Anyone who’s stepped into a Half Price Books store knows that you can find used video games, half-price PC games and even used video game strategy guides on sale at reasonable prices.

While the store never offers traditional Black Friday sales, it does offer special promotions to customers who stop by and make a purchase during the busiest shopping days of the year. The Half Price Book special offers for Black Friday 2009 have already been leaked.

First, if you can get there early then do. The first 100 customers in every Half Price Books store will get a tote bag and $5 Half Price Books gift card. Even if you aren’t among the first 100, try and get there before 10 a.m. on Friday, November 27, 2009. There’ll be a 20% discount taken off all purchases made at the store before that time.

There are two all-day promotions as well but you need to make sure you buy at least $25 worth of merchandise. Every $25 in general purchases gets you a free 2010 calendar and every $25 gift card purchase will get you a $5 coupon.

I suggest you make a list of what games, strategy guides or game novels you’re looking for beforehand. Half Price Books stores have a massive selection and, if you go in without specific titles in mind, you can get lost in all the books, CDs, movies and games available.

I also recommend checking out the bargain section in back. All books, movies and games back there are typically $1 or $2. I’ve seen DS, GBA, Game Cube, PC, PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox and Xbox 360 at the two Half Price Books locations near my house, so you could end up discovering a nice selection of classic used games.

Read [TheBlackFriday.com] Also Read [BlackFriday.info]

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Title: Ion Assault
Price: $8.00
System(s): Xbox Live
Release Date: September, 23, 2009
Publisher (Developer):Coreplay (Black Inc.)
ESRB Rating: Everyone +10 animated blood, fantasy violence
Pros: awesome music, fun game play, reminiscing of that old Asteroids computer game.
Cons: difficulty goes up too quickly, hard to figure out power ups.
Overall Score: One thumb up, on sideways; 89/100; B+; * * * 1/2 out of five.

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There seems to be an unusually high number of “vs” games being released this year: Stalin vs Martians, Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper, Monsters vs Aliens, Plants vs Zombies and even Kids vs Zombies.

I guess the best way to generate conflict is to simply put two forces together and let them battle it out. Many games do end up being a versus battle of sorts with your avatar taking on ogres, other player-controlled characters or maybe even just you versus the logic of a puzzle. But putting a name to the combatants gives it that sense of an ultimate death match or of a confrontation where someone must be declared a winner (and a loser).

With that in mind, here are a few of the great “vs” game titles. These might not all be amazing games but they sure have enticing and interesting names when you consider them at face value.

Stalin vs Martians - (PC, 2009, Paradox Interactive) One of the newest games featured on this list, there’s simply no escaping the intrigue of playing as Communist leader Joseph Stalin and battling 1950s-style martians. A simple yet genius idea for a confrontation.

Aliens vs Predator - (PC, 1993, Fox Interactive) Although the name was really started in comics as a story in Dark Horse Presents #36 (February 1990) this was the game title that carried the Aliens. vs Predator phenomena to the rest of the world. I’d love to see the trend continue with a 2000 comic book titled Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator.  Even if you have no idea what any of those are, the names sound pretty badass.

Monsters vs Aliens - (PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii, DS, 2009, Activision Blizzard) So what if it’s based on an animated movie. Just the idea of taking either side and battling the other is almost too promising to pass up. I wouldn’t even be able to decide which side to be.

Angels vs Devils - (PC, 2003, Enigma Software) - Now that is the ultimate conflict. You really don’t get a better “vs” name than that. OK, except maybe Good vs Evil or God vs Satan. A close second to this one for base oppositions is North vs South (PC, 1997, Interactive Magic) because abstracts such as directions fighting is just weird. Then there is always…

Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death - (PS2, GameCube, Xbox, PC, 2003, Activision Blizzard) Judge Dredd is just a great name and, face it, the ultimate one-on-one fight would be against Death. Losing would really, really suck. And you can only lose once. Probably.

Plants vs Zombies - (PC, 2009, PopCap) Another new game, the idea of plants forming any type of collective and defeating any bipedal opponent, even as slow moving as zombies, seems unlikely enough to be interesting. Besides, Kids vs Zombies just sounds cruel. Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball (Xbox 360, 2008, GameCock) comes in a close second only because of the word “dodgeball.” If you put Ninjas and Pirates in a room together, red rubber balls are not the weapon of choice.

Spy vs Spy - (PS2, Xbox, 2005, TakeTwo/Gatehring of Developers) - Sure, it’s based on a MAD Magazine comic strip but the idea is still pretty sound: Two spies duking it out and otherwise strategically plotting the other’s demise. It’s the plot summary for almost every James Bond novel and/or movie.

Ford vs Chevy - (2005, PS2, Eutechnyx) This one is really only on the list because of the recent economic downturn. Of course, I’d love to see two automakers at actual war with each other. Why? Flaming car projectiles.

Chess vs The Axis of Evil - (2008, PC, dtp AG/Anaconda) I have no idea how two board games can fight but, sure, let them go at with. Then maybe we can have Monopoly and Othello throw down as well. Wait, am I thinking of Axis & Allies?  In either case, it looks like this one was a foreign game that was mistranslated but, still, it’s a great name.

Freedom Force vs The 3rd Reich - (2005, PC, Digital Jesters) If you are going to fight The 3rd Reich, you might as well bring in the Freedom Force. I mean, you probably don’t want the OK With Partial Captivity Crusaders on your side and the Lay Down and Die Guys just are not helpful at all.

Maximo vs Army of Zin - (PS2, 2004, Capcom) I have no idea who either of those are but they both sound cool and/or formidable. Maximo must be maxi-tough, especially if he is taking on the entire army of Zin. He must be quite the ass kicker.

Site [Game Encyclopedia]

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Whenever people talk about the greatest games of all time, you hear the usual ol’ Halos, Final Fantasys and possibly Metal Gear Solids come up. Yes, these are great games but there are plenty of games out there that are truly great but get little or no recognition. In fact you probably haven’t even heard of them.

Well I am here to fix that. I have compiled a list of eight great games (in no particular order) that have been neglected and forgotten. These are some personal favorites along with some you should know about.

1. Okage Shadow King (PS2)

This is definitely a classic. It’s a cute little RPG where you play as a young boy who’s shadow becomes possessed by a evil king out to rule the world. He pops up every time someone is around (kinda reminded me of Bluedragon, but more animated) and tries to intimidate them. Unfortunately for the king, all his powers where taken by the other self proclaimed “kings” of the world, so it’s your job to rid the world of all those kings and restore power to your new shadow. Despite how it sounds, it’s a real lighthearted, fun quirky game. Your shadow may be evil but he is also quite hilarious, and instead of people running in fear, they are cracking wise at him. What makes this a good game is simply the classic game play and storyline. It’s not all fighting and level grinding, which i hate in RPG’s and there are objectives in each town/area you need to accomplish.
Plus you can wander around where ever you want, and find items. The dialogue is great and it’s just fun and easy paced, plus the fighting system is standard turn-based and easy to understand.

2. Chibi-Robo (Gamecube)

I loved this game! It’s very unique and fun. You play as a little house cleaning robot who is hired by a rather dysfunctional family (whose daughter dresses and talks like a frog). You basically clean up the house, find items, and also save the family in the process. You also run around carrying your own power cord so you can plug yourself in to recharge, which is very cute.You meet some quirky/awesome characters in the game, and though you never talk, they sure have a lot to say to you. What I like about this game is it’s uniqueness. You would think cleaning up spills and picking up trash would be boring, but with all the mini games and interactions involved, it makes it worth it.  It starts out kinda slow because your battery life is not very long, so you have to charge constantly (or have your battery die and the day ends) but eventually you can buy better batteries, and junk, and end up playing almost a whole game day on one battery. You play night and day alternatively, for about 10-30 minutes depending on what your settings are. You can do different things during nights and days too. (Editor’s Note: The WalMart-exclusive Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol for DS is also surprisingly fun).

3. ChoroQ (PS2)

This game is also rather unique. You play as a race car who wants to make it big in the world racing and the part that makes this game so unique, it’s actually an RPG. Yes, you, as a car, get to talk to other cars, visit towns and people and, of course upgrade your car. You can also play mini games and do tasks for people. You also race in the game, of course, and the better you upgrade your car, the better you race. Also, if you get on the other cars’ good sides, they might let you join their teams. This game is definitely a must for all racing and RPG fans. Oh, and some of the dialogue in the game is hilarious too, possibly unintentional but who knows.

4. Juggernaut (PS1)

Oh man, this has got to be the strangest, creepiest, most bizarre game I have ever played. It’s an adventure game where you play as a man whose girlfriend is possessed by a demon (oddly from a jar she bought at a antique shop). You have to go in her body and get the demon out. You start off in a mansion where you find different items and use them to solve bizarre puzzles, oh and did I mention that you are only a spirit and you have to inject yourself into an adult or child body via a strange machine to move around? Throughout the mansion you uncover sort of side adventures that are all no way related. In each adventure you become someone else and you have a certain job to complete, such as one (my favorite) where you are in the internet and you have to find out who is implanting this virus and killing people over the internet. Or another one where you are arrived on this island with a tribe of natives and find out a horrible monster is killing people. Or one where a laboratory is torturing criminals in order to get endorphins from them. All these side adventures come down to the demon that possessed your girlfriend. I promise you, these adventures are a combination of strange, scary, gory and downright stupid. Don’t play this game at night and alone! Although, it’s terrible dialogue and characterization will certainly give you a good laugh. BTW: If anyone else has every played this please let me know. It’s a bit rare and hard to find but well worth it.

5. Bards Tale (PS2 and Xbox)

This is another one of those games that just got ignored despite it’s awesomeness. It’s another RPG (it is my favorite genre, after all) where you play as a Bard who is, of course, on a mission to save a hot princess who was kidnapped. You use magic to conjure people to help you on the quest or help you get through the dungeons. So why is this game any different than other RPG’s? First of all, there is a narrator throughout the game, who absolutely hates the Bard and ridicules him throughout, which adds for some hilarious banter. Also, the Bard is completely arrogant and only cares about himself, so it’s fun to interact with others. Also, the Bard is voiced by Cary Elwes (of Princess Bride and Saw fame). During certain points in the game you are giving the choice to give a polite or snarky answer. Each choice effects the outcome in either a major or minor way. Don’t always try to play the good guy though, sometimes you need to be a bit snarky to get through the game. The other thing I liked about it is that it makes fun of all the RPG clichés, like how you can just barge into people’s houses without them caring, and how you kill a rat and items pop out? Strange! This game is roll-on-the-ground funny and not too difficult, either. You may want to buy the strategy guide to make sure you pick the right choice, or live dangerously! 

6. Princess Tomato and the Salad Kingdom (NES)

I just had to add this wonderful little game. It’s an adorable little adventure that happens to have a veggie/fruit theme. You play as Sir Cucumber who was sent by the king to rescue his daughter from the evil Minister Pumpkin. It’s one of those games where you click “look”, “search”, “take,” etc. to accomplish the goals and find items. You also have a guide Percy the Persimmon who you can ask for help and force to do your bidding and such. Everything in the game is related to vegetables or fruit, from the buildings, to the people, to the scenery. You also fight bad guys by playing a game of paper-scissor-rock with them. It’s got a cute storyline and, despite the fact it’s all a bit silly, it’s very fun and a bit challenging. Plus it’s fun for the whole family.

7. Atelier Iris Eternal Mana(PS2)

Another RPG that got no recognition when it came out, I don’t even remember it being advertised. It’s a typical Japanese RPG where evil forces are trying to take over you need to discover and use magic and recruit partners to get through the game, but a bit unique at that. As you play you unlock different Mana that take the shape of creatures and allow you get special powers that help you either during battle or just walking around. For instance, a Mana that turns into a platform so you can reach a higher location (for secret items), or a Mana that gets rid of all the enemies for one screen, which is really nice if you are trying to just pass though or about to die. There are a bunch more, too. One of the most fun things is doing alchemy. You can create new items for yourself, or you can create items for the people around town (which unlocks things for you). I always like an RPG that offers something different, aside from just level grinding and talking to people. The voice acting isn’t horrible either and you have the option to shut it off, which is always a plus. The animation reminded me of the old-school RPGs I use to love. 

8. Gitaro Man (PS2)

I figure we needed a break from RPG’s and adventures. This little classic seemed to come and go just as suddenly. What I mean by that is I heard about this game a while ago but never saw it in stores, then I see it all over the shelves and now it’s nowhere again. Either way it is a classic. I suppose the only way to quickly describe it is as a music puzzler. You are a young boy who dreams of being a famous guitar player and he has the alter ego of a superhero named Gitaro Man who saves the world with his guitar. You use your guitar to fight bad guys by basically tracing different threads with your controller. It is very addictive and can be downright hard at times. A line will appear on the enemies side and you need to repeat the line as best you can, it can be hard at times, but definitely fun. The music is very fun too. It’s a bit strange, but definitely should be checked out.

So those are my games. If you think I missed any (which I’m sure I have) then please post them here and I will try to check them out. I’m always looking for new awesome games I never heard of.

Read [Thunderbolt Games] Also Read [Gearfuse]

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While most businesses are currently feeling the economic pinch, there is at least one sector that is currently witnessing an economic boost: Pawn shops.

And who do pawn shops credit for this business upswing? The answer is, quite simply, the video game community.

According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, pawn shops such as Ace Pawn Shop in Bloomington, Indiana (USA), have noted the increase of game consoles and high-end televisions brought into their stores. The story then mentions that Tom Haggerty, who owns TomCat’s Pawn (also in Bloomington, IN), has also seen an increase in the amount of game systems and high-definition televisions being brought in, adding that “these items are then selling fast.”

For avid gamers, parting with a game console and television has to be one of the hardest decisions but, in these economic conditions, it is a choice that must be made for one’s own survival.

While the exact amount that gamers are getting in exchange for their systems at pawn shops is not indicated, expect to get about half the going resell value for your area. For those buying pawned game systems, you’ll still be paying considerably less than retail (but won’t get the manufacturer’s warranty).

With that in mind, it is still no surprise that these items are going as fast as they are coming in, especially for those looking for a worthwhile deal.

What has become surprising in this situation is the increased spectrum of people who are using pawn shops which used to be visited only by individuals desperate to get quick cash.

Greg Engstrom, president of the Indiana Pawnbrokers Association, emphasized this point when he said, “[I]t has spread beyond traditional pawn customers to people from all income levels fearing the loss of their homes.”

As the economy worsens, more gamers may be forced to part with their favorite forms of enjoyment. Let’s hope that this situation improves at least somewhat in this administration.

Read [Chicago Tribune] Via [GamePolitics]

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With the current world economic issues affecting the game industry, Microsoft has now begun to clean its own house by trimming some of the supposed fat from its developer portfolio.

Microsoft has already shut down several of its first-party studios including FASA, ACES and Ensemble and now it appears Rare is restructuring.

In a statement released to GameSpot, Rare’s Studio Manager Mark Betteridge said the restructuring could result in layoffs:

“As the entire industry struggles to address the increasing scale and cost of development, we too have felt a need to restructure our current approach so we can speed development and better manage the scale required to create high quality games.”

Betteridge’s comments, however, did specify on how Rare’s restructuring plan will affect its 200+ employees or the games currently in production.
 
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, when video games were still considered toys for kids with nowhere near the levels of respect the industry enjoys today, Rare was one of the titans of the video game industry.

Developer of such classic titles as Donkey Kong, Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark and Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Rare was a developer that the industry could always rely on to create stellar titles that helped reshape the game industry that we know and love today, which is why in 2002, Microsoft acquired Rare for a then record $375 million.

The partnership was meant to make the Xbox a real force to be reckoned with, as Rare would develop games exclusively for the Xbox. Jump ahead to 2009 and that partnership has never really lived up to the original aspirations that Microsoft, or gamers were banking on.

While Rare would finally begin to release a number of games in succession on the Xbox 360, after only a handful of games produced on the original Xbox, those 360 titles have not amounted to a lot of sales. Most of all when compared to Microsoft’s other big developers such as Epic or Bungie.

Has Rare finally seen the light? One can only hope so as I believe, like many gamers out there that the studio certainly has the ability and talent to again recapture some of the magic that made them so great to begin with.

With reported four unnamed games in the works, hopefully these games, if they aren’t affected by this restructuring phase, can stand proudly with other Xbox-exclusives titles including Halo and Gear of War.

Read [GameSpot] 

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The Associated Press is reporting that Blockbuster has announced that it will begin a test program beginning Q2 2009 to allow Total Access subscribers to rent video games online.

From the article:

Customers of Blockbuster’s Total Access can rent DVDs online and exchange them in Blockbuster stores as well as by mail. The plans start at $10 a month and the company says its $20 plan is the most popular. Renting games will cost an extra 5 dollars a month, but people will only be charged if they rent a game that particular month, said Bob Barr, vice president and general manager for Blockbuster.com.

The test program will launch in a yet-to-be determined geographic market, and will go national in the second half of the year, Barr added.

The article does mention that Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox and Xbox 360 games will be available to rent through Total Access. No word yet on whether or not PSP or DS games will be available or a download option. AP also notes that that mail-back movie rental company Netflix does not rent games nor does mail-back game rental company GameFly rent movies.

If you look at the Blockbuster site, you’ll also notice that a “Games” link has been added to the top navigation bar and it marked as “new.” That section of the site currently offers games for slightly more than retail price. Afro Samurai for Xbox 360 is available on the site for the “New Game Price” of $62.99 (retail is $59.99)!? And that does not includes include shipping/handling and sales tax.

Not cool, Blockbuster. Take note, Blockbuster - Consumers do not like higher prices especially when the economy is this crappy. Also, adding $5 to Total Access may not be the best idea even though you may be the only dual mail-back rental company in town. For now.

The monthly rates for Total Access accounts are as follows (remember to add $5 per month to rent games):

• $19.99 plus tax for 3 DVDs at a time plus 5 free in-store exchanges per month with unlimited DVDs through the mail
• $16.99 plus tax for 2 DVDs at a time plus 3 free in-store exchanges per month with unlimited DVDs through the mail.
• $11.99 plus tax for 1 DVD at a time plus 2 free in-store exchanges per month with unlimited DVDs through the mail.
• $9.99 plus tax for 1 DVD at a time plus 2 free in-store exchanges per month with 2 DVDs per month through the mail.

Read [Forbes] Site [Blockbuster: Total Access] Also Read [Gamertell]

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McFarlane Toys is releasing a series of figures and replicas based on the wildly popular music game Guitar Hero.  Now in stores is a group of “mini-guitars” that allow you to mix and match heads, necks and bodies to create your own custom guitar. They’re sold as singles and duets with a total of 12 body styles and paint variations. Each tiny little axe has its own custom stand, too. They retail for from $6-8 and are available at stores like Gamestop and Toys R’ Us.

The company is also releasing figures of popular in-game characters Slash and Johnny Napalm. Slash is the first real life rocker to appear in the figure series. The 10-inch figures have more than 18 movable parts and guitars interchangeable with the other Guitar Hero figs. They start at $10.

For the numerous Halo fans out there, McFarlane is bringing you action figures that will finish the fight right on your own mantelpiece. There’s a special redemption program http://www.spawn.com/halopoints/that allows collectors to pick up some exclusive artwork only available through this promotion. Among the items you can get are a Halo 3 lithograph and a 5-inch gold Master Chief figure.

Site [Spawn] Read [Kezins]

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On January 24, 2009, WhatIfGaming reported that Lionhead Studios informed the site that, even though a PC port of Fable 2 isn’t officially confirmed by Microsoft, the success of the game makes a PC version of Fable 2 imminent.

Unfortunately, a member from the Lionhead dev team denied this claim in the community forum on January 26, 2009, indicating that Lionhead is not working on a PC port of Fable 2. If that changes, Lionhead will inform the public on its website.

For now we’ll just have to make due with our Xbox 360 copies of Fable 2.

Lionhead released the Knothole Island add-on not too long ago to keep the adventure going for us. Time will tell what other content Lionhead has in store for us. Until further notice, don’t hold your breath.

Read [Lionhead Community] Site [Lionhead]

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Microsoft’s decision to trim the fat from its workforce has caught the attention of key government officials;. In fact, one is openly questioning their methods and rationale for doing so.

This individual is Charles Grassey, a Republican senator from Iowa. His reasons for inquiry stem from a concern that, according to Kotaku, foreign guest workers will be retained in the company rather than qualified American workers once the company implements its layoff plan.

Essentially, Grassey wants to make sure that not too many Americans are released from Microsoft once its layoff provisions become clear. This can be interpreted as him looking out for the interests of the good ol’ US of A.

Currently, Microsoft uses the H1-B Visa program that allows for American corporations and universities to hire foreign workers under a temporary visa program. The senator made it clear to Microsoft in his letter that the company has a special responsibility to look out for American workers during these challenging times.

This is certainly a noble gesture from the senator, and it is great that he is willing to look out for American interests. However, Microsoft, at the end of the day, is a business, and if they deem foreign workers to be more talented than their U.S. counterparts, then they should hire them and train them at all costs.

News of individuals losing their jobs is disappointing and it is hoped that those individuals can quickly get back on their feet should they find the rug pulled out from under them.

Read [Reuters] Via [Kotaku]

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Nielsen’s latest top ten list for 2008 has revealed something that most Sony fans already know - the PlayStation 2 is still a hot commodity. It is so hot, in fact, that Nielsen is saying it was the most played console in 2008. I guess Sony really knew what it was doing when it made the PS2.

