Fallout: New Vegas Review

Fallout: New Vegas Review

A few technical problems aren't enough to sully this enjoyable and sophisticated adventure through the western wastes.

The Good

• Incredibly huge and detailed world, loaded with stuff to do
• Side quests are mostly terrific and brimming with personality
• Faction reputation system leads to incredible flexibility
• Great atmosphere, in and out of the Vegas Strip
• Your choices have palpable consequences.

The Bad

• Occasional glitches and performance issues
• Some quests are not enjoyable
• Main story isn't compelling.

Fallout: New Vegas is all about more. There's more to do in New Vegas than in Fallout 3, its superb predecessor; there's more complexity to its gameplay mechanics; and there are even more secrets to uncover as you roam the postapocalyptic wastes. Fallout: New Vegas' familiar rhythm will delight fans of the series, and the huge world, expansive quests, and hidden pleasures will have you itching to see what other joys you might uncover. Occasional glitches and performance issues occasionally intrude upon your travels, along with the scorpions and geckos that might accost you. Don't let the quirks frighten you away, however: New Vegas' nooks and crannies are bursting with grimy treasures waiting to be dusted off and admired by intrepid explorers.

There's a wild, wonderful world outside Vegas, just waiting to be explored.

This latest trip into the desolate American landscape possesses many of the same elements that made Fallout 3 such a successful role-playing game, but its story doesn't boast as many memorable moments. The large-scale combat scenarios are less epic, and the surprises are less dramatic than Fallout 3's mid-game reverie. Nevertheless, the main tale provides a solid skeleton from which to hang a dumbfounding number of tasks and stand-alone parables. Many of these quests are lengthy, and great dialogue and good voice acting will invite you to learn more about the characters, as well as keep you wondering about what will happen next. A society of ghouls with pie-in-the-sky aspirations is creepy enough to make you squirm, yet blind devotion to their dreams still inspires empathy. Socialites in formal attire run a casino known for its creative menu choices, and if you play your cards right, you might get to make a menu alteration of your own. You investigate the disappearance of a sharp-tongued wife in one town and bring star-crossed lovers together in another. Some of the most fascinating occurrences are the wittier ones. During one quest, a robot with a specialized skill and a gut-busting name might offer a service that surely no game character has ever offered before. A poet in an unlikely place mumbles aloud his difficulties in finding the right rhymes. Like with Fallout 3, the greatest delights aren't in the central storyline but on its periphery.

While the tale isn't as evocative as it might have been, the way it blossoms as you advance, giving you any number of ways to proceed, is extraordinary. The choices you make might lead to a dramatically different experience from another player's experience. The same is true of many supplementary quests. There's a ton of flexibility in how you might approach certain tasks. Maybe you'll fend off the robots defending a long-forgotten museum, but you might also steal an identification card that allows you to walk around (mostly) unharmed. You might provide a drug addict his fix, but if your speech skill is high enough, you can convince him to get on the straight and narrow. One lovelorn fellow will try to send you on a scavenger hunt for spare parts, but a high science skill means you can recommend another schematic and avoid the job altogether. However, there are certain cases in which the game funnels you down a specific path that might come as a shock if you prefer peaceful ends but are forced into a combat scenario with a single viable solution. And in certain cases, the quests just aren't designed particularly well. Searching for a key in a vault overrun with vegetation can turn into a major hassle. Avoiding an artillery bombardment isn't fun in the least and feels out of place given the measured pace at which you move. And an optional quest in which you hop from one computer terminal to another to isolate a virus leads to frustrating trial-and-error guesswork.

Ghouls don't like it when you say 'eewww' to their faces. It's better to talk behind their backs at a later time.

Large personalities give an edge to your undertakings. A mysterious man known as Mr. House presides over both the Strip, as well as your own adventures, and his singular focus on fulfilling his needs looms dramatically over the later hours of your escapades. The leader of a Roman-inspired legion is also an ominous presence and a violent counterpoint to the upright and learned leader of the Brotherhood of Steel's local contingent. A ghoulish prostitute, a potty-mouthed head waiter, and a wealthy-but-desperate father all make an impression in spite of their very minor roles. You might even find an interesting kindred spirit to accompany you. As with Fallout 3, you can bring a companion along with you; this is handy not only in combat, but it also gives you an extra inventory for dumping detritus. Interacting with your companion is simple, thanks to a wheel that lets you choose behaviors for your fellow traveler. You can only have one at a time, but you'll encounter multiple individuals willing to join you, and they all make interesting and funny quips when you interact with them. They also open up different quest opportunities, giving you a chance to learn more about what makes them tick.

Fallout: New Vegas' major addition is that of faction favor. You establish a reputation with various towns and organizations by doing them favors or annoying them in some way or another. Which factions you align with has both subtle and profound consequences. If you're liked, a random somebody might run up to you bearing minor gifts, such as an iguana on a stick. (Mmm, tasty.) Or if you've gained a more violent reputation, a mugger might accost you with violent intentions, only to run off when he recognizes you. It's a pleasure to hear random citizens remark on how they feel about you as you pass by, even if the canned comments repeat a bit too often. (It's sometimes bizarre to hear two characters standing side by side deliver the same line, spoken by the same voice actor.)

That Great Khan is no match for a sword made out of a bumper.

Your faction relationships also have much more dramatic consequences on your adventure, opening up new quests while closing off others. The game is sometimes a bit opaque regarding how your actions may inadvertently affect the way a particular faction sees you, but this complexity manifests itself in awesome ways as you near the end of your travels. One great twist to this system is that by dressing up in faction-specific clothing or armor, you can disguise yourself and avoid a confrontation. Though, conversely, you might get dragged into battles against allies if you forget to change gear, which might damage a relationship you're trying to cultivate. This reputation system is a bit abstract, but it's a great addition to the Fallout formula, adding even more layers to a template already lauded for its flexibility.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Review

Fluid combat and great art lift this Force-powered sequel above its flaws.

The Good

• Excellent art design makes each environment stand out
• Fun and flashy combat makes good use of motion controls
• Great cutscenes and voice acting give the story emotional heft
• Good boss fights ramp up the action.

The Bad

• Too many cheap deaths
• Lacks enemy variety
• Unspectacular multiplayer.

The original buzzed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed with potential, but poor production values and the madness of random remote waggling muted the glow. With Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, the power of the Force has finally begun to manifest itself on the Nintendo Wii. Where the original struggled with combat momentum, The Force Unleashed II is smooth and satisfying; where the first game's visuals were jagged and jittery, the follow-up's are rich and varied. The gameplay is somewhat hobbled by a lack of enemy variety, among a few other flaws. However, not only is this version longer and more exciting than its high-definition counterparts, it moves along at a better pace and fills in an important story-related crevasse left gaping in the other versions. None of that matters if this is the only iteration of The Force Unleashed II you plan on picking up; what matters is that this is a good (and good-looking) action game that makes it a pleasure to slash up stormtroopers and fling them off walkways into the abyss beneath.

