I'm finally back from that place we call exam hell- and boy, was it a rough ride.

No, I exaggerate- I'm happy enough with how it all went. Anyway, I'm forgetting this isn't my personal blog- this is Cube-Europe, for crying out loud! Ok, lets get down to the hard business of weeding out those succulent morsels of interesting news from the decaying carcass of the past seven days, eh? The summer has just started, which means two things: hot, sunny days, and a drought of games� and games news. So with that in mind, you can understand why I haven't all that much to say this week.

There was of course, one interesting 'Cube release this week which has quietly slipped into our shops a few days before the U.S get their hands on it, believe it or not- that being the rather splendid Wario World. Oddball developers Treasure have handled the coding, and despite not offering anything hugely new, Wario World is an addictive, humourous little slice of gaming gold- despite its Luigi's Mansion rivalling shortness. We gave it a worthy 8.0 /10. Read the review and make your decision.

I was fortunate enough to pick up Wario Ware, Inc. for the GBA yesterday while I was in Dublin- and what a good game it has turned out to be. Seriously, its insane stuff- 200+ Minigames played at nigh-on the speed of light, many of which will have you in stitches at the oddness of it all. In what other game, can I ask you, would you find nose-picking, hairdressing, skateboarding, platforming, breakfast-making, airbag-activating (eh?) , car-parking, driving, and hurdling all in the space of less than half a minute? It's a game like no other, of course- 3 second, quickfire Minigames are the name of the game here, and although most of them are quite easy on their ordinary setting, replaying them with gradually increasing speed and difficulty presents probably the greatest challenge ever- the opportunities for high score-age are enormous, so don't be surprised if we at C-E run some sort of Wario Ware challenge in the near future. And if you have Wario World, but can't decide on getting Wario Ware, connect a GBA to the Cube and you can download a demo of 'Ware. Nice. Anyway, its great stuff, it really is- an essential purchase, I'd go as far as saying.

And who needs a GBA anyway to play Game Boy games? Not GC owners anymore, now that the much-lauded Game Boy Player has touched down in Europe the other day. I haven't got one yet, but Wooter gave it 9.5/10 in his review. By all accounts, it's an excellent piece of hardware, which not only blows up those tiny GBA games 50 fold on a TV screen, it also banishes those 'Castlevania blues'- in that now, you can finally see what's going on in the game. Super. Cube Europe recently attended a 'Games Preview Day' in which 'some of us' (meaning not me, due to my geographical isolation in Ireland) were lucky enough to try their hand at Mario Kart: Double Dash!! , Pikmin 2, and Pac-man, among others. To view their respective hands-on previews, click the relevant title above. Grr. Me, jealous?

This week's tragic story is also an inevitable one- Atari's frankly average Enter The Matrix has sold more than 2.5 million copies. There you have it- proof positive that a license alone sells a game and of course, the overbearing mass-market-isation of gaming, if you'll pardon the phrase. Rubbish, we say. Perhaps we should begin a petition against movie tie-ins? Who's with me? Not that it would matter a jot, of course, as the best way we have of registering our disapproval with these half-hearted slices of 'official' grade A tripe is to not buy it.

Moving on swiftly, to some small pieces of news: A white GC is to launch alongside Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles in Japan soon. This week, our Q&A section returns with a vengeance. Send in your burning questions to us- we'll make sure to answer you. Q&A will be a regular feature on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so get your questions in right away. On a side note, I was in Dublin yesterday, and I was frankly shocked at the number of GC games selling at knockdown prices- not cheap because they (GAME, particularly) love us, but cheap because the GC isn't selling. Games are being stuffed into the corners, with sub 20 Euro price tags on several games- like 007 Nightfire for example. And get this; the admittedly rubbish Legends of Wrestling was going for a mere 7 Euro. What next? Free GameCubes? Well, er, maybe. Prices of 129.99 Euro for the GC are now beginning to appear. Also, pre-owned game prices are going through the floor. I'm not plugging GAME, believe me. I'm only highlighting the turbulence the Cube is running into of late. I'm not sounding the death-knell yet (God forbid) but things aren't looking too hot for our beloved Cube in Ireland at least (We have, after all, more Playstations per head of population than anywhere else in the world except Japan).

Anyway, enough doom and gloom. You can expect a new edition of my Cubistically Correct column soon- any issues you want me to address? Email [email protected] and I'll get right back to you. Aaaaand finally, many of you will be interested to know what Capcom's Viewtiful Joe scored in Japanese gaming bible Famitsu- it received a very good 8,8,9,8- that's 33/40 for the mathematically challenged among you.

Before I finish, many of you have heard that Ben, one of our staff members, has received some bad news- he recently discovered that his mother has got MS. I think I speak for the entire C-E community when we offer our deepest condolences. Good luck Ben.

Mark Cullinane
[email protected]