I’m a sucker for big, juicy games with flashy graphics, block-rockin’ audio and tons of things to do. This summer has been unusually rich in such ambitious productions, with high-profile releases like “Metal Gear Solid 4,” “Ninja Gaiden II” and “Grid.”

In “Hail to the Chimp,” several members of the Animal Kingdom are vying for election to the newly established presidency, and they have to secure enough clams (not a euphemism — these are actual clams), the largest and most easily swayed voting bloc, to win. In practice, this means that each of the game’s challenges has clams as the goal; they serve the same purpose as coins. It makes as about much sense as the Electoral College.

Serenity and hair-chewing madness collide in unprecedented ways in “PixelJunk Eden,” a game so completely in its own world that downloading the demo is probably the only way to even remotely understand it.

Updates and re-releases of classic games are common these days as game makers target the nostalgia of the first generation to grow up with a console hooked to the TV.

When Electronic Arts announced the retired Brett Favre as its 20th anniversary cover boy, it looked like the notorious “Madden” curse — which had mangled the careers of Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and Shaun Alexander — was finally broken.

It’s been both interesting and disappointing to follow the emergence of Brash Entertainment, which promised to elevate the image of movie-based games but thus far has simply advanced perceptions that movie-licensed titles are the black sheep of the gaming family.

I’ve always loved “Soulcalibur’s” brand of weapon-based one-on-one combat, from its precursor on PS1 to the amazing multiplatform sequel and the mediocre third entry on PS2. This latest iteration falls somewhere in the middle of the series’ legacy.

The people who create and publish video games — and those of us who just write about them — are still debating whether the industry’s annual E3 trade show has lost its mojo.

We've seen Ubisoft developers bark commands at the troops in Ubisoft's new military strategy game, "EndWar," a few times already, but it's finally our turn to take the controls. We roll onto the battlefield with a mix of choppers, infantry, transports and tanks -- each of which has a specific advantage and disadvantage over other unit types.

LOS ANGELES — Wallace and Gromit are going on a new adventure.

LOS ANGELES — “Watchmen” is already getting a prequel — and the film’s not out until next year.

In the relatively short time since its conception, the "Call of Duty" has held relationships with multiple developers at once some fleeting, some long-term. Despite this lack of stability, the "Call of Duty" name behind studio Infinity Ward remains rock solid, reaching a pinnacle last year with "Modern Warfare."

We're always looking for progress in our video games, especially when it's a year-to-year series like "NCAA."

n For: Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, $10

We’ve come to expect a certain measure of well-intentioned prosaicness from Pixar-branded video games, which typically blend together some concoction of fan service and gameplay that is, depending on your level of cynicism, either tried and true or tired and trite.