Format: Wii | Genre: Platformer | Publisher: Nintendo | Developer: Nintendo | Release Date: 25/02/2011 | Price: £39.99

She can’t knit but Jennifer Allen has plenty of fun with KIRBY’S EPIC YARN.

SOME GAMES offer a huge challenge, tormenting you with a vicious difficulty curve or a control system that needs hundreds of hours invested before you finally master it. It’s all well and good. There should be games for everyone and there’s certainly a market for the masochistic gamer. In recent years, Demon’s Souls and the Ninja Gaiden series have ably demonstrated this. For the Wii, Donkey Kong Country Returns reminded gamers just what an old school challenge could feel like. Kirby’s Epic Yarn is the antithesis of this offering hardly any hardship whatsoever. There’s no sign of the experience being degraded in any way though, instead Kirby’s Epic Yarn is as gleefully wondrous as Donkey Kong Country Returns. Even if it is a comparatively brief experience.

Poor Kirby has lost his abilities to inhale or swallow enemies thanks to being turned into yarn by the evil Yin-Yarn. Told via a kindly voiceover and a storybook, it’s immediately apparent that Kirby’s Epic Yarn is an ideal game to play alongside children. That’s not to say that it isn’t extremely entertaining for fans of 2D platformers of old though. There’s no sign of arguably gimmicky motion controls here with the Wii remote held sideways and functioning as a NES style controller. Older gamers will feel immediately in their element.

What a yarn

The main mechanics within the game focus on yarn and unravelling things. A tap of one button allows you to whip your foes thus unravelling them, or you can hold the button down turning the enemy into a ball of yarn ready to fling at anything you want. Otherwise you’ll mostly be jumping around, using your whip attack to grab onto things to swing across or to unleash new items to collect. The sheer ingenuity of Kirby’s Epic Yarn emerges when it comes to the various breaks between the conventional platforming action. At numerous points in the game, there’s the opportunity to transform into something entirely different. Sometimes you’ll be a UFO flying through the air, or a surfing penguin or a tank. It’s varied indeed and so is the action that you undertake in these roles. The tank is a simple matter of blowing up everything in your path, but then there’s the space ship that invokes a Kirby themed Space Invaders game and the racing sequence in which you have to outdrive your opponents. Some of these levels require the use of the motion controller such as to tilt a firehose from the fire truck to douse fire. It’s always understated though and now feels obtrusive to the traditional action throughout the rest of the game.

It’s all simple to figure out and as you’d expect from a Nintendo title, the level design is spot on, easing you in gently. It’s never a hard game by any means but Kirby’s Epic Yarn is clearly a game designed for those who haven’t really played a platformer before. For the more experienced player however, there’s more point to it than just completing the level. There’s a plethora of treasures and unlockables to attain, such as furniture and musical tracks for each stage. You can also gain gold medals for collecting plenty of beads (akin to Sonic’s rings) in each level. It’s a small bonus but when you’re busy smiling throughout the game, you’ll want to go back and perfect it all. The musical tracks are a particular delight to attain as the score throughout Kirby’s Epic Yarn is something special. Charming is an overused word but it’s the perfect word to describe this music.

Continues…

Format: PS3/Xbox 360/Wii | Genre: Platformer | Publisher: THQ | Developer: Blue Tongue | Release Date: 25/02/2011 | Price: £39.99

Brendan Caldwell gets colourful with DE BLOB 2.

AND LO, on the eighth day, Blob said, “Let there be colour.” And the world filled with a vibrant mix of reds, blues and yellows. And Blob saw it, and he deemed it better than average.

That’s a quote from the Blobspel. I hope you don’t doubt it, dear reader. It’s mostly accurate. This here de Blob 2 is delightful for the most part. Let me break it down for you. Straight outta the mouth of Funkmaster B. That’s right, I’m talking like this. Don’t try and stop me. I have momentum, biznitch.

After defeating Comrade Black in the first game, Blob and friendly “sass-bot” Pinky (yes, I know) are called on to do it all over again.

Comrade Black is a monochrome ink-stain ‘pon the planet. A tiny, ruthless dictator. He wants everything in black and white. It is not explained why. Perhaps because profile pictures look more stylish that way. It’s up to Blob and his friends in the Colour Underground to paint everything and return colour to Prisma City.

