Much like its predecessors, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars features three episodes based on various stories from the Star Wars universe. This time though, it’s a slightly different experience and adventure. Traveller’s Tales has decided to go with some episodes based on the Star Wars movie prequels and a mixture of stories based on the Star Wars animation. The result is a storyline focused more on Anakin, Obi-wan, Padmé Amidala and some of the lesser known Jedi, Sith and bounty hunters such as Twi’lek. The game play has also been mixed up a little as well. There are the classic levels (that often feature hundreds of enemies within them) which involve moving from room to room shooting down droids and also the usual vehicle based levels, and now, there are also a number of strategy style levels which involve players taking control of battalions of clone troopers, building bases and deploying vehicles to defeat the enemy.

Even after three games, it seems the features that have made past Lego Star Wars games so addictive and amusing are still just as fun. Players take control of a variety of light and dark side Star Wars characters and run around levels based on the Star Wars universe fighting large numbers of enemies and solving Lego-based puzzles. It’s still just as satisfying to sabre an enemy and watch him fall apart and highly addictive to collect as many studs (the Lego equivalent of currency) as it was in original Lego Star Wars game. On top of all the fighting and Lego puzzle building are the usual character powers. In the case of Star Wars, some characters are able to use “The Force” and others such as (Padmé Amidala, clones and friendly droids) are able to use grapples or access small or off limits areas. Character abilities such as the force are mainly used in the same way as they were in previous games – assembling/relocating Lego structures vital to certain puzzles/player progression and throwing or levitating Lego enemies until they explode into a pile of blocks.

Run! We're outnumbered.

Besides the features most will already be familiar with, there’s now new ones such as SceneSwap, multi-layered space battles, all new boss battles which include massive enemies from The Clone Wars animated series and as previously mentioned the occasional strategy-like level throughout the game. SceneSwap is a nice idea, but it seems to barely get a run throughout the main game, though it does work particularly well in split screen mode. This mode allows players to take control of multiple teams in separate locations of a level, and by working together these teams are then able to complete various parts of larger objectives. The multi-layered space battles are an extension of the space battles featured in previous Lego Star Wars games. These battles have an extra dimension added to them because the field of play isn’t stuck to just one scale anymore. As for the new bosses, you can now face off against enemies including Gor, General Grievous and the Zillo Beast from the Clone Wars, and no doubt it’ll be quite a thrill for die-hard Star Wars enthusiasts. And then last of all, there’s really only about one bad new feature in Lego Star Wars III and that’s the strategy style section mentioned earlier. They really do nothing for the game. Unfortunately there’s an issue with some of this new content; it really lacks direction at times. In the space battles players may find themselves flying around lost for hours at a time and in the earlier stages of strategy levels you’ll be forced to guess to make progress. There’s also an arcade mode thrown in and a trophy room which are pretty self-explanatory. You play through levels in an arcade-like way and the trophies can be unlocked by collecting special items throughout the game.

The visuals and controls aren’t so fantastic either. Though the game does look significantly better than the previous games because it was designed solely for next generation systems, the Wii version of The Clone Wars still just looks lazy at times and you almost wish it could have been just easier on the eyes. And just because the main demographic playing this game is probably children (hopefully though it’s Stars Wars fans and Lego builders of all ages) doesn’t mean you can screw them over. The controls in the Wii version also feel a bit clunky and inoperable at times. Though, sadly this must be partly blamed on Nintendo’s Wii Remote and Nunchuk setup. A regular gaming pad for a game like Lego Star Wars really pays off so adding in a Classic Controller option for the Wii version would have been nice.

Book 'em danno.

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars isn’t necessarily the strongest entry in long-running Lego Star Wars series, but it’s a great game nevertheless. Younger ones and fans of either Star Wars or Lego will no doubt become lost within The Clone Wars for months on end with all the content on offer while a few regular gamers may even find themselves getting quite a thrill out of it for a while. Traveller’s Tales has done a great job once again and despite the minor flaws throughout the game a lot of it can be forgiven when you realise all the love and effort that’s gone into creating yet another charming Lego world based on the Star Wars universe.

By Liam Doolan

Graphics: B-

The graphics aren’t the best, but they definitely aren’t the worst we’ve seen on the Wii either. The light sabres and laser battles look fabulous.

Sound: A+

Classic Star Wars and Lego tunes and sounds have been packed into this game. It’s an absolute joy to hear the swing of a light sabre into a Lego structure followed by a blocky sound.

Gameplay: B

The gameplay has its ups and downs. There’s great classic levels where players must fight their way through a tonne of enemies and then there’s the not so great strategy levels which lack direction. It’s a mixed bag really. Luckily it seems to be mostly enjoyable.

Overall: B+

This game is well-suited to both young and old gamers, and also fans of Lego, Star Wars or both. It’s definitely at the forefront of the Lego games and one of the better Star Wars themed titles released in a while. There’s plenty of content to keep players entertained for months on end and its charm and cheeky humour is sure to keep certain individuals coming back for more.

Like the original Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo, DKCR is a side-scrolling platform game starring the banana-loving ape, Donkey Kong, and his cool simian sidekick, Diddy Kong. What follows is the usual storyline (I use the term loosely) that sees the Kongs chasing after *insert generic villain* who has stolen their precious banana hoard. And this is about the point where the player takes control of the Kongs. The player’s role in DKCR is to guide Donkey and Diddy through more than 60 stunning levels across eight beautifully crafted worlds.

Amazingly, Retro Studios has managed to keep the majority of old Donkey Kong Country level design and game play intact. There’s never a dull moment. Every level is different, and the majority revolve around one key element. In one of the later sections of the game there is an entire level based around red and blue platforms which are activated by switches. It’s highly dangerous and exhilarating at the same time. Mine cart rides are back as well, and then there’s the new jet-barrel blasting segments which won’t be so popular with everyone. On top of all of this though, there are levels with bottomless pits, rising lava, killer waves and monkey-eating bugs! It’s all in there, and it all rests on the player to safely guide the Kongs through these dangers.

The bird doesn't know whether it's hallucinating or not.

Besides all of the tricky obstacles to avoid, there’s also a stack of enemies to eliminate and a tonne of collectables to acquire within each level. The enemies in the game are quite a weird bunch as well. There are tikis, mechanical chickens, vine hippos, crazy crabs, bowling pin shaped pelicans and back flipping sharks. Surprisingly, K Rool and his army of Kremlings don’t actually make an appearance in DKCR, and there is no proper explanation as to why they are not in the game. Maybe next time, hey?

On the other hand, there are a variety of friendly animals in the game as well. Rambi the rhino is back and better than ever. Levels featuring the popular rhino tend to be focused mainly on speed and smashing things. Besides Rambi, Squawks the parrot makes a return as well. However, his role this time is to help players detect the hidden puzzle pieces contained within each level. Then last, but definitely not least, are the checkpoint pigs. These little fellas have replaced the old star patterned barrel, but do exactly the same thing: create a checkpoint for the player mid-level. These pigs are also the ones who can activate the Super Guide system in the game. The Super Guide system in DKCR is just like the one featured in New Super Mario Bros Wii. If you’re struggling with a particular section of the game, then the little pig will pop up and ask if you’d like the Super Kongs (a white-haired Donkey and Diddy) to take over for a while and complete either a tough section of a level, a whole level or even the entire game.

Diddy suffered third degree burns.

Speaking of tough, some players might find DKCR a real challenge. From about the third level onwards the game becomes increasingly difficult. However, this is kind of balanced out by the fact that the player has the ability to take up to four hits from enemies before it’s all over. In the multiplayer component of the game, Kongs can be continually re-spawned provided one Kong is still alive and there are enough spare balloons to do so (re-spawning Kongs costs one balloon (life) and then they drift around in a DK barrel until the other player makes contact and releases them). The bosses throughout this game can also be quite a challenge. A lot them aren’t quite as predictable as they should be either. The randomness of a giant chicken robot and the final boss may drive particular individuals insane. It also doesn’t help that most of the bosses require about 6 hits or so before they’re finally defeated. In a nutshell, the difficulty of this game is likely to put some off, but on a nicer note, there’s more of a chance for the player to get through this game than say, the original three DKC titles, because there are more lives, more checkpoints and hits before it’s all over.

The difficulty may not be the only thing that puts some players off this game. Unfortunately both control styles in DKCR involve a little too much waggle. Players can chose from the Wii Remote on its side or old Wii Remote and Nunchuk setup. Either way there’s still a lot of shaking involved. To perform pretty much any of Donkey and Diddy’s trademark moves players must shake the remote. To use the new blowing technique, the ground-bashing and Donkey Kong’s roll you have to shake the remote. The problem with this is that it becomes annoying very quickly and eventually downright painful.

If you can overcome the difficulty of the game and its minor control issues, you’ll find that Donkey Kong Country Returns has plenty to offer, and really rewards those who go out of their way to collect every puzzle piece and KONG letter with soundtracks, game art and new levels. Then there’s the old school barrel minigames which make a nice return and provide the player with more lives and puzzle pieces, allowing for more unlocks. Two players can take part in the collecting games, but to be honest, at times the multiplayer feels as if it was tacked onto the game at the last minute. With so many mine cart, jet-barrel blasting and moving screen levels within the game, often one player will find themselves constantly dying or having to restrain themselves from pressing any buttons. It makes for some questionable game play at times.

Point to the animal who robbed you.

In the sound department, DKCR lives up to new and old standards. All the classic tunes are back and better than ever. The banana collecting sound is great, the barrel smashing is spot on and bouncing off enemies’ heads sounds just as good as it did back in 1994. Overall, Retro Studios has done a fantastic job with the sound. The graphics are just as good. As previously mentioned, each level is stunning and every world has been beautifully crafted and themed. The lush jungle will pop out at players like never before and all of the game’s interactive backgrounds have had a lot of effort put into them. The game sounds and looks stunning.

Although Donkey Kong Country Returns has many shortcomings such as unnecessary waggle, a steep difficulty curve, annoying barrel rocket sections, and, at times, thoughtless multiplayer sections, it’s still a top game. Retro Studios has done a fine job with DKCR and any fan of the Donkey Kong Country series should be proud of their efforts. The title features solid 2D platforming action which rivals, and some would say, surpasses, New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s game play. If your Wii hasn’t done much since Super Mario Galaxy 2 then Donkey Kong Country Returns is the new game to check out. It’ll provide hours of platforming fun – provided you can tolerate its minor problems.

By Liam Doolan

Graphics: A+

The graphics are absolutely superb.

Sound: A+

All the classic tunes are back and better than ever. The banana collecting noise has never sounded better either!

Gameplay: B+

The game play in DKCR is fairly solid from start to finish. However, the waggle, jet barrel sections and difficulty stop it from being fantastic.

Overall: B+

Minor issues such as too much waggle, bad barrel blasting sections, tacked on co-op and overall difficulty make this game frustrating at times. DKCR is a great game, but for most it will be hard not to overlook all of the above issues.

Well, maybe it’s not quite an exact retelling of the story. Aragorn’s Quest takes many liberties with the story for the purposes of combat, such as defending Rivendell from an orc assault and the general abundance of trolls in the game. Still, every memorable moment from The Lord of the Rings is recreated in Aragorn’s Quest as well as some more obscure moments. In a nice touch, the story is actually seen through the eyes of Frodo Gamgee, son of Samwise Gamgee. Between each level you play as young Frodo in The Shire, which acts as both the world hub and tutorial level, while the main levels themselves take place when Samwise recounts the tale of Aragorn to Frodo and his friends. Throughout these levels Samwise will continue to narrate over the top of the action. It’s a really nice touch that adds a bit of charm to what could have easily been quite stale storytelling.

The action while playing as Aragorn is very straightforward, with most levels amounting to little more than running from point A to point B while killing whatever crosses your path. Like most aspects of Aragorn’s Quest, combat is simple but solid, with sword swings mapped to the Wii Remote, with the option to swing up, down, left and right as well as thrust. The nunchuck can also be pushed forward to attack with your shield. These motion controls are surprisingly responsive and unlike most Wii titles, you rarely find yourself fighting against the controller.

There And Back Again... on a fetch quest.

There are a small number of different weapons to choose from plus each enemy has their own patterns and weak points, so there is some variety. Unfortunately this variety doesn’t count for too much when madly swinging your sword is usually an equally effective tactic, especially given that the majority of enemies can be taken down with only one or two strikes. Throughout each level there are items that can be found that upgrade your attack and defence. However, in the quest for simplicity, there are no RPG-style statistics to look at or compare so you’re just left with the knowledge that you can kill things a bit quicker and die a bit slower. In addition to this each level is packed with sidequests, the vast majority of which are also either fetch-quests or simple ‘kill-everything’ quests. These can become tedious very quickly, however completing them usually results in some nice upgrades, or money to purchase more upgrades.

For those who wish to play with a friend there is the co-op mode. At any time in the game a second player can join in and play as Gandalf. This certainly makes the game more fun, but it does come with its own problems. The frame rate starts to drop fairly significantly with a second player, particularly in the levels that feature a large amount of characters on screen. Plus it seems strange that only the second player can play as Gandalf. If you’re playing solo, you’ll have no choice but to play as Aragorn.

Remember the giant spiders in Moria? Yeah, me neither.

Visually, the environments are low on detail but are still quite nice to look at. At the very least they do an adequate job of recreating the locations. However characters have a certain uncanny valley zombie-like look to them when viewed close up. Fortunately you don’t really see their faces during the majority of gameplay, but when you do it’s a little unsettling.

Unfortunately Aragorn’s Quest suffers from a problem that occurs with many Wii games. In an effort to be simple enough for younger audiences, it strips away any of the depth that is needed to hold attention. Despite this, there is no doubt that Aragorn’s Quest is a solid, well made game and there certainly is some fun to be had with it. Just don’t expect that fun to last the whole way through to the end.

By Michael Henderson

Graphics: B-

Nothing amazing, but still quite nice.

Sound: C+

Voice acting is strong but the music is pretty forgettable.

Gameplay: C

Very solid, responsive controls, but you’ll still just end up waggling non-stop regardless.

Overall: C+

It’s a real shame, but the lack of depth in Aragorn’s Quest stops it from reaching the heights that it really ought to.

The Brave and the Bold aims to be an interactive version of the TV series and for the most part is quite successful. There are five separate stories to play through and each one sees Batman team up with an ally to defeat the various villains. Each of the episodes begin much the same as the cartoon, complete with opening title sequences after a brief prologue. There is a different hero accompanying Batman in each chapter and players can choose to play as either, or both in drop-in co-op mode. In single player, the other hero is controlled by the AI, but they are mostly ineffectual, only lending minor support.

In keeping with the animation style presentation, The Brave and the Bold features some beautiful 2D artwork. The quality of the art is truly impressive and it really does look like an interactive cartoon. On occasion 3D objects are used (such as in the Batcave), but unfortunately they look cheap and tacky when contrasted to the 2D art. The high visual quality should come as no surprise considering that The Brave and The Bold was developed by WayForward Technologies; the same people behind the Wii remake of A Boy and His Blob.

Here's Robin being his usual useless self. Fortunately the game has quite few jokes at Robins expense.

The Brave and the Bold also does a great job of replicating the TV series aurally. Voice acting is performed by the same actors as the TV show and the constant dialogue is consistently witty. The music doesn’t quite keep the same standard. Sure, it’s inoffensive, but it’s certainly not memorable.

So The Brave and the Bold completely nails the look and sound of the cartoon, but how does the gameplay hold up? Well, this is where things start to look a little grim. Seeing as this is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up, you’ll spend most of your time running from left to right punching everything in your path. The move set is limited to a punch combo, a few special attacks, power attacks (activated by shaking the Wii Remote) and little else. Each character has the same move set, excluding special weapons, but even then most differences between the weapons are somewhat superficial.

Actually, that sums up a lot of this game. Superficial. Sure, this chapter might see you fighting Gorilla Grodds henchmen, but are they really different from Catwomans henchmen from the previous chapter? Not really, any difference is mostly skin deep. Locations suffer the same problem. Occasionally there will be some platforming sections thrown in to break up the action, but funnily enough, these are monotonous too. The combat mechanics just don’t lend themselves to deep platforming gameplay.

This is actually a pretty accurate representation of my office.

Unfortunately all of these superficial elements result in a game that just doesn’t offer enough variety to keep you interested. It’s entertaining for the first 15 minutes, but after an hour or so of walking left to right while spamming the punch button, you’ll be lost in the tedium.

It’s a real shame. The Brave and the Bold really starts out on a high note. It grabs your attention with a very slick presentation, but unfortunately it can’t offer enough substance beneath the aesthetics to hold your interest. It seems like a real wasted opportunity to create an interactive cartoon experience.

By Michael Henderson

Graphics: A-

The 2D art looks really great, but is let down by the occasional low-poly 3D models.

Sound: B

Strong voice acting, but mostly forgettable music.

Gameplay: C-

Limited options for combat and forced platforming sections make for monotonous action.

Overall: C-

Aesthetically fantastic, but unfortunately it has virtually no meaningful variety. Only the most hardcore fans of the TV series will stay interested beyond the first episode

EA Sports has once again delivered its yearly iteration of the iconic soccer game – creatively titled FIFA 11 – to every console currently on the videogames market. In typical FIFA fashion, the game boasts a whole host of improvements upon the previous version, with the ultimate goal (no pun intended – Ed.) being the creation of the most immersive and accurate game of soccer for sports fans. So does this version actually improve on the last? And will time machines be invented so soon as next year? Read on to find out.

So to answer the first question straight away: Yes, FIFA 11 does improve on FIFA 10’s ability to emulate a real game of soccer, though the large majority of improvements are technically-based, and as such are not as noticeable while playing the game for short periods of time. The first of these technical improvements is the addition of Personality+, which will undoubtedly form the momentum for all FIFA titles of the future. Basically, it means that individual players perform on the virtual pitch as you’d expect to see them in the real world thanks to a fairly comprehensive database of player stats and traits. FIFA 11 is evidently driven more by stats and now presents a much more authentic experience as a result. Whether or not it’s really a standout feature to get excited over is questionable however, particularly when FIFA did a reasonable job of faking it in the past. Another technical improvement implemented in-game is true freedom in player-to-player interactions with 360° Fight for Possession, which essentially has transformed physical play from lateral jostling to full 360° collisions. Pro Passing is another new feature, where pass accuracy is determined by a gamer’s ability on the control pad and individual player skill, situation and urgency on the pitch.