Nielsen Wire reported all the official figures from Nielson concerning the top seven consoles. The PS2 game in first in terms of use, followed by the Xbox 360, Wii, Xbox, Playstation 3 and GameCube. There was also an ambiguous “others” given for seventh place, likely refering to all older consoles that alone didn’t have enough usage minutes to achieve a ranking.

I bet Sony is disappointed to see the PS3 come in fifth place. The original Xbox even beat the PlayStation 3. At least the PS3 did better than the GameCube - that way Sony can save some face. 

I totally get it though. I’ve had a PS2 for years. (Since Final Fantasy X, to be exact.) If I’m playing a video game, chances are I’m using either the PS2 or the DS. Its a wonderfully versatile console with a fantastic game library. I even use it as a DVD player on a regular basis. I’ve never used it to play CDs, but hey - at least I’m using two of the three available functions. It’s just a shame that the PSP and PS3 don’t receive the same amount of love.

Read [Nielsen Wire] Also Read [eFlux Media] Also Read [Ars Technica] Site [Nielsen Media Research]

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While I may not have owned an Xbox, its value to the gaming industry can’t be overstated. It was, in fact, the first system at the time to debut with a fully-featured internal hard drive and the first to introduce online competitive video game playing to the masses. Along with these distinctions, gamers owe the Xbox a significant debt of gratitude for the introduction of notable franchises such as Halo, Jade Empire and Ninja Gaiden.

These factors have undoubtedly endeared gamers to their Xboxes, a loyalty that has since been extended to the 360. However, gamers who are still interested in expanding the libraries of their original system are now pinched for time. Gamestop recently announced that after February 9, 20009, the store will no longer accept or stock any items related to Microsoft’s initial entry into the console wars.

In other words, if you were interested in purchasing Brute Force for a discounted price, you may want to expedite your efforts.

Microsoft has made it clear since the launch of its next-gen console that it would thus cancel their on the previous endeavor. It duly explained why there were no new Xbox efforts released, whereas the Playstation 2 still had games coming out for it. In fact, for all of Sony’s struggles, it’s admirable that they are still dedicating efforts to their purported “last-gen” console.

All in all, Gamestop’s announcement merely makes the death of the Xbox official, as gamers have long since recognized its passing from the gaming scene.

Read [Kotaku] Also Read [Destructoid]

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Let’s face it, gaming is expensive. With the economy currently in its poor state, gamers have quite a bit to worry about.

There are, however, are some ways to appease the habit and get more bang for your buck. You can take everything that you’ll read to heart as advice from a fellow poor gamer along with some of the advice given to us by MSNBC. These tips should help ease some of your monetary burdens when it comes to gaming.

Old Does Not Equal Bad

People tend to be more obsessed with the newer,  potentially better product and either don’t know about or forgot about the beauty of older games. While we have Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, some forget that we also had Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. While Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is out now, we occasionally forget Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2 and Metal Gear Solid.

There’s nothing wrong with getting (or digging out) one of the older consoles and getting some of the better games from those systems. If you go to places like Disc Replay you could get older consoles for anywhere between $50-90, depending on what console you’re buying. Games, unless they are rare yet popular, range anywhere from $3-20. Stores like Half Price Books also sell used games at half or less than half of the retail price.

Time Management

A lot of people also forget about replayability. Since some games tend to be the same thing, only offering a different difficulty level doesn’t offer much in the way of replayability. If you want something that will really last you a while, especially if you happen to get one of the newer consoles, try to find something that is fairly open-ended in the way that you can play it. This means that you might end up going back to some older games (see the above point).

The Elder Scrolls (Oblivion for the newer consoles) series, Fallout (Fallout 3) series, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games and Far Cry 2 allow for players to play through the game in many different ways. If you play through multiple times while following the different paths and story lines, there is only a small chance that you’ll play the game the same way more than two or three times. Even if you spend a lot of money on a game, length and replayability is always important.

Independent Pay Dirt

When you get around to it, independent games can be great games. Usually, due to simplicity, they’re easy to get into and can be quite engaging. They’re usually inexpensive, normally ranging from about $10 to $20, due to the fact that it’s a small staff with a small budget. It really doesn’t take that long to remake the money spent in development, so the low price really isn’t that bad. Here are the top 5 of independent games as compiled by MSNBC.

Group Help

Multiplayer is a great thing with a lot of the different games right now. No matter what you’re doing, the higher the multiplayer possibility the more fun it will be. The biggest reason why we game is because it’s fun and the more people there are the more fun it can be. Get a game that has the possibility of two or more people joining in. Multiplayer increases the replayability quite a bit, especially in terms of first-person shooter, action/adventure, real-time strategy, music and sports games.

There’s Still More (or Less)

A lot of games have downloadable content that will be available almost monthly or even mods of other games. Some things might end up costing some money (usually $1 to $10) but quite a few mods (if you already have the game it’s based on) are completely free. There is still much play in many games even after beating them.

In terms of space economy, if you’ve got an Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP or PC you can work with direct download services like Steam (for PC), Xbox Live, Playstation Network Store or the Wii Virtual Console. They usually have a good selection and, in the case of Steam, usually have good sales or packages that would save some money. These games only take up disc (or removable media) storage space instead of plastic boxes on a shelf.

If you want to get into MMOs, it can be a bit daunting to find an affordable one. Aeria Games has a host of good and beautiful MMOs that are free. Guild Wars is still evolving as a MMO and is also free2play so it works out. All you need to do is fork out the money for the initial buy, which is $20-40 depending on which standalone version you’re trying to get.

Read [MSNBC] Read [Gamertell Gift Guide]

Full Story » | Written by Jonathan Gronli for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

In both civilian and military communities worldwide, the world of video gaming is expanding more and more, especially with popular massive multiplayer online titles. MMO games such as World of Warcraft, War Hammer and Call of Duty 4 have become a way of life and provide people with ways to meet other people who share their love of interaction through gaming.

One of the major fascinations of MMO games are the teams and communities players form while online, and a kinship a soldier often has to leave behind when he deploys. Ed Hale, a former member of 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, now a corporate executive officer for CompeteSoft, Inc., offers free online gaming servers to Soldiers across the globe.

Hale, who graduated from West Point in 1971, said the idea for the community gaming concept came to him after finishing his five-year enlistment.
“The people I worked with at Fort Bragg forged some of the most vibrant memories I carry with me, even today,” Hale said.

But after leaving the service as a ranger and infantryman, he said trying to find a career in an unstable computer industry made it hard to maintain a career, with one job layoff after another.

“(So) five years and 110 jumps later, I found myself struggling over 25 years, working for numerous firms with either hardware, software or service/support responsibilities related in some way to computers or computer peripherals,” he said.

During one of his many ‘dot com’ job searches, Hale finally found a job in Texas where he met his current business partner, Randy Van Gelder. The two would eventually start an online business for the growing competitive XBox community called TeamCompete. When they realized how many of those gamers were deploying service members, they wanted to create a community for military gamers. So they created CompeteSoft.

“Our mission is to provide a free online space where gamers in the military can play solo or in teams, set up matches, record scores and establish bragging rights, with their fellow service members, friends and families for free,” he said. “We don’t sell anything. This is something we do because our military men and women deserve anything we can provide that’s safe, fun, free and connects them to family and friends.”

Hale admitted that he never knew any gamers over the age of 50 until they began registering on the site.

“You would be surprised at the number of gamers we have met who are (50 years old) and older who play online with their kids, on teams and in online leagues,” Hale said, and added that learning about the different kinds of online gamers was just as exciting. “We have a small handful of gamers over 50 who are actually military veterans.”

Veterans like Anthony Rivera, a Navy veteran who has been using CompeteSoft since 2004, said he enjoys being able to compete in multiple video game competitions.

“I also use the software to compete and to build a team of members with like minds,” Rivera said. “Another advantage of using the software is the abilities it has to brand a team a member etc. The experience that members will get out of the program is the social network potential it has. Compared to other software on the market I believe that there is nothing like it.”

Hale said CompeteSoft was created to become a place where active duty, retired and former military service members of all branches, veterans, Department of Defense civilians and their families play online games together. Hale said anyone could participate and play along side their military counterparts on the server since the site is free.

Staff Sgt. Craig Rader, noncommissioned officer in charge, Armed Forces Network Korea - Television News, said he uses CompeteSoft because he prefers to compete and interact with ‘real’ people instead of computer-generated opponents.

“I also enjoy talking and meeting people from around the world with similar game interests as mine,” Rader said. “With global servers, I can play against gamers worldwide, so being geographically remote becomes less of an obstacle while online.”

Rader said he’s still fairly new to CompeteSoft but has enjoyed the convenient and unique features the site provides.

“(Ever since) I discovered CompeteSoft and StripesGamer through an advertisement in the Pacific edition of Stars and Stripes newspaper, the site has allowed me to reach out to other players and play in organized online matches much more conveniently than other commercial sites,” Rader explained. “I recommend this site because it offers a chance for service members to connect with each other through gaming. As far as I’ve seen, it’s the only site that caters specifically to a military audience and offers services specifically suited to the military.”

Hale predicts CompeteSoft will grow. “Military gamers may not all have the newest consoles and many prefer playing the PC games or handheld games they have been playing for the past few years. Tools and games that best satisfy the player’s lifestyle and interests will be sought out and provided as the site grows and matures,” he said.

Site [CompeteSoft] Site [TeamCompete]

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In the early 1900s, Howard Phillip Lovecraft birthed a pulp horror phenomenon that featured real madness and good writing. Since then his works have inspired multiple movies, games and new fiction being added yearly to the Cthulhu Mythos. The Cthulhu Mythos is a cornucopia collection of works that began with Lovecraft and includes gods, demons, forgotten evils with their attempts to re-manifest themselves into our world and the forbidden knowledge that helps them. Some of the stories that have a bigger showing as part of the Mythos are Call of Cthulhu and The Nameless City.

For a spooky good time, Lovecraft is always worth a read, watch or a play. Enjoy the madness.

One of the first graphics-based games released to the public inspired by Lovecraft was Alone in the Dark. AitD was not based on a specific story but the Cthulhu Mythos as a whole. It takes place in a remote part of New England and deals with dark forgotten evils breaking back into our reality. People involved either end up dead or insane often caused by the dark evils or by the acquiring of forbidden and forgotten knowledge that is usually acquired by the reading of evil tomes.

It’s easy to see how Lovecraft’s stories influenced this game.AitD was coupled with the release of Daughter of Serpents in 1992. The game was rich with Lovecraftian overtones and Egyptian mythology. It also had some of the richest graphics for the time but its shortcoming was that it was too linear and short.

There are numerous other games out there but for, the sake of brevity, I’ll skip to some of the more recent games.

