Batman Begins; Medal of Honor: European Assault; Psychonauts

BATMAN BEGINS,

Electronic Arts/Eurocom

Watching the new "Batman Begins" movie thankfully erases the bad memories of the last few Batman movies -- and this new game should do the same for gamers who suffered through such awful movie tie-ins as last year's furball of a Catwoman game (also from EA).

Although Batman Begins is not the must-own, end-all Batman game that many fans have been wishing for, it's still a fun and entertaining ride. Played from a third-person perspective, the game ably replicates the dark look and gritty feel of the flick's Gotham City. The fantasy of living in the movie world is further enhanced by the voice acting and likenesses of the entire cast, including Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and Michael Caine.

This title is designed for casual gamers, which means navigating the seedy Gotham underworld, Arkham Asylum and city streets is simple -- probably too simple for veteran gamers. You must combine martial arts combat with stealth to strike fear into the enemy. (For example, if you sneak up on the armed thugs first, the unarmed will run away scared.) You'll also make use of that trusty utility belt, employing the lock pick, Batarang and Batgrapple to break into places and get out of trouble. The highlight of the game, though, is the chance to don an armored suit and slip into the new Batmobile tank for high-speed chases at night through the crowded Gotham streets.

While the blend of game play styles works well, the ultimate worth of this game will depend on how batty you are for the Dark Knight, and how versed you are in games in general. It can be polished off in six hours, not much time at all compared with most titles these days. And fans who do replay it won't find any surprises the second time around.

-- John Gaudiosi

PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, $40

MEDAL OF HONOR: EUROPEAN ASSAULT, Electronic Arts

The Medal of Honor series is rightfully credited with sparking a boomlet in historically accurate first-person shooter games. Its latest iteration, European Assault, features spiffier graphics and a few new trimmings but follows the same basic formula: battlefields and weapons drawn to match what Americans fought on, and with, decades ago.

As U.S. Army Lt. William Holt of the Office of Strategic Services (the CIA's forerunner), your character represents the spear tip of various allied assaults, first in France and then across North Africa, Russia and finally Germany. Though you are OSS, this is not a sneak-and-be-silent game -- the bullets fly, as do the artillery shells and grenades fired and thrown by your Nazi enemies, who are controlled by the computer but still are smart enough to carry out the right defensive moves on their own.

The environments are beautifully rendered, whether in the back streets of the ruined French city of St. Nazaire or the surprisingly mountainous "open desert" of North Africa. The audio effects are just as effective: Different types of gunfire have different cracks and pops, and you can hear dirt and rocks rain down after an artillery strike.