The game based on 2007's "Transformers" movie was decent. This year's model is a bit better.

Like the first game, "Revenge of the Fallen" offers players a pair of campaigns to play through, one for the good-guy Autobots and one for the wicked Decepticons.

Both campaigns take place in the United States, Shanghai and Cairo. Players choose missions from a world map, but the order isn't rigid.

The two campaigns are like mirror images. A mission in Shanghai may involve rescuing a downed Autobot from attackers in that faction's campaign, while the Decepticon campaign leaves it up to the player to destroy that same Autobot in the other campaign.

Finishing a mission's secondary objectives awards bonus Energon, as does finding each level's set of faction emblems. Finishing a level within certain time constraints awards gold, silver and bronze medals, and players can return to a finished mission to earn a better score or just to try it again with a different Transformer.

The Energon earned from completing missions, destroying enemies, collecting emblems and other means can be spent on faction-wide upgrades.

Each Transformer has a similar set of moves – two weapons, a special ability, various melee attacks and an alternate form, be it car, truck, plane or helicopter.

Weapons range from machine guns and grenade launchers to missiles and sniper rifles. Special abilities offer a more specialized effect – Bumblebee stuns foes in a small radius with an EMP blast, Ratchet and Long Haul heal themselves and others, and Optimus Prime raises an energy shield for a short time. Melee attacks range from combos and charged hits to area-effect ground-pound attacks. There are no grappling moves, which seems like a missed opportunity.

The robots' vehicle forms are much more mobile than their clompy bipedal shapes, but they're a little tricky to control. The robots change when the player holds down the right trigger and turn back when it's released, while letting up slightly slows them down a bit. It takes a while to learn the knack of managing speed without transforming and how to charge up a melee attack to unleash just as a robot changes back.

Where the last game was a solo affair, the sequel allows for four-vs.-four online matches over several game types. The modes are standard, but they're pretty entertaining when the players are changing form and firing missiles and energy waves in every direction.

PICKS AND PANS

INDIANA JONES AND THE STAFF OF KINGS

2 stars

Indiana Jones' last 3-D adventure, 2003's "Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb," wasn't very good. And his newest, "Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings," in which Indy searches for the staff of Moses, isn't either.

Part of the blame lies with the stiff and unresponsive motion-activated controls, which make it difficult and unwieldy to engage in combat using fists, weapons and thrown items. Jerking the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk in different directions triggers attacks, but the game isn't very responsive, and it's easy to throw the wrong punch at the wrong time.

Firefights take the form of shooting-gallery segments, where players have to figure out how to defeat armed foes. Some enemies can't be shot directly and have to be coaxed out of cover by shooting objects in the environment.

As Jones explores the game, he'll run into various Indy-style situations – crossing gaps with his whip, for example – and challenges such as maneuvering a plane through a ravine while under fire by Nazis. The graphics are decent, and the frame rate is smooth.

The title's best feature isn't in the main game at all. In the extras menu, players can find a fully voiced version of "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis," a great 1992 adventure game similar to the "Monkey Island" and "Sam & Max" series.

Nintendo Wii, also for Sony PlayStation 2

$49.99 ($29.99 for PS2)

Age rating: Teen

FALLOUT 3: POINT LOOKOUT

3 1/2 stars

By far the most free-form of the four "Fallout 3" expansions, "Point Lookout" takes place in the swampy terrain of the Maryland peninsula, which is riddled with boiling mud pits, skeletal trees and inbred cannibals.

Where the other three expansions have had a very clear through line in their questing, "Point Lookout" gives the player more freedom to explore. There's the mother who wants the player to find her runaway daughter; there's a strange old mansion to the east; there's a dead Chinese spy in an old motel whose secret orders are hidden along the waterfront. There's a weird cult to infiltrate, a bizarre hallucinogenic sequence and lots of strange new characters to meet.

While new weapons, such as the two-barreled shotgun and lever-action rifle, would be of more use to a low-level character than a more experienced one, the area still presents a challenge to seasoned players.

It's an interesting location, and the relatively vibrant (though horribly mutated) local ecosystem is refreshingly distinct from the rubble-strewn Capital Wasteland of the main game.

