Camelot Software Planning

For those whose should-know-better stubbornness can go round for round with that of the game's level designers, amazingly and in spite of its crudities and failings, Pursuit Force's pull factor never really wanes.

The problem with most sequels is they're often poorly conceived—however, that's not the case with Golden Sun: The Lost Age. This follow up to 2001's Game Boy Advance (GBA) role-playing game (RPG) marks the second installment in a planned trilogy of games. As such, it picks up right where the first title left off, continuing a tale begun in that first story.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence

Playing Golden Sun is like returning to your bedroom after being away for years. You'll still know where everything sits, and you can pretty much navigate the place with your eyes shut. Golden Sun presents that type of familiarity, especially with gamers who enjoyed the 16-bit era of role-playing games with the Super NES.

While Role-Playing Games (RPGs) may have gained mainstream acceptance during the 32-bit era of gaming, most serious fans of the genre would agree that the best games invariably came into existence on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). For a number of years, the SNES was the RPG fan's system of choice—boasting a line-up of games that are still considered classic in this age of 3-D polygons and life-like graphics. Considering that the Game Boy Advance is essentially a portable version of the SNES, it's probably no surprise to learn it's also developing a reputation as a veritable haven for excellent RPGs. With ports of older SNES titles such as Capcom's Breath Of Fire series and entirely new creations such as Golden Sun, this genre is already well represented on the fledgling handheld.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Mild Violence

Camelot and Nintendo combined to create an engaging game that will reach out from the most rank amateur to the tennis pro, and offer them both something to sink their teeth into.

Game Description: Enlist some of your favorite characters from the Mario universe for a game of doubles in Mario Tennis. Boo, Daisy, Bowser—even new character Waluigi, brother of Wario—and more are here for a game that sets accurate tennis physics in an unpredictable fantasy world. Where else could you play tennis on a court surrounded by lava? Play solo or with up to three friends simultaneously. Exhibition Mode provides a friendly, straightforward game, while Tournament Mode will settle the bets. There's also a Ring Shot Mode, a tennis variant that has players trying to send balls through as many golden rings as they can.

I've spent so much time playing Mario Golf over the past year that I don't even take the game out of my Nintendo 64 anymore. The game has become a daily ritual for me. It only comes out when I get a new game to review, then it goes right back in. It's a golf game I know, but there's something magical about it that keeps me coming back. It's fun, light-hearted, challenging and easy to get into. In short, it's the quintessential Nintendo game. When I heard that Nintendo was once again teaming up with Camelot for Mario Tennis, I could hardly contain my excitement.