Epic action, incredible visuals, tightly crafted comedy, and loads of fun. That's the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. The game manages to only carry one of those, and even that's debatable.

Loaded with irritating puzzles, dull combat, and touchy camera, this overly extended movie based title falls completely flat (or directly through the floor if you find one of the many glitches). Though titled At World's End, you'll be forced to play through the second movie, Dead Man's Chest, long before taking part in the storyline of the third Pirates outing.

For Xbox 360 exclusive gamers, this may not be a problem. Dead Man's Chest was never released in video game form on the 360. That said, the game's title logically indicates this is based on the third movie, and forcing the extra levels on the player is a cheap way to push the completion time upwards. It might have made a nice extra once the game was completed and nothing more.

With sharp looking character models and somewhat decent backdrops, this is an impressive next-gen debut for Jack Sparrow in terms of graphics. It's the game play that sends Sparrow to Davy Jones locker, and preferably forever if this is what's considered enjoyable.

Instead of crafting an intricate combo system, fights revolve around hitting the A button three times. The first swipe will be blocked, the second will spin your enemy around disorienting them for no apparent reason, and the third knocks them down. Finishing moves can be performed as a meter fills at the top of the screen, though these add nothing in terms of helping the repetition.

The characters also have a pathetic short range, slow punch at their disposal. You could play through the full game and never use it. Side weapons, such as knives or guns, are constantly available and usually more effective, though not that fun to use either.

More involved sword fights activate a mini-game. Here you'll need to use the analog stick to block incoming attacks from three different directions, and likewise to counter. The analog stick doesn't allow for the accuracy needed to deflect blows, so later challenges in this same vein are artificially difficult.

Breaking up the monotonous action are switch and box moving puzzles. The switch problems can be particularly infuriating, restarting if you fail to pass within a limited amount of time. Climbing controls, coupled with the camera, can make these generally simple tasks one-step short of impossible.

While aesthetically pleasing (and the soundtrack is superb), playing At World's End is nothing more than a chore. It's been sometime since a game has been released with a combat system this mundane. Hardcore fans of the movie series will even have trouble finding something positive to say about this one.

Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB for Use of Alcohol and Violence. This game can also be found on: Nintendo DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, and Wii.

Matt Paprocki is the reviews editor for Digital Press, a classic video game website which he called home after his fanzine (Gaming Source) published its final issue. The deep game collection which spans nearly 30 systems and 2,000 games line his walls for reasearch purposes. Really. He has also begun writing freelance for the Toledo Free Press.

Test Drive Unlimited was a stunning and original next-generation online racing title, debuting on the Xbox 360. Its immersive and unique online component was flawlessly integrated into the single player experience. Unlimited returns six months later remarkably intact, and it’s not even on current high-end hardware, but on a portable.

This becomes one of the most impressive PSP titles on a technical level. When online in a seamless interface (certainly more so than the PlayStation 2 version), the player can have the option of taking on single player races or challenging other real people who race around in their game world. It’s handled so well you might not even notice you’re playing against other humans instead of AI opponents if it wasn’t for the need to track down opposition.

Those not online will still enjoy this as a fully licensed racer. You’ll earn credit for each race you win, which can be taken to a number of unlocked shops around the island. The design is smart in that you’ll need to explore to find everything available, and in turn, you’ll also discover more races and tracks. Free roaming is critical, though with automatic GPS on by default constantly telling you where to go, some may not even realize the freedom they have during their first impression.

Graphics are a significant step down, making some corners or turns hard to see. Even with the GPS, it’s still too easy to fly by a critical turn. When selecting new music from the varied track list, the game stops and stutters until the switch is made, a minor distraction that can only occur during free roam. Load times are acceptable elsewhere. Police are definitely more aggressive, and racing AI vehicles have no problem slamming into the player if it will give them the edge.

Gameplay deletions are arguably for the better even though they deleted play types. You’ll no longer run escort challenges by meeting people on the side of the road. Given the virtual residents' annoying needs and limited time frame to complete the task, these were more of a distraction on the 360 than a real benefit to the overall product. The shops now only stock cars, eliminating the touchy motorcycles which even after a patch, were nearly impossible to use on the other hardware.

Those familiar with the console versions will need a few minutes to adjust to the controls as well. Turning doesn’t feel like it has the range it used to with the PSP’s analog nub. Going into reverse can also be an issue as the gear shift (square by default) fails to respond at times.

Test Drive Unlimited is a showcase for how far the PSP has come since its launch, especially in terms of online play. It does it all, with the game’s critical and unique online aspect intact, and a fantastic game at its core. This is one of the stand-out racing titles for the hardware and, at the least, the one with the best concept.

Test Drive Unlimited is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) by the ESRB for Language and Mild Violence. This game can also be found on: Xbox 360, PS2, PC.

Matt Paprocki is the reviews editor for Digital Press, a classic video game website which he called home after his fanzine (Gaming Source) published its final issue. The deep game collection which spans nearly 30 systems and 2,000 games line his walls for reasearch purposes. Really. He has also begun writing freelance for the Toledo Free Press.