Nintendo Wii, also for Sony PlayStation 2

$49.99 ($29.99 for PS2)

Age rating: Teen

The game based on 2007's "Transformers" movie was decent. This year's model is a bit better.

Like the first game, "Revenge of the Fallen" offers players a pair of campaigns to play through, one for the good-guy Autobots and one for the wicked Decepticons.

Both campaigns take place in the United States, Shanghai and Cairo. Players choose missions from a world map, but the order isn't rigid.

The two campaigns are like mirror images. A mission in Shanghai may involve rescuing a downed Autobot from attackers in that faction's campaign, while the Decepticon campaign leaves it up to the player to destroy that same Autobot in the other campaign.

Finishing a mission's secondary objectives awards bonus Energon, as does finding each level's set of faction emblems. Finishing a level within certain time constraints awards gold, silver and bronze medals, and players can return to a finished mission to earn a better score or just to try it again with a different Transformer.

The Energon earned from completing missions, destroying enemies, collecting emblems and other means can be spent on faction-wide upgrades.

Each Transformer has a similar set of moves – two weapons, a special ability, various melee attacks and an alternate form, be it car, truck, plane or helicopter.

Weapons range from machine guns and grenade launchers to missiles and sniper rifles. Special abilities offer a more specialized effect – Bumblebee stuns foes in a small radius with an EMP blast, Ratchet and Long Haul heal themselves and others, and Optimus Prime raises an energy shield for a short time. Melee attacks range from combos and charged hits to area-effect ground-pound attacks. There are no grappling moves, which seems like a missed opportunity.

The robots' vehicle forms are much more mobile than their clompy bipedal shapes, but they're a little tricky to control. The robots change when the player holds down the right trigger and turn back when it's released, while letting up slightly slows them down a bit. It takes a while to learn the knack of managing speed without transforming and how to charge up a melee attack to unleash just as a robot changes back.

Where the last game was a solo affair, the sequel allows for four-vs.-four online matches over several game types. The modes are standard, but they're pretty entertaining when the players are changing form and firing missiles and energy waves in every direction.

PICKS AND PANS

INDIANA JONES AND THE STAFF OF KINGS

2 stars

Indiana Jones' last 3-D adventure, 2003's "Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb," wasn't very good. And his newest, "Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings," in which Indy searches for the staff of Moses, isn't either.

Part of the blame lies with the stiff and unresponsive motion-activated controls, which make it difficult and unwieldy to engage in combat using fists, weapons and thrown items. Jerking the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk in different directions triggers attacks, but the game isn't very responsive, and it's easy to throw the wrong punch at the wrong time.

Firefights take the form of shooting-gallery segments, where players have to figure out how to defeat armed foes. Some enemies can't be shot directly and have to be coaxed out of cover by shooting objects in the environment.

As Jones explores the game, he'll run into various Indy-style situations – crossing gaps with his whip, for example – and challenges such as maneuvering a plane through a ravine while under fire by Nazis. The graphics are decent, and the frame rate is smooth.

The title's best feature isn't in the main game at all. In the extras menu, players can find a fully voiced version of "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis," a great 1992 adventure game similar to the "Monkey Island" and "Sam & Max" series.

Nintendo Wii, also for Sony PlayStation 2

$49.99 ($29.99 for PS2)

Age rating: Teen

FALLOUT 3: POINT LOOKOUT

3 1/2 stars

By far the most free-form of the four "Fallout 3" expansions, "Point Lookout" takes place in the swampy terrain of the Maryland peninsula, which is riddled with boiling mud pits, skeletal trees and inbred cannibals.

Where the other three expansions have had a very clear through line in their questing, "Point Lookout" gives the player more freedom to explore. There's the mother who wants the player to find her runaway daughter; there's a strange old mansion to the east; there's a dead Chinese spy in an old motel whose secret orders are hidden along the waterfront. There's a weird cult to infiltrate, a bizarre hallucinogenic sequence and lots of strange new characters to meet.

While new weapons, such as the two-barreled shotgun and lever-action rifle, would be of more use to a low-level character than a more experienced one, the area still presents a challenge to seasoned players.

