Editorial Review

It's about time! Julie Morgenstern has written an organizing book that covers a new way of looking at the task of organizing effectively without labeling or blaming the person behind the lack of organization. Rather, she says, people who don't organize just never learned how to organize, through no fault of their own--after all, it's not a skill that's taught in school. That said, she gets down to work helping you figure out an organizing system that will really work for you, not a system based on cookie-cutter filing concepts or special storage units.

Editorial Review

Although the Pokémon aspect of Pokémon PuzzleLeague is purely thematic--which might disappoint lovers of Pikachu, whilestill warding off nonfans--the fun and challenging gameplay here makes thistitle one of the best in the puzzle genre.

Gameplay in Pokémon Puzzle League is a variation on the puzzleclassic Tetris: players must clear blocks off the screen by switchingadjacent horizontal blocks to create horizontal and vertical lines of three ormore identically colored blocks. Blocks rise in rows from the bottom of thescreen, and, once they reach the top, the game is over. While it's deceptivelyeasy at first, the steadily increasing speed of the rising blocks requiresplayers to make combos (more than three blocks in a line) and chains (creatingmultiple lines simultaneously), both of which pause the rise of the blockstemporarily.

Featuring six gaming modes and puzzles in both 2-D and 3-D, PokémonPuzzle League is best played by one player versus the computer (in theStadium) or in two-player "versus" mode. In these modes, creating combos andchains causes "garbage" blocks to fall from the top of your opponent's screen,which results in some villainously vindictive gameplay.--Joe Hon

Pros:

• Fun and challenging Tetris-like game for all ages
• Outstanding two-player "versus" gameplay
• 2-D and 3-D puzzles, six gaming modes, and very thorough tutorials
• "Puzzle University" mode lets players create their own puzzles

• Pokémon aspect of the game is purely thematic

Editorial Review

From the second you plug this game into your Game Boy Color, it'sapparent that Pokémon Puzzle Challenge is essentially theTetris Attack that was released some time ago for the Nintendo 64 andGame Boy systems.

Pokémon characters abound; your young cousin or little sister should beable to rattle off many of their names effortlessly. The game is designed foryoung gamers, and encourages problem solving--something that all parents shouldwant their children to learn while playing a game. Thankfully, the game controlsare easy to pick up, and the tasks are easy to execute.

For a puzzle game, this one has a good number of gameplay options and modes.Puzzle University looks simple, at first, but it proves to be a realbrainteaser. In this mode, you must clear the entire screen in a limited numberof moves--a twist that makes the game surprisingly addictive. It's good to seethat Pokémon Puzzle Challenge has made some minor improvements onthe now-classic game of Tetris.

Naturally, the graphics are better on the Nintendo 64 version; but, if you'vegot a long ride planned, or that plane's been delayed, this game will turn hoursinto minutes. If you're looking for a family-friendly title for all of the GameBoy Color users in your family, look no further than Pokémon PuzzleChallenge. --Todd Mowatt

Pros:

• Challenging and extremely addictive Tetris variant
• Fun for just about anyone

• Repetitive voice samples quickly become annoying

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

Billed as the "future of fitness" and hawked by numerous celebrities, Billy Blanks's Tae-Bo actually deserves much of the hype it's receiving. A mixture of boxing punches and martial arts kicks, Tae-Bo is fun and easy. One of the best elements of this four-tape set is that the first tape (which is 40 minutes long), Tae-Bo: Instructional, lays out the movements you need to successfully complete a workout. Once you've mastered the steps, you won't have to fast-forward through half the tape to get to the workout, nor will your workout be slowed down by the repeated lessons. After you feel comfortable with the movements (and they're really quite easy to follow; nothing too complicated to trip you up), you're ready to move on to Tae-Bo: Basics, a 27-minute workout (5 minutes of warm-up, 18 minutes of Tae-Bo, and 4 minutes of cool-down) that will have your heart pounding and your body sweating. Next comes Advanced, a 57-minute workout that will have your heart racing, pulse pounding, and sweat glands working overtime. There's razzmatazz on the moves, with slightly more complicated combinations that should be fairly easy to master if you've completed the first two tapes. This video seriously raises the bar on the difficulty factor.

Editorial Review

Sunny, happy Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) is the new leader of the Toros,the cheerleading squad of Rancho Carne, an affluent San Diego high school that has lousy football players but one hell of a cheerleading team. National champions, they're the ones who bring in the bodies to the football games with their award-winning moves and sassy grace, and they're poised to take their sixth national cheer title. Torrance's new reign as cheer queen, though, is cut short when she discovers that her snotty, duplicitous forerunner was regularly stealing routines from the East Compton Clovers, the hip-hop influenced cheerleaders of a poor inner city school, and passing them off as the original work of the Toros. Scrambling to come up with a new routine for the Toros--and do the right thing by giving the Clovers their due--Torrance butts heads with the proud and understandably wary Isis (Gabrielle Union), the leader of the Clovers, who wants nothing to do with a rich blond white girl, but does want to get her squad to the championships. Problem is, only one team can take home the national title. Who's it gonna be?

Editorial Review

All of your favorite Nintendo characters have come together to answer the question: who is king of the Nintendo hill? The format can aptly be described as Super Mario Kart meets Mortal Kombat, which makes for an odd, yet addictive game. The object is to throw, punch, smash, or blast your opponents off the edge of the beautifully rendered, themed arenas. Numerous power-ups, weapons, and surprises help or hinder the melee. Your eventual goal is to fight your way through to a bizarre final boss character. Victory in this battle rewards you with another character to play, such as the scene-stealing Pokémon, Jigglypuff.

From Star Fox's laser pistol to Link's hook shot, each character's trademark special abilities are utilized to knock one another off the screen. The game does a great job balancing the characters' widely differing powers so that no one character has an insurmountable advantage. The sound and animations are also dead-on: Donkey Kong is a huge, cartoonish ape, while Link is much more detailed and realistic. And Pikachu's famous thunder shock attack is accompanied by a fearsome yell of "PIKA!"

Unlike most fighting games, Super Smash Bros. allows you to team up with a computer partner and take on other teams in both single and multiplayer modes. But the most fun is had when four human players play in a battle royale. The game quickly becomes a scene of incredibly fun chaos: picture Mario beating up on Luigi, while Donkey Kong is chased by a scampering, sledgehammer-wielding Pikachu. It's the perfect party game. --Hugh Arnold

Pros:

• Great characters: Mario, Luigi, Pikachu, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Link, Star Fox, Yoshi, and more
• Simple gameplay
• Computer partner option
• Colorful arenas

• Limited number of arenas

Editorial Review

Isbn: 0715308378
Sales Rank: 770464
Subjects:  1. Art nouveau    2. Crafts & Hobbies    3. Crafts / Hobbies    4. Cross-stitch    5. Decoration and ornament    6. Hobbies/Crafts    7. Needlework - Cross-Stitch    8. Patterns   

Isbn: 0312008988
Sales Rank: 9511
Subjects:  1. Crafts & Hobbies    2. Crafts / Hobbies    3. Hobbies/Crafts    4. Origami    5. Paper Crafts    6. Crafts & Hobbies / Origami