Buzz! Junior: Robo Jam

The mini-games are, by and large, well executed and fairly fun -- we especially liked "Basket Eye-Ball", a basketball-like challenge that involves tossing eyes into robot heads, and "Robot Teleport", a strategy game in which players try to land on each other's spaces on a board to knock them out. The problem is that there are so few of these games; a mere two dozen (that may seem like a lot, but keep in mind that games in the Mario Party franchise typically have 50 or more). In fact, you can play every activity in Robo Jam in a single marathon game. What's more, there's nothing outside the mini-games. There are no unlockable bonus activities, no art galleries, and no secret characters. There's not even a story of any kind to connect the mini-games together -- just a corny announcer who notes which player is in first place between rounds.

Consequently, Robo Jam won't hold most players' attention very long. Kids will want to play it when friends come over, but will likely lose interest once the mini-games start repeating. The bottom line: It doesn't merit a full-price purchase, not even with its cheaper-than-average $29.99 tag. There is enough entertainment here to make Robo Jam worth considering if you already have the requisite Buzzer controllers (which add $10 to the game's price when purchased as a bundle), and can find a good deal on the game disc. Otherwise, best save your money for a game with some longevity.