‘Rise of the Argonauts’

January 9, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

(Codemasters) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC

Genre: Role-playing

Rating: M; Grade: D

My mom and grandmother just cannot get enough of British movies and TV series. They love them. All that talking and melodrama, it’s like entertainment heroin to them.

I’m not opposed to the stuff; it certainly has its place and time and can be quite enjoyable. What I don’t like is a video game that is all talk and no action. If the folks over at Codemasters were going for this kind of gaming experience, they’ve been spending a tad too much time watching the BBC.

Based on the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, you play as King Jason as he tries to find the Golden Fleece and save the kingdom. Hydras, beasts of all kinds and more will attempt to stop you, but you’ll have to find them first. I say this because by the end of Rise of the Argonauts, it seems like 75 percent of the time is spent chit-chatting. Talk to a guard here, a peasant woman there, maybe even some princesses and fellow soldiers. It’s all just one big soap opera, and the voice acting and visuals mirror that of mundane daytime soaps.

When you do get into the action, it is actually quite good, and this only makes you loathe this game even more, because you’d think that if you saw something cool you’d see more of it. Nope, not here. The battles with various creatures are fast-paced and intense, with you constantly swapping out your mace for your spear and over to the sword based on how the fights are proceeding.

Rise of the Argonauts also features one of the best leveling-up systems I have seen in years, which means it’s completely wasted in a game like this that possesses little action. Pleasing the Greek gods and being rewarding with nifty upgrades is satisfying to see in action. Hopefully other developers crib this process and inject it into a much more action-packed game, because you won’t get that with this title.

‘SingStar ABBA’

(Sony) for PlayStation 3, PS2

Genre: Music; Rating: T

Grade: B

I’m not a huge karaoke fan. Sure, I’m not afraid to dive in. But I don’t go searching out bars and parties that are going to be hours of people wailing into a microphone. I know plenty of other ways to get a headache and they are way more fun.

Yet I would be remiss if I did not say that SingStar ABBA is a gem of a game if you love the band. Me? I have a soft spot for them. Years back I was visiting my friend Ellen in Georgia and she took me to a local haunt, and I stunned the crowd with a rousing rendition of “Dancing Queen.” Don’t judge me ... when you are young and have a mother who loves Barry Manilow, ABBA and Huey Lewis, you learn lyrics. It happens, get over it.

So I have always had a compartment in my brain for ABBA music. The catchy disco tunes, the love ballads that sound as goofy as the four Swedes who made them famous, it’s all just amusing entertainment. Having an entire SingStar game devoted to them makes sense for me, but maybe not for everyone, and this game is definitely either going to be up your alley or not.

The game-play itself is exactly like most SingStar games, so gamers should not expect anything new there. It’d be nice if Sony jump on board with wireless microphones like other karaoke games, just because being tethered to your console is so 2007 in music gaming. The game’s price is a tad cheaper than most full PS3 releases, but again, it’s all a matter of whether you think $40 for all ABBA all the time is your cup of tea.

In the meantime, don’t be surprised to hear the lady in my life belting out her own personal favorite ABBA tune, “Waterloo.” And yes, we’re a fun, but scary household to visit right now.

—Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard