Nate brings the video game love

I had the opportunity to play some PS2 games that I've had sitting around the home, but hadn't had the opportunity to play. Since I'm a frugal game shopper, most of these games were snagged at a price tag of $20 or under, or I got in on a sweet "buy X, get X FREE!" kind of deal.

1) Katamari Damacy - You play a little guy with a head that looks like a Tylenol PM capsule; I haven't the slightest idea whether he's an alien, a mythological creature, or what. But, the premise of the game is that the little guy's father destroyed all the stars in the sky, so the main character must collect all the items in the world in order to replace them. He does this by rolling them all onto a sticky ball called a "katamari." The game uses only the joysticks to play, and pushing them in different directions has different results.

It's fun, but "weird" doesn't even begin to cut it. The dialogue is particularly headache inducing. The cinemas in between each level are mind-boggling. And, after each successful completion of a level, the king of space appears to whisk you away via a teleportation rainbow that he vomits up. But, still, it's a good game for what it is.

2) Sphinx & The Cursed Mummy - Nothing necessarily special about this platform game, although it's a pretty good use of Egyptian mythology to present a story. They used to run commercials for this game during Monday Night Raw when it first came out, and the commercials would have you think that there's spoken dialogue throughout the game. However, this is not the case. If you play it, be prepared to run some background music, and be prepared to do a lot of reading. It is a pretty sharp game, though; it's just the silence is far from golden.

3) X-Men Legends - Easily the best of the batch. This played like classic RPGs, like "Diablo." Featuring the cast of the X-Men comics, the game plays like a D&D epic, where you find weapons to upgrade your mutant powers & gain experience points to strengthen your attacks. The first bosses, Mystique & Blob, rep the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, yo, and any arcade gamer will long for the days of the Blob's battle cry, "Nothing can hurt the Blob!!" And while it's nowhere to be found, it won't diminish the thrill of playing this tight game.

4) Sonic Mega Collection Plus - Sega brings the retro pain in the form of almost every Sonic game made, including the titles released for Game Gear. Easily the best of the batch is "Sonic 2," because it adds the sidekick element, and believe me, there's been many a time that Tails has stood between me and certain death. It's 'cause he's a trooper, I tell you, taking one for the team.

It brought back the memories of vegging out in college, playing "Sonic 2" on Genesis between classes. Beating the endlessly simple minions of Dr. Robotnik, collecting 100 golden rings on each level, switching over to "The Box" music channel to try and get a glimpse of the Sir Mix-A-Lot video for "Put 'em On The Glass" ... see, now ya'll bitches got me weepy-eyed.

I'm anxiously awaiting the release of Metal Slug 4 & 5 in April; it's another classic stand-up title that has lost none of its appeal, and if the release stays faithful to the series, it should be well worth the dollar.