In St. Louis, the calendar just changed to 2009.

Never mind the printed ones that start with January 1 in the upper-left corner. In this town and all the bergs surrounding it, the new year begins with the Cardinals’ first pitch…

“Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars”
Genre: Third-person action-adventure
Developer: Rockstar Leeds
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platform: Nintendo DS
ESRB rating: “M” for mature
Price: $34.99
Grade: A-

Up to now, the chief problem with Nintendo DS titles has been their presentation: a lot of games are either corny or cartoony and fail to maximize the full…

“Resident Evil 5″
Genre: Survival horror
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
ESRB rating: “M” for mature
Price: $59.99
Grade: C

What is it with shooter games these days?

You shoot, shoot and shoot, blow up a few things, shoot some more until the gun ought to melt, somehow survive through to…

“NASCAR Kart Racing”
Genre: Racing
Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: Nintendo Wii
ESRB rating: “E” for everyone
Price: $39.99
Grade: B+

First off, let’s make one thing clear: “NASCAR Kart Racing” has little to do with NASCAR.

Sure, several of its celebrity drivers are represented and their cars resemble the real machines primarily because of…

“F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin”
Genre: First-person shooter
Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
ESRB rating: “M” for mature
Price: $59.99
Grade: B+

Creepy must be the new black.

If you doubt it, consider the wave of games that include “Alone in the Dark,” “BioShock,” “Left 4 Dead” and “F.E.A.R”…

“SimAnimals”
Genre: Life simulation
Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS
ESRB rating: “E” for everyone
Price: $49.99
Grade: C-

Someone once said the Nintendo Wii hasn’t lived up to its potential because the majority of games made for it are drop-dead dreary.

In fact, I think I was the one who…

“The Lord of the Rings: Conquest”
Genre: Action / adventure
Developer: Pandemic Studios
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo DS
ESRB rating: “T” for teen
Price: $59.99
Grade: C+

The center of a scrum where a bunch of baddies have focused their wrath on you is not a place for hesitation.…

“Killzone 2″
Genre: First-person shooter
Developer: Guerrilla Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform: PlayStation 3
ESRB rating: “M” for mature
Price: $59.99
Grade: A

Despite the paucity of shooter titles on Game Guy’s review list, the truth is, I like the genre probably about as much as anyone. These kinds of games cater to my…

“Afro Samurai”
Genre: Third-person action
Developer: Surge
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
ESRB rating: “M” for Mature
Price: $59.99
Grade: C

There was a time when Game Guy didn’t mind watching what were euphemistically called “blacksploitation” movies. A staple of B- and C-movie lists in the early 1970s, these films almost without exception…

“Personal Trainer: Math”
Genre: Educational, puzzle game
Developer: Jupiter
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo DS
ESRB rating: “E,” for everyone
Price: $19.99
Grade: B-

Math never was Game Guy’s strong suit. I have tried all the games, theories and gimmicks that promise improvement but they only made my mushy mind more so.

Nowadays, I’m just confused in…