It's an interesting location, and the relatively vibrant (though horribly mutated) local ecosystem is refreshingly distinct from the rubble-strewn Capital Wasteland of the main game.

Nintendo Wii, also for Sony PlayStation 2

$49.99 ($29.99 for PS2)

Age rating: Teen

Tricked-out bikes are just some of the vehicles for extreme-sports enthusiasts in "Fuel."

"Fuel" is big. Several smaller open-world games could probably fit within its immense play area, a collection of zones that the back of the box claims cover 14,000 virtual square kilometers.

The game's conceit is that in an alternate-reality America, global warming has caused flooding and weather disasters, leaving much of the country dangerous to inhabit and the remaining populace leery of using stockpiled fossil fuels.

The extreme-sports enthusiasts of "Fuel" have no such qualms, though, gleefully racing their tricked-out bikes, buggies, cars and trucks through the wastelands in a "MotorStorm"-meets- "Burnout Paradise" fashion.

The post-disaster environment makes for some unusual sights in a racer, such as dead forests and rooftops poking out of lakes as tornadoes and lightning storms rage.

Racers earn fuel for winning events (first place is the only winning spot), and fuel in this game isn't used to gas up the vehicles but as money to purchase new rides, which never seem to need gassing up themselves. There are lots of vehicles to buy, though most are locked away at the start.

The vehicles can be given custom paint jobs but are otherwise unalterable, though the designs have their post-apocalyptic charm. Most specialize in asphalt or off-road driving; some do fairly well at both.

Race events and challenges can be entered at any time from the pause-menu screen or by driving up to the starting line. Each zone has several career events with three difficulty levels, each awarding the victorious player stars and fuel – earn enough stars and new areas open up.

Challenges don't grant stars, but they do give up a hefty amount of fuel. Many challenges require a specific class of vehicle to be owned in order to participate, so having a surplus of fuel isn't a bad idea.

Events range from checkpoint races over rough terrain to knockout races that eliminate the last racer in each lap and seek-and-destroy events where players try to chase down and ram rivals. There are several other kinds of races as well.

When not in an event, players can simply roam the world, driving for miles across the nearly empty wastes – the distances between points of interest can get pretty extreme. There are event start points to find out there, as well as vista points that offer a neat view and wrecked vehicles that grant a new design, or livery, to use on that particular model.

Once players complete or want a break from the solo game, they may take to an online version of the world or create courses of their own with the game's track editor.

PICKS AND PANS

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

1 1/2 stars

The release of a new "Harry Potter" film wouldn't be complete without the arrival of a new video game. But "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" feels like a step down from the game based on "Order of the Phoenix." Spells are still cast with flicks and waves of the Wii Remote, but the controls don't feel sensitive or accurate enough – it can take several upward flicks to pull off a casting of the "Wingardium Leviosa" levitation spell, and just try throwing a pot at a hard-to-reach Hogwarts crest.

Wizard duels are entertaining, however, as Harry flings spells at his opponents while dodging their attacks. It can also be fun to brew potions by mixing specific ingredients and boiling them the right amount – though running out of time halfway through and being forced to start over is frustrating. Quidditch matches are simple checkpoint exercises as Harry chases the Snitch through a series of stars.

But while the three games are decent fun and players are still free to roam the grounds of Hogwarts, there just isn't much else to do besides collecting a bunch of crests, and the main plot is cut down to an outline illustrated by awkward scenes using the stiff in-game models.

Nintendo Wii, also for Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, PC; $49.99 ($29.99 to $49.99 for other versions) • Age rating: 10-plus

PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES

3 1/2 stars

A horde of zombies is about to cross the lawn, and the only way to stop them is with an array of flowers, fruits, vegetables and other plants in "Plants Vs. Zombies," a charming and habit-forming variety of the tower-defense genre.

The lawn fills most of the screen, with the zombies approaching from the right. Plants can be placed anywhere on the lawn by spending sunshine, which falls from above or pops out of sunflowers.

The plants include several kinds of pea-firing pods, explosive cherry bombs, wall-nuts (which delay zombies), delayed-activation potato mines, a piranha plant that swallows zombies whole, and many more perennial favorites for fighting the undead.

