is also not much in the way of minigames, such as Mizuno golf or fishing or anything like that, which keeps the focus too much on the maps and areas which respawn enemies at a rather annoying rate of frequency.

It’s too bad some of the lovely graphics are adorning such a gameplay- and story-lacking package. The look of the game itself is well done if a bit polished and idealisitic, but it gives one a solid idea of what can graphically be achieved on the PlayStation 3. While I’m certainly awaiting even better examples, like White Knight Story, Silent Hill 5, and Final Fantasy XIII, Folklore is at least an eye-catching showpiece.

Unfortunately for gamers, it’s not much more than that.

Merging media

I had a chance to try an iPod Touch first-hand recently. Basically an iPhone without the phone, you don’t need great cell reception in order to take full advantage of the device; it works off any wireless network for some of its online features, rather than a cell network.

The design of the iPod Touch is revolutionary and fun, but it reminds me an awful lot of the Nintendo DS. Which raises the question: could videogames merge into the iPod design in a more full-scale way, eventually?

For two generations of hardware now, the same three companies have dominated the platform wars: Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. But such standardization is rarely maintainable. Some new company always comes along and tries their hand at things rather successfully, upsetting who the “big three” are in any given generation.

Sony was that company when they introduced the original PlayStation. Microsoft stepped up when Sega fell off.

Could Apple be the next corporation to wet its toes in the videogame market?

I can imagine it: a handheld system with HD-quality video, touch controls, an FM tuner, the ability to act as a personal organizer, a full-scale MP3 and MP4 player, with wireless internet and an optional phone feature, all in a size that slips into a Blackberry-sized cell phone holster.

The name?

Apple iPlay.

It could happen…