Reviews & Articles

Fire Emblem is a turn-based strategy game set in a fantasy universe. You play the role of a “tactician” who is befriended by a young woman named Lyndis and brought along to help her (and her friends) by commanding their actions through several story-driven tactical battles. Later in the game, you will play the same role, but for Eliwood and his friends.

To some, the idea of Doom II being commercially available for cash — again — might seem like a farce. Sources online can merit you a free copy, and the game has been around for a respectable 16 years, far long enough for the average shooter entrepreneur to own several copies. So why, pray tell, should you take any notice to Doom II’s release on Xbox Live Arcade? It’s Doom II, that’s why!

Enchanted is based on the delightful movie of the same name. Yes, dear reader, I have actually seen a movie prior to playing the game for once. It's like a miracle. In Enchanted the Video Game, I actually take turns between playing Giselle, Prince Edward, and Pip the chipmunk.

Crash of the Titans is the fourteenth installment of Crash Bandicoot series which began in 1996. I had no idea who Crash Bandicoot was. I was not a console gamer in my youth but I do have a PSP and a DS. On the blandishments of my gamer nephew (all of four) and his sister (all of six), I decided to review this game (as THEY wanted to play it). Was Crash Bandicoot a Saturday morning cartoon character? No, they were aware of him and the game because of advertising during Saturday morning cartoons.

I think Spyro — Legend of Ice was one of my first games for the GBA. I knew nothing about the character or franchise — but I figured anything with a purple dragon on it had to be pretty cool. I'll confess now that I didn't get all that far into my first venture with Spyro. I'm pretty sure this was about the time I had a new baby, and that took up the majority of my brain power and time.

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a chirpy little rhythm game for the Nintendo DS that brings those crazy Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon and Theodore) into the homes of a new generation of young (very young) Chipmunks fans.

Now, before I get rolling with this review, I did want to make one thing clear: This is the first GameBoy Advance game I've ever played, and I played it on my Nintendo DS Lite. I've also never played a Crash Bandicoot game before.

Ratatouille is a game roughly based on the animated movie of the same name. You are Remy the rat. You hate typical rat fare and yearn for something better. In order to improve your culinary prospects, you're going to scamper around collecting ingredients and then you're going to practice some cooking. Sound good? Let's proceed.

I find myself sitting at my keyboard, wondering if perhaps I'm just getting too old to review games that require me to mash buttons. I wonder if should give up my GameBoy Advance and PlayStation 2 days and stick to nice, simple games like MMOs on the PC. I rebel against this idea and keep trying, though, especially when a game's title catches my eye, as was the case with LarryBoy and the Bad Apple. My kids and I are huge Veggie Tales fans. We own practically every DVD that's come out, watch the show pretty faithfully on Saturday mornings and even have a few of the CDs to listen to on long car trips. So when given the chance to review a game based on LarryBoy, we were excited.

One of the hazards of getting older is that you look at current TV programs and think “They just don’t make cartoons like they used to.” At least, this happens to me and my husband. Our kids have missed out on the glory days of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn and the Chicken Hawk — all those “old” cartoons that we grew up watching Saturday morning while Mom and Dad slept in.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a Super Nintendo classic that made its way to the Game Boy Advance almost five years ago. For those who never had a chance to play it on the 16-bit system, here’s your chance. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a port with very minor changes. The biggest change is the addition of a new multiplayer game called the Four Swords, which requires multiple GBAs and game cartridges, which I don’t have. The main game is certainly worth it. To be able to travel through this top-down adventure all over again allows me to relive my childhood. I can only imagine what a treat the multi-player version must be.

I fondly remember the story of Charlotte’s Web from my childhood. It was almost enough to make me not have such a negative attitude towards spiders – it was that good. I begin my exploration of the game Charlotte’s Web with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. Will they capture the magic of the original story or will I be playing any old pig?

I started out not knowing much about Sky Dancers, so I decided to do a little online research. From what I understand, the original story is about the adventures of some teenage ballerinas that are magically changed into sky dancing superheroes by Queen Skyla in order for them to protect the Wingdom. It appears that the original cartoon series ran in 1996-1997. Just as a historical footnote, flying Sky Dancer dolls came out in 2000, and became the source of a major recall. Apparently the little dolls were launched with such speed that they turned into cute little dancing projectiles and some 150 children were injured. Ouch. In 2005, eight of the original Sky Dancer episodes were re-released on DVD. In Fall of 2005, the Sky Dancers game was also released. Even though the original cartoons came out just over a decade ago, they were obviously engaging enough to merit the reintroduction to the popular culture. I was even able to find a Sky Dancer fan fiction site with writings as recent as this year

One of my son's favorite shows on Nick Jr. is Dora the Explorer. The show is known for its simple lessons, either about life or learning, catchy songs, and colorful artwork. The show debuted in 2000, and it has been spawning games ever since. The latest of these games is Dora the Explorer: Dora's World Adventure, and is our personal favorite. It isn't easy to make a game that preschoolers can both play and enjoy independently, but this one does it successfully. Though my kindergartener says “Oh, that game is easy”, he still picks it up often to play both the story mode and the mini-games.

The Yu Gi Oh trading card game has become way more than just a card game. I honestly don't know if it started with the TV show, or the game. I'm not the huge fan that my son is, I admit it. The rule system is incredibly complex, with many cards requiring conditions before they can be used. I admit that before we had the Yu Gi Oh Beginner's Pack I would groan and usually say no to my son when he asked if I'd play a game with him. It always seemed he was making up the rule as we went along, usually to his advantage. Now, thanks to playing the Yu Gi Oh Duel Academy game on the GBA that comes with the beginner's pack, not only can I not only enjoy playing with him, I can sometimes even win a duel.

