Pop bytes

A brief review of game titles that didn't have time to get fully plugged in.

Beowulf (Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, rated M for mature, $59.99)

The famed Norse warrior becomes part of a mediocre but violent third-person adventure game as a single player works through 30 years of the hero's classic story.

Mixing hack-and-slash combat with squad-command elements and plenty of blood, the game has Beowulf fight familiar monsters such as Grendel and lead a small team of Thanes around ruins and rocky terrain loaded with barbarians and environmental puzzles.

Unfortunately, the big problem here is too many button sequences to mimic, too much talk and not enough battle action. If the Conan game is God of War Jr., Beowulf is the suck-up sibling who can't figure out how to please.

For example, I really did not want to spend time on a boat trying to get my rowing brethren to maneuver around rocks by leading them in song (delivered via a rhythm minigame). This extra work would be reasonable in a SpongeBob SquarePants game, but not in an action-combat experience.

Also, amid all of the grunts, groans, manly man talk and inspiring song, I started to feel as if I were stuck in a production of "Spamalot."

Even with designs based on the current stylized animated movie, the overall presentation still looks rushed and uninspired, with wooden character models and repetitive movements neither dynamic nor eye-popping  which is inexcusable for next-generation console games.

Beowulf had enormous potential, but its tedious pacing, dumb story adaptation and brain-numbing exploration hardly make for an epic experience.
— Joseph Szadkowski