Artistry

You do this by dipping into pools of colour and smearing yourself all over buildings. In any civilised society, such behaviour would not be encouraged. And in fact, in Prisma City, it is equally unlawful. Guards of various power and ability, called Inkies, will try to stop you from doing so, squinting and swinging their truncheons around. The adorable Israeli border guards to your gelatinous, multicoloured Banksy.

By slamming into paintbots – spider-like containers of colour that scurry around – you can mix red, blue and yellow into secondary colours. Any basic colour combination you didn’t learn in art and design class will soon be firmly plastered to your brain.

The platforming itself is very basic. Jump from one place to the other, brightening the world up and stomping on baddies as you go. The joy comes not through progression, not through jumping from one futuristic cruise ship to another. It comes through the sound of jumping. The notes of a flat surface. The music of progress.

Each colour has an instrument mapped to it, you see. Every time you touch something as a certain colour and paint it in, the instrument plays a little ditty. It is the philosophy of synaesthesia based twin stick shmups like Everyday Shooter, applied to the platforming genre.

Mr Blobby

The result is a bewildered and smile-raising mix. Jazz and funk and action and colour. You hurtle over bridges as a yellow ball of trumpet. You reel across rooftops as a red spatter of saxophone. You scratch along walls as a brown blob of turntable. With such free-form music, you’d expect it to sometimes sound jarring. Oddly, it rarely does.

The backing track and style of music shift with each level. Some are more interesting and catchy than others. But it usually adheres to a particular genre. The genre of Funking Awesome.

The movement of Blob (and in particular his unenthusiastic jump) is not always as fluid. You can “wall-run” for a small amount of time but it is mapped to the same button as jump. The same button is also used for activating side missions. This makes Blob a sad Blob. With some extra streamlining de Blob 2 could have been the perfect mix of Sonic Adventure blue and Jet Set Radio red. A sort of Jet Sonic Radio purple. At the moment there is slightly too much blue. Not enough funky, funky red.

What? Hey listen, if you don’t enjoy the feel of Jet Set Radio, then you and I are going to be having some creative differences right up in heah. So, yeah. Quietness or whatever.

Continues…

Obvious Jokes Inc brings you the UK games charts just because

HERE AT Obvious Jokes Inc we take pride in what we do. Sometimes we are ashamed. But that only happens at the weekend, when we aren’t feverishly working on fantastic puns. Call it the guilt of modern life.

But we are good at what we do. That’s why we’ll be with you, always and forever (for the next couple of weeks).

Moving on.

Call of Duty: Black Ops lights up like a Cuban cigar/missile and rockets to first place, up from number four.

New entry Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds sucker-punches its way into second place, knocking Dead Space 2 out of an airlock and into third place (running out of space-themed jokes at this juncture).

Test Drive Unlimited 2 has taken a pit stop at fourth, where it will undoubtedly spill petrol everywhere and everyone will get wonky off the fumes.

Meanwhile FIFA 11 has punched the referee then been embroiled in any number of money/sexism/racism PR disasters thanks to the stalwart reporting of News of the Fake World. It’s in fifth place in the charts.

The top ten:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops
2. Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
3. Dead Space 2
4. Test Drive Unlimited 2
5. FIFA 11
6. Just Dance 2
7. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
8. Mario Vs Donkey Kong: Mini-land Mayhem!
9. Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition
10. LittleBigPlanet 2

Brendy Caldwell

Format: Wii | Genre: Sports | Publisher: Nintendo | Developer: Nintendo | Release date: 4/02/2011| Price: £34.99

Greg Giddens kidnaps some ‘friends’ and plays countless matches in four frantic and exciting sports in MARIO SPORTS MIX.

THERE’S SOMETHING undeniably charming about Mario Sports Mix. Perhaps it’s the bright, welcoming colour palette or the Mushroom Kingdom itself; almost glowing in colour, warmth and cute characters. Or perhaps it’s witnessing Yoshi get pissed off to an incredible degree. Enough in fact to strike a puck straight down the ice from the other end of the Hockey rink to score, or even watching the unfathomable slam dunk from a Toad or Toadette. Whichever insane action, ridiculous matchup or devastating sporting defeat that you witness, charm is never in short supply.

