A fighter for the red team escapes with rescued royalty in the non-gore version of "Fat Princess." The game also is available in more violent version.

Two princesses addicted to cake are the focus of the cute and comical (yet surprisingly bloody) game "Fat Princess." "Fat Princess" plays like a hybrid of real-time strategy and hack-and-slash action mixed with zone control and capture-the-flag game play, with the princesses as the "flags." The game is best played online with a group of up to 31 others – 16 to a side, with missing player positions filled by computer-controlled bots. Players can also set up a game against the computer.

There's a story mode that serves as a primer for the various game types here and tells a cute story about why the princesses are fat (the cake they crave is magical) and why they're imprisoned in opposing castles for the players to storm – but it's more a bonus than a proper campaign.

In the main mode, "Rescue the Princess," the blue princess is imprisoned in the red base, the red princess is in the blue base, and each side is trying to storm the enemy castle and haul its princess home. There are several battlegrounds, each with its own quirks, secrets and alternate routes to the enemy HQ.

The rescue plan is complicated by a few factors, among them the heavy doors and high walls of each fortress, the fighters streaming endlessly through their gates and the fact that, if given enough cake, the princesses will fatten up and become difficult to carry off. They'll lose the extra bulk if they're not kept well-fed.

Each base has several buildings that produce hats. Players start out as weakling Villagers, but when they pick up a hat, they become the class it represents – Worker, Ranger, Warrior, Mage or Priest. All buildings can be upgraded to produce better hats that grant a second ability to each class.

Workers are the most versatile. They can construct defenses and seize weapons, swing their axes as weapons, and when upgraded, they gain small bombs for ranged fighting.

All these features carry over to the second princess-centric game mode, Snatch N Grab, which doesn't allow players to fatten up their captives. Instead, each side has its own princess and tries to kidnap the other team's royalty a set number of times for victory.

There are two play modes the princesses don't participate in. Team Deathmatch has each side trying to win a war of attrition while Invasion revolves around control of the towers scattered around each map.

Combat is chaotic but fun, and defeated fighters fall in a splash of blood (and tiny limbs, sometimes), though the gore can be toned down or turned off.

PICKS AND PANS

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

3 stars

A prequel to 2007's "Call of Juarez," "Bound in Blood" has players guide Ray McCall and his brother Thomas through an Old West adventure. Most levels allow the player to choose between them.

After the McCall brothers desert their Confederate unit to protect their family home, they end up fleeing a vengeful colonel with their youngest brother, a priest in training, before becoming outlaws.

Ray is the tougher one, able to haul around heavy guns and hold a revolver in each hand, kick open doors and throw dynamite. Thomas is quicker – he only uses one gun, but he's suited for ranged and silent attacks, carries knives and can use a lasso to climb to otherwise unreachable areas.

Each brother has his own method of targeting multiple enemies in slow motion for quick takedowns. And whichever sibling is chosen, the other will tag along under computer control (the lack of a cooperative mode is a missed opportunity).

"Bound in Blood" has a pretty robust online mode with a Western-style spread of game types and character classes. The graphics are quite nice, but the mostly brown and gray palette makes it hard to pick out foes against the environments, especially online.

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

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

3 stars

Another set of fiendish puzzles is in store for the professor and his assistant Luke in "Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box." This time around, the pair is trying to solve the death of one of the professor's mentors, who believed he had found the near-mythical Elysian Box, a strange container said to bring death to whoever opens it.

The tale the game tells is interesting and charmingly done, with plenty of spoken lines and odd characters to meet. The bulk of the game is as it was in the first – Layton and Luke solve lots and lots of puzzles in the course of the story; new puzzles can be downloaded each week.

The puzzles range widely in type and difficulty, from trying to determine an apartment's location through clues to figuring out which end of which key opens a lock, to arranging items in a suitcase. Special coins can purchase hints, but beware: Pick the wrong answer and the number of points (called Picarats) earned for solving the puzzle goes down.

Nintendo DS; $29.99 • Age rating: 10-plus

– Justin Hoeger

Call of Juarez

A fighter for the red team escapes with rescued royalty in the non-gore version of "Fat Princess." The game also is available in more violent version.

