Cute but not so playable.

Title: Digimon Battle Spirit

Developer: Bandai/Atari

Format: Nintendo GameBoy Advance

Price: pounds 29.99

The cuddly bunch of monsters known as Pokemon enjoy an almost symbiotic relationship with the GameBoy Advance.

But they are not the only cutesy creatures in town; after several outings on the PSOne Bandai's rival Digimon series is also heading for Nintendo's handheld.

To the uninitiated, and that's anyone with an age in double figures, Digimon are mini monsters that live in an alternate digital world. In Digimon Battle Spirit seven of them have come together to face a potentially-catastrophic threat from a Digimon. But, despite the plot, this is Pokemon-lite with the emphasis on combat rather than role playing or monster training. Once you have picked your fighter you are plunged into a cycle of one-on-one battles. The themed arenas are packed with surprises; there are multiple platforms to climb and attack from and creatures pop up from the ground offering power-ups. Each time you successfully attack your opponent it releases a token and the winner is the character who collects the most. The seven Digimons each have special attacks to learn and more creatures become available.

Although there is plenty to do, it is not very playable. It is easy to trap your opponent in a near-unbreakable barrage of special moves, and the same thing can happen to you. Fans of all things Digimon will rush out and buy Battle Spirit, but if you have no allegiance to cute monsters, there are better GBA beat-'em-ups out there.

The Look: 6/10

The Feel: 7/10

Overall: 6 1/2 /10