As the saying goes, behind every great man is a great woman with dual laser pistols. Joe's girlfriend, Sylvia, ditches the damsel in distress role this round in favor of kicking some ass alongside our boy in crimson tights. You can now toggle between the hero and heroine whenever you need to use Sylvia's unique VFX power, Replay, which lets you deal out three times the damage.
The quirky, comic-book visuals aren't as fresh as when the first game blew our minds, but they're still stylish. As with the original, punishing the onslaught of baddies you encounter in levels inspired by movies like Jurassic Park will have you screaming profanity one minute and proclaiming yourself the greatest gamer of all time, the next.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 (T) (4 stars)
Ubisoft
PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox
What a coincidence: the latest installment in the Rainbow Six 3 series has changed its name to that of an already existing franchise. OK, not really, but with its simplified squad control mechanics, this superior tactical shooter feels like an outdoorsy version of RS3 more than a sequel to the convoluted Ghost Recon.
NCAA March Madness 2005 (E) (3.5 stars)
EA Sports
PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox
Like NCAA Football 2005, March Madness lets the rowdy college kids in the stands take an active part in the game. On hostile campuses, their deafening roar will cause the screen and controller to shake. Unfortunately, the team's players are just as unruly, making the frustrating dynasty mode a continuous struggle to discipline brats.
Fight Club (M) (1.5 stars)
Vivendi Universal
PlayStation 2, Xbox
This game takes the least interesting aspects of the film and fashions them into a generic brawler with backdrops so bland they'd make David Fincher vomit and mediocre fighting that screams, "I am Jack's complete waste of time." Now, in accordance with the first two rules of Fight Club, I will stop talking about it because it isn't worth it.
Technic Beat (E) (3.5 stars)
Mastiff
PlayStation 2
Dance, platypus, dance! This odd rhythm game challenges you to keep a bizarre roster of characters in step with a series of techno jams. It can be surprisingly addictive, as long as you don't mind techno music ... or dancing duck-billed beavers.
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].