At first, playing the game felt very robotic – even with all the aforementioned technical improvements – and wasn’t free-flowing like a soccer game should be. Originally I didn’t know whether it was my lack of skill, the constraints of the Wii, or the game itself, but sticking with it for the sake of a fair review led me to realise that the technical improvements were actually making me play. I’ve played all the FIFA games since 09 that have been released for the Wii, and I (without sounding like a pretentious prick) was very good at them, completing the career modes with relative ease. For this reason I was initially completely put off by FIFA 11, but as I played and persevered, dealt with the losses (on Easy mode, mind you) and learnt to adapt to the new way the game is played, I suddenly had an all new appreciation for the improvements EA Sports have made to the franchise. While playing, you literally have to manoeuvre the players under your control and work for goals, not just move the joystick in a general direction and easily gain possession/shoot for goal as was the case in previous iterations. In a matter of a few short hours skill naturally accumulates, and it becomes a very enjoyable game of soccer.

Multiplayer is (as is usual with most Wii EA Sports titles) where FIFA 11 really shines. The jostle for possession and real-world slandering (at least in my case) make the game buckets of fun to play; this also resulting in the game’s replay value remaining first-class.

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night...

In the graphics department, character and stadium renders are ultimately average, but you can easily tell Tim Cahill apart from Harry Kewell, for example. This (as with all Wii games) is mainly to do with hardware constraints, and not so much to do with developer laziness. And even though they’ve existed before, it’s still very nice to see Australian A-League teams in the mix of selectable posse’s – so that definitely deserves a mention. As per usual, FIFA is fully licensed, most importantly meaning that all outfits and player names are completely authentic (including those horrible blue Australian jerseys from the World Cup this year).

In-game commentary is also very good, and flows excellently from one point of interest to another over the course of the match. But if you dislike Pommie accents, then the commentary will be a definite negative aspect of the game, though all commentary can be easily turned down (or off entirely) if it becomes too overbearing.

If only for the control freaks, Battle For Glory, a manager mode designed exclusively for Wii, deserves a quick mention. This is definitely an interesting mode, but in my experience became tedious after long periods. After all, a soccer game is meant to be about actually playing soccer, right?

And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike... Distasteful? Oh come on...

But even with the whole host of technical improvements in the game, after my time with FIFA 11 I’m left feeling a little underwhelmed. The FIFA series has moved from strength to strength since its inception, and I’ve found that with this game, the technical improvements don’t leave me feeling like I did playing previous games in the franchise. As much as I appreciate the behind the scenes improvements, I can honestly say that FIFA 09 is a much more enjoyable game to play on the Wii, mainly due to graphics and overall game feel. It was a game that was totally unique to the Wii (in fact all the now ceased All-Play EA Sports titles were) and everything was near perfect. Player models resembled 3D cartoons, but were recognisable and fun to play with at the same time, without attempting to create dodgy “realistic-looking” players. The on-field games also flowed much better, and multiplayer was an absolute hoot. Without turning this review into a FIFA 09 obituary, that game had something special. It’s like it actually understood the Wii and its audience, and matched it with the perfect game of soccer. Whether it’s the legions of party games I’ve played on the Wii that have made me soft I honestly wouldn’t know, but FIFA 09 still remains the best FIFA game on the Wii; in my humble opinion at least. On a whole, the series is undoubtedly heading in the right direction, but the Wii’s constraints (or strengths, depending on which way you look at it) mean certain games need to be tailored in entire concept for the console – not just adapted to perform soundly, (even excellently in this case) but in the end craving the upgrade to one of the Wii’s more beasty console cousins.

I'm a Weetbix kid!

So it seems as if I’ve swayed to and fro a bit in this review. FIFA 11 is an excellent game; please don’t get me wrong for a second. But as FIFA 10 did before it, FIFA 11 has fallen into the trap of being a good game for Wii that would be so much better on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 (without playing either game personally, I’m sure that would be the case in actuality). My argument remains that games for the Wii that also appear on other formats need to be tailored entirely, from initial concept up, to be truly brilliant games on the system. They simply can’t be “versions” of what is essentially the same game on all consoles currently on the market. FIFA 11 is undoubtedly that, a version of the same game on other consoles, but it does perform very well. Just not as good as it could have, or has done in the past.

Oh, and to answer that second question I promised at the beginning of the review: Time machines do get invented in 2011. We’ll need them to travel back 100 years to avoid the imminent end of the world in 2012. You heard it here first.

By Matthew Williams.

Graphics: B-

Easily identifiable players and stadiums, but nothing outstanding. Though by this stage if you want HD graphics you’ve got plenty of alternatives.

Sound: B

This section loses marks due to the incessant hum of vuvuzelas not being present in-game! I want truly auditory-authentic soccer (however annoying) in future please EA!

Gameplay: A-

Typical FIFA brilliance, with the addition of even more accurate player behaviours and abilities. Marred only by my enjoyment of previous, “less refined” iterations of the FIFA series.

Overall: A-

If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s EA Sports making good FIFA games. And you can count on them once again with the 2011 iteration. However if you can find FIFA 09 All-Play (Wii only), that’ll be your best bet for soccer on the Wii.

Toy Story 3 is quite literally a game of two halves. There’s the standard story-driven game mode, plus the addition of the inventive and ultimately more compelling free-roaming Toy Box mode. Despite what the name suggests, Story Mode doesn’t quite offer the chance to relive the storyline of the movie. Rather, it takes moments and locations from the film and extrapolates them. Gameplay is much what you’d expect from a 3D platformer. You’ll be wall-jumping and double-jumping your way through each obstacle course-style level. Mechanically it is very solid, just a little uninspired. There is plenty of variety in the levels and you’re never doing the same thing long enough for tedium to set in. With infinite restarts and generous checkpoints, you’ll find that you won’t have a hard time making quick progress. Unfortunately there are only a total of 8 levels in Story Mode, which leaves you with the feeling that it’s over all too soon.

