I've been a big fan of the TM series for almost 10 years now. The last couple of environments have lacked the distinctiveness of the previous seven though, gameplay wise and visually, limiting its appeal. This one basically feels like a mixture of Rally and Coast/Canyon, with the handling on dirt feeling too sensitive to me, making it less enjoyable than past environments. While there is still a great track editor and an endless supply of tracks to download and test yourself against what other fans have created, the amount of people playing this online is far less than it has been with previous versions of TM. Lastly, in the solo mode, the goal is to practise on a track, once you acquire a good time-a gold medal-you can then race for an 'official time' to be sent to the master server to be compared to other racers from around the world. Once you complete the race or screw up a turn and give up, you then have to wait five minutes to go for an official time again. This is something that was also in TrackMania Canyon, and what happens is that I minimise the game, do something else for 5 minutes and then try again. I can understand the reasons as to why this was implemented, but at the same time it is an annoyance. Gameplay 4/5 Graphics 4.5/5 Sound 3.5/5 Difficulty 4/5 Originality 2/5

During the first listen I was underwhelmed with this but it's just something (once the interludes are omitted from the tracklist) that you could play repeatedly continuously for hours if you like Pun enough. There are some great verses and rapping, mostly from old songs, with remixed beats and featured songs like 'Symphony 2000'-which is Truck Turner's song. Best Tracks: Beware, You Aint a Killa, Dream Shatterer

Although maybe not meaning much given the number of poor games, but this is one of the better Simpsons games to be made as it recreates Springfield fairly well, has the real cast providing voices, lets you use a variety of characters, rolls the plot along nicely and plenty of references to episodes. The main complaints though are that it suffers largely from gameplay problems like some vehicle handling issues, frustrating missions (although they are always able to be restarted easily), the camera sometimes not going where you want it to go and the other main thing is that the missions are repetitive - follow the car and pick up what it drops, smash the car, lose the car and that's about it. For what it is though it's a fun and playable game for fans of The Simpsons. I've played it on PS2 also and apart from a small decrease in graphics it is the same game. Gameplay 3.5/5 Graphics 3/5 Sound 3.5/5 Difficulty 4/5 Originality 3.5/5

Another Simpsons game that could be better than it is but has too many annoying flaws. I've played this on the PS2 and the Wii. They are much the same minus the utilisation of the Wii motion controls at various time. Levels are generally completed with two characters, and as the characters have different abilities, you'll need to switch over, ala in the well known Lego games. This isn't implemented brilliantly. Neither is the camera, which is its largest flaw and then lack of knowledge at times on where to go is another. The Simpsons humour does the job but it's a fairly frustrating game. Gameplay 2.5/5 Graphics 3/5 Sound 4/5 Difficulty 3.5/5 Originality 3/5

The classic 'Still Tippin'' popped up on Spotify which reminded me to check this album out. I listened to his 2009 album, 'The Voice', when it dropped and found nothing redeemable about it which is no doubt why I never bothered listening to this in the past 11 years. It starts off fairly well. Mike raps well on 'Back Then', 'Flossin'' is weaker but decent. I've mentioned 'Still Tippin'' already, it's far and away the best thing here. 'Got It Sewed Up' is a higher tempo tune with a catchy hook. '5 Years From Now' gets more conscious where Mike asks questions about where he will be in half a decade and he gets more sentimental with the final track, 'Grandma'. 'Know What I'm Sayin'' and 'Type of Nigga U Need' aside, that both become boring, it's a consistently solid album. 'Still Tippin'' is probably the only reason you'll have to revisit this though. 3-2.5 / 5 Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Back Then, Still Tippin', Got It Sewed Up, Scandalous Hoes, 5 Years From Now, Grandma.