Console reviews: The Nintendo Wii – Part 6

The Nintendo wii is a great system that really hit the nation. This system gives the player a chance to really interact with the game and feel like it is real. There have been studies where families tend to want to interact with each other when playing this motion system. The Nintendo generation was thought to have died and only lived on in some people that really grew up with the systems that came out for it every other year from 1977 to today of 2009. This global company founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi was (in 2007) one of the top must have game consoles. This wii is only one of the many systems that nintendo has released and it has been a good year of sales with the nintendo wii.

When I say that this system can really bring people together it's true. The interaction will help people understand that they can have fun while they excercise and learn a thing or two from their games. I'm not saying yuoi need to be one of those game potatoes that just plant themselves and never stop playing but it is quite healthy to play for about 20 min. every day. There are all sorts of healthy games that would keep people playing the wii. One of the games is called wii sports. In this game you can play against other people or with other people to win points and try to become a pro tennis player. This system is good for all ages because of the way the movement is set up in the games. There are some that don't need as much movement so you will not need to move as much and hurt yourself.

The console is one of many that has been introduced into society. It can come with a charger system for the wii remotes. It could contain multiple wii remotes for multiplayer modes or just single player. There are many different controllers that can be used when playing like guitars, drums, mats, and other different items made to fit the mood of the game you are playing. It also has a small memory disk you can find in the front compartment of the system where games and memory is saved. It can play gamecube games and wii games since the gamecube was the system released before the wii. The other systems that nintendo released was the super nintendo that only played super nintedo games and came with small devices as extras if interested in playing certain games for them. The N64 came out later and gave the perspective of the fact that you can use a joystick with left, right, up, and down controls as well also having more buttons for more uses in the games produced. The game systems got better through out the years along with the games and graphics.

The graphics of this lovely piece are excellent! They give you a great feeling of really being in the game and they have this tye of feeling where you have really worked yourself to get where you are. There are some games that involve movement like wii sports, and then there are others that only need you to move your fingers like Guitar Hero.

The Nintendo wii is a great system that can bring family, and friends together to share the wonderful expirience of it' graphics and it's interacting games. Whether you like the wii or not you should ask yourself one question: "Is it worth it?" My answer would be: "Definitely."

Which video game system should you buy? – Part 4

While I think all game systems have their good and bad points, I think a lot of your decision-making should be based on how often you play video games and the types of games you like to play.

I want to discuss what I think are the positives of the Nintendo Wii, Sony's PS3, and the XBOX 360 from what I consider a "casual gamer" point-of-view. Obviously if you're seriously into video games my perspective may seem a little basic, which I understand. I mainly want to address parents who may not play video games or people like me who play them on occasion and just want a good system for their needs.

Nintendo Wii:

The Nintendo Wii is a lot of fun to play, especially in a group setting where people have various skill levels. This is the only system my husband and I don't own yet because they're in such high demand still that it takes some effort or extra money to currently find them. I have however played the included sports game, Zelda, and Super Mario Galaxy.

Once you get the hang of the controls on the Nintendo Wii, the game play is very natural. Plus it's a game system where you get a little exercise in the process of playing, which I think is good for kids. I also think it's the best system for people who've skipped a few generations of game systems and want to get back into playing something.

Sony's PS3:

My husband and I do own a PS3, which we use more for a Blu-Ray player than a game system just because we work a lot right now. What's fun with it is hooking it up to a projector that uses computer connections, creating an instant high-definition home movie theater on a budget if you have a blank white wall with good quality gloss paint. (It's fun playing games on that big of a screen as well.)

Probably our current favorite game with this system is called Rock Band, which comes with a drum set, guitar, and microphone. Depending on the people you're with, it can be extremely funny or mentally challenging. My husband likes games such as Call of Duty as well.

XBOX 360:

You can't talk about XBOX 360 without talking about the Halo game series, which I believe has been it's best-selling set of games. I'm honestly not a shooter-game person, but my husband liked all three of them. From my point-of-view I can definitely tell a lot of quality went into making them.

This system also has a wide selection of games and has reasonable prices on most of them now. Guitar Hero III is very popular right now and is similar to PS3's Rock Band guitar. (I don't believe it comes with the drums and microphone however.) I've also seen our nephew play Cars and Lego Star Wars, which both look like good games. The XBOX 360 also comes with a standard DVD playing capability, and I've heard a HD-DVD (Blu-Ray's competitor) attachment is also available.

A Note About the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Debate:

Some people treat the whole Blu-Ray/HD-DVD debate more seriously than government politics, but just from a practical standpoint it just didn't make sense for us personally to have both since we already had a Blu-Ray player with the PS3. We haven't had any issues come up with our Blu-Rays to where we'd want to own two different formats.

I would just recommend doing some research into finding out which format would fit your needs better if you're looking for a high-definition format with your gaming system, since I admit I'm not as impartial in this area as just talking about the systems themselves.

I hope this review has been helpful to you, and best wishes in your search!

Which video game console is better: PlayStation 3 or Wii? – Part 29

Well right know the Wii is ahead of the game.

the wii sold over 6 million console in the first year.

PS3 is a little behind,because there not selling

a lot of ps3's.the first day the PS3 came out some

guy got shot for not giving up his PS3..plus the

PS3 cost over $500 "thats a lot of money".

but know Sony is bringing the price down on the PS3,

because there going to make a newer version of the PS3

is going to have 80GB for the price of $699. that means that the 60GB

price is going down from $599 to $499 its a pretty

good price but i wish it was lower.Another thing about the PS3

is that they came out with a little bit of games the

only good game that came out when th PS3 was launch

is Resistance fall of men. its i cool game and one

of the best.on the other side of the wii Nintendo is

know the leader of games,Nintendo is creating a new

gun called the zapper is a gun were you put the wii

remote and nunchuk in the gun.The zapper is for shooting games like

resident evil umbrella or duck hunt.the other new thing that

Nintendo is making is called the wii fit is a balance board

use to play games...there's a lot of yoga practice and exercises

practice.Is not that cool if your 16 and under,its kind of a game that my gram pa would play.But if you like it you should buy ii,its kind of fun

and active.My opinion is that the wii is the best out there.

and i know there's going to be millions of new games coming out like

Super Smash brawl release date:December 3,meteoroid prime 3 corruption release

date:late 2007,wii Mario cart release date:early 2008,and many many more

games coming out...so if you don't have a wii go out there and buy one.

Video game reviews: The Orange Box (PS3)

While Half-Life 2 may have already made its debut years ago, it is more alive than ever with its new set of games titled The Orange Box. Considered to be one of the greatest first-person shooters ever to be created, the Half-Life series is able to intertwine the elements of great action and a great story, while bringing to life characters that live and breath as we do.

Upon cracking open your own Orange Box, you'll find that the package comes with five games all on one disc, which is being reviewed as the greatest gaming value in history. The titles within this disc include Half-Life 2, Episode One and Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. Along with the two expansions to Half-Life 2, Valve manages to insert one of the most creative first-person puzzle games, Portal, along with the sequel to the online success, Team Fortress 2.

Half-Life 2 and Episode One are two titles gamers have already been able to get their hands on, so the immediate attraction, at a glance, would be the included Episode 2, which propels the story taking place between Gordon Freeman and Alex Vance. The story picks up immediately after City 17 has been decimated, and Gordon opens his eyes to see Dog, Alex's pet, opening up the train wreck in which our hero has been imprisoned. The landscape is different than any previous Half-Life game, where the two protagonists go out into the White Forest, where the survivors of the City 17 have begun making a colony.

As for the Portal game, it succeeds in creating an entirely innovative experience that would have been worth purchasing on its own. In the game, the gamer plays as a test subject who has been being used for experimentations involving a Portal Gun. This gun allows you to shoot entrance portals, and exit portals, anywhere in the room, enabling the player to come in one way, and exit out the other. This new type of game play opens up a door of vast level design possibilities, and can sometimes seem so impossible, that anyone watching will have their jaw permanently dropped.

Just when you think that Portal can't get any better, a bit of storyline begins to coerce itself into the game play, where the player must escape the testing facility, its defense systems, and find the truth about the taunting cake, supposedly waiting for him... somewhere. The game also provides an unexpected amount of laughs, always keeping the minimal amount of dialogue fresh and interesting.

Team Fortress 2 is the final component in the Orange Box, where players can log onto an online world and play with other Half-Life fans in a war-like arena with humorously exaggerated graphics. The game is played on several types of courses, all of which have different purposes, such as capture the flag and control points. Also, a clever job system sets the game apart. There are a dozen classes the player can choose to be, all of which have their own pros and cons - an example of a few being Pyro, a large man with a flamethrower, and a Spy, a lanky and swift assassin who can disguise himself.

Despite your video gaming preferences, any player can walk away from the store knowing that they've purchased the first game worthy of the 60$ price tag.

Pros:

First game worth the money

Amazing graphics and animation

Innovative weapons

Great level designs

Realistic characters

Fantastic Storyline

Online capable

Unlike any other gaming experience

Cons:

Portal could have lasted longer

Score: 9/10

Wii Fit and weight loss possibilities – Part 2

Ever since I saw the Wii Fit advertised, I wanted one. I dreamed of getting a fabulous body while having fun. Of course, I begged my husband to get on board and we have been proud Wii Fit owners for the last 4 months. I must say that I am healthily addicted and it has been a great addition to my fitness life. I am more toned, more flexible, and my hubby is losing weight!

In case you are unfamiliar with the Wii Fit, it is an innovative new video game for the Nintendo Wii console. It features a balance board that measures your weight, body mass index (bmi), and center of balance. When you add a new Wii character, you are required to complete a "body test"; you enter in your height, your weight is measured, and the game calculates your bmi. Based on your bmi, you are classified as underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. The system logs your stats and lets you set a goal to reach: a specific bmi or weight before a specified date. Every time you use your Wii Fit, you earn a stamp on the calendar and a new dot on your graph. This helps you track your progress and stay motivated!

There are 4 types of exercises/games: yoga (my favourite), strength, balance, and aerobics. Some are much more strenuous while others are mainly fun. I have personally found the yoga exercises to have improved my balance, muscle tone, and flexibility! I have always been petite, so I don't use the Wii Fit for weight loss, but my hubby has lost 10 pounds in the last month using it. The aerobic and strength exercises definitely can get your heart rate up and help you lose weight. The hula hoops and "run" (you run on the spot) especially can be pretty challenging.

As with any exercise weight loss program, the key to losing weight on the Wii Fit is dedication. Obviously, the games are pretty fun, but you have to be willing to treat them as a legitimate workout. Be prepared to put as much effort and time into it as you would a fitness dvd or class. Also, make sure you focus on the aerobic and strength exercises. When you consider the cost of a gym membership, the Wii Fit is very reasonable by comparison (45 bucks a months vs. 100 bucks for the game). What I love about the Wii Fit is that I can do it in my own home, work out for as long or as little as I want, and I can easily track my progress. I also love feeling sore the next day and knowing that I actually worked out my muscles! If you are committed to have a great time and get in shape, I would definitely recommend a Wii Fit! Happy exercising!

Video game reviews: World of Warcraft

You've seen it everywhere: T-Shirts, websites, magazines. You've heard about it from friends, foes, geeks at the game store. It's fully implanted itself into the mainstream psyche and will forever be an iconic staple of the American Pop Culture.

It is World of Warcraft.

A great many articles have taken to explaining the process of playing WoW so I'll skip the detailed How-To. If you're reading this, you're at least interested in what the hype is all about. This is fairly simple on one hand and complex on the other. So...

The simple answer: WoW has tapped into the very alive and growing sector of the population that is wholly fascinated and transfixed by all things fantasy and all things gaming. There is an audience for WoW that transcends race, gender, social status, age, career, etc. 35 year old businessmen play alongside 15 year old high school students. The game is so huge and so appealing because it's accessible to everyone that enjoys fantasy and/or video games. It's become a trend, to be quite frank. And trends are easy to jump on board with.

The more complex answer: Wow is a unique MMO. MMO-RPG is a standard acronym for Mass-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Unlike others of its kind, WoW has been able to factor in all the possible interface and playability options that appeal to the casual gamer right on up to the hardcore, dedicated full-time gamer. All these variables of structure, graphics, and playability enhance the game's playing experience beyond many other titles.

Several MMOs have tried to mirror the many possibile modes of play that WoW offers but have done so quite unsuccessfully. WoW offers an auction house where players can buy and sell items and equipment they find In-Game. The game makes it possible to log on and go almost the entire range of levels (1-70) without ever having to group or play with the other strangers running around in the same game world. Of course, this isn't really the point of MMO, so you also have the option of playing with a partner, people in your guild (or in-game club), or large scale "raids" involving 40+ players attacking the same goal. A "professions" system allows players to choose a profession and make items to sell to other players in exchange for gold, the in-game currency. Consider it: a video game with an in-game economy! It's true.

All of these aspects of the game and more offer a unique playing experience that has attracted many a varied player. You won't find the ability for solo playing in Dungeons and Dragons Online, released in 2005. Nor will you find the complex auction house or trading system in City of Heroes/City of Villains. So many of these other games have much to offer in other areas but lack the well-rounded accomplishment the Blizzard has made with World of Warcraft.

WoW has cornered the market because they've been able to capture EVERY aspect of MMO play in a single game and this game will continue to grow and affect the gaming industry for years to come.

Video game reviews: The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (PS2)

Ultimate destruction is probably the best sub-title for a game such as this. For people who aren't familiar with the Hulk, its about a doctor named Bruce Banner, who, after a freak accident exposing him to gamma radiation, turns into the jolly green giant...the incredible hulk.

Now as much as i want to give this game a good review, i really must be objective, i should mention, i am a long time fan of the Hulkster, and may be a little biased, as a gamer though I'm both appalled and excited about this game.

First off, it is by no means a masterpiece, suffering greatly from clipping issues, tears and glitches in the geometry, dated graphics and the occasional lag. Also the story is very basic and derivative of old hulk comics, only, not as good. You'll be facing off against all the old, stock enemies such as the Abomination and his robot goon squad.

Honestly, i could care less about the story progression, i saw the movie, and thats basically all one needs to know, its lack luster voice overs usually lose my attention anyway...but all that aside, i WILL go as far as to say this is probably my favorite comic book hero video game on any console. why? well after all these issues that are sure to bog down any title, it all comes back to Ultimate destruction.

As the Hulk, you can leap, climb, and throw yourself all over the vast generic new york-Esq city, and much to my amusement DESTROY EVERYTHING. The Hulk can pick up and toss trucks, cops, cars, buses, burger signs, and fleeing civilians! you can smash almost everything in the game, pick up trees and play baseball with bus booths, throw rockets with your bare hands, toss cows at helicopters, smash whole buildings into smoldering rubble...but you cant swim!

The ability system allows players to learn and master a whole myriad of special moves and abilities that really do add to the experience of smashing stuff and the best part is, the points required to unlock all these abilities are rewarded to you for destroying things...imagine that, points for smashing EVERYTHING!

With all that said, this game will provide, at least to Hulk fans, an incredibly meat headed, no brain experience, and thats the way i like it. But the weak story and relatively short campaign will likely cause you to shelf this after your HULK SMASH addiction wears off, as cool as it is to play the hulk, it is a feeling that is most likely to be shared only by hardcore Hulk fans, and not the general public, but still, this is one PS2 gem that should at least be experienced once, so if you ever find it for a bargain, don't hesitate to pick it up.

My Score:

6.5/10 - A PS2 Gem!

Video game reviews: Mirrors Edge

Mirrors Edge Game review:

The only problem nowadays with new games being released is hype. Every time a new game is coming out in weeks to follow there is loads of hype around it and that can ruin a game. Big time. Like every time a new Grand Theft Auto game comes out the whole world is screaming in anticipation for their next outing with the anti-hero based game style. But every time a new Grand Theft Auto game comes out there is much disappointment and it leaves many players feeling unsatisfied. This is much the same for many games such as Halo or a new Tomb Raider game, although not the previous one as much. My review is based on a game that did not have too much hype behind it and was not considered to be a must have before release. My review is split into different sections here is a brief example so it will be much easier to understand.

Game play:

Here I will talk about the game play of the game and what it feels like to play the actual game.

So on with the review. Mirrors Edge is a first person game that is set in the distant future. It has set a new precedent for how games should be made in the future with having no predecessor or any other game like it. It uses a whole new style of game play and does it very well. Unlike any other first person shooter, a first person shooter (FPS) is a type of game where the gun is shown in front of the player and not the players body, the player does not use guns as a means of killing the enemies instead the main character, Faith, uses her acrobatic skills to get from place to place and kill enemies. Although you have the option to take an enemies gun from him and use it against him but it's much more fun and easier to dodge the foe. The game has many mixed reviews in the world of gaming some scoring it very highly and some scoring it at average claiming that the game becomes boring fast as it is very repetitive and same old, same old. But let me tell you this is not the case people who say that are very narrow minded and are obviously not accustomed to change in the style of games they enjoy so much.

Sound:

The sound of the game is very graceful and enjoyable to listen to but you will find yourself for most of the game having nothing in the background apart from the faint noise of the wind or the chirp of some far off birds. You will find that most of the levels take place outside so there is no need for background music as you are jumping and running on the top of massive open buildings.

What can video games teach young children?

Video games can teach your children good things, bad things, and very ugly things. It all depends on what games young children play. It also depends on what games you let your children play. To start things off, do not give little kids any games that are not rated as "E for Everyone" in accordance to the ESRB ratings. If you do that, then you should not have any problems with your children learning bad things from video games. If your child is not mature enough, then do not buy a game that is rated "M for Mature." That is by no means different from taking your child to go see an R-Rated movie.

I would compare video game ratings to movie ratings. If you are careful about the game ratings and what ages your children are, you can guarantee they can learn a bunch of positive things. If and when presented with the choice between video games and TV, I would pick video games. I do enjoy my fair share of TV shows. However, I only enjoy watching certain shows. Everything has been replaced by a slew of Reality TV shows. At least my children will learn something from video games. I am more concerned about Reality TV teaching children bad things rather than video games.

If your child is not old enough, do not go buying him/her something like "Resident Evil," "Grand Theft Auto," or "Gears of War." Also, you need to teach your children that video games are make believe. Video games are no different than movies. Most movies are also "make believe." Anyway, if you are debating what type of games to get your children, factor in their ages and take a look at the ESRB ratings in the games.

First off, we should start with games for everyone. One good game would be Dance Dance Revolution. This is a game that can appeal any demographic. Your children will become physically active by playing that game daily. You will not have to worry about your child becoming obese. Also, it does improve your child's reflexes, speed, and agility.

For the spiritual crowd, a game of DDR does prove to be an interesting form of physical meditation. When you are meditating, you have to keep a clear mind.

When you are playing DDR, you have to keep a clear mind.

Schools across West Virginia have started to implement DDR into its physical education curriculum. Schools are starting to see the potential of DDR.

If you have a Nintendo Wii, you can always buy a Wii Fit. There is also "Wii Sports" which requires physical output. It should increase your children's

Video game reviews: Mikyaku Impact (PC)

Mikyaku Impact is an interesting 2D fighting game I have come across. From what I have seen, Mikyaku Impact is a very decent fighting game with balanced game play, well done character sprites, and stylish game play.

As a fan of 2D fighting games, this is a game that I had to check out. So far, I am not disappointed. Mikyaku Impact is a game that has plenty of potential. This game is a rarity on various counts. There are plenty of reasons that a game like Mikyaku Impact is a rarity.

The first reason is that it is a doujin soft title. A doujin is a group or game and anime hobbyists. However, a doujin could be just one person. The doujin soft scene has been popular for the last several years.

Today, the doujin scene is still very popular. Japan's mainstream video game industry is taking close note. Many doujin soft titles let alone 2D fighting game titles have already been ported to arcades all across Japan. These doujin soft games are well done and they play better than a lot of the 2D fighting games I have come across. Mikyaku Impact is by no means an exception. Everything about this game is beautiful.

The second reason is that this game is exclusively for the PC. It is highly unlikely that Mikyaku Impact will be ported to home video game consoles.

Most doujin soft titles are usually exclusive to the PC. Not all doujin soft titles get ported to the arcades. On a few ever do get ported to the home game consoles.

The third reason is that this game has a cast of only females. Fighting games let alone 2D fighting games with an all-female cast are extremely rare. For a fighting game with an all-female cast, Mikyaku Impact is one of the best fighting games I have come across. Avid fighting game let alone 2D fighting game fans should definitely check out a game like Mikyaku Impact.

This is a game that has been beautifully done. The graphics are very sharp and clean. For a doujin soft game, Mikyaku Impact looks and plays like a professional mainstream game.

The mainstream video game industry should learn a thing or two from Mikyaku Impact. The game plays very great. Everything about the game play is smooth. It carries great music tracks and beautiful background stages.

However, there are a few cons to Mikyaku Impact.

The first con is that there are only five characters to choose from. For a great game, there are not that many characters. I was hoping that a game like Mikyaku Impact would have at least ten to fifteen characters to choose from.

The second con is that the game is too short. This is because that there are only five characters to choose from. If you do not end up fighting yourself, you only go through four opponents.

Despite the cons, Mikyaku Impact is a 2D fighting game that is very well worth checking out. If you are a fan of fighting games and you have a PC, you should get yourself a copy of the game.

Video game reviews: Immaterial and Missing Power (PC)

As a fan of fighting games, I started getting into the Japanese doujin soft games. For a bunch of games created by doujins (Japanese game and anime hobbyists), they tend to play very decently. They play far more decently than most arcade and console games I have seen and played. As a result, the mainstream video game industry is keeping a very close eye on these doujins. These doujins and their doujin soft games have started to become a very serious driving force behind Japan's video game industry. Several doujin soft titles have been ported to the arcade and Playstation 2 consoles. Most doujin soft games are exclusively for the PC.

As an avid fan of fighting games let alone 2D fighting games, I decided to download a good number of doujin soft titles. Doujin softs are usually inspired by games, anime, and manga. "Immaterial and Missing Power" is one of those 2D doujin soft fighting games downloaded and installed on my computer. Safe to say, I was very satisfied with the graphics, flow, and game play of Immaterial and Missing Power.

This game was a collaborate project between two doujins: Twilight Frontier and Team Shanghai Alice.

Team Shanghai Alice only has one member who goes by "ZUN." His fans call him "Kannushi." Immaterial and Missing Power is the between the seventh and eight installment of this doujin soft series known as the "Touhou Project." There have been prequels before this game. However, all the other games are vertical shooter games. This is the only fighting game in the Touhou Project series.

The storyline behind Immaterial and Missing Power is a very simple one. It takes place on the land of Gensokyo. Perhaps it is somewhere in the country of Japan. So far, an unknown restless spirit releases an aura during some sort of feast. The characters investigate.

The character designs are inspired between traditional Japanese and gothic Lolita designs. Also, they tend to look like a bunch of cartoonish chibi girls. However, the game is very fun and entertaining to play. But, the characters do seem to be a bit overpowered.

The flow of the game play is very smooth and sharp. For a doujin soft, the creators took this project very seriously. It is one of the most decent fighting games I have ever seen.

This is a big step of making the PC a formidable console for 2D fighting games.

For the game play, it has a very interesting game mechanics system. I do sense a bit of inspiration from Street Fighter III. Special and super moves are in the form of "spell cards."

You simply need to think of those Japanese anime titles in which spells and abilities are stored in special cards.

You can only have one special move spell card and one super move spell card. You have to select them before the start of the match.

Immaterial and Missing Power also has a new concept called "grazing." Grazing is a dash that lets you go through projectile attacks. However, it does not work on all projectiles. It does make the game interesting as there are a lot of projectile attacks in the game.

Immaterial and Missing Power is a very decent 2D fighting game. What got my attention is that the game had the excitement and intensity of the "Guilty Gear" series. If you have a PC and are a fan of fighting games, Immaterial and Missing Power is one game to check out.

Video game reviews: Dead Rising (X360)

When I first saw the previews for the video game Dead Rising, I was really intrigued. Could it be that us zombie fans, that we finally had a video game that didn't involve "genetic mutation," "government experimentation," and the really irritating trend of "zombie evolution?" Watching a commercial of a common looking guy using baseball bats, trash cans, a parasol, and even a bowling ball to fight off zombies made me smile. Maybe this was it. Maybe we finally had a zombie video game that would feel like a zombie world, and not just a cheap throw in for a shoot em up action game.

Well first off, let's say there is one major deficiency with this game: it was designed for high definition TV, so the text from characters talking can be hard to read if you have a small television, or even on a decent sized TV without high def. That being said, for me it was still readable and while annoying, it wasn't nearly enough to detract from the rest of this game.

You are Frank West, freelance photojournalist who comes into town after an unknown source reported that something big was going down. You find several survivors in the beginning, a hysterical old woman who cares more about her dog than anyone else's life, and all hell breaks loose when the flesh eating hordes break into the mall.

One of the extremely neat parts of this game is the fact that you are a photo journalist, and so you are trying to take pictures for your story as you fight the zombies. There is a main quest here, but you get plenty of points where you have time to wander around. You will get calls from Otis, who will tell you about survivors and psychopaths located throughout the mall.

