VIDEO GAMES: British Hooligans are No Fun

Gangs of London throws in a plethora of other ethnic stereotypes as well. In addition to your typical Brit hooligans, you can play as the Asian triads or the militaristic Russians, or a couple of others. The gangs are all supposed to have varying strengths and weaknesses, but they're not easily discernible, and no matter which band of lowlifes you ultimately choose, each gang war is filled with the exact same missions, each as drab and depressing as the London sky. Third-person-shooting segments have an infuriatingly ineffective control scheme, and the driving missions are a haphazard affair at best. This all adds up to a game that is utter bollocks (that's cockney for nonsense, among other things).

VALKYRIE PROFILE 2: SILMERIA BY SQUARE ENIX (4 stars)
Platform: PlayStation 2.
Rated: T.

The rebirth of Square's cult-classic Valkyrie Profile series is a love letter to RPG fans. With graphics that rival Final Fantasy, a combination of 2D side-scrolling with 3D battles and a unique story based on the Japanese take on Norse mythology, Silmeria offers a fresh and exhilarating quest. The difficulty gears up abruptly, but level up fast and you'll guide your schizophrenic heroine and her motley crew to victory.

NBA 2K7 BY 2K SPORTS (3 1/2 stars)
Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Xbox.
Rated: E.

In accordance with the latest sports-game trend, NBA 2K7's greatest foul is simply its lack of evolution. 2K Sports seems to be saving those visual leaps in fluid player animations and realistic basketball court reflections for the next generation consoles. 2K7 has its predecessor's solid game play foundation, but a few tweaks in A.I. would've been appreciated. C'mon—no one can score a dozen three-pointers in a row.

OPEN SEASON BY UBISOFT (2 stars)
Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube.
Rated: E.

It appears that even mediocre animated flicks get their own video game tie-ins now. Ubisoft didn't have much to work with, but that's no excuse for another repetitive exercise in fetch quests rendered in dated graphics. Despite all of its failure