‘THE WITCHER’

‘THE WITCHER’

(Atari) for PC

Genre: Role-playing; Rating: M

Grade: B

Moral ambiguities abound in “The Witcher.” In one of the most clever and inventive RPG games in recent memory, you spend about as much time pondering how to right the decision as you do slashing enemies and casting spells.

This game is rated M, but there’s a lot to like, mainly because of the adult ideas and concepts. There’s a moment early on when you must choose between siding with a murdering, conniving witch, or a town full of rapists and complete lunatics.

There are lines of gray everywhere, and choosing often means picking between “awful” and “awful, but not as bad as the other one.” And we’ll just leave all the moments of questionable sexual encounters for you to discover on your own.

The control scheme, especially for battles, is much more involved than most RPGers will be used to, and there’s a steep learning curve at the beginning. The manual seems longer than some novels, so help will be hard to find. But the reward is there, because the controls make the gameplay more fluid — and unlike everything else you are used to playing on a PC.

While the innovative controls keep the action on pace and moving at a good clip, the real charm of this game is the story, where there never seems to be a “right” choice. You might not feel good about some of the decisions you are forced to make, but they add up to a compelling gameplay that, bad dialogue aside, is something to experience.

‘THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: PHANTOM HOURGLASS’

(Nintendo) for DS

Genre: Adventure; Rating: E

Grade: A

It should come as no surprise that Nintendo is churning out some of the best games for its own systems. The designers know the capabilities of their hardware and how to push the software new directions to take advantage of those resources.

“Phantom Hourglass” is a perfect example of this, and for gamers of all ages who enjoyed the cartoony look of “The Wind Waker,” GameCube’s “Zelda” game, this is a perfect sequel. Though it’s on the DS, “Phantom Hourglass” is a sequel to “Wind Waker.” The characters are all back, with some obvious new ones thrown in for the new adventures Link will embark on.

The two most impressive aspects of this game are its visual design and control scheme. The controls are almost entirely mapped to the use of the stylus. This has been done before, but not to the level seen here. It’s amazing to see how well it’s done, and how perfect the game is set up to use all functions possible. The design is also gorgeous to look at, among the best the DS has ever had. It has a look and feel of a full-length GameCube title compressed into the DS.

DS owners should waste no time picking up this game.

‘THE SIMS 2: CASTAWAY’

(EA Games) for Wii, PC, PlayStation 2, PSP, DS

Genre: Simulation; Rating: T

Grade: C

That “Cast Away” movie with Tom Hanks was a pile of garbage, but those of us who even remember it can rest happily knowing that EA has brought its own characters to the deserted-island motif with “Castaway” for its “Sims” franchise.

As in games past, you create your “Sims” character and then you are tossed onto a deserted island, where there are other oddball characters to interact with and create a mock society. Most of this is done by collecting wood and food to fill your need for health and shelter. There are a slew of tasks to complete, from learning new skills to teaching/bribing monkeys to be your helpers, because there’s nothing better than knowing a chimp who wants to trade driftwood for a few bananas.

If you’re a fan of the franchise, this is a worthy extension of the series. There’s nothing extraordinary about” Castaway” for the “Sims,” but it entertains and doesn’t require you to have a meaningful relationship with a volleyball, so it’s got that going for it.

—Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard