By George Wright

HIDING behind an icy cold and uninspiring title is a game packed full of lightning-fast, adrenalin-pumping action.

Brimming with game-play modes as well as online capability, 2K5 has something for everyone. Pop in for a quick burst of slapshot excitement in Quick game or settle down in a comfy chair for a Season of super-slick fun.

Franchise mode gives you the opportunity to take an in-depth plunge into all-things ice hockey, dealing with playing, coaching, scouting, training and club finances. But, as in most sports games, playing against your pals is where the most fun is to be had. There’s nothing like smashing your opponent against the boards then watching him chase after you thirsting for revenge.

You find yourself watching the anger-rating bar, waiting for the players to chuck away their sticks and resort to fisticuffs to settle scores on the ice. When the fights break out, it’s every man for himself.

Grapple with opposing players, duck and dive to avoid their blows, and try to land a bruising jab or uppercut of your own. But, be warned, prepare to be dunked into the sin bin for your troubles.

Meanwhile, back on the ice, the difficulty modes are decent with it neither too easy nor too hard to hit the back of the net. The settings can be changed easily as you skate up the rankings and, in Skybox mode, there are rewards galore to be unlocked as you reach milestones and targets during each game.

Excellent player and stick controls via multiple button combos also help play swoosh along at pace and adding to the bundle of fun is Party Mode, which cranks up the action with mini-games and challenges aplenty.

The game also delivers graphically with arenas, crowds, players and even the ice — which deteriorates as play progresses — looking great. Combined with not-too-annoying match commentary and analysis, the action is wrapped up in a fine, all-round package.

VERDICT: A budget belter with lots of puck for your buck.

Four stars

By Richard Bell

IF there were an Oscar for Best Video Game Name, It’s Mr Pants would surely clean up.

Few titles manage so effortlessly to raise a smile, an eyebrow and give away absolutely nothing about the game. So, what’s it all about then, you ask, eyebrow raised, slightly confused, but smiling?

Well, your mission brief is to jockey various shapes around so that they either annihilate each other, or combine for extra points.

You see, far away in Pants Land, Mr Pants has taken some time off from his sideline in designer undergarments to devise a whole load of devious puzzles with which to engage and torment.

Dressed only in a pair of red Y-fronts and a Bowler hat, Mr Pants drops variously shaped pieces in your direction.

You must rotate and shunt these pieces into place to create new shapes, which either earn points or cancel out shapes already on the board, depending on the type of game being played. Straightforward so far — but there are complications. For starters, shapes have to be made in single colours, and pieces of the same colour can’t be dropped on top of each other.

Also, in some modes, a sinister crayon snake slithers around the perimeter of the playing area and will squirm into the middle and put an end to your game if you don’t keep knocking it back. And then there are the combos, bonuses, multipliers and secret shapes that really bake your noodle.

In Puzzle mode you are tasked with clearing a pattern from the board by utilising a limited number of shapes sent down from Mr Pants. In Challenge, players have to clear a board full of jumbled shapes within two minutes. Marathon, meanwhile, serves up an empty board and invites you to score as many points as possible in five minutes by creating shapes while that pesky crayon snake encroaches on your workspace.

And, as if all this wasn’t enough to bend your brain, perfectly complementing the twisted action are crudely drawn visuals that are brought to life in a scribble fashion.

VERDICT: Quite possibly the mad uncle of Mr Tetris, It’s Mr Pants is top-drawer puzzle gaming.

Four stars