Two princesses addicted to cake are the focus of the cute and comical (yet surprisingly bloody) game "Fat Princess." "Fat Princess" plays like a hybrid of real-time strategy and hack-and-slash action mixed with zone control and capture-the-flag game play, with the princesses as the "flags." The game is best played online with a group of up to 31 others – 16 to a side, with missing player positions filled by computer-controlled bots. Players can also set up a game against the computer.

There's a story mode that serves as a primer for the various game types here and tells a cute story about why the princesses are fat (the cake they crave is magical) and why they're imprisoned in opposing castles for the players to storm – but it's more a bonus than a proper campaign.

In the main mode, "Rescue the Princess," the blue princess is imprisoned in the red base, the red princess is in the blue base, and each side is trying to storm the enemy castle and haul its princess home. There are several battlegrounds, each with its own quirks, secrets and alternate routes to the enemy HQ.

The rescue plan is complicated by a few factors, among them the heavy doors and high walls of each fortress, the fighters streaming endlessly through their gates and the fact that, if given enough cake, the princesses will fatten up and become difficult to carry off. They'll lose the extra bulk if they're not kept well-fed.

Each base has several buildings that produce hats. Players start out as weakling Villagers, but when they pick up a hat, they become the class it represents – Worker, Ranger, Warrior, Mage or Priest. All buildings can be upgraded to produce better hats that grant a second ability to each class.

Workers are the most versatile. They can construct defenses and seize weapons, swing their axes as weapons, and when upgraded, they gain small bombs for ranged fighting.

All these features carry over to the second princess-centric game mode, Snatch N Grab, which doesn't allow players to fatten up their captives. Instead, each side has its own princess and tries to kidnap the other team's royalty a set number of times for victory.

There are two play modes the princesses don't participate in. Team Deathmatch has each side trying to win a war of attrition while Invasion revolves around control of the towers scattered around each map.

Combat is chaotic but fun, and defeated fighters fall in a splash of blood (and tiny limbs, sometimes), though the gore can be toned down or turned off.

PICKS AND PANS

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

3 stars

A prequel to 2007's "Call of Juarez," "Bound in Blood" has players guide Ray McCall and his brother Thomas through an Old West adventure. Most levels allow the player to choose between them.

After the McCall brothers desert their Confederate unit to protect their family home, they end up fleeing a vengeful colonel with their youngest brother, a priest in training, before becoming outlaws.

Ray is the tougher one, able to haul around heavy guns and hold a revolver in each hand, kick open doors and throw dynamite. Thomas is quicker – he only uses one gun, but he's suited for ranged and silent attacks, carries knives and can use a lasso to climb to otherwise unreachable areas.

Each brother has his own method of targeting multiple enemies in slow motion for quick takedowns. And whichever sibling is chosen, the other will tag along under computer control (the lack of a cooperative mode is a missed opportunity).

"Bound in Blood" has a pretty robust online mode with a Western-style spread of game types and character classes. The graphics are quite nice, but the mostly brown and gray palette makes it hard to pick out foes against the environments, especially online.

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

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

3 stars

Another set of fiendish puzzles is in store for the professor and his assistant Luke in "Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box." This time around, the pair is trying to solve the death of one of the professor's mentors, who believed he had found the near-mythical Elysian Box, a strange container said to bring death to whoever opens it.

The tale the game tells is interesting and charmingly done, with plenty of spoken lines and odd characters to meet. The bulk of the game is as it was in the first – Layton and Luke solve lots and lots of puzzles in the course of the story; new puzzles can be downloaded each week.

The puzzles range widely in type and difficulty, from trying to determine an apartment's location through clues to figuring out which end of which key opens a lock, to arranging items in a suitcase. Special coins can purchase hints, but beware: Pick the wrong answer and the number of points (called Picarats) earned for solving the puzzle goes down.

Nintendo DS; $29.99 • Age rating: 10-plus

– Justin Hoeger

Call of Juarez

One-on-one fighting games such as "Street Fighter IV" have always been the main focus of the genre, but tag teams can be fun, too. "Marvel vs. Capcom 2" and "The King of Fighters" series have three-on-three matches a central feature, each in their own way.