As a warning, this is not G rated. This game is rated mature for a reason, and it has everything that zombie fanatics will love: tons of blood and gore, ultra violent death scenes, shock and splatter, and even a touch of "erotica." There's no nudity, but some scantily clad women, and add in a strange psycho cult, a sociopathic clown, and a Vietnam vet with a machete in full blown flashback mode, and you're in for the ride of your life.

Best of all, you're not expected to get every challenge one time throughthe game saves your attributes, so if you get one ending (there are about 7 possible endings, aside from you getting eaten) you can start over with all your level upsand it's much less frustrating the second time around.

Oh, yeah, there's also snipers, escaped convicts, attempted mutinies among any survivors you do find, and a nasty surprise at 7:00 your first night. Xbox 360 also has tons of "survivor achievements" on this game to add to the challenge, and as far as story lines go, this one is incredible and will chill you to the bone.

One of the perceived cons is the lack of save points, but I like this because it was intentional. The creators wanted "Dead Rising" to mimic "real life." So in real life if there's a zombie infestation over a huge mall, you're not always going to have time to save everyone, you're always fighting the clock. This was supposed to add a sense of desperation, which would mimic most survivors. I can see why the lack of save points bugged people, but I thought it worked really well.

As far as zombie video games go, for those players who are fans of true zombie movies, (and they will tell you Land of the Dead was an abomination), this is definitely the greatest zombie video game ever made, and its ability to be re-played over and over again only adds to that experience. For any fan of zombies, or shock and splatter video games, this is a must buy!

Video game reviews: Tantra online

Tantra Online: Game review 8.3

Tantra on-line is an online role playing game in the vein of such classics as Final Fantasy XI and World of Warcraft.

It is developed by Hanbitsoft who apparently are the korean distributors for Starcraft.

It is set in a fantasy world (think Final Fantasy) which is heavily influenced by Indian mythology and Hinduism. This setting and mythology is executed brilliantly and the aesthetic of it all is generally very pleasing.

You get Eight races to choose from, which seem to come in four pairs, Deva/Garuda which is your basic sorcery or attack magic class, Naga/Kimnara which would be your tanks or bashers, Yaksa/Gandharva which is your basic priest or healers and Rakshasa/Ashura who are the ninja/archer/thief type. So basically the usual RPG conventions in terms of classes. One interesting thing to note is that they all have male and female opposites.. those Garuda chicks well you gotta trust me, they are hot!

There are 4 vital statistics or Chakras in Tantra online, these being Muscle, Nerve, Heart and Mental. Muscle is about damage you inflict by hitting, Nerve is reaction time and ability to dodge blows, Heart is linked to your Health and how much damage you take and Mental is linked to spells and how many spells you can cast. So no real surprises there.

So basically you wander around the place killing monsters and making the statistics go up, pretty much like any standard MMORPG from WoW on down.. nothing revolutionary there. It all feels well executed and plays very smoothly however, it IS done well.

Any fan of India or Asia will feel right at home in the world of Tantra and likewise any fan of Asian RPGS, it really feels like the Korean answer to Final Fantasy XI and anyone who has played any of these kinds of games should have no problems with the click and point game-play.

Tantra online is based on the aging lithtech engine and this will come as either a positive or negative depending on your system.

For those with lower end gaming systems, the low system requirements make this game an option, World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XI require a minimum of 32mb of Video ram, Tantra only requires 16mb, this also makes it a good option for those with lower end laptops. You haven't played a MMORPG until you've played it lying in your bed!

This of course turns into a negative for those chasing high end graphical thrills and spills, although the game graphics never look or ugly or unappealing,

Does playing video games lead to a lower IQ?

Throughout the years, many people have taken offense to the rising popularity of the video gaming community. This community is stated as being under-productive and, more importantly, most likely to have a lower Intelligence Quotient. Being an avid gamer myself, I have researched this subject and have come to a few conclusions.

The first time I heard this question asked, I thought long and hard about my motives into video games. Was I really having my intelligence sapped by my inconspicuous technology? When I stated that I was in college and asked what they would prefer me to do, they told me to read a book. That is when I realized that the IQ argument could be made about almost anything. If reading a book is the more productive thing to do, then one could assume that the countless educational video games on the market are far inferior to the many books out there on subjects ranging from the healing properties of smelling feet, to the brutal slaying or one's mother. I would agree that there is some benefit to reading a good book, but there is also much to be learned from certain video games. The amount of reading involved in most games is immense compared to what normal people go through in a day.

The recent release of the Nintendo DS title Big Brain Academy has only further strengthened my belief that there is educational value to be had in many video games. The games feature a series of mini-games that are designed to increase the thinking capacity of a single person. The game has logic, reason, math, visual, and memory based questions with increasing difficulty. Prior to these games, there were many games that were used in classrooms as a tool to increase interest in previously unattractive subjects. Games such as Number Munchers make math fun by use of quirky characters and fast-paced action, while incorporating many math problems in the process. Other games may teach people about unfamiliar regions of the world, or find fun ways to increase their vocabulary.

The Nintendo Wii has also incorporated the use of bodily movement in video games adding an element of exercise to the popular video gaming community. As critics previously said that video games are prohibitive in the growth of children, the popular Japanese based company produced the Nintendo Wii in an effort to get children more physically active. Along with the system itself, Nintendo has also released the "Wii Fit" game that has a series of physical exercises that encourages people of all ages to get in shape through the use of the video game.

Although there is no real test that can determine the amount of intelligence that is either gained or lost through gaming, there are several games that have proven they have an educational value. As people in the media scramble to prove that video game violence is correlated to actual violence, there is a ray of hope in the fact that some children have escaped this diluted reality, and have adventured into the world of imagination and education.

Video game reviews: Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3)

For over a decade, Virtua Fighter has become a dynasty for Playstation users worldwide. The intense martial arts fighting styles of the main characters has eared the game a Mature rating for its violent nature, but at its core, it is simply an evolved version of classic arcade games such as Mortal Combat.

In general, the game has been geared for longstanding VF fans, who have honed their skills and techniques as the game itself continues to evolve technologically. The immense cast of characters remains the same as prior versions, although some additions have been made for the fifth installment.

Matches are selected depending on the mode chosen by the player. An arcade mode pits the individual against a powerful boss character who is not likely to be susceptible to novice and rudimentary moves and can only be beat with a profound knowledge and understanding of the complex controls.

Also, a single player mode allows users to follow a storyline which is the continuation of the previously established VF series. On the more advanced gaming console, the Playstation 3, VF5 runs at 720p which results in a high definition resolution which has become a staple of the new wave of video games, further enhanced by the increasing popularity of HD-TVs. Regardless, some areas of the game's maps are still slightly pixilated, and load times are elongated which can sometimes counteract the intensity and excitement of the matches, but can also provide ample time to relax after a round of concentrated gameplay.

Like most other competitive fighting games, a multiplayer option gives you the opportunity to compete against a friend in the same arcade backdrop. There is, however unfortunate, no room for customization as the game does not feature a "create your own profile" mode which has also become a common feature of popular video games today. In addition, there is no online game mode which may contribute to the failure of the game's sales overall, as more and more gamers are focusing on widely played online games.

Video game reviews: Lord of The Rings

If you ever find yourself with $8 bucks and a need to get involved in some epic video-gaming where you are pitted against the forces of evil, heavily out-numbered and have to be better than not just 1 or 2 or even 4 foes, but rather sometimes as many as 7 or 8 at once, than Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, is for you. What's great about old video games, is yeah sure, we all played them a long time ago, but it has been awhile and now it's like a brand new game for the price of well, not a lot these days.

For under $8 bucks you can have Lord of the Rings delivered to your mailbox, where you can not only play this great game again for what will feel like the first time, but will not break the bank for the experience. Obviously in the game, you play either the Elf, the Ranger or the Dwarf and you hack, slash and bash your way through ten levels of intense game play, including the dramatic stand at Helm's Deep, which for those who remember was the epic finale to the second movie which this game gets its name from, where man made what was almost its last stand against the evil armies of Mordor.

Great unlockables, including some behind the scenes DVD feature sort of things, as well as a hidden level and whole other playable character, make this game a great replay for those who long ago traded in their copy of this game for something newer and shinier.

I give the game 8 out of 10 Rupert Murdochs.

Video game review: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (Wii)

It is agreed upon by many RPG enthusiasts, that the original "Tales of Symphonia" is the greatest game ever made. Few who have ever played it have left it off of their top ten lists. Not receiving the same fanfare as the likes of Final Fantasy, Tales of Symphonia wears the title of, "Cult Classic." In the face of that accolade, "Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World" was released for the Nintendo Wii, and few have even heard of it. Even the clerk at the store had to look it up when I tried to pre-order the game. The few of us who did hear, couldn't wait to get our hands on it.

It takes at least thirty minutes on any game before you can make a solid first impression. I was an hour into this game when the word, "disappointment" came to mind. The "hero" is a whiny, wimpy, unenjoyable character. The fighting seems slow and unintuitive. The cut-scenes have awkward pauses built in. The story is bland, contrived, and oh soclich. A disappointment nevertheless, but when compared to the great characters, cut-scenes, fighting, and story of the original, this is an epic let-down.

Thankfully, first impressions are not the be-all end-all for video-games. Every piece of the game gets gradually better. Theunlikablemain character gets very cool in spurts, and eventually evens out to someone you can accept. (For those who have played the first, he's still only about one tenth as awesome as Lloyd.) The fighting improves as characters advance. The story gets moderately interesting. Interestingly enough, the awkward pauses in cut-scenes get better. There are still many flaws, but compared to the game's beginning, this is a massive improvement.

As a stand alone game, RPG fans would likely see "Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World" as a half-way decent buy. It's got enjoyable customization aspects for characters. Even better customization aspects for the party, as players can enlist dozens of different monsters to fight for them. These monsters can be customized to some degree through standard leveling-up, feeding them, equipping them, and evolving them.

More likely, those who play this game will be those who played the original. These players will enjoy many of the elements listed above. They will also enjoy seeing some familiar places, and many familiar faces. However, they will also realize that the game has an unfinished feel to it.

"Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World" could have been an amazing game. Instead, it is simply a pretty good game. For that I am both grateful and, well, disappointed. With any luck, in a couple of years, I will be reviewing the third installment of this story, and giving it nothing but praises.

Video game reviews: God of War – Part 1

God Of War is a video game for the Sony Playstation 2 and it was released on March 22, 2005. God Of War is an action-adventure game based upon Greek mythology; this game has received the game of the year award from the academy of interactive arts & sciences. With the success of this game they have decided to create a God Of War 2 which is set to release on March 14th, 2007.

God Of War bring's together both amazing combat and puzzle-solving. The way this game is set up is great, in my personal opinion it has one of the best camera views for a PS2 combat game and it has a very unique takedown setup when an enemy or boss is low on energy.

This is truly a game that never get's boring, you can play it for hours on end and never want to give up because it's just that good, the in game movies are absolutely amazing, and the story line is one of the most attractive I've ever seen, this is a game that you don't only play, but it's a game that actually teach's you a bit about Greek mythology.

The game has so many different types of enemies to fight through it's crazy but in a very good way, for instance you have Undead Legionnaires, Lernaean Hydras, Minotaurs, Cyclops, Harpies, Wraiths, Gorgons, Sirens, Satyrs, Centaurs, and a Cerberus, now you may not know what some of these things look like and I'm not going to spoil the game for you, your just going to have to play it and see for yourself how awesome these enemies are to fight against.

In the game you are a mortal, however you have allied yourself with some very powerful gods and they give you special godly powers such as The Blades of Chaos, which was given to you by the God of War, Ares himself.

Poseidon's Rage which is obtained from Poseidon. This gives you the power of thunder and storms, allowing you to create powerful shockwaves and blasts of lightning around yourself to repel and injure foes.

Medusa's Gaze which is given to you from Aphrodite by battling and defeating Medusa, Queen of the Gorgons.

Zeus' Fury which is obtained from Zeus. You can use this gift to summon and hurl the very lightning bolts that the King of the Gods uses.

Artemis Blade which is given to you from Artemis, this blade is capable of piercing amour and hide that the Blades of Chaos may be unable to.

Army of Hades which is obtained from Hades. This grants you the power to summon the very souls of Hades it's basically an unstoppable torrent of undead warriors.

Finally the Rage of the Gods which is obtained from Athena. The ultimate power that makes you totally immune to all physical trauma and boosts your attack power exponentially, allowing you to decimate enemies.

This game get's my highest rating's among a game and in order for you to really understand what this game hold's you have to see it for yourself, some amazing video's of the game can be seen from the below URL, please make sure that the URL does not have any spaces in it, sometimes they are automatically placed into these articles.

http://media.ps2.ign.com/media /661/661321/vids_1.html

I hope you enjoy this game as much as I have and I bet after playing this game you'll be dying to see what happens in part 2.

