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Show I GAMING T W4 I CUSOC SUlB&iesQUE Jl Sonic travels through the world of "The Arabian Nights" in-- , the new videogame ? ( POUT" TEH ig) u V "Sonic J ACHIEVED tow? ' - - - and the Secret cMOJCAaSI&tasLBTuS .... Rings," for theWii.. Sega ' rfuJ A A r V 0"wl "4$ rfjfflr' OKAy, HAVE I -- NO you can i suppose JUST CAN'T IT. I SAy TO THAT LITTLE FACE. ) Sonic, Ratchet come back strong in new video games Lou Kesten THE ASSOCIATED PRESS when games were as kid stuff, there plenty of furry mascots hopping around. But the heroes of today's biggest hits "Halo," "Gears of War," "Grand Theft Auto" e are decidedly humans, and if they see any animals running (Sony, for the PlayStation Portable, $39.99): Ratchet and Clank starred in three first-rat- e platform games for the PlayStation 2, but when Ratchet, the animal half of the team, went solo in 2005's "Ratchet: Deadlocked," it was a big disappointment for fans of the franchise. Happily, the boys have reunited for one of the best games yet to appear on Sony's portable system. This time, their intergalactic search for a kidaround, they'll kill 'em. Still, there are a few animal surnapped girl encompasses all sorts of vivors. Take Sonic the Hedgehog. gameplay. Most of the time, you'll Since his debut in 1991, Sonic has be running, jumping and shooting, been one of the most popular charac- but occasionally you'll need to comters in industry history. Alas, most pete in hoverboard races or fight of the Sonic games since the turn of aliens in outer space. As usual, "Size the century have been dispiriting afMatters" serves up an impressive arsenal of weapons, from your basic fairs, adding all sorts of extraneous gimmickry and downplaying Sonic's flame thrower to guns that squirt out bees or killer robots. The chardistinguishing feature: his speed. acters and weaponry look great on Despite a string of misfires, howthe PSP, and the winning formula of ever, there's still some life in the the PS2 games only suffers slightly spiny speedster. Indeed, he may be at the vanguard of a renaissance for on the smaller system. Three and a video-gam- e half stars. critters. I 'Sonic and the Secret Rings" I "Diddy Kong Racing DS" (Nintendo, for the DS, $34.99): Diddy Kong (Sega, for the Wii, $49.99): Sonic returns to his roots in this stripped-dowfirst appeared in "Donkey Kong adventure for Nintendo's Country" in 1994. "Diddy Kong new console. As he travels through Racing DS" is a translation of his the world of "The Arabian Nights," first solo project, released in 1997 Sonic starts fast and doesn't slow for the Nintendo 64, and it holds up down. The controls are so simple fairly well The core of the game is and the action so speedy that, at its "adventure" mode, in which you earn balloons whenever you win first, "Secret Rings" is a little disoria race; the more balloons you colenting, but once you get the hang of it you'll enjoy the headlong rush. lect, the more races you can enter. As you make your way through the There's a decent amount of variety to the tracks, and you get to drive game's 100 levels, you'll discover a t, three different vehicles wacky new uses for the remote and earn power-up- s that let Sonic a plane and a hovercraft. "DKR" stumbles, however, in the new matego even faster or slow down time. Sonic's Wii debut is marred by the rial added to take advantage of the addition of a slapdash collection DS touch screen. In some levels all Back 1F 7 s Gourmet 1 Doe , x vood j I FUVORC j ' PASTES 66fe gfiMT &EgOgF0 Dog Treats Ra A C "town frow BIRD . CH6E Car TMP0U6H un-cut- -- n T 5 III I I I THE ALPHA H WBu&issTiLLivi&iMe H , 4 HIS NAME WAS ALPO...HE PIEP IN AN ACCIDENT I MAY HftvePLAYHPAROLEIN HBPEATH! THE THOUGHT wftTERrrmociKAmAM's WILJ-Iff- ll I I V SHE HANDLED THE HI6H "sl IjK" W FORGET I IT. ABY! I P-- j I 3 . IFT I I I ( I 4AIA I S TRjATHlONS' I J VOU COULP NOT HVE HIM! A SUCCUWPEP TO HIS OWN SELF- - ) t7ESTF!UCTIVE TENPENCES! fISrEL YOUF FEELINGS OF HE go-kar- of multiplayer minigames, most of which are pretty dull; if the whole family wants to join in, you should stick with the excellent single-play- adventure and take turns with the controller. Three stars out of four. I "Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters" you do is pop balloons, while in oth- ers you have to steer and accelerate with the stylus; one task is much too easy, the other nearly impossible. DS owners who want a more straightforward racing game should stick with "Mario Kart." Two stars. WAIT ITOCAN'T Avflll ' Of UNTIL l've 60T FAfAM T$m B H LlJ 6tT LOTS , 11 A lj m ,5i ', |