"Marvel vs. Capcom 2," which has been around in various incarnations since 2000, is now nice and cheap on the Xbox 360 and PS3's download services. Players can select any of the game's 56 characters from the start – earlier versions required some of the fighter roster to be unlocked through play, a feature that's not missed this time around. Online play has been introduced in these new versions, a first for the series.

The fighters are culled from numerous Capcom properties – popular ones like "Street Fighter" and "Mega Man" and more obscure series such as "Darkstalkers" and "Captain Commando." The Marvel half of the lineup includes a broad selection of heroes and villains – Spider-Man, Iron Man, Dr. Doom, Venom, Wolverine, Magneto, the Hulk and many more.

Players control one fighter at a time from their chosen team of three, and with the touch of a few buttons a player can call backup fighters in to take over or to assist with an attack.

The fighting is flashy and chaotic, and often hard to follow, but the controls and special attack motions are pretty much burned into the brains of fighting-game fans by this point. The game is simpler and less balanced than "Street Fighter IV" – some characters are way better than others – but there's still room for strategy.

"King of Fighters XII" also has players choose a team of three, but they can't be tagged in and out of the fight at will. Instead, players choose the order they'll fight in – if one is defeated, another will fight in the next round.

The action is more measured and deliberate than that of "Marvel vs. Capcom 2." The game has its own feel, with an emphasis on trying to put the enemy off-balance for a string of attacks, and neat features such as equal simultaneous attacks canceling each other out, but the basic mechanics are similar.

The cast is drawn from several previous installments in the series, and range from the familiar Ryo Sakazaki and the Bogard brothers, Terry and Andy, to newer fighters such as "The King of Fighters XI's" Elisabeth Branctorche.

PICKS AND PANS

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

2 stars

"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" is about what one would expect from a video-game companion to the new action film: brainless and loud.

Two "Joes" run and gun through various levels, facing soldiers of the terrorist group Cobra as well as turrets, tanks and other foes. It's a game about blowing stuff up, and little else.

There are three classes of Joes: Commandos tend to be better up close, soldiers are good midrange fighters, and heavies lay down fire from range. The computer controls the second fighter in solo games, and a second player can drop in to take control at any time.

Each character has a weapon with unlimited ammo; a special weapon that can be used occasionally; and the Acceleration Suit, which grants invulnerability and increased attack power for a short time once charged up.

The arcade-style game play is easy to pick up, and the co-op emphasis is a plus, but its looks are below average, and any difficulty level above the default one has the potential to leave a defeated player cooling his or her heels until the next checkpoint – or the next level.

Microsoft Xbox 360, also for Sony PlayStation 3, PS2, PSP, Nintendo Wii, DS; $59.99 ($29.99 to $59.99 for other versions)• Age rating: Teen

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

3 1/2 stars

"The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" is one of the very few direct sequels in the "Zelda" line, following up the Nintendo 64's landmark "Ocarina of Time." The game takes perennial hero Link on a bizarre journey through Termina, a land with only three days before an evil-looking moon crashes into its central location, Clock Town.

Link is cursed and loses his ocarina at the beginning of the game to the wicked Skull Kid (who wears the enchanted Majora's Mask). But once he regains the instrument, he's able to reset time to the beginning of the three-day timeline as he searches for a way to stop the moon, keeping any major items he's collected to that point. (Money has to be left in the town bank to carry over.)

Link gains powers by wearing different masks. He can use them to turn into a plantlike Deku Scrub, a fishlike Zora and a hefty Goron, and other masks grant their own benefits.

The basic mechanics of the game are identical to the "Ocarina's," but the endlessly repeating cycle of time makes this a unique adventure.

Nintendo Wii (Virtual Console download); $10 (1,000 Nintendo points) • Age rating: Everyone

– Justin Hoeger

One-on-one fighting games such as "Street Fighter IV" have always been the main focus of the genre, but tag teams can be fun, too. "Marvel vs. Capcom 2" and "The King of Fighters" series have three-on-three matches a central feature, each in their own way.

