Island Wars for Windows

Snow seems unlikely on a South Pacific island, but hey, it's Christmas. Island Wars 2 Christmas Edition packs sharp graphics and a pleasant collection of holiday songs into a small download. It plays like the original version, but replaces sunny skies with snow and palm trees with pine trees. You shoot presents, ornaments, bubbles, and energy beams, depending on the stage and bonus items.

Invasion mode sends wave after wave of invaders to attack your pine trees; when you've lost all your trees, the game ends. In War mode, you take your sleigh on a sunrise air raid of your opponent's island. At noon your enemy descends on your island's pine trees. At sunset both sleighs partake in a classic dogfight. After five days a winner is crowned.

Although the registered version offers a multitude of gameplay options, the demo disables most of them. The game might be fun the first time through, but the lack of options and difficulty quickly render it repetitive. In the end, though, it's quick to download and easy to uninstall, so arcade fans may find Island Wars 2 Christmas Edition worth a shot.