Shawn Wallbaum

With a popular franchise like Guitar Hero it was only a matter of time
before game makers took a stab at crossing over to another platform.
Well, game developer Vicarious Visions has answered the call with a
guitar-like attachment for the Nintendo DS that allows obsessive guitar
heroes to play the game (Guitar Hero: On Tour) on the go.

This took
some creative engineering, but they were able to create an attachment
that resembles the games' original "guitar" neck, which plugs into the
Game Boy Advance slot on the Nintendo DS Lite and Original DS systems.
You use the stylus screen to strum with a guitar pick-like stylus. This
can be frustrating, but shouldn't keep you from getting the hang of the
game.

Don't mess with Snake's eye patch – or else!Generally, this time of year when kids are out of school, people are taking trips and enjoying the summer weather while video games take a back seat. But with the release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, those same kids may become firmly planted back in front of the TV. Metal Gear makes a gamer's heart jump and is synonymous with stealth action and cinematic storytelling. But with this latest installment, can the game support the weight of a reputation as one of the greatest narratives in gaming history? MGS4 is perhaps the first PlayStation 3 exclusive title to really get gamers fired up.
 
While titles like Uncharted Waters and GT Prologue got some attention, they didn't have nearly the impact of this baby. MGS4 takes place in 2014, half a decade after the "big shell incident" of Metal Gear Solid 2. It starts off in the Middle East with relatively lengthy cinematics mixed with brief moments of game play. These set the scene and give you an idea of the basic controls for crawling and moving to objectives. You will spend the next 20-odd hours chasing down Liquid Snake and dispensing of several bosses. Apart from the character-related plot, the story in MGS4 focuses on the proliferation of Private Military Companies and the rapid adoption (and control through) nanotechnology. Snake looks older than the last time you saw him, which seems to mainly play into the storyline and have little effect on game play. Apart from the occasional sore-back animation, Snake is as agile as he's ever been.

I shoot you, you shoot me. We’re a shooting family. With three very popular books written by author Robert Ludlum and three very successful movies based on them starring Matt Damon as the amnesiac hero/spy Jason Bourne, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that this might make a really cool video game. Developer High Moon Studios has made a game for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 that combines elements of the book and film series. As one of the best cinematic action series of the last decade, it would take a game developer a lot of effort to make a game that's as compelling and action oriented as the movies. But, for the most part, they have done just that.
The Bourne Conspiracy is basically a retelling of The Bourne Identity with a nice prequel that could be made into a game or movie. The creators went all out on this one with using Bourne screenwriter Tony Gilroy, Eric Lustbader - the author of the newer Bourne novels - and the late Robert Ludlum's estate to bring out the best of both the movies and novels for this game. Unlike Matt Damon's rendering, the game's Jason Bourne is hard edged. While more physically and mentally scarred than Damon's Bourne, the character is still recognizable as a sleeper agent involved in project Tredstone.

Hey Rocket ManWhen the "Iron Man" video game was released in May, I wasn't looking forward to it. It seemed like that there were a ton of superhero movies coming out, meaning that a slew of video games would soon follow. Unfortunately, most of these titles are either bad or even worse. I had hoped "Iron Man" would be different. Well, it is. It might not be entirely successful (to say the least), but Sega's adaptation at least tries to escape the usual formula. Instead of just a regular beat-em-up or a poorly thought out open-world adventure, Sega gives us a game that has parts of some really above- level games like "Battlefield," "Ace Combat 6" and "Hulk Ultimate Destruction." This sounds like the making of a great game, but don't get too excited. While Iron Man's shiny red and gold metal plating armor isn't riddled with the usual malfunctions, it still has a lot of flaws.
Some of the flaws are apparent right from the start. After the first cut scene, the game kick starts into arms tycoon Tony Stark's escape from a Middle Eastern terrorist compound in his prototype metal suit. It's a sub-par level that rapidly exposes the worst aspects of the game like fiddly controls, a loose targeting system and repetitive fighting animations. To make things worse, you're tethered to the ground and surrounded by canyon walls for the duration. It can be understood why some of the game's various issues proved difficult to solve. With the likes of hovering, flying, close-combat abilities and three different weapons systems to control, there was bound to be a bit of trouble getting it all mapped onto a controller. Sega's approach makes the game very difficult to come to grips with. For the first hour or so you'll struggle with the basics of flying and hovering. With more time after you'll still find it hard to keep fast moving targets in your sights. Gamers looking for a simple and casual game won't like this at all.