In 2001, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare was released for Playstation and PC. Although it was the fourth game in the series, it was the only one that stayed close to horror roots by taking a turn back to the suspenseful and eerie atmosphere of the original game. While there were no obvious Lovecraft themes, it was the closest the series came to being remotely Lovecraft-related since the first game. It also dealt with forgotten evil trying to break back into our reality and other favorite topics for the Mythos so while it isn’t obviously Lovecraftian, it is based off the Cthulhu Mythos.

The following year, (2002) Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem was released on the Nintendo GameCube. After the mysterious murder of her grandfather, the main character stumbles across a strange room with different occult objects and books that are reminiscent of those in Lovecraft’s written reality. It also deals with the “Ancients,” Lovecraft’s Elder Ones, trying to manifest themselves in our reality. The game was the first to use a dynamic sanity system in which the game simulates different glitches, sound errors and even TV errors if madness takes its hold.

The most recent trip into Lovecraft’s mind was released in 2005 for the Xbox and PC. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is a mixture two of Lovecraft’s stories: Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Outsider. The game follows Jack Walters, a detective, when he is called in to investigate some disappearances that happened in Lovecraft’s town of Innsmouth. As with all Lovecraft stories, there are cults, monsters, a generally forgotten god (Dagon) and people transforming monsters. It took dynamic sanity system to a new level since it is a first-person survival horror game. Also, unlike most other games, you had to treat your injures. Rather than relying on a HUD however, you had to rely on physical indicators to show what kind of injuries you had to treat.

Site [The H.P. Lovecraft Archive]

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Following the console’s third anniversary earlier this week (November 22, 2005 – November 22, 2008) and the launch of a newly revamped interface slash online service called the New Xbox Experience on November 19, 2008, Microsoft has confirmed that global sales figures for the Xbox 360 have exceed those of its predecessor, the Xbox.

Speaking with MCV, Microsoft’s vice president of interactive entertainment business for EMEA, Chris Lewis, explained that more than 25 million Xbox 360 units have been sold worldwide since the Xbox 360’s launch. For comparison, the original Xbox took about four and a half years (November 2001 – May 2006) to reach 24 million units.

Lewis explained the Xbox 360’s success is to a “uniquely placed” price point which has seen the console outsell the Playstation 3 in a number of EMEA territories, including France, Germany, Spain, Russia and the United Kingdom. An Xbox 360 Arcade unit can currently be purchased in the UK for just £129.99 (US$200),  a full £50 (US$75) less than the Wii.

Read [MCV] Also Read [Edge Online]

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Tom Clancy is a man who can pride himself on spinning a taut tale of political intrigue from real-world international tensions. With Rainbow Six he brought his incredibly accurate, technically correct style for writing about military, paramilitary and espionage groups to video games.

Reversing that trend, books based on various Tom Clancy video games have been published since 2004. Ghost Recon is now following the trend that was set by Splinter Cell and Endwar with the currently available novel titled Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon ($9.99, Berkley Publishing) . David Michaels, the author who brought Splinter Cell and Endwar from games to books, has just put out the first of what may be many Ghost Recon novels.

First thing we have to address is that David Michaels is a pseudonym for the two authors that have brought about novels based on Tom Clancy games. The first is Raymond Benson, writer of the first two Splinter Cell novels who has also written James Bond novels as well as novelizations of Metal Gear Solid. The second is Grant Blackwood, the current writer for novels based on Tom Clancy games.

The upcoming book is a bit interesting since it starts with the back story of one of the major characters, Captain Scott Mitchell, before going into the standard time of the story. Back story doesn’t mean that it goes all that far back in time, it just goes back to when he was a Master Sergeant on one of his very first live missions as a Special Forces operator.

Most books like this only tend to refer to the past of its characters. This starts off with the ties that would otherwise be thrown in later in the story for the purpose of character development.

The premise of the story will have the “Ghosts” going into a province of China to combat a small group of renegade Chinese military leaders known as the Spring Tiger Group. Their enemy’s mission is to try seize Taiwan and cause conflict for power in the Pacific. The conflict could incite World War III and when intelligence points to the Spring Tiger Group being assisted by a nemesis of Capt. Mitchell’s the potential war becomes personal for Mitchell. This is according to the synopsis on the back of the book.

Ghost Recon is a great tactical shooter that deserves a good game. The games lend themselves incredibly well to novelizations. There’s only one question that pops into my mind is, “What took so long for this to happen?”

Either way, if Michaels/Blackwood’s previous attempts to translate games to novel are any indication, Ghost Recon could birth a good series of novels. It could also be an indication for a new installment in the game franchise.

Read [Amazon] Also Read [Goodreads] Also Read [Powell’s Books]

Full Story » | Written by Jonathan Gronli for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Another year and another Video Game Awards show. Better known as SpikeTV’s VGAs, this will be the sixth year for the show.

Love it or loath it the show will go on in full spectacle that will include a performance by rapper turned-video game character, 50 Cent, and a “Gamer God” award for Will Wright.

The list this year looks fairly promising without too much of one game in your face like last year’s seven nominations for a certain alien-shooting game and a game about an undersea dystopia.

List of SpikeTV’s 2008 VGAs Nominees

Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto IV
LittleBigPlanet
Fallout 3
Metal Gear Solid 4
Gears of War 2

Studio of the Year
Media Molecule
Rockstar North
Harmonix
Bethesda Game Studios

Best Shooter
Far Cry 2
Resistance 2
Gears of War 2
Left 4 Dead

Best RPG
Fable II
Fallout 3
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
The World Ends With You

Best Fighting Game
SoulCalibir IV
Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit

Best Individual Sports Game
Shaun White Snowboarding
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
Wii Fit
Skate It

Best Handheld Game
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Patapon
Castlevania Order of Eccelsia

Best Graphics
Gears of War 2
Fallout 3
LittleBigPlanet
Metal Gear Solid 4

Best Game Based on a Movie or a TV Show
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Quantum of Solace
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Naruto: The Broken Bond

Best Music Game
Rock Band 2 (MTV Games/ Harmonix)
Guitar Hero World Tour (RedOctane/ Activision Publishing/ Neversoft Entertainment)
Wii Music (Nintendo/ Nintendo)
SingStar (Sony Computer Entertainment/ SCE Studios London)

Best Driving Game
Burout Paradise
Pure
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Mario Kart Wii

Best Action Adventure Game
Grand Theft Auto IV
Dead Space
Mirror’s Edge
Metal Gear Solid 4

Best Team Sports Game
NHL 09
Madden NFL 09
NBA 2K9
FIFA Soccer 09

Best Soundtrack
LittleBigPlanet
Grand Theft Auto IV
Rock Band 2
Guitar Hero World Tour

Best Xbox 360 Game
Fable II
Gears of War 2
Grand Theft Auto IV
Fallout 3

Best Wii Game
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Boom Blox
Wii Fit
No More Heroes

Best PS3 Game
Metal Gear Solid 4
Resistance 2
LittleBigPlanet
Grant Theft Auto IV

Best PC Game
Spore
Crysis Warhead
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Left 4 Dead

Best Original Score
Fallout 3
Spore
Metal Gear Solid 4
LittleBigPlanet

Best Multiplayer Game
Gears of War 2
Left 4 Dead
Resistance 2
Call of Duty: World at War

Best Performance by a Human Male
Michael Hollick as Niko Bellic in GTA IV
David Hayter as Old Snake in MGS 4
Stephen Fry as The Narrator in LBP
Jason Zumwalt as Roman Bellic in GTA IV

Best Performance by a Human Female
Nathalie Cox as Juno Eclipse in The Force Unleashed
Debi Mae West as Meryl Silverburgh: MGS 4
Paula Tiso as Silvia Christel in No More Heroes
Keeley Hawes Lara Croft in Tomb Raider Underworld

Best Independent Game Fueled by Mountain Dew (Not a Judge Category)
World of Goo
PixelJunk Eden
Braid
Audio Surf

Not bad right? So which games are you guys wanting to win? Let us know in the comments below.

Site [SpikeTV] Read [Kotaku] Via [Opposable Thumbs] Also [GamerTell]

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Every so often a video game comes alone that changes the way its genre is seen forever. We often the words “innovative,” “immersive” and “groundbreaking” to describe the games’ merits, putting them clearly above all others. However, there’s only a small number of titles that can be seen as redefining the genre.

We know these games when we see them because it’s usually imitated over and over again. A game that redefines a genre doesn’t have to be an entirely brand new idea because, truth be told, very few ideas are 100% original. Instead, a genre-defining title is one that grabs the attention of people who never would play that type of game otherwise. In other words, hardcore gamers don’t always choose what changes a genre, casual gamers have a say in this too.

Psychonauts (PS2, Xbox, PC, 2005)

A game such as Psychonauts is loved by the hardcore gaming crowd but unfortunately it did not penetrate the market like we would have hoped. It’s an example of a game that had genre defining potential but fell short of the glory. The level design based on a characters psyche were amazing and original as well. It’s likely to assume that because this game and others that were just as original did not sell exceedingly well, other developers won’t use their elements as a template for future games. It would be a noble risk but not very cost effective. My hat goes off to all those who created Shadow of the Colossus, Okami and even Mirror’s Edge for taking an off the wall concept and bringing it to fruition.

Halo (Xbox, 2001)

On the more hardcore side, Halo was probably the millionth first-person shooter game created to date. It didn’t do too much as far as changing how a story is approached or even combat for that matter but Halo did change the way multiplayer modes are done on consoles. Halo 3 continues to be one of the most played online games on Xbox Live and has set the standard for how future fast paced multiplayer games are measured. We can see proof of this whenever we find ourselves talking to someone about a game and they reply by saying, “It’s not better than Halo.” There are some that don’t keep up with games religiously but play Halo online and many more will do so as the holiday season approaches. We should thank Bungie for influencing the multiplayer experience on consoles that paved the way for Call of Duty 4, Gears of War, and Resistance online modes respectfully to name a few.

Grand Theft Auto III (PS2, 2001)

GTA III redefined the sandbox genre by gathering so much attention, probably due to its violent and suggestive content. Other games to come out borrowed the GTA philosophy include Saint’s Row, Crackdown, Scarface and any other crime-oriented game where we can steal cars. Say what you want about similar games that came before GTA but they didn’t get the attention or have the money making potential that the GTA franchise has created for itself.

Guitar Hero (PS2, 2005)

Music rhythm games come a dime a dozen these days. The most notable ones of recent years have been the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series.To its credit Konami got the ball rolling with GuitarFreaks back in 1998. Ten years later it tried to reclaim the music throne with Rock Revolution that was met with unsatisfying results. The problem was that Konami created a genre that was ahead of its time. Guitar Hero is a household name which is something Konami’s game couldn’t achieve in North America. GuitarFreaks is loved by many and its influence will live on in Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Which genre-redefining game is next?