Video game reviews: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (PS2)

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 attempted to display innovation without originality. Therefore will anyone beyond die hard fans enjoy this video game?

Instead of using the traditional fighting game format Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is made from a third person perspective, which is indeed more free roaming. The environments you have to explore, however, do not end up being fully 3D on a massive scale with force fields limiting your travel to certain spots.

The controls for the game are fairly poor and the camera system is awkward at best. People who enjoyed the first game in this 3rd person fighting game series will enjoy the immense amount of playable characters and features, however for those who did not like the first: this is just more of the same. The levels in story mode and any other mode for that matter just become repetitive button pushing to no end with the crummy controls. Sound for the game is okay, aside from the actual voice actors used who sound like they had better things to do. Multi-player matches are hindered by a horrible split screen set up.

This game has a lot of content to offer for fans of Drgon Ball Z in terms of story exploration and the overal length of the game will have someone going for long hours. However, for someone who is more a fan of video games as opposed to Dragon Ball Z particularly, then the length of the game is just a repetitive adventure with frustrating controls and camera angles and that is just a drag.

Which video game console is better: PlayStation 3 or Wii? – Part 27

Well the anwser depends on the person. If the person is looking for a console to buy their 6 year old kids, it would be wisest for them to buy the Wii due to the Wii being popular and best for young children, elderly, and nongamers. The Wii has the most child friendly games with things like Wii music, Hanna Montana, Wii Fit, and many other games. That is what the Wii is best at.

But overall, the PS3 is best. First, is has many media uses that include watching movies, listening to music, buying movies off of PSN, surfing the internet, and playing free online service. The PS3 has 100 times better graphics than the Wii. Also, with games like Motor Storm and Little Big Planet, it can become the best for all around use. Hardcore gamers are in love with the PS3 due having games like Resistance 2, Metal gear Solid 4, and Warhawk. PS3 also has a more advanced social networking system. That system is called Playstation Home. You can actually recreate yourself onto Playstation Home with its immense character characteristics. The PS3 has Playstation Network, which is a free internet service where you can buy games, movies, tv shows, and play online games. It is considered the best service out of the three consoles while the Wii has the worst service. Infact, the Wii has the worst games out of the connsoles. So real gamers would turn away from the Wii when they notice the horrible selection of games. The Wii may have more exclusives, but they are often worse then the Atarii 600 E.T game. I know people that bought the Wii think it will be a lot of fun, they returned it in one week complaining about the terrible games on it. it happens over and over again. I would rather take technological superiority over a children's based system. I mean come on, only children would by games like Cartoon Network Racing. The Wii truly has only 4 good games, mario galaxy, twilight princess, no more heroes, and Raving Rabbits. Besides those wii games ar very mediocre if not worse. Now lets compare them to the ps3 that has metal gear solid 4, dc vs mortal kombat, gta 4, motor storm, warhawk and many others. There is no way in the world Wii games will ever be better than ps3 games. I have a ps3, and i love everything about it. The music, the movies, home, and of course the games. So its not a contest what is better. This is only a cchild's question. Only absolute idiots won't agree that the ps3 is better than the wii.

Which video game console is better: PlayStation 3 or Wii? – Part 30

The Wii has completely revolutionized the way people interact with games. As you probably know by now, the Wii remote is physically used as the instrument in the game (the golf club while playing golf, the paddle while playing ping-pong and so on). Meaning no more having to think what buttons you need to push to obtain this or that movement, you just make the movement yourself while holding the remote and voila, the character on-screen does the same. So much easier, right? That's one of the very strong points of Wii, its ease of use, making it accessible even to young kids or older people. A console for the whole family as the commercial says.

Wii can also connect to the Internet and download games from there, the latest news or the daily forecast. Also you get to create your own alter ego (or alter egos) called a Mii. When you're connected to the 'net you have the option of sending your Mii to visit other people's consoles, and receive other people's Miis on your own. Oh, and you can also send messages from one Wii to another (also via Internet).

That's all good and nice but you know the main reason why I got a Wii? It makes you get up from the couch and move. It even has a fitness mode where it tests your reflexes and such and see how you've improved in time. I think that with certain games you're guaranteed to shed some calories and all by playing and having fun with your friends.

Video game reviews: I Wanna Be The Guy

Do you remember the golden years of video games? When programmers compensated for badly-made video games by completely stacking the deck against the player? Kayin does. He's the creator of I Wanna Be The Guy: The Movie: The Game (also known as IWBTG), who describes his game as "... a sardonic loveletter to the halcyon days of early American videogaming, packaged as a nail-rippingly difficult platform adventure." He's not kidding. IWBTG is easily one of the most difficult platformers of this era or any other, packed with not only challenge, but a healthy dose of sadistic humor.

The plot (presented in an opening sequence ripped off shamelessly from Megaman 2) is as basic as you can get: You are The Kid and your mission is to beat The Guy and become The Guy. Of course, this game isn't about the plot. It's about desperately trying to work your way through each screen without getting blown into a bloody pixelated mess. The Kid is armed only with a gun and a double-jump, and one hit from anything will kill him. In a merciful move by Kayin, save boxes throughout the game will keep you from losing too much of your progress. Depending on the difficulty, their frequency varies from once or twice per screen to one every ten or twenty screens. Only those with a lot of patience or a masochistic streak should attempt the game on its highest difficulty setting.

The game itself does a lot with very little. While there are some interesting special effects, IWBTG isn't about bells and whistles. It's about spikes, projectiles, and tons of pixel-precise jumps through screen after devilish screen. But the numerous screens are cleverly designed to push your reflexes and muscle memory to their breaking point. It's often necessary to die a few times before you figure out how to tackle an obstacle, but this is a minor issue since you can restart as many times as you want. Each screen presents a different challenge from the previous one, from the subtle to the outright bizarre. Throughout the game there are references to everything from Megaman to Mario Paint.

In case it isn't obvious yet, IWBTG is ABSOLUTELY NOT for everyone. The easiest difficulty level is Medium. This gives you the most save boxes to work with, but you'll be mocked by the "WUSS" label on those extra save boxes and a girly hair bow on The Kid. The first three screens of the game's upper path are a pretty good test of whether or not you can deal with IWBTG's merciless challenges. If you can get through the apple gauntlet, the moving clouds, and the spike-filled elevator ride, then you'll probably enjoy the rest of the game. Otherwise, all you're going to get out of IWBTG is frustration.

IWBTG's throwbacks to 80's and 90's video games will give veteran gamers a laugh and demonstrate to everyone else how mercurial game designers could be with the minimal tools they had available. Its goofy non-sequitors and witty lampoons on video game stereotypes are perfectly geared toward its target audience. And if you do manage to become The Guy, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you've triumphed over one of the most fiendishly-crafted games of all time. For introducing a new generation of gamers to the soul-crushing goodness of classic video games, I Wanna Be The Guy: The Movie: The Game gets a 5 out of 5.

Get it for free at: http://kayin.pyoko.org/iwbtg/

Is the investment in the Wii a worthwhile one? – Part 4

A friend of mine introduced me to the Wii a couple of years ago. At first, I was reluctant, as I'm not really into playing video games. I get bored easily and frustrated if I can't figure the game out.

We started with the basic games, the Wii Sports package, which is delivered with the game system. We played golf, we played tennis, we boxed, we bowled, and we sweated. We were off the couch and moving around, laughing and having a great time. To top it all off, we were two middle aged men, who don't play a lot of video games. For that matter, we don't really get off the couch that much either.

So, I bought one as well. One of the first games that I picked up was Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007. It was the middle of winter and I'm not really a cold weather person, so I wasn't golfing outdoors much. I don't know if it helped my game or not, but I still had fun. I've played tournaments and beaten Tiger Woods. (Don't tell him though, I'm not sure I'm ready to have him challenge me on an actual course.)

Recently, I bought the Wii Fit package, and I am still having fun. I am motivated every day to get up, do the body test to see how old I am, and exercise.

If you haven't tried it, then let me explain:

Each day when you start the system up, you have the option of taking a body test and or exercising. In the body test section, the Balance Board acts as a scale, and a balance sensor. It will take your weight, and can determine where your center of balance is for the day. This will give you a BMI, weight, and tell you if you are leaning to one side or the other. Then you are given the option of continuing the test, or stopping right there. If you continue, you are given two tests, which vary daily, to test balance and agility. How well you do on these tests, is factored in with your actual age, and you are given a Wii Fit age. If your Wii Fit age is lower than your actual age, then you are in good or great shape, depending on how much lower. If it is higher, then you need to work on your balance more.

The other option is exercise. You can do Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics and Balance games. The goal of these games is not to make you into a hard body, but to get you off the couch and moving. You can get quite a workout, though.

You don't have to exercise continuously. You can do one exercise, turn it off, come back several hours later and do another. You may not get the same benefit, but you can do that. Or, you can do an hours worth of yoga one day, then nothing for a week.

Or, you can try some or all of the games, or exercises in the same workout. You have options, and can do it all when it is convenient to you.

I have read that the Wii system is being used in retirement villages. People are setting up Wii bowling leagues, Wii Tennis teams, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere a Wii golf tournament is going on. Hey, if retirees are motivated to play on a video game console, then I say it is a worthwhile investment.

For people who don't like video games, this system is more. Try it once to see. If you do like video games, try doing them off the couch.

Coming Soon Nintendo Wii Games: See What Waits

The world of video games and electronic games is expanding like never before. In the last few decades a wide range of games and gaming consoles have developed. New and innovative techniques of playing games in the PC developed, thereby enabling the players to enjoy more life-like gaming.

Nintendo Wii is also quite a popular gaming device which has redefined the whole concept of gaming. The games of modern day are not merely meant for sheer entertainment, but those introduced by Nintendo are designed taking in to consideration various childhood problems like obesity.

The revolutionary games introduced or the coming soon games are enhanced with physical elements as well as other interactive activities. Further the coming soon Nintendo wii games are more player-friendly and easily intelligible. From children to older adults everyone can participate in the games. The Nintendo Wii games have handy controllers and it allows players to move their whole body inorder to influence what they see on the screen.

Among its popular titles, Wii Sports is a very fascinating game. In order to play the game the player has to hit a virtual tennis ball exactly the same way he would swing an actual tennis ball in the court. So, instead of just sitting and playing the players have to physically move. Unlike earlier video games, the coming soon games of 2007 has a positive impact on the user’s health. It is also seen that many gyms also provide Wii rooms in order to help people with sedentary behaviour burn their fat and remain healthy. Studies prove that at least 125 calories of fat is burned while playing a single Wii game.

Nintendo, is still trying to create more innovative games involving more physical activity. Another of its game Wii Fit will be coming soon with advanced features. Wii Balance Board a new feature will be added to the game which will let the players that jump, lean and do other physical activities. The proposed game will be coming very soon to the market and is expected to be released in Japan before this Christmas.

Of course, the coming soon games of Nintendo Wii will bring along lot many benefits. So, next day when you go for Christmas shopping, keep your eyes open. You may find much more excitement waiting for you.

Video game reviews: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (PC)

Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords was by far one of the best video games of 2003. In fact, anyone who is a fan of the original Star Wars movies will almost certainly be a fan of the KOTOR series, as the video games actually feel like movies within themselves. The Sith Lords was an excellent continuation of this revolutionary series.

Gamers will immediately notice the very free style of gameplay; players have a wide range of options in deciding what parts of the game to experience. Make no mistake; that's exactly what the Sith Lords is: an experience. Fans of both action-packed shooters and problem-solving based RPGs will find something they like about the game, but won't find themselves completely in either world. KOTOR II gets its feet wet in more than one area, and gamers will be taken through an enjoyable mix of plot, action, problem-solving, and thought provoking situations.

As for plot line, KOTOR II is rock-solid. There are no noticeable gaps in the story, creating a believability for the game while still keeping its sense of mystery and drama. The game is a journey of self-discovery, with the end result dependent upon your choices.

Graphically, the game is a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. Gamers will certainly not be stunned by the action sequences, but in terms of environments and imagery, KOTOR II dominates any competitor. Spectacular environments and haunting, mysterious scenes add to the plot and to the overall dramatic feel. The landscapes, characters, and other visuals will stick with a player after gameplay is over, and more than make up for the lack of intense action sequences.

The game's audio is above average, although one could not call it the best. The music fits the situation and adds to the game; it only begins to detract from gameplay when one spends too much time on a single stage. It can then become repetitive. However, this seems to be a problem with most video games, and KOTOR II is no greater an offender than any other.

