Fuzion Frenzy

The Good
I'm not fond of party games but I wanted to have a bloodless and easy-to-play title in my Xbox library for children paying me a visit. This one does the job at an acceptable price (the cheap Platinum Edition, that is).

You have a choice of 45 minigames to choose from, most of them being a variation on 5 or 6 similar themes. Some are funny, such as the hamburger-eating, bug-smashing episode. Some are excellent for multi-player gaming, such as the sumo game. Some are less interesting, but you'll have to sort them out. The learning curve is small, and just a few of the controller's buttons are used.

I found the music entertaining, but it's limited. You can use your personal soundtracks if you get tired of it.

The Bad
Release titles are not always bad. But this one could have been polished some more. Graphically-wise, it does not show a lot of the capacities of the Xbox, except for a few of the minigames and then some.

There is no instant replay feature, and it could have been a nice to have to settle arguments on how a player won. An instant replay could also be used to set the camera where I want it, like it's done in the introduction video, since normally you're limited to a distant view to include all the small characters on the screen.

Speaking of small characters, I wouldn't want to play this game on a 14-inch TV. Parents beware: don't buy this game if your kids have their console hooked up on a small screen, or else they might experience some eye strain.

The Bottom Line
Nice to have if you need a permanent party title in your collection. The Platinum Edition is much cheaper than the original release price, so it's not a rip-off. Otherwise if you need it for just one occasion, just rent it .