It’s not entirely clear as to what game will induce change in others in its genre. Dead Space takes the survival horror genre in a new direction by removing the HUD but it’s too soon to say it has changed the genre forever until it becomes a household name. Resident Evil still currently holds that title even though it has recently stepped away from the against-all-odds psychological game play and moved into a more run and gun formula. I’m excited to see what becomes the next big thing especially with all the original IP’s we’ve seen released this year.

Read [Gamertell]

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When I last spoke with Zach Wigal, founder of Gamers Outreach Foundation, he was just finishing up a Halo 3 tournament in January to raise funds for his community.

I caught up with Wigala few weeks ago and learned he has just earned the Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award.

Wigal said he only became aware of the program a few months ago after doing an interview with Chris Erickson of 360StyleCast podcast and added that Erickson has been an MVP for a while, this year being Erickson’s third award.

“He was really the person who introduced me to the award,” Wigal said. “Prior to meeting Chris (Erickson) I hadn’t heard of it. Roughly 2 to 3 months ago, Chris told me he wanted to nominate me for the MVP award. I still only had a very basic understanding of the award, so I more or less went about my business without saying much to any of my friends. Sure enough, I got a few e-mails from Microsoft, and on October 1, (2008), they welcomed me to the MVP program. Now, I’m very familiar with what the award is.”

I contacted Michael Fosmire, MVP Lead, to find out more about this MVP award.

“The MVP Award is a worldwide program intended to express Microsoft’s appreciation for those who are leaders in the technical community as it relates to Microsoft products,” Fosmire explained. “We recognize individuals who voluntarily share their expertise with others - either in online communities such as forums, newsgroups and websites or in offline communities such as user group meetings or industry conferences. There are no hard and fast criteria about how an individual receives the award. It’s meant to express our appreciation for exceptional contributions over the past 12 month period.”

Fosmire said Microsoft’s goal is to recognize those few who really stand out as making significant positive impact in the community.

“We were thrilled to recognize Zach for his Xbox community participation and leadership,” Fosmire said and explained what happens after receiving the award. “He’ll have a number of benefits that are offered to all MVPs and he’ll have opportunities to provide feedback to Microsoft about our products and we’ll ensure that he’s enabled with information that he can use to serve the community.”

I asked Wigal what the awards meant to him personally and he said he was more than excited to receive it.

“It’s an honor to be a part of the MVP program. I’m very passionate about what I do, so to me, this award is like a form of encouragement. I’m very thankful that Chris nominated me in the first place, and I’m equally thankful to Microsoft for taking the time to consider me as an award recipient,” Wigal said. “To me, receiving this award is like Microsoft’s little ‘wink of approval.’ So, from that perspective, I suppose Microsoft felt like I was qualified because of Gamers Outreach Foundation, to become a part of the MVP program.”

Wigal said earning the award would not change his role within Gamers Outreach Foundation, instead the award will help provide potential opportunities for GOF and Microsoft to work together on future projects.

“Only time will tell. At the end of the day, I’m just the guy that happens to provide direction for our foundation’s activities,” he said. “There’s a whole group of guys I work with who are the ones that really make everything possible.As far as Gamers Outreach Foundation is concerned, this is something I believe in. Gamers Outreach Foundation has gone from a few high school kids wanting to host their own Halo tournament, to a vision of helping others through the use of video games. It’s come a long way in a very short period of time, but it still has much further to go. Interview me again in 5 years, I’ll fill you in on our progress.”

The MVP Award Program has been in existence for about 15 years, having grown from 30 MVPs to over 4,000 today Fosmire said. “Originally, we recognized those individuals who were leaders in English speaking technical newsgroups. But we’ve grown to recognize MVPs from over 90 countries and 30 languages who are active in online and offline communities spanning almost 90 Microsoft products and technologies.”

Read [Gamertell] Site [Microsoft MVP] Site [Gamers Outreach Foundation] Site [360style.net]

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Capcom definitely enticed many, if not all, Tokyo Game Show attendants with its huge pavilion that included a completely enclosed showcase dedicated to its head runner Resident Evil 5. The showcase was well outfitted and even sported broken windows and peeling paint to add authenticity to its environment. There were four long lines set up, allowing players to choose from single play or cooperative play on the system of their choice - the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3.

Co-Op

Personally, I think that the cooperative play in Resident Evil 5 seems much more interesting than its single-player counterpart since it’s a first for the series (so I focused my attention on that version of the demo). In cooperative play, teamwork is the key to success and players won’t get very far if they don’t acknowledge this fact.

Unlike any other game in the series, when either Chris or Sheva are on the brink of death, they are able to be resuscitated. Resuscitation can only be done by your partner and if your partner doesn’t make it in time to perform it, then it’s game over. Actually, the game ends whenever either Chris of Sheva die, so failing to see that your partner lives is not an option.

Chris and Sheva will work very closely in this game and each plays an integral part where even the trailers for this game stress the importance of their partnership. In the demo, Chris had to help Sheva jump to an adjacent roof to which she was soon greeted by a quickly advancing mob that she would not be able to fend off alone. At this point, Chris must pick off enemies one by one with a sniper rifle to ensure Sheva’s survival.

Control Schemes

Another new introduction for the series is the option to choose from two different control schemes - standard and shooting mode. Players familiar with Resident Evil 4 will find comfort in standard mode while shooting mode had fans of first-person shooters in mind. 

Towns & Opponents

During the 15 minutes play time allotted, there were two different towns to choose from: Shanty Town and Assembly Town. Shanty Town introduced players to the flying parasites that inhabit the crazed locals as well as a boss-like character who wore a potato sack on his head an wielded a chainsaw. Apparently, I was told by that staff that you couldn’t just shoot this guy to kill him but instead you had to run away from him. I have no idea how you were supposed to take this guy out because I died shortly after he started chasing me.

With what little time remaining, I chose to explore the other level available, which was Assembly Town. This portion of the demo began with a cut scene where the insanity started with the beheading of an acquaintance of Chris and Sheva. Once the poor man’s head has been cleaved right off, the instigator of the execution spots Chris and Sheva and sends a mob after them. Unfortunately, at this point, my time was up and I had to leave.

Overall

I was definitely ready to pee my pants while I was playing this game - it was that fun. I’m more enthusiastic about wanting to play the completed game when it’s finally released thanks to the introduction of cooperative play. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed with this game’s promise of more carnage, twisting plot lines, memorable characters, and of course, zombies (or zombie-like people at least).

Action/Horror games like Bio Hazard and Resident Evil give me the creeps but I wouldn’t mind playing it so long as I had a friend to experience it with. And a diaper.

Site [Resident Evil 5]

Full Story » | Written by Janine Dong for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Who can say “no” to a free game? I certainly can’t do it, especially if the free game wasn’t all that bad to begin with. I’m referring to Area 51 which was released on the PS2, Xbox, and PC back in April 2005. Cruise on over to Strategy Informer to get in on all the alien splattering action.

The complete download will take up close to 2GB of space on your hard drive and features the voice talent of David Duchovny, Marilyn Manson and Powers Boothe. How’s that for a star-studded cast?

Area 51 is a typical first-person shooter that didn’t break any new ground when it was released. If you’ve played Resistance or any Halo game, you pretty much know exactly what to expect. You’ll have access to a variety of weapons that has two firing modes such as standard shooting, or extra damage shots that gobble up more ammunition. Just shoot at anything that doesn’t look human and you should be fine. You also get some nifty mutated powers as the game progresses.

Download [Strategy Informer] Read [Gamershell]

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In 2001 Tom Clancy put his name to an incredible tactical squad-based first-person shooter called Ghost Recon, a franchise that contains almost prophetic parallels with current events.

In the original Ghost Recon game, set in 2008, Russia is taken over by ultra-nationalists who want to rebuild the might of the former Soviet Union by re-acquiring several Eastern European states. The reasoning for the Russian spread in the game could just be to regain the former territory of the Soviet Union or to do as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Telegraph when he said he would “protect the lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located.” Even more coincidental, the game opens in the former-Soviet state of Georgia. While the spread of the Russian sphere of influence is incredibly quick, it is still unsettling at how close it is to real events.

Near the beginning of the Summer 2008 Olympics, Russia invaded Georgia, claiming they were provoked because a region of Georgia, South Ossetia, wants to separate from Georgia. The Georgian government ordered a major offensive on the region. Telegraph reports that separatist leaders say that the Georgian shelling of Tskhinvali, South Ossetian capital, killed over one thousand people. They have also quoted Medvedev as saying “We won’t allow the death of our compatriots to go unpunished.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to the same article, made claims that the Georgian government committed ethnic cleansing in the region. While Georgia has been asking the West for assistance in removing Russian troops, Lavrov has also asked the West to come to the right conclusions on this military act. This act is one that threatens to drag more nations into the mix. This may be a catalyst for something bigger and much uglier or it could be resolved quickly. However it all depends on the actions of the powers that be.

Read [Overclockers Club] Also Read [Telegraph]

Photo from Georgia borrowed from USA Today.

Full Story » | Written by Jonathan Gronli for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Game Critics Awards list of the best games of 2008 has just been announced and the winners for the Best of E3 2008 include Fallout 3, LittleBigPlanet, Spore, Gears of War 2 and Madden NFL 09.

Here’s the complete list of this year’s winners:

• Fallout 3 published by Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 won Best of Show and Best Role Playing Game.
• Mirror’s Edge published by DICE/Electronic Arts for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 won Best Original Game
• LittleBigPlanet published by Media Molecule and Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 won Best Console Game and Best Social/Casual/Puzzle.
• Spore published by Maxis/Electronic Arts won Best PC Game.
• Resistance: Retribution published by Bend Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation Portable won Best Handheld Game.
• Rock Band 2 Ion “Drum Rocker” Set published by ION Audio/MTV Games for Xbox 360 won Best Hardware/Peripheral.
• Gears of War 2 published by Epic Games and Microsoft Game Studios for the XBox 360 won Best Action Game.
• Dead Space published by EA Redwood Shores/EA for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 won Best Action/Adventure Game.
• Pure published by Black Rock/Disney Interactive Studios for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 won Best Racing Game.
• Madden NFL 09 published by Tiburon/EA for All Systems won Best Sports Game
• Street Fighter IV published by Capcom for Arcade systems won Best Fighting Game
• Tom Clancy’s EndWar published by Ubisoft Shanghai/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 won Best Strategy Game
• Left 4 Dead published by Valve/EAP for PC and Xbox 360 won Best Online Multiplayer

Read [LA Times.com] Site [Game Critics Awards]

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Title: Sea Life Safari
Price: 800 Microsoft Points (US$10)
System(s): Xbox Live
Release Date: June 18, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Sierra Online (Wanako)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Pros: Some very nice graphics. Potentially entertaining for young gamers who like to collect stuff.
Cons: Too short, a bit too easy, promotes throwing stuff at fish and an awkward representation of photo judgment.
Overall Score: One thumb sideways, one thumb down; 69/100; D+; * 1/2 out of five.

