UNO
From: Gameloft

You just can’t beat a thrilling game of UNO. The popularity of the card game and the sheer numbers playing it on Xbox Live is testament to that. Now you can indulge your UNO addiction on your mobile too.

Presented in a very similar style to the XBLA version, UNO mobile can be played solo against the AI or with friends on the same handset (by passing it around). The game rules are fully customisable including two fairly recent additions to the standard ‘House Rules”. UNO Rush is not included however as it would be far too fiddly shifting cards around in your hand quickly.

All your favourite Action cards are present – Wild, Draw 4 Wild, Reverse, Skip and Draw 2. The points to win can be adjusted as can penalties, force-play and draw type.

The two new game modes ad an extra challenge to UNO – these are called ‘7-0′, in which players must swap hands when a certain card is played, and ‘Jump-In’, where if you play an identical card to the one on the discard pile then you take control of the game.

If you’re after a card game in which you can have some short-term excitement then UNO is a sure fire winner.

Score: 85%

Dakar Rally 2009
From: EA

Driving games on the mobile platform have often seemed like a bit of a waste of time to me. If you’re a driving game fan then it’s more than likely you’re used to the almost realistic graphics and accurate driving engines displayed on consoles or a PC, so playing on a mobile phone is always going to be an enormous letdown.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some genuine positives to be found in mobile driving “sims” such as EA’s Dakar Rally 2009. Here we are given three racing modes – Championship: where you can race the whole series through South America, Quick Race: which speaks for itself. Dive straight in and take on any of the stages, and Time Attack where you obviously race against the clock.

Using the navigation keys or 4 & 6 to steer, acceleration is done automatically which is a blessing. You can brake, but realistically it’s only in the tighter stages that you really need to. Usually you can just turn hard and send your car into a bit of a power-slide to get around corners. If you run off the road then you do slow down, and the opposition is never too far behind, but it’s never a big deal to pass them again if you need to.

The major fault in Dakar Rally 2009 is the lack of drawing distance with the road itself. If you’re negotiating a hairpin then you can only see just in front of your car which makes it difficult to know where you’re at. Loading times, especially in Championship mode are quite lengthy too.

So if you’re keen enough to want to play a driving game on your mobile then Dakar Rally 2009 isn’t a bad option. Just don’t expect miracles.

Score 65%

FIFA 10
From: EA

With FIFA 10 on the large consoles being perhaps the pinnacle of football sims, if even a fraction of the realism and playability rubbed off on the mobile version of the game, it’d be a good thing. Thankfully it has.

FIFA 10 mobile isn’t much of a cut-down version of its big brothers – you have the full roster of players and teams at your disposal as well as a comprehensive Be A Pro mode in which you can nurture your player from nervous beginnings right through to international stardom.

The graphics are surprisingly good considering the scale of things and you can easily make out individual players from their physical attributes. The small screen does become a hindrance however as you try to play long probing balls through to your forwards guided only by an arrow on the edge of the screen. You need to have your formation well and truly sorted if you’re to succeed with this tactic. Of course if you’re playing on the likes of an iPhone then this isn’t so much of a problem.

Attacking often comes down to running it down the wing, crossing the ball in and hoping that one of your players connects with a decent volley. Taking on the defence by running at them is difficult due to the up/down, left/right nature of the player movement. Sure, you can move diagonally but how easily depends on your particular phone. If you have a nub in the middle of your direction keys then this would make 8-way movement much easier.

Overall I was surprised just how playable and addictive FIFA 10 was on the mobile format. Any fans of the classic Sensible Soccer should definitely give it a go.

Score 80%

World Poker Tour Texas Hold ‘Em 2
From: Hands-On

It’d be fair to say that Texas Hold ‘Em is one game that any mobile gamer should have in their collection and if you’re going to own one then the wise choice is the game licensed by the World Poker Tour itself.

World Poker Tour Texas Hold ‘Em 2 (or WPT2 as I’ll refer it as from here on in) at face value is just another poker game – it looks as good as it needs to, with players that have very differing characteristics and playing styles. You have a range of options for a single game whether it be a full table of players or just a heads-up showdown. The commentary is excellent, with regular sound bites advising of where the game stands.

Personally I found the game a little too fast to begin with and had trouble keeping up with who was betting what and when. But after a few games I came to grips with the pace of things. I would still have preferred my own cards to be enlarged more on screen as they’re quite small and there is plenty of room.

What makes WPT2 stand out from the crowd is the web-to-wireless mode. Not only can you play against other mobile poker players but you can also go up against people playing on their PC’s too. This feature is worth the cover price alone. You can even take your avatar to and from your mobile to your PC if you wish.