Finally, the gameplay ties it all together. Players are presented with choices in every situation and will find that there is often more than one way of getting through a particular stage. One can choose to use brains over brawn and avoid conflict or bypass any thinking and shoot their way through the game, although most will find that some combination of the two is preferable.

The main selling point of the game is the sense of adventure that it drums up, though. Anyone looking to escape to such an adventure will find that Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords does not only leave them satisfied but exceeds expectations in almost every way.

Console reviews: The Nintendo Wii – Part 7

This definitely won't be an uber-high tech review of the Wii, nor will it be extremely comprehensive...

I have both the Wii and the PS3. Haven't touched the PS3 in 2 weeks or so, however, I can't get enough of the Wii.

I've always been a huge Nintendo fan because the type of games that are released. I feel that the interaction and fun factor of Nintendo has always been a positive point for me which makes their systems stand out from the rest. I don't need the super processing speed or graphics amazement, I need to feel like I can't put the controller down because the games are involving, addicting, and overall fun. With the PS3 (and 360), I end up getting bored too quickly. Most of the 360 games are basically the same concept. Nintendo's creativity supercedes the other gaming systems, IMO.

I was a bit skeptical about the design of the controller. A long cable holding together two different controls wasn't appealing to me, however, I was curious about the motion gaming.

To my surprise, it was much more comfortable to me to use than a regular controller. I can practically lay down on the sofa and have my hands laying to my sides instead of having them in the air trying to hold one controller. I don't know if I can paint of picture of that, but it's extremely comfortable.

The motion gaming seems pretty accurate. I haven't had any issues with response.

Zelda, although a port with added Wii motion, has been entertaining. The storyline is detailed, the graphics are superb (of course, not graphically intricate as the PS3), the motion and gameplay are easy to pick up. I get involved in the fighting by swinging the controller to wield my sword, aiming my slingshot, and a slew of other things. (oooh, I'm looking forward to the new Zelda game for the Wii!)

Wii Sports was a great addition to the Wii system. I was thrilled that it was included in the package. Talk about breaking a sweat! They say gaming causes laziness... not with the Wii, that's for sure! I was never a fan of sports games, but the interaction and competitive fun of these games quickly changed my mind. Something I discovered yesterday was that the Wii Sports has a Fitness Age program built in that you can test yourself each day fitness-wise with the different games in the same concept of Nintendo DS's Brain Age.

Another game that has been nothing but entertaining is Rayman. It has a million mini-games that really get your heart racing as every single mini-game involves motion.

I'm really enjoying my Wii. $250 is small compared to the value of the gaming system and games. It's a major plus that it's backwards compatible with the Gamecube, has wireless built in (however, don't expect much from the wireless yet, it's not full of bells and whistles yet, the channels don't even have anything), it's compact and sleek.

I say wait till there are more games for the PS3 before you dish out the bucks for that. Don't get me wrong, the PS3 has amazing graphics, but there's not enough games.

Wii = 5 out of 5

Three Great Game Titles for Playstation 3

As Playstation 3, or PS 3 for short, is claiming its place as a premier video gaming system, comes the opportunity for a truly unique gaming experience for gamers of all ages and skill sets. With breathtaking graphics and spectacular features such as reduced save times, the PS3 has been all set to dominate the video game world for quite some time.

Now with all the talk of how great the Playstation 3 is, gamers should be expecting equally exceptional games to play. Here are several titles that gamers should be looking to buy:

Resistance: Fall of Man:
Resistance: Fall of Man, sometimes referred to as Fall of Man, Resistance and even RFOM in the video gaming community, was released by Insomniac Games as a PlayStation 3 launch title in Japan and the United States on November, 2006 and in Europe on March, 2007.

The game's plot begins in 1951, with a United States Army Rangers' 5,000-man task force where the protagonist, Sgt. Nathan Hale, works with the task force to help liberate Britain and to retrieve a secret weapon that the British claim can be used against the Chimera, a fictional race.

Among the awards received, Resistance: Fall of Man was awarded Gamespot's Best PlayStation 3 game of 2006 and IGN's PlayStation 3 Game of the Year 2006, Best First-Person Shooter on PlayStation 3 of 2006 and Best Graphics Technology on PlayStation 3 in 2006 among other, which speaks loudly about quality of the quality of the gaming experience.

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground:
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, sometimes referred to as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 9, is a video game developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles by Neversoft and for the PlayStation 2 and Wii by Page 44 Studios. Proving Ground is the ninth game in the Tony Hawk's video games series.

Because of its appealing to an active game and adventure group and with Tony Hawk's name behind it, this video game is currently one of the hottest titles the PS3 has to offer.

Final Fantasy XIII:
Without a doubt, Final Fantasy XIII is one of the most anticipated titles set for eventual release for the Sony Playstation 3. So far, only information on two of the characters have been released: a mysterious woman wielding what appears to be a weapon that can seamlessly switch from a sword to a firearm, who goes by the name "Lightning", and all that is known of the other character is that he is an enormous man who is allied with Lightning.

In a departure from the usual feminine females that populate the worlds of Final Fantasy Lightning there's said to be a female version of Cloud, the hero of Final Fantasy 7.

Battles will be quite different in Final Fantasy XIII from earlier installments. Real time battles will occur with no arc between the character attacking and the one defending themselves. Summons such as the icy Shiva will be able to be summoned into battle and be made doubly useful by being able to morph into items such as motorcycles.

While the majority of games being released for play on the Playstation 3 are brand new titles, there are some mind-blowing sequels in the works as well. A new version of the already famous Gran Turismo and the finale to the epic God of War are in the works for eventual release for the PS3.

With a video game market hungry for new games and new advances in gaming technology continually in the works, video games titles for the Playstation 3 promise to provide the highest quality gaming experience possible for PS3 fans and a lot of work for reviewers, critics and cheat code enthusiast.

Top upcoming Nintendo Wii games – Part 2

Few things compare to the thrill of entering a burning building. Embers falling around your head. Feeling pressure as pieces of debris fall on you. Sheer exhilaration of pulling a person to freedom. Going home knowing that you have saved a life.

Until now these feelings were only available t firefighters. Nintendo Wii is making it possible for anyone to experience this. Ok, not exactly. But, as close as you can get without joining a fire department. Epicenter studios has announced the development of Rescue Heroes: Firefighter (firefighter).

Players begin as a rookie firefighter. You have been assigned to a busy metropolitan station. Using the Wii controller players, hack down doors, pry open cars and spray down flames. Sample videos illustrate some mind blowing graphics. Couple this with a wide screen HDTV and you could feel the flames on your neck.

Epicenter CEO Nathaniel McClure stated "Firefighting requires a lot more than spraying down fires, so we've included several game-integral puzzles to mirror the challenges and on-the-fly choices firefighters actually face in the midst of a blaze. We have tremendous respect for firefighters, so we've focused on its unique, exciting game play and distinctive art style to create an engaging game without being exploitative." (GamerSquad.com 2008)

So what do the professionals think? A sample video was uploaded to Firefighternation.com. A social site for firefighters with over 20,000 members. Within hours the video was a hit. Comments showed a growing excitement for the game. Several members stated that they would buy a Nintendo Wii just to play this game.

Yet another example of why the Nintendo Wii is so popular. Games are providing experiences that have not been available. I could one find one reference to a firefighting game. It was released years ago on the Sega Saturn. With little of the graphics or functionality of this new game. Neither the XBox 360 nor Playstation 3 have announced a game that is even close.

Requiring players to move around addresses video game opponents. Arguing that video games are teaching our kids violence and causing them to be fat. It is very difficult to argue about a game that teaches Yoga (Wii Fit). Very few people will argue with children acting like firefighters.

I see great things in Nintendo's future. New experiences and a family friendly approach is a recipe for success. Children again will be seen playing video games along side their parents. Parents can breath a sigh of relief at playing baseball not looking for prostitutes to kill. From this firefighter Rescue Heroes: Firefighter gets two thumbs up. I will be buying a Nintendo Wii this Christmas.

Video game reviews: Lair (PS3)

Lair is a PlayStation 3 exclusive video game about a dragon. When the game made its debut at E3 2005, people were elated. They were amazed by the environments and the open ended aerial combat. Players will begin to notice that the visuals in Lair are stunning, and the full motion video sequences look spectacular. The story is unique throughout the duration of the game, and the audio is flabbergasting. The protagonist in Lair is Rohn (dragon rider for the Asylian army) and the perverse Mokai. Asylia and Mokai used to live in harmony until a volcano transpired. Lair has a plot that appears to be taken straight out of a Hollywood movie script. It has its fair share of twists and turns that will keep any avid video game fan guessing. In addition, Lair contains a few poignant moments sprinkled in here and there. On the contrary, looks can only go so far. The old saying "don't judge a book by its cover" and "looks can be deceiving" should definitely be applied here.

The gameplay is an enormous disappointment. Even though blowing fire on things looks exemplary, Lair is a video game that people will detest. The controls in Lair are significantly egregious. I felt like my dragon was high on crystal methamphetamine or crack cocaine. Do not even get me started on the flawed targeting mechanic in Lair. Targeting a foe is worse than targeting in Gran Theft Auto III. You have absolutely no control aiming. The shoulder buttons are used to lock on an adversary, nevertheless it has its drawbacks. The artificial intelligence automatically selects what you should be focused on. I kid you not! Even if you are within five inches of your opponents, you could end up locking onto an innocuous object that is 1000 miles away. Unfortunately, gamers are coerced into using the six axis controller in Lair. This feature cannot be toggled on and off (unlike Warhawk) and is poorly executed in Lair (unlike Warhawk). The controls were fairly intuitive in Warhawk; conversely, Lair will give players a migraine. I pulled so many muscles while I was playing Lair. Factor 5 made a brilliant Star Wars: Rogue Squadron trilogy, but they laid an egg with Lair. Unreceptive controls is the biggest blunder in Lair. For instance, fending off a swarm of enemies at once is vexing. Turning around requires players to exert an exorbitant amount of stamina. Making swift and precise maneuvers through the air with your dragon are not feasible. What kind of ludicrousness is this? The one saving grace in Lair is the presentation; then again, that is just not enough to fully enjoy this game. In a nutshell, Lair is dreadful. It is not engrossing to play at all. My hands started sweating excessively every time I utilized the six axis controller. The gameplay is fairly redundant and insipid. Overall, Lair is like an IPhone. They both look stylish; however, they both drastically fall short of expectations.

Final Verdict: Lair is dreadful.

5 out of 10

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How to choose a video game thats right for you

What kind of gamer are you? Decide this first, then choosing games is easy!

1) The Chew Them Up and Spit Them Out Gamer

All you want to do is complete the game. You don't care if you have to use cheats and will hunt them down from magazines or websites. You play all your games on the easiest setting, even if it bores you to tears that way, just so that you can finish the games.

Genres and games for you -

Platform classics (especially ones with 'bosses' at the end of each stage)

Street fighter equivalents (more 'bosses')

Free trials from the Internet (usually easy to finish)

2) The Emotional Gamer

You really connect with your characters, and therefore they should be as cute and fluffy as possible. You care little for age-appropriate content and will happily play your niece's games.

Genres and games for you -

Pokemon (not too much death)

Kirby (terminally cute!)

Any of the many pet games based on the concept of caring for your critter, though try not to cry if he goes to doggy heaven!

3) The Sportsman/woman

You don't really want to be on the computer, but either it's raining or your league hasn't started its season yet. There is plenty around to interest you.

Genres and games for you -

Team sport games - Fifa series for soccer, etc.

Manager games - probably best played on-line so you can compete - eg. Fantasy Football

Active sport games - tennis games on the Wii, surfing games where you wobble around to control them, and lots of options if you make it to an arcade

4) The Obsessive Gamer

You want to be the best and you will be! You can spend hours on the most boring of games, simply because no one else will ever spend as long on it as you or get as good!

Genres and games for you -

Obscure games - try some of the free Internet downloads to see what you like

New, imported games - if no one else has it, you WILL be the best - you can move on if it becomes popular

5) The Intellectual Gamer

You want games that prove your superiority! Word games, maths games, logic games, you will excel at them all. Just don't let the ten-year-old next door get hold of your Brain Training game...

Genres and games for you -

Lots from Nintendo at the moment

Plenty of free down-loadable games

Scrabulous on Facebook

Basically, there are games now for everyone. If possible, play before you buy, on line, at friends or in the stores. Know yourself, know your preferences and don't be swayed by flash advertising into buying games you will never play.

Video game reviews: Tomb Raider

The first time I had played "Tomb Raider" was back in 1997. I was staying up at my mom's place for summer vacation. My uncle that was living with her had the Sega Saturn, which is still one of my all-time favorite gaming consoles. I was relaxing around the house and my uncle came back with three games: "Alien Trilogy," "Ghen War," and "Tomb Raider." For a first-person shooter, I did enjoy my fill of playing Alien Trilogy. However, my uncle and I did play a lot of Tomb Raider. I was attracted to the concepts of Tomb Raider.

During the time, "Tomb Raider 2" was in development. Lara Croft, the protagonist of Tomb Raider, would be a notable video-game icon, let alone female video-game icon. Lara Croft was considered to be the most beautiful woman of all time. Real life supermodels would get trumped by a video game sprite. While there was a lot of hype with Tomb Raider, the game play and storyline spoke for themselves. Tomb Raider did a good job of utilizing the technology available at the time: Sega Saturn, MS-DOS, and Sony Playstation. The game play had stunned me.

It starts out in the desert and then goes to the present day in which Lara Croft along with a man named Larson are hired to head down to South America. The name of Tomb Raider shows that Lara Croft is a "tomb raider." Overall, it is a good start on Tomb Raider's storyline. The game is divided up into different levels that are split into several arcs of the story taking the player around to different parts of the world.

At the end of arc of the story, you are engaged in a boss battle. Most of the boss battles are against human enemies. Your main enemies are mainly hungry wolves, tigers, and pumas.

However, they are not that easy to kill.

You have to keep moving around to evade their attacks.

Graphics-wise, Tomb Raider has done a good job. The graphics were pretty great during the time. While the game is a 3D action-adventure game, it is not a survival horror game. However, you are confined to tombs and caves throughout the entire game. Unlike a game like "Resident Evil," Tomb Raider is divided into levels. Each level has it set of objections to meet and secrets to discover. But, you do have full mobility such as climbing, somersault, side-flipping, and moonsaulting. Being able to use those abilities properly are essential by getting past obstacles such as enemies. When confronting enemies, you have to constantly move.

Luckily, there is the auto-aim feature. When

Cheap PlayStation 2 Consoles and Games/Get Cheat Codes

PlayStation 2 cheat codes help the player in many ways. The playstation 2 cheat codes can enhance the gamer’s experience. The playstation 2 cheat codes, allows the gamer to find hidden and secret doors that they might not other wise be discovered. Video game players that have beaten their favorite can explore new avenues with PlayStation 2 cheat codes. The cheat code can be available in different formats. The cheat codes come on the DVD, there is also a cheat code books. These cheat code will guide you step by step from the beginning to the end of the game allowing you to beat the game in many different ways.

PlayStation 2 consoles are in high demand. PlayStation 2 video game consoles are still going strong; playstation 2 console is still a great system. PlayStation 2 games can be still be found among the new release games. A lot of the new release video games are still released on the ps2. PlayStation 2 new release games are cheaper then same new release games on the other popular video game systems like playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. Ps2 video games have a lot of continuous action and pretty colorful visual pleasing graphics.

PlayStation 2 video game console is a great deal and investment, again because the ps2 console is not as expensive as the other popular video game consoles. Therefore, you can buy a playstation 2 and save money. PlayStation 2 games and ps2 game consoles are very reasonable and affordable. PlaySation 2 video games have a lot of the same thrill and adventure as the playstation 3 games.
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Console reviews: The Nintendo Wii – Part 9

The Wii has captured the imagination of old and new gamers around the world. Nintendo have usually suffered at the hands of Sony and Microsoft in the console battle in recent years but not anymore. Quite what makes the Wii experience special cannot be fully answered until you play it.

It has been well-documented that the Wii isn't in the same class when it comes to processing power, but what it does make up for is sheer gaming fun. The key to its success is the motion controlled remote and nun-chuck, when utilised properly, can lead to an experience that few gamers have had before.

And this is where the Wii can truly be considered next-generation, it is a new level of interactivity, a bridging of the player and game so both become as one. You'd never think that actually taking part in virtual bowling could be this deep in a game; it's part of the Wii sports that comes packaged as standard with the console. You'll be twisting the remote left and right and getting the ball to spin in next to no time, trying you're hardest to better your score.

That is where Nintendo have struck console gold, accessible gaming for everybody. Not every game is family orientated but there are plenty of games already on the market with the idea of multi-player, multi-generational gaming in mind. Now serious gaming doesn't have to be the sole preserve of the teens to mid-20's, the age spectrum has broadened and gaming has grown up.

It would be nothing without solid titles in its games library, and Super Mario Galaxy is one such title. Graphically it's a work of art, and it puts to shame any critics that say the Wii is inferior when stood up against the Xbox 360 and PS3. A stunning world is realised, Mario has never looked as good as this, and a perfect demo of just what a Wii can really do in the right developers hands.

Once you get over the wow factor, the game is virtually flawless in its design, creativity and enjoyment factor. From stages that involve riding on the back of a manta ray, on a water course in the sky, to running through a course on top of a big ball, the game throws up different ideas on every stage. The Wii remote is used in many different and new ways from level to level, each feels unique, challenging and most importantly fun.

Nintendo have also seen fit to have a Wii shop that you can access via Wi-fi, this enables gamers to browse the virtual console titles, many past and popular titles from the NES, Mega-Drive, SNES, Gamecube, and even Neo Geo can be downloaded and saved to the Wii memory. With new games added every week, this addition is another reason why a Wii can be considered a solid purchase now and for the future.

PlayStation 2 game recommendations

Everyone will have different favorites, so here's a list of games that you should play no matter your preferences. Consider it an enrichment process for your gaming life: no way around it, these games are good. I won't even bother recommending Final Fantasty games, you know if you like them.

1) The Ratchet and Clank series (Ratchet and Clank, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando; Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal; skip "Deadlocked")

Ratchet and Clank have offered up some of the most fun, and good-looking game play in my life. Destroy things a hundred different ways and save your bolts for the R.Y.N.O. You don't just jump on the baddies; you blow them to smithereens, turn them into farm animals, or hit them with something really heavy.

Bolts Cheat, RC1: return to Black Water City and go to the hoverboard race. Before you enter turn into your robot, then when you enter the other racers will disappear. Go to the large ramp and stand under the platform with all the boxes. Equip your Taunter and hold circle; even better, put a heavy book down on circle and go grab lunch. You will have all the bolts a Lombax could dream of.

2) Guitar Hero I and II

Awesome for playing with friends or for Guitar Hero parties (oh yes, I'm serious), the most amazing thing about this game is that you actually feel like you rock. A bonus is that you can convince your parents and non-gaming friends to play, and unlike the Wii-stick, the guitar poses minimal risk to your television.

3) Ico and Shadow of the Colossus

Two parts of the same story, I've lumped these two together. I've never played any games like these before. The environments are amazing, the puzzles fun and reasonably challenging (without experiencing a brain cramp), and the approach to gaming unique. Ico has only three characters and SoC just two (one of them unconscious). While Ico includes some nasty shadow creatures for you to dispatch, Shadow of the Colossus forgoes hordes of enemies for some truly cyclopic boss-style challenges. The weakness of each unique colossi must be identified in order to defeat him, giving the game its puzzle classification. Additionally, while the environment is vast there are no towns, dungeons, or similar staples to explore.

The Unique Nintendo Wii Games

These games can be basically played with out much confusion or restriction with its wireless remote control. These games have acquired great popularity because of this.

Some games are provided along with the console, but may not be much interesting as the new hot ones. Players can redeem the Wii point cards at the online Wii shop and can choose from wide variety of downloadable games and accessories. These games can be played for a long time as there is the provision for the saving the game at any point of time and restarting from there later.

Everything about Nintendo Wii games revolves round the remote controller just like any other Wii game. Even though video games usually have the image of a couch potatoe, the basic specialty of this game is the players movements. These games are usually intended for kids but it can be a family matter because of its range.

Since the Wii games have wireless remote controller it is very convenient for the player to move his body to control what is displayed on the screen. This advancement in technology has helped the Wii games to keep up with the demand of the market.

It is a good news that even parents find this interesting. There are a wide variety of these games in the market. There are Wii sports games where a number of sports games are included as well as a fitness test element. Thus, there is something interesting for everyone in this game.

Nintendo Wii games are very popular as they have set down new concept in gaming. The games rated for teenage group include intense challenges and stronger action compared to that of kids which has less complicated plots. Games rated E can be played by the entire family including kids.

Wii game players will never be tired of these games. In fact Nintendo game players grow up with these characters while playing the game. Nintendo is continuing their effort to produce better and more imaginative games acceptable to all age groups taking into consideration the need for physical activities.

Nintendo games are unique due to their special controller. These games involve physical movements extensively and are highly interactive. It is real fun to play the game. Nintendo Wii games can be purchased through games stores and are different from the usual computer games. Whatever others might say this is a highly popular game and is going to stay in the market for sometime.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl cheats (Wii) – Part 1

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the third installment of the Super Smash Bros. series and is extremely popular for all ages. Made only for Nintendo platforms, these games bring together characters from many different Nintendo games to fight against one another. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, you can unlock 14 characters different from the 21 you start off with, as well as 12 stages, 2 modes, 4 difficulties of target test, 40 songs, 3 sets of stage builder parts, 5 free trials of classic games, more rules, more event matches, 5 stickers, 6 more assist trophies and 5 more sound tests. Well let's get started if we want to cover everything, buckle up.

Characters can be unlocked by playing X number of brawl matches OR by beating the Subspace Emissary (SSE) and then going back and fighting Jigglypuff in the swamp stage (or complete events 1-20 after beating the SSE), fighting Wolf in the ruins stage (or complete Boss Battle with Fox or Falco after beating the SSE) and fighting Toon Link in the forest stage (or finishing Classic mode after beating the SSE). Your best bet is to just complete the SSE and fulfilling the above conditions in parentheses, but if you really want them within a few hours, follow these steps.

1. Go to "Group" from the main menu and then to "Special Brawl"

2. For "Stamina", highlight "Stamina" instead of "Off". "Stamina" should turn from being grey to having red letters with a black background.

3. Go down to "Head" and highlight "Flower" instead of "Off" and click "OK!" at the bottom.

4. Choose a character for yourself and a computer.

5. On the right of the computer's character screen at the bottom, click on where it says "Stamina 150" and scroll up until you highlight "1" and press A, or press 2 if you just have a Wii Remote without a nunchuk.

6. Press A/2, you will choose "Random" since the cursor was there: it doesn't matter what stage you use.

7. When it says "GO!", it will instantly be followed with, "GAME!". You will see your opponent has died and has 0 HP left. Once you get back to the character selection screen, repeat the process 450 times. Notice above why I said within a few hours.

When it comes to the stages to be unlocked, you actually only have to do 9 tasks if you have every character. There are 8 new stages to obtain as well as 4 stages from Super Smash Bros. Melee, the previous installment in the Super Smash Bros. series to add to the Melee stages you start with. You can unlock:

-Flat Zone 2 when you unlock Mr.

Before PlayStation: The toys I grew up with

As a little girl, there was no such things play-stations, Wii, computers, dolls, cars etc. and as for a television, we had no idea what it was. Many of my toys were handmade from mud and clay, where I made complete tea sets with spoons, saucers, cups etc. For my play houses I would use the branches from the coconut trees to build it. I used the dried coconuts, pumpkin and mangoes as my audience, as I would dress the coconuts with flowers so they look pretty. For eyes and mouth on the coconuts I would use clay. The mangoes would be the little babies. When I was about seven years old, my aunts from Canada send me and my sister two little Barbie dolls. Those were the first real dolls we had. I used to play with mine only on Christmas, and every Christmas my mom use to make little dresses with the extra pieces of cloth she had, when she finish sewing our dresses. My doll and I was always wearing matching clothes on Christmas. We would then display our dolls to the neighbors and in return they would gave us money.

Pets used to our most trusted playmates. Whenever I go out someone would always gave me a pet from lambs, chickens, and rabbits to rescuing little kittens, parrots, and dogs.I would give them bath, dry them off etc. My mom used to dread whenever I come home as she didn't have the heart to tell me that I couldn't bring home more pets, or the fact that we had nothing for dinner so she had to kill my chickens. Instead she would tell me someone stole it. My dogs would play ball with me, the balls I made them my self, and almost got a good spanking for using the last bit of kerosene to make it. Swinging in the hammock and listening to my grandparents telling us stories of our religion was my favorite thing in the whole world, and every time I go home, I would swing in the same hammock and close my eyes, I would hear them telling me the stories. Although we didn't get all the toys and learning activities kids have now,I never felt cheated. My grandparents and our village played a big part in our lives and we were given the most important gift in the world, buckets full of LOVE, HUGS,KISSES AND FREEDOM TO BE A CHILD.