Red Dead Redemption: The G Rated Edition?

But that’s only half of the game. What will really grab your attention, and what really makes Toy Story 3 stand out, is the Toy Box mode. This mode sees you roaming around a relatively large open world, completing quests, finding unlockable extras and earning money, which can be bought to unlock even more additional extras. The town and its residents are customisable, and additional customisation options are constantly being unlocked. Unfortunately the customisation is somewhat limited, in that you can only have one theme at a time. Want to have one resident dressed as a cowboy and the other as a ghost pirate? Too bad, they all have to be the wearing the one costume. It’s a real shame, given the large range of costumes. There’s certainly a lot to do in this mode such as exploring, horse racing and stunt car tricks (to name just a few) and each new toy you purchase unlocks a range of quests of its own. Unfortunately more seasoned gamers will find the majority of the quests far too pedestrian to be too compelling or challenging, however the quests are mostly quite short and provide a steady stream of new content being unlocked, so it’s still quite easy to get addicted. It’s simple, unstructured fun.

You're given the option to play as Woody, Buzz or Jessie. In Story mode the characters have one unique ability each. Shown here is Buzz's ability to throw the other characters far.

Unfortunately one of the biggest problems that Toy Story 3 faces is direct competition with the Super Mario Galaxy series. The comparison is particularly evident during Buzz Lightyears space levels. Now, it’s understandable that Toy Story 3 would have trouble competing with one of the best 3D platformers available, any game would have that problem, but I was unable to escape the feeling that I’d rather be playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 the whole time through. Still, if you’ve exhausted all gameplay potential from Super Mario Galaxy, but still have a craving for some rock-solid platforming action, you could do a lot worse than Toy Story 3.

By Michael Henderson

Graphics: C

Not particularly attractive, but not offensively bad either. Very middle-of-the-road.

Sound: B

Although Woody and Buzz aren’t voiced by the same actors as the film, the sound-alikes do a good job and the music works well.

Gameplay: B+

Very solid, although a lot of the platforming is very generic

Overall: B+

An above average licensed game. Story Mode is great fun while it lasts, but it’s the inventive Toy Box mode that will keep you playing.

With a number of successful adaptations already under their belt, including games based on Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Batman, the developer seems onto another surefire hit with Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, which tells the story of the first four books of the series.

The game employs the same method of story-telling as others in the Lego series. Lego men, women and in this case especially wizards, act out scenes from the storyline without the use of dialogue or explanatory text. Fans of the series will have little difficulty understanding what is happening, but if you’re new to Harry Potter (or haven’t picked up a J.K. Rowling book in a few years) there will be some moments where you might be left scratching your chin and wondering what all the grunting is about.

These scenes don’t just bring the story to life in Lego form, but also highlight the versatility of the humble Lego block as it is used to construct double-decker buses, houses, crypts, castles, dragons and more. The expressiveness of the faces of the Lego characters as they react to different situations harkens back to cartoon Link’s facial expressions in The Wind Waker and is a reminder of how much emotion can be conveyed with a simple smile or frown.

Harry offers his magic bucket to a ghost.

Players will visit a range of locations from the first four books in Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, including the Forbidden Forest and the Shrieking Shack. Another memorable location from the stories, Diagon Alley, acts as a hub where players can spend studs (the currency of the Lego universe) in order to purchase new spells, characters and other unlockable goodies, as well as accessing previously completed levels in “free play” mode.

Each level is accessed by traveling to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in order to attend lessons. Having to travel from one hub to another before advancing to a new level can make it confusing as to what you’re supposed to do next, but thankfully there are arrows to ensure that you don’t too lost, as well as the ghost of Nearly Headless Nick who can be spotted floating in the direction of your next destination.

Lessons are levels that allow Harry, Ron and Hermione to learn new magic spells. These abilities allow you to access new areas within Hogwarts and complete challenges that would otherwise be impossible. For example, an early lesson teaches you the Lumos spell that not only lights up dark places, but also causes green vines to retract–clearing new paths and allowing access to new treasures.

In previous Lego titles each type of character had a unique ability, for example: small characters could crawl through hatches that other characters were too big to fit through. Traveller’s Tales have tweaked that system in Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 in an attempt to add a feeling of character progression to the title. Realistically though, the changes don’t amount to much, instead of needing to unlock a specific character to complete certain tasks, you will simply need to learn a new magic spell instead.

In this way the game continually opens up to the player as you are constantly finding new ways to interact with your environment and access previously blocked areas. In order to unlock every hidden secret that the game has to offer you will also need to make use of the “free play” mode, which allows you to visit levels that you’ve already completed and make use of your newly unlocked characters and abilities.

Mmm...magic flying Lego chicken.

Playable characters still differ from one another; Muggles – for example – can’t use magic and are therefore reduced to bashing things up like the rest of us. As well as magic spells, some characters also possess unique special abilities: Harry has an invisibility cloak that allows him to traverse the stages undetected, Hermione has a book that lets her open secret passages and Ron can even call on his rodent-pal Scabbers.

With over 100 playable characters there’s bound to be some questionable inclusions (who is “Ernie Macmillan” anyway?), but fans of the series will have little difficulty finding their favourites.

One of the real joys that comes from all of the Lego games is the sense of play that they promote. With no real penalties for dying (except for the loss of studs that can be found virtually everywhere), players are encouraged to explore every nook and cranny of the levels to try and uncover the multitude of secrets hidden within.

With very few instructions provided at the beginning of each new level, it can sometimes be difficult to figure out what you are supposed to do. An in-game “spell book” providing reminders about what each spell and ability specifically does would also have been useful.

Add in a co-operative player and Lego Harry Potter becomes much more fun than it is playing alone. Not only can you work together to solve puzzles but you can also fling magic spells at each other with reckless abandon, or even run into each other with vehicles. Co-op mode uses a screen-splitting effect that can be disconcerting at first, but removes the frustration of needing to remain tethered to the other player, as has been the case in other Lego games.