WPT2 is excellent for newcomers and poker veterans alike and should be your number 1 choice when looking to download a poker sim for your mobile.

Score 88%

Title: Scribblenauts
From: Warner Bros
For: Nintendo DS

It’s been a long time since a DS game has garnered as much excitement as Scribblenauts. In fact I’d be struggling to remember when I last sat down for any length of time with any DS game. But since Scribblenauts arrived I’ve burned through three full battery charges in just a few days. It’s that good, that hard to put down and so addictive it should be outlawed.

There are 2 separate modes to Scribblenauts, Puzzle and Challenge mode but realistically they’re both puzzle based. There’s no actual story to speak of in Scribblenauts, but you play as Maxwell whose sole purpose is to collect Starites (which are the goal of every level). Collecting the Starite and going about it in clever ways earns you “Ollars” with which you can buy songs, avatars and open new worlds. In each world there are 11 Puzzle levels and 11 Challenge levels which you can switch between at will. In the Puzzle levels Maxwell must complete a certain task to reveal the Starite, but in the challenge levels he must get from A to B to reach the Starite.

Now to the clever bit. You can use whatever you like to complete each level, if you can write it, you can use it. Using the stylus you write what you want to appear.

If you think you need a gun, a bat, a dog, cow, plane, car, bridge, rope, pencil, then write it down and it will appear on screen at Maxwell’s disposal. There are over 15,000 items stored so there’s a very good chance what you’re looking for is available. After many hours of playing I’ve only been denied my choice once.

There are so many possibilities in Scribblenauts and the solution to any level is only a bit of lateral thinking away. I found myself using a handful of items regularly such as a jetpack, planks, steel boxes, ropes, a chain gun and shovel, but you do get rewarded for thinking outside the square.

With over 200 levels and the ability to make your own, plus wireless multicard play, Scribblenauts will keep you entertained for a long, long time. It’s a work of genius and a definite front runner for the best game of 2009.

Score 99%

Title: G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra

From: EA Games

For: Xbox 360

Perhaps I am the wrong person to review this game as I’ve never owned a G.I. Joe in my life. But on the other side of the coin maybe the lack of sentimentality and high expectations instead makes me the perfect man for the job.

G.I Joe started life as an action figure in 1964, as a matter of fact he actually coined the term ‘action figure’, and then became a cartoon which was no doubt designed to sell more action figures. Its popularity has ebbed and flowed throughout the decades culminating in this years feature film and, of course, accompanying game. Again, both designed to sell more action figures – or so the cynic in me would suggest.
I shouldn’t need to tell you about the track record of film/game, game/film crossovers. The shameful history is forever burned into the minds and wallets of gamers worldwide. Unfortunately G.I Joe: The Rise of the Cobra does absolutely nothing to dispel the stereotype.

This third-person action/shooter follows a similar plot to the movie of the same name. Playing as the Joes, you are charged with defeating your arch enemies the Cobras and eventually their commanding boss. You get thrown into the thick of the action from the get-go as you and another Joe go at the enemy head on. As you progress, more Joes are unlocked and once you get more than 3 in your stable you can pick and choose which one you want to accompany you on each mission. Eventually, every Joe from the movie becomes available and each has their own special abilities. One might be a demolitions specialist, another might excel at up-close combat and others might be specialists in various forms of weaponry. It’s up to you to choose the right Joe for the task at hand.

During the game you battle in various generic locations – there are city, Arctic, desert and jungle missions, but because the missions themselves are so bland and repetitive you soon realise that they are akin to meeting someone, then meeting them again half an hour later and they’ve got a different shirt on – they’re still the same person – but look slightly different.

When a game is this generic, there normally wouldn’t be any replay value, firmly placing it in the weekend rental category. But the one thing that might make you want to pick up Rise of the Cobra again is the smart implementation of a point scoring system. You can replay each mission, aiming for a higher score by despatching more enemies and picking up or shooting all the bonus points boxes that boost your total.

Again, it doesn’t make the game any more exciting, but it does give you a reason to take a second look.
However to counterbalance that positive attribute is the frustration that arises from the checkpoints that each mission is divided into. In the harder difficulties, the ‘checkpoints’ don’t actually double as ‘save points’ and hence if you die then you are forced to replay the whole mission from the beginning again. This is infuriating and is a feature that should be discouraged from any game. Checkpoints allow you to see your score progress, but when they don’t actually save the game itself then they’re about as useful as the proverbial mammaries on a male bovine.

Combat is extremely simplistic. Hold down the RT button and your Joe will fire a steady stream of unlimited ammo into the closest enemy or destructible object. Hitting X will perform some limited melee attacks and Y will activate your Accelerator Suit (which is earned by killing enough enemies and scoring enough points). While your Accelerator Suit is active, you get a speed and skills boost and are invincible for the duration of its power.

