Go! Puzzle [PS3]

Sony's latest offering via the PlayStation Store is this collection of three puzzle games, also available separately for only a few dollars each. It's a great value, and puzzle fans of all skill levels will find something here to suit them.

Swizzle Blocks
Moving a cursor around the screen, players rotate quartets of googly-eyed cubes, trying to create groups of four or more of the same colour. This causes them to explode with an enthusiastic "yee-haw", as they make room for the next set of cubes. As the levels progress, more cubes will be added to the screen at higher speeds, making it harder to clear. There's also a great multiplayer mode, where players can undo each other's plans and trigger wacky cube modifiers.
9/10

Aquatica
The most conventional of these games, this is a solid Tetris-based title where players drop groups of three mines down onto the ocean floor, where they break apart, falling on top of the existing pieces. Lining up three or more of the same colour vertically, diagonally or horizontally clears them away. Wildcard mines that can be used as any colour, and the ability to flip the trios around as they fall make this more addictive than it would seem at first glance.
8/10

Skyscraper
This game tasks you with walking over a series of floor tiles that are the same colour. The trick is that there's usually only one way across and no backtracking allowed. To make matters worse, there's a time limit, and two separate paths you must complete to move on. This is easily the hardest of the three games to learn, but for those that stick with it, will likely be the most challenging and rewarding.
8/10

Forza Motorsport 2 [360]

Microsoft's racing simulator goes next-generation, and there isn't much for fans to be left wanting. Naturally, this update includes more true-to-life cars, customization options, racetracks, and most obviously, even prettier graphics than last time.

As before, the main event here is the Career Mode, where you choose a geographic region to determine which cars are initially available to you. As you race, you'll earn credits and increase your driver's level, which gains you access to more restricted races. There's also an Arcade Mode for those who don't want to dive in all the way at first, or would rather race offline against computer-controlled cars.
Upgrading and tuning your car is again a big part of the game, and hardcore tweakers will definitely be in their element here. There's also a layer-based decal design mode that allows for incredibly detailed custom paintjobs. After you've created a masterpiece, you can even auction it off online for game credits. Although the original Forza game looked great, the graphics are definitely a step up here. Both the cars and environments have a lot more detail and realism. The tracks are, again, mostly real world locations such as Silverstone, Suzuka, and my nemesis, Sebring. The Manhattan track around Times Square makes a return as well, featuring all the glitzy billboards you'd expect.

Only a couple of minor issues keep this game from getting a perfect score. Unfortunately, the soundtrack sounds more like record label deal-making than a selection of music that the developers actually like. The game supports the system's custom soundtrack feature though, which does help somewhat. There's also no option to have an always-on rearview mirror, which may seem minor, but it does detract from the experience to have to switch to rearview mode to see how close your opponents are. In all, it's a great racing sim though, and even casual fans will enjoy it.

9/10

Surf's Up [360]

Instead of most movie-licensed games, where players generally complete objectives to follow the established plot, Ubisoft decided on a different take here and made a surfing game that reflects the movie's action without retreading the story. The action takes place at various locations around Pen Gu Island, and features several of the movie's characters to choose from.

After a quick tutorial to show you the moves, it's time to move on to the single-player Championship mode. The main gameplay is similar to the popular Tony Hawk and SSX games, and you can perform tricks of various difficulty, including spins, grabs and grinding rails found on icebergs. You'll earn points that count toward a goal amount, and increase your energy bar as well. When the bar is full, you'll be able to enter Stoke Mode, and perform crazier tricks for bigger points. It's fairly easy to control your motion and put combos together, but will still take some time to get the timing right, making for a fair challenge. The obstacles in your path can become frustating though, as you head toward a large rock or chunk of ice and know you can't get out of the way fast enough.

The graphics look good, but there aren't many detailed backgrounds or objects except for the waves, which are well-animated and dominate the screen. The character animations are also a highlight beyond the fact that it's a penguin on a surfboard, since the tricks can get quite complicated. If there's a fault here though, it's that there just doesn't seem to be enough to it for the price. There is a multiplayer split-screen mode and an unlockable Leaf Sliding game, where your penguin slides along a type of luge or toboggan run collecting items in a race against time. The main game will likely wear thin far sooner than it should though, unless you happen to be a rather big fan of penguins.

6/10

Shadowrun [360][Vista]

Microsoft's first foray into cross-platform online play comes in the form of an adaptation of the 90's tabletop role-playing game, combining the technologies of Cyberpunk fiction with more traditional RPG fare such as Elves and Trolls while adding ancient Mayan magic to the mix. While you may be curious what kind of storyline could come from such a combination, this title is strictly multiplayer in the style of a First Person Shooter, except for a practice mode against CPU-controlled bots.

At the start of each round, players are given cash to purchase weapons, technical skills, and magic, earning more by killing enemies or healing teammates. Weapons include various guns such as rifles and miniguns and magic attacks including strangling an opponent or summoning a minion. There are also various technical abilities available that allow players to see through walls or glide in the air. This raises the possibility of a clan of sword-wielding Elves with transportation skills going up against a group of minigun-toting Dwarves, and this open-ended gameplay is what offers the most interest. You never really know what skills and weapons your opponents have until they attack. This is also the game's biggest weakness though, as the game is only as interesting and unpredictable as the players make it.

As mentioned, the game is the first to enable Games for Windows Live and crossplay with the Xbox 360. The two versions are identical, and when playing online, it's impossible to know who's on which platform. Windows gamers who prefer a keyboard and mouse may find themselves at a disadvantage though, since there are so many buttons used during gameplay; As a sidenote, the user interface and tutorial mode even assume you are using an Xbox-style controller on your PC. While it's great to see a developer take a genre like this in a somewhat new direction, the lack of a single-player game outside of the training mode and the heavy onus on finding quality players definitely weigh against it.

6/10

Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End [PS3][360]

While "Movie Games" have a reputation for being nothing more than a cash-grab, Disney's titles have generally fared better, likely for the mere reason that it's their own property being used. So is the case with this game based on the second and third Pirates of The Caribbean films. Again we have Johnny Depp's drunken swagger realistically implemented, as well as facial scans and voices of the main actors.

Naturally, you play as Jack Sparrow for most of the game, but you'll also play as Will and others at points as well, occasionally having to switch between characters to keep them all alive. The levels combine the events of the two films, and at times change elements of the story to keep things interesting and somewhat new to fans. The graphics definitely look better then expected, they even used the 3D models of Davy Jones and his crew from the films, but it's the details that are most impressive. Every level seems to have little nooks and crannies for you to explore and find some of the many collectibles, some of which unlock DVD-style extras. There are also many chances to use items like exploding barrels to make your own dramatic exits in true Jack Sparrow style.

The game does have its shortcomings though, and sadly, these are issues that have been around for years. At times there's definitely a feeling of "What am I supposed to be doing?", which can sometimes be answered by checking the logbook for objectives, but sometimes not. While the swordplay is generally excellent (and the duelling is brilliant), the camera often can't keep up when you're fighting multiple enemies, resulting in attacks from off-screen. This is quite a good time overall, and is easily on the better end of the "Movie Game" scale. The game is near identical on both consoles, with the PlayStation 3 version having a bit of motion control at times, while the Xbox 360 supports Achievements.

7/10