It’s funny how finding out the developer of a game can raise or lower my expectations.

Take Crush, Sega’s new PSP puzzle game. It involves crushing a 3D world down into 2D to solve puzzles then ‘uncrushing’ it back to 3D. Sounds interesting. But Kuju Brighton are developing it. Now I’m fond of Kuju for no particular reason, but they do rather specialise in mediocre games. So my enthusiasm has been tempered somewhat.

On the other hand, Driver 76 – Ubisoft’s first go at the franchise, and also a PSP title – doesn’t immediately grab me. But Sumo Digital – the chaps behind the recent OutRun conversions – are working on it with Reflections, so I have a bit more confidence in the endeavour.

It’s clearly not fair of me to prejudge these games in this way, but we all do it.

Just like we’ve all prejudged the PlayStation 3, UK launch details of which are expected tonight. It’s going to be shit, so let’s all just go to bed like sensible people.

Unless they want an angry mob at their door, Phoenix Games should probably think of another name for their upcoming and probably turgid Pac-Man clone.

They clearly haven’t been watching Celebrity Big Brother.

Well it’s all about World of Warcraft this week, with The Burning Crusade – the first expansion pack – comfortably taking #1. It missed out on being the fastest selling PC game ever by less than a thousand units, so Championship Manager 04 keeps that title. World of Warcraft itself is back at #28 too.

That knocks Xbox 360 Lost Planet down to #2 and Wii Wario Ware to #3. FIFA 07 and Pro Evolution Soccer 6 continue to follow close behind.

World Snooker Championship 2007 has had a good second week, up 11 to #6. There’s more stock of Wii Play about this week, so that rises eight to #11, while Zelda drops six to #14. To be honest, it’s as well that Wii stuff keeps going in and out of stock, because otherwise there would have been very little of note in the chart so far this year.

Budget PC toss is invading the chart once more, though not quite as badly as it did at one point last year. Amongst the toss, though, Sega Rally is in at #27, so it’s not all bad.

With nine dungeons, various sub-missions and collectable bugs and ghosts to locate, Twilight Princess is by far Link’s longest romp yet. It took me just over thirty six hours to see the credits, but there’s loads of stuff left to see and do – it wasn’t until the final battle that I realised I hadn’t acquired a decent shield and that there was a gap on the inventory for another tunic. I’d say that the 60 hours plus quoted on other websites is a bit over the top though – you’re probably looking at around 50 to explore every nook and cranny.

The first few dungeons are fairly typical for a Zelda game, with the Gordon lava dungeon prompting a roll of the eyes. The later ones display much more imagination, particularly once the skill to turn into a wolf at will is gained. Turning canine gives Link a second set of abilities – which puts a nice spin on things – as does the new ‘dreidel of doom’ weapon.

It all goes a bit Shadow of the Colossus near the end of the seventh dungeon (City in the Sky) with an outdoor boss battle against an enemy that you need to cling onto the back of before jamming the master sword in.

The only real criticism that I can aim at Twilight Princess is that the bosses are too easy, though better that than too difficult.

But yes, the Wii’s best game – by some margin – is a glorified GameCube game. You shouldn’t let that get to you though: the controls work perfectly, and I’d much rather aim projectiles by pointing at the screen than gently twiddling an analogue stick. It’s probably the best looking game on the Wii too; when in the dark Twilight realm there’s a soft glow to the textures, and galloping around Hyrule field is always a joy.

Besides, if Nintendo had had this as a GameCube-exclusive then their Wii launch line-up would have been restricted to Excite Truck, Wii Sports and Wii Play. All are fine games, but they’re not made for wasting away the hours like Link’s latest is.

This month’s Official Nintendo Magazine has a preview of a quirky new Nintendo DS game from Koei entitled Prey the Stars. Despite being nearly finished and due for release in the spring, when we put the name into Google all we could find were a handful of Australian online stores offering pre-orders. Which is odd.

The same can be said about the game itself – controlling a brightly coloured cartoon dog, it’s a case of roaming around a 3D world eating everything you can. At the start of the level you can only eat small things, but by the end of the level your critter will be so fat that they can gobble down entire skyscrapers. Sounds rather like We Love Katamari, don’t you think? Presumably it’s set against the clock, as it would be pretty aimless otherwise.

It’s quite a departure from Koei’s usual output of never ending Dynasty Warrior titles.

Featuring nine mini-games, this compilation – bundled free(ish) with extra Wii remotes – is designed is to teach you how to use the remote, step by step. As such we’re wondering why it wasn’t bundled with the Wii instead of Wii Sports, and we’re also confused as to how Nintendo are going to sell this to the US market once it’s released over there next month. They’ve had their Wiis for longer than us, and we’re sure that they’ve already learned how to point at stuff on their TVs.

