To be honest, it would be too painful to explain in every detail why this game is so lame, so I’ll just quickly sum it all up. First of all it’s obvious from the look of the game that it was a rushed product. The environments look decent, but the character models are kind of awkward. They look more like something from the last generation of Xbox. The animation is pretty horrid. All the character move stiffly and awkwardly, like mimes that don’t have fine motor controls. The lip-synching in cut scenes makes you wonder if the game was dubbed into English,and speaking of cut scenes, there aren’t any really. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the few moments that do try and push the story forward use the in-game engine and they just look awkwad and bad.

As for the action itself, this is about as generic run and gun as you can get. Granted, Terminator Salvation does have an interesting take on the cover system. When you’re in cover, you can push in a direction and you’ll get a little semi-circle of possible positions you can go to. Pick one and your character will spring or slide to that cover. It’s an interesting combination of Gears of War and Wanted: Weapons of Fate. It’s works well, but it isn’t really put to good use. Why, but the battles you’re involved in aren’t as interesting as the cover system. Enemy AI seems to programmed to shoot at you; that’s it. Granted machines in the terminator universe don’t need to hide or take cover, but in this game they just walk to a point and start shooting. They don’t advance any further, no matter how meager your weapons are. They’ll just sit there until you take them out. Doing so require some tedious flanking maneuvers for certain machines, but it’s all bland and less than exciting. You never really feel the relentlessness of being pursued by a terminator  machine or by SkyNet.

Levels are all laid out linearly, almost to a fault. There’s no exploration or excitement about what’s around the next bend. You can tell by the level design when you’ll get to the next battle, so until then, just sprint by everything because there’s nothing to see. There are a few on-rails segments that are almost interesting, and could have been really fun had you had a chance to drive. Being chased by machines through the post-apocalyptic roadways of L.A.; that sounds exciting. Yet, this game finds a way to make it mundane.

The story is set a couple years before the movie, oddly enough, and introduces a couple interesting elements that are immediately discarded. I think the story is supposed to be about how John Conner is inspiring to the resistance, at leas that’s what one character says right before she dies “You inspired me John Conner” (oh, and by the way, just like the movie everyone always uses his full name; just in case you forget this is Terminator.) However, I didn’t feel inspired (except to play something else) so that element doesn’t have nearly the weight that it could have because it really isn’t explored, which is too bad. You also get a slight hint of John knowing more about SkyNet and the Terminators because of his past experience. He knows what’s coming, but again, an intriguing story element is quickly forgotten as you slog through pointless destruction of machines.

Look, I could go on about all the other reasons not to play this game, but suffice it to say this game represents everything that makes movie tie-in games the trash that they are. It’s obviously a rushed money grab with no extras, no exploration, no anything for that matter. It’s short, unimaginative, and not really any fun. Even die-hard Terminator fans will be hard pressed to find any reason for this game to exist other than the fact there’s a new Terminator movie out. And the fact that they’re charging full price for it? Well, that just adds insult to injury. I’ve experienced all the awfulness for you, so don’t let my sacrifice be in vain; just take my advice and avoid this game. If you really need more Terminator, go see the movie again. Compared to the game, the movie really isn’t all that bad.

Score out of 7:

Graphics: 4 – Muddied, ugly, choppy and just generally blah. The art design is cool as you see post apocalyptic L.A., but the rest hurts the eyes. Alright, maybe that’s a little harsh, I’ve seen worse. This game just makes your eyes ache.

Sound: 4 – DumDum Dum De Dum. You here that way too much. The voice acting is bland at best (and no Christian Bale, can’t blame him.) Weapons fire and machine sound fx could have used more oomph.

Control: 5 – The controls are decent. You can to the weapon you want easily enough. It’s standard third-person view (why that was necessary, I don’t know, John Conner doesn’t even look like Bale.) The cover system is cool…that’s all I can think of.

Gameplay: 3 – Run, shoot machines, run, shoot machines, run, shoot machines, get on a vehicle, shoot machines…need I go on?

Story: 3 – John Conner disobeys orders (those kinds of people always make the best leaders) to save some guys, you don’t care, stuff happens that doesn’t mean anything to anything…how is this connected to the movies? Oh yeah, John Conner.