As the player's arsenal grows, the zombies get tougher and smarter – they put on helmets, use poles to vault over wall-nuts and so on. The trick is to bring a flexible arsenal to each stage and employ it wisely to fend off the shambling hordes. The game also features several alternate modes, including survival mode, puzzles and mini-games.

PC, also for Mac OS; $19.95 (Popcap.com download) • Age rating: Everyone

– Justin Hoeger

Tricked-out bikes are just some of the vehicles for extreme-sports enthusiasts in "Fuel."

"Fuel" is big. Several smaller open-world games could probably fit within its immense play area, a collection of zones that the back of the box claims cover 14,000 virtual square kilometers.

The game's conceit is that in an alternate-reality America, global warming has caused flooding and weather disasters, leaving much of the country dangerous to inhabit and the remaining populace leery of using stockpiled fossil fuels.

The extreme-sports enthusiasts of "Fuel" have no such qualms, though, gleefully racing their tricked-out bikes, buggies, cars and trucks through the wastelands in a "MotorStorm"-meets- "Burnout Paradise" fashion.

The post-disaster environment makes for some unusual sights in a racer, such as dead forests and rooftops poking out of lakes as tornadoes and lightning storms rage.

Racers earn fuel for winning events (first place is the only winning spot), and fuel in this game isn't used to gas up the vehicles but as money to purchase new rides, which never seem to need gassing up themselves. There are lots of vehicles to buy, though most are locked away at the start.

The vehicles can be given custom paint jobs but are otherwise unalterable, though the designs have their post-apocalyptic charm. Most specialize in asphalt or off-road driving; some do fairly well at both.

Race events and challenges can be entered at any time from the pause-menu screen or by driving up to the starting line. Each zone has several career events with three difficulty levels, each awarding the victorious player stars and fuel – earn enough stars and new areas open up.

Challenges don't grant stars, but they do give up a hefty amount of fuel. Many challenges require a specific class of vehicle to be owned in order to participate, so having a surplus of fuel isn't a bad idea.

Events range from checkpoint races over rough terrain to knockout races that eliminate the last racer in each lap and seek-and-destroy events where players try to chase down and ram rivals. There are several other kinds of races as well.

When not in an event, players can simply roam the world, driving for miles across the nearly empty wastes – the distances between points of interest can get pretty extreme. There are event start points to find out there, as well as vista points that offer a neat view and wrecked vehicles that grant a new design, or livery, to use on that particular model.

Once players complete or want a break from the solo game, they may take to an online version of the world or create courses of their own with the game's track editor.

PICKS AND PANS

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

1 1/2 stars

The release of a new "Harry Potter" film wouldn't be complete without the arrival of a new video game. But "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" feels like a step down from the game based on "Order of the Phoenix." Spells are still cast with flicks and waves of the Wii Remote, but the controls don't feel sensitive or accurate enough – it can take several upward flicks to pull off a casting of the "Wingardium Leviosa" levitation spell, and just try throwing a pot at a hard-to-reach Hogwarts crest.

Wizard duels are entertaining, however, as Harry flings spells at his opponents while dodging their attacks. It can also be fun to brew potions by mixing specific ingredients and boiling them the right amount – though running out of time halfway through and being forced to start over is frustrating. Quidditch matches are simple checkpoint exercises as Harry chases the Snitch through a series of stars.

But while the three games are decent fun and players are still free to roam the grounds of Hogwarts, there just isn't much else to do besides collecting a bunch of crests, and the main plot is cut down to an outline illustrated by awkward scenes using the stiff in-game models.

Nintendo Wii, also for Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, PC; $49.99 ($29.99 to $49.99 for other versions) • Age rating: 10-plus

PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES

3 1/2 stars

A horde of zombies is about to cross the lawn, and the only way to stop them is with an array of flowers, fruits, vegetables and other plants in "Plants Vs. Zombies," a charming and habit-forming variety of the tower-defense genre.

The lawn fills most of the screen, with the zombies approaching from the right. Plants can be placed anywhere on the lawn by spending sunshine, which falls from above or pops out of sunflowers.

