A sight to behold, but not to love

Remember the Tin Woodman from “The Wizard of Oz”? He was shiny and futuristic, technologically advanced (at least for 1939) and good at swinging that ax. (Never mind the effects the lead-based paint had on the actor who played him.)

But for all his strengths, his character was still lacking something. (And do we really need to say what it was?)

Like the woodsman, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is a sight to behold, with in-game graphics that are better than most CGI movies spit out. Like other releases in this series, the minuscule load times are an amazing feat of genius. And Ratchet, the little Lombax, moves, fights, swims and flies with the greatest of ease.

Yet something is missing. Other titles in this series had such great humor and soul, playing this one feels cold and distant. Missing is the brilliantly written intro movie that helped thrust you into the marvelous world of the furry hero and his robot sidekick found on previous releases; instead, Future gives us an invasion and a battle, then a mission to fly from planet to planet to find clues, all the while keeping the action intense with only a few humorous blemishes added.

If this is the only Ratchet game you ever play, you’ll think it’s spectacular. For those of us who have played other titles in the series, it’s off to the wizard we go.

Grade: B (beautiful yet lacking)

Details: PlayStation 3 platform; $59.99; rated Everyone 10+ (alcohol reference, animated blood, crude humor, fantasy violence, language).

Springfield, we have a problem

Finally! A Simpsons game that doesn’t stink! (Well, doesn’t stink entirely.) With one exception, games based on the dysfunctional yellow family have been hideously thought out. Though The Simpsons Game does manage to play a little better than most, instead of coming off as the definitive video game experience the makers had tried to create, this feels more like a simple movie tie-in: standard video game action with characters you already know and love from their on-screen stories.

Worse, some cut screens look remarkably bad, even for the crude artistic style they sought to replicate. Spend $9.99 on a bargain-bin copy of Simpsons Hit & Run for a much better experience.

Grade: C (could have been better)

Details: All platforms; $29.99 to $59.99; rated Teen (alcohol and tobacco reference, animated blood, cartoon violence, crude humor, language, suggestive themes).