The Nintendo DS has quietly turned into the best platform for role-playing games, from remakes of "Final Fantasy IV" and "Dragon Quest V" to original fare such as "Suikoden Tierkreis" and "Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume."

"Suikoden Tierkreis" takes place in a new world without the baggage of the previous games. Some fans of the series and its recurring characters may not like this, while others will welcome it as a breath of fresh air. Either way, they'll find the game play similar to classic "Suikoden."

The story revolves around finding the 108 Stars of Destiny, a group of people key to facing a great threat. The game begins with a band of young warriors from the same village on their first mission.

Strange things happen. The landscape changes, but after a moment, no one can remember it being different. A mysterious book grants several of the characters magic powers. Eventually they learn of the existence of other worlds and the portals that lead to them.

In battle, players can execute an automatic physical attack with all characters or give specific instructions to attack, cast spells (called Marks of the Stars), use items and so on. Certain sets of characters may join together for combination attacks that deal extra damage.

The visuals of "Tierkreis" are serviceable and the action is fast. Many lines are voiced but not very well – everyone speaks as if they've had way too much caffeine.

"Tierkreis" changes the setting but keeps the game play, whereas "Covenant of the Plume" does the opposite. The play style is considerably changed – instead of exploring dungeons with a party of warrior souls, the player commands a squad of characters on a series of grid-based maps, similar to "Final Fantasy Tactics" or "Disgaea." This new element is mixed with established ones; each character is attached to one of the four face buttons, and pressing the corresponding button triggers a warrior to attack.

By maneuvering fighters to surround an enemy, a player can hit it with multiple fighters in a single move. Using one attack to pop an enemy into the air leaves it helpless against a pummeling, for example. Combos like this produce extra experience. But enemies can use this tactic as well.

The hero of the game, a warrior named Wylfred, is killed early on. Instead of being taken by the valkyrie Lenneth to become a warrior of Asgard, he makes a pact with the underworld to destroy the goddess who took Wylfred's father when he was a boy. He is granted a year of renewed life to stain a feather black with sin; if he succeeds, it'll be forged into a weapon able to kill the valkyrie.

Each battle has a quota of sin to be reached or exceeded (earning extra grants greater rewards).

PICKS AND PANS

Wheelman

3 stars

Most of action-movie star Vin Diesel's biggest hits revolve around cars. Now he's the star of an action movie of a video game, "Wheelman," which consists of nearly nonstop car races, chases and stunts.

Diesel lends his voice and likeness to character Milo Burik, an undercover agent working in Barcelona, Spain, as a freelance driver for the city's various criminal gangs. Milo can take on missions from contacts to move the story along or drive around town looking for odd jobs, street races and other side activities.

The on-foot segments are less fun than the driving portion of the game, which has a looser, more arcadelike feel to the driving than "Grand Theft Auto." Milo can rapidly swipe and ram into cars on either side with an automotive "melee" attack using the right stick, and he can leap from one car to another without stopping. Driving dangerously fills up a meter that activates special moves.

Microsoft Xbox 360; also for Sony PlayStation 3, PC; $59.99 ($49.99 for PC) • Age rating: Teen

Sonic and the Black Knight

2 stars

Keeping forward momentum through the obstacle-filled levels is the name of the game in "Sonic and the Black Knight," but this time, Sonic can use a blade to break through barriers and slash enemies, as well as to charge up a lock-on attack that carries him from foe to foe as long as it lasts.

In this adventure, Sonic has been summoned to fight an apparently corrupted version of King Arthur, who is using Excalibur's scabbard to ensure his own invincible reign over the land. Several of Sonic's usual friends – Knuckles, Shadow and Blaze – are knights of the round table.

The swordplay, controlled by the Wii Remote, feels a little gimmicky, but the game looks good and should appeal to fans of the 3-D "Sonic" games of recent years – the game play is familiar in that regard.

Nintendo Wii; $49.99 • Age rating: 10-plus

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

2 1/2 stars

A bloody and violent action game, "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai" offers a challenge in the vein of "Castle Crashers" and other brawlers. The game is tough, even at the normal setting, with lots of enemies that hit hard and fast.

Starting with nothing but a pair of cleavers, the undead Dishwasher will hack and slash through scores of soldiers, special agents, zombies and cyborgs on a quest for revenge against his killers.

The Dishwasher can string together weak and strong hits into combos, throw enemies and finish them off in bloody ways when they're stunned. His arsenal eventually grows to include swords, scythes and other implements.