Starkiller must have a really high midichlorian count.

The story is not as impressive as that of the original, but it is notable nonetheless. On the watery planet of Kamino, Darth Vader hovers over a familiar figure. It looks to be Starkiller, the original game's leading man and Vader's unauthorized apprentice. But is it really Starkiller--the one said to have sacrificed himself for the Rebellion? Thus, you step into this man's shoes and begin your search for the truth, not to mention the search for Juno Eclipse, Starkiller's former pilot and lover. Excellent voice acting and facial animations give cutscenes emotional impact, and a sequence on the planet of Dagobah melds gameplay and storytelling in a wonderful and unexpected way. It's unfortunate that a lengthy central stretch that focuses on the combat needs of the Rebellion brings the narrative to a halt. In general, you spend less time getting to know Starkiller (or is it Starkiller?) and the supporting cast this time around, so the story arc isn't as fulfilling as it might have been. Yet while the sequel may not boast a story as substantial as The Force Unleashed's, it's both fitting and fulfilling.

The Force Unleashed II features numerous prerendered cutscenes (the same scenes used in other versions of the game), but it also includes scenes of its own rendered within the game engine, and these are much improved over the glitchy and low-resolution cinematics of the original. The cutscenes are not the most impressive aspect of the production, however: the art design deserves the greatest kudos. Including the sojourn to Dagobah, you traverse four main environments, which isn't as many as in the original, but your eclectic surroundings do a good job of providing visual variety. When you return to Kamino, for example, you start not on a rainy dais surrounded by the circular structures you would expect, but rather in natural corridors rich with red and gold hues. It would have been nice to explore a greater array of locations, but a talented team of artists clearly put a lot of work into making each of these areas distinct and diverse.

If you're arachnophobic, this battle is sure to give you an adrenaline rush.

Unfortunately, you won't encounter a good variety of enemies during your adventure. Stormtroopers, mechanical spiders, and big robots with big shields make up the bulk of your battles. The good news is that the action is fun and sometimes even challenging, despite your ability to regenerate health by avoiding attacks for a short while. In the original, to swing your saber, you waved around the remote, which was both imprecise and unappealing. Now, you slash by tapping the A button, and motions are reserved for your most powerful moves. If you string together enough combos, you can slash the remote to perform a flashy saber attack. Thrusting the nunchuk forward Force-pushes enemies out of your way. Intuitive combinations of buttons and motions allow you to zap your foes with Force lightning, use Force grip to toss foes into the abyss beneath, and repel nearby ugnaughts with a shock wave. The camera, a major annoyance in the original, rarely gets in the way in the sequel, and responsive controls allow you to smoothly string moves together. An abundance of special effects and destructible environments further enhance the excitement of slicing and zapping jumptroopers--as does a move you earn later in the game that allows you to annihilate multiple enemies in slow motion.

Some noncombat activities mix up the pace, though these aren't wholly successful. The occasional puzzle sequences are easy but offer a pleasant breather in the midst of the action. The platforming, on the other hand, isn't consistently rewarding. A jumping puzzle in which you must pay attention to your mirror image is a clever detour. On the other hand, an early platforming sequence in which the camera constantly shifts positions mid-jump is infuriating. In one level, you must dash across a walkway, but if you enter the bridge in the middle of a jump, the floor will crumble away beneath you without warning, sentencing you to a painful death. There are a number of similar "gotcha" moments, so you may find yourself running into a deadly laser beam due to the game's failure to communicate. Happily, the creative boss fights help pick up the slack. A battle against an oversized metal arachnid is one such encounter; it requires you to use Force grip to rotate giant rings and, later, to manipulate a set of switches before you can damage it using your slow-motion rage. The fights are a good length but are never tedious, and they keep the tempo moving by changing camera angles, requiring you to influence the environment in various ways, and generally keeping you on the move.

Tatooine plays host to dual suns and dual sabers.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II also features local multiplayer ripped right from the Super Smash Bros. playbook. It isn't bad as unoriginal recipes go, letting each of four players select a character and leap around and duke it out in two dimensions. Each character possesses his or her own strengths and weaknesses, as you might expect. Darth Vader's saber slashes are powerful, but he's not very agile; Starkiller is a good all-rounder but not strong in one particular area; and Proxy can transform into any other character, but he's incredibly weak in his conventional form. In addition, you can perform a couple of different special moves, one of which is activated by flinging the nunchuk. Environmental hazards, such as the giant creature called the gorog waving his arms about, lend a touch of unpredictability to battle, though none of these hazards have the cleverness of Smash Bros.' best levels--nor are the animations and collision detection very tight. Attacks often appear to go right through your opponent without doing any damage, for example.

Multiplayer balancing and other issues aside, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II is a good step forward for a series that didn't shine in its previous outing. It's a shame the adventure doesn't last; while it's lengthier than the other versions, you will still finish in around six hours. Nevertheless, the snazzy swashbuckling can be electrifying, due in part to a responsive control scheme that utilizes motion in obvious but gratifying ways, making you feel like a mighty Jedi Knight. The clumsy moments prove that this franchise still has plenty of room to grow, but that shouldn't keep you from giving yourself over to the power of the Force.

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 Review

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 Review

Smackdown vs. Raw is showing its age, but there's plenty of fight left in this old superstar.

The Good

• Tons of ways to set up matches
• Extensive creation tools
• Plenty of powerful moves.

The Bad

• Problematic collision detection
• Excitement-dampening sound effects
• Online modes, including the new Royal Rumble, hindered by lag and other issues.

The Smackdown vs. Raw series has been around for more than a few years now, and like a time-worn WWE superstar, it is starting to get creaky in its old age. The core mechanics that fuel the entertaining action still set the stage for some great fights, but the perennially problematic collision detection and finicky positioning mechanics are taking their toll. The new modes and refinements in Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 are more focused on setting up matches than landing gut punches, which makes the game feel more like a meddling manager than a reigning champion. Yet though the series may be getting long in the tooth, there's still enough action to satiate those with a penchant for powerbombs.

John Cena does not have the best intentions at this point in time.

One of Smackdown vs. Raw's strengths is that it gives you the freedom to stage a huge variety of matches. 2011 offers more ways to tweak your showdowns than ever, with new locations and expanded match creation options. Whether you're setting your favorite superstar up to take on his archrival in an extreme rules match, or taking on a few friends in a Hell in a Cell diva showdown, it's fun to set the stage and then fight your way through a contest of your own devising. Furthermore, almost every match you play gets roped into the new Universe mode. This mode sets everything within the context of the WWE television schedule, including regular shows and marquee monthly events. You can play or simulate the matches that the game sets up or tweak the parameters to structure events to your liking. Matches that you play outside of Universe mode get slotted into the schedule, and the game often interjects melodramatic cutscenes and surprise events. Universe mode creates an enjoyable sense of continuity, but on the whole, it is little more than a new structure for the same familiar action.

