Video Game Reviews

'NBA BALLERS: PHENOM'
Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox. Genre: Sports.
Publisher: Midway. Rating: E, for Everyone.
Grade: C
Midway has always been good about being the John Malkovich of game companies. It always delivers something good, but with its own twist, thus bending the genre away from the stereotype and giving it new dimension.
This is certainly the case with "Phenom," the sequel to "Ballers," which came out several years ago. In this street-style basketball game, you create your own up-and-coming player and, through a story mode and a series of tournaments, make a name for yourself in order to get picked up by an NBA team.
First, the custom-character aspect is very rich, so you can truly Dr. Frankenstein your baller into either a suave guard or a decked-out gamer in extravagant clothing to match your personality. As you progress, more clothing options and skill upgrades become available -- but the menu is tedious to get through and slows the pace of the game.
Most of the gameplay moves between obvious basketball showdowns and a third-person story in which you roam Los Angeles looking for new tournaments to play in and seeking side quests to help the locals out and earn more respect. Oddly enough, the most respectable part of "Phenom" is the story and not the actual basketball.
If you've played any two-on-two or one-on-one basketball game, then you've played 'em all, and "Phenom" is no different. Yet the story mode keeps it interesting, as the side quests are all about climbing the ladder of respect and getting a shot at stardom.
One thing Midway needs to do badly is upgrade its graphics engines, which sadly drag the game down. The environments and characters look the same as they did years ago in the first installment. They're not horrible, but Midway could push the development envelope a tad further to stay competitive with other sports games.
You know Malkovich is always going to give you something beyond the norm, and Midway does too. "Phenom" is a solid sports game that takes a traditional idea and injects some life into it.
-- Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard
'BRAIN AGE'
Platform: Nintendo DS. Genre: Puzzle.
Publisher: Nintendo. Rating: E, for Everyone.
Grade: B-
People in their 20s probably spend more time taking silly Internet IQ quizzes than they care to admit. Sure, they think they are above the childish nature of these sites, but ask anyone in college or recently graduated, and they can tell you what kind of vegetable they are or what spice or drink best describes them.
Nintendo's "Brain Age" isn't quite that sassy, but what it lacks in pizzazz it makes up for in variety. The game claims to make you smarter, but that's a big stretch for this puzzle game. And with the results it gives, you may wonder if you are dumber than you think.
The game is set up like an IQ test, and you are given a series of tests, each time with the difficulty increased. The games all rely heavily on math-related problems, but you're not going to be stuck doing long division on your DS, so don't get scared off.
After you take the tests, the game gives you a score, and that's where the trouble begins. Watching friends score significantly lower than they thought they would incites all sorts of razzing, but perhaps that's just a healthy side effect that makes them want to play more.
What's interesting beyond the idea is its implementation. You must hold the DS sideways. While this is not exactly earth-shattering stuff, it at least gives you a fresh gaming perspective.
"Brain Age" also includes sudoku puzzles, which have gotten about as much hype as TomKat's new baby. Whether you feel sudoku is a worthy test of skill or just a process of trial-and-error is your call, but you can see why Nintendo is wise to include this hot seller.
It's a dubious claim to say this game will make you smarter, just as it is to say that video games cause violence. What "Brain Age" does do is make you brush up on your memory and arithmetic skills, and there's no harm in that.
-- Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard