The 5 Must-Own, Must-Play PS3 Exclusive Games

As an avid PS3 owner since the beginning, I've bought or played just about every game. And of course my friends list is full of others just like me. Since 2007 there have been many awesome games on the PS3. Here's a list of the 5 must-have or must-play games.

Let's start the count backwards:

Warhawk

Seriously, this game was ahead of its time. I personally logged over 1,000 hours playing it. Even though it was a 2007 release, it's still a blast to play and people are still playing it. And they updated the game with trophies.

Metal Gear Solid 4

Even if you didn't play the originals, MSG4 will be enjoyable. The gameplay is "stealthy," so if you love that type of play, this is a game you'll like. The game looks wonderful.

Little Big Planet

Perhaps one of the biggest "evolutions" with gaming, Little Big Planet took the gaming world by storm. To this day it continues to grow. And the play type is spawning another title in 2010 that's sure to be just as big.

Killzone 2

If FPS games are your thing, look no further than Killzone 2. It looks awesome and plays great. Personally, I liked it better than Call of Duty.

And don't just jump into the multiplayer game, because the story mode is awesome too.

Uncharted

Ok, this is flat out one of the most "rich" games (graphics, gameplay, story) to come out on any game console, period.

Uncharted 2 (also a PS3 exclusive) picks up where this one left off and it's even better if you can imagine that. The best thing is you can get the first Uncharted for next to nothing. Trust me, it's worth playing.

The PS3 is an awesome entertainment system. I use it for watching BLUs and gaming hard. Hope you enjoyed the article.

The author has provided some other off-topic places to check out. Recently, he visited a place to find a good Rival slow cooker. It has reviews, deals and other information (SlowCookerCooking.com).

On a side note, here's slow cookers lens at another site. Interesting stuff.

Well, check back at this very site for more gaming news, tips and information. Game on!

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Best Xbox Games on 360

With all the hype in advertising for video games today, it is hard to know how the games features really hold up to the fancy phrases and images in the ads. That's why you need the experience of an unbiased, expert who is a fellow consumer like you! I'll give you the best of the Xbox 360 in this article.

Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 Review: The latest installment of the WWE series, it is actually a pretty solid game even if your not a wrestling fan. The controls are easy to learn and gameplay is fluid. If you are a Create-A-holic like me, there are tons of things to do in this game. Create wrestlers looks, moves,taunts, gear and then create your own grapple finishing move or the new top rope finishing move creator. Then, create your own entrance for them. Then, create your own storyline! Yes, new also is the Story Creation mode. If your a WWE fan, and love to be creative, you will want to pick this one up to carry home. If not, the gameplay will probably grow stale after a while. It's worth at least a rental.

6 piledrivers out of 10

Left 4 Dead 2 Review: It's Post-Apocalypse. Zombies and mutant creatures run rampant through the streets of Louisiana. What do you do? Grab three of your buddies and shoot/hack your way to freedom through five good length campaigns, four different game modes, and an A.I. "Director" that changes the pace(monster spawns,weapons and items, etc..), you will be playing Left 4 Dead 2 long after the evacuation choppers have left. My favorite game mode is Versus where you can also played as specialized Infected characters and try to off the survivors before they make it to the safe house. A Definite BUY for FPS and zombie fans.

8 Shotguns out of 10

Dragon Age: Origins Review Bioware has been perfecting the art of the RPG for years and this is the crowning jewel so far. With combat you can choose to go on the fly and program your other members with in depth controls over their actions, or pause and give each member a specific action to perform on a specific target. Also, a lot of moral decisions are placed in front of the player, where a lot of grey area is involved, making have to look within yourself to decide what you would actually do. A lot of these choices do impact the story as well. This allows for a lot of replayability as well as all of the specialist classes(each character can have 2). Since you only have to earn them once, starting a new game leaves them open from the beginning. You will want to buy this one, as Dragon Age has a lot of content, as well as added new downloadable content from the Developer.

9 Frost Cones out of 10

Overlord II Review: Let's face it. Sometimes being the bad guy can be fun. Add an army of hilarious gremlin-like minions at your beck and call, and you would have never thought pillaging the countryside could be so fun. The controls take a little getting used to, but they are designed well and make controlling the different types of minions and your overlord not as such a daunting task as it may seem. You can also craft weapons and armor for your overlord using the souls of your creepy little friends. The minions are the key to all the puzzles in the game as well as unlocking items and areas. You can resurrect your favorite minions, who will equip weapons and armor(sometimes unique) from fallen enemies. One annoying factor I found is the map on the game screen has no compass and turns with your overlord. This can make finding your way difficult, especially with the lack of landmarks in the game environment. The game play also can get repetitive after you have conquered your first couple of towns.

6 enslaved townfolk out of 10

Dragon Age Awakening: The expansion of the smash hit Dragon Age: Origins, Awakening picks up where the original left off. The Archdemon is vanquished but Darkspawn still roam the land. You can import your Warden from the Origins(highly recommended) or start as a foreign Commander. Gameplay is great and solid, just like in Origins, but herein is a slight problem, with the addition of new abilities and specialization, you still won't see much need to deviate from your builds in Origins. In essence, Awakening really only expands on the story and not in gameplay. Still clocking in at around 20 hours, its got the length of a full game. P.S. Don't expect to see too many familiar faces from Origins.

7 Crazy Mothers out of 10

Check out The Gamer Reviews! With 20 years of electronic gaming, from Atari to PS3, here at The Gamer Reviews, you can bet we will give you the real scoop on the latest and greatest console and PC games on the market today.

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Top 10 Upcoming Games of 2009

I haven't ranked these games because they are on different platforms and very diverse categories. These games are some of the most anticipated games of 2009 and have large fan bases. They all look exciting and will provide tons of gamers with some high intensity fun!

Halo Wars - Halo Wars is a real-time-strategy (RTS) game built specifically for the Xbox 360 console. Players manage resources and create and maintain buildings and armies to complete objectives. There are two playable factions, the human UNSC and alien Covenant, with their own units, strengths, and special abilities. Players establish their armies by building and expanding bases; it is at these locations that units are trained and upgrades resourced. There are only a few base locations on each scenario or map, making base fortification and defense a key priority. Destruction of a player's last base results in defeat if a new base is not quickly reestablished. This is new territory for Halo, if they don't pull this off it could seriously hurt the Halo brand name. The game launches in the U.S. on March third, so get ready!

Guitar Hero: Metallica - Guitar Hero is such a clever idea, get a guitar and play while watching the screen patterns. Who would have thought it would be a global hit like it is? Guitar Hero 3 was awesome and then they brought out Guitar Hero: Aerosmith which focused on one band. I am more of a Metallica fan and interested in how many and which songs they will select from the Metallica song arsenal. I have started to burn out on Guitar Hero a while back but maybe this new version will spark my interest again. It comes out on March 29th.

God of War 3 - A game with great fighting and graphics, God of War is back and better than ever. This time the amount of enemies onscreen has been increased to 50 as opposed to the maximum of 15 in previous God of War installments. That is always good news. Only two weapons have been confirmed so far: the trademark Blades of Athena, and the Cestus, a pair of fist gauntlets shaped like lion heads. These new weapons appear to have the ability to smash through solid objects, such as rocks. Sounds like fun. The game comes out for PS3 only towards the very end of this year. So don't hold your breath.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