The little blue hedgehog who wouldn't die is now on the iPod. Sonic the Hedgehog couldn't save the Sega consoles, but can he turn the iPod into a legitimate handheld gaming device? No, of course not, and for the obvious reasons. Still, I have to admit there is a certain charm to having one of the greatest platform games of all time at my fingertips.

In The Sims Pet Stories, you retain full, god-like (or more than god-like, if you're into self-determinism) control of your Sim, Alice (or Stephen). In that respect, Sims gameplay is essentially the same as it has been throughout the franchise. However, now you have a scenario to complete rather than merely achieving your bliss. Your Sim finds him or herself in possession of a pet—over which you manage some control—and a series of tasks to fulfill to complete a storyline. In addition to a storyline, you have a new and sometimes faithful companion.

After fleeing a devastating volcanic eruption, a small group of villagers land on the sandy beaches of an island and promptly forget everything they've ever learned about surviving. They're dependent on you to help teach them the skills they need to thrive in their new home by ensuring there's enough food, technology, buildings, children, and more.

It doesn't matter how you chose to play. It doesn't matter how complex it is. It doesn't matter whether online play is all there. What matters is that Madden NFL, one of the biggest franchises in gaming history, is back on the Macintosh. It may not be the perfect version for new users to get into the game, but you have to start somewhere, right? Madden NFL 08 for the Macintosh may be daunting at first, but it becomes more fun the more you play, and it looks and performs great on the Intel Macs it requires.

The panorama view is a good idea, but there are several flaws with Travelogue 360: Paris that make it less than enjoyable for older kids and adults. The main one is that it's too easy, because the items you have to find usually stand out from the surroundings. Even worse, many of the objects look the same. So, if you have to find candles or a statue or cheese, they'll look the same no matter what location you're at. Something else I found odd was that I would get asked to find the same items repeatedly; even though there are many items in each room, it seemed that I'd have to find some of them many times, and others never or only once.

I'm now a fan of Need for Speed: Carbon. There's a reason behind the action. There's a flow. The game isn't just level after level after track after track, but the game play moves naturally from one scene to the next. You think you're done, but suddenly another element is thrown into the mix, and you're still behind the wheel of your car. There are breaks, of course. Seems you can't have a racing game these days that doesn't involve customizing your car in new and bizarre ways. Here, you even get to customize your crew. But because there's not a set "race, customize, race, customize" pattern to it, the process seems less intrusive to the game play.

I didn't expect to get sucked into Battlefield 2142 as much as I did. Set in a grim future where an unexpected Ice Age ("Hey Al, do those glaciers seem closer to you?") has wiped out much of the farmable land, two armies fight for control of key strategic points do determine whose population will live, and whose will starve. But that's back-story. In the game itself, you take the role of a foot soldier in the various battles, joining other players online, or on your own computer vs. bots. 2142 is the latest in a series of team-focused combat games. You can run around as a loner, shooting the enemy and generally doing what you like, but the real fun of the game (and the quickest way to reap its rewards) is to play with a group, working together, and supporting each other.

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars comes together to create what's been the most enjoyable RTS game experience I've ever had. Take that with a grain of salt, though; I'm not a huge fan of real time strategy games, so I'm probably not the target audience. Die-hards may find the game focuses a little too much on the real time and not enough on the strategy, but the nearly flawless execution may compensate for them.

You have not played a true role-playing game until you have played one of Spiderweb Software's, and Nethergate: Resurrection is no exception to this rule. While many of the features and the interface will be familiar to those who have played other Spiderweb Software games, what sets Nethergate: Resurrection apart is that it takes place in ancient Brittania when the Celts and the Romans battled each other for supremacy. You are chosen to take a pivotal role in deciding the fate of a land where magic and myth are quickly fading away.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a big, gorgeous, well detailed game that unfortunately doesn't have too much going on inside of it. Although there are some fun diversions here and there, the main action of the game simply involves running from here to there, shoving Ron and Hermione out of your way as you try to figure out where to go to complete the current quest. Whether you'll be able/willing to keep this up for an entire game depends upon how much you enjoy being in Hogwarts and how much enjoying the company of those in there with you.

Fever Frenzy is certainly a frenzy of epic point and click madness. Every patient must be escorted through the expected sequence of events. First, they must be "diagnosed" with a blood pressure machine. Then, you drag them to a bed, preferably one that matches their outfit, earning you a score bonus. After a brief respite, their symptoms reappear and you rush to their bedside (prompt responses help your score) to draw up a prescription, which must be taken to the pharmacy. Soon enough, the prescription must be delivered to the patient, who then begins recovery. Finally, you check the healed patient out of the hospital and change the sheets, ready for the next patient. Simple as that...but not really.

Apple's iQuiz brings the quiz game show to your 5G iPod, and does so rather effectively. It's a crisp, polished package that has some extremely unique features, and it's also the best deal out there for iPod gamers. Why? Because it's only 99 cents, first of all, but also because it's the only game that'll grow and change as your iPod music grows and changes.