Content: 5 – The game is so bland there’s really nothing to offend. Some mild language, lots of machines get blown up, but it’s so mind-numbing you won’t really remember much.

Final: 3 – Terminator Salvation is a pointless money grab of game and it shows. Just don’t play it.

The demo gives you the option to play a couple holes on two new courses or to try some practice holes. It also gives you a rundown of the new features in this year’s game and a quick description of what sort of impact they’ll have on the game. Compared with previous years, Tiger Woods 10 felt like an extremely refined version of past games. If you’ve played any past Tiger Woods games on the Xbox or the 360, you’ll instantly be familiar with the controls here. However, gone are the over 100% shots, which frankly I’m thankful for. Keeping you shot power on a 100% scale will make it easier to determine just how much oomph to put into my swings and also will help me figure out exactly where my ball will land. Also, “precision putting” is being introduced this year, but I don’t feel like it’s going to radically affect the putting; whether it improves it or not will require more experimentation in more scenarios.

One nice addition to this year’s game is the Tour Challenge mode. This mode gives you the chance to relive some of Tiger Woods’ most memorable moments. In fact, in this mode you’re challenged to match him stroke for stroke in some of the spectacular moments from his career. Tiger himself will introduce theses moments and share what he was thinking and what he was trying to do, and then you get to play him in those moments. It’s kind of like reliving those historic moments in Madden NFL, but the personal introductions are nice touch and it should be fun to see if you can be as good as Tiger.

Graphically thinks are looking sharp for Tiger 10. One of the biggest improvements is the gallery. It actually adds quite alot to the game to have a bunch of people lining the fairways and crowding the greens to watch you play. It gives everything a much more authentic feel. As expected, all the animations are fluid and smooth, the fairways are lush, the water is beautiful; the game just looks great. The game boasts a new “broadcast style” presentation which is supposed to make it feel more like a golf tournament you see on TV, but I didn’t really see much of a difference in the brief time you get play in the demo.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is shaping up to be one of the best entries into the series so far. Several small refinements have improved the controls, the atmosphere, and the variety of things you can do. Again, the major drawback for the Xbox 360 version will be the fact that it doesn’t have the Wiimote or Wii MotionPlus as the Wii version will have this year. Then again, Microsoft is rumored to reveal some pretty big developments when it comes to motion and the Xbox 360, so anything is possible.

That is, in fact, why Jesus Christ came to this earth. As he so eloquently put it “The thief only comes to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV) There are so many thieves in our lives that will steal away moments, kill our joy and happiness, and destory our hope and optimism. However, Jesus Christ can give us a new life; one filled with purpose and hope and joy and so much more. A life filled with adventure and excitement, challenges and growth. Better yet, Jesus can give us a life that never ends. Through Christ, we can enjoy an eternity of adventure and joy; truly a full life and a life fulfilled. Up suggests that we only have so much time to really enjoy life, and so we must get out there and do so while we still can. That’s true, we should do that, but because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can not only make the most of this life, but also of the life to come in eternity.

The most surprising thing about Up for me was just how adult it was. That’s not to say that kids won’t like, because they will (I saw it in a theater full of kids and they seemed to love it). However, Pixar once again defines what a CG animated film can accomplish by filling Up with very mature, and dare I even say dark, themes. This is a movie that examines our struggles with loss; the loss of a loved one, the loss caused by death, the loss of a dream, the loss of purpose. The first twenty minutes or so of the movie is a brilliant montage lacking any dialogue but packed with heartfelt emotion. It sets the darker undertones for the film and immediately sucked me into the life of one Carl Fredricksen.

Part of what makes Up work so well on a emotional level is Pixar’s amazing use of CG animation. More than any CG film I’ve seen, Pixar has imbued life into these characters. The range of emotion that’s subtly displayed on the characters’ faces is truly astounding. It’s why the opening montage is so powerful even without any dialogue; you recognize the emotions on the characters faces because you’ve seen them on the faces of the people around you, and on your own. More than any of the razzle dazzle effects of Up, this is the technological achievement that I noticed most. Despite the fact that the characters are very much cartoon caricatures, the emotions displayed on their faces even with slightest movement is so very real that you can’t help but connect with what they’re feeling.