Of course, it’s not a problem with the game as such. It’s a nice little collection in fact, offering a couple of decent two-player time wasters. Everybody loves shooting things, so the shooting range always goes down well. Ducks fly across the screen occasionally that award a substantial 10-points, while one of the levels involves keeping tin cans up in the air. There’s also Ping Pong – in which the crowd grows bigger if you’re playing well – and a trippy variant on air hockey. In the latter you can rotate the bat to send the puck spinning at hard to hit angles. The overhead toy tank combat game is fun too, although you’ll need an additional nunchuk to play properly.

Each game is as intuitive as the next – literally, initially they have to be played through in order – although we did struggle with the fishing game at first as it wasn’t quite how we imagined. We thought you’d have to swing the remote forward to cast out, then pull it back to reel in, but it’s not like that that at all. If anything it teaches you how to use the remote in 3D space, trying to get the hook in line with the fish on the surface of the water and at the bottom of the pond. We really like the paper visual style to this mini-game – the fish are all as flat as pancakes. Another nice style is present on the 3D cow racing / scarecrow chasing game – everything looks like it’s made out of wool. It’s like you’re racing down a giant scarf.

Like all compilations there a couple of duff entries. Pose Mii entails spinning your Mii avatar around while changing stances to fit inside bubbles with corresponding silhouettes. If a bubble hits the water at the bottom of the screen then it’s game over. It gets frustrating far too quickly and requires too many button pushes for it to be accessible to non-gamers. Billiards is the most accomplished game present, requiring the remote to be moved back and fourth, but it gets dull really quickly. Find Mii is another game that features your Mii, and is like Where’s Wally in design. It starts off easy – simply pick your Mii out from a crowd – but then gets tougher, like trying to find three identical Miis in the dark.

Once all nine games have been unlocked – which shouldn’t take much longer than half an hour – the chance to get higher scores, reach higher levels and win medals are there for those who want to return. It would have been helpful if Nintendo had included a list of medal-qualifying scores, but you know, it feels wrong to criticise something that’s pretty much free. Does this stop us applying a score to it? Nope! Oh, and for a bit of fun try clicking on your Mii’s various body parts on the main menu.

By bundling this free with US and European Wiis, Nintendo aren’t just showing their generous side – they’re showing their intelligent side as well. It’s a genuine people magnet – the sort of game that’s ideal to flaunt your new play thing. As such, we reckon that Nintendo’s theory is that you give your mates a go then they get hooked and rush out and buy a Wii. Then they show their mates, and so the circle continues and Nintendo laugh all the way to the bank.

There’s a reason that the characters look like pre-school toys, and that’s because they’re actually you. Well, your custom made Mii avatars at least. You won’t even notice that they aren’t hyper detailed characters as this is as intuitive and as fun as gaming gets. If you’re expecting things to be as comprehensive as an EA or 2K effort though, then you’re going to be disappointed. Possibly even an idiot. But that’s not to say that there isn’t depth or replay value, because you’ll doubtless come back for more, trying to get better scores and new medals.

Tennis is the most fluid and engaging of the five games on offer, thanks to the ease of getting a decent rally going. All that’s required from you is to swing the Wii remote when the ball approaches, with Mr Central Processing Unit moving the players around automatically. It would have been nice to have the option to use the nunchuck to move the players around yourself, but certainly this would complicate things for less experienced players and detract from the pleasing simplicity of it all. Doubles matches are all that’s on offer, with either a clone of your Mii avatar, a randomly created character or a second human player filling in as a team mate.

If you’re after a good work out then boxing is the game to go for. It’s also the only game to use the nunchuk. The two controllers represent your fists; move the left controller to jab left, move the right one to jab right. It’s also possible to duck and weave, while blocking is done by holding the two remotes up to your face. It’s exhausting but frantic – you really can’t afford to let your guard down.

10 Pin Bowling is the hardest to get to grips with, but really comes into its own in multiplayer once everyone’s used to the controls. Here the remote has to be moved in an underarm bowling motion with the B button held down and then released to let go of the ball. Failure to do so will result in an explanation of the controls appearing on the screen, which quickly gets annoying. It’s quite easy to get a strike once you’ve managed to position yourself in front of the TV properly, much like baseball becomes easier when you sit or stand on your side.

By far the most pointless and boring part of the package is the pitching in baseball: the remote merely has to be swung forward. We really like the actual hitting the ball bit though – the ‘clunk’ sound from the Wii remote speaker when contact with the ball is made is really satisfying. Even more so if you manage to hit a homerun.

Golf is the best looking game, with semi-realistic grass, lens fare and a good draw distance. It plays just how you’d expect it to, with a swing meter showing how hard you’ve hit the ball and a choice of clubs. Putting takes a few goes to get used to, but there are all sorts of training modes if you’re struggling. If you apply too much force to a swing the ball will start to stray, so getting used to your own swing takes a while too. You can play a three hole round or a tougher nine hole round, which includes such hazards as a huge river flowing through the middle of a course.

