Surf's Up

Based on the animated film, Ubisoft's Surf's Up is a simple and fun surfing game that you can play on nearly every console, including PC, PSP, PS3, GameCube, DS, Wii, and Xbox 360. At first, you can play as penguins Cody Maverick, Lani Aliikai, or Rory Nubbins, or as Chicken Joe; the rest of the surfing animals from the film are unlocked as you complete objectives in the game. In Championship mode, you'll work to achieve objectives that will allow you to move from one stage to the next. There's no real story here, just a whole lot of fun. And because it's an easy game to learn, a whole family of four can get in on the action, shredding waves and pulling off slick tricks. Rated everyone 10+.

300: March to Glory

Frank Miller's graphic novel was extreme to start with, and Zack Snyder's film turned the story of 300 Spartans into a hyper-real, stylized choreography of violence and gore. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's video game, only on the PSP, maintains the look and feel of the movie and the comic, and puts you in the middle of the action. There's not much more to the game than killing, of course, and you'll use sword, spear, and shield to massacre the troops and grotesqueries that make up Xerxes' army. It's a whole lot of action packed into the PSP. If you play on the bus ride to work, you'll be sweating by the time you reach the office. Bring a towel. Rated mature.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

In this game, based on the second film in the franchise, you can play as any of the Fantastic Four, and even switch between team members during the game. Even better, the 2K Games developers put Rise of the Silver Surfer together so that you can play with up to three friends on your PS2, PS3, Wii, or Xbox 360. So it's too bad that the game itself is so lacklustre. The overly long levels are repetitive, and the super powers of Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and the Thing are unbalanced. If the Thing can pick up boulders and heave them across the room, why can't he smash a computer console? If the Human Torch can fly through a subway tunnel in New York, why is his flying so restricted during battle sequences? Make this a weekend rental with some friends. Otherwise, pass. Rated teen.

Transformers: The Game

This adaptation of the movie Transformers­–not to be confused with Transformers: The Movie, from 1986–does what it needs to, which is to say it's the same kind of loud, boisterous, testosterone-fuelled romp as Michael Bay's film; you'll be playing through the events of the plot on your PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, DS, Wii, or Xbox 360. The bonus feature of this Activision game, though, is that you get to play as the Autobots and the Decepticons. When you play through the story from the perspective of the Autobots, you'll be protecting the humans and trying your best to limit property damage. Playing the story as a Decepticon, destruction and mayhem are your objectives. Trust me, being a Decepticon is more fun. Rated teen.

Shrek the Third

Structured, as you'd expect, around the third Shrek film, Activision's game–for the DS, GBA, PC, PS2, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360–is fairly standard fare. You'll play as Shrek, Puss in Boots, Donkey, Fiona, and Sleeping Beauty, but you'll always be running and jumping to collect items, making your way down the very linear path. You'll have to fight enemies, of course, which makes this game more of a button masher than you'd probably like it to be. It's an average experience in the end, more middling than majestic, so make this a rental. Rated everyone 10+.