KEY POINTS:
There's no shortage of fun games coming through especially for the young ones.
And let's face it after the intensity of Halo 3, Heavenly Sword and Bioshock - three of the best so far this year and all out at the same time- there are times you just want to vege out with some low intensity games.
Here are three I've been playing this week.
Spiderman:Friend or Foe
(PG: Next Level games/ Activision)
Spiderman: Friend or Foe, played on Wii, is a game built to be multiplayer from the ground up. This otherwise straightforward beat em up aimed at youngsters is enhanced by quirky humour, good visuals and did I mention fun including a raging co-op mode you can play with a mate ( to be known as your "sidekick"! )
It makes good use of Wii remotes using the nunchuks and special combo moves with sweeping attacks dependent on Wii motion and direction. Action is smooth and it reminds me of fun old-school arcade games. If only we had some more of that fun these days!
The story - for a pleasant change - is not based on any movie script. It's about meteor fragments scattered around the globe and being collected by an unknown foe which is using it to create creatures called Phantoms.
Some of Spider-Man's enemies are under mind control and helping with the process. If you defeat a character, they lose their mind control and join Spider-Man in his battle to locate and defeat a boss character, they are snapped out of their mind control and team up with Spider-Man to find the villain.
Fighting is fun too and the controls easy. "Serious gamers" may scoff but I'm in that category and I rated it for the relaxation and uncanny fun factor, the co-op, quick and smooth visuals and quick load and presentation and it doesn't take itself too seriously either!
MadGamer rating: 8 / 10
Pangya! Golf with Style
(G; Tecmo/Nintendo on Wii)
This game was apparently originally Super Swing Golf and was popular as a multiplayer online on the PC. Wii doesn't yet do online (can't wait, so please get it sorted!) so this instead hangs on the use of the versatile Wii remotes in order to have fun playing golf. We've already tasted golf on Wii Sports, the games compendium that came with the console and was our first introduction to the Wii.
Golf on Wii Sports is easy and low key enough for even grandma to try at the family birthday party but this time golf goes serious for those who really worry about mastering the elements of the game.
First you line up your shot with the D-pad and choose your club. Once you're all set up you'll press the trigger underneath the Wii remote to start your swing. Once you do so a power meter will appear that looks much like any power meter from any other golf game.
The genius of this game is in the golf club swing. You hold the remote in both hands and as you raise it you see a meter on the screen indicating how powerful your swing will be. Hold down the A button and swing away, easy.
Yeah, that sounds simple as .. but the success of your swing is dependent not so much on luck as the Wii sports seemed to be but on your timing and accuracy.
This time you really have to concentrate on your aim, make a smooth swing, adjust for things like wind that can send your ball off direction and be neither too soft nor too hard with your swing.
But this also comes with a story - it isn't just a golf sim. The island where you play is full of people who aren't your average Tiger Woods.
They have special powers but not as sports-talented geniuses. Looking like witches or pirates and the like that have special powers and can do things with their swings that Tiger could only imagine in his wildest dreams!
So the story may put off hardcore golfers just wanting to sharpen their skills while the mechanics behind the golf playing may cause non-golf lovers a little more effort than they wish. It's actually a good compromise. And it's kind of cute as you'd imagine from Nintendo so by the end of a session, your arms will feel you've had a good workout and you're entertained by the competitive rivalry of characters.
MadGamer rating: 6.5 / 10
Disney's Ratatouille
(G, THQ, on Xbox 360)
Loosely based on the popular school holiday box-office movie success, this is a simple action adventure platformer for kids starring Remy the French rat. If you have seen the movie, you'll know it's the tale of Remy's dreams of being a master chef and his taste in food which is not the usual garbage scraps but something spicier, more exotic, like explosive chilli peppers.
The game is not so much about cooking thrills but your basic platformer packaged with lots of mini games and humour.
You know the usual thing: you thrash boxes with your tail, squish bugs with the odd beach ball, walk the tightrope and catapult yourself from place to place unlocking objects with special activity sequences - and parachuting is my favourite.
Yep, all of that is pretty much second nature by now. Mini games are light fun too - killing insects and fish and building things and so on. Some of the objectives are unclear even when prompting for them with the 'what do I do?' rat sense.
Formulaic and repetitive perhaps but kids will enjoy the bright visuals and the fun running away from shotguns and knives wielded by chefs and crazy grandmas.
MadGamer rating: 7 / 10
