God of War: Chains of Olympus

What a great little game! All the fun of the original, in a smaller, shorter package. My only complaints are that there just isn't enough awesome; while the locations are varied enough, you don't end up with enough weapons or magic to really devestate your opponents. Still an excellent game, and I hope they continue the God of War franchise on the PSP. There's definitely a lot of room for side stories in a franchise that spans all of Greek mythology and then some. I feel like a second handheld title could not only improve on the first, but offer much more diverse enemies and move sets.

Punch-out!! Wii Remains True to its Roots

The lack of Mike Tyson in the title of Punch-out!! is the most glaring difference between this new version and its 1987 predecessor. Beyond the lack of an ear-biting, girlfriend-attacking final boss, the new Punch-out!! has kept all the best elements of the original.  

Punch-out!! is a simple game at its core. You star as Little Mac, the 105-pound kid who seems severely outclassed by the towering ogres he's forced to fight in his quest for the championship belt. Fortunately for Mac, Punch-out!! is not a boxing simulator, and fans looking for realism would do better with the Fight Night series. Punch-out!! is the best kind of twitchy action game, one that requires little strategy beyond pattern recognition, and no skill beyond lightning-fast reflexes. The flurry of punches your opponents throw at you can all be defeated by simple combinations of dodges, blocks, and counter punches.  

While some of the later boxers might cause you to throw your Wiimote in frustration, there is a very gradual learning curve in the order of boxers. Your first opponent, Glass Joe, will crumple like a sheet with only the occasional punch from the player. The first four boxers of the Minor Circuit serve as a warm-up to the much more difficult boxers of the Major Circuit, who in turn prepare you for the downright nasty opponents of the World Circuit.  

While the game has drawn some criticism for failing to update the gameplay or the boxers from the original, the games has enough charm and extra features to make it well worth the price of admission. The entire roster of boxers from the first game is present and accounted for, plus two fighters from the SNES Super Punch-out!! and a single new fighter, Disco Kid. But the number of opponents in the game is effectively doubled: when you beat the game the first time (no easy feat, mind you), Title Defense mode is unlocked, where you must face the entire roster of boxers again, this time with new attacks, faster movement, and even upgrades. Even Glass Joe will give experienced players a run for their money the second time around. Some of the fights seem downright rigged, with opponents bringing in weapons and, in one case, taping a manhole cover to themselves to block punches, but the fights are a good challenge for players left wanting more, and on the other hand, they're totally optional for players who don't want the extra punishment Title Defense mode is sure to bring.  

The new Exhibition mode allows players to face any previously defeated boxer at any time. Although knocking Glass Joe on his ass repeatedly never gets old, Exhibition mode also offers new challenges, such as beating opponents in under a minute, or dodging every punch an opponent throws. While completing these challenges rewards you with nothing more than audio clips of each fighter, they add another level of depth to the game and allow players to perfect their technique.  

The graphics for the game are cartoony, and while they aren't quite up to the standards of the XBox 360 or the PS3, they do a great job pulling the player into the game. The good-natured stereotypes are often hilarious, and make for engaging opponents. The sound effects and music are basically the same as those of the NES original, but they've been updated perfectly. The rolling theme music really gets you in the mood to hit grown men in the face, and to top it off, each boxer gets their own version of it. The Russian opponent, Soda Popinski, has a male choir chanting the music, while surfer-dude Super Macho Man has a beach-y guitar version of the same song. The graphics and sound all fit perfectly together, and are one of the strongest points about the game.  

While the title loses a few points for a lack of originality, it comes across as a solid update to a game that was already great to begin with. In an era when most of the big names simply require you to point and shoot endlessly, it's hard to criticize Punch-out!! for rehashing old gameplay. All in all, it's a solid game, and while it could be completed in a single renting, this is the kind of game you can play through again and again. Fifty dollars seems a little steep, but definitely pick it up for thirty or forty!