step it up on the wii Fit. When the Nintendo Wii hit the market, the first thing people noticed was that it required users to move their bodies while playing. Nintendo has decided to take advantage of this feature - and the fact that most Americans don't get enough exercise - by creating a video game with elements of a workout video. The Wii Fit offers up to 40 different exercises and mini games that are supposed to help players not only get into shape, but actually have fun while working off the love handles. Nintendo has packaged the game with a balance board, which is a cross between a weight scale and a video game controller. The board is a fancy looking step board that connects to the Wii wireless and can sense weight and movement, which creates lots of possibilities.. In a sense, the game presents a realistic looking personal trainer who walks you through a bunch of yoga exercises while also testing your strength. You perform the yoga, standing on the balance board as it keeps track of your center of balance and lets you know if you are shifting your weight too much to one side or the other. This helps you perform the exercises correctly and allows you to get the most out of each movement. In the strength-building part, you can do push ups, twists, squats and earn points based on how well you perform each movement.

blasting off with mario Kart. Nintendo capitalizes on the nostalgia for childhood games like Mario, Link and Samus, allowing us to relive these classics with each new Nintendo system that comes out while allowing newcomers to indulge in some retro-gaming.
But, after spending a few hundred dollars for various versions of the same game on each Nintendo console, is "Mario Kart Wii" worth it?
Yes.
A new wheel accessory and added online play through Nintendo's Wi-Fi connection give new value to the franchise. As you grip the plastic wheel (a separate, steering-wheel-shaped game controller in which you can mount the Wii remote, or Wiimote), your couch transmogrifies into a speedy go-kart. The spell is broken, however, with other controllers, such as the game pad, the Wiimote alone, or with the attached nunchuk controller. With those in hand, you might as well dust off your copy of Game Cube's "Mario Kart: Double Dash." By contrast, the wheel feels natural and requires engagement and focus. If the wheel is held carelessly, the kart will handle poorly and send you into a ditch.

American gangsta.When stores open at midnight on the day of a game’s release, you know it's big.
 
Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV is the first installment in the popular series designed for the latest game systems. The Grand Theft Auto series was the first notable game outside of the RPG genre to introduce open world game play back, which it did back in 1997 with the release of GTA 1. Now, 11 years later, with GTA 4 the evolution of the series continues.
You take on the role of Niko Bellic, a Serbian who's come to Liberty City to meet up with his cousin and find that special someone. The core game play remains intact. Players navigate a massive interactive city while completing missions that earn you props in the organized crime world.
One of the series’ stand-out features is that players can ignore the main plot and just drive around filling their criminal fantasies. Killing virtual people on the street may not seem like fun, but after five minutes in Liberty City most folks will be running from the law and beating pimps with baseball bats. The way that GTA brings out the worst in people is part of the beauty of the whole series.

crush or be crushed. As a kid I remember my grandfather spending all day playing golf. I never understood why anybody would want to hit a little ball from hole to hole. But when the original PlayStation released Hot Shots Golf about 10 years ago, I gave it a swing, and it turned out to be great fun.
 
Hot Shots Golf is back in the console realm once again with Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds. With revamped single player content and improved online play, Out of Bounds brings the series' signature style to the PlayStation 3 quite well.

In a better world, we’re all cartoonsThis was going to happen; it was just a matter of when. Electronic Arts has taken one of their premier franchises and combined it with the hottest game system around. The first installment of the Sims franchise for the Wii has arrived under the name My Sims. This game is much more cartoon-like, giving it a bright atmosphere and different approach.
If you're looking for the standard Sims game, you're in for a surprise. This version of the game is a lot simpler and easier to play. And, thanks to the Wii controller, there are plenty of new features, most notably building. The one thing that is really annoying is load times. Every time you go into a house or access the design interface, it seems like it takes forever.

What happens in vegas stays in vegasHigh Rollers, Straight Shooters
 
The original "Rainbow Six: Vegas" is one of the best shooters to come out on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. A streamlining of the "Rainbow Six" style and a tighter and more contemporary game play engine made this a successful game. This also made it successful enough for a sequel. But like most great games with follow-ups, this could be a worthy successor or an over priced add-on to the original.