Beyblade: Let it Rip, Sony Playstation

Without fail, every Christmas there's one particular toy of some type or another that people just can't get enough of. Toy shops sell out completely, parents suffer nervous breakdowns and sometimes, if little Timmy's yuletide dreams are to come true, the only option is to go and see the dodgy bloke down the pub - the fella with the limp and the wonky eye who says he can sort you out for a price. Last year, that particular toy was Beyblade Surprisingly not a hi-tech gadget like previous causes of national festive crises - like Furby, for instance - Beyblade is in fact more or less a modern incarnation of those spinning top type things that your dad used to play with when he was a young lad: Yeah, spinning tops - now there was a toy. Miles more fun than those 'Transformicon' robot things or your 'Megawotsit' computers. Yes dad. Thankfully, Beyblade is not quite as dull as watching a lump of wood rotate on its vertical axis, as players become active competitors, battling it out using strategy to build and customise their battle equipment in pursuit of becoming the World Beyblade Champion. This latest PlayStation spin-off (geddit?) features more than 10 different characters to choose from, based on the Anime style of the TV show, as well as the ability to battle a wide variety of AI-controlled opponents, as skills are mastered throughout the game. Players can defeat an opponent by knocking them out of the battle stadium or by playing a game of 'cat and mouse' with them until they cease to spin. Once you've mastered the game's control system, you can enter into the tournament, or even take on one of your friends in the versus mode. As you'd expect, the TV show has been a strong influence throughout the development of Beyblade, so all the action inside Beystadium is accompanied by its respective sound effects and commentary. It's unlikely that a game for a system as old as the PlayStation will cause as much hysterical consumerism as last year's toy, but as a faithful virtual recreation of the fad, it's well worth checking out, especially considering its sub-twenty quid price tag.

Buy Beyblade: Let it Rip for 2.99 GBP

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