Drew Thompson

Combine an all-star group of Disney characters with combatants from Final Fantasy, and you get Kingdom Hearts II (Buena Vista Games/Square Enix; PS2; Game •••, Graphics/Sound •••••). It's an epic, action-heavy romp. But before you get to the good stuff, you've got to suffer through the prologue - four mind-numbing hours of dialogue-heavy cut-scenes and lame gameplay.

For $400 (Xbox 360 not included!), this space-saving system delivers 155 watts via four compact satellites, a center channel, and a sub­woofer that neatly houses a Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1 receiver (leaving only a small display unit outside).