Game On

Resistance 2: One of the few highly anticipated titles in ’09. Each year, the major video game and computer software companies gather to showcase what they have in store for the coming year at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo). The show began in 1995 and has been mostly held in Los Angeles with a few different locations tossed in over the years. The show itself was once a huge production with tons of booths for companies and the general public to mingle and try all the new games and consoles, but now it's a different story. Having restructured in 2007, the show is much smaller with the trade show being replaced with smaller events and a name changed to E3 Media and Business Summit. The 2008 show, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 14-17 was hardly the colorful gaming event it once was.

Here is a wrap up from the big three players at the convention: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.

Sony started its E3 show with a demo of Resistance 2, which was impressive considering that the first Resistance was one of the better launch titles for the PlayStation 3. Also a smart thing for Sony was to re-introduce the "Greatest Hits" titles for the PlayStation 3 which will include: Fight Night 3, Resistance:Fall of Man, Assassin's Creed and more titles for under $30. Responding to Microsoft’s partnership with Netflix, Sony has started its own video download service with movie studios like Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, and Lionsgate. There was also a preview of the new updated PlayStation Network and a sneak peak at Sony's new title, Home. The approach with Home is to interact with other players and do things in a virtual world like Second Life. On the PlayStation Portable (PSP) front there will be a new bundle for retail in the fall including the PSP system, UMD movie of National Treasure 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. Topping it all off was news that Sony will phase out the 40gb version of the PlayStation 3 for a 80gb system at the same price point as the 40gb system ($399.99).

Fly me to the moon. Anybody who played PC games in the early '90s could tell you that the original Civilization, which was released by MicroProse in 1991, was the most interesting strategy game. A single player game, Civilization let you build a small settlement into a mighty empire. You were allowed to explore, use diplomacy, or go to war. This formula has been updated for PCs and the next generation consoles (Xbox PS3, etc).

Civilization Revolution is one of those games that would seem to be hard to translate to a console. But in this case, the developers were able to take the best parts of the PC version of the game and keep the console owners happy at the same time. The developers mainly cut the game's micromanaging so that players can concentrate on global planning. Developers wisely limited the use of controller buttons, helping the game adapt to the console platform. Design changes aside, the game is in essence the same; construct a Civilization and dominate the world.
The game starts in 3,500 B.C. with a primitive Civilization and ends in a technological future. Between the two time frames you choose how to reign over your virtual nation. Also, in getting started you need to choose a leader. You can choose from celebrity chiefs such as Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, and Cleopatra (Abe in a wooly mammoth pelt? Cleopatra in anything, or nothing…) Each character has its advantages and disadvantages; one may excel at warfare while another might have a large cultural influence.

After the video game crash of the early 1980s, Nintendo was able to dominate the video game market with its original Nintendo Entertainment System until the Sega Genesis was released in 1989. The Genesis was part of a wave of the first 16-bit game systems released that also included the TurboGrafix 16, Neo Geo, and the Super Nintendo.
 
The Genesis initially competed with Nintendo's 8-bit system and had trouble selling in both the U.S. and Japan. Sega of America made a smart move by dropping the price of the system and including with the system its own Mario-type mascot in the form of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega also went head to head in print and TV ads with Nintendo, showing off the quality of the Genesis next to the NES, and the Genesis finally took off.
The biggest test, however, was to compete with Nintendo's 16-bit giant, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) which was released in 1992. Sega had a big advantage due to a two-year head start with its Genesis and a slew of games including big entertainment names like Michael Jackson and sports giants like Joe Montana, Arnold Palmer and Mario Lemieux. Having been labeled the "cooler" game system through marketing, the Sega Genesis had almost 50 percent of the gaming market in 1992 and owned the video game market through 1993. From that point, Sega started losing market share to Nintendo, which was releasing some fantastic games. To compete with the Super Nintendo, Sega introduced the Sega CD late in 1993.

It’s okay to tell your kids about these swingers. When developer Traveller's Tales put out two Lego Star Wars titles, audiences snapped them up. So, it only made sense to tap yet another George Lucas goldmine and take Indiana Jones to Lego land, with a focus on the three original Indy films. So could the Indiana Jones games be at least as good as the Star Wars ones?
The original Lego Star Wars games seemed at first like children's games, but ended up being quite fun. The presentation for the Indy game is just as fun and is extremely well done. It does a solid job of presenting the stories of the original three movies.
Lego Indiana Jones looks great and has some solid colors, well-drawn animations and shows a nice touch with the visual effects. This game really looks fantastic on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and even the good ol' PlayStation 2. The sound is also quite well done; you get to hear John Williams score from all three movies, along with some nice sound effects. There's nothing like hearing the crack of Indy's whip with a well-played move. The sound effects can get a little bit repetitive, but manage add to the action going on around you.

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.