It is time now for the second wave of '08/'09 reviews with today's column covering video games.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008, Xbox 360)

There was quite a bit of hype surrounding this game when it came out. It was supposed to be a Star Wars IP that the world hadn't seen since Shadows of the Empire. Did it live up to the hype? Depends on who you ask. I didn't buy it until recently, but I definitely had fun playing it. That said, there were also many points where I was frustrated out of my mind to the point of controller throwing (something I've not done in years). Some of this was due to faulty game mechanics, but mostly my own incompetence. Sadly, the game is fairly repetitive in terms of combat and I found myself relying on Force lightning to handily finish off every enemy I came across. There are plenty of options for combat such as push and choke and, of course, your lightsaber, but none of these were as handy or wholly satisfying as lightning. Oh, and for all the hype about Euphoria, never once did I see a stormtrooper grab another in mid air. 7/10

Animal Crossing: City Folk (2008, Wii)

The ever successful Animal Crossing franchise made its way onto the Wii last fall and... it's Animal Crossing. It keeps a lot of things from its DS pedecessor such as the rolling log world, but also brings back things sorely missed from the GameCube version such as separate houses for each player. The graphics have finally received a much needed bump, especially in the area of textures. The models, however, still remain fairly low-poly in some instances and the lighting isn't really helping anything in that department. Some things have been handled better than they were in the first game, such as moving some of the random occurances to permanent stores within the city. All in all, City Folk just as fun and addictive as the original (110 hours of play doesn't lie), though I am slightly disappointed that it wasn't changed up more. 7/10

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (2008, DS)

After three highly successful (and truly amazing) Phoenix Wright games, Apollo Justice comes in to fill the shoes of the pointy-haired defense attorney that preceeded him. Apollo Justice is the first Ace Attoreny game designed specifically for the DS and they came up with some interesting ways to utilize the hardware. The cutscenes are fancier and the artwork is higher color, but it feels very much the same. The court scenes haven't really changed, though a new dynamic similar to Psyche-locks has been added. The stories are everythig you'd expect from the series making Apollo Justice worthy of the Ace Attorney title. 9/10

Resident Evil 5 (2009, Xbox 360)

I've never played any of the Resident Evil games before, but when a college buddy brought it over I played co-op with him. Surprisingly, it was a really fun game. The controls worked well and there were always plenty of zombies around to shoot. Granted, some areas kind of sucked balls, such as the boat trip through the swamp, collecting all the crystals in that temple/cave thing and, of course, the damned quick time events. But, those aside, it looked and played very nice and offered a couple days of gaming fun. 7/10

Mad World (2009, Wii)

I'll say this up front: paying $50 for this game without having played it first was a mistake. I was hooked by the uniqueness of the look and the idea that somebody was actually going to make something uniquely tailored to the Wii without being kiddie shovelware. It does look interesting, but upon close perusal, the graphics don't hold up. I didn't really know where the hell I was going half the time, and, while there are some unique ways to kill people, it was easier just to button mash. The interstitials with the pimp guy were kind of funny and John DiMaggio is always evntertaining, but there wasn't any content to keep me playing. With a whole two hours of play time, I wound up trading it in. 3/10

Scribblenauts (2009, DS)

This is becoming a sad list of overhyped disappointments. Now don't get me wrong, under the surface of Scribblenauts lies an incredibly clever and inventive game. With a list of some 20,000+ objects you can call upon to complete various puzzles, there's a world of promise here. However, the execution was less than stellar. The objectives were generally vague, leaving me scratching my head as for what to do and when they weren't, I found myself solving most puzzles with a rope and helicoptor.The biggest offender, however, was the controls. The character and placement of items is all controlled via touchscreen and, if you are not very specific about where you click, you'll wind up careening to an untimely death. Honestly, the title screen for Scribblenauts was probably the funnest part, being just a sandbox with which you can do whatever you want. I was so hopeful for this game and I hope that the developers take a step back, realize where they fucked up, and try it again. 4/10

Rhythm Heaven (2009, DS)

It should be no secret at this point that I am a fan of rhythm games, but Rhythm Heaven is a unique and extremely fun take on the genre. There are dozens of mini-games based around two simple control guestures: touch and flick. It's so simple, yet you'll put in a crazy amount of hours if you want to get golds and perfects on each song. Speaking of which, this game has one of the funnest soundtracks I've heard in a while. Granted, not every one is a hit (espcially the localization of the sung tracks), but it'll always get your toes (and stylus) tapping. The art style and mini-games themselves are reminiscent of Wario Ware and is both fun and outlandish. There's plenty for everybody here and I'd definitely recommend picking up a copy if you own a DS. 10/10 Of all these games, the Game of the Years award would hands down go to Rhythm Heaven. It's just so damned addictive and fun. Keep your eyes peeled as I'll wind up this series of reviews with a two parter covering all the anime I watched this year.