The Problem: Many are starting to complain that Sony's first party support has become predictable and pass?. Everybody knows that each year Sony will have another sequel to one of their three big platformers, be it Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, or Jak. Is this yearly update a good idea for the genre, or keeping Sony from releasing a better variety of titles? It may seem obvious now, but we intend to take an unbiased look at this pressing issue.

The History: Gamers have always been in love with their platformers, be it on the old 8-bit systems or in 3D on the Nintendo 64, there's just something about a platformer that feels good. This fact was exploited in what many consider to be one of the greatest games of all time, Mario 64, the flagship title for the Nintendo 64. After you got used to how much freedom the new 3D world gave you, it became clear what the future held. This was going to be a good time for 3D platformers, a good time indeed.

It was also going to be a prolific time, with dozens upon dozens of Mario 64-clones flooding the market each and every year. Every company that was a major player in the mid to late 1990's had at least one 3D platformer. The genre was stretched to make every kind of platformer you could think of, from the foul mouthed to the bloody, or the cute and cuddly to the downright bizarre, there was something for just about everybody.

But as the 32/64-Bit era came to an end Nintendo found themselves less interested in 3D platformers. The GameCube would offer only a small selection at best, and Nintendo seemed more interested in racing titles than Mario 64-clones. The time was right for somebody else to overload the market with platformers, and that's when Sony entered the picture.

The Good: You have to admit, there are worse things than enduring one high quality sequel after another, it sure beats the heck out of playing Mortal Kombat Advance (or Myst). Jak & Daxter was an amazing game, and the sequel, Jak II, was even better. The same could be said about Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper, two games that attempted to offer something new and original. Year after year they give you something to look forward to, something that will make you want to collect coins and solve puzzles.

The Bad: These yearly updates may be getting in the way of more interesting games and franchises. Where is my sequel to Ico? And why are we just now getting a sequel to the Mark of Kri, yet there are three Jak & Daxter titles out there?? Couldn't Sony bring us a couple more Amplitude games, or maybe even a U.S. port of Vib Ripple?? There's an awful lot they could be doing, but they just aren't.

The Solution: Sony should pace themselves, this is not a race to release Jak sequels. It's a bit much to have Jak III, Sly Cooper 2, and Ratchet & Clank 3 all vying for sales, especially when smaller, more obscure games (like the Mark of Kri sequel) will likely go unnoticed. Couldn't Sony release one of those games this season, another one in six months, and then in another six months spring the third one?? I think that would satisfy pretty much everybody's quota of platforming goodness.


The Problem: After landing with a thud last year sale-wise, Nokia has taken some drastic measures to ensure the success of their problematic portable/cell phone. They've slashed the price, signed big name third party developers, and announced a brand new various of the N-Gage unit. But even with all this, is Nokia's N-Gage doomed to fail?

The History: It's been a rocky road for Nokia ever since they announced their over-priced handheld system at E3 2003. At first people balked at the price, a hefty $250. Then they groaned about the design, and how difficult it was to change games and keep everything organized. And now that the dust has settled and everybody has calmed down, all we're left to bitch about is the piss poor quality of games.

How bad are the games? A few of them are the worst of the genre. The version of Puzzle Bobble they have, Puzzle Bobble Vs., is easily the worst version of the game I've ever seen, and could turn somebody off of games completely if not followed up by something good. But there's not much good to be found on the N-Gage, and not much on the way, either.

The Challengers: It would be one thing if Nokia only had to fight the GameBoy Advance, but they have jumped into the arena at a time when it's become a hotly contested market. The Sony PSP is due within the year, and you can't discount the threat the Nintendo DS poses to all challengers. But with outdated hardware, mediocre games at best, and no experience in the game industry, the N-Gage likely failed long before it hit the market.

One has to wonder why a company like Nokia would release a hand held with almost no chance of succeeding. The idea was bold, but everything about the system seems to ignore the most basic aspects we've learned over the last 15 years of portable game systems. Not only will the N-Gage die, but it deserves to pass away.

The Solution: Whatever you do, avoid the N-Gage. It's not a good cell phone, it's not a good mp3 player, and it's definitely not a good portable game system. It's over priced even now that it's $150 cheaper than it started at.


The Problem: Well, you've seen the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, right? I think we can all agree that those movies were piss poor, at best. So should you wait in line for the third installment, a movie that, by judging by the other two, probably won't live up to your expectations? Or should you just go down to Electronics Boutique and reserve a copy of Knights of the Old Republic?

The Movies: When Star Wars was released in the mid-1970s it was hailed as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. Since then it has only become more popular, spawning sequels, video games, cartoons, comic books, toys, and much, much more. An entire generation views this series as something much more than just another action film. To many people Star Wars is one of the greatest moments they have ever had in a theater, a moment they will never forget.

The prequels, on the other hand, are far from the greatest examples of movie making. Released almost 20 years after Return of the Jedi, the Phantom Menace failed to impress audiences the way the others had. Some complained that the story was too simple, with too much time devoted to pod races and forced emotion. Others bitched about how annoying many of the characters are, including Jar Jar Binks and even the young Anakin boy. Though it made a lot of money, Episode I failed to revive the charm that had been lost for so long.

Episode II was darker, but still not very interesting. Listening to the older Anakin try to woo Queen Amidala is like trying to chew up rocks, painful and stupid. None of the action is paid off, and the characters fail to go through any kind of arc. You're left wondering if these movies were meant to explain the characters, then why isn't George Lucas actually taking the time to develop these characters?

The Games: Knights of the Old Republic is easily one of the best role-playing games of all time, and a great reason to buy an Xbox. It's a quest that will not only keep you entertained for dozens of hours, but introduce you to characters far more interesting than the ones you're forced to sit through in the Phantom Menace. And where the recent films only seemed to be set in the world of Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic celebrated everything that was good (and evil) about George Lucas' universe. It is without a doubt the best Star Wars product in decades.

The Solution: You really shouldn't be waiting in line for Star Wars Episode III to begin with, but having said that, there's no doubt that you'll have a much better time with Knights of the Old Republic 2. But then, I have a hunch, simply replaying the first Knights of the Old Republic will be better than actually watching Episode III.