Gadgets for Grownups

• Players must keep balance in the world of Hoenn, where Team Magma or Team Aqua are taking over
• 7 Frontier Brain competitors - beat them to gain all the symbols of the Battle Frontier
• Wireless multiplayer trading and battling with up to 4 players

In Pokemon Emerald, your character is an aspiring Pokemon Trainer and new inhabitant of Littleroot Town. You'll enter the neighborhood amid a truckload of boxes, eager to explore your new environment. Eventually, you'll stumble upon a challenge that forces you to select from three Pokemon -- Torchic, Mudkip or Treecko. Once you decide, you can begin your quest to become the world's greatest Pokemon Trainer.

If you've played the Ruby or Sapphire installments, you'll recognize many of the locations in Emerald. Although familiar, quite a lot has changed in Emerald. The most exciting addition is Battle Frontier. No matter how well you think you know Hoenn, you will always discover something entirely new. Plus, you may even encounter a new Gym Leader in your journeys.

You are up against stiff competition in Emerald. Team Magma and Team Aqua once again look to disrupt the peaceful civility of Hoenn. Unlike Ruby and Sapphire, both gangs have set up camp in this adventure. That means you'll be facing double-the-evil, double-the-clever, scheming plans. To really spice things up, Emerald has added sightings of the rare Pokemon Rayquaza. The plot thickens!

The Battle Frontier of Pokemon Emerald brings together seven battle facilities. Each area provides a unique battle experience. Special Trainers called Frontier Brains head each facility and they will test every aspect of your combat skills. Your victories will be memorialized in the form of Frontier Symbols, and you must defeat the Frontier Brain at each location several times in order to earn your awards.

With new locations like Battle Dome, Battle Arena, Battle Factory, and Battle Pike, Pokemon Emerald will throw you awesome new twists and challenges. The new adventure in Hoenn is full of adventure and has plenty of opportunities to hone your battle skills. Just keep your composure, explore the island, and you can become the world's greatest Pokemon Trainer.

• Join up to 39 other wireless Trainers in the Union Room for a free-for-all, or connect with just two or three in the Direct Corner
• Bring the Pokemon you capture in Fire Red to the worlds of Leaf Green, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, or Pokemon Colosseum for more challenge

• Start out with just 3 Pokemon, and travel across Hoenn to earn badges in 8 different gyms
• New battle system allows trainers to take two Pokémon into battle instead of just one at a time
• You'll have to become a hero by helping Team Magma stop Team Aqua from flooding the world for control of the water Pokemon!

• Collect Pokemon of all shapes and sizes, with Fire, Water, Grass, Psychic, Electric and other powers
• Discover more than 100 Pokemon, all compatible with Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Colosseum -- access, trade and battle the Pokemon from their favorite games, in one place

• Combine different cards for new abilities, spells, combo attacks, and tactics
• Travel through interactive environments as you unlock doors and find treasures
• Prepare for battle by raising your attributes through an innovative game system

• 1 - 4 Players Simultaneously

Mario and Luigi can jump up and down pipes, climb vines, swim, and toss Koopa shells. Yoshi the dinosaur can spit eggs, munch, and climb with his ever-helpful tongue. Cool touches include spinning platforms, forced-scrolling levels, and great attacks such as the spin jump. Mario and Yoshi fly with the aid of a unique feather, shoot fireballs when equipped with a special flower, and can even raise cute baby Yoshis. Each boss poses a unique challenge. Cross-eyed Lemmy Koopa likes to play hide-and-seek in pipes, while Iggy Koopa prefers to battle on a giant Koopa shell floating on a lava lake.

• Start out with just 3 Pokemon, and travel across Hoenn to earn badges in 8 different gyms
• New battle system allows trainers to take two Pokémon into battle instead of just one at a time
• You'll also have to fight Team Magma from overflowing the world with lava for their Pokemon!

• Bowser and his troublemaking kids have brought trouble to the land, and turned the local kings into animals. Only Mario & Luigi can stop them!
• Open up new levels by scanning special cards through your e-Reader
• Multiplayer Mario madness with 4-person link-ups (Separate games required)

• Command one of five different civilizations - The Britons, Franks, Mongols, Saracens, and Japanese
• Over 65 different units to command, from bowmen and monks to hand cannoneers, mercenaries and samurai
• Research over 50 different technologies -- chemistry, ballistics, siege craft and spying

• 1-4 Players Simultaneously

Each mascot has a ride that handles and accelerates differently, yet the controls for each racer feel very tight and precise. The highly detailed, cartoony locales of Mario Kart Super Circuit show visuals that are both very sharp and fluidly animated. Though not nearly as fast, Mario Kart Super Circuit looks better and can be more intense than the vaunted F-Zero launch title.

If you perform well enough and collect enough coins in a tournament, you can unlock a plethora of bonus tracks--some of which are from older console Mario Kart titles. The fun multiplayer options include head-to-head racing and a balloon battle mode, in which you blast other racers with power-ups in a huge arena until there's only one driver left. --Mark Brooks

Pros:

• Bright graphics that are both fast and fluid
• Multiplayer battle mode is loads of fun
• Many, many tracks!

• May be too cute for some