Vancouver 2010
FOR: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
From: Sega, www.sega.com
Because real men can't get enough curling. Alright, we give: This weekend rental's a fun, but ultimately flawed one-trick pony, demanding you test your hand-eye coordination at over a dozen thumb-blistering, yet highly-repetitious events from bobsledding to ski jumps. Nonetheless, it earns a solid bronze medal when played in brief spurts, or - better yet - under the influence.
Nook
From: Barnes & Noble, www.bn.com, $259
Who needs hardbacks? Reading is fundamental (and easier on the free carry-on space) with this digital tablet that doubles as a portable virtual library, letting you wirelessly download hundreds of books/magazines/newspapers to its internal memory. Cooler still, added bonuses include a 3.5-inch color touchscreen for intuitive cover browsing and compatibility with thousands of free manuscripts in the ePub format.
Mass Effect 2
For: PC, Xbox 360
From: An entire universe of morally questionable adventures await in this epic, galaxy-spanning mix of futuristic gunplay and role-playing, which also adds new options to target individual limbs and more captivating personalities to interact with. Happily, thought-provoking scenarios further combine with fluid scriptwriting and hyper-detailed character customization options to deliver another space-age performance.
Bayonetta
For: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 From: Sega, www.sega.com
Picture Sarah Palin. Now strap guns to every limb and add the magic ability to torture enemies with guillotine or iron maiden. (OK, so it doesn't take much imagination.) Voila - that's this stylishly ultra-violent action adventure in a nutshell, save for the skin-tight suits, insipid dialogue and ridiculous, but oh-so-satisfying corpse-juggling combos.
Archos 5
from: Archos, www.archos.com, $379.99 (32GB), $399.99 (160GB), $499.99 (500GB)
Hel-lo, feature creep: Slick sales pitch aside, this portable media player aka mobile, WiFi-/Bluetooth-enabled Internet hub really piles on the extraneous options. But look past the poorly-implemented perks like downloadable Android applications, GPS navigation and Web surfing on a 4.8-inch gesture-tracking display and you'll find its true selling points. Specifically, slick audio/photo playback and support for a dazzling range of video formats.
By Scott Steinberg
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