Video games are a $14 billion-a-year business. To make sure consumers get the best bang for their buck this holiday season, “Today” contributor and consumer specialist Herb Weisbaum put dozens of new titles to the test. Here is the fourth installment of his special report, “Toy Test 2005.”

We tested 63 titles this year from “Spiderman” to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” We asked Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to choose this year’s hot titles. And it didn’t take us long to notice that a lot of them were sequels to last year's big sellers.

In the video game world 2005 looks a lot like 2004. Game makers picked up where they left off last year, creating sequels for such popular franchises as Tony Hawk, Star Wars and Madden Football.

The only way to know if a game is truly fun is to let people play it. So, we built a one-of-a-kind arcade at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle and filled it with Xbox, PlayStation and GameCube machines.

Since many hit video games are rather violent, we set a few rules: no shooting and no stabbing of human characters on-screen. Nothing in our “Toy Test” arcade could be rated higher than teen. Players got to test drive a title for up to 20 minutes. Then they rated the game for us from terrible to most excellent.

The “Toy Test” arcade was packed eight hours a day for two straight weeks. By the time we were done, we had collected close to 11,000 ratings. You’ll find all the winners listed in the “Toy Test 2005” guide. Here are this year’s top-rated titles:

“Burnout Revenge”

The winner and clear favorite — “Burnout Revenge” — a follow-up to “Burnout 3,” which won last year’s video game test. “Burnout Revenge” is similar in many ways to the previous versions — it’s a racing game where the emphasis is on smashing and crashing, not driving. Simply put — to win this game, road rage is required! Because there are no drivers in any of the vehicles, there’s no blood and there are no bodies, just awesome crashes. “It’s just like a movie crash,” one kid said. “I don’t buy very many games, but this would definitely be one of them.” “Burnout Revenge” has a new feature not available in previous versions — you can rear-end other vehicles and launch them a few car lengths ahead. “Burnout Revenge” is rated E+10 for everyone 10 and older. It’s available for PS2 and Xbox.

“Super Mario Strikers”
At number two is “Super Mario Strikers,” a colorful and zany soccer game unlike any other you’ve ever played. The goal here is fun, not realism. As one player explains, “I like it because it’s pretty fast-paced. You never know what’s going to happen — pretty chaotic.” On this soccer field the characters make some amazing moves that defy the laws of gravity. Score a goal in this stadium and fireworks go off and the camera zooms in to see the player do a victory dance! “I’m usually not into sports games, but this is definitely what I would buy,” said one kid.You’d expect a game like this to be a hit with the younger crowd, but it rated just as well with older players, even those 18 and up. “Super Mario Strikers” is a GameCube exclusive and it’s rated E for everyone.

“Mario Superstar Baseball”
“Mario Superstar Baseball” checks in at number three. To score runs you have to hit the ball and run the bases — any other resemblance to real baseball is purely accidental. When’s the last time you saw a piranha plant in the outfield? “It’s just really fun!,” as one kid told us. This baseball league features 50 characters from the world of Mario. Each has his own special strengths. For instance, Donkey Kong bats with a boxing glove! The game is easy to learn and simple to play. “It’s pretty easy to control, pretty easy to move around,” one dad playing with his son told me, “and I liked he characters, they’re funny.” “Mario Superstar Baseball” is another Nintendo exclusive, rated E for everyone. By the way, young girls liked it just as much as young boys.

“Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix”
Another Mario title, “Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix,” takes the number four spot. Nintendo took the popular “Dance, Dance Revolution” game and gave it a Mario twist. The idea is to hit the arrow on the floor that matches up with the arrow on the screen at just the right time. How about that? A video game that gets kids up and moving! This game is rated E for everyone and is only for the GameCube.

“EyeToy: Play 2”
At number five, “Play 2,” an assortment of new titles for Sony’s EyeToy, the video game system that uses a digital camera to put you inside the game. “It’s kind of like virtual reality in a way,” as one player said. “Play 2’s” 12 mini-games are more sophisticated than the original EyeToy titles with more things to do and more levels of play. Choose Mr. Chef and you have to cook-up orders as fast as possible. Race the clock as you build burgers, serve up fries and make milkshakes. Table Tennis lets you use your arms as paddles. The faster you swing, the more powerful the shot. “I can play it and it’s actually like I’m playing,” one player said. With Bubble Pop you need to break the clear bubbles and miss the red bubbles. The “EyeToy: Play 2” is a PS2 exclusive, rated E for everyone.

“The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction”
At number six, “The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction,” a title available on all three game systems. Simply put, the Hulk is having a bad day and he’s taking it out on everyone and everything in sight.“He picks up things, like cars and cows, and smashes people with them,” one kid said.And you get to control this destructive rampage. As one player told us, “Just the fact that you get to go around the city destroying everything is really great.” And another kid said, “It’s the kind of game I would like. I’m not sure if my mom would like it though ... because of all the violence.” That’s why the Hulk is rated Teen for players age 13 and up.

“The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer”
At number seven, “The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer,” an action-packed game based on last year’s hit movie. As one player described, “They [the Incredibles] are battling people, fighting people, and just saving the world.” The object of the game is to stop the bad guy, a half-man, half mole creature who wants to take over the planet. By the way, we found that girls liked the game just as much as boys. “The Incredibles” is available on X-Box, PS2 and GameCube. Because of all the onscreen mayhem, this game is rated E+10 for everyone, age 10 and up.

Consumer expert and “Today” contributor Herb Weisbaum has been helping people across the country for more than 25 years. His award-winning reports have exposed everything from quack medications to bogus investments. Since 1990, his Toy Test has helped millions of parents and grandparents select the best toys for their kids. To learn more about Herb Weisbaum and his latest consumer reports, you can visit his Web site, www.consumerman.com

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