Forget the breathing apparatus. Never mind chartering a potentially expensive boat. Don’t even worry about a stinky wetsuit. Sea Life Safari whittles down a tour of the colorful sea floor floor to a few voyeuristic minutes without the expensive hassles. Instead, you float around and simply take pictures of just about everything that moves and the entire game lasts about as long as your average diving cylinder.

Smile, You’re on Underwater Camera

Sea Life Safari is a first-person single-player scuba diving game where you snap photos of aquatic lifeforms to score points. You spend the game drifting through five environments taking pictures of more than 60 creatures and otherwise trying to get them to perform for you.

At the end of your roll of film, all of the images are scored according to semi-professional photographer standards including the crop, the rarity of the creature, the creature’s pose and orientation, centering and overall excitement of the image.

While many of the creatures are good looking on their own, you can also toss metal balls at them to entice them to strike poses you, resulting in even better photos.

The scores are then used for online ranking, the only online feature of the game.

Glub Glub Glub

SLS has some pretty decent graphics of the various sea creatures but other than that it’s a bit lacking. Objects pop into view (likely due to Xbox Live file size limitations) even though the water is always pretty clear. The creatures you do happen by are hardly afraid of you and willing to hang around a few extra seconds.

Since the goal is pretty straightforward, the only real challenge is patience and good aim tossing metal balls at animals. Patience might be a good lesson to learn but tossing anything at an animal to get its attention is not the best lesson to teach younger gamers, who are likely the target audience of this game. Admittedly, some of the reactions are kinda cute and since the orbs are endless and the fish don’t seem to mind, you can toss to your heart’s content.

Even though this is a photography game, it doesn’t offer any real photographers’ tools. There’s no focusing, shutter speed or other technical stuff to worry about. You basically point, zoom in or out and click, which makes it pretty easy for young gamers to play. Any good photographer will tell you that a decent post-snap crop can truly improve an image, not the chance positioning on the lens. You also cannot delete images you don’t like or didn’t mean to take (again, film, not a digital camera). This means you’ll likely be left with a bunch of junky images you would never keep on your digital camera. Fortunately, you can dive to your heart’s content and keep trying to get the best photo of that funny turtle.

Finally, you have to take pictures of individual swimming stuff. It doesn’t really matter if you get a school of fish that looks amazing or a particularly nice piece of crusty wreckage. Instead, a single fish, full body, large in view, facing you and doing some weird move or expression will result in a supposedly better photo and better score. It’s not really teaching proper photo judgment as it is teaching how to judge animation art (which follows the same basic criteria).

Barely Treading Water

This PC game port to Xbox Live offers some decent looking creatures and a couple hours of entertainment for the youngest of gamers.

Otherwise, I cannot recommend this for most gamers, especially at $10. If it gets knocked down to $5, then it might be worth getting for the kids in your house to periodically return to enjoy a few underwater moments searching for mermaids. Otherwise, enjoy the screenshots. The only thing you’ll really be missing are a few sound effects and tossing crap at fish.

Product Page [Sea Life Safari (XBLA)] Read [Wired] Product Page [Sea Life Safari (PC)] Photo Gallery [Gamertell]

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EA is celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the Madden NFL franchise as Madden NFL 09 prepares to ship out on August 12, 2008, for PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS, Xbox and Xbox 360. This is a milestone that EA feels needs to be celebrated in Madden’s gameplay. What better way to rub your touchdown pass into the face of your opponent that with a victory dance? EA has that one covered.

Instead of watching pre-rendered end zone taunts, players can now participate in a customized victory dance mini-game. After scoring, a marker will be placed on the endzone that shows the player where to stand. Once there a button matching sequence will occur that shows either dance moves, or impressive aerial maneuvers. The kinds of moves available will be specific to each player so don’t expect to see the same things very often.

Madden ‘09 will have a whopping 85 new gameplay features including the Madden IQ system. This system is set up to determine how good of a player you really are. After going through 12 drills the game decides what your Madden IQ is and changes the difficulty accordingly. Basically, you don’t have to be a hardcore Madden player to enjoy playing through a season. When the game is done the option of viewing your mistakes and abilities can be accessed through the built in EA Sports Backtrack system. It’s a great way to hone in on strengths and weaknesses just like a head coach would do.

Read [Sporting News] Also Read [Macho Chip]

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Not many attendees were impressed with this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). During an interview held Thursday, (July 17, 2008) Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s senior managing director and general manager of entertainment analysis and the development division, told MSNBC that even though many fans of long running Nintendo franchise games such as Mario, Zelda or even StarFox were upset he felt that E3 was no longer a place for those types of games:

“For a very long time, E3 was an event where - and certainly Nintendo included - catered specifically to the core gamer. Now we look at more ... an opportunity for us to introduce new concepts and new types of play that we intend to bring to the broader audience, particularly because of the media that gathers at E3 now. So while attending an E3 event like this, they might be given the impression that Nintendo is no longer focusing on the games that appeal to the core gamer, in fact we’re still working on many of those titles, but it’s just not the type of event where we’ll be showcasing that anymore.”

The number of E3 attendees, according to GameDaily, has dwindled since 2006 when it was downsized to provide a less costly event to exhibitors.

“I hate E3 like this,” Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Either we need to go back to the old E3, or we’ll have to have our own private events.”

During an interview July 17, 2008 with GamesIndustryBiz Ubisoft executive director Alain Corre expressed that the conference was held at the wrong time, wrong date and location:

“For E3, it’s very important to be there, and to present the games, because even though it’s much, much smaller than it used to be, still the American media are here, all our competitors, so you need be there, to be ready and to share product. It’s one milestone in the communication of your products throughout the year, and it’s important because it’s the ramp-up for Christmas. [But] E3 here, mid-July, in the Convention Center in downtown LA - it’s not appropriate I would say.”

UbiSoft North American president Laurent Detoc told the San Francisco Chronicle the experience was horrible and remembered when “the world used to come to E3. Now it’s like a pipe-fitters show in the basement.”

Even Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter had a few things to tell GameDaily (July 21, 2008) about this year’s format of the event.

“In our view, E3 is headed for extinction, unless the publishers and console manufacturers wake up to the fact that nobody cares about the show anymore. We believe that show is ill-timed, coming after most major holiday announcements are out, and landing during ‘quiet period’ for most of the companies (making meetings with investors near-impossible).

The lack of a spectacle will likely keep media away in the future, the lack of surprises will keep retailers away, and the lack of interaction with management will likely keep investors away. Without these three constituencies, the show will likely lose its relevance. We strongly believe that E3 should be held no later than early June (when companies can meet with investors and when some ‘secrets’ have yet to be revealed), and believe that the spectacle should be restored by increasing the size of the show space.”

Even so, word has just come out that E3 2008 will happen with little indication that the format will change.

Read [MSNBC] Also Read [GameDaily] And [GameDaily]

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On the heels of Disney revealing its lineup for E3 this year, Konami has unveiled its lineup for E3 2008.  Konami’s lineup has something for everybody including music, dance, and sports titles to go along with the storied franchises of Castlevania and Silent Hill. 

Highlighting Konami’s booth will be the hands on time people can spend playing Rock Revolution and the announcement that Castlevania will be making its next gen debut on the Wii. 

Not all the games below are family-friendly but are still widely anticipated gamers young and old.  Some of the more anticipated titles include, Castlevania: Judgement, Silent Hill: Homecoming and Rock Revolution.  Of all the titles being shown at Konami’s booth, I’m most interested in Rock Revolution, considering we’ve seen how Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero 4 are raising the stakes when it comes music peripherals and features (online and off).

Here are the upcoming titles and the platforms they will be released by Konami:

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Nintendo DS

Castlevania: Judgment
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Wii

DanceDanceRevolution Hottest Party 2
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Wii

DanceDanceRevolution Universe 3
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Xbox 360

DanceDanceRevolution X
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: PlayStation 2

New International Track & Field
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Nintendo DS

Lost in Blue Shipwrecked
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Wii

Rock Revolution
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Xbox 360/PLAYSTATION 3/Wii/Nintendo DS

Silent Hill: Homecoming
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Xbox 360/PLAYSTATION 3

Time Hollow
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Nintendo DS

Elebits: Adventures of Kai and Zero
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Nintendo DS

Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2
Release date: Fall 2008
Platform: Wii/PLAYSTATION 3/Xbox 360

Read [EvilAvatar] Site [Konami]

Full Story » | Written by Kenneth for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Welcome to Gamertell’s Live Blog of the Microsoft E3 2008 press conference. It starts at 10:30 a.m. Pacific time (1:30 Eastern time) today - Monday, July 14, 2008.

10:27 a.m. (PT), Monday, July 14, 2008 - It looks like we have a few minutes before this thing gets going. Now’s the time for that last minute bathroom break or snack attack before we commence with the furious refresh-button fun.

10:31- And we’re starting. Don Mattrick is on stage giving the welcome.

10:33 - We’re treated to a strange, ‘50s style video, with… robots. Interesting.

10:37 - We’re looking at FallOut 3, it looks like the ‘50s stuff was all a clever atomic age ruse. Gameplay footage looks pretty nice, despite a little slowdown on my end.

10:42 - The music is quite interesting. I’m getting a sort of BioShock-meets-Half Life vibe here.

10:44 - So Fall Out 3 will have downloadable content… but no details yet.

10:45 -   Oh, time for some big guns. Jun Takeuchi just came out to show off Resident Evil 5

10:46 - This will be the first playable demo of the game. Chris Redfield (the protagonist) is looking pretty tough with tons of gear.

10:47 - We’re now looking at Sheva, the new playable character, and how she can team up with Chris to take down the baddies.

10:48 - the teaming-up mechanic will be integral to the gameplay in RE5. Also, we’re getting a look at a new, super-creepy enemy… and the demo is over. What a tease!

10:48 - RE 5 will come out worldwide (simultaneous release) Friday the 13th of March 2009

10:49 - here comes Peter Molyneux to talk about Fable 2. He’s telling us that it’s finished.

10:50 -We’re watching a Fable 2 trailer. It’s very cinematic, showing off the landscapes, a super-detailed town, and a bird poop surprise for some moppets on the street. Nice.

10:51 - Peter’s demoing the game, demonstrating co-op over live. You can invite other players into your game on the fly, at any time in the story.

10:52 - you can get married in Fable 2, have a house, a family, what have you. Peter’s going off about the ability to make real decisions and affect everything in the world - and this will carry over into co-op.

10:53 - It’s coming in October

10:54 - Time for a Gears of War 2 trailer - and Cliffy B is coming to the stage

10:56 - According to Cliff, it’s the most anticipated game of any platform this holiday season. He’s demoing it live now, the set pieces look fantastic.