Microsoft Xbox 360; $10 (800 Microsoft Points) Age rating: Mature

– Justin Hoeger

A year ago, "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates" entered the scene as an able continuation of the multiplayer action of this Square Enix subseries, but it was missing something important: online play.

"Ring of Fates" only allowed group play among people in the same room, each one needing a DS and a copy of the game. The original "Crystal Chronicles" was even worse, calling for a GameCube, four Game Boy Advance systems and four link cables to get the full four-player experience. What a pain that was.

"Echoes of Time" finally allows for multiplayer gaming over the Internet in addition to a local wireless connection.

What's more, the Wii and DS versions can be played together; a player on the Wii can connect to DS players in the same room. And characters are now persistent between the online and offline modes: Gain levels and items with a character in one mode, and they'll remain in the other.

Other than format, the two versions of the game are nearly identical. The DS version uses the bottom screen for menus and other info, the top screen for the game play. The Wii uses only a TV screen, so the display has two windows set side by side – the left one shows the game play and the right one the menus. Their relative sizes can be adjusted at will, but neither fills the screen.

The DS game plays pretty much the same as "Ring of Fates." The Wii version controls a bit differently using the Wii remote and nunchuk, which work just fine. It also looks a tad better, with sharper visuals and smoother effects, but it's not a dramatic difference.

The plot is mostly there as an excuse for players to go questing, gain powerful equipment and explore the world. Players fight their way through numerous areas, solving puzzles and defeating boss enemies at the end. Defeated enemies drop items, most of which can be combined using recipes to create armor, new weapons and so on.

Jobs and quests can be taken on in town, which instantly takes the player's party back to areas they've visited before to carry out specific tasks, such as killing certain monsters in a certain way or collecting specific items.

The player starts out with one character (chosen from one of the series' four races) and can hire more later on and outfit them as desired. Up to four can be in the active party at once – the same as when playing online with others – and players can switch control to any of them at will.

Each race has a specialty and a set of weapons to use, and all characters have access to the same selection of six basic spells. Multiple copies of spells can be cast on top of each other for a more powerful effect, or one that combines the attributes of disparate magic – casting Cure and Raise together creates a blast of Holy Light, for example.

More powerful spells require more complex combinations of magic, and while the game allows players to lock onto enemies with spells before unleashing them, the most complicated ones are best cast with the help of live companions.

Picks and Pans

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

3 1/2 stars

A hybrid of puzzle game and action-platformer, "Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure" is charming and a good bit of fun.

The top screen is home to the adventuring segment of the game, as Hatsworth makes his way through side-scrolling 2-D levels with graphics that would be quite at home on the Super Nintendo. As Hatsworth defeats enemies and finds items, they turn into blocks; to collect items and keep foes from coming back, the player has to switch to the bottom screen for a match-three game in the vein of "Bejeweled," though blocks are only swapped horizontally here.

The puzzle screen can also be used to power up attacks and create platforms in certain spots, among other things. And with enough power, Hatsworth can don a mechanized suit of armor for a time.

Nintendo DS; $29.99 • Age rating: Everyone

Guitar Hero: Metallica

3 stars

Like "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," "Guitar Hero: Metallica" is heavy on songs by the titular metal band and includes a grab bag of songs by other artists, including Alice in Chains, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Queen and System of a Down.

This is definitely Metallica's show, with nearly 30 songs spanning the band's career from the early 1980s up to last year. The game play is identical to recent "Guitar Hero" games.

The mix is stronger than on the "Aerosmith" disc, with more songs overall and a better variety of tunes and styles, but still not enough to really justify the full $60 price for what is basically a half-length song pack.

Microsoft Xbox 360, also for Sony PlayStation 3, PS2, Nintendo Wii; $59.99 ($39.99 to $59.99 for other versions) • Age rating: Teen

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen

3 stars

Released first for the Super Nintendo and later for the PlayStation, "Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen" has historically been pretty rare, but now it's easily available on the Virtual Console.

Players deploy several units onto the game's battlefields and assign them movement orders. Each unit consists of one to five warriors such as archers, mages and fighters, for starters. There are dozens of classes available depending on a character's race and qualifications.

When opposing units draw close to each other, a battle begins. These are carried out automatically, with each side attacking several times until one side is dead or withdraws. Players can interrupt the action to adjust battle tactics or use tarot cards for special battle effects, such as a damaging attack or a healing spell.