"Marvel vs. Capcom 2," which has been around in various incarnations since 2000, is now nice and cheap on the Xbox 360 and PS3's download services. Players can select any of the game's 56 characters from the start – earlier versions required some of the fighter roster to be unlocked through play, a feature that's not missed this time around. Online play has been introduced in these new versions, a first for the series.

The fighters are culled from numerous Capcom properties – popular ones like "Street Fighter" and "Mega Man" and more obscure series such as "Darkstalkers" and "Captain Commando." The Marvel half of the lineup includes a broad selection of heroes and villains – Spider-Man, Iron Man, Dr. Doom, Venom, Wolverine, Magneto, the Hulk and many more.

Players control one fighter at a time from their chosen team of three, and with the touch of a few buttons a player can call backup fighters in to take over or to assist with an attack.

The fighting is flashy and chaotic, and often hard to follow, but the controls and special attack motions are pretty much burned into the brains of fighting-game fans by this point. The game is simpler and less balanced than "Street Fighter IV" – some characters are way better than others – but there's still room for strategy.

"King of Fighters XII" also has players choose a team of three, but they can't be tagged in and out of the fight at will. Instead, players choose the order they'll fight in – if one is defeated, another will fight in the next round.

The action is more measured and deliberate than that of "Marvel vs. Capcom 2." The game has its own feel, with an emphasis on trying to put the enemy off-balance for a string of attacks, and neat features such as equal simultaneous attacks canceling each other out, but the basic mechanics are similar.

The cast is drawn from several previous installments in the series, and range from the familiar Ryo Sakazaki and the Bogard brothers, Terry and Andy, to newer fighters such as "The King of Fighters XI's" Elisabeth Branctorche.

PICKS AND PANS

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

2 stars

"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" is about what one would expect from a video-game companion to the new action film: brainless and loud.

Two "Joes" run and gun through various levels, facing soldiers of the terrorist group Cobra as well as turrets, tanks and other foes. It's a game about blowing stuff up, and little else.

There are three classes of Joes: Commandos tend to be better up close, soldiers are good midrange fighters, and heavies lay down fire from range. The computer controls the second fighter in solo games, and a second player can drop in to take control at any time.

Each character has a weapon with unlimited ammo; a special weapon that can be used occasionally; and the Acceleration Suit, which grants invulnerability and increased attack power for a short time once charged up.

The arcade-style game play is easy to pick up, and the co-op emphasis is a plus, but its looks are below average, and any difficulty level above the default one has the potential to leave a defeated player cooling his or her heels until the next checkpoint – or the next level.

Microsoft Xbox 360, also for Sony PlayStation 3, PS2, PSP, Nintendo Wii, DS; $59.99 ($29.99 to $59.99 for other versions)• Age rating: Teen

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

3 1/2 stars

"The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" is one of the very few direct sequels in the "Zelda" line, following up the Nintendo 64's landmark "Ocarina of Time." The game takes perennial hero Link on a bizarre journey through Termina, a land with only three days before an evil-looking moon crashes into its central location, Clock Town.

Link is cursed and loses his ocarina at the beginning of the game to the wicked Skull Kid (who wears the enchanted Majora's Mask). But once he regains the instrument, he's able to reset time to the beginning of the three-day timeline as he searches for a way to stop the moon, keeping any major items he's collected to that point. (Money has to be left in the town bank to carry over.)

Link gains powers by wearing different masks. He can use them to turn into a plantlike Deku Scrub, a fishlike Zora and a hefty Goron, and other masks grant their own benefits.

The basic mechanics of the game are identical to the "Ocarina's," but the endlessly repeating cycle of time makes this a unique adventure.

Nintendo Wii (Virtual Console download); $10 (1,000 Nintendo points) • Age rating: Everyone

– Justin Hoeger

Players create a civilization of thriving island cities in "Dawn of Discovery."

"Dawn of Discovery" fits the Wii's nation-building bill nicely, focusing on the construction of thriving island cities and an economic engine rather than the sprawling nations of "Civilization" games.

Played in real time rather than turn-by-turn, the game's basics are easy to learn, but to build a thriving, self-sustaining economic engine is a fun challenge.

The game's story mode serves as an extended tutorial for the basics. Players take on the role of the virtuous Prince William, sent by his father to develop the islands for the good of his people. His loutish brother Edward is on the same mission.

As the story progresses, William will learn how to establish a profitable colony, expand to other islands and deal with disasters and unhappy citizens, among other challenges. The story mode is restrictive, though, only allowing players to use options that have been introduced to them. The meat of the game is in the open-ended continuous play mode.

Starting a settlement is easy: Convert an exploration ship into an initial warehouse, drop in a few houses and a fisherman's hut, set up a lumberjack and quarry for building materials, start a few dairies, farms and plantations, and connect it all with roads.

The game uses the Wii Remote as a pointer standing in for mouse control. It works very well, and creating structures is as simple as selecting them from a menu and dropping them into place with a thud.

Demolition is just as easy – it's little trouble to reorganize a town that's getting cluttered. A misplaced building can't be undone, though, and the resources used to build it are lost if it's demolished.

Citizens will pay taxes as long as they're happy, which offsets the cost of building and maintaining goods-producing structures like plantations and farms. Fulfill specific needs of the people and they'll turn into a more advanced form that's willing to pay more – pioneers will become settlers if provided with a chapel and enough milk, for example.

The precise needs of the population can be vague. They may demand food or hemp clothing, but how much they need vs. how much is already being produced isn't made clear. One just has to keep increasing production until they're happy.

Goods can be sold off when there's excess or bought at a premium when there's a shortage.

Each island only supports a few resources and crops. One island may be rich in clay and suitable for herbs while another may be rich in stone and have good soil for spices and only decent conditions for grain.

The restricted real estate of the islands and their limited potential makes expansion crucial. Some islands are empty, but if a prime island is in the hands of a rival, there could be war. Load a battleship with troops and send them to the desired island, and they'll fight it out with any defenders there.

PICKS AND PANS

THE SECRET OF MONKEY ISLAND SPECIAL EDITION

3 1/2 stars

The point-and-click adventure game has seen something of a revival lately. Titles from "Sam & Max" to "Strong Bad" have taken an episodic approach to the genre, with a few hours of game play released at a time. There's even a new entry in the "Monkey Island" series, "Tales of Monkey Island." Now, the original "Secret of Monkey Island" has been given a new special edition that features totally redrawn graphics, redone music and fully voiced dialogue. The game is still entertaining after nearly 19 years, and players can switch between the old and new visual presentations at the touch of a button.

The game play remains the same, aside from a few interface changes: To progress, players have to solve numerous puzzles, directing wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood via verb commands – "walk to," "talk to," "pick up," "use" and so on.

The dialogue is funny and the puzzles are clever – how does one distract the dogs guarding the governor's mansion or get the fish away from that pecking seagull? And how can puny Guybrush hope to defeat the evil ghost pirate LeChuck?

PC (also for Microsoft Xbox 360, Apple iPhone/iPod Touch); $9.99 • Age rating: 10-plus

HOLY INVASION OF PRIVACY, BADMAN! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?

2 1/2 stars

In "Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do To Deserve This?" the player stands in for the God of Destruction, who has been summoned by a snarky demon to assist in defeating a gaggle of do-gooders trying to invade his dungeon and drag him away.

The player carves twisting passages through the game's grid of stones with a pickax cursor that has limited uses in each stage. Alas, passageways alone can't stop a meddling hero or two.

Luckily, many of the blocks are infused with nutrients – depending on how full it is, a broken block may produce a Slimemoss, which redistributes and concentrates nutrients in the maze, a nasty kind of bug called an Omnom, or a Lizardman. Several other monsters are created with mana in the same way. Higher-order monsters eat lesser ones to grow and reproduce.

There's no direct way to control the monsters once they're free of the blocks. The trick is to arrange the maze so the heroes will get killed by monsters on their way to capture the vampire guy (it's game over if they escape with him).

It's sometimes frustrating and losses are frequent, but the game's humor and low-fi charm invite one to try again.

Sony PlayStation Portable (PlayStation Store download); $19.99 • Age rating: 10-plus

– Justin Hoeger

Players create a civilization of thriving island cities in "Dawn of Discovery."

"Dawn of Discovery" fits the Wii's nation-building bill nicely, focusing on the construction of thriving island cities and an economic engine rather than the sprawling nations of "Civilization" games.

Played in real time rather than turn-by-turn, the game's basics are easy to learn, but to build a thriving, self-sustaining economic engine is a fun challenge.

The game's story mode serves as an extended tutorial for the basics. Players take on the role of the virtuous Prince William, sent by his father to develop the islands for the good of his people. His loutish brother Edward is on the same mission.

As the story progresses, William will learn how to establish a profitable colony, expand to other islands and deal with disasters and unhappy citizens, among other challenges. The story mode is restrictive, though, only allowing players to use options that have been introduced to them. The meat of the game is in the open-ended continuous play mode.

Starting a settlement is easy: Convert an exploration ship into an initial warehouse, drop in a few houses and a fisherman's hut, set up a lumberjack and quarry for building materials, start a few dairies, farms and plantations, and connect it all with roads.

The game uses the Wii Remote as a pointer standing in for mouse control. It works very well, and creating structures is as simple as selecting them from a menu and dropping them into place with a thud.

Demolition is just as easy – it's little trouble to reorganize a town that's getting cluttered. A misplaced building can't be undone, though, and the resources used to build it are lost if it's demolished.

Citizens will pay taxes as long as they're happy, which offsets the cost of building and maintaining goods-producing structures like plantations and farms. Fulfill specific needs of the people and they'll turn into a more advanced form that's willing to pay more – pioneers will become settlers if provided with a chapel and enough milk, for example.

The precise needs of the population can be vague. They may demand food or hemp clothing, but how much they need vs. how much is already being produced isn't made clear. One just has to keep increasing production until they're happy.

Goods can be sold off when there's excess or bought at a premium when there's a shortage.

Each island only supports a few resources and crops. One island may be rich in clay and suitable for herbs while another may be rich in stone and have good soil for spices and only decent conditions for grain.

The restricted real estate of the islands and their limited potential makes expansion crucial. Some islands are empty, but if a prime island is in the hands of a rival, there could be war. Load a battleship with troops and send them to the desired island, and they'll fight it out with any defenders there.

PICKS AND PANS

THE SECRET OF MONKEY ISLAND SPECIAL EDITION

3 1/2 stars

The point-and-click adventure game has seen something of a revival lately. Titles from "Sam & Max" to "Strong Bad" have taken an episodic approach to the genre, with a few hours of game play released at a time. There's even a new entry in the "Monkey Island" series, "Tales of Monkey Island." Now, the original "Secret of Monkey Island" has been given a new special edition that features totally redrawn graphics, redone music and fully voiced dialogue. The game is still entertaining after nearly 19 years, and players can switch between the old and new visual presentations at the touch of a button.

The game play remains the same, aside from a few interface changes: To progress, players have to solve numerous puzzles, directing wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood via verb commands – "walk to," "talk to," "pick up," "use" and so on.

The dialogue is funny and the puzzles are clever – how does one distract the dogs guarding the governor's mansion or get the fish away from that pecking seagull? And how can puny Guybrush hope to defeat the evil ghost pirate LeChuck?

PC (also for Microsoft Xbox 360, Apple iPhone/iPod Touch); $9.99 • Age rating: 10-plus

HOLY INVASION OF PRIVACY, BADMAN! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?

2 1/2 stars

In "Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do To Deserve This?" the player stands in for the God of Destruction, who has been summoned by a snarky demon to assist in defeating a gaggle of do-gooders trying to invade his dungeon and drag him away.

The player carves twisting passages through the game's grid of stones with a pickax cursor that has limited uses in each stage. Alas, passageways alone can't stop a meddling hero or two.

Luckily, many of the blocks are infused with nutrients – depending on how full it is, a broken block may produce a Slimemoss, which redistributes and concentrates nutrients in the maze, a nasty kind of bug called an Omnom, or a Lizardman. Several other monsters are created with mana in the same way. Higher-order monsters eat lesser ones to grow and reproduce.

