In review - The Men in Black are back

Another movie, another video game.

This time, Melbourne House and Infogrames have spawned "Men In Black II: Alien Escape," to coincide with the latest Will Smith vehicle of the same name, although it doesn't really have anything to do with the movie.

Pop it in your PlayStation 2 and before you know it, you'll be begging some six-legged monkey from Mars to put you out of your misery. Yes, MIBII does have a few problems.

Looks isn't one of them. This is a tastefully designed game, with plenty of color, adequate detail and marvelous explosions and weapons effects to keep you entertained.

Banter in the cut scenes is usually amusing, and the creatures you have to deal with are, while routine, at least energetic. Bosses are, well, bossy.

Now for the bad news.

MIBII has one of the worst save designs in modern history -- or ancient history, for that matter. Here's what you face.

First, the five missions are divided into sections, each of which would try the patience of Job. They are extremely challenging, even if your weapons are powered up to the max, which they almost never are because just as you've boosted your laser blaster to peak efficiency, you take a hit and the power-ups pop out of your body like cute little alien babies. Fewer teeth, but just as annoying.

You can try to grab them again, of course, in the instant before they flicker out entirely. But that means you're not shooting anything, including the zillions of aliens which appear out of thin air every time you turn your back.

I hate to admit it, but I spent most of an afternoon trying to get through the first mission. I almost made it several times, only to die near the end and have to begin all over. I'm sorry, that's just unacceptable. At the very least, each section of each mission should allow you to save the game at that point.

A tip to Infogrames -- torture has been outlawed by the Geneva Convention. Somebody needs to investigate.

Graphics get a B. Plenty of eye candy, lots of explosions, and all at 60 FPS. Good work.

Sound gets a C+. Nice weapons effects, non-offensive music. Nothing special here.

Control gets a D, almost entirely due to the lack of a save procedure that's reasonably in line with the ability of most gamers. This is a shooter, folks. Shooting the same creatures a hundred times to complete a section isn't the way to add value.

"Men In Black II: Alien Escape" gets a C-, and that's too bad. This is a B game without the incredible difficulty combined with the terrible save programming.

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Now for something that does work as you want it to.

If your gaming area is anything like mine, you sit 10 to 15 feet from the television set, with cords running all over the floor so the controllers reach your seat.

My dream, certainly my wife's, and perhaps yours as well, is for a cordless controller that really works.

I've tried a bunch, and most have some flaw. Leave it to Nintendo to do it right.

The WaveBird is a fabulous wireless controller for the GameCube. It consists of a receiver which plugs into a console controller port, and the controller itself, which looks remarkably like the corded version.

Pop in two AA batteries, and you're ready to play. The WaveBird even offers 16 channels, so you can fill each port with a receiving unit and you won't be messing up anybody else's game. The only downside -- the rumble feature is missing.

But that's a small price to pay for the freedom from foot-tangling cords. If you have a GameCube, the WaveBird is a fantastic add-on.