Ramones do the hobbit stomp

The biggest title of them all is an expansion for Battle For Middle-Earth II called The Rise of the Witch-King. EA is taking a bit of artistic licence with the Tolkien worlds but who really cares? OK, most of the rabid fanbios do. Never mind.

The best part is that you can now play the bad guys, and make your own even badder guys. Want to play a troll hero, and I don't mean your message board persona? You can now. Considering how much fun we had stomping hobbits in the original, this one looks like a good-time romp. See?.

The other one from EA is Sim City, the original Sim City, and now you can get it on your cell phone. Other than squinting at a resource management game on a one-inch screen, this one could also be a winner. It was by far the best of the series, and if you want to waste time with your phone, you could do a lot worse. The only problem I see is the rapacious greed of the cell companies who control the walled gardens. Hopefully this won't cost more than a good laptop and a copy of the original.

Last up is an oddity, a good record from a good record label, Go-Kart. This one is a Ramones cover album for kids called "Brats on the Beat". Think a bunch of punk singers backed by children covering all your favorite Ramones songs. Who needs drugs? On the up side, a portion of the proceeds got to charity. Better yet, none of the money goes to the RIAA! Yay! µ