10:58 - There’s plenty of fire, baddies, the Gears cover system in full effect. The game is looking hot - literally.

11:00 - Marcus is making his escape in a crappy old elevator, then goes back into the warzone. Awesome stuff, and it’s giving me yet another BioShock flashback.

11:02 - New mode announced,  called horde - a multiplayer mode where up to 5 players can take on wave after wave of enemies. The game is set for worldwide release November 7, 2008.

11:03 - Mattrick is back. He’s borrowing Nintendo’s rhetoric with the family games/casual games shtick.

11:05 - It’s a numbers game… this is sort of like the cheerleading section of the presentation.

11:07 - Consumers have spent over $1 billion on Xbox live. Most impressive.

11:08 - New movie/TV partners for Xbox Live: NBC and Universal Studios. It’s montage time.

11:09 - It’s all starting today - HD video library has expanded to include MGM International and Constantine Film.

11:10 - New Xbox Live interface looks very Mii-esque. It’s coming this fall.

11:12 - Avatars announced - it’s like the Mii-killer.

11:13 - So Rare designed the avatars. This makes sense. Rare is giving an interview on how cool and customizable they are.

11:14 - Xbox interface will be redesigned from the ground up with channels and the avatars and “live party” for chats and games.

11:16 - Xbox Live primetime coming this fall, 1 vs. 100 game show announced. it’s like TV-meets web 2.0 and videogames

11:19 - Geometry Wars 2: Retro Evolved trailer looks bright, sexy, Galaga Legions announced

11:18 - Uno Rush announced, has avatar/party support. Parties can jump from game to game.

11:20 - GLADOS (from Portal) just announced Portal: Still Alive for Xbox Live Arcade, with new levels and achievements this fall.

11:22 - SouthPark teaser for Xbox Live. Nothing more than a tease.

11:24 - Xbox community games coming in the fall as well, and a new media partnership with Netflix. And there’s applause.

11:25 Xbox Live subscribers can take advantage of entire Netflix library at no extra cost - that’s very cool. And you can watch live with your party.

11:25 Shane Kim takes the stage. Talking about popular games, upcoming GTA IV content.

11:26 - Rare trailers, Banjo- Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts has a very cartoony, adorable video. They have remixed tunes from the N64 games in the background, and it’s showing off the vehicle-construction aspect.

11:27 - Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise looks gorgeous, as ever. Trailer is framed as an Animal Planet special, it’s kooky, but it works. 2 new areas available (snow and desert).

11:30 - The original Banjo-Kazooie will be made available on Xbox Live alongside the new game.

11:30 - New games announced: party-game: Scene IT? Box Office Smash using the 1-button controller.

11:32 - New game -You’re in the Movies - where you actually make lame, hilarious B movies using the camera and doing actual motions, looks funny, very family-oriented. This is very Wii-esque.

11:35 - The dancing game is almost as hilariously embarrassing as Reggie at last year’s E3.

11:37 - the mini-game scenes are put together digitally into a very funny short film. I think I want this game.

11:38 - Directors mode allows you to edit, share with the world. Xbox 360 vision camera announced for this holiday.

11:39 - Music games time - Guitar Hero World Tour - new drums with cymbals, 80 songs, new dlc

11:40 - Music studio allows players to use a music creator and share your tracks with the world.

11:41 - REM trackpack coming first to Xbox 360, and new Metallica partnership announced.

11:43 - Lips trailer shows hipsters partying, singing, enjoying life. It’s a karaoke game with a very funky presentation.

11:44 - Lips will be available this holiday. Keiichi Yanno, the creator is extolling its features. You can sing from your own music collection, you can plug in your zune or ipod. New wireless mics announced.

11:45 -Duffy is performing “Mercy” onstage, her music is in the game. Background visuals are… interesting. A step up from Guitar Hero, anyway.

11:49 -We’re talking Rock Band 2 now, the exclusive September release on Xbox 360. Alex from Harmonix is onstage talking about the music. Full setlist is up. 84 songs (all masters)

11:50 - Axle Rose debuts first track from Chinese Democracy, Bob Dylan’s Tangled up blues, AC/DC will be in the game.

11:53 - 20 bonus tracks will be available for download this fall, all dlc from the original game will be “seamlessly integrated” and almost all Rock Band 1 tracks will be compatible with the new title

11:55 - Final guest, president of Square Enix, Yoichi Wada.

11:57 - Infinite Undiscovery will be released September 2, North America, Sep. 5th In Europe, and the 11th in Asia.

11:58 - Star Ocean: The Last Hope hits in Spring 2009, The Last Remnant comes this holiday season, November 20th. Playing the Last Remnant trailer now, graphics look great, almost hand-painted and hyperreal.

11:59 - Wada: “The Last Remnant will also be available on Games for Windows”.

12:00 (Noon) - Mattrick is back again, championing the console. Oh, Wada interupts him for another announcement!

12:01 p.m. - It’s a faraway angle, hard to make out, but there are swooping shots of… airships?, cinematic music.

12:02 - Panzer Dragoon, is that you?

12:03 - No, it’s Final Fantasy XIII - what a coup…

12:04 - Crowd seems pleased. So does Mattrick and Wada. Wada is giving more info…

12:05 - Wada thanks everyone, Mattrick looks smug. Saying that many PlayStation franchises are coming to the 360. Rub it in!

12:06 - ...And we’re done. Check back tomorrow for our continued liveblog coverage of E3 2008! Thanks for reading.

Read [Gamertell’s E3 2008 Coverage]

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E3, up until about 2006 or so, was the huge, major, central expo for the industry. A huge percentage of the big announcements and unveiling’s occurred at E3 - they still do, as evidenced by our massive E3 coverage and the fact that everyone is buzzing with excitement about next week. It’s just that now, we have a steady stream of news all year long, and several other expos, like PAX, E-for-all, and GDC that offer up plenty of buzz-worthy announcements.

But back in the day (the day being 2000-2006, in this installment), E3 was king. If you’ve read part 1, you know that the show was started in the mid 1990’s, and it grew steadily into the biggest single event of the year for the press, gamers, developers, harried PR people, and the “booth babes” as they were called. The early 2000’s continued the trend, with ever-increasing attendance rates and marketing budgets.

Truly one of the most exciting E3 moments -ever- was the unveiling of the Metal Gear Solid 2 trailer in 2000. The game was so hotly anticipated, and the PlayStation 2 was such a new technological marvel at the time, that the amazing-looking trailer literally brought some show-goers to tears. Powerful, postmodern stuff, no? The 2001 show was all about new hardware and the bloody console war, with Microsoft’s first foray into console gaming (the Xbox) and Nintendo’s latest, the Gamecube.

As the years went on, the current state of the industry was established. Nintendo started going experimental and casual, first with the DS’ unveiling in 2004 and finally with 2006’s epic showing of the Wii, in which attendees waited in hours-long lines just to get a swing at Wii Sports. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 both had stellar, super-hyped shows in 2005 and 2006, respectively, and a host of hot titles were shown off to the massive audience.

Everything changed for 2007 - the show became a much smaller, much more compartmentalized affair, with invitation-only press conferences playing to harried journalists rushing from one location to another. Still, the “Big three” each had a massive press conference, streamed in realtime to eager fans the world over, and there was plenty of excitement over titles like Halo 3, Assassin’s Creed, Super Mario Galaxy, and so on. 2008 looks to be a similar affair - but that doesn’t mean there’ll be any shortage of big reveals. We’ll find out next week, so stay tuned!

Read [Part 1]

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There may be some hope for Halo fans who are waiting for their Xbox 360s afflicted with the Red Ring of Death. Genius Products and B1 Games are going to be releasing a Halo Interactive Strategy Board Game. In September 2008, players will be able to face off against one another as the UNSC Marines and Covenant in a modular board game. The image at the right from ICv2 shows concept art of the game’s box.

The Halo board game will have different play modes to suit different play styles. People can play fast Heroic games, epic Legendary games, campaign Slayer games or PvP Capture the Flag games. Also, Genius Products and B1 Games will release expansion packs with extra characters and vehicles.

Some people may want to get snarky about this, claiming that a board game version of Halo could never live up to the original video game, but I’m cautiously optimistic. The Halo Interactive Strategy Board Game almost sounds like it could be akin to Stratego or Risk, and we all know how much fun those can be.

Read [ICv2] Also Read [Wired]

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Last time we took a look at the original trilogy of Prince of Persia games, and now we move onto the era of Ubisoft. The French developer took the franchise in a new direction, while maintaining the original feel the series was known for.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Despite the mainly negative reaction to the first 3D Prince of Persia, when publishing giant Ubisoft picked up the rights to the franchise it decided to stray from its two-dimensional roots. Designer Jordan Mechner joined up with the team at Ubisoft Montreal in an attempt to finally bring the classic gameplay of the original PoP games into the modern era. The fruit of their labor was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Story: Released in 2003, The Sands of Time received almost universal critical acclaim and several Game of the Year awards. The game featured the most engrossing story the series had seen yet. While attacking an Indian kingdom with the Persian army, the Prince discovers a magical dagger that grants him power over time. Later, the Prince is tricked by an evil Vizier into releasing the titular sands of time, which infect the world, turning regular citizens into violent, hideous sand monsters. He eventually restores the sands, and in the process, reverses all of the events that happened, including a romantic relationship with the daughter of the Indian Maharajah, Farah. But since all of their time together had been reversed, by the end of the game she no longer has any memory of him.

Gameplay: The dagger of time created the most unique gameplay aspect of the new Prince of Persia. With it, players could now control time by reversing events that had happened. For example, if a player was hurt by an enemy, reversing time would refill their health bar. The dagger had a bar itself, which could be refilled by killing the sand monsters who would then release the sand used by the dagger.

Aside from the dagger, Sands did an excellent job of updating Prince of Persia for a modern audience. The Prince’s trademark acrobatics made a return, and this time around he could run along walls or even jump back and forth between them. These moves are also translated into combat, which would often see the Prince taking on several enemies at once, forcing him to use high-flying tactics to survive.

Unlike many games that receive such high critical praise, Sands was also a commercial success, and so, Ubisoft brought out a sequel just a year later.

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

The release of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within saw a dramatic change in tone for the series. For the first time in its history, the lead designer of this Prince of Persia game was not Mechner. Instead, Kevin Guillemette took the reigns, and the result was a much darker, grittier game.

Story: Warrior Within takes place seven years after Sands, and sees the Prince haunted by the guardian of time, Dahaka. Since the Prince was able to escape death in the first game by using the dagger of time, Dahaka wished to kill him in order to set the time-line straight. But, in an attempt to save himself, The Prince heads to the island of time in order to stop the magical sand from ever being created in the first place. Throughout the game, the Prince’s journey becomes entangled with that of Kaileena, the Empress of Time. Having witnessed her own death at the hands of the Prince, Kaileena attempts to kill him in order to save herself. In the end the two join together and are able to kill Dahaka and escape their fates.

