Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow (M) (4 stars)
Ubisoft
Xbox
Despite the numbers in the title, this is actually the second game of this series released on a home console. Like the last Rainbow Six 3, Black Arrow is a tactical, squad-based shooter with a superb multiplayer, destined to lead to countless hours of sweeping rooms for tangos and rescuing squatting hostages.
More of an expansion than a reinvention, Black Arrow screens out many of the annoyances from the original. Lazy gamers can no longer enjoy the virtual invincibility that used to come with leaning around corners to casually gun down terrorists. Now, when you've successfully navigated your squad through a level thanks to strategy and trial and error, you really feel like a badass.
Players who still prefer visceral madness to intellectual combat can unlock the Lone Rush versions of each level, which call for you to race alone against the timer with guns-a-blazin'—just as nature intended.
Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Games (E) (3.5 stars)
Nintendo
GameBoy Advance
Although the Olympics have only just begun, you've probably already noticed the overwhelming lack of events involving hamsters. Hamtaro and his adorable friends are here to right that wrong, participating in a wide range of mini-games in this cutesy RPG. But don't let their cuddly appearances fool you—these athletic quadrupeds are playing some impressively challenging games. Be ready for a lot of practice before you go for the gold, because this title doesn't include steroids.
Galleon: Islands of Mystery (T) (3 stars)
Atlus
Xbox
Galleon is quite possibly the best adventure platformer to come out in 1997. But wait ... it isn't 1997. It's 2004, and this title feels prehistoric by today's standards. The graphics are among the worst I've seen on Xbox, but many of the game concepts in this seafaring adventure are undeniably fun. Characters are memorable, the voice acting is excellent, and the massive bosses are really cool. If you can forgive that this game has been trapped in a development time warp, you're in for an oddly nostalgic good time.
NCAA Football 2005 (E) (4 stars)
EA Sports
Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube
Psychology comes into play as this year's NCAA Football tries to further distinguish itself from Madden NFL. Few things in college ball are as unsettling to your visiting team as 100,000 drunken home-team fans screaming for your demise. The home-field advantage effect is the biggest innovation in this year's game, making your screen and controller shake as your team gets rattled. The effect scores.
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].