More charming than an English gentleman

Mario Sports Mix profits from this charm greatly. The whole experience raises a smile with its aesthetic and arcade mechanics. The sports ain’t bad either. Basketball, Ice Hockey, Dodgeball and Volleyball are all available to you.  And whilst each has their obvious rule differences, the style of play is consistent. Simple controls allow you to pass, shoot and tackle with quick button presses or flicks of the wrist. Whilst special combination moves involving your entire team, and even super moves, allow for constant shifts in the momentum of a game which can drastically alter the scoreboard. The result is a frantic but fun experience with minimal frustration. In fact it’s one of the least competitive sporting games you’re likely to play. It’s a lot less about making great passes and scoring incredible goals, and a lot more about enjoying the spectacle of Bowser and Mario teaming up with your Mii against an equally unlikely team, and just having a blast.

Additional mechanics cement the arcade feel. Environment objects such as trains speeding through the pitch, turntables spinning you round and water moving the platforms, make each stadium dynamic and interesting. As well as power-up collectibles such as shells to chuck at the opposition, shrinking mushrooms, and better yet, coins. The coins you collect are added to your score the next time you score a point, meaning a deficit of 10 can easily be turned around with one more goal. Coming back from a sizeable deficit to beat an opponent is one hell of an experience, let me tell you. The look on your opponent’s face as you turn to them and grin is just magic. Each game can’t help but be incredibly dynamic and it results in crazy fun with a high emphasis on the crazy.

Mario and Lu…me

You can choose either Mii characters or from a roster of Mario characters with the odd Square characters – once unlocked – to start in your team. Then it’s off to the stadium of your choosing, from a decent selection, to wage sporting war against the AI or friends. Up to four players can play locally with two teams or up to two players locally can go online against two other players for online matches – in a similar setup to Halo. With another player or two Mario Sports Mix is laugh out loud fun, and the ability to play online with another player locally is an excellent option that I can’t stress how much I want to see in other games. Unfortunately the singleplayer aspect suffers to capture the same magic.

Whether you play tournament mode or one-off exhibition matches, in any of the games, the AI will fail to put up a fight on normal. Raise the difficulty and sure, the challenge increases but there’s nothing fulfilling about the matchup and you’ll find victory far often than they do. It’s very much geared-up for multiplayer and the excitement and enjoyment simply isn’t there on your own. There are a few mini games you can play in addition to the sports that can pass some time but replay is severely limited without multiplayer.

Mario Sports mix is, for the most part, a hit. The arcade sports package is varied, fun and dynamic but it’s almost entirely dependent on the multiplayer element. Find a willing friend or two and prepare for fun and laughs but if you’re more of a lone wolf then this is one to avoid.

7/10

What does this score mean?

Format: Wii | Genre: Mini game compilation | Publisher: Nordcurrent | Developer: Nordcurrent | Release date: 19/11/2010 | Price: £19.99

Jennifer Allen learns just how many sub par mini games you can fit onto one Wii disc with 101-in-1 SPORTS PARTY MEGAMIX.

THERE’S ONE specific phrase that rolls around your head time and time again while playing 101-in-1 Sports Party Megamix: quality over quantity. It’s not in the good way though. Instead I’m thinking of it and then thinking ’so why on earth has this game focused on quantity instead?!’ While there are a precious few quite enjoyable mini games in this collection, the overwhelming majority are obtusely difficult or confusingly explained. And ugly. Mustn’t forget the ugliness. While I had to play through as much of the game as possible, I’ve no doubt that the average person who plays games purely for fun (you lucky sods you) will cast 101-in-1 Sports Party Megamix aside faster than you can say, well, the title of the game.

Mini game collections as a genre tend to be rather patchy admittedly. Even the hugely enjoyable WarioWare: Smooth Moves suffers from the odd damp squib; it’s just to be expected. In the case of 101-in-1 Sports Party Megamix, it’s almost all damp squibs and very little fun to be had.

