Game On

Locked, loaded and dancing to the rhythms of your machine gun.After the attacks, our leaders tried to reassure us. "They started this
war," we were told. Our enemy was "threatening the peace of the
universe." Our leaders declared that "the time for diplomacy is past."
It was up to us to "get it done." We were assured that the first wave
of our assault would deal "decisive blows" to the Helghan forces.

But
when we arrived, we found that their forces were far from blown apart.
Helghan soldiers are everywhere. Their glowing red eyes emerge from the
gloom of their disfigured cities. They peep through the scrim of dust
that blows across their deserts. "Red eyes!" someone from my squad
yells. And we all turn and fire on the crimson targets.
The
Helghast are decent fighters. They adjust their position to flank me as
I move. They yell "Shit!" when I throw a grenade into their midst. But
I'm learning how they think. If I keep my scope trained on a spot where
I just saw a Helghast's eyes, they will reliably pop up again. And if I
kill one Helghast, another takes its place. It's not that they're
unintelligent. They're just predictably intelligent.

Blanka would kick both of these guys' asses.The drive-in is jumping tonight. A low-rider with purple flames bounces
next to a Hummer topped with a row of girls. In the shadows, hip-hop
boys pump their arms, and Vegas-scale neon signs emblazon "DINER" and
"BURGER" across the sky.

I enter the ring of headlights with the
authentic swagger of a worldwide legend. As Ryu, I've been starring in
the Street Fighter franchise for twenty years now. My arms, as massive
as gnarled tree trunks, burst out of the ripped shoulders of my
karategi. My feet are bare and bigger than my head.
My opponent,
however, is new to the game. Named Rufus, he is an obscenely fat
American topped with a bright yellow braid of hair. His belly roils
like water in a bag, and his breasts wiggle violently as he kung-fus
himself across the arena.

Yes, even virtual players are on 'roids. Of all the jobs in the world, I never thought I'd be managing a
baseball team. I like baseball. I watch baseball. I've even played
baseball. But managing baseball is all about directing a group of men
toward a unified goal. It's an American ideal. And I'm not sure I can
even navigate all of these menus.

MLB Front Office Manager is a
baseball simulation that sits on the screen like an operating system
from the last century. A tower of choices is stacked up along the side
of the screen with names such as "Payroll," "Transactions" and "Budget
Allocation." Somehow, amidst these unintuitive options, I'm supposed to
find the path to victory.
During my first career-with the New
York Yankees-I managed to lose most of my best players because I failed
to visit the menu that would have let me renew their contracts. After
ruining that venerable franchise, I transferred my ignorance to the
L.A. Dodgers where I was unable to successfully negotiate with Manny
Ramirez. It's not that I wasn't willing to pay him a superstar's
salary-I just couldn't figure out how to control the arbitration.

How to kill a ninja:
You can always kill a ninja with a flurry of indiscriminate sword-swings. But ninjas are resilient little suckers-almost as durable as you are. It can take a lot of sword-swings, which just isn't practical when you're facing a whole pack. If you really want to put a ninja to rest quickly and efficiently, you'll want to bisect them.

Adolescent boys rejoice, Laura has returned. Tomb Raider helped define the original Playstation. The game sold
millions of copies spinning many sequels and a brassiere-busting silver
screen turn from a pre-tabloid Angelina Jolie. Now Laura Croft returns
for another adventure with Underworld. Making her way through the
wilderness of the Mediterranean, the deep jungles of Mexico and other
exotic locations around the world that would give Indiana Jones a run
for his money. On Laura's plate this time is the quest for the
legendary Hammer of Thor. As with most of the Tomb Raider games you
have to make your way through mind-numbing puzzles and just about every
trap you could think of.

Most Tomb Raider games follow a basic
outline, and this one is no different. The layout of the game is
gorgeous, and the lush landscapes team with life. A lot of time was put
into the environments and animals to make them more realistic than the
original Tomb Raider game. Crystal Dynamics was able to blend Tomb
Raiders' old-school puzzle solving, shooting, and climbing so they
overlap each other. The result is smoother and more realistic. A neat
change also new to this edition is the melee combat system that makes
Laura fight and keep her distance from her attackers at the same time.

Yes it's (almost) February, but every other website or magazine
started, or ended the year, with a "Top 10" or "Best Of" list, so it
must be a good idea, right?
Either way, we're not sure if 2008
stacked up to 2007's monster gaming year, but there were certainly a
few bright spots worth revisiting.
10. Metal Gear Solid
4: Guns of Patriots. The original MGS was what hooked me on the first
Sony game machine and this title was well worth the wait. Could this be
the end of Solid Snake? Don't bet on it!
9. Mario Kart Wii. Even
though the Mario Kart franchise is 16-plus years old it still kicks
ass. With on-line multi-player for the next generation and addictive
game play, MK Wii never gets old.

Puff on this dragon.Ever since Mario took the game scene by storm there have been many
attempts to steal the limelight from the-little-plumber-that-could,
with little success. One exception is Spyro the Dragon.

The first
Spyro game was released in 1998 on the original Playstation. The game
was a straightforward platform game with Spyro freeing fellow dragons
from their crystal prisons. The game won praise from gamers and spawned
several sequels.
Now comes the latest Spyro adventure, which is
really more of a remake. The game uses an all-star cast of actors
playing the main characters, including Spyro and sidekick Cynder. The
game concludes much like the original game wherein Spyro must defeat
his archenemy Malefor, the Dark Master.

Even as Central Oregon snowboarders have been praying for snow, there has been something available in the video game world to get them through the drought. Shaun White Snowboarding comes at a time when snowboarding games like SSX and 1080 have all but disappeared. Why it has taken so long to fill the gap is a mystery, but developer Ubisoft has taken the reins. The game was created using the Assassin's Creed game engine - a wise choice - and will be released on the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The Wii version was created separately from the other two versions and is capable of using the Wii balance board.

A lot of sports games are released with a star's name and face attached, with little or no input from the celebrity. Shaun White Snowboarding, however shows much of his personality and the laid-back humor of the sport of snowboarding. At this year's E3 he even gave a demonstration of the game. The characters in the game are stereotypically goofy, similar to the ones in the SSX games, but the attitude and mood seem to blend nicely. Even the snowboarding gear on the characters is used with permission from real life sponsors. The music is almost a character in the game itself; classic rock and indie artists thump your speakers while you tear up the slopes.

A glimpse of "Gears of War" – one of the reasons people keep buying games.Now comes the time of year when family and friends are wanting their favorite video games which probably means dipping into funds that might be a bit short. With video games popular as ever and an influx of family oriented games hitting the market, there are many ways that you can get them inexpensively. Here are a few tips that may stretch your holiday gaming dollar and leave a bit left over for you to get a game for yourself.

Sales: Many retailers this year are having big sales to make up for a slow year, this means a lot of good deals to be had. Some retailers like Wal-Mart are giving gift cards with game systems so you can pick up a system and use the cards to pick up a few games. Check the Sunday ads and be there early to get the best picks.

War! What is it good for?When the Xbox 360 was put into the hands of gamers, the one title that
was to ride its wave was Halo 3. That was true for the most part, but
another shooter has made a lot of gamers happy, the original Gears of
War, which was released back in the fall of 2006. The game sold more
than five million copies and garnered a huge following. The fact that
so many gamers continue to play the original Gears online despite a lot
of competition from newer games in the same genre says a lot about the
game's strengths.