Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball Maxd review

Paintball video games are to shooters what NASCAR is to racing. If you're not already a rabid fan of this particular sub-genre, you're probably going to find the whole thing sort of silly.

But if the quittin' time whistle on Friday is your cue to rush home and don your facemask, your camouflage gear and your reinforced athletic cup (so very crucial), then Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball Max'd will surely juice up your enjoyment of this real-world, uh, professional sport.

Above: Screen is from the Xbox version of the game. PS2 version may look slightly worse (and will ride up with wear).

Though "Max'd" may be one Mountain Dew Code Red short of "X-TREME!" in the lexicon of annoying catchphrases, the bloodless nature of the game is actually kind of refreshing, and ditto for the short, bite-sized matches. GHTPM's career mode guides you through tournaments of ever-increasing challenge, with victory giving you points to spend on personal stats and reams of what's apparently name-brand paintball gear.