Now, I don’t want to give the impression that this film is some emotional downer; nothing could be further from the truth. Up is a fun, engaging and truly funny film. While Pixar’s competitors are content to go for the lowest common denominator when it comes to humor, Pixar sets the standard for smart comedy that can appeal to young and old. Up features classic cartoon gags taken straight from Looney Tunes and smart inside jokes that rival those seen on Futurama. Up is also filled with plenty of exciting moments as well. As the movie itself states; “Adventure is out there (thumbs up)!”

Speaking of adventure being out there, more than anything, Up is really about living life. It encourages us to get out and live life well, and to not let precious moments slip away from us unnoticed, to not let any pages of our lives go unfilled. It’s far too easy to let life slip away only to look back a life filled of what ifs and if onlys, a life filled with unfulfilled events and moments the were not seized. I know all too well how busy life can be, and how the immediate things often choke out the important things, or how the unexpected things can delay the truly precious things. However, we don’t need to let our lives get swept away by the immediate and mundane. If we choose, we can seize the precious and important moments and truly savor the life we’ve been blessed with.

That is, in fact, why Jesus Christ came to this earth. As he so eloquently put it “The thief only comes to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV) There are so many thieves in our lives that will steal away moments, kill our joy and happiness, and destory our hope and optimism. However, Jesus Christ can give us a new life; one filled with purpose and hope and joy and so much more. A life filled with adventure and excitement, challenges and growth. Better yet, Jesus can give us a life that never ends. Through Christ, we can enjoy an eternity of adventure and joy; truly a full life and a life fulfilled. Up suggests that we only have so much time to really enjoy life, and so we must get out there and do so while we still can. That’s true, we should do that, but because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can not only make the most of this life, but also of the life to come in eternity.

One other note worth mentioning about Up; my screening wasn’t a 3D screening, but this is such a rich looking movie that I’m sure it’ll be spectacular in 3D. Plus, from what I saw, there are plenty of “wow” moments for 3D viewers, so if you get chance, catch Up in 3D.

What I like best about Pixar is that they’re willing to take chances, they’re willing to push what one can do with CG animation and the types of stories one can tell with that medium. Up is yet another bold experiment. Instead of standard heroes and heroines, we have Carl Fredricksen (voiced brilliantly by Ed Asner) an old guy with a grumpy disposition and Russel, a portly kid wilderness explorer who’s never really explored the wilderness. The villain is yet another senior citizen Charles Muntz (again, voiced brilliantly by Christopher Plummer). Who would ever think of having a couple of old guys as the main characters of a “kids” movie? Only Pixar, and they make it work wonderfully. Add to that the idea of a flying house, a wacky bird, a talking dog…all of which might clumsily make for a slightly entertaining film in lesser hands, but in the hands of Pixar it becomes a brilliantly executed adventure filled with excitement and heart. And if that wasn’t enough, Pixar adds very mature, and as I said dark, themes to this mix and yet some how is able to keep this film a fun experience for young and old alike. In short, Up is yet another amazing accomplishment from Pixar; master storytellers, master animators, and the masters of crafting thoughtful movies everyone can enjoy.

Uhh…just in case you didn’t quite get my point; go see Up. Take everyone in your family for this is a movie the whole family can truly enjoy.

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We’ve been waiting for Big Surf Island for, oh I don’t know, it seems like close a year now. If you’ve played the game, you’ve seen the construction slowly taking place near the Waterfront Plaza where a new bridge was being built and buildings were slowly appearing across the bay. One of the most common topics of conversation ever since the excellent Cops and Robbers pack came out has been when we will get a chance to play on Big Surf Island. Well, it seems that time is almost upon us.