There's no direct way to control the monsters once they're free of the blocks. The trick is to arrange the maze so the heroes will get killed by monsters on their way to capture the vampire guy (it's game over if they escape with him).

It's sometimes frustrating and losses are frequent, but the game's humor and low-fi charm invite one to try again.

Sony PlayStation Portable (PlayStation Store download); $19.99 • Age rating: 10-plus

– Justin Hoeger

Players can fight in the air or on the ground in "Battlefield 1943."

Two new games in the "Battlefield" series revisit the familiar territory of World War II but in a fresh way.

"Battlefield 1943" offers an experience similar to last year's "Bad Company," with destructible buildings and explosive action on several islands in the Pacific theater of the war, but as a download for $15 or so instead of "Bad Company's" full $60.

"Battlefield Heroes" is a more cartoonish but no less entertaining version of the "Battlefield" formula, and it's free to play, though there are ways for players to spend money. Neither the Allies nor the Axis is to be found in name, though the teams – the Royals and the Nationals – draw obvious visual inspirations.

The game play is as familiar as the settings. Both games pare the selection of soldier classes to three; both streamline the vehicle options to a jeep, tank and plane; both offer only the standard conquest game in which players battle over several control points and try to reduce the opposing team's stock of "tickets," or extra lives. There are no single-player modes.

In "1943," players can freely choose from three classes with each new life. The infantryman is armed with a submachine gun, an anti-tank weapon, grenades and a wrench used for attack and repair. The rifleman has a long-range rifle, grenades for launching and throwing, and a bayonet. The scout carries a sniper rifle, a bladed weapon and remote-activated explosives.

The game looks fantastic, particularly for a downloadable title, and plays just like "Battlefield" should.

"Heroes" plays just a bit differently, with the action taking place from a third-person perspective and the graphics given a much cheerier look than the gritty "1943." Instead of a direct download, players install a plug-in program and launch the game directly from their Web browser after logging in at www.battlefieldheroes.com.

"Heroes" players earn Valor Points as they play; the points can be spent on better weapons and Widgets, items that provide an in-combat boost such as healing or vehicle repair. Players may also, at their option, purchase Battlefunds in increments from 700 ($5) to 7,000 ($50). These allow players to purchase cosmetic items such as jackets, masks, hats and boots, along with other items. Players may pay a small amount to use these items temporarily, or a larger amount to keep them permanently.

PICKS AND PANS

Wii Sports Resort

3 stars

"Wii Sports," the game packed in with the Nintendo Wii system, did a great job of showing the basics of what could be done with the motion-sensitive Wii Remote and Nunchuk.

"Wii Sports Resort," an expanded take on the original game, means to do the same for the new Wii Motion Plus accessory, which increases the remote's sensitivity and accuracy. The game comes with one Wii Motion Plus unit (they're available separately for $19.99).

Bowling and golf are the only returning "Wii Sports" activities. New events include swordplay, wakeboarding, Frisbee, archery, basketball, table tennis, power cruising on personal watercraft, canoeing, cycling and air sports. Some games are better than others: Swordplay, archery, table tennis and the returning games are quite a bit of fun but wakeboarding, cycling, canoeing and power cruising are less so.

Most of the games have more than one play mode – Frisbee with a dog and Frisbee golf, for instance – and multiplayer options range from two to four players, depending on the event.

Nintendo Wii; $49.99 (includes Wii Motion Plus unit) • Age rating: Everyone

G-Force

2 1/2 stars

"G-Force," based on the computer-animated film about a team of small animal operatives, makes for a decent game.

The enemy gadgets are cleverly designed and well-animated, the graphics on the whole are pretty good, and the game comes with two sets of glasses for playing in 3-D mode.

Players control agents Darwin, a guinea pig, and Mooch, a camera-equipped fly, in a mission to stop an evil billionaire's plan to take over the world with an army of robotic gadgets. It's these gadgets – computer mice, computers, waffle irons, blenders and so on – that Darwin will face as enemies.

Darwin has his own gadgets, including an electro-whip and a plasma gun at the start, as well as a scanning tool called a Saberlizer. Later on, he'll be able to buy or find upgrades and new weapons such as a freeze cannon and the NanoHacker, which turns enemies to his side.

