Metroid: Other M is easily one of the most anticipated games of the year, but does it live up to the hype? In this critic’s opinion, no. Although a beautiful looking game and at times rewarding, it’s the other stuff that makes Other M a top contender for “weakest Metroid ever.” Primary among them: the developer seems to have been more concerned with making a movie rather than making a good game. And we all know game makers should stick to their day jobs and get out of the movie business.

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DiRT 2 is a game that is supposed to be all about extreme off road rally racing from mud covered courses, dirt roads, and various other special stadiums set up for rally racing. It’s also supposed to be the return of awesome racing, new and improved physics, visuals and intense head-to-head game play that the first Dirt was known for. It’s list of improvements is lengthy, but does it live up to all that was present in the past, especially the Wii and DS versions?

Check out the Wii review on page 2, and the DS review on page 3.

A glowing meteorite has slammed into the forest, painting the ground with eerie green phosphorescence.

It glazed the rocks with a radiant gleam. It covered each blade of grass with a dusting of limelight.

And it woke up the mushrooms.

The story fueling Red Fly Studios’ Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is deliciously bizarre, reveling in the campiness of 1950s B-reel horror.

It pays homage to the era in almost every aspect of presentation, from the font on the box to the strange narrative. The fungus among us are alive, fashioning weapons from toothpicks and thimbles, chewed bubble gum and paperclips, and causing a war of not-so-epic proportions beneath our very feet.

Mushroom Men makes no attempt to hide the influences from which it germinated, and a more obvious inspiration could ultimately decide whether to buy or pass on the Wii’s latest platformer exclusive.

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The important thing I needed to remember while playing the titles in the SNK Arcade Classics Vol 1 collection is that they were first and foremost arcade games.  The fighting games are purely quick brawls, the adventuresome titles are very short in length, and the sports titles are fairly simple in their controls.  That said, I had a great time playing a group of NEOGEO games I had never experienced before.  Unfortunately, the menu system is a bit clunky since it didn’t seem to recognize the Classic Controller automatically (like pretty much every Wii game).  I didn’t think the medal achievement system would be that interesting to me, but it was always neat to see a medal show up at the bottom of the screen when you accomplished something.  It’s also nice for some games (like Metal Slug) that the system would automatically set resume points for you to come back and play after you die.  It sure was fun to play some of these games and the $30 price tag is definitely worth it for some games like Shock Troopers, Metal Slug, and World Heroes.  (Of note, you can find this same collection online at a price of $15 for the PS2 version.)   It’s a great treat when you have a friend to play these games; highly suggested if you and a room mate want to spend a night blasting bad guys in multiplayer.  Read on past the break for my take on each title.
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[Guest review by Brian]

Don’t hang up the Wii Sports Tennis racquet just yet.

To say I’m a tennis nut would be a bit of an understatement.  Why else would I drop $49.99 plus change on a Wii tennis game without having any reviews  available to consider?  Having spent a few hours with the game, I can say that this is a $29.99 title, not a premium purchase.  I feel like my extra $20.00  paid for the franchise’s name and the licensing fees for the featured tennis players.
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