In a new trailer for Big Surf Island, it’s revealed this hotly anticipated piece of DLC will release on June 11th. Players will enjoy new freeburn challenges and single player challenges, they’ll get introduced to the newest car in Paradise the Carson Duster (basically the Burnout version of a dune buggy). Plus there will be eight new cars for you to win as you tear around Big Surf Island.  Watch the trailer to get a glimpse of Burnout’s biggest addition yet and see what you think, and look for our impressions on Burnout’s latest DLC when it releases this June.

Truth is, we all have to struggle with our identity, and that struggle has become more pronounced in recent years. We are constantly told that we humans are basically good. We’re told that there’s nothing inherently wrong with us, but a quick glance at the world at large seems to prove that statement wrong. If we are basically good, then why is everything so bad? If humanity is decent at its core, then how can it commit such atrocities and so much evil? We see this conundrum and we are uncomfortable with the notion that we are “basically good” people. As T4 unfolds, it becomes plainly evident that Marcus is not what he thinks he is, but the truth as to who he may really be isn’t something that Marcus or the audience (had we not already been told) want to face. The same is often true of us, we don’t really want to know the truth about who we really are. Well, I’m going to tell you. Truth is, humanity is not good, humanity is sinful (I know, bummer.) We’re born into it. Sin isn’t something that we do, it’s who we are. It’s why we are capable of the evil we do, and why despite our desire to believe that all people are “basically good” there is so little evidence of that. The good news, however, is that we don’t have to stay that way. In the film, Marcus rejects what he is for what he wants to be. We are given a better option, we can actually become something different, we can have a new identity apart from our sinfulness. Jesus Christ died on a cross and rose from the dead to remove our sin identity for us when we choose to be identified with him. Our sinful nature is destroyed, and new nature is given to us. The horror of what we are can be traded for the glory of what God created us to be. In this instance, the Terminator films are absolute correct; there is not fate except what we make. You can choose your fate; one of the sin nature which leads to destruction, a nature we are all born with. Or a new nature which leads to life, an identity we can born again in through Jesus Christ. The future isn’t written, we can still choose. However, if don’t choose, then our fate is sealed by the simple fact that we are what are; fallen beings in need of a savior, lost and sinful people in need of salvation.

Terminator Salvation takes the franchise into that distant future so often hinted at in the other movies. This is the era after Judgment Day when the last pockets of humanity continue to fight the genocidal oppression of SkyNet and its machines. John Conner is one of the leaders of the resistance, but not quite yet THE leader of the resistance. It’s an exciting setting for this film as it’s a future we’ve all wanted to see after the glimpses in the other films, but it’s also not quite the future we glimpsed in the other movies.  I’m not a huge Terminator fan, but I do vaguely remember lasers in the future, right? Where’d those go? Well never mind, despite its flaws Terminator Salvation is still a fun movie.

The major problem with the film, despite how fun it is, is that by the end of it nothing has really happened. In truth, this is more the fault of the end narration than anything else. There are plenty of exciting events during the course of the movie, but the final bit of narration basically tells us that none of that really mattered because SkyNet is still strong and the war goes on. I understand that this is supposed to be the first film of a new franchise, but it really ends up feeling like the pilot episode for a new TV series. Characters are introduced and maneuvered into their proper places, the threat is explained and rules established for how this conflict works, but unlike previous films, it never really feels like anything is at stake. And even what you think was at stake and what you feel like was resolved is undone by end narration that negates any importance of the preceding events. So basically it was all for nothing, but at least it was fun and exciting.

The other weak element is Marcus Wright; not the character or the performance, but how the character was used. Terminator Salvation is a perfect example of bad marketing. Why they revealed that Marcus was a Terminator in the trailers I’ll never understand. That should have been saved for the film itself. It’s supposed to be a major element to the films plot, but because you know it’s coming, it never feels as dramatic as it should. The other problem is the ending. If you haven’t heard, this film had an entirely different ending (which I won’t spoil for anyone who hasn’t heard), one that made fans really upset. After watching the movie, however, I think what they had originally planned would have worked quite well and it actually made plenty of sense. The new ending (which I also won’t spoil) is extremely anticlimactic and really negates the reason for Marcus’ existence in this film. Marcus Wright is a great and potentially intriguing character, but his utilization in the movie is wasted, and thus a potentially great sci-fi film is relegated to being a merely good action flick.