Nintendo Wii (Virtual Console download); $8 (800 Nintendo Points) • Age rating: Everyone

– Justin Hoeger

"Grand Theft Auto" is branching out, with the series' first big chunk of downloadable content and its first DS game released in rapid succession.

"The Lost and Damned" covers some of the timeline of "Grand Theft Auto IV" from a different perspective – that of Johnny Klebitz, vice president of the Alderney chapter of the motorcycle gang called The Lost – though "GTA IV" protagonist Niko Bellic pops up here and there.

Johnny's a thug and a generally unsympathetic character, and his gang is no bunch of winners, but the fresh-out-of-rehab president of his club, Billy, is even worse. He immediately goes back on drugs and breaks a truce with a rival gang, the Angels of Death – a truce that Johnny brokered. These two are headed for a break, and it won't be a clean one.

Being an extension of "GTA IV," "The Lost" looks, sounds and plays pretty much the same. And it has the same graphic violence, constant profanity and other mature content.

There's an emphasis on motorcycles, including the option to ride in a pack, as well as some new weapons and such.

"The Lost" also introduces six new multiplayer modes, including Chopper vs. Chopper, in which a player on a motorcycle tries to escape a player in an armed helicopter, and Lone Wolf Biker, a deadly game of reverse tag.

Where "The Lost and Damned" centers on Alderney, "GTA IV's" stand-in for New Jersey, "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars" takes place everywhere in Liberty City except there.

The main character, Huang Lee, is newly arrived in Liberty City to deliver his late father's sword to his Triad crime-boss uncle Kenny.

He's ambushed, shot and robbed by mysterious assailants almost immediately. But he lives, and it's not long before he's doing jobs for his disappointed uncle.

"Chinatown" has a lighter feel than "The Lost and Damned," with cel-shaded graphics and shrunken-down carnage. But the game is still not for younger players.

The action is viewed from above, with the camera rotating to follow Huang. He can punch and kick, shoot and roll. There are secrets for him to find everywhere, such as guns stashed in trash bins. And of course, he can drive off with any car he can find.

Stealing cars is complicated by a set of mini-games that take advantage of the DS touch screen. Some cars can be taken simply by rotating a screwdriver a few times in the drive assembly; others have to be hacked or hot-wired.

The game makes players do this manually, and not always when they're in the best position to do so – while being chased by cops, for example.

Speaking of cops, players get to take a more aggressive role in getting their wanted levels down; instead of running away, simply ramming enough police cars or making them crash removes the stars.

PICKS AND PANS

Retro Game Challenge

3 1/2 stars

"Retro Game Challenge" is by far the best collection of classic video games that never existed.

Based on a Japanese game show, the hook is that the player has been sent back in time by a crazed game master (based on the game show's host) to fulfill challenges in a variety of 1980s-era games.

But these "classic" games were all invented for "Retro Game Challenge," and each is lovingly crafted to look, sound and play like it's about 25 years old, down to the clumsy English text.

There's "Cosmic Gate," a shooter in the manner of "Galaga"; "Rally King" and "Rally King SP," two iterations of the kind of lame racing game that was common in the era; three improving versions of a platformer called "Robot Ninja Haggle Man"; and "Guadia Quest," which takes strongly after the "Dragon Quest" series.

Nintendo DS; $29.99 • Age rating: Everyone

Tom Clancy's HAWX

2 1/2 stars

A futuristic air-combat game set in the "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter" universe, "HAWX" puts players in the cockpits of top-of-the-line fighter jets for a private military corporation.

The controls and heads-up display are well-configured and easy to learn. Each of the game's planes handles differently, and they're often configured to be effective against certain targets.

Because of the speed and distances involved, the player relies heavily on icons to determine where to attack. The environments look great from high altitudes but not so hot from up close.

Completing objectives earns experience toward unlocking new planes or weapons. There are also a couple of online modes for cooperative or competitive dogfighters.

Microsoft Xbox 360, also for Sony PlayStation 3, PC; $59.99 ($49.99 for PC) • Age rating: Teen

Trivial Pursuit

2 1/2 stars

A competent virtual version of the popular board game, "Trivial Pursuit" looks pretty good and is mechanically sound. But titles like these are little fun for one player, even when a solo mode is included, as one is here, so keep that in mind.

The look is attractive, and the board and pieces have been given about as much personality as possible. There are tons of trivia questions to mull over the answers to, and a handful of game modes in which to do so.

There's the standard game, with several options for trivia questions; Facts & Friends, in which there's only one puck that all players share; and a solo mode that shrinks the board with each quiz category conquered.

Nintendo Wii; $39.99 • Age rating: Everyone

– Justin Hoeger

"Empire: Total War" moves the time frame of the series from the medieval to the colonial era and introduces a host of changes.

"Empire" carries on the "Total War" series' tradition of mixing grand strategy and battlefield tactics. The big-picture strategy portion of the game is nearly as layered as "Civilization IV," and that game has none of the tactical considerations of "Empire's" real-time battles.

This is a dense, complicated game, and it takes hours to complete even a relatively short campaign. Its depth and attention to detail are incredible.

The 18th century is a much different time than the era of "Medieval II: Total War": Muskets and cannons, not men in armor, rule the battlefield. Great fleets of ships clash at sea, and for the first time in the "Total War" games, players directly control the naval battles.

New technologies can be researched and traded with other nations. Religion remains an important factor in managing alliances and converting new territories, but it no longer has the overriding influence it did in "Medieval II."

There are two main modes to the game. The Road to Independence mode is a set of missions that charts the creation of the United States. The Grand Campaign is the meat of "Empire." In this mode, players choose a starting nation and take control of its lands and forces as of 1700, and play until a set year is reached.

The map is enormous; players vie for influence in Europe, the Americas and India. Regions can be managed individually or automatically, everything from the tax rate to what new structures are built in local towns, mines, farms, vineyards and more.

Managing the happiness of the people is important; events such as the American or French revolutions can occur if the right conditions are met.

Ground battles play out much as they have in several "Total War" games. There's a greater emphasis on muskets, cannons and other gunpowder weaponry, of course, and there's no need to create specialized siege weapons to attack fortified cities when cannons are in the mix.

The naval battles, which require careful maneuvering to keep enemy ships in the line of fire and the player's ships out of it, are an important new element in the fighting, and ably show off the game's attention to detail, from the realistic water to the way ships splinter and crumble as they open up with devastating broadsides.

Players without a taste for the big picture can play skirmishes with armies only. Those who'd rather not manually control theirforces can always auto-resolve a battle, though the results may not be favorable if the two forces are nearly equal.

PICKS AND PANS

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

3 1/2 stars

"Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride" is the latest remake of a heretofore unreleased "Dragon Quest." Unreleased in America, anyway.

This installment takes the main player-named character from childhood to adulthood as he endures many trials and even gets married on the long road to defeating a great evil.

This hero has an affinity for the world's monsters and can recruit a stable of them to fight alongside him in the game's battles.

The combat is like that in other "DQ" games – brisk and turn-based. The charming graphics and music may be even better than those in last year's DS version of "Dragon Quest IV." The story is engaging, the writing is good, and the game is challenging without being merciless.

Nintendo DS; $39.99 • Age rating: 10-plus

Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon

2 1/2 stars

"Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon" is the first game in the series not to jump ahead a whole decade; this one and the Wii-only game "Big Willy Unleashed" both take place in the 1970s.

The graphics are much more detailed than in previous "Destroy All Humans" games, but they're lacking on the Xbox 360, with objects that tend to pop in abruptly. The game isn't polished to a shine, but it has an amusing charm.

Alien invader Crypto is living large in Las Vegas stand-in Las Paradiso, running his own casino and tangling with local mob elements. But as he is getting back up to speed with his new weapons and ship, he begins to hear a voice in his head that urges him to develop his hidden potential.

The game play is still pretty familiar, though – Crypto possesses and destroys hapless humans, collects their DNA and flies around in his saucer while taking on missions and side jobs scattered around several large, free-roaming areas.

Microsoft Xbox 360; $39.99 • Age rating: Teen

Onslaught

2 1/2 stars

With a control scheme similar to "Metroid Prime 3," "Onslaught" makes for a decent arcade-style shooter.

The player goes through numerous levels on a massive bug hunt. The planet that serves as the game's setting is overrun with numerous and belligerent cybernetic insects.

Different guns work better on different enemies – the shotgun is good for swarms, the burst rifle is great for flying threats, and the rocket launcher works well against tougher, slower foes, for example.

The Wii Remote is used to shoot, aim and turn, and the Nunchuk controls movement, grenades and melee attacks. The setup is simple but effective – a description that applies to the game as a whole.

Nintendo Wii (WiiWare download); $10 (1,000 Nintendo Points) • Age rating: Teen

– Justin Hoeger