The sheer number of moves you can pull off in the wide variety of different match situations is still very impressive. Knowing your wrestler's arsenal and maneuvering your opponent into just the right situation for a devastating attack is definitely satisfying. There have also been some refinements made to the core mechanics this year, particularly in matches that involve environmental elements like ladders and tables, resulting in some more realistic and more impactful falls. Unfortunately, the problems with the underlying physics system still linger. Collision detection remains a problem that can cause your strikes and grapples to go awry at frustrating moments, and this issue becomes even more problematic when there are more than two wrestlers in the ring. Learning to execute a wide variety of moves isn't enough; you have to know when the game will let you execute them. It may be unrealistic to expect to be able to perform any basic move at any time, but you should merely have to learn the rules--not the rules and the flaws. This has been the case with Smackdown vs. Raw for years, and while it is certainly possible to have a lot of fun fighting both AI and human opponents, these flaws still put a damper on the excitement. The sound effects further lessen the thrill of competing on the WWE stage, making a flying leap from the top turnbuckle sound about as intense as a door slammed by someone who is mildly annoyed.

The Road to Wrestlemania mode returns with five different individual storylines for you to follow. Each is packed with the WWE's signature melodrama, and you can now make choices throughout the story that influence how it all plays out. This mode also features new sections that put you in control of your wrestler from a behind-the-character third-person perspective. You can roam around a small backstage area where you can talk to other wrestlers, pick fights, and visit the trainer to cash in your experience points for attribute improvements. It's nice to have some autonomy as you make your way toward Wrestlemania, and the stories can take more than a few hours to complete.

Every Royal Rumbler has someone to beat on. How nice!

You can also craft stories of your own in the enhanced story designer. Improved menus, a new tutorial, expanded options, and the ability to create branching paths make the second iteration of this feature even better. The rest of the creation tools are still very impressive, and you can easily lose hours making your own superstars, finishers, entrance videos, highlight reels, and move sets. You can also enjoy the fruits of other players' labors by browsing and downloading content from the online community creations hub. Competitive multiplayer has more options than before, but even the new stuff is plagued by old issues. In addition to one-off matches that can now include up to six players, Royal Rumble has joined the ranks of online competition. While the sheer size and intensity of Royal Rumble makes it an appealing addition, connectivity issues can make it tough to actually get into a match. Once you are in the ring, nagging lag can cause serious problems, especially during crucial struggles on the ropes. Given that only 12 players can enter the 30-man Royal Rumble, getting eliminated might not mean you are out of the action for good. You can be randomly assigned to an incoming AI wrestler, and idle players can try to predict who the next player to enter or exit will be in order to win some bonus points. A new online experience system tracks your persistent rank and lets others know how often you have won, lost, or quit matches. Though lag and occasional bugs may force you to quit and besmirch your reputation, there is no shortage of formidable online opponents waiting to test your skills in the ring.

Though the online arena can be both enjoyably tough and frustratingly flawed, it's fun to have access to a wide range of creative output. Those who buy the game new receive a code that grants them access to all the online features, while those who buy the game used have to pay extra for the privilege. All told, Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 delivers the same solid action, extensive customization options, and robust creation tools that the series has been providing for years, making it one of the best wrestling games around. There are some improvements and some new elements, but the core action of the game remains largely the same, and the perennial problems are still present. Those hoping for something more exciting than last year's fare are going to be disappointed, but if you're hungering for a fresh serving of ways to explore the world of sports entertainment, then Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 delivers.

James Bond 007: Blood Stone Review

James Bond 007: Blood Stone Review

Stylish combat and white-knuckle driving make this an enjoyable James Bond adventure, despite some pacing issues.

The Good

• Solid shooting mechanics and slick melee combat
• Driving sections are a blast
• Great production values
• Globe-trotting story allows for lots of environmental variety.

The Bad

• Gets off to a very slow start after the prologue
• Throwaway multiplayer
• Gadget sections are simply filler.

Like a great Bond movie, James Bond 007: Blood Stone jumps headfirst into a spectacular action scene before the opening credits even roll. Going from silently dropping enemies on a ritzy yacht right into a pair of harrowing chase scenes--first by boat on the Mediterranean and then by car on the streets of Athens--this third-person action game from Bizarre Creations makes a thoroughly memorable first impression. What follows is a game that takes its sweet time stepping outside the shadow of this explosive prologue, as a number of early levels fall prey to flat pacing and drab, predictable level design. Such woes don't last forever, though, because the invigorating energy of that opening scene returns full force in the latter half of the adventure. The result is an uneven yet worthwhile James Bond experience, aided in no small part by stellar production values that make it easy to forget that this Bond story isn't tied to a new movie.

And to think, Bond really had his heart set on that three hour tour.

There's no hiding the fact that the events driving Blood Stone's narrative are paint-by-numbers James Bond. You begin the game on a hunt to track down a weapons dealer bent on terrorizing the G20 Summit, but a tangled conspiracy sends Bond all over the globe tracking down the usual array of informants, turncoats, and crime lords. It's a story that succeeds not because of any emotional connection to the proceedings, but because of the sheer variety of situations Bond winds up in. At any given point, you might find yourself amid a gunfight in Monaco taking cover behind a craps table; speeding your Aston Martin across the cracking ice sheets of a frozen Siberian river; or darting across the rain-slick rooftops of Bangkok not five minutes after gazing at majestic humpback whales inside an aquarium. The voices of Daniel Craig and Judi Dench add familiarity to the cast, while the brisk cutscenes do a good job of capturing the detached, no-nonsense demeanor of Craig-era James Bond.

For the most part, the variety established by the globe-trotting plot is echoed in the game's action. Blood Stone is very much a hybrid of genres, a game that tries its hand at a lot of things and succeeds at most of them. To run the full list, Blood Stone is simultaneously a third-person shooter with a heavy reliance on cover; a stealth game that values melee takedowns over firefights; a racer replete with frantic chase scenes and explosive tracks; and a gadget-driven espionage simulator. The gadgets are the only major weak link. Pulling open your impossibly powerful smartphone allows you to scan and manipulate your surroundings, performing tasks such as cloning hard drives and cracking security points with little more than the press of a button. Ultimately harmless in their simplicity, these moments of espionage don't detract from the gameplay so much as they pad it with repetitive filler--every scan feels the same, and there's generally little context for why something needs hacking.

What this poor sap didn't realize is that you can pull off brutal melee moves while hiding behind cover.