If you’ve seen the trailers, you know that Marcus is a Terminator who thinks he’s human. Not until about halfway through the film does he realize that he’s not. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t spend a lot of time dwelling on Marcus’ struggle to come to terms with this realization, but then again, maybe that was a good thing. Battle Star Galactica examined this issue, what makes us human, in much more detail and with much more emotion. But then that was a TV series, so it had more time to explore that philosophical question in depth. T4 doesn’t have that kind of time, and so it doesn’t waste too much of it on this issue. Still, I think some depth and dramatic weight could have been added to the movie had they at least tried to examine Marcus’ struggle in a bit more detail.

Truth is, we all have to struggle with our identity, and that struggle has become more pronounced in recent years. We are constantly told that we humans are basically good. We’re told that there’s nothing inherently wrong with us, but a quick glance at the world at large seems to prove that statement wrong. If we are basically good, then why is everything so bad? If humanity is decent at its core, then how can it commit such atrocities and so much evil? We see this conundrum and we are uncomfortable with the notion that we are “basically good” people. As T4 unfolds, it becomes plainly evident that Marcus is not what he thinks he is, but the truth as to who he may really be isn’t something that Marcus or the audience (had we not already been told) want to face. The same is often true of us, we don’t really want to know the truth about who we really are. Well, I’m going to tell you. Truth is, humanity is not good, humanity is sinful (I know, bummer.) We’re born into it. Sin isn’t something that we do, it’s who we are. It’s why we are capable of the evil we do, and why despite our desire to believe that all people are “basically good” there is so little evidence of that. The good news, however, is that we don’t have to stay that way. In the film, Marcus rejects what he is for what he wants to be. We are given a better option, we can actually become something different, we can have a new identity apart from our sinfulness. Jesus Christ died on a cross and rose from the dead to remove our sin identity for us when we choose to be identified with him. Our sinful nature is destroyed, and new nature is given to us. The horror of what we are can be traded for the glory of what God created us to be. In this instance, the Terminator films are absolute correct; there is not fate except what we make. You can choose your fate; one of the sin nature which leads to destruction, a nature we are all born with. Or a new nature which leads to life, an identity we can born again in through Jesus Christ. The future isn’t written, we can still choose. However, if don’t choose, then our fate is sealed by the simple fact that we are what are; fallen beings in need of a savior, lost and sinful people in need of salvation.

Terminator Salvation is filled with everything a good Terminator film should have. It has all the requisite lines, it has some thrilling action, it has menacing, unstoppable machines, and it has that desperate struggle of survival. T4 also boasts some solid performance from all the key players. Bale is good as usual, and Sam Worthington really steals the show as Marcus, especially when he discovers what he truly is (which is why I wish he had more time to explore that because he was just so good at portraying the initial anguish over it). Anton Yelchin is solid as a young Kyle Reese, although I still thought of him as Checkov, mainly because Star Trek had a chance to release first.

The film itself looks sufficiently bleak for a post-apocalyptic world. It has a sort of Mad Max/Fallout 3 motif going on, and MCG’s uses of washed out colors adds to the bleakness. Danny Elfman’s score captures the feel of the previous films while adding some new notes to the bleak future; the soundtrack is never intrusive and supports and compliments the action and events quite well. I just want to give props to my state of New Mexico, which was where the movie was filmed; it was the perfect location for this shoot. The barren deserts added a whole lot to the sense of desolation and isolation the remains of humanity are supposed to feel, and it was fun to recognize so many spots from all over the state featured in the movie. Yeah New Mexico.

In all honesty, I thought Terminator Salvation was a bit of a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good movie, but it could have easily been a great movie. Just a few missteps really keeps this movie from attaining the lofty status of the standout T2. The action is solid, the performances are great, it’s a blast to finally see the future, but a couple of poor choices on what was revealed in the trailers and how the film wraps things up (or doesn’t, as the case may be) really hampers the overall experience. I had a lot of fun watching Terminator, but when it was all over, I was left trying to figure out what exactly had happened during the previous two hours. Sure stuff blew up, but was anything accomplished? Did the franchise move forward or make any progress? The answer is no, and hence this Terminator fails in its objective. Still, it’s better than Wolverine, so I guess it really depends on how much of fan you are as to whether or not you need to rush out to see it.

