New media: XXX

Activision is planning on taking advantage of the hype surrounding the upcoming premiere of Vin Diesel's XXX in theaters across the country by bringing the superhero to smaller screens. While nowhere near as ambitious as the video game launch that accompanied the release of Spider-Man, which included releasing games on a whopping five different platforms on exactly the same day, XXX will be supported by a release for the Game Boy Advance this week.

As expected, the game places players in the role of Vin Diesel's character, Xander Cage, as he tries to infiltrate an underground ring of international terrorists. The game is split up into eight straightforward run-and-gun levels and three unique driving missions. The latter can best be likened to a 3D version of Spy Hunter (though players drive a motorcycle, not a car), and they use the GBA's hardware impressively to produce scaling effects that are similar to the Super Nintendo's Mode-7. In the standard levels, players will control Xander in a series of linear levels that involve shooting armed thugs and ravenous dogs. Many of these levels have multiple tiers, with numerous enemies attacking you from different areas at once, and the pacing of the action never really lets up.

XXX for the Game Boy Advance will start appearing on store shelves tomorrow, and we'll have a full review of the game soon. In the meantime, take a look at the latest screenshots from the final build of the game.