The player can take control of Mooch at any time to scout ahead, hit out-of-reach switches or carry back crucial items like key cards.

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

– Justin Hoeger

Players can fight in the air or on the ground in "Battlefield 1943."

Two new games in the "Battlefield" series revisit the familiar territory of World War II but in a fresh way.

"Battlefield 1943" offers an experience similar to last year's "Bad Company," with destructible buildings and explosive action on several islands in the Pacific theater of the war, but as a download for $15 or so instead of "Bad Company's" full $60.

"Battlefield Heroes" is a more cartoonish but no less entertaining version of the "Battlefield" formula, and it's free to play, though there are ways for players to spend money. Neither the Allies nor the Axis is to be found in name, though the teams – the Royals and the Nationals – draw obvious visual inspirations.

The game play is as familiar as the settings. Both games pare the selection of soldier classes to three; both streamline the vehicle options to a jeep, tank and plane; both offer only the standard conquest game in which players battle over several control points and try to reduce the opposing team's stock of "tickets," or extra lives. There are no single-player modes.

In "1943," players can freely choose from three classes with each new life. The infantryman is armed with a submachine gun, an anti-tank weapon, grenades and a wrench used for attack and repair. The rifleman has a long-range rifle, grenades for launching and throwing, and a bayonet. The scout carries a sniper rifle, a bladed weapon and remote-activated explosives.

The game looks fantastic, particularly for a downloadable title, and plays just like "Battlefield" should.

"Heroes" plays just a bit differently, with the action taking place from a third-person perspective and the graphics given a much cheerier look than the gritty "1943." Instead of a direct download, players install a plug-in program and launch the game directly from their Web browser after logging in at www.battlefieldheroes.com.

"Heroes" players earn Valor Points as they play; the points can be spent on better weapons and Widgets, items that provide an in-combat boost such as healing or vehicle repair. Players may also, at their option, purchase Battlefunds in increments from 700 ($5) to 7,000 ($50). These allow players to purchase cosmetic items such as jackets, masks, hats and boots, along with other items. Players may pay a small amount to use these items temporarily, or a larger amount to keep them permanently.

PICKS AND PANS

Wii Sports Resort

3 stars

"Wii Sports," the game packed in with the Nintendo Wii system, did a great job of showing the basics of what could be done with the motion-sensitive Wii Remote and Nunchuk.

"Wii Sports Resort," an expanded take on the original game, means to do the same for the new Wii Motion Plus accessory, which increases the remote's sensitivity and accuracy. The game comes with one Wii Motion Plus unit (they're available separately for $19.99).

Bowling and golf are the only returning "Wii Sports" activities. New events include swordplay, wakeboarding, Frisbee, archery, basketball, table tennis, power cruising on personal watercraft, canoeing, cycling and air sports. Some games are better than others: Swordplay, archery, table tennis and the returning games are quite a bit of fun but wakeboarding, cycling, canoeing and power cruising are less so.

Most of the games have more than one play mode – Frisbee with a dog and Frisbee golf, for instance – and multiplayer options range from two to four players, depending on the event.

Nintendo Wii; $49.99 (includes Wii Motion Plus unit) • Age rating: Everyone

G-Force

2 1/2 stars

"G-Force," based on the computer-animated film about a team of small animal operatives, makes for a decent game.

The enemy gadgets are cleverly designed and well-animated, the graphics on the whole are pretty good, and the game comes with two sets of glasses for playing in 3-D mode.

Players control agents Darwin, a guinea pig, and Mooch, a camera-equipped fly, in a mission to stop an evil billionaire's plan to take over the world with an army of robotic gadgets. It's these gadgets – computer mice, computers, waffle irons, blenders and so on – that Darwin will face as enemies.

Darwin has his own gadgets, including an electro-whip and a plasma gun at the start, as well as a scanning tool called a Saberlizer. Later on, he'll be able to buy or find upgrades and new weapons such as a freeze cannon and the NanoHacker, which turns enemies to his side.

The player can take control of Mooch at any time to scout ahead, hit out-of-reach switches or carry back crucial items like key cards.

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

– Justin Hoeger