You know how you're sitting in the movie theater watching something good, then the person to your left or maybe in the row behind yours does something that seizes your attention? Let's say his cell phone rings. And let's say he answers it. Then let's say you, unlike the boob on the phone, are too well mannered to lash out at this person. (Seriously, let's just say that, rather than say you just don't have the genetic constitution to tell him to shut his trap).

So he keeps talking, you sit there fuming, while that really good movie you paid all that money to watch is playing around you. You might eventually snap and go, "Sssshhh!" And maybe all the other well-mannered patrons around will call you a hero - before the melee erupts. But if this is happening to you at a Regal Cinemas location, you now will be empowered to push a button on a control pad (presumably the one that says "other disturbances") and an employee will show up to snap the phone shut, so you don't have to. According published reports, the device is called the Regal Guest Response System, and it has four buttons (the other three are "sound," "piracy," and "picture") that are designed to pinpoint the nature of the problem obviously, but also the degree of response. It's a welcome, if curiously passive-aggressive achievement.

Still, there are questions. Does a designated portion of the audience get one of these or are they available upon request? Does using one qualify you for the moviegoer protection program? (Because surely the megaplex will become a new frontier for the Stop Snitchin' contingent to intimidate.)

And what of that "picture" button? Does the signal go to the projectionist's booth or the studio that made the offending film? If it’s the latter, a run-of-the-mill evening at “Pirates of Caribbean” just got a lot more interesting.

The big kahuna of new releases this weekend is "Knocked Up," from Judd Apatow and some of the other folks who gave us "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." That movie played surprisingly broadly, but the grandmas who thought Steve Carell was so adorable in "Virgin" may choke on their Junior Mints when they get a load of the jokes here: This is one seriously filthy comedy. But hilarious, too, and remarkably sweet. (Not to mention brutally on target about wedded bliss. When Paul Rudd's character says marriage is just like "Everybody Loves Raymond" without the laughs, watch how many heads in the theater bob up and down).

Just one catch: I don't buy the premise. Maybe Katherine Heigl's perky, striving entertainment-TV reporter would choose to have the baby -- maybe -- but would she really try to make a go of it with the bong-addled schlemiel who knocked her up, even if Seth Rogen does make boorishness charming, as Wesley says in his review? Anyone who has actually lived with an infant full-time knows they usually put more stress on a marriage rather than magically solving everything, Hollywood-style.

But so what? I laughed my socks off when I wasn't cringing in empathy. It's great to see Apatow's old "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared" stock company pop up in supporting roles. (After this and "Superbad" later this summer, Jonah Hill is going to be huge. Wait, he already is.) And Leslie Mann as Heigl's married sister, wound tighter than a tick? She's both terrifying and hot, an unusual combination.

Moving on. If you care even a whit about anime and creative envelope-pushing in animation (and you can't get to the Brattle), make a point of seeing "Paprika," the latest mind-melter from Satoshi Kon of "Millennium Actress" and "Tokyo Godfathers." Not for the kiddies or the anime-averse, but definitely for adventurous grown-ups who can conceive of a Miyazaki movie with the knob turned to 11.

Kevin Costner goes nutzoid in "Mr. Brooks" but not as nutzoid as the movie itself, which actually may be more demented than "Paprika," if not on purpose. The movie has one of Kev's more interesting performances, a riotous turn by William Hurt as the title character's id, the first genuine acting I've seen from Dane Cook, and Demi Moore at her most humorless and thus most funny. The film's a lulu, not successful in the end but really something to see nevertheless.

"The Boss of It All" is a workplace comedy from Lars von Trier that should tickle laid-off CFOs and those who like dryly gutbusting improv. "Severance," which Wesley reviews, sounds like a slasher variation of some of the same themes. "Snow Cake" has Sigourney Weaver playing an autistic woman, but you want to see it for a rare lead performance from Alan Rickman (too many people know him only as Prof. Snape in the "Harry Potter" movies) and a weirdly affecting supporting turn from a young actress named Emily Hampshire.

The Brattle's Zhang Yimou retrospective kicks in in earnest starting tonight, but tomorrow is given over to cutting-edge anime -- between "Paprika" and this, it's quite the weekend for Japanimation.

Of course, "Once" and "Day Night Day Night" are still at the Coolidge and other local theaters. And there's that pirate thing. The Harvard Film Archive is dark for the month while they put in new projection equipment.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your digital video cameras. The Brattle has announced the 2007 Trailer Smackdown, a contest in which you create a two-minute coming attraction for a fictional film called "Miranda" and toss it in the piranha tank with other competitors to see who survives. Entries will be judged according to "how much they make us want to see 'Miranda'," and there are additional elements -- location, character types -- that need to be incorporated.

That's right, it's the Dogme version of "Project Greenlight." Those smartypants at the Brattle have covered all the bases -- but where's the entry form that lists the additional elements? Not up yet, I guess.

My favorite bit of boilerplate: "The films may contain violence or nudity, but we cannot allow anything that would be deemed pornography. You may not harm real animals or unwilling people in the making of your video." Got that, everybody? Get signed releases. It worked for Sacha Baron Cohen, it'll work for you.

All entries are due by July 1, with finalists to be screened at the theater July 19. There'll be an audience award and some kind of cash prize, but they're being coy about that for the time being.