BOOGIE (E10+)
Rating: **
Electronic Arts Wii
A platformer video game would probably be a lot more exciting and immersive if you had to physically hop in the air in the real world every time you wanted your avatar to do the same onscreen. Of course, no one will ever do this because a simple press of the A button will suffice. Herein lies the flaw of Boogie. If the game could actually make you dance and sing as it intended, it could be a fun and challenging distraction. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to do the motion control equivalent of pressing the A button. Dance moves register by waving the Wii-mote left, right, up and down. So stand still and do the Catholic sign of the cross a few times, and you’ve beaten a level.
The karaoke portions are no more riveting, since the pitch meter seems to have been programmed to accommodate even the very worst of the tone deaf. If you make noise -- any noise at all -- you’ll pass the song. A kid could simply throw a loud tantrum while holding the Wii remote and win this game. And if you’re mean enough to make a kid play this bore, you’re likely to inspire that tantrum.
SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: PERSONA 3 (M)
Rating: ****
Atlus PlayStation 2
While still fairly obscure in the Western Hemisphere, the Shin Megami Tensei series consistently delivers some of the most mature, complex and…well, dark RPG gameplay you’re likely to find anywhere. Persona 3 even ups the darkness factor by having your characters summon their stat-heavy battle “personas” by shooting themselves in the head. Ironically, Shin Megami Tensei is one of the few game franchises where the umpteenth entry doesn’t make me want to shoot myself in the head.
HEROES OF MANA (E10+)
Rating: **
Square Enix Nintendo DS
The Secret of Mana for the Super Nintendo was an unassailably awesome game. Whatever made it great, however, is truly secret, and no game developer has figured it out since. This latest Real-time Strategy incarnation of the series is frustrating beyond repair. You’ll target your armies at distant enemies but by the time they arrive there your rivals will have long since departed, leaving your forces to stand idly by like morons. You can almost hear the enemy soldiers laughing.
JEANNE D’ARC (T)
Rating: ****1/2
Sony Computer Entertainment PlayStation Portable
Wow. Feast your eyes on what is easily the prettiest and best handheld role-playing game I’ve played since Fire Emblem hit GameBoy Advance. This retelling of the story of Joan of Arc (albeit with elves and other examples of creative license) will make you fall in love with its characters the way only a great RPG can. The battles are daunting, so the passing of each grid-based level is accompanied by an incredible sense of accomplishment.
When Las Vegas Weekly contributor Matthew Scott Hunter realized his career as a lab technician was seriously interfering with his gaming, he pink-slipped himself into a successful career as a freelance writer. Bug the hell out of him at [email protected]