The aforementioned training modes should be called challenge modes, really. The bowling training involves knocking down one pin with one shot, then two pins and so forth, while in baseball you have to hit the ball in certain directions. A fitness mode rounds it all off nicely, with your fitness age shown after each day’s training. The idea is that over time your fitness age will come tumbling down, not unlike Brain Training / Brain Age.

There may only have been two things said this week worth repeating, but it’s quality, not quantity, which counts.

» I’m growing to like Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. He does love to comment on the games industry, and he doesn’t care if he’s wrong. A couple of weeks ago his thought that there wouldn’t be a sequel to Bully spread over the internet like something stupid. Then, last week, he took it back. “I have been consistently wrong about this title,” he told GamePolitics.com. He could also have said, “Analysts are a bit pointless,” but didn’t.

» “The PS3 is a total disaster on so many levels.” That’s what Valve’s Gabe Newell told Game Informer magazine. He went on: “they should just cancel it.” I’d not really paid much attention to Newell before, but he’s clearly a man of sound mind. I like him too.

Emergency Mayhem might ring a bell with you – it was one of the games that Acclaim were working on before they ran into money troubles. Despite originally being announced way back at E3 2004, Codemasters have somehow managed to salvage the remains and are readying it for release on Wii.

A PlayStation 2 version is also highly likely but is not yet confirmed – this news comes from the latest issue of the The Official Nintendo Magazine. They claim that it’s very similar to Crazy Taxi, only instead of a cab you get behind the wheel of a police car, fire truck or ambulance. Once a destination has been reached mini-games occur, which range from defusing bombs to saving people from burning buildings.

Codemasters seem to have good faith in the Wii, with Heatseeker and Dance Factory also both due out soon. That’s more than double their entire GameCube output.

2007 is going to be a sterling year for Xbox Live Arcade, with Jeff Minter’s Space Giraffe, Castle Crashers, Worms, EA’s Fantavision clone Boom Boom Rocket and the Trickstyle-style Street Trace NYC all shaping up to be essential downloads. Heavy Weapon, however, doesn’t get this year’s offerings off to a good start.

First impression: it’s Space Invaders, only with tanks and aeroplanes. Second impression: ah, it’s not like Space Invaders at all because the screen scrolls from left to right.

The odd thing is that there are no hills or dips or anything – the landscape is totally flat. As such all you need to do is point and shoot, occasionally moving out of the way of falling bombs. The only skill to learn is not destroying the white helicopters as they drop helpful power-ups.

Your firepower accumulates and rolls over from one level to the next, so by the time you reach level 19 your tank is capable of spewing out more RPGs than Square-Enix. It might not be much to look at – you can tell it was originally a Flash game from a mile away – but at least the developers have thought to include extras, such as a couple of four-player modes. In Arms Race you’re given three lives, while War Party goes on until everybody dies at the same time. Hmm.

Some might find Heavy Weapon’s simplicity a boon; we simply didn’t. In the light of Assault Heroes it seems too much of a step backwards.

It’s been ages since anything seriously exciting happened in chart land, but this week’s top 40 is something of a cracker. Despite not really being a AAA title, Lost Planet has managed to take the top spot, knocking FIFA 07 to #3. So what’s at #2, you ask? Why, it’s only Wario Ware on Wii. And look – Zelda is back in the top 10 at #8, rising a whopping 30 places.

Wii Play and Red Steel have also made re-appearances, at #19 and #34 respectively. Obviously this is all down to Wii stocks being replenished. There’s only one new entry though, and that’s Sega’s World Snooker Championship 2007 at #17.

Over in the GameCube chart, Naruto 2 is in at #8. We wouldn’t be surprised if the number of copies sold was in double figures; we’ve never seen it for sale, and even online retailers such as Play and Game are unaware of its release.

It may be clear by now that I love a good pun. I love a bad pun, too. There are also certain people who would have you believe that I love pirates (the old fashioned nautical kind). But these people are liars.

The point I’m managing to avoid is that, unbeknownst to me, the press releases detailing ELSPA’s anti-piracy raids – which are frequent – are a source of punning gold. I hope you’ll enjoy them too.

It’s today’s “Worcestershire Source Of Pirate Activity” – because the raid was in Worcestershire – which made me suddenly take notice. “Brothers Grim Prison Sentence” is in the same vein, the raid having been on brothers from Grimsby.

There are some more obvious piratey ones (“Gloucestershire Bust Reveals Treasure Chest of Pirated Games”, “Pirate’s Gold Veils Hidden Booty”) and of course some serious ones (“Pirates Count Cost Of Crime” and the like).

But there’s one which stands proud above all others: “Court Grabs Woman’s Assets”. It’s by no means clear whether it’s meant to have the connotations my mind conjures up. Which – like the fact that these are all intended to be quite serious news stories – only makes it better.