The plants include several kinds of pea-firing pods, explosive cherry bombs, wall-nuts (which delay zombies), delayed-activation potato mines, a piranha plant that swallows zombies whole, and many more perennial favorites for fighting the undead.

As the player's arsenal grows, the zombies get tougher and smarter – they put on helmets, use poles to vault over wall-nuts and so on. The trick is to bring a flexible arsenal to each stage and employ it wisely to fend off the shambling hordes. The game also features several alternate modes, including survival mode, puzzles and mini-games.

PC, also for Mac OS; $19.95 (Popcap.com download) • Age rating: Everyone

– Justin Hoeger

Players of "The Sims 3" can design a single Sim to guide through life or create a whole family of them.

"The Sims 3" takes some big steps forward for Simkind, allowing players to influence and interact with an entire town of gibberish-speaking Sims to their heart's content.

"Fascinating" might be the best word for the game – the various Sims interact in surprisingly complex ways based on their personalities, and it's entertaining to watch them do what they do, whether they're at work or on personal time.

Players can pick a prefabricated household of one or more Sims, create a random Sim or craft a family using the game's expansive Create a Sim options.

Age (infant to elder), gender, features, hairstyle and several sets of clothing all can be customized – and edited later. There are dozens of materials and patterns, and a virtually unlimited array of colors that allow each Sim to have its own look.

Players move their chosen Sims into a furnished or unfurnished house, or onto a bare lot for constructing a custom home. Homes and lots can always be changed and improved with enough money.

Each Sim can be given several traits, such as Green Thumb, Inappropriate, Great Kisser, Grumpy, Slob, Artistic and Athletic. A Sim's combination of traits determines personality and autonomous actions, and what its Lifetime Wish is.

Each Sim also has Needs and Wants. These affect a Sim's mood: A Sim in a bad mood will be discontent and won't perform some actions at all. Events that affect mood often leave behind Moodlets, bonuses or penalties to a Sim's mood that last a certain amount of game time.

Wants are a good way to boost a Sim's mood and contribute to its Lifetime Happiness points, which can be used to buy special traits that, say, make it free to eat at restaurants or, at the high end of the scale, grant the ability to teleport across town.

Being in a very good mood feeds points directly into the Lifetime Happiness score while fulfilling a Sim's Wants – like taking a class in gardening or simply having a chat with a spouse – gains points.

Lifetime Wishes are like a super-Want, granting a huge boost to Lifetime Happiness points, and like Wants, they're tied strongly into a Sim's personality. A Family-Oriented Sim may want to have a large family, while an Artistic one will probably want to create a masterwork.

"The Sims 3" now features an online store where players can purchase points to spend on new items, clothing, hairstyles and so on for their Sims, though the game's built-in options are considerable and can be easily customized to look unique. New players are given $10 worth of points when they register the game.

PICKS AND PANS

GUITAR HERO SMASH HITS

2 stars

A compilation of songs from "Guitar Hero's" pre-"World Tour" installments, "Smash Hits" takes a selection of tracks from the previous games and updates them for play with a full guitar-bass-drums-vocals ensemble.

It's good to have an opportunity to take tunes such as Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" and Queen's "Killer Queen" out for a spin with a full "band," and all the songs here are master tracks, replacing the covers that were common in the earlier "Guitar Hero" releases.

"Smash Hits" has a good mix of songs from the early games in the series, even if notable tracks by David Bowie, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dick Dale and many others didn't make the cut. The Music Studio song-editing mode makes a return, along with the other play modes from "World Tour." Nonetheless, the full-size price feels steep for a release that's little more than a song pack – especially when so many of the songs in it were first featured in games less than 2 years old.

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

SWORDS & SOLDIERS

3 1/2 stars

A clever take on the real-time strategy genre, "Swords & Soldiers" has players take command of Viking, Aztec or Imperial Chinese forces and fight it out with another faction on a 2-D side-scrolling map.

Each faction has a base on one side of the map, and units they produce simply march toward the other side, fighting any opposing units along the way.