That said, on-foot combat is what makes up the bulk of your adventure. Played purely as a third-person shooter, Blood Stone is solid, though a bit unspectacular. The cover mechanics are intuitive and responsive, while weapon sound effects and enemy animations harmonize nicely to make for an impactful shooting experience--though a lack of variety in weaponry and enemy types holds back the core gunplay. Fortunately, Blood Stone is also a game that incentivizes stylish melee combat as a complement to shooting your way through a situation. Any enemy within a few feet of you can be swiftly and brutally taken down with a single button press. From judo-chopping an enemy's throat to choking him with your legs, these vicious takedowns are dead simple to pull off but never get old. Melee takedowns also earn you a "focus kill," which is a mechanic that works similarly to Splinter Cell: Conviction's "mark and execute." These focus kills allow you to string together headshots in rapid succession--up to three in a row--in order to ramp up the pace up and really tear through a shoot-out.

Kinect Adventures! (w/Kinect) Review

Kinect Adventures! (w/Kinect) Review

This motion-based minigame collection is inconsistent, but it gives you a good excuse to start leaping and scrambling around with your new Kinect.

The Good

• Motion controls work well
• Events range from serene to strenuous
• Living statues make interesting rewards for your progress.

The Bad

• Not enough depth or variety to stay interesting for long stretches
• 20,000 Leaks requires a bit too much precision
• Space Pop is too laid-back to be engaging.

Whether you grab Microsoft's new Kinect hardware with visions of turning your living room into a dance floor, a gymnasium, or a racetrack, you'll get a chance to embark on some outlandish adventuring as soon as you get your Kinect home. That's because Kinect Adventures comes included with every Kinect sold. With only five minigames, some better than others, you'll quickly experience all that Kinect Adventures has to offer. And two-player simultaneous play requires a solid 8-to-10 feet of clear space, which limits some to a one-player experience. But these goofy activities are fun to watch even when you're not playing. Kinect Adventures makes for a good pack-in by demonstrating that the Kinect's technology really works and by getting you and your friends or family on your feet and into the fun right away.

The concept here is enjoyably absurd. You play as a fresh-faced new recruit on the Adventure Team, a group of thrill seekers dedicated to doing all sorts of things typically associated with adventurers, like white-water rafting and popping bubbles in space. Kinect Adventures pulls you into this concept on its attractive menu screens by having your avatar, decked out in a cool Adventure Team uniform complete with a snazzy stylized "A" belt buckle, looking out at you from the screen and mirroring your movements as you select menu options. In fact, throughout the game, your avatar admirably mimics your movements. This makes controlling Kinect Adventures a breeze, provided you're up to the occasionally demanding physical activity it requires of you.

There are five minigames in Kinect Adventures. The objectives you're trying to accomplish in any one activity can vary over time, sometimes challenging you to collect a certain number of pins along a course or making you race against the clock, but these changes have little impact on how the minigames are played. Of the five minigames, the one that feels the most legitimately adventurous is River Rush. This game sets you in a raft on a raging river, but this is no simulation of white-water rafting. You stand at the front of your inflatable raft, steering it down the rapids by sidestepping left and right and catching big air off of ramps by jumping. Catch enough air and your raft may even glide along the clouds for a while. There's not a whole lot to it, but the fast pace and the white-water setting make it a good time in short bursts. And it benefits more than any other event from playing with a friend. Needing to quickly coordinate when to turn and when to jump with your partner as you race down the river makes the already fast action a bit more frantic.

The most strenuous minigame is Reflex Ridge, an obstacle course in which you ride along rails on a flat platform, jumping, ducking, and sidestepping the obstacles in your way. At higher levels, you get a decent workout as the obstacles never stop coming, which makes this a good event for those looking for more physical activity. Reflex Ridge is the only game that offers competition rather than cooperation for two players, as you and your opponent ride through the course on separate platforms, shooting for a high score.

Reflex Ridge puts your jumping and ducking skills to the test.

The remaining events are considerably less demanding. Rallyball puts you at one end of a hallway, with blocks that need to be destroyed at the other. You use any part of your body to send a rubber ball bouncing to the other end of the hallway to smash the blocks. Like a soccer goalie, you try to stop the ball from getting past you when it comes flying back in your direction, and because some blocks you smash release additional balls, you may sometimes be trying to keep four or five balls in play at once. It's only in these moments of multiball madness that Rallyball really gets wild, but it happens often enough to keep this activity fun.

On the more subdued end of the spectrum are 20,000 Leaks and Space Pop. In 20,000 Leaks, you're submerged under the ocean's surface in a tank with glass walls that seem to be as sturdy as tissue paper. Fish and sharks swim along and bop on the glass, cracking it. Thankfully, your touch magically repairs these dangerous fissures, and because you sometimes have several cracks to contend with simultaneously, it's good that you can use your head, as well as your hands and feet, to get the job done. The issue here is that the cracks are quite small, and because you can't see where they are in actual space, plugging holes involves a lot of reaching out to approximately where you think the crack is, and then, based on how far off the mark your avatar is, adjusting your position. Because the other minigames all rely on broader gestures, this doesn't become an issue elsewhere in Kinect Adventures, but 20,000 Leaks asks for a bit more precision than is reasonable. Last and least is Space Pop, which puts you in a space station and gives you the strange goal of popping bubbles. You flap your arms to take to the air in this weightless environment and move forward or backward and left or right to fly into the bubbles and pop them on contact. It's a serene activity that's greatest virtue is that it lets you catch your breath between rounds of Reflex Ridge.

Kinect Adventures works well as a social experience, whether you have the 8 feet of clear space in front of the sensor needed for two to play or not. When you're not the one playing, watching your friend scramble around to steer a raft or smack nonexistent rubber balls is entertaining in itself. Kinect Adventures tries to make the most of all this goofy movement by snapping pictures at choice moments, such as when you jump over an obstacle in Reflex Ridge or use your arms, legs, and head to plug five holes in 20,000 Leaks. By default, the pics stay securely in your system's memory, safe from prying eyes, but if you want to share that glorious image of you flapping your arms to take flight in Space Pop with people far and wide, Kinect Adventures lets you upload them to a website, and from there, you can share them on Facebook. And if you'd rather spare yourself the embarrassment of seeing these compromising images, you can turn off the picture-taking feature in the game's options menu.

You're rewarded periodically with gear you can equip on your avatar like wristbands, sunglasses, and watches. More unusual and more interesting are the living statues you acquire. One looks like a hamster; another like a massive great white shark with your avatar standing in its jaws; another still like a happy yeti. You can record short voice and movement clips, which the statues then reenact, with your voice modified appropriately. When you give words to the hamster statue, they come out sounding as squeaky as a cartoon chipmunk. There's plenty of opportunity here for both family-friendly laughs or for more twisted humor, and as with the photos, you can share the words and movements you impart to your statues on Facebook.