Upon starting EA Sports Active, you have to create your profile (no Miis working out here). The creation process is pretty simple. You only have a few options for the physical appearance, and oddly enough, quite a few for apparel such as hats, sunglasses, outfits and the like. You won’t be able to create a super accurate likeness of yourself with these options, but you can get a close approximation. After you create how you look, you enter some basic info such as age, height, weight and gender. Finally you pick the trainer you want to work with; male or female. Then it’s off to the main menu. You can do a 30 day challenge, a customized workout, look at your fitness profile, change some options, and other stuff. The game suggests you start with the daily journal, which keeps track of all your activities both on and off Active. That’s where I spent my first day with EA Sports Active.

Your first day of workouts features a wide variety of different activities. From lunges to squats to bicep curls to inline skating to running and more, it’s an intense thirty minute workout (I selected the hard difficulty for my workouts.) Each different workout begins with a very helpful instruction video to show what to do, and then you’re given a little picture in picture where you can see your trainer do the exercise with you as you follow along to make sure you’re keeping the correct form. The exercises will definitely make you sweat, although the controllers don’t always register your motions. I’d say they are about eighty to eighty-five percent accurate, which is pretty good, but nonetheless it can interrupt the flow of a workout when they don’t quite register what you’re doing.

Speaking of the controllers, you can use the Wii balance board for some of the exercises, or you can opt not to. Using the balance board doesn’t really alter the intensity of the workout any, but it does add some nice variety to the actions you do. EA Sports Active also comes with a resistance band for curls and other upper body exercises, and a nifty little pouch strap for your leg. You put the nunchuck in the pouch and then you use it for kicking while doing cardio boxing or while running. It’s a nice little addition as not every set of workout clothes has pockets which is required for some of Wii Fit’s exercises, and when the nunchuck is in the pouch, it does a good job of registering your actions. The resistance bands certainly aren’t the same as using free weights, but they add enough tension that I think they should help shape your arms and upper body, so they’re also another nice addition to the EA Sports Active bundle.

After you finish your first workout, you can continue to journal with a survey about your nutritional habits from the day, and how rested and stressed you feel. The game tracks all of this along with the calories you burned during the workout (how it calculates that, I’m not entirely sure), the amount of time you spent working out and how many exercises you’ve done. In your journal you can set what kind goals you want for the week or month in how many calories you want to burn, how long you want to workout that week, or how many exercises you want to do.

Some of the areas where EA Sports Active excels where Wii Fit doesn’t is the fact that you can customize your own exercise routine. You can pick from the various exercises present, choose the length and intensity of the workout, and then choose whether or not you want to do it with a friend. That’s right, if you want to exercise with someone, all you need is an extra accessories kit (an extra twenty bucks for another pouch belt and resistance band) and then you can workout with a friend and turn it into a friendly (or not so friendly) competition. Speaking of competition, EA Sports Active has a nice reward system that gives you trophies for completing various tasks. Any gamer knows that achievements or trophies are an excellent way to keep us motivated, so kudos to EA for including this in the fitness game. I’m already working on various dances for when I get certain trophies before my wife does.

However, there are a few weak areas with EA Sports Active. There aren’t any yoga activities, which doesn’t make or break the game, but compared to Wii Fit it is an area where it’s lacking. Also, although EA Sports Active will track your calories burned…somehow… it doesn’t keep track of your weight. There’s no weigh-in like there is for Wii Fit. I guess maybe I’m a little spoiled by that, but I find it’s one of the best (or most discouraging) ways to track progress with any sort of fitness game. Wii Fit is still the only one to have this option, and I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that there was so much controversy over Wii Fit’s use of BMI and how it measured weight when it first came out. In any event, I like it and I notice its absence in other workout games like EA Sports Active.

EA Sports Active has a lot going for it. It has a wide variety activities, it does a better job of having activities flow together (unlike Wii Fit), and it will help keep track of your nutritional habits and how many calories you burn…although I’m not entirely sure how it does that part. However, the lack of any sort of weigh-in makes it harder for me to feel like any sort of progress is going to be made, but perhaps that will change with the 30 Day Challenge. Also, there are no yoga or balance activities here, so this workout can’t completely replace Wii Fit. I’d say EA Sports Active is the perfect compliment to Wii Fit. It fill all the weak spots and gaps of Wii Fit, and vice-versa. Is this a workout that will get you results? Well, you’ll have to keep up with my daily blog during the 30 Day Challenge to find out.

But let’s get down to the nitty gritty here; is EA Sports Active worth the sixty dollar price ta?. Well, like Wii Fit it’s far cheaper than a gym membership, it’s just as convenient but doesn’t take up as much space as a home gym, and you get some tips and feedback from your own virtual trainer. However, it also won’t replace actually going out and doing stuff like sports and other activities. So yes, I’d say EA Sports Active is worth the price, especially for some of the nice extras that are included. If you don’t have any sort of exercise routine , this is a good way to start. If you do, this a good, easy, convenient compliment for whatever you’re doing. EA Sports Active achieves its goal of challenging you to exercise and making it fun at the same time; so give it a try.

You could probably gather the fact that Excitebots lacks any grounding in realistic racing simulation when you first realize you’re driving a vehicle that happens to be a robot bat that at times can both run and fly. So yeah, Gran Turismo this isn’t. On the flip side, that robot bat vehicle is blazingly fast as it tears down a track filled with challenging and silly obstacles that keeps the race fresh and exciting. From throwing pies in clowns faces to hitting home runs to playing the tambourine to tossing around chattering teeth, the races are filled with all kinds of wackiness. I know that all sounds silly, but you have to try it before your realize just how much fun it all is. Excitebots focuses on two things, being fast and fun, and it does both of those things extremely well.

Aside from all the wacky things going on during the race, the other thing you’re bound to notice is just how fast this game is. Excitebots is easily as fast Burnout as you blaze through a wide variety of tracks all around the world. There are times when things happen almost too fast as you try to toss a dart to a dart board while boosting your turbo to hit a jump to fly as far as possible in order to get a literal jump on your opponents. It’s crazy, it’s hectic, it’s challenging, and it’s addictively fun.

Naturally you wouldn’t enjoy this sense of speed if the graphics weren’t up to the task of making everything feel so fast. The framerate remains smooth no matter how blazingly fast you’re going, and I didn’t notice any slow down on or off-line. Although the terrain you’re racing through isn’t rendered in any sort of high detail, you’ll never really notice because of how fast you’re racing through it. Nevertheless, all of the racing environments look sharp are are nicely rendered. Trees and bushes aren’t just paper cut-outs, and better yet, there isn’t any distracting pop-in as you tear around the track. In fact, when you catch some big air, you’ll notice that Excitebots has a pretty decent draw distance, especially for a Wii game. The vehicle/creatures are also nicely rendered, and they have some pretty cool animations as well. They’ll spread out their wheels and extend wings (if they have them) when you hit a big jump. They go through minor transformations when the pop-up on their hind legs to run through portions of the track, and when you wreck, while it may not be as spectacular as Burnout, you will get a nice slo-mo scene of parts flying off your bot. While not a visual showcase, Excitebots also isn’t any sort of graphical slouch. It looks solid, it’s fast, it’s brightly colored and has some nice water and light effects. All around, it’s just a well produced game.

That goes for the sound production as well. In keeping with the over-the-top arcade feel of the game, all of the sound is over-the-top as well. From the vehicle sounds to crashing sounds to power-up sounds and the rest, everything is as arcadey as it gets. That goes for the music as well, which is a bit high-energy and annoying for my liking after just a few minutes, but fortunately you can turn it off.