If they reach the end of the line, they'll attack the enemy base until it's destroyed or they are, so sending out a proper mix (or at least a constant stream) of fighters is a must. Gatherer units stay near the home base, venturing into mines to find gold for research and unit construction.

There's a separate solo campaign for each faction, in which the player battles through several missions while coming to grips with the various units and special powers of their chosen people.

For example, Vikings have berserkers and ax throwers that can be prodded into a rapid charge, healed by the gods or aided by bolts of lightning from the blue. The Aztecs use slow-working poison, send out fast fighters armed with clubs and summon stone giants to smite their foes. The Chinese field swordsmen and can call down a rain of burning arrows. Each side has several more units and powers as well.

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

– Justin Hoeger

Players of "The Sims 3" can design a single Sim to guide through life or create a whole family of them.

"The Sims 3" takes some big steps forward for Simkind, allowing players to influence and interact with an entire town of gibberish-speaking Sims to their heart's content.

"Fascinating" might be the best word for the game – the various Sims interact in surprisingly complex ways based on their personalities, and it's entertaining to watch them do what they do, whether they're at work or on personal time.

Players can pick a prefabricated household of one or more Sims, create a random Sim or craft a family using the game's expansive Create a Sim options.

Age (infant to elder), gender, features, hairstyle and several sets of clothing all can be customized – and edited later. There are dozens of materials and patterns, and a virtually unlimited array of colors that allow each Sim to have its own look.

Players move their chosen Sims into a furnished or unfurnished house, or onto a bare lot for constructing a custom home. Homes and lots can always be changed and improved with enough money.

Each Sim can be given several traits, such as Green Thumb, Inappropriate, Great Kisser, Grumpy, Slob, Artistic and Athletic. A Sim's combination of traits determines personality and autonomous actions, and what its Lifetime Wish is.

Each Sim also has Needs and Wants. These affect a Sim's mood: A Sim in a bad mood will be discontent and won't perform some actions at all. Events that affect mood often leave behind Moodlets, bonuses or penalties to a Sim's mood that last a certain amount of game time.

Wants are a good way to boost a Sim's mood and contribute to its Lifetime Happiness points, which can be used to buy special traits that, say, make it free to eat at restaurants or, at the high end of the scale, grant the ability to teleport across town.

Being in a very good mood feeds points directly into the Lifetime Happiness score while fulfilling a Sim's Wants – like taking a class in gardening or simply having a chat with a spouse – gains points.

Lifetime Wishes are like a super-Want, granting a huge boost to Lifetime Happiness points, and like Wants, they're tied strongly into a Sim's personality. A Family-Oriented Sim may want to have a large family, while an Artistic one will probably want to create a masterwork.

"The Sims 3" now features an online store where players can purchase points to spend on new items, clothing, hairstyles and so on for their Sims, though the game's built-in options are considerable and can be easily customized to look unique. New players are given $10 worth of points when they register the game.

PICKS AND PANS

GUITAR HERO SMASH HITS

2 stars

A compilation of songs from "Guitar Hero's" pre-"World Tour" installments, "Smash Hits" takes a selection of tracks from the previous games and updates them for play with a full guitar-bass-drums-vocals ensemble.

It's good to have an opportunity to take tunes such as Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" and Queen's "Killer Queen" out for a spin with a full "band," and all the songs here are master tracks, replacing the covers that were common in the earlier "Guitar Hero" releases.

"Smash Hits" has a good mix of songs from the early games in the series, even if notable tracks by David Bowie, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dick Dale and many others didn't make the cut. The Music Studio song-editing mode makes a return, along with the other play modes from "World Tour." Nonetheless, the full-size price feels steep for a release that's little more than a song pack – especially when so many of the songs in it were first featured in games less than 2 years old.

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

SWORDS & SOLDIERS

3 1/2 stars

A clever take on the real-time strategy genre, "Swords & Soldiers" has players take command of Viking, Aztec or Imperial Chinese forces and fight it out with another faction on a 2-D side-scrolling map.

Each faction has a base on one side of the map, and units they produce simply march toward the other side, fighting any opposing units along the way.

If they reach the end of the line, they'll attack the enemy base until it's destroyed or they are, so sending out a proper mix (or at least a constant stream) of fighters is a must. Gatherer units stay near the home base, venturing into mines to find gold for research and unit construction.

There's a separate solo campaign for each faction, in which the player battles through several missions while coming to grips with the various units and special powers of their chosen people.

For example, Vikings have berserkers and ax throwers that can be prodded into a rapid charge, healed by the gods or aided by bolts of lightning from the blue. The Aztecs use slow-working poison, send out fast fighters armed with clubs and summon stone giants to smite their foes. The Chinese field swordsmen and can call down a rain of burning arrows. Each side has several more units and powers as well.

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

– Justin Hoeger

Alex Mercer has become a monster in "Prototype," and he wants to find out how and why.

That's the setup for this open-world game – the second this year, after the PS3-exclusive "Infamous," to put players in the shoes of someone who never asked for superpowers. But Mercer makes no pretense of being nice – there aren't any of the moral choices that "Infamous" protagonist Cole McGrath was given.

Mercer wakes up in a Manhattan morgue with a chest full of bullet wounds and no memories. But he soon finds that he can consume humans, copy their shapes and absorb their memories. He also has enough strength to lift and throw a car, and the ability to run up the sides of skyscrapers.

After sifting a hint from an early victim's mind, Mercer learns that he has a sister. With her help, he starts looking for clues to his disturbing transformation – and to the shadowy military group, Blackwatch, that begins taking over the city just as mutants infected by a strange virus start overrunning the streets.

Much of the story is presented as a flashback, as told by Mercer to a mysterious confidant nearly three weeks after the start of the game. The plot is interesting enough, but it's told in a herky-jerky way that makes it tough to maintain any narrative momentum.

One neat storytelling device is the memories of the people Mercer consumes. Certain targets are marked as part of the Web of Intrigue, a chart of plot points made up of tidbits of information relating to the plot at large. Absorbing them gives Mercer new pieces of the big puzzle.

"Prototype" is far more gory and violent than "Infamous"; Mercer's powers aren't neat and tidy, and he's not concerned with sparing innocent life. In fact, consuming civilians is often the only handy way to refill Mercer's health when he's in a tight spot, though soldiers and mutants tend to restore more.

Absorption and imitation are just the tip of Mercer's shape-shifting iceberg. New abilities are unlocked as Mercer progresses through story missions, and he can purchase upgrades and new powers with the evolution points generously doled out for defeating foes and completing story missions and side challenges.

Mercer's mobility and diverse combat powers make rampaging through the city a blast, but there are some control issues that make finer movements a pain.

PICKS AND PANS

RUNE FACTORY FRONTIER

3 stars

An offshoot of the farming-RPG series "Harvest Moon," the "Rune Factory" games mix a bit of combat in with all the plowing and planting. "Rune Factory Frontier" continues the agricultural adventures of Raguna as he arrives in a new town with a fresh row to hoe.

The game's a pretty mellow experience centered on day-to-day tasks and Raguna's relationships with his neighbors, though there is a story line to follow.

Raguna plants seeds in his fields and waits for the crops to mature before harvesting and shipping them off to be sold. Some crops grow best in certain seasons, and most take different amounts of time to mature. Much of the field is littered with debris at first, and special tools are needed to clear it, though it's not made clear where to find them.

Raguna can buy extensions for his house, such as a forge to make tools. He can capture the small, glowing Runey spirits that inhabit the land and release them to influence his fields or produce miracles. Apart from farming and wandering the town, there's also a floating, whale-shaped island above the town whose interior is a deep dungeon. Raguna can befriend and domesticate the monsters he battles there for use as livestock, and will find plenty of items along the way.

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

SINS OF A SOLAR EMPIRE: ENTRENCHMENT

3 1/2 stars

"Sins of a Solar Empire" was fantastic when it launched, though it did have a heavy emphasis on offense. The game's first mini-expansion, "Entrenchment," beefs up players' defensive options considerably, introduces a host of new features and improves the artificial intelligence.

Defensive upgrades have been moved to their own research trees, and some of the gaps in the offense-oriented technology trees have been filled with new abilities. Along with improvements to defenses, each culture can lay down fields of space mines and field units capable of cracking a fortress world.

But the most obvious new features are the starbases, incredibly expensive structures that, when upgraded beyond their vulnerable initial forms, can hold their own against entire fleets. These bases can be built anywhere, allowing players to create a foothold in enemy territory or hold onto previously uncontrollable areas such as stars and gas giants.

Each culture has a different kind of base with unique upgrades that are in line with their play styles.

Other additions include units designed to counter hardened defenses and smaller tweaks such as the new quick start option, which allows players to begin with a few extra structures that are typically built first thing. Not shabby for a $10 download.

PC (ImpulseDriven.com download); $9.95 Age rating: Teen

– Justin Hoeger

Lillian Dow of Folsom, using a Nintendo Wii device, engages in virtual bowling Wednesday at the Folsom Senior Center. Watching her are, from left, Doretta Youngdahl of Pacifica, Elsie Offner of Folsom and Tom Grunwaldt of Folsom.

A dozen or so older adults at the Folsom Senior Center erupt in cheers and clapping as Elsie Offner, a 91-year-old resident of Folsom, bowls a strike.

The senior center doesn't have lanes, but it does have a new bit of gaming technology, a Nintendo Wii. And with it comes Wii bowling, by far the most popular video game with the seniors who frequent the community center.

"It gets you out of your rocking chair," said Offner, when asked what she liked best about the game.

And these types of video games bring with them substantial social benefits.

"It allows them to gather socially and feel social without leaving the comfort of the senior lounge," said Sandy Hilton, the senior center's community services manager.

While playing video games promotes social connectedness and friendships, other benefits – such as the improvement and sharpening of the minds' abilities – are still being uncovered.

Cognitive or mental decline is a hallmark of aging. Most of us, at some point or other, will begin to see our memory, attention or reasoning capabilities falter. Recent research from the University of Virginia suggests that such declines can begin as early as our late 20s to early 30s.

Video games are emerging as a powerful new stimulant for helping to buttress and buffer the mind against the march of time.

Research over the past decade has repeatedly shown that games and other brain exercises can be effective aliments to declines in cognitive functioning, including memory, attention, processing speed, problem solving and mental flexibility.

The ACTIVE study published by the American Medical Association in 2006 showed that benefits for older adults can be seen five years after cognitive training – including positive effects on daily functioning.

Researchers at North Carolina State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology are teaming up to take the next step in understanding games' benefits to cognitive functioning.

Anne McLaughlin, a North Carolina State assistant professor, has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to uncover the aspects of games that have the most potential to improve cognitive functioning in older adults.

"We want to produce guidelines for people making games," McLaughlin said. "The goal is to predict beforehand whether they're working or not." Once the guidelines are understood, collaborators at Georgia Tech will incorporate them into real working games.

This is important because a majority of commercial software marketed as enhancing cognition or brain function, such as Nintendo "Brain Age," lack experimental evidence. The Food and Drug Administration does not evaluate or regulate claims about how such software could have beneficial health effects.

Companies such as Lumos Labs in San Francisco are not only developing cognitive training games, but also evaluating them.

"We are taking exercises and specific ways of doing cognitive development and converting them into games so that they are enjoyable enough for people to do," said Mike Scanlon, head of scientific operations at Lumos Labs.

The games on Lumos' site, Lumosity.com, aren't explicitly developed for older adults because training on games can provide benefits for a wide range of age groups.

Games are organized into training programs consisting of 20 to 40 sessions of 15 minutes each. Each session in turn can involve playing up to five different mini-games for a few minutes each.

Doretta Youngdahl holds a Wii controller. Research over the past decade repeatedly has shown that such games can sharpen older minds.

Doretta Youngdahl of Pacifica cheers from the sidelines Wednesday during virtual bowling at the senior center, which has formed a league in which the winners are awarded trophies.

Tom Grunwaldt of Folsom, a 59-year-old who has Parkinson's disease, is a whiz at Nintendo Wii's bowling game, having achieved the high score of 300 a number of times. He participates in a virtual bowling league at the Folsom Senior Center.