Kinect Adventures doesn't push the graphical capabilities of the Xbox 360, but its bright, slightly cartoonish environments create an inviting setting for all your adventuring, and it is one in which your avatar looks right at home. The limited assortment of activities means Kinect Adventures isn't likely to keep you entertained for hours on end, but some of these events are fun to come back to time and again. Kinect Adventures makes it easy to start having fun with your Kinect from the moment you get it set up, and it shows off what that eerie contraption that's staring at you can do.

Fighters Uncaged Review

Fighters Uncaged Review

Poor motion controls and unrewarding gameplay prevent you from having any fun at all with this terrible fighting game.

The Good

• You might work up a sweat in frustration.

The Bad

• Motion controls fail to register correctly
• Scoring system doesn't reward your hard work
• Lifeless animation
• Uninspired art style
• No multiplayer.

If you're craving a less kid-friendly experience on the Kinect at launch, then your options are limited to just one game--Ubisoft's Fighters Uncaged. Sadly, not only does it fail on nearly every level to offer a compelling fighting experience, but its broken motion controls also make it immensely frustrating. Lifeless animation, generic visuals, and a baffling scoring system all serve to sap the fun out of playing. And, in a crazy omission, there isn't even a two-player option. Uncaged isn't so much a game as it is a way to make you want to bang your head against a brick wall in despair.

The stilted fights are an exercise in frustration.

The premise behind Fighters Uncaged is as short and generic as they come. You play as an up-and-coming street brawler named Simon, who must battle his way through other brawlers in underground leagues to save his father from a kingpin. Aside from a mention in the manual and a short cinematic intro, you hear nothing about the story once you start playing, which makes this setup completely unnecessary. The game offers up just one mode, called Fight. But, before you can get down to fighting, you must endure an excruciatingly dull tutorial that teaches you the basics in a drawn-out fashion.

You view your character from behind in an over-the-shoulder perspective, with your opponent directly opposite. To fight, you mimic the moves you want your character to perform. For example, punching out directly in front of you launches a jab, while arcing your swing launches a hook. An onscreen animation demonstrates the movement, after which you must perform it three times against an instructor before you can progress to the next move. The game handles lateral movement of your character, so all you have to worry about is performing one of the kicks, punches, and dodges on offer.

The tutorial stretches on for what seems like an eternity because you not only have to perform each move three times, but you also have to repeat the process for both limbs--it's like attending a fighting school for toddlers. Furthermore, once you've completed basic training, you then have to fight against the instructor three times in best two-out-of-three matches before you can actually jump into the leagues. There is a skip option, but using it means the game thinks you haven't completed the training, so you can't progress anyway.

Getting dropped to the floor is a regular occurrence as the game fails to recognize your motions.

While most of the basic moves are easy to learn, there is a noticeable lag between performing them and having your actions reflected onscreen. This means you often throw a punch, only to think it wasn't recognized and throw another one, causing the game to suddenly launch two in quick succession. Thus, fights quickly degenerate into the Kinect equivalent of button mashing as you swing your arms and legs in the air, trying to get the game to pick up your movements. This only gets worse if you subject yourself to the advanced training, where you're taught moves like roundhouse kicks and combos. They require much more subtle movements, such as sliding your foot along the floor for a sweep, and are rarely recognized at all.

If you somehow manage to drag your way through the tutorial, then you can take part in the leagues. You start off in league three, where you face off against six other fighters with names as cliche as Rider, Ratface, and Mover. The aim is to progress to higher leagues, where you battle against increasingly tough though no more interesting or entertaining opponents. Fights themselves are an exercise in frustration as the game struggles to recognize your moments. This removes any sort of depth because you can't plan your attacks or launch advanced moves.

One of the most confusing aspects of a fight is the scoring system, which fails to reward you for your hard work. To reach league two, you have to gain a certain number of crowns, which are awarded if you score above 6000 points against an opponent. However, how you score points is never clearly explained, so even if you beat an opponent, you might not get any crowns at all. This means you have to go back and fight opponents repeatedly until you score points to progress, without ever really knowing how you did so.

To make matters worse, there aren't even any decent visuals to look at while you're fighting. The character models are lifeless, with stilted animation and a poor design that plays off of generic street stereotypes, such as leather-clad bikers and tattooed thugs. The 2D prerendered environments just add to the misery, with little detail and no animations. Even the music is poor, with a grating 10-second hip-hop-style loop repeated ad nauseam in every menu.

Fighters Uncaged is a prime example of how not to make a fighting game for the Kinect. The presentation is poor, the scoring system doesn't reward your hard work, and worst of all, the motion controls are simply broken. There's not even a multiplayer mode to, at the very least, let you eke some enjoyment out of fighting a friend. The only thing you'll get out of this game is a sweat, as you manically punch at the air in frustration. No matter how eager you might be for a Kinect-powered brawl, Fighters Uncaged is one game that's worth leaving locked up.

Football Manager 2011 Review

Football Manager 2011 Review

A revised training system and new features such as the set-piece creation suite make this the most well-rounded and complete version of Football Manager to date.

The Good

• Incredible depth of simulation
• Proper contract negotiations
• Improved 3D engine
• More transparency with team tactics and blend
• Deeper and more realistic experience than FM 2010.

The Bad

• Snowfall during matches obscures the action
• Multiplayer still an afterthought
• Default skin's news feed can get a little confusing.

UK REVIEW--On paper, it might not look like a whole lot has changed in this year's Football Manager. However, the series has never been about grandiose, sweeping changes--and this year's tweaks, such as the improved training system, the redone contract negotiations, and the all-new set-piece creation suite, make this year's game an absolute must-play. Even those seasoned and battle-scarred from each preceding yearly iteration will find enough in Football Manager 2011 to reward the upgrade, and it's also the most accessible version of the game yet for newcomers.

The 3D match engine looks better than ever.

This year's iteration features across-the-board improvements of what has gone before, with tweaks, changes, and minor additions being the order of the day. Issues from the previous game have been addressed, so the match engine is better than ever, your interaction with players and the media is more extensive, and training has been revamped yet again. Perhaps the most obvious and significant new addition is the set-piece creator, which addresses a key aspect of football management not seen in the series to date. Previously, you could set individual players to go forward, mark at the near post, go for flick-ons, and such, but it was all quite crude and left to the imagination. Now, you can see a pictorial representation of where your players are meant to be during certain situations, so it's much easier to make the most of your set pieces.

This ties in with an improvement in the training module, which is now also focused on the blend of your team rather than just improving raw stats. Players gradually become more comfortable with certain tactics the more you use them in matches and work on them in training, and they become more used to certain set-piece routines the more you focus on them. In previous FM games, this was all handled behind the scenes, so this newfound transparency is a godsend for those struggling to understand why their team is playing badly. With a quick glance at the match preparation screen, you can see that it's perhaps because the players aren't comfortable playing the straight 4-4-2 you just switched to. General training has also been improved, and individual coaches now tell you, on occasion, whether or not they specialise in anything. For example, goalkeeper coaching now has two elements to it--shot stopping and handling--and employing both is crucial to getting the most out of your keepers. If your board lets you, of course.

