Mountain Surfing

First impression: The first thing that attracted me to this game was that it was for ages 3+. What 3 year old can handle playing video games on a Nintendo DS? They don't have the motor skills yet!

The game: That being said.. this is a British game for younger children. The music was actually good for once! I had some hope that the game would be good as well. And it was actually pretty good! I didn't play too far into it (I failed at the 4th or 5th task somehow.. ) but I can tell that children would really like it. It has cute cartoon characters and little animals and such.

You do little tasks for Postman Pat like finding his missing kitty in the house by touching on places that he could be hiding, and stamping letters for him at the post office.

The directions aren't the best. I got confused during the letter stamping part. Having an adult there to help the child might be a good idea. Also for American children, some of the language is a bit different than what we're used to. He uses terms like "franking" the envelopes. I can guess what that means... but a child probably won't be able to figure it out.

I went back and played the game again, having failed so early on the first time. This time I finished easily, I just had to read the instructions better.

Pros of the game: It is a good children's game overall. You can do story mode where you go through the story and play the games in a row, and it saves your progress which is nice. So you can play a couple and go back and start where you stopped before. It reads like a children's book, with Postman Pat reading the text to you. Very well produced in that way. You can also play practice mode where you go directly to the different games separately.

Cons of the game: There are only 10 games in the story. I went through the entire game in less than 45 minutes, and I had to restart a couple of the games a few times. A smart kid could get through that entire game in an hour and probably wouldn't want to go back to it again.

Conclusion: This is still a good game for children. If you child gets through things quickly and then gets bored you may not want to get this one, but try renting it or borrowing it from someone.

Good music and graphics (for a children's game) and an actual storyline that they might be interested in made this game worthwhile for kids. Still not sure about thee 3+ part, but maybe for 6 or 7 year olds. I'll give Postman Pat a 5!

DSmaster is a blog on Wordpress that gives all kinds of reviews on all kinds of Nintendo DS games. If you are looking for more reviews like Postman Pat, then visit DSmaster

AFP - Paparazzi snaps of a shirtless and toned Barack Obama with his family on holiday in Hawaii sparked envy, anger and a torrent of bad puns on Tuesday after they were posted on the Web.

You wanted to spend some quality time with your favorite XBox game. So you pressed the power button. Unfortunately all that came on were some pretty flashing red lights.

You became a statistic. A Microsoft fatality. One in 33% of all XBox 360 console owners.

(This has apparently dropped to 6% on the newer models, so if you manage to get it with one of those, then you really have to feel special.)

Now you are faced with the choice of sending it to Microsoft to be fixed, or to dirty your hands yourself. Let's look at the pros and cons.

Microsoft

-They send you a box, you pack your precious cargo in it and send it off.

-You sit with no XBox and have to resort to twiddling your thumbs.

-A week later and you are still twiddling your thumbs. Frantically.

-10 days to 4 weeks later you have your new XBox. It's time to rejoice.

(It's probably not really a new XBox though, just a reconditioned one that some other poor statistic like yourself sent in.)

-You play your heart out, getting new mileage on all your games, all the while hoping that it doesn't happen again...

Fix it Yourself

-You find a good guide online after wading through many dangerous and downright inappropriate "fixes" like the "towel trick".

(You feel proud of yourself for resisting the towel trick, knowing how it would have overheated your console- shortening the lifespan of your XBox, and that it only would have been temporary anyway.)

-You worry a bit about voiding your warranty, but are relieved about the fact that after 2 hours you'll be battling Slash in Guitar Hero again.

-You are secure in the knowledge that should those pretty red lights show themselves again, you have the cure.

Whatever you decide to do, appreciate your XBox once it's fixed. And good luck with Slash!

For a reputable guide with video tutorials and step by step walk throughs take a look at http://www.fixringofdeath.com They show you how to fix it using ordinary household tools - no soldering, and give a guaranteed fix, or your money back.

AP - Stranded passengers in the Seattle area are finally flying out of Sea-Tac Airport. A spokesman, Perry Cooper, says only about a hundred people spent Monday night at the terminal, and ticket counter lines Tuesday are greatly reduced.