Tringo is a puzzle game that is supposed to be a combination of Tetris and Bingo. Um, okay. I guess in that the game involves different block shapes and a bingo-sized grid, that description sort of works.

I have to confess that I like watching Jake Long American Dragon, and I can’t even blame it on the child. It’s a fun cartoon. I was looking forward to trying Rise of the Huntsclan and I was not disappointed. I did not get as far along in the game as I had wanted, but I have to say I really enjoyed myself.

It’s hard to try to review your favorite game of all time, especially when this is the second “makeover” that it has received. I wasn’t too pleased with the remake bundled in Final Fantasy Chronicles since there weren’t too many interesting changes except the inclusion of a full motion video sequence at the beginning. This time, with Final Fantasy IV Advance there is a notable difference, mainly the dialogue, quicksave feature and the addition of an optional dungeon once you finish the game. This was the game that set the bar for future Final Fantasy games, as it was groundbreaking at the time. The emotional story, the fantastic music and the introduction of the active-time battle made Final Fantasy IV Advance (originally released as Final Fantasy II in the US) a memorable experience.

My kids all have enjoyed the TV Show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody since it debuted on the Disney Channel in 2005. The simple plot of the show appeals to them, and at the same time often tries to teach them good life lessons. This same successful formula was kept in for the video game, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Tipton Caper. And so the game, too, has been a hit in my home. It does require a good bit of reading, so it isn't one my kindergartener can play by himself, but with some help from a sibling or parent, even he can play this simple little adventure game.

Our story begins when Alex Rider is approached by MI6 to come and work for them. Alex, though, is not interested in being a spy. Then he is told that he will have a chance to get back at the people who killed his uncle. Once he agrees it's time to get some training in. He gets to learn how to punch, kick and throw any enemy agent he encounters. And also how to sneak past those enemy agents that may not be paying as close attention to their surroundings as they should.

In theory this game is all about helping Santa Claus (and others) save Christmas and save the North Pole from Jack Frost. I say it’s nice for a game to have goals, but if goals were reindeer then Santa could open an off-season fertilizer factory and vacation in Tahiti (work with me here).

Juka is not the type of game I normally choose to play but I thought I’d branch out and try something new. I mainly play online games like World of Warcraft and Puzzle Pirates. I like sim games. I have my handheld games for those times I just want to lounge in bed and put my feet up, but still keep gaming. For my handheld games, I like Nintendogs, Cooking Mama and Big Brain Academy.

Hammy the squirrel in the Over the Hedge movie was easily the family favorite in our house, so when we heard that a game was coming out featuring just Hammy, we were all excited. My hope had been that this would be a game that all my kids would giggle over and enjoy. Over the Hedge Hammy Goes Nuts came close to being that sort of game, but didn't quite make it for all three of my kids. There was too much reading, and too much need for strategy when playing, for my youngest, but he's only 5 so I wasn't too surprised. It is hard to make games on the GBA that are friendly to kids that young.

We’re suppose to summarize the storyline, but we feel a little silly, since just about anyone who’s interested in the game will know the story. Mermaid princess meets human prince. Mermaid trades fins for legs to keep prince. Mermaid is cheated by wicked octopus witch, but love overcomes all in the end. Oh, yeah, mermaid has flounder and crab friends and the whole thing makes an awful lot of money.

The Disney made-for-TV release Cheetah Girls 2 is a direct sequel to their popular Cheetah Girls movie of three years ago. The girls are firmly in sync with each other, and are ready to climb to new heights — specifically, the heights of Barcelona’s New Voices Competition. BVG’s The Cheetah Girls was timed to release with CG2, but it actually focuses on their work to qualify for Barcelona.

Danny Phantom is one of Nickelodeon’s newest heroes. He’s a fourteen-year-old kid with ghostly superpowers — he accidentally triggered a ghost-detecting device that his scientist parents had created, and emerged with the ability to “Go Ghost!” He can pass through walls, deliver a super-punch, and has a couple of ghost-snagging devices that can suck a ghost in and deliver it to oblivion. Danny Phantom: Urban Jungle is Danny’s latest game.

Remember those little pencil toppers you used to have in school that were a bunch of hair? The ones that when you spun them really fast in your hands the hair would go flying out everywhere? Well those things are what seem to have been the inspiration behind Trollz dollz, and now those dolls are featured in a GBA game, Trollz Hair Affair. When we first got this game, my daughter and I were rather luke-warm about playing it. She wasn't a Trollz doll fan and didn't really know anything about them. Thankfully after playing for a little while, she came to realize that Trollz are much like Bratz with magic, so she quickly became interested in the storyline of the game.

Dr. Sudoku is as advertised — a GBA game of sudoku puzzles. Lots of puzzles — 1000, plus a few slots for your own designs. (Why “Dr.”? It’s hard to tell, but it seems to have something to do with “I’ve got a fever for sudoku, and I need the Doctor!” or something of the sort.)

Last year was one of the biggest for the Star Wars franchise, seeing the end of the Star Wars Saga on the big screen. Amid all this fan fare Lego’s interpretation of the prequel movies was met by much excitement and fans weren’t disappointed. The game is beautiful with hours of enjoyments taking the player though all three of the prequel movies. Lego Star Wars is a third person action game that takes the player though from the Phantom Menace to Revenge of the Sith (Episodes 1-3), you take control of some of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe (and hated in the case of Jar Jar Binks).

Take two cups X-Com and mix in three tablespoons of Final Fantasy Tactics, and you have Namco's Rebelstar Tactical Command. If you pick up Rebelstar for yourself, you'll quickly find yourself in a world of poorly written cut scenes and a contrived storyline. However, beneath the layers of poor storytelling lies an extremely enjoyable game experience.