Interacting with the moneymen used to be a relatively thankless task, but in Football Manager 2011 you get a bit more feedback on how they might react. For a start, you can see how many coaches and scouts you're allowed within the wage budget. Plus, there's more feedback about what requests you've made and how the board is dealing with them. Talking to the suits is done in a conversational style, which is a new method of simulating your interaction with other people throughout the season. Each conversation presents you with individual questions or statements you can make, and the characters you're talking to respond accordingly. For example, you might approach the board and ask whether they'd consider making your bargain-basement League 2 side a feeder club to a Premiership behemoth, just like you could before. Except this time you can choose your reasoning, which the board either agrees or disagrees with. The conversation system also works with players, staff, and the media. You can ask to have a private chat with one of your players for any number of reasons; talking to him about preferred signings, warning him he might get transfer listed if he doesn't buck up his ideas, or getting into a big argument because you asked him to make more forward runs and he threw his toys out of the pram.

Interactions are now conducted in this conversational style.

Dealing with players doesn't involve just chatting to them about their match performances; it's also about how ridiculously overpaid they are. Contract negotiations are a staple of any football management game, but in FM 2011 they involve some actual negotiating, rather than just getting an offer and being rigidly stuck to it, no matter what the AI wants to do. A new feature of this year's game is that the majority of players now have their own agent to handle negotiations. These individuals often demand a fee for their services, sometimes scuppering a deal because their own agenda conflicts with the player's. You also often see news items covering players who have fired their agents. When offering an existing player a new deal, agents might even hold back the player's demands in order to see just where you're willing to go. It's an excellent new system that adds a lot to the previous one, which was tedious and always consisted of the player refusing to accept anything other than the initial demand.

Once you've gotten to know your players, given them their tactical instructions, and prayed to whatever deity you favour, you send them out to play their first friendly match. There's very little that has changed at first glance with the match engine, but things are better graphically, with more realistic crowds and pitch textures. Smaller stadia have backdrops like terraced housing or a river, while a large Premiership stadium like Anfield can fill the screen. During some matches a light snow falls, which sounds like a nice visual feature but ends up obscuring the play and making things difficult to focus on. It rarely happens, though, so it's nothing to be too concerned about unless you're playing in Russia or Norway. One of the more noticeable improvements is the way your players move around during play, now performing more realistically than in previous iterations. Their movements are now less stilted, though there are still some kinks. There's also a greater range of animations, such as overhead kicks and more diving lunges to balls in the six-yard box, which helps create a more fluid feel to any given match day.

Football Manager 2011 is slicker than ever, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. The way news items are presented in the modern skins can be confusing and overwhelming, while on occasion it can still be frustrating to dig deep into the interface to find the option you want. Thankfully, there's a retro skin that is, in some ways, clearer. Niggles like these don't come close to being game-breaking. The attraction of the multiplayer is limited, though--it's a chore due to the long periods of time required, but there are also some frustrating interface latency issues for anyone connecting to the host machine.

Just like in real life.

Football Manager 2011 is a great game that has something for fans both old and new. If you've been skipping iterations because of fatigue, this one is a good place to start afresh. Having the team blend and match preparation elements at the fore makes FM 2011 more accessible, and players of all abilities benefit immensely from the increased transparency. New contract negotiations make the act of signing a player more interesting, and money-grabbing agents disgust you as much in-game as they do in real life. This season, the Football Manager experience is more compelling than ev

Call of Duty: Black Ops Review

Call of Duty: Black Ops Review

Call of Duty: Black Ops bears the series' standard superbly, delivering an engrossing campaign and exciting competitive multiplayer.

The Good

• Thrilling variety throughout campaign
• Fractured story creates an intriguing atmosphere
• New multiplayer currency system is invigorating
• Combat training lets anyone enjoy multiplayer excitement
• Theater lets you share and enjoy triumphs and failures.

The Bad

• Short campaign.

When a franchise consistently delivers massively popular, high-quality games, each new entry in the series comes laden with expectation. Call of Duty: Black Ops has some big shoes to fill, but it does so admirably. The engrossing campaign is chock-full of exciting, varied gameplay and drips with intrigue and intensity. The excellent multiplayer boasts some invigorating new features, and the new combat training mode finally gives novices a way to enjoy the competitive action without suffering the slings and arrows of outrageously skilled veterans. Cooperative zombie killing and video editing tools help make Black Ops the most robustly featured game in the franchise, and though you may have expected it to be the case, this is undoubtedly one of the best shooters of the year.

Just a typical motorcycle ride through the Russian countryside.

The single-player campaign is set largely during the 1960s and takes you to Cold War hot spots like Cuba, Russia, and Vietnam. You are an elite covert operative, and your globe-trotting adventures form pieces of a puzzle--a puzzle that your mysterious captors are trying to put together by interrogating you. Each excursion into the field is a memory, and these missions slowly come together to build momentum as each interrogation cutscene puts another piece of the puzzle in place. It's not a very original mechanic, but it gives a coherent context to the action, and a few strong characters and dramatic moments give the story some genuine intrigue. The blurry edges of your consciousness conceal information that must come to light, and the erratic visual effects and eerie audio echoes that accompany your interrogations sometimes bleed into your mission memories, which creates a great tone of uncertainty that plays out in surprising and satisfying ways.

Your interrogation-fueled flashbacks are not beholden to the linear flow of time, allowing your missions cover a wide variety of geography and gameplay. A dramatic breakout from a brutal Soviet prison is one early highlight, and later missions feature frontline conflicts, urban firefights, and mountainous incursions. The environments are richly detailed, and though the campaign is not without a few technical hiccups (like occasionally problematic checkpoint markers and the odd teleporting ally), these moments aren't likely to hinder your enjoyment. In addition to the on-foot action, you use a number of vehicles to achieve your objectives. Some put you in the gunner's seat while others put you behind the wheel, and though the vehicle handling is unremarkable, the thrill of blowing stuff up and speeding through hostile terrain is undeniable. The core running-and-gunning mechanics remain as exciting as ever, and the gameplay variety throughout the campaign keeps the action moving at a great clip.

Uncle Sam considers it impolite to use the door during a hostage rescue.

Though the campaign is a rip-roaring good time, it clocks in at a mere six hours long. The mode that will likely keep you coming back to Black Ops for months to come is, unsurprisingly, the competitive multiplayer. At its core, this is the familiar top-notch Call of Duty action that players have been enjoying for years. You earn experience for doing well in battle, and as you level up, you gain access to new and powerful ways to customize your loadouts. New weapons and maps freshen things up, and one of the new killstreak rewards--an explosive-laden remote-control car--is a delightfully deadly device that embodies the frantic, slightly goofy side of virtual online combat. The key new element, however, is currency. In addition to earning experience for your battlefield performance, you earn Call of Duty points, which you can then spend in a variety of ways. Most perks, weapon attachments, killstreaks, and equipment items are available early on, providing you shell out the points to equip them. Guns are still unlocked as you level up, but again, you have to pony up the points to put one in your loadout. Customization options like face paint, player card backgrounds, and the new create-your-own-icon tool are all accessed by spending points. Having to pay your way gives you more loadout options at lower required levels than in previous Call of Duty games, and the fact that points are so crucial to improving your arsenal makes them as just as sublimely satisfying to earn as experience points.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Review

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Review

Ezio's Roman holiday is a joyous and gorgeous addition to a quality series.

The Good

• Huge, beautiful city stuffed with amazing details
• Lairs and other platforming sequences are fantastic
• Long, with lots of fun and varied activities
• Economy is more meaningful than before
• All sorts of improvements, big and small.

The Bad

• Main story is disappointing
• Assassin recruitment is contrived and ultimately meaningless
• Glitches.

The ladies of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood have both bark and bite. If you played Assassin's Creed II , then you already know Caterina Sforza, the comely Italian countess with a soft spot for sly, rugged assassins. She's not the only female character with an important role to play in Brotherhood, however. Claudia Auditore is no longer just a submissive bookkeeper, but rather a strong young woman who eventually learns to handle a blade. And then there's Cesare Borgia's cunning sister Lucrezia, whose sharp tongue is matched by her severe, almost vampiric appearance. These willful women are ensemble players in the continuing drama of Ezio Auditore, the self-assured star of Assassin's Creed II. His story continues in Brotherhood, which begins directly after the events that closed its predecessor. This follow-up tale doesn't have the same impact of the story that spawned it, but Ezio's world is a wonder to inhabit, filled with amazing architectural detail and bursting with tons of enjoyable content.

Well isn't this a fine how-do-you-do?

Ezio is not the only leading man in this ongoing tale. He's an ancestor of Desmond Miles, the near-future bartender who has remained a series constant. You play Desmond in several terrific sequences, the final of which concludes with a moment so staggering it rivals Assassin's Creed II's ending for pure shock value. It's unfortunate that Ezio's part of the story isn't as memorable as Desmond's, or indeed, as memorable as his previous journey. The setup is simple: After a battle at the family's villa in Monteriggioni, Ezio's nemesis, Cesare Borgia, steals the all-important artifact known as the Apple of Eden. With the help of Caterina and other old friends, Ezio heads to Rome to retrieve the Apple and rid the city of Borgia influence. There's a bit of drama when an associate is accused of betrayal, but for the most part, Brotherhood's straightforward plot doesn't have much emotional impact, and because Ezio exhibits little personal growth, there's the slightest hint of staleness to his escapades.

That doesn't mean there aren't special story moments to savor, however. One set of side missions is a series of heartfelt flashbacks that put you in the shoes of a younger Ezio, and they let him show off that old charm that he rarely exudes in Brotherhood. Other indelible moments come by way of your glimpses of Lucrezia Borgia, who has a complicated relationship with Cesare. She knows what she wants, and she isn't afraid to test the boundaries of human decency in the pursuit of power. Lucrezia aside, few of the important players are new, but they're all voiced by a great cast that gives further gravitas to a story and world that are presented without the slightest hint of irony. Furthermore, certain story elements are given poignancy by way of their presentation. For instance, spying on a scheming Cesare and Lucrezia through a palace window makes their dialogue seem even more devious.

Rome's cityscapes are often breathtaking.

While Brotherhood's story falls just short of series standards, its sense of place and time is as impeccable as fans could possibly hope for. You spend the majority of the time in Rome, and while you may miss exploring multiple cities, the city is nevertheless huge and gorgeous, brimming with so much visual variety and exquisite detail that Brotherhood feels as consequential as its forebears. You might roam into a cathedral to discover a palatial view punctuated by red tapestries and golden candelabras. Citizens wandering the streets munch on apples, carry lanterns in the evening, and flirt with each other behind pillars. It is all rendered with amazing detail and lit beautifully, undercut only occasionally by visual blemishes that will be familiar to fans of the series. There is some texture fade-in, and you'll glimpse citizens popping in here and there. More notable for PlayStation 3 owners is the obvious screen tearing and less consistent frame rate. Regardless of your chosen platform, the soundtrack enhances the atmosphere with operatic soprano warbles and French horn melodies. Large portions of the soundtrack are lifted from last year's game, which is mildly disappointing; how nice would it have been to hear a new theme when synchronizing the map from atop a high perch? Regardless, the music is a graceful complement to the splendid visuals.

Within this grand world is a ton of stuff to do. The staples of the series--rooftop platforming, blending with crowds, silent assassinations, rhythmic swordplay--have all returned, and most have been enhanced or adjusted in some way. It's as joyous as ever to bound across roofs and climb to the tops of towers. Lifts that rapidly fling you to a rooftop are a great new addition and provide a second of high-speed thrills, though the movement mechanics are generally the same as before--it's the architecture and level design that have been altered for the better. As in Assassin's Creed II, you may search for glyphs hidden on walls and on rooftops, and they are perceptible only when you activate eagle vision. Finding one allows you to solve a puzzle, which in turn unlocks a small hint of a larger mystery. While most of these glyphs took only a modicum of effort to find before, they are now often hidden on sizable landmarks with tons of nooks and crannies to explore. Expect to put in more effort if you hope to uncover more of the conspiracy that drives the series. Luckily, it isn't wasted effort: ledges and outcroppings are carefully and intelligently placed, which makes it a pleasure to climb these structures.

Ezio enjoys some quiet time.

Many towers you climb don't allow you to simply ascend with little care; they require more conscientious navigation. In fact, numerous towers not only require climbing, but must be burned to the ground as well. The Borgias have spread their influence around Rome, and to undermine their rule, you destroy their edifices. Before you can do that, you must assassinate a commander in the vicinity. Often, your target will flee if you directly engage the guards that surround him, so you will want to approach carefully. In many cases, this gives you a chance to put a new weapon, the crossbow, to good use. Not only is it handy for picking off one of these key figures, but it's also useful should a number of enemies charge you on horseback. In any case, once you have offed the key officer, you may climb to the top of the nearby tower and torch it. Afterward, you automatically take a leap of faith into a hay bale or wagon of leaves conveniently placed beneath, while melodramatic organ chords signal the importance of your endeavor.

Eliminating Borgia influence is important because you then gain access to local vendors, though this access isn't immediate. The economy, an interesting but messy feature in last year's installment, has been fleshed out in smart ways. As before, you must spend money to make money, but Brotherhood's catalog contains a lot of big-ticket items. If you want access to blacksmiths, doctors, tailors, and so on, you first must purchase and renovate their shops. Not only does renovating an empty storefront give you access to supplies, but it also begins to generate income. As you bring in money, you eventually purchase landmarks, which cost a tidy sum. In many cases this is only so you can add to your periodic bank deposits, though there are gameplay benefits as well. For example, you might be able to climb to a particular synchronization perch only after you renovate a portion of the aqueducts. Shop quests are another nice economic tweak. When you loot corpses, tackle escaping pickpockets, and empty scattered treasure chests, you may discover special items, such as prayer beads and jars of leeches. These items can be offered to designated vendors in return for high-quality weapons, tougher armor, and the like.

NBA Jam Review

NBA Jam Review

This rim-rocking arcade classic returns, and though it's pretty shallow, it's still an awful lot of fun.

The Good

• Fast and satisfying action
• Tons of unlockable secrets
• Exciting four-player competition
• Enthusiastic announcer with a wide assortment of catchphrases.

The Bad

• New modes aren't very interesting.

Oftentimes, when developers resurrect classic games for the modern era, they overhaul the core experience with enough bells and whistles to make it stand up to current releases. This is not the case in NBA Jam. The gameplay of this two-on-two fast-paced dunk-a-thon that you remember playing in the arcades 17 years ago has made its transition to the current consoles virtually unchanged. A boisterous announcer belts out catchphrases as you unleash thunderous dunks, and without any refs to get in the way, you can swing your elbows and shove your feisty opponents with impunity. The kinetic ebb and flow is beautiful in its simplicity, creating an enticing pick-up-and-play experience that's at its best when four friends settle their differences on the hardwood floor. The passage of time has been kind to NBA Jam, but it's not all swishes and rim-rattling slams. New modes don't offer a good incentive to stray from the standard action, and the shallow gameplay loses its luster before long. NBA Jam provides almost as much free-flowing fun as ever, but a few modern indulgences could have gone a long way toward making it a classic in this era as well.

If only the heat could compete on two-on-two matches in real life.

The concept is unchanged from the original release in the early '90s: two-on-two basketball with exaggerated physics and few rules. You do have to be mindful of the shot clock, and goaltending is a serious faux pas, but most of the violations from the real NBA have been swept neatly under the rug. Each of the 30 teams from the association is represented here, and you have an initial assortment of three players from each to choose from, though more can be unlocked as you play through the game. It doesn't matter if you select the stacked Heat or undermanned Pacers as your team of choice, though, because high-flying antics take priority over fundamental basketball. Dunks from beyond the free-throw line, fadeaway 30 footers, and backboard-shattering alley-oops are all the rage, and stringing a bevy of jaw-dropping offensive moves together is just as likely to elicit an excited yell from spectators as the enthusiastic announcer. Responsive controls ensure every leap, pass, and shove is dished out at the precise moment you need, laying the foundation for a spirited experience that never wants for excitement.

The most eye-catching aspect of NBA Jam is the gravity-defying dunks you can pull off at a moment's notice, but if you want any chance of actually winning against a high-level CPU opponent or talented friend, you need to embrace the simple pleasure of hard-fought defense. It may sound strange to preach the wonders of stopping your foe from scoring rather than creating your own highlights, but a strong defensive presence is paramount to winning and especially satisfying. Shoving is the most brutal of your defensive tactics. You can push your opponent to the court whenever you have a hankering for dishing out floor burns, and it's handy when you need to stop a dunk and unmitigated violence is your only choice. But the defensive abilities in NBA Jam go beyond feral lunges. A well-timed swipe can key a fast break in a hurry, and jumping at the perfect moment lets you send a feeble shot attempt right back at your opponent's face. Clamping down to play formidable defense is just as exciting as well-executed offense; thus, no matter which end of the court you're on, NBA Jam is a blast.

Sadly, the thrill in NBA Jam doesn't stretch on forever. The lure comes from the simple, immediately gratifying action, but that lack of depth is a double-edged sword. You can see just about every offensive and defensive permutation in your first match, which strips away any chance of being blindsided by shockingly awesome sequences in subsequent matchups. And once the anticipation of seeing something new dissipates, you're left with a flashy but shallow game. That's not to say the fun fades away completely, but that initial frenzy does settle into a comfortable lull before too long. This downward momentum is mitigated somewhat by bringing in a few friends. NBA Jam is at its best when all four players are being controlled by a group of fun-loving buddies because it's so much more exciting to nail a key three-pointer and let loose some wholesome trash-talking to your downtrodden pals. If you don't have any friends nearby, you can hop online and strut your stuff in lag-free competition. Unfortunately, the PlayStation 3 version has connection issues. We were unable to invite a friend to our game or accept an invitation in Jam Party, the competitive mode. Cooperative play suffered no such issue, though. Ranked matches still worked fine, however, and both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions provide a lot of fun once the game begins.

Amar'e Stoudemire has a big head ever since he signed that massive contract.

There are at least a few unique modes to mix up the core action, though none of them are as fun as the traditional offering. Classic Campaign is the most engaging of all of the tournament options. Here, you select your team and go around the league to play against progressively more difficult opponents. There are seven matchups against vintage stars as well, so you have to take on the Bad Boy Pistons between games against the modern-day Raptors and Spurs. Even though the core action in NBA Jam becomes predictable before long, this is still the best of the modes. There are no gimmicks to distract you from your goal, so you have to be smart on offense, fierce on defense, and never too cocky when you build a lead. It's too bad the other options aren't nearly as engaging. There are two half-court modes, 21 and Domination, but they feel confining compared to the baseline-to-baseline blur that encompasses the standard fare. Boss Battles are aggravating. Your Hall of Fame foes are imbued with special powers, so Larry Bird is perpetually on fire, which is just annoying, and you have to rely on luck as much as skill to come out on top. In Smash mode, only dunks count, which makes a game that already struggles with sameness even less dynamic. Each of these modes can be fun once in a while, but they aren't nearly as interesting as the real thing.

NBA Jam doesn't have much depth, but there are at least hidden goodies to search for that extend the replay value. Unlockable players include Hall of Famers, such as Julius Erving, injury-ravaged could-have-beens like Danny Manning, and even relative unknowns like Kenny Anderson. But controllable players stretch beyond the roster of NBA veterans. You can play a game as a sports host, mascot, or even some of the more athletic politicians if you want. And these wacky extras do a great job of exemplifying the core appeal of this venerable franchise. What NBA Jam lacks in depth, it makes up for in unbridled excitement that is just as fun now as it was almost two decades ago. It's a shame the new modes are little more than distractions, but the fast-paced action is overflowing with arcade charm. NBA Jam doesn't tinker one bit with the classic formula, but fun like this doesn't have an expiration date.