That's kind of what Freeverse is all about, after all: Presentation. If this were just Crazy Eights, no big deal. But it's 3D Crazy Eights from Freeverse, full of style and whimsy, some surprisingly intelligent computer opponents, and an online community that makes computer game playing a perfect social event for a quiet, weekday evening.

The plot of X2: Wolverine's Revenge hinges on Wolverine's search for the government agency (which, strangely, seems to be Canadian) which gave him the skeleton and claws after abducting and brainwashing him. It was an attempt to either make him the perfect soldier, or to get him to repay his student loans, and since they injected him with a virus that's going to kill him in 48 hours, I'm tempted to think it's the latter.

The only relevance WW II has in Another War is in providing a reason for the Nazis to shoot you on sight and for you to be able shoot them in return without getting arrested. This point is worth repeating. While Another War touts itself as the only World War II role-playing game currently available, your main goal of finding out about a mysterious map would make more sense in a Lara Croft game.

Ghost Master isn't from Maxis, the creator of the Sims, but from the appropriately-named Sick Puppies, who understand what children understand: scaring people is fun, especially if they can't beat you up later. In GM, you take the role of a commander of the spirit world, sent on missions to terrify the living, and cause them to run screaming into the night...or at least off the playing field.

I understand the appeal of the game. It's "reality" gaming, after all, and "reality" TV is apparently still a draw for the masses. With The Sims: Superstar, the game is finally starting to approach what normal people want to see and do every day...control the rich and famous, and make them suffer.

Once you escape from the prison ship, the game gets even goofier, as you square off against...sigh...radioactive farting subatomic chickens. I promised myself long ago that if ever anyone put radioactive farting subatomic chickens in their work, I would give it a good review. Note to Jim Carrey: Too late!

Some people have a fantasy of being a stock car racer, and NASCAR Racing 2003 Season goes into so much detail that it's probably as close as you can get. It's like a flight simulator...for driving around in circles. The game's tag line is "legendary authenticity." Let that sink in for a moment, and then we'll proceed with my review, which reaches new levels of mythical realism.

After installing and playing the game for a few minutes, I realize I'd forgotten something. This game was developed by Bungie. Not Microsoft; Bungie. The company that also brought us the Marathon series and the first two Myth games. Above all else, Bungie knows how to tell a story. They know how to involve you in the game, not just have you play it.

Ultimately, Burning Monkey Casino is a decent game, it just can't rise above its genre. Freeverse fans will love the sense of humor and the traditional Freeverse style, but those looking for an engaging gambling experience aren't going to find it here. Of course, you're not going to find it anywhere on a computer, so get in your car and drive to Windsor or Atlantic City or, yes, Vegas. There, you also run the chance of getting to see Tom Jones or some foppish guy getting attacked by a Tiger, and isn't that what Vegas is really all about?

Owari is a game with many names and as many different rules. You might have heard it called Mancala or Kalaha or Awale or Warri. However, I'd bet many of us simply remember it as "that bead game." Owari, from DanLabGames, is a variation on this classic game with an African theme prevalent throughout.

The best miniature golf game I ever played on the computer was Gnarly Golf on my Apple IIGS. I still occasionally play Gnarly Golf on my Apple IIGS. There was a Sierra game on there, too—I think it was called Zany Golf—but it wasn't as good. On the Mac, there was Gopher Golf (which was pretty lame) and Goofy Golf (which was pretty good). Now, we've got Crazy Golf, which immediately brings up one major point; people designing miniature golf games really have to start coming up with better titles.

Once you're done creating your character, you move quickly into the story. The city of Neverwinter (so named because an unknown energy keeps the city warm even in the bleakest winter [cue ominous chord]) is overcome by a terrible plague, and no skill, magic or prayer can cure it. Suspecting that some unknown adversary is causing the disease, the city forms an academy to train adventurers to hunt down the cause. Guess who's the star pupil?