Gameplay: While Warrior marked a strong stylistic change for the series, for the most part the gameplay remained in tact. The platforming, puzzle solving, and adventuring elements were all as good, if not better, than what was seen in the games predecessor. However, the new direction had a strong impact on combat. The Prince could now carry two weapons at once, as well as use combos, special attacks, and the environment in battle. Warrior also featured extremely violent fatalities—including full-on decapitations—which caused the game to receive a Mature rating in North America, a first for the series.

But despite the still solid gameplay, many fans were disappointed with the changes made to the series. And so with the final installment in the trilogy, Ubisoft decided to go back to what made the original so successful.

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

Guillemette once again headed up the third installment of the series, but this time, scaled back the violence and darkness that turned so many off of Warrior. But while Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones harks back to Sands of Time, it also has a a fair bit of Warrior‘s spirit, merging some of the best aspects of its predecessors.

Story: This time around the Prince finds his ship attacked by an army led by the Vizier from Sands—who, despite dying in the first game, is alive due to the Prince’s reversing of time. When the Prince attempts to stop the Vizier from making himself immortal with the dagger of time, he ends up being partially contaminated by the sands. This contamination leads to the creation of the Dark Prince, an alter-ego that is much stronger and more aggressive compared to his lighter counter-part.

Eventually, the Prince is able to overcome the darkness that tried to consume him, and kills the Vizier once and for all. Farah, who has no memory of the events of Sands, once again falls in love with the Prince and becomes his Queen.

Gameplay: Gameplay wise, Thrones feels a great deal like Sands, with a very strong emphasis on platforming and puzzle solving. The Prince has many more moves at his disposal this time around, including more impressive wall jumps and the ability to balance on swinging poles. In terms of combat, the Prince is once again armed with the dagger of time, which removes a great deal of the excessive violence seen in Warrior. But with the inclusion of the Dark Prince, not all was lost. When he transforms to his dark alter-ego, the Prince becomes much more powerful and is given a new weapon, a serrated whip that has become fused to his arm. This whip allows him to pull enemies in close, for some impressive kills. But, as with everything good, there are drawbacks to being a Dark Prince. When in that state the Prince’s health would slowly drain. In order to keep him alive players were forced to continually collect the sands of time released from fallen foes.

With Thrones, Ubisoft was able to successfully close out one of the biggest series’ of this decade. But with the story wrapped up, many wondered where the franchise would head next. Next time, we will take a look at the future of Prince of Persia, which includes a brand new take on the series, as well as a big-budget, major motion picture.

Read [Gamertell’s Prince of Persia Chronicles Part 1: The Early Years]

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Zombies get a bad rap. The majority of them just can’t help their innate, ravenous urges. I’m sure if they had a choice in the manner, we’d see quite a few vegetarian, or even vegan, members of the Undead. You don’t get mad at lions for chasing cute zebras, or vultures from scavenging off the zebras’ carcass once the lions are done.

Quite a few video games even portray some more rational zombies. So since not all zombies are evil, we shouldn’t instantly condemn or fear them. Zombies are simply a part of the circle of life, and we should accept the good along with bad. Besides, if someone isn’t able to outwit/outrun a zombie, then maybe that person deserves to get eaten.

Looking at every zombie as a numb, killing scavenger is stereotyping which, as we know, is wrong. Some zombies go against their inner nature and attempt to make a positive contribution to society. Zombies in Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys, Stubbs the Zombie and Cry of the Infected provide views of zombies who are more than compulsive eaters.

Fins, Half-pipe and Lefty from Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys

Fins, Half-pipe and Lefty are a perfect example of some of the zombies that are just good people. They have the common courtesy to remain in their graves resting, and only decide check out the living world when the irresistable scent of oversized brain. Plus the trio ignores the succulent human brains in favor of the alien brain thingys.

Perhaps one could argue that the trio seeks alien brains because they require less effort to acquire. Most of the alien brain thingys are heavily armed throughout Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys, while the humans run around screaming, flailing their arms like little kids. So clearly the humans would be the easier appetizer. Fins, Half-pipe and Lefty clearly have some sort of zombie-moral compass, or at the very least know how to prioritize.

Stubbs from Stubbs the Zombie in “Rebel Without a Pulse”

Stubbs is a bit of a stretch, but you have to realize that most of his actions are motivated by conscious decisions rather than hunger. Stubbs is very busy in Rebel Without a Pulse - he goes on a bit of a rampage, eats a few people, creates a zombie army, decimates the town of Punchbowl and avenges his own death. But the only reason he did all this was because he was unjustly murdered to begin with.

In fact, after he accomplishes his mission, finds his love Maggie Monday and makes her a zombie, he’s content to just end things. He could have taken down his son Andrew, after Andrew tried to avenge his mother Maggie and Punchbowl by attacking Stubbs, but doesn’t because Maggie steps forward. Stubbs and Maggie then take off on their own to live a happy, peaceful un-life together.

Robert from Cry of the Infected

Robert is a civilian casualty in Cry of the Infected who has been accidentally turned into one of the undead because of a biological weapon which has accidentally infected the entire city. Rather than just rampage and search for some cerebellum, Robert decides his first priority is to find his wife.

Throughout Cry of the Infected, Robert, and at times the other zombies, are portrayed as actually having some intellect and emotion. Robert’s devotion to his wife remains despite his transformation. The other zombies lash out at each other and other people not only in hunger, but in both anger and desperation after what has been done to them. This game shows that zombies can have emotions other than hunger which motivate their actions.

So next time you see a zombie, don’t immediately reach for your weapon. Give your undead friend a chance to show his/her intentions. Then grab your blunt objects or records and aim for the head - survival of the fittest after all.

Site [Teenage Zombies: Attack of the Alien Brain Thingys] Site [Stubbs the Zombie] Site [Cry of the Infected]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

If you want to purchase downloadable games on the current generation of consoles, only one company has made it counter-intuitive. It’s not Sony - they charge actual $US money for games. Neither is it Nintendo, which uses and one-to-one, point-to-penny system.

Why the hell, then, does Microsoft bother with a non-equal point system? I have two guesses: misdirection and laziness.

Which sounds less expensive to you: 800 Microsoft Points or $10? When you use large numbers to reflect small amounts, they seem smaller than actual. More pragmatically, this also allows Microsoft to keep one MP price for each item while allowing for different per point prices in other countries. That means less work for Microsoft’s programmers. Of course, the math is pretty easy.

To convert your US currency to Microsoft Points, you use either of these simple formulas:

Sure seems like 100 points for $1.00 would be easier for customers. With most of the Xbox Live downloadable games costing 800 points, that means you are actually paying $10 per game. Those little 200-points extras - crappy gamer images, skins are other silly stuff - really cost $2.50 each.

OK, so I’m being a little harsh. A Scrip system like this (“scrip” is what the pros call using tokens and non-money to represent money) cuts down on international exchange fees as well. But, damn, if some people are still not confused by it.

Figuring it out involves math and, for many, numbers are scary. (“Oh no, the number 3 is threatening to bite me!”) Instead, you can use various online or downloadable calculators to convert most currencies into MPs.

ONLINE CONVERTERS

• My favorite online conversion site, and the most popular, is MSPConverter. You type in a point value and it instantly shows you the actual cost in eight different currencies. It also has the simpliest yet most appealing design of all the calculators.
• Another nice but not quite as snazzy converter is on Thomas Meyer’s personal site. It lacks graphics but has several preset buttons for single-press results (no typing required) and also shows results for multiple currencies.
• Taking a step down are a couple with mediocre better results displays such as Wrong Advices and Roxxor. If looks don;t count then, hey, these work, too.
• There are some similar we-based converters that don’t have either a refined interface or refined results. Most often they include a simple script and then spit out accurate result as a text line and for only one (sometimes selectable) currency, which means you usually have a spend a few second hunting for the result. Examples include 260Plex and Gangster Panda.

OFFLINE CONVERTERS
For those who prefer extra icon on your desktop, you an also download various homebrew converters for your PC (both Macintosh and Windows). The good news is that these are all pretty small and easy to install. The bad news is they are pretty limited and the downloads might eventually move.

• For Windows there is FactorX Games (download), which is small, easy to use and only converts to US$. The other is Xbox Xchg 1.1 available through Softpedia (download) which requires the Yahoo! Widget Engine (yet another download).
• For Mac you can download Microsoft Points Calculator 1.0 from Softpedia (download).

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Full Story » | Written by PJ Hruschak for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

For those of you who have decided to take my advice and download the Japanese arcade game Ikaruga for Xbox Live, here are a few tips that should help you enjoy the game:

The Single Polarity Approach
If you are going for maximum points, you’ll be switching polarity every second or two. You can, instead, play through many sections with only one polarity. This will help minimize accidental deaths and make levels with quickly swarming opponents a little easier. It will also help charge up your more deadly secondary attack much more quickly since killing same polarity opponents releases additional same polarity goo. You will still need to swap polarities to get through many areas, so don’t think you can avoid that B button all day. Trying to play as long as possible with one polarity can also prove a nice challenge for those who finish and can cruise through the game.

B Button Boogie
If you are especially good at holding down a button (without chronic thumb stress) and resisting the urge to tap unless necessary, then use the Polarity switching button (the B button) to fire. Normally the A Button is for firing and the B Button is for swapping polarity, but if you lift and re-press B, it will continue to fire. The trick will be to switch at the right moment without mistakes, otherwise you’ll be the wrong polarity in the middle of a barrage of bullets. This will be the technique the pros use to really rack up the pointage,

Communication is Key
When playing online, plug in your headset and turn it on. I usually don’t bother with my headset for most games (yeah, I’m that guy - don’t be a hater) but, with Ikaruga, communication can help you both stay in the right polarity. It’s also especially helpful when one of you forgets the polarity of the upcoming opponent. Also, many swarms and bosses alternate between polarities for attacks, so one can charge up their secondary attack with the same polarity while the other lays in with the opposing polarity attacks. Bosses also often lay out two or more drones that will overlap the attack with small doses of opposing polarity fire, just to keep you on your toes.

Charge!
If you really dig the fierce secondary attack, then you may want to sit and suck up same polarity projectiles for a while. Opponents will retreat after a while (without penalty), so you can decide whether you want to (or need to) max out your polarity intake or take them out as they retreat for a few extra points. A skilled player can usually do both.

It’s Swithin’ Time
Get very used to the dead time between your polarity switching since you cannot fire when in mid-switch (which is unfortunate). Also, switching right after killing a same polarity opponent can put you on top of wrong polarity fire. Get used to either switching a little earlier to resisting the urge to kill that nasty until after you make the switch.

Product Page [Ikaruga] Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by PJ Hruschak for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »