VIDEO GAME REVIEWS

'TITAN QUEST'
(THQ) for PC
Genre: Role-playing; Rating: T
Grade: C+
Since when has anyone walked away from the chance to fight hydras, centaurs and those evil queens of succubus, the medusas? No can deny the majesty of picking up a sword and shield and freeing the land of evil gods and their minions.
This is pretty much the premise of "Titan Quest," an RPG game that focuses less on plot and more on substance in other areas. You'll travel around, slaying skeleton warriors or huge ogres and so forth, all the while collecting special items and receiving rather mundane story points to move you along to the next killing field.
What's most appealing about "Titan Quest" is its skills feature. In most RPGs, you decide what kind of special skills you want your character to have, and then pour all your experience points into it. But sometimes, for instance, you dump a ton into the mage or thief categories, and find you never use those skills, thus flushing those valued skill points down the drain. Not here, because you can find certain characters that will allow you to re-assign your skill points to where they will do the most good. This aspect alone makes "Titan Quest" an awesome RPG game.
Visually, the game is also strong -- although the audio gets a little cheeky now and then and comes off fake. "Titan Quest" offers excellent online gameplay as well, and is a must-own for PC gamers.
--Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard
'ROGUE TROOPER'
(Eidos) for Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC
Genre: Shooter; Rating: T.
Grade: C+
You play as a genetically enhanced soldier named Rogue. The game takes place in the realm of Nu Earth, where chemical warfare has rendered the planet unbearable to all regular soldiers -- except Rogue, naturally.
Your squad members will keep getting killed, which in a bizarre twist is a good thing. This is because their traits and skills are embedded into a computer chip that you can collect and install in your gear, thus creating a series of upgrades. These will be crucial to getting through heavy fire missions and also solving puzzles and other challenges.
Another bizarre aspect -- a negative one, though -- is that as you progress, you must purchase ammo for your weapons. No picking it up as you find or kill enemies. It's an interesting choice for this game. Who wants to stop during an intense and fun firefight just because you have to go to the Nu Earth 7-Eleven for bullets?
This is an intense action game with lots of enemies thrown at you, and the missions are well-spaced and varied. But, sadly, the game ends much too soon. You'll enjoy your experience, if ever so briefly, with "Rogue Trooper."
--Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard
'MOTOGP 06'
(THQ) for Xbox 360
Genre: Racing; Rating: E.
Grade: C
For what it's worth, you could say that "MotoGP 06" is more or less a straight port of THQ's "MotoGP 03," which came out last year. Of course, what makes it worthwhile are the improved graphics (since it moves from the Xbox to the Xbox 360). And tweaks to the gameplay and online multiplayer also help give it a fresher look.
The two main racing modes are Circuit and Extreme, and you can guess which is more fun. Circuit is more for hard-core realists, while Extreme is for those who want to push the sound barrier and go for broke on the asphalt.
Heavier bike classes have more acceleration and top speeds, while the smaller bikes are more nimble on the tight turns of many of the tracks you race on. While it's really no more than an upgraded version of "MotoGP 03," this is certainly worth your while if you are a 360 owner and want a strong racing game.
--Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard