The LG MM-535 has a biggish two-inch screen that is more than adequate for cell phone games. Yet the makers of PAC-MAN PINBALL still saw fit to break up the screen into a top and a bottom. The silver ball flows down from the top section; there is an unsettling screen flicker and then you see the bottom part of the playfield where the ball often drains due to the two screens. That’s the way PC pinball games worked back in the day. It sucked then and it sucks now. Yet the game is rife with challenges, including a slot machine aspect. If you’re a pinball fan, it’s an addicting time killer, but that split screen makes about as much sense as sawing Paris Hilton in half to try to get her to two simultaneous parties.
If you’re looking for cutsie windmills or Mimi from the Coney Island Mermaid Parade as some sort of beach candy, BEACH MINI GOLF, thankfully, ain’t it. Instead, it’s a vexing challenge with some maze-like holes giving you (phew!) 10 strokes to make par. Sure, the aiming function is a little off and the psychics feel like an alien made them for Enceladus, but those things make Beach Mini Golf winsomely wilder and wackier.
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
For: PS2
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Sucker Punch
Sly is a great Playstation character, but what makes this game innovative are the included glasses which let you view certain levels in 3D. It works perfectly, and won’t make you dizzy.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
For: GameCube
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
The Zelda series will take a huge leap forward when Link actually turns into a wolf for part of the game. The trailer for this game was so moving, that one or two members of the press had tears in their eyes. (Wimps.)
50 Cent: Bulletproof
For: PS2, Xbox
Publisher: VU Games
Developer: VU Games
It wasn’t clear how great the game is from the demo I received. But all of 50 Cent’s songs are on the CD, including early works that haven’t yet been released. Beware, though. It’s a Mature-rated game, and very much deserving of that rating with all its pimps, hos, and ‘f’ and ‘n’ words.
Soul Calibur III
For: PS2
Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco
If you ask me, the Soul Calibur series is the best fighting game series ever. With its deep story mode and Tira, the pretty, new character with a scary, circular sword, this will truly be one sought after game.
King Kong
For: All platforms
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft
Everyone’s waiting for Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson to release his epic King Kong this coming December. The game, which follows the movie’s plot closely, looks superb and should bring new life to the giant ape who first came to the screen in 1933. You’ll play as both hero Jack Driscoll and rock the world as a semi-anthropomorphic ape.