While the off-line races are plenty fun, it’s on-line where things start to get real crazy. Thanks to a betting system for the races, Excitebots online can get really addicting. You bet a certain amount of stars for each race, and depending on where you place and which random multiplier you get (the higher you place, the better your odds), that’s how many stars you’ll win back. Stars are used to purchase everything from new and better bots to new colors for you bots paint job. On-line racing is the fastest way to get stars, so if you want to unlock new bots quickly, it’s the way to go. Plus, the unpredictability of racing with human opponents always adds some surprises as you inevitably race with some opponents who have learned a few tricks and a few short-cuts you haven’t discovered yet.

As I mentioned, the key to gaining stars when you race online is to make sure you finish well. The higher you place, the more stars you’ll get. So you want to make sure that you aren’t last, and if at all possible, that you’re in at least the top two. Finishing well isn’t something you only need to be concerned about in a racing game like Excitebots, it’s also something you should consider in life as well. How will you finish life? What will your legacy be? In 1 Timothy 4:7-8, Paul says “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store form the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day…” I would like to be able to say that of my own life, that I fought the good fight and that I finished the race. Deep down, I think we all have a desire to finish life well; but how do we do that? If you don’t mind me giving you a little tip, the best way to finish well is with Jesus Christ. Why? Because it’s the only way to win. Every other option only leads to an eternity in hell, and I think it’s safe to say that isn’t finishing well. Now I know that many don’t like that “narrow” view of things, but in the spirit of the betting system for Excitebots, let me present it to you this way. Let’s say that Christianity is wrong and that Jesus isn’t the only way to get to heaven; what do you lose by being a Christian? Not much, really. Every other religion requires you to be a “good person” in order to finish life well, so a practicing Christian will do just fine no matter what religion ends up being right in the end. However, what if Christianity is right? What if Jesus Christ really is the only way to be forgiven of our sins and to experience eternal life in heaven? What do you lose by not being a Christian? Everything, because no matter how good you are, the Bible says we’ll always fall short apart from Christ. So the question is, what are you willing to wager. By betting on Christianity, you have a win-win scenario. By betting against it; well let’s just say you’d better hope you’re right. It seems to me, that if you truly want to finish life well, you can’t go wrong with Jesus Christ; it’s the safest bet.

Racing games on the Wii often suffer from a lack of variety when it comes to track selection (I’m looking at you Speed Racer), but fortunately that’s not the case here. While you may visit certain locations more than once as you progress through the cup races, they’re always different. Plus, each locale has a different setting from snowy to jungle to desert to rainy country side. It’s nice to have such a wide variety of tracks and vehicles to play with. Oh, and did I mention there’s also a poker race? Yeah, you race around a track while trying to get three-of-a-kind or other hands playing poker. Crazy? Yes. Fun? Definitely.

Honestly, I just can’t say enough about how much Excitebots surprised me. It’s a surprisingly fun and yet challenging racing game. The challenge is never frustrating, the fun is constant, the game looks and sounds great, and best of all, it’s a game you can play with the whole family. This is just good clean videogame fun, and sadly that’s often a rarity in today’s gaming industry. I know Excitebots: Trick Racing may seem like an obscure title, but I promise you it’s one you don’t want to miss.

Score out of 7:

Graphics: 5 – Fast, smooth framerate adds to the sense of speed. Bos all look great, as do the environments. Not as slick graphically as some games, but all around solid, bright, colorful and pretty.

Sound: 5 – This is an arcade game through and through. All of the sound fx testify to that fact. The sound adds to the crazy fun with roaring cars and crazy sound effects for all the wacky stuff you do. The music is high-energy and bombastic, but you can turn it off.

Controls: 5 – The Wii Wheel is definitely the way to go here. Controls are simple and intuitive, although the button combo for some tricks are a little awkward. Still, the controls are responsive and fun without any excess waggling found in many Wii games.

Gameplay: 6 – Fast and fun. What else do you need to know, except that it’s even more fun online.

Story: N/A

Content: 6 – Good, clean fun. Bots crash, but that’s about as violent things get. The spider bots are kind of creepy, so I had to dock a point for that.

Final: Excitebots: Trick Racing is a refresing surprise on the Wii. It’s a videogame that knows it’s just a game and therefore just has fun with it. With a good variety of bots and tracks, fast and fun races, and a solid and addictive online mode, there’s plenty to like in Excitebots. Give it a spin.