One more fatal flaw, as if there weren’t enough already, is the inability to manually shift the camera view. Having manual camera control is a necessity in games such as this and the limitations are even more painfully evident in co-op mode where hitting and getting stuck on invisible walls is a common occurrence. There’s nothing more annoying than getting punched in the head by an enemy you can’t see because the camera won’t swing around to show them.

So is there anything worth buying G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra for? The single-player is mundane and the game is riddled with elementary problems, but the co-op mode can be enjoyable if you compete with each other to get higher mission scores.

All in all, G.I Joe: The Rise of the Cobra is a movie cash-in that feels like a last minute rush job as so many of them do. A definite rental, if you can be bothered playing it at all.

Pros: Co-op has some redeeming moments. Nostalgia buffs should get the odd warm-fuzzy from some of the vehicles.

Cons: Clearly an unabashed cash-in. No manual camera and no online modes. Repetitive and bland.

Score 55%

Watch the trailer

Title: Fifa 10

From: EA Sports

For: Xbox 360

It’s hard to imagine where EA Sports could improve on the sublime footballing experience that was Fifa 09, and it’s great to see them not being tempted to tweak things that don’t need tweaking. But amazingly enough, they’ve managed to make Fifa 10 and even more compelling experience than its predecessor.

Sure, veterans will see this as being Fifa 09.5, but believe me when I say that can only be a good thing.

The character models, stadiums, sound, commentary and overall presentation in Fifa 10 are all incredible, that’s a given, as they were in last years release. Improvements have been made in the player AI, which can often seem like they’re reading your mind as they adapt to your style of gameplay. Another new addition is the 360 degree dribbling control which makes it a breeze to dart into gaps that briefly appear instead of the relatively sluggish and inaccurate controls of old. The training mode has also been improved upon, with ultimately makes the whole game more enjoyable.

If you’re a football fan then it doesn’t get any better than Fifa 10.

Score 92%

Title: Need For Speed Shift

From: Electronic Arts

For: PS3

I’m a long time fan of the Need For Speed series and remember spending countless hours on all the games up until NFS Hot Pursuit. But when the game drifted (pun intended) towards the street-modding scene and open-city racing with storylines trying to ride on the back of The Fast and the Furious movies, I lost interest as the game had completely forgotten it’s pure, circuit-based roots.

Thankfully Need For Speed: Shift takes things back to the circuits. Not the fictional circuits of old, but many of the real-world circuits like Brands Hatch, Laguna Seca, Nürburgring and Silverstone to name but a few. There are 72 cars to play with on these tracks, but if you’re anything like me then you’ll find about 3 that you love driving and upgrade them completely.

Don’t compare this to the Gran Turismos or Forzas of this world, it’s not meant to compete with them. No, this is Need For Speed Shift and as the name inadvertently suggests, it’s a shift back in time to the glory days of old.

Score 90%

Title: SingStar Motown

From: Sony London Studio

For: PS3

You know that it’s not long to Christmas when a new SingStar release arrives on the shelves. Celebrating 50 years of Motown Records, SingStar Motown features 30 classic tracks that are guaranteed to be popular at the office Christmas parties this season. Of course more songs are available from the SingStore online, but if you had to name 10 songs off the top of your head that came to mind when you think of Motown, they’re bound to be on the disc itself.

There’s iconic tracks from Diana Ross & The Supremes, Lionel Ritchie, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Commodores, The Four Tops, The Isley Brothers, The Jackson 5, The Temptations and more.

Super Freak by Rick James seems a little out of place in the presence of the others, despite being a great song to sing along to. Other than that, there’s plenty of music here to get Mum, Dad and the Grandparents gathered around the microphones these holidays.

Score 75%

Title: Mini Ninjas

From: Eidos

For: Xbox 360

Two games came to mind when I first started playing Mini Ninjas, one was iNinja and the other was Kung Fu Chaos. Visually at least Mini Ninjas is very similar to those two games, but the gameplay takes all the inherent bloodshed out of the ninja game genre and makes it family friendly without losing too much substance.

The story and basic gameplay are very generic. Ninja Master send his pupils one by one to investigate a disturbance in the balance of nature. When none of them return, he sends Hiro and Futo, the last two remaining pupils to find out why.

As it happens, an Evil Emperor has been turning harmless animals into a human army.

As you defeat these enemies, they disappear in a puff of smoke and turn back into fluffy little animals again. The goal of most missions is to rescue one of the lost pupils, at which pint they become a playable character, able to be switched to at any time and each with their own definitive set of skills.

Mini Ninjas looks and sounds fantastic and while it might be a tad easy, it’s well worth adding to your collection.

Score 85%