So many sports, so little…

Upon first playing the game, 12 different mini games are available with a couple of new ones unlocked after completing each game. In itself this is a slight problem as for the average family of non-gamers, they might never actually see all 101 minigames. They’re also a very, very mixed bag. Each event has a tenuous link to a sport from archery contests to rock climbing and sumo wrestling. Almost none of them are as exciting as they sound. An early rock climbing game feels almost impossible to win at thanks to ridiculously good CPU AI. In juxtaposition to that however are games that are extremely easy to win at such as where you have to rugby tackle the opposition or bounce them out of the ring, bizarre Sumo wrestling style (assuming all Sumo wrestlers wrestle on ice). It’s all a bit odd just how much the game swings wildly from easy to frustratingly hard. This isn’t helped by the frequently unresponsive controls but at least many of the games simply require shaking the nunchuk or remote. Ones that require accurate clicks are a tad more annoying though.

One particular game involved throwing axes at a swaying bullseye. Maybe I’m just rubbish but no matter how carefully I lined up the shot, I missed every single time. Maybe it was just that I was missing a necessary instruction, 101-in-1 Sports Party Megamix isn’t a game overly fussed about explaining everything to each mini game. Instead you’ll find yourself coming across situations that you’re not prepared for. Basic instructions are there but in some stages you’ll come across bars or other HUD elements that don’t make as much sense as they think they do. Other games such as the sack race provide overcomplicated instructions when in reality you can get by simply through waggling the nunchuk and Wii remote as fast as possible.

Beat it

There’s also the fact that you have to not only beat your opponents but also score over 2000 points in most games, something that’s often much harder to do than you’d think. Kids in particular will find the constant moving of goal posts infuriating. They’ll quickly question why you have to complete both objectives not just the typical ‘defeat player x’ method.

Crucially this all doesn’t make for a very entertaining experience in a party environment which is surely the most important place for any mini game collection to shine. This is accentuated by the multiplayer frequently feeling chaotically messy with cursors flying all over the place. Throw in a very ugly frontend and minimalist structure overall (no ability to play as your own Mii, really Nordcurrent?), there just doesn’t feel any real need to play this. Sure it’s a budget release but when you factor in price variations online, it’s not such a great deal. At the time of writing you can buy the Rabbids Triple Pack for £10 on Amazon or you can buy this for £13. It’s not hard to know what game you should be buying.

2/10

What does this score mean?

Format: Wii | Genre: Platformer | Publisher: Disney Interactive | Developer: Junction Point | Release date: 26/11/2010 | Price: £34.99

Greg Giddens takes on the return of Mickey Mouse in EPIC MICKEY.

EPIC MICKEY is so rigidly average it’s almost impressive. There are high and counter low points throughout that never allow you to completely surrender yourself to its undeniable charm, which is a shame really. Mickey has been absent as the main character in a game for some time now and this could have been the stage for a dramatic comeback, but instead it barely keeps the memory of our anthropomorphic mouse alive.

Epic Mickey attempts to introduce an edgier version of Mickey than we’re used to, and this is set up by the disaster that befalls the game world being all his fault. Fittingly Mickey finds himself stuck in a land for forgotten Disney characters which mirrors The Magical Kingdom. It’s a world brought to life through magic paint by a sorcerer before Mickey, on a trip to cause mischief, spills paint thinner all over the place and sets the stage for the beginning of the end for this forgotten sanctuary. The edgier Mickey is further explored through several moral choices you must make throughout the narrative. For the most part however, the choice – at the time at least – seems inconsequential; whichever person you help seems to be genuinely good so there isn’t really a right or wrong option. It becomes more apparent after making your choice who the arbitrarily designated good and bad characters are, and a couple of other choices and environment interaction options – dropping a safe on an unsuspecting character for example – are more obvious but the majority don’t feel any edgier for our good hearted mouse.

Beauty and the Beast

Additionally the way you deal with enemies is a moral choice. Your weapon is a magic paint brush that can shoot paint and thinner, and with this world being a painted creation you can interact with the environment and enemies with it. By using thinner you destroy enemies and wash away environmental objects, and with the paint you turn enemies to your side and fill in elements in the environment. The good option for dealing with enemies is turning them to your side, although brain washing is hardly a victimless option so perhaps this is another element of Mickey’s edgier self. Using paint and thinner is a unique way of interacting with the world and is used to great effect in exploration, puzzle solving and combat. It really gets you thinking about what options are available to you, remove the floor to deal with enemies perhaps or turn a few to your cause and let them fight it out with what’s left whilst you continue to explore. You find you can’t get through the door to this building so you remove the roof with thinner; the choice is yours. Unfortunately it becomes apparent early on that there are significant limitations with what you can interact with.

Environmental objects that can be interacted with are coloured brightly if already painted and are a ghostly shadow if thinned out, so not everything can be manipulated. It still provides options for you to explore but whilst still maintaining control and keeping you on a linear path of progression. In fact, despite the illusion of open environments, Epic Mickey is a linear adventure. Each stage requires mild exploration for hidden and hard to get to items and there are some options to approach completing each stage in a slightly different manner, but they remain small areas to explore, even a little crowded at times, and the goal is always to escape the stage through the magic film projector. Once through the projector you need to traverse a short 2D platforming level to reach the next proper stage, with each of these transition levels imitating a different Disney theme of film. They’re initially interesting but soon grate from the sheer amount you need to run through.

Continues…

Format: Wii | Genre: Game show | Publisher: THQ | Developer: THQ | Release date: 02/11/2010 | Price: £19.99

Jennifer Allen doesn’t know what words to use with WHEEL OF FORTUNE.

IT’S DIFFICULT to know what to say about Wheel of Fortune. It’s Wheel of Fortune after all, the game with Nicky wotsit or John Leslie (depending on when you watched it) where contestants have to attempt to solve simple word based puzzles via spinning a wheel. It’s a fundistraction on the TV if you’ve got a spare five minutes and nothing better to do, but that’s about it really. It’s not a classic, it’s just always there. Wheel of Fortune on the Wii is a bit like this – it’s nothing amazing by any means but if you’re in need of a casual family game over Christmas, it serves the purpose and at a rather low price too.

Of course, you know all about American culture right? What? You don’t? Then Wheel of Fortune won’t be quite as good as it could have been ifthere’d been adequate localisation in effect. All the answers are geared towards the US market you see. I’m not bad at knowing about things across the pond but I fear my older relatives might be a tad stumped at times. It also means that there’s no sign of John Leslie or Nicky Aarghwhatishisname. Instead there’s Pat Sajak and Vanna White – yeah those well known household name people. It does take the shine off things a little admittedly.

Wheel of Average

You can play Wheel of Fortune alone (why?!) or with up to 3 other players. Annoyingly you need a remote for each player as there’s no pass around play option, unlike so many other games of this ilk. Still, the supposed 8,000 different answers means you won’t be seeing any repeat questions for a while – something that can stop a quiz game dead in its tracks. Excusing the yank-centric answers, Wheel of Fortune does provide some simple fun and everyone likes solving simple word puzzles, right?

Besides the regular Wheel of Fortune type gameplay, there’s a few mini games or – as the game likes to call them – ‘commercial breaks’. They still comprise of word based puzzles though, which feels like a missed opportunity as it would have been nice to see a bit of variety. To give players a bit more impetus to keep playing, costumes and new backdrops can be unlocked which is something at least.

Controls are simple to get to grips with and there’s also the novel approach of including Wii Speak support. I haven’t got Wii Speak so couldn’t test it, but from things I’ve heard via other reviewers, it works reasonably well although seems to demand a bit of an American accent for true recognition.

Wheel of Fortune is never anything more than a budget title. Not surprising really considering the subject matter. It’ll make for a mindless distraction on Christmas Day but odds are you won’t bother playing it again. It’s just not interesting enough. Maybe if you were American though. You’d probably think it was swell then.

3/10

What does this score mean?

Format: Xbox 360/PS3/Wii/DS/PSP | Genre: Platformer | Publisher: THQ | Developer: THQ | Release date: 02/11/2010 | Price: £39.99

Jennifer Allen forgets everything with MEGAMIND: ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN.

EVERYONE HAS a guilty pleasure – mine are film tie-in games, especially ones based on animated films. This immediately nullifies any attempts by myself to be a critic worth listening to, I know. I’m sure the finest intellectual minds secretly adore a dose of Arnie or a Dan Brown novel every once in a while though, right? I approached Megamind: Ultimate Showdown hoping for a very guilty pleasure. I was disappointed. Not because it’s terrible but simply because it’s so immediately forgettable.

Megamind: Ultimate Showdown makes a crucial mistake for a film tie-in game, it’s a continuation of the storyline portrayed in the film. You see 93%* of people who purchase film tie-in games just want to relive what they just saw on the big screen. They don’t want anything more clever than that. Case in point, I bought Iron Man 2 very cheaply simply because I wanted to ’see’ the film again with some interactive elements. I got an entirely different, and utterly awful, experience instead. Megamind: Ultimate Showdown doesn’t suffer from this problem – it’s an OK game, a game so utterly average that it’s dull – but it’s difficult to not feel disappointed by the ‘new’ and inferior story.

Seemingly the most popular genre for a game for kids, Megamind: Ultimate Showdown is a platformer – a genre that’s been used for games of this type for longer than I can remember. You play Megamind as he leaps and bounds around a series of levels, all as generic as the last. Said jumping is floaty, and thus not perfect, but it’s adequate. Adequate is a lovely word for Megamind really. Each level is exceptionally linear and not very long at all, but they’re adequate. The challenge is non-existent for an adult but adequate for a child and the basic puzzle elements? Yup, adequate too.

Dehydrated

To mix things up ever so slightly, Megamind has a few different weapons at his disposal – a basic laser gun, a gun that can dehydrate both enemies and objects, a tesla glove that causes bursts of electricity to go flying around the area, and an air blower gun which is much more useful than it sounds. There’s no real flexibility though, each puzzle requires a set gun and the guns are always available. Backtracking is never needed, something which is welcomed.

In between each level, you’re returned to a central hub – Megamind’s lair. It’s not as interesting as it sounds, but you can upgrade your weapons there which at least makes you feel like you’re doing something. Boss battles provide brief distractions from the regular level format. Again, they’re not overly challenging but they’re functional enough. A scattering of forgettable mini games also exist once you unlock them via the main game.

Everything about Megamind exudes averageness. It only took me around 4 hours to complete. That’s 100% complete too, with all achievements gained also. It was all fine though. I wasn’t overly bored but nor was it a memorable experience by any means. It felt thoroughly disposable – the sort of game I’d struggle to remember a matter of hours later if it wasn’t for the fact that I needed to write this. Maybe if you’re under 10, you’ll be impressed. No one else will be though, they won’t remember it long enough to have an opinion.

3/10

What does this score mean?

*This figure might not be strictly accurate.

Format: Xbox 360/PS3/Wii/DS | Genre: Beat ‘em up | Publisher: THQ | Developer: Griptonite | Release date: 16/11/2010 | Price: £29.99

Jennifer Allen dons a cape with MARVEL SUPER HERO SQUAD: THE INFINITY GAUNTLET.

I’M A wannabe comic book nerd. Juggling obsessions with games, films and comic books is rather difficult if you ever hope to sleep once in a while, so comic books have dropped into the background of my interests. Fortunately, both gaming and films give me plenty of opportunities to jump back into my love of all things DC and Marvel. Having spent a childhood getting up excitedly on a Saturday morning to see the Marvel Action Hour, I suspect I’d have loved Marvel Super Hero Squad if it had been around when I was a child. It’d certainly be the case if Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet is anything to go by.

Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet plays like a cross between a Lego game and Marvel Ultimate Alliance – a rather ignored hack ‘n’ slash/Diablo style clone. It’s extraordinarily simplistic to play through. You and one other character (either AI controlled or a pal via drop in co-op play) roam around a level beating up cutesy enemies and solving simple puzzles. All the characters are squashed down in a rather sweet manner. The Hulk looks cute enough to put in your pocket. Each pint sized hero doles out their own brand of cheesy humour perfectly pitched at a young audience. It’s difficult not to smirk at a few lines though, especially with the spot on characterisation of each of the characters. Iron Man might not quite be as quick witted as the likes of Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal but he’ll quickly establish himself as a favourite amongst kids.

Heroic collecting

Completing levels doesn’t take a huge deal of time thanks to simple puzzles and easy combat. Controls are simple with one button for punching, one for blocking and one for a special attack. Each character offers their own unique ability which can help you get to areas that others can’t manage to reach. Much like the Lego games that The Infinity Gauntlet so closely models, you can return to levels via freeplay to unlock extras and other bits and pieces. Further longevity is provided via heroic feats such as ‘collect a certain number of x fragments’ or ‘knock over y number of pillars’ which gives completionists a reason to keep on playing.

Besides the story mode, which offers a significant chunk of fun, there’s a challenge mode – minigames essentially. This is the mode you’ll be leaving your offspring in front of as, for the most part, it offers simple things like smash everything in sight before the other player can do it first. It’s decent enough fun though, and considering the budget price tag attached to The Infinity Gauntlet, it’s a nice bonus.

Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet feels like an ideal Christmas purchase for those with young children, nieces, nephews, cousins and so forth. It’s not the longest game by any means and it probably won’t be played for very long after Christmas. It is, however, perfect for all the family. Newbies can jump in without much difficulty and experienced gamers will find some enjoyment in it, especially if they like all things Marvel. Plus, once the kids have got the hang of the game, they’ll be fine to leave playing it so as to get everything possible out of it. Some games are for life while others are just for Christmas – each are as equally important in their own way.

6/10

What does this score mean?

Format: Wii | Genre: Turn-Based Strategy | Publisher: THQ | Developer: Team17 | Release date: 26/11/2010 | Price: £19.99

Greg Giddens takes his army of worms to war once again in WORMS BATTLE ISLANDS.

WORMS BATTLE Island is – much like the other recent Worms releases –  just a slightly different take on the same old premise. That’s not to say it isn’t fun though, it’s just slightly lacking in originality, and if you already own a Worms titles then Battle Islands isn’t likely to encourage you to part with more cash. However, the platform gives it an edge this time round as the Wii has been missing Worms action for a few years now.

On the surface it’s back to basics for Worms. The SNES style of holding the controller is the default setup and is certainly the best choice, the weapons are familiar from previous iterations, and the challenges and campaign mode return, pitting you against differing levels of AI controlled teams and presenting some objectives and time based obstacles to overcome. Dig a little deeper and a few new additions show their faces,primarily the battle islands each team holds. These islands act as the base for each team and through victories you can upgrade elements within it. The result of upgrading is special abilities to use at the beginning of a match. You can steal weapons from the opposition, reinforce your starting weapons, and even parachute your worms on to the map in positions of your choosing. As each ability is upgraded it becomes more useful against the opposition, for example allowing you to start with more powerful weapons. It’s an addition intended to shake up the traditional game mode, but in practice it fails to change anything substantially. The AI can use the same abilities and often counters the ones you use, and against human opponents locally they can see what you’ve done and counter just as easily. Still, it adds something different to the mix at least; just don’t expect it to be a game changer.

A mode for any mood

The multiplayer and customised matches allow up to four players – human or a mixture of AI – to battle it out in several different modes, many of which  have been seen before in some form or another. The standard Deathmatch mode is of course available as well as: Triathlon which consists of two standard battles and a ninja rope race over 3 laps, Race which consists of either ninja rope or jetpack races through underground passages, and Forts and Tactics which standout as the most original. Forts is designed for two players with each starting on an outcrop of land cut-off from each other, flinging projectiles until one team is eliminated. It keeps the fight as a long ranged affair and rewards accuracy, putting it apart from many of the other modes. The second stand-out mode is Tactics, which allows the use of the battle islands and the abilities each grant. Additionally, you can take the fight online. Friend codes are still required for private matches, but the quick match mode lives up to its name and allows you to jump into a lobby and starting playing in no time at all. It’s one of the easier Wii online modes to setup and get involved with.

Customisation also plays a big part in Worms Battle Islands. The usual changing of voices and tomb stones is available as well as the ability to customise game modes to a large degree. On top of this you can unlock various accessories for you worms, such as hats. It may sound silly on the surface but it’s surprisingly rewarding to unlock these additions, and it soon becomes apparent that there are a great deal of additional voices, victory animations, tomb stones and accessories to unlock, keeping you busy for hours.

Whilst the battle islands provide something a bit new, the experience still remains the same. The abilities the battle islands grant neither benefit or demean the classic Worms setup, it’s still the Worms we all know and love. Having a modern Wii version is a treat, but the original charm is fading fast and, despite huge customisation options, it’s still a predictable title.

7/10

What does this score mean?