The puzzles in Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 can be obtuse, leaving you cycling randomly through your characters and available abilities trying different combinations of effects before you figure out how to progress. The way that each room fits together often doesn’t become clear until you’ve completed a number of tasks (constructing levers, moving things around with magic) at which time you will set in motion a chain of events that will open the way to the next area. As frustrating as some of these sequences can be, the feeling of satisfaction you get from watching everything come together is tangible.

More drumsticks. Awesome!

To move your characters you use the control stick and press buttons to cast spells and switch active characters. The Wii remote can be used to target spells and manipulate certain objects.

In some cases you will be required to fit Lego blocks correctly and the controls in these sections seem overly sensitive. Although it’s possible to use the Wii remote for these puzzles, I found the control stick far more reliable.

While most of the game is built out of Lego blocks, the backgrounds use real-world textures, whether mossy earth in the forest or the ancient stone bricks of Hogwarts. The combination of colourful Lego pieces, costumed Lego characters and realistic backgrounds help to bring each location alive.

Each scene is brimming with details and almost everything you come across is interactive. Simply by testing out different magic spells and abilities you will trigger a countless number of entertaining animations. Some of these will lead to the discovery of special blocks or new characters, while others are fun, pure and simple – running down Diagon Alley shrinking the heads of unsuspecting wizards never seems to get old!

During the course of the game you will discover new characters, magic spells, outfits, house crests, red and gold bricks and miniature Lego models, providing hours of fun for all Harry Potter fans.

If you’re looking for that same sort of innocent fun that you used to get from playing in the sand-pit at school, then I can’t recommend Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 enough.

By Michael Scott Hand

Graphics: B

Every screen in the game is bursting with colourful and intricate details. Textures are appropriate and well-used. Lego looks like… well, it looks like Lego.

Sound: B

Suitably epic orchestral score sets the mood for Harry’s adventures. Sometimes feels a bit heavy and serious for all the fun you’re having. Some sound effects recycled from previous Lego games, but if it ain’t broke…

Gameplay: B+

There are many frustrating moments to be had in Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, but there’s a lot of fun as well. If you can look past the faults (and maybe recruit a friend to play with) you’ll probably enjoy yourself. Or wish you were shooting terrorists, in which case you’re playing the wrong game to begin with.

Overall: B

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is everything we’ve come to expect in a Lego game. Although Traveller’s Tales haven’t really pushed the envelope with their latest Lego offering, they have still delivered a highly entertaining romp through the world of Harry Potter.

Just like the previous U-Sing game, Girls Night is a SingStar-like title designed for young female gamers. However, this time round, the focus is on the top female artists and bands. There’s Blondie, bands from the 90s such as The Cardigans and more recent hits from younger artists like Katy Perry and Lady GaGa. All up there’s 30 songs on the disc, and many more to download with the assistance of the Wi-Fi Connection and a couple of Nintendo points cards. The only real issue with the tracklist is that it mainly consists of hits from the 00s, but then again this is forgivable when it is considered that newer songs would appeal more to young Wii owners.

Blondie soon found out she was losing her mind.

In comparison to the SingStar titles, and even the previous U-Sing title, U’ve got talent, there really isn’t much on offer within Girls Night. There’s a single player, two player and jukebox mode. The single player is very straight forward. Players select a short or long version of the song they wish to play and then choose one of the three difficulties to play the song on. Then they play it. The only real drive the game gives players to continue playing this mode is to try and enhance their singing skills or to beat past scores they’ve set on certain songs. To be honest though, the more causal players will probably use this game like a music album rather than a video game, meaning it could potentially have a longer lifespan than other Wii games if it’s in the right home.

Although there only is a small amount of content within Girls Night, just about all of it has been copied from SingStar. There really is no stopping U-Sing. In-game or in general, Girls Night pretty much takes every single ‘good’ aspect of the SingStar series and claims it as its own. The menu layout, the way songs and artists are displayed in the track selection area, and most obviously the little bars that track players’ vocals and how well they are singing. It’s all there, and once again, it has all pretty much been ripped from SingStar. Unlike SingStar though, U-Sing Girls Night hasn’t entirely nailed the karaoke genre. In particular, the quality of the supplied microphones does not seem to rival the build of the Sony’s ones, and then there’s all those minor errors due to the lack of polish, making U-Sing fall short of becoming the best karaoke game on the market.

Visually U-Sing isn’t much. For most of it, it’s just like watching a really bad line up of songs on an early morning session of Rage. The Wii’s lack of HD means the majority of videos won’t look as good as they could, but a lot resemble their original and (in the case of the 90s tracks) gritty-looking television counterparts – though some of the more recent songs in the game do look much better. Sound wise, the musical backings are fine, but rarely will players be able to hear themselves through their television or sound system speakers, and if they do, it’ll usually just be a few muffled sounds.

In a nutshell, U-Sing Girls Night is the Nintendo Wii equivalent of SingStar, just nowhere near as polished. Although the title features 30 #1 female artist songs, it falls short of Sony’s long-running karaoke series due to its limited single player mode and few online options. Even if MindScape just threw in a couple of online leader boards, it would have drastically extended the life of this title regardless of its obvious flaws when compared to SingStar. A great alternative for lovers of karaoke would be to go out and buy a PS2 with two official microphones for roughly $100.00 and about 5 or so SingStar games for $20.00 – $30.00 each. And seriously, if you really are interested in checking out this type of game then you probably should consider the PS2 and SingStar option that was just suggested as U-Sing Girls Night with two microphones retails at $119.95.

Graphics: C+

Decent enough, but they really could’ve been better. The only positive thing in this department is that the Wii’s lack of HD means that the majority of older videos have a true old and gritty feeling to them.

Sound: C

Possibly the most vital aspect of this type of game. And it really only just succeeds in most areas. The in-game sound is good enough, the quality of the mics is passable and the game’s tracklist is a matter of opinion.

Gameplay: C

Like the rest of this title, the gameplay is also good enough. The few features it has are all pretty much copied from SingStar, but have much less love put into them. The lack of online leaderboards doesn’t help either.

Overall: C

If you already own a PS2 and a few SingStar games then stick with that. If you haven’t tried a game like U-Sing Girls Night out before, then maybe consider purchasing a PS2 and a copy of SingStar. If Wii is all you’ve got, then U-Sing Girls Night will probably satisfy your sudden need for a karaoke game.

Take note of the use of the word ‘re-imagining’ in the above paragraph. This is no simple graphical enhancement or remake. SH: SM is vastly different from the original title, making great changes across the board. Some of the characters from the original game and the basic premise of the story remain but from then on it’s very much a different game. What SH: SM succeeds in doing is taking the core ideas from the Silent Hill series – psychological nightmares, horror and general mind-trickery – and spinning a new experience out of it.

There are three main phases of gameplay in SH: SM. The first of these is the exploration sections and this is where players will spend most of their time. The game begins with Harry Mason, an average middle-aged American man, awakening from an unconscious state following a car crash to find that his daughter, Cheryl, is missing. Naturally he immediately sets out to find her. Armed with only a mobile phone and a torch, which is wonderfully tied to the Wii Remotes pointer, the player must navigate Harry through mostly linear environments while solving puzzles and furthering the story. As you’ve probably guessed from that description, there’s nothing too revolutionary about these sections in terms of gameplay, however they are fairly well executed. Puzzles are challenging enough to be engaging, but they really aren’t anything you haven’t seen before.

Perhaps the most interesting parts of these sections revolve around the use of the iPhone-inspired mobile phone. The phone contains a GPS function which is used as a map although given the linearity of the majority of the game you won’t be using this much. The phone also contains a camera function that can be used to take photos of various apparitions that you’ll encounter in the game. Once these apparitions are captured, you’ll receive a very chilling text or voice message that relates to the scene you captured. It’s somewhat distressing to come across a bloody scene, photograph it and receive a voice message outlining exactly what happened. As you’d expect, the phone is also used for receiving and making phone calls. In a nice touch, you are able to dial any numbers you come across on your journey.

The environments are as creepy as you’d expect and the audio is also excellent at creating a chilling, tense experience. Well, at first, at least. Unfortunately it doesn’t take long to realise that during these sections the player is under no threat whatsoever, so any genuine fear is quickly lost. It’s a testament to the excellent art and audio that overall tension and uneasiness is never really lost, but without any potential negative consequence, any true fear cannot be maintained.

Harry has to shop for dresses after hours to hide his dirty secret.

It’s not too long into the exploration that you’ll come across the second major phase of the game – the chase sequences. This is where things start to really get strange. The world becomes covered in a layer of ice and strange monsters actively hunt you down. In a somewhat unusual move, Climax Studios decided to remove any combat from SH: SM so all you can do is run. And run you will because if a monster does take hold of you, all can do is shake it off in a fit of Wii Remote waggling or you’ll be dead in seconds. As with most waggling, it’s clumsy and inaccurate, which is a real shame as the rest of the game controls so well. As I’m sure you can imagine these sections can become fairly frustrating, but fortunately they are always quite brief.

Undoubtedly the most memorable parts of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories are the therapist sections. It is here that the game makes it very clear that it wants to do more than just give you a few cheap scares. It wants to get to know you. It wants to get inside your head. Somewhat remarkably, it’s actually very successful at it. The therapist sections are played out from a first person perspective, with the player being directly addressed and questioned. Were you a loner in high school? Do you make friends easily? Have you ever been unfaithful? These are just some of the questions that the therapist will ask you, to which you can provide a response by moving the Wii Remote to mimic a nod or shake of the head. It’s quite unsettling to have the game directly question your past and personality. The therapist will also present you with some small tasks, such as plan your ideal school time-table or even a colour in a picture. There’s no right or wrong solution to these tasks, you’re free to do as you like. However, your choices will have a great effect on the way the rest of the game unfolds. Characters will appear differently, monsters will look different and story events will unfold differently all based upon your decisions. Absolutely every aspect of the game is subject to change based upon your responses. You see, it’s not enough for SH: SM to get into your head, it needs to play with you once it’s in there.

The chase sequences in action. It's best to run AWAY from these guys

In fact, that is the one area that the greatest achievement of SH: SM– it toys with your mind so easily. Throughout the entirety of the game you’ll be questioning everything. As characters are introduced in increasingly bizarre circumstances and events unfold in even more bizarre manners, you’ll never be quite sure what to make of it. Questions are raised, but never quite answered and they remain unanswered right up until you reach the final conclusion. To speak too much more of the story would be spoiling, but rest assured that the narrative is completely compelling right up until to the end. Unfortunately it won’t take long for you to reach this conclusion, with the game taking not much more than 5 hours or so to complete.

There’s a lot more that could be said about Silent Hill: Shattered Memories but, given the nature of the game, most of these are better left for you to discover on your own. The game is a little rough around the edges, most notably in the chase sequences, and many people will be turned off by the slow pace and lack of combat, but what is on offer is something that really should be experienced. Climax Studios have crafted a game that not only lives up to the Silent Hill name, but carves out a name for itself in its own right.

By Michael Henderson

Graphics: B+

The shadows and torchlight effect are brilliant, however environments look a little blocky.

Sound: A

Good voice acting, great ambient effects and a haunting soundtrack really help build the atmosphere.

Gameplay: B+

Well paced combination of exploration, puzzles and action. The only significant complaint is the clumsiness of the action.

Overall: A-

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is an expertly crafted, unique horror game. It remains completely engaging all the way through.

This completely fresh start is everything Red Steel 2 needed and everything that the few fans of the original Red Steel could have wanted. The game combines the eastern-samurai culture with the western-cowboy culture to create something that most will either consider as ‘plain wrong’ or ‘highly awesome’. However, the most notable change and probably the best thing about this game is that Ubisoft Paris has fixed up the majority of problems which were continuously encountered throughout the original game. You can’t exactly play out any epic battles like you see in all of those cool samurai flicks, but Red Steel 2 comes pretty close. The sword fighting system gives players the option of an automatic or manual lock on, a tough or easy swing requirement and a punishing or forgiving accuracy system. These options not only make the game more accessible to newcomers, but also give experienced players more of a challenge. Thanks to all of these options, the sword fights in Red Steel 2 are now actually fun. So if you hadn’t figured it out yet, sword fighting is the main ingredient of Red Steel 2. Basically, everything in the game revolves around a mysterious hero and his shiny katana. Actually, come to think of it, the hero’s katana is so important in this game that the majority of unlocks are new katana-related techniques, the fights force you to attack and defend with a katana (how predictable), and most of the environmental objects within the game usually require a good slashing from… you guessed it, your katana.

Winguardian Laviosa!

So you’re all probably dying to know just how much the combat system has improved since the original game. Well, considering you can now whip out your katana at any time, it is splendid. The Wii MotionPlus really helps things as well. Even though the sword fighting system is still on-the-rails, players’ movements are now more likely to be detected in the correct way. So the majority of the time even technical movements will be detected onscreen correctly. No more blaming the controls if you suck. So with all that said, the sword fighting system is pretty-much spot on, but how is the gun play? It’s just as spectacular. The Wii MotionPlus makes fire fights considerably easier. Players are able to effortlessly aim and shoot at enemies with a handful of different guns. And when I say handful I mean it literally, because sadly there aren’t very many guns in Red Steel 2 at all. However, the few that are in there have all been beautifully crafted and are great fun to play around with. There’s the standard magnum, the double barrel shotty and also the Tommy gun. Each of these guns feel great to use and all of them fit right into the wild west and eastern samurai theme. Yes, even the Tommy gun. To help round off all of the fabulous firepower in Red Steel 2, Ubisoft Paris has decided to include upgrades for the guns as well. So players can improve the accuracy, reload time and fire power of each of these weapons as you progress through the game – provided you have enough money. And really, that shouldn’t be much of an issue, because in this game money is everywhere. And I mean everywhere! Walk around a corner, you’ll see money, kill an enemy, they’ll drop money, slash some trash, you’ll find money. It’s everywhere. It makes destroying crates, barrels, vending machines and lockers totally worthwhile. And just scavenging around for money will no doubt become one of your major pastime activities in Red Steel 2.

And when I'm finished with you, I'm going to use this sword to heat up my burrito.

As wicked as the sword and gun play is, the story seems to have been left behind. Even the most enthusiastic Wii players won’t really give a hoot about why the main character is going around killing a tonne of western-samurai rebels. The reason is that this kind of story is so overused nowadays, and unless it is done really well, or slightly differently, nobody is likely to care. You take the role of the stereotypical lone wolf protagonist who’s been banished from his city, which then promptly becomes overrun by rebels in his absence, and now requires his particular ass kicking skills to put things right. Sure, there are a few interesting scenes in there, but the main support characters suck, and in general the voice acting is quite bad for today’s standards. The good thing about the story though is that it is supported by some stunning cutscenes. In general though, Red Steel 2 is sporting some of the best visuals ever seen on the Wii. The original featured some pretty stock-standard graphics, but this one has gone for a cel-shaded style, and boy does it look good. Not only does it suit the Wii’s style, but it also maxes out the Wii. And what’s even better (yes, there’s more) is that there is no slowdown, or drop in frame rate, during even the most intense fights. The sun’s rays shine off your katana, enemies’ armour shimmers in the distance, and the dusty western environment has been perfectly recreated – all in this beautiful cel-shaded style. What does suck, though, is the door loading scenes. Ubisoft Paris has attempted to hide the loading with these door scenes, but it just seems to have made them even more noticeable because it forces the player to stare at a door at close range for up to 10 seconds while it “opens” a new area. You can’t even watch tumbleweeds roll by. Speaking of tumbleweeds though, the sound effects in Red Steel 2 are pretty good. The tumble weed sound in particular is very accurate (or was that real life…). Overlooking character voices, the sound effects for sword fights, the guns and the west in general are great. The music is also very appropriate from start to finish, and provides a nice fusion of eastern and western tunes.

Besides the story though, the other rather big problem with Red Steel 2 is that the game’s objectives don’t really develop, they just seem to become harder, and also a bit mindless over time. Player’s will regularly receive missions from their friends (who never seem to do any work themselves, the bastards) to go and clean up a particular section of the city. Often all this ever involves is slashing a few guys then turning on a few mechanical devices. Sure, in between you can have fun shooting and stabbing guys in different ways, but if you aren’t feeling very creative then you can just simply swish your Wii Remote left and right at enemies until the cows come home, and continue to progress nonetheless. It not only makes many sections of the game repetitive, but also many upcoming events very predictable. That is, it invariably follows the general structure of finding new bad guys in some part of the city who need a good killing, pressing a few buttons to activate some machine and then returning home. Repeat 500 times over until all the side missions and main game is complete.

He had only one weakness - no eye holes.

Despite the very average storyline and dull mission objectives, Red Steel 2 is still one of the best third party titles on the Wii. With the assistance of Wii MotionPlus, Ubisoft Paris has managed create an engaging sword and gun play experience that is arguably taking interactivity within video games to a whole new level. Any Wii owners who have been hungry for a true ‘core’ experience need not wait any longer. Red Steel 2 is the game that will satisfy your grumbling tummies. However, before all of you Nintendo fanboys get on your high horses and start gloating about how this new age first-person game is exclusive to Wii, one more issue needs to be addressed. If you were to place Red Steel 2 in amongst other consoles’ first-person offerings, sadly, Red Steel 2 wouldn’t be a standout. It would most-likely just be considered as an ‘average’ first person game.

So in summary, Red Steel 2 will definitely impress any Wii fanboy, but I sincerely doubt those who play first-person games on other consoles or even PCs will consider it a stand out title within the first person genre. The true fact is that Red Steel 2 is a stand out title on the Wii because Wii owners are so deprived of first person games.

By Liam Doolan

Graphics: A

It’s official – Ubisoft Paris has released one of the best looking games on the Wii so far.

Sound: C+

The tumble weed and katana clashing sounds are great, but the voice acting is very irritating and quite amateur at times.

Gameplay: B

Solid, average and repetitive mainly.

Overall: B+

Red Steel 2 is a ‘good’ game overall. The storyline is bland, the missions are rather repetitive, but it is a standout title on the Wii because it has stunning graphics, true core game play, intelligent controls and is one of the few playable first person games on the Wii.