In Today's society, everything is already made for kids, and kids have so much more learning activities than we did, yet when I watch them today I feel sorry for them, that they will never experience the childhood I had, the freedom to run wild into the woods, make their own kites and fly it, make their own fishing hooks from sticks to go fishing etc. Although we didn't have any of the toys these kids have today, my childhood was a memory that is forever engraved in my soul and how I wish that the children today had a chance to experience at least a little bit of it.

Video game reviews: Jackass the Game (PS2)

When MTV launched the stunt-driven television series, Jackass, few people might have believed it would become the pop culture sensation it is today. A group of adolescent-minded men running around performing stunts isn't exactly what most people would call award-winning television programming, however, several seasons and two full length feature films later, millions of teens and young adults know the Jackass crew and watch in awe as they perform their stunts.

Following the success of the series and the films, Jackass: The Game was produced. Unfortunately, the humor and entertainment provided by the live-action stunts is not replicated in the video game. The game is molded after the series, offering players a chance to step into the shoes of a cast member in order to complete a series of stunts for each "episode." Although the real life episodes might contain several stunts performed by various cast members, the video game "episodes" includes five stunts each.

Getting through the series of stunts is relatively easy. Just push a series of buttons and you're done! Although the stunts in and of themselves are relatively unique and entertaining, once players complete all thirty-five stunts, the action is pretty much over. There is little to no replay value, even for those individuals who are VERY easily entertained.

Of course, like most other video games available on the market today, Jackass also offers players the opportunity to extend their gameplay by unlocking additional features included in the game. The unlockable features offered by Jackass are arguably the best part of the whole game. Players can unlock the run-of-the-mill new characters (usually from the show itself) or even view clips from the series' different episodes. But, the best unlockable feature is still the behind the scenes videos shot on set.

Jackass: The Game is great if you want to kill some time for a few hours, but I wouldn't invest in it. Rent this game if you want to catch a glimpse of behind the scenes features, but don't waste your money buying it. After a couple of hours, you'll find yourself retiring this game to your video game shelf, where it belongs.

Online video game reviews: Chromadrome 2

I found playing this game very soothing. Gliding down the track, surrounded by beautiful visualizations which moved in time to the new-agey music, put me into something close to a meditative state.

When you play, you become a cute little gold ball with big eyes. You glide along a track, and all you have to do is try not to fall off. You steer by moving your mouse from side to side.

There are silver ball creatures on the track which you can shoot with your left mouse button, but the game doesn't feel violent because the silver creatures just jump out of the way when shot. You can also make them jump away by bumping into them, which makes a satisfying clicking sound but won't get you points.

Going down the track feels like a combination of riding a roller coaster, ice skating, ski jumping, playing miniature golf, and being inside the trippy light show in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey."

If you fall off, you just start at the beginning again. If you reach the end of the track, the gold ball makes a very cute "Whoopee" noise, and then you go up a level to a new track, which will be slightly different from the previous one.

You can adjust your speed. You can choose from various backgrounds, all of them beautiful abstractions which move with the music. The music itself is lovely. I was very impressed with the quality of the music and the visuals, which together made me feel as if I were in another world. You can also use your own music, and the visualizations will synchronize with that as well.

The game is very intuitive and easy to learn, and everything you need to know is explained as you go along.

I originally played the one-hour trial version of the game, in order to write a review. I wasn't planning to buy it, because I'm not the kind of person who usually buys video games. But for several days after I played the trial version, I kept on feeling that I wanted to play more. Eventually, I broke down and bought it! I guess I'm addicted!

I think this game will appeal to people who don't play a lot of video games, and also to people who do. The quality of the game and the other-worldliness of the experience of playing it set it apart from many other games. I think it may provide an especially nice break for people who work with words, as the music, the motion, and the wordlessness seem to tap into a different part of the brain.

On a scale of one to five, I rate this game a five.

Video game reviews: E.T. (Atari 2600)

E.T. is a game created for the Atari 2600 in an effort to capitalize off the popularity of the movie itself. Historically, this is actually considered the symbol of the demise of Atari as the dominant force in the video game industry. Looking even further, it was also considered the symbol of the infamous Video Game Crash of 1983. Howard Scott Warshaw developed the game in six weeks, the man who created Yars Revenge and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Object: Its purpose is to actually get E.T. home by finding three pieces of the phone. Along the way, you can collect Reese Pieces and you can call for Elliot to take them away. You only get three lives in the game but if you lose a life, you are all but guaranteed to lose again. Watch out for the scientist and the FBI agent. The scientist wants to study E.T. while trying to keep him away from going home. The FBI agent only steals the Reese Pieces.

As far as how the graphics look, then you have to remember that it was the Atari 2600. Its power is nowhere near what is seen today with today's video game consoles on the market.

You only have one button and if you see the symbols at the top of the screen, E.T. can perform special commands. It can even work to scare away the scientist and FBI agent but the good news is that one can

Review: This isn't a game that would be worth buying or even finding anywhere. The only reason to hold it is to say you have what could be considered one of the worst games ever made. To be fair, it was developed in six weeks and not much was going to be done about it. It is a good game? Not really because it just feels too much like an incomplete game. Had it been completed, perhaps the game would have gotten a bit better reviews than what it had gotten. It's a shame that such a game with so much potential got flushed drown the drain just to simply make a quick buck.

Legend: The major legend of the game is that it was buried in a New Mexico landfill. It probably did happen and wouldn't honestly be that surprising. The game itself wasn't something that would be considered a masterpiece but you would think it would be recycled for parts. This was considered the symbol of hatred and had the game been given the time, would it have been an excellent game? That will always be the question but you cannot go back in time to fix it. Because of this game, there is no confidence that a movie can be made into a good video game.

Finding Cheats for Your Most Challenging Nintendo Wii Games

The world of video games has certainly changed from what it was only 25 years ago. The games then seemed to have a common pattern to them. As you completed one level you had to move on to the next. It was the same but harder and maybe even faster than before. Today there are quite a few differences from one level to the next. It can be very frustrating when you aren’t able to master certain levels of games.

It may not be too bad if you are only playing at home alone or against a couple of friends. Yet if you are playing online against multiple people you want to have every advantage you can. Knowing where certain items are hidden as well as what combination of buttons is going to give you something extra is very important. You can find all of answers to these issues for your various Nintendo Wii games with the cheats.

There are books you can buy that have the tricks and cheats in them for every game that Nintendo makes. This is going to be your mini Bible for getting through these games. You can also go online to various websites to access them. Some of the sites will feature them for free while others want you to pay for a subscription or for that one time information. Do your best to get the information for free.

You can also get plenty of cheats from other Nintendo users on the various blogs, forums, and chat rooms scattered all over the internet. Of course you need to be willing to share your information too. Don’t be out there getting what you can without offering anything in return to others.

Many argue that these cheats out there though take the excitement out of the game. What happened to continuing to try until you figured it all out on your own? Many players have come to the conclusion though that there are too many variables that can take place. That is very true with most of the Nintendo games out there that are newer. So it can take you a very long time to master it all on your own.

Yet one argument is that these cheats teach children to rely on that information instead of logic. They aren’t taking the complex puzzle and breaking it down to get their own strategy in place. That used to be one of the benefits of video games as they were exercising the brain in that way. With the cheats though it is more like reading a manual of what to do when and then implementing it.

Still, there is a great deal of concentration and memorization that needs to take place to successfully use these cheats. You can’t play the game effectively if you have to stop and look at the cheats and then do them constantly in the game. You will have to decide for yourself if you want to work the game out on its own or go for the cheats.

Having them can prevent you from becoming frustrated though. Perhaps you have worked on the game for a while and can’t seem to get through a certain section. Looking up a particular cheat for that only won’t ruin the game for you. However, it will help you to get past that level and on to the many more left to conquer.

Baroque cheat codes for Wii

Baroque, a console role playing game that started off on the Playstation but put out for the Wii in April of 2008, was a mix of reviews. Some loved the idea of being able to switch from first to third person view, others lamented its poor gameplay. Love it or hate it, there are still some good cheats and unlockables for the Wii version of the game, if you know where to look.

Baroque Unlockables

Unlockables for the Wii game of Baroque are simple enough. You'll get certain things for doing certain things. Simple right?

Careless Death After you get above level two, you will need to die outside the Neuro tower.

Appraiser This is unlocked after you ID over 50 items.

Arrow Of Eros While you are in Lust Mode, you need to successfully finish the Neuron Tower.

Cat Fan You will have to use the cat torturer three times on one floor to get this.

Cat Lover You will have to use the cat torturer six times on one floor to get this.

Reverse Disk Champ You will get this unlocked once you get Reverse Disk Dungeon unlocked.

Rotten Champ You get this when you've mastered the Rotten Dungeon.

Screaming Tower Enter the Neuro Tower. Keep doing it til you've done it 100 times more.

Frugal Champ Complete the Frugal Dungeon.

Hell Champ You need to finish up the Hell Dungeon.

Hunger Champ Finish up the Hunger Dungeon.

Box bOx boX BOX Two ways to get this; die while holding more than 15 types of boxes, or you can complete the Neuro tower.

Bomber Using the explosive brand, purify over 50 Meta-beings.

Broken Doll Watch "Consciousness Simulation End VV"

Bug Nurturer Raise ten Larva and have them grown into another parasite for this one.

Trap Champ You need to finish the Trap dungeon.

Unforgettable Have a talk with a specific phantom brother.

Unfortunate Death You have to die from a Meta-being stepping on a disk.

Useless Without doing a thing in the outer world, die.

Self Reliant Without using a single consciousness orb, reach the lowest level.

Serial Thrower Throw over 100 items.

Shadow Boxer Without hitting anything, swing a sword 100 or more times.

Vacant Coffin You need to finish all the training dungeons.

Skeleton Man You will need to finish Neuro Tower or die while holding more than 15 types of bones.

Special Hunter Complete Neuro Tower after you purify over 300 Meta-beings by sword.

Sword's Miracle With a sword, land 5 consecutive critical hits.

The World's Tears Find

Games And Fitness In A Bundle

The Wii Nintendo revolution continues with some amazing product line up. The aim for company is to generate gaming interest for all generations. The Wii aims to get you out of the couch and onto exercising. All this while gaming was only standing but no exercise and Wii Fit has changed all that. The developers got the idea of a Wii Fit Balance Board while watching the Sumo wrestlers do the weigh-ins.

These sumo wrestlers are so heavy that the they use two scales to weigh both sides together. Same concept has been applied to the Wii Fit with the balance board which is dual scale and measures weight of the both the players, left and right side.

Wii has all sorts of physically interactive games which it has been trying to create and a generation ranging form three years olds to eight year olds have been busy lapping up its models. With the balance board it has now tried to combine exercise and gaming together to capture both the industries of games and fitness.

The Wii Fit and the Balance Board have about 40 activities including yoga, aerobics, strength and balance training.

There is an avatar called Mii which will tell you whether you are under or over weight and it will then try to create weight loss goals for you and you can then choose from a range of exercises to reach your goals.

Then there is a trainer which helps you get the exercises done correctly . For those who have never gone inside a gym this will be very helpful especially with the strength training and yoga modules.

There has been such a rush that old age homes and hospitals have been trying to get their hands on the Wii and it has been labeled as Wiihabilitation.
It is this aspect of the gaming system that has propelled it into the cult status and has left its competitiors far behind. In fact nobody thought that a simple blue tooth technology could result in such a gaming invention that entire nations are jostling to get their hands on the product.

You cannot cheat the system for sure so the best bet is to work hard on the Wii Fit and balance board and it will reward you with more and more advanced activities.

So rush to your nearby store and get your hands on the Balance Board and the Wii game so as to get the best out of gaming and fitness in a bundle.Enterpreneurs have set up shops ahere you can play Wii games and have bars set up around them.

Video game reviews: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence (Xbox 360, PC)

When video game developers at Ubisoft launched their series of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation video games, forensics fans everywhere were thrilled. Although molded after the popular television series, the fourth installment in the CSI video game series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence, fails to replicate the drama and suspense of the TV show.

In order to finish the game, players must solve five different cases. Unfortunately, none of the cases are as seemingly complex as they are on the show. Even still, players are required to enter the crime scene and investigate simply by walking around. In the computer version of the game, moving your cursor over different areas of the crime scene will allow you to reveal evidence. Gameplay is similar with the Xbox 360.

Once you have located the evidence, you simply click or press a button and your character will bag and examine the clue just like on the show. Forensics lovers are sure to be wowed by the detailed methods of examination and analysis, even including pictures of the various pieces of evidence (hair follicles, for example) in microscopic zoom.

The animation is relatively good, but definitely not amazing as some of the characters' facial features leave much to be desired. Another downside to CSI: Hard Evidence is the overall simplicity of the game. Even if you find the mystery-solving a bit difficult, the game offers players assistance in the form of CSI characters. Click on a character to ask for a hint. Otherwise, simply looking at the map is usually enough of an indicator as to what clues you have left undiscovered. When a crime scene has been investigated completely, and all clues have been uncovered, a checkmark appears over the scene, clearly indicating that all clues have been found. If you don't see a checkmark, you've left something behind, so simply go back and keep digging for more evidence.

Which is the better video game platform: Console or PC? – Part 1

The debate between the pc and console games has been raging for years. It is very hard to choose a side between the two, especially if you are a hardcore gamer like myself. There are both advantages and disadvantages for both systems. The pc has a lot better graphics than most consoles; they display color a lot better, as well as making figures look smoother and less block like. Pc enables you to adjust many display settings within a game and allows you to input cheats and codes to do certain things; this comes to be especially handy on games such as Oblivion: Elder Scrolls, where it has been reported (and I have experience myself) that paying this game on the PS3 can be a bit of a headache, with many missions freezing your game and not allowing you to continue the storyline, forcing you to restart the game and hope you don't make the same mistake; while on pc, a very handy feature is available, that allows you to enter into the game's data and alter its contents so in the event that you get frozen into one of these missions, you'd be able to input the data allowing you to continue further.

However, as handy the pc may be, my vote goes to the consoles, many systems that are being created now days have very handy features, from allowing you to surf the internet, to being able to read blu-ray disks. I find that the new games that are being recently released have amazing looking graphics and this goes for all 3 new consoles, PS3, Wii and the Xbox360. The variety of games offered to consoles well more than doubles those offered to the pc; more variety means more options and choices. Consoles have even been able to enable the use of MMOs, an option that only a few years back was only available to the pc, granting it even more points on the competition against the pc. True that some games that are being release for the newer consoles have a few bugs here and there but still the quality of the games are top notch with amazing graphics. In time, I believe the small problems developing games for these consoles will be solved and the bugs on games will significantly decrease, after all, these new consoles have not been out in the market very long so the developers aren't 100% comfortable with them yet. As I see the advances the console industry has had in such a short amount of time it makes me wonder if games on the pc will someday become a thing of the past.

Video game reviews: Sonic and the Secret Rings (WII) – Part 1

Gameplay: 8

Graphics: 9

Soundtrack: 7

Storyline: 7

Re-playability: 9

Overview:

Sonic and the Secret Rings gets back to what Sonic is all about: Speed. Sonic's last outings have fallen short of his potential due to a number of reasons, but Secret Rings makes a good attempt to bring Sonic back to his roots.

The controls are greatly simplified by the Wii remote. You hold it sideways, then tilt it to turn in either direction, thrust it forward to attack, and press 2 to jump (and if you need to, you can brake with 1). The motions are smooth and intuitive, and are a perfect fit for Wii (after playing for a while, you might get a case of Wii-elbow, though). Gameplay was great during running and jumping, but a few instances of platforming and literally making Sonic walk slowly backwards were annoying and detracted from my enjoyment of the game. Thankfully though, I didn't have to do those too much.

On a lighter note, the bosses were creative and fun, the camera rarely had any problems, and there were a few elements new to the world of Sonic that were a good fit. One of them was the skill rings. Sonic could gain experience and level up (similar to an RPG), then use the skill points to equip abilities to one of four rings. The abilities include ones that make you go faster, ones that give you more rings, ones that do more damage to enemies, and everything in between. Another cool addition was the soul guage and the two abilities that used it: speed and time break. They weren't needed that much, but it's always cool to whiz past enemies or slip through a spinning blade.

The game's storyline loosely follows stories from the Arabian Nights. As Sonic, you must enter the book to stop the evil Erazor Djin from absorbing the stories' power and breaking free into the real world. You are assisted by Shahra, the genie of the ring. The plot is more oriented towards a younger audience, but it doesn't really detract from the game. As you play through a series of missions in any of the eight worlds, comic-like cutscenes will help the story unfold. When it comes to missions, Only a small portion have any relevance to the story. The rest of them are a little disappointing because they just tack on new objectives as you run through the same level 3-4 times. The scenery is very detailed and fits the game's theme well. You'll even find yourself paying more attention to it than to your objective at times. The music is best described as rock with a middle-eastern flair. It was fairly fitting, but I wasn't really a fan of it. (It also didn't help that the lyrics were geared towards a younger audience).

One of my favorite things about this game is it's replayability factor. Trying to get a gold medal and find all three fire souls in each level is madness, and for completion freaks, could suck away hours of your life. Although it isn't necessary, it really is addictive. In addition, there is a party mode, complete with 40 multiplayer games. If you're a fan of party games, you'll love it, but to me, most of the games were sub-par and it felt tacked-on. I would have much preferred multiplayer racing to a frantic boat-rowing contest.

Bottom Line:

By far the best Sonic game in recent years, but it didn't live up to the blue hedgehog's debut adventure or my expectations. If you're a big Sonic fan, buy it. If not, it's definitely worth the 8 bucks to rent it.

More stress than sincerity: Should we reconsider the way we celebrate holidays

The holidays infiltrate our lives like pests, infesting our radios, televisions and shopping centers. These holidays, especially Christmas, have become increasingly noxious by stressing us out, costing us too much money and distracting us from any real meaning for the holidays.

'Tis the season to be jolly. But if you get between me and the last Nintendo Wii, you'll be sorry. 'Tis time to look at the holidays we celebrate. 'Tis time to consider whether these holidays should be scrapped because they have lost their meaning or are insensitive to the situations of many Americans. 'Tis time to consider new holidays.

The Bear Orchestra starts serenading Cross Creek Mall shoppers with Christmas carols in October before Halloween or Thanksgiving. The bears with their jerky movements and songs about Santa watching you while you sleep are creepy, but they do not belong in the mall before the annual trick-or-treat event. And where is someone in a turkey costume to take pictures with little children in celebration of Thanksgiving? Turkeys don't give presents. Santa does. End of story. The ravenous hunt for gifts, battle for newest electronics and stampede for best sales are what has become of Christmas. While this frenzied consumerism drags on for three months, the holiday season loses any true sentiments of peace, love and joy. It is all so exhausting. Fa la la la la becomes blah blah blah blah.

Thanksgiving is a holiday ironically juxtaposed with Christmas and also overshadowed by it. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a holiday about being thankful for what we have. Awww. Isn't that sweet? The truth is that Thanksgiving has been reduced to a day of eating too much, watching football and sleeping once the triptophan has set in. Let us be thankful for all of the turkeys killed and high-definition televisions bought. Thanksgiving is scarcely over when early birds are rising at 4:00 a.m. to hit the sales. Black Friday sounds ominous, doesn't it? As a mall employee, I have witnessed the bedlam that is Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. Time for being grateful for what we have is over. It is now time to trample, fight and cheat other people to get more "stuff" to be thankful for. It is time for people to camp outside of Best Buy to buy the new Playstation and sell it on E-Bay for much more than they paid. 'Tis the season for giving - or extorting parents with children whose Christmas will not be complete without a PS3 under the tree.

Best video games of 2008 – Part 1

My boyfriend and I eventually gave in and bought ourselves a Wii about 6 months ago. Then, on my birthday back in May, my parents bought me the Wii Fit. Since then, we have used it most evenings and have had an awful lot of fun using it.

What Is A Wii Fit?

A Wii Fit is sort of like a fitness game which is used in conjunction with the Wii Games Console. There is the usual disc which you insert into the Wii console and also a 'Balance Board' which is just like a set of weighing scales. You need to stand on the balance board for the various exercises and games that you will take part in. The balance board is slightly different from a normal set of weighing scales because as well as being able to measure you weight, it can also judge how much weight you place on each foot and where you centre of gravity (COG) is. From all this information, it is able to tell you how you can improve your posture.

Setting Up The Wii Fit

Setting up the Wii Fit is really easy as you can literally take it straight from the box and get going. All you need to do is put the batteries into the back of it (batteries are included in kit) and press the Power button and you can begin your fun and games.

Setting Up A Mii

Each person who uses the Wii Fit can set up a Mii, which is basically a user file which is stored on the Wii. For this you need to input various details such as height, date of birth etc. Then, every time you use the Wii Fit, you click on your own personal Mii and all your user data will be stored here so you are easily able to keep track of any weight loss/gain and the various exercises you have taken part in. If you would like to keep your user information such as your weight a secret, then you can actually password protect your Mii which I thought was quite a good option!

The Body Test - Wii Fit Age

In this section you can have your Body Mass Index (BMI) checked, take part on a Body Test and afterwards you will be presented with a 'Wii Fit Age' which is basically the Wii console guessing your age based on how well you have done in the Body Test. When you select the body test, you need to stand still on the balance board while it takes your various measurements and judges how much weight you place on each leg. Afterwards, you are told about your centre of gravity (COG), how equally balanced you are, your current weight and what your current BMI is. You are then told if you have gained or lost weight since the last time you took a Body Test. From here, you can

Video game reviews: Singstar

Warning: If you are uptight about noise in your house, or you have a partner or children and are thinking of getting Singstar for their birthday - DON'T!

It has to be said, Singstar isn't for a quiet house; which is one reason why my house isn't exactly loved in my street.

When my little sister got Singstar for her birthday, I thought that's it. No more lie-ins, no more early nights. And there weren't so instead I thought, "If you can't beat them, join them."

Oh the fun we've had playing one video game. The actual game itself can be bought for both PS2 and PS3 at around $70 at most video game and department stores. Which ever games console you own - I can guarantee you will have unlimited hours of fun singing till your heart's content.

From the geniuses behind the EyeToy, Sony Studio have created this high-tech video game carefully so that its players don't even have to leave the vicinity of their own homes. Whatever the occasion; Birthday, House Party, Sleepover, Wedding... Wake, Singstar is sure to lighten the hearts of its players and their fans.

What amazes me is the number of additional games you are able to buy to go with your Singstar microphones. Singstar: 90s, Popworld, Rock Ballads, 80s, Legends, Anthems and many, many more. It doesn't really matter how eclectic your music taste is because you are bound to find that special song that starts you humming; then you move your lips and before you know it you're singing you heart out, deafening everyone sitting near you. Obviously they are either singing along or crying through tears of laughter. But it doesn't really matter because this game brings people together.

If you're like me and are very competitive, you can battle against a friend in the party mode. If you're a shy songstress, select the solo mode and your away!

As you warble into the USB microphone, the groundbreaking technology analyzes every pitch, beat and tone and compares it to that of the song being sung. After the song has finished (and everyone has applauded, of course) Singstar will give you feedback and tell you how badly you have done. Not only that but it comes with mini-games, one being like ping-pong but have to make either a high-pitched noise or a low-pitched noise dependent on the direction you wish to go.

Let me be honest, I admit that before Singstar I was slightly tone-deaf. Now I'm the lead singer of a folk band based in Birmingham. A practice of Singstar a day helps to keep the rain away.

Oiling the cogs: Gaming peripherals play the unsung heroes

Mind-blowing graphics and complex storylines can have gamers captivated for hours at their consoles. Keeping these bad boys running at full hilt is vital, and there are peripherals that do the trick. Whether it’s cooling down the system or charging up the controllers, video game peripherals play an important role for the diehard gamer. video game accessories like batteries, headsets, chargers are a big business now-a-days.

Gaming peripherals are not eye candy – a gaming storage rack holds over twenty game discs, keeping them handy, arranged and safe. Disc skins are the surest way of protecting DVD, HD Blu-Ray, video game and music discs from scratches and moisture. If disc safety is a concern, then protection for the gaming console is essential. The air cooling system will keep a console purring after hours of gaming, while a cool bling kit can add that style quotient to any console, making it as pimped out as the gamer.

A constant fear for any handheld gamer is running out of battery juice. There are loads of options like the Xbox 360 batteries, the Nintendo DS batteries and GameBoy Advance chargers. The coolest would have to be the Charger Grip for the PSP which adds 10 hours of extra playing time and feels like a natural extension to the console. On the road, a car adapter for charging is a great option when taking long trips. Wireless controllers for the heavyweights, the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the Wii, eventually need a recharge and a charging dock or station coupled with a power kit is the only way to go.

Keeping a mean gaming machine clean and dust-free is no joking matter. A designer cover can add a personalized touch to a video game console, with the added benefit of safety if ever it’s to be lugged around. If the vanilla color scheme seems uninteresting, video game coversPS3 skins, Xbox 360 covers and Wii skins add a dash of style, color and fun. Console organizers and carry cases are essential if the gaming console is to be transported safely.

Gaming can be intense and difficult at times, with baffling levels of strategy and multitudes of monsters ready to do battle. A cheat system allows the gamer to be in control at the toughest of times. Dev kits, as these systems like the Xbox 360 cheat system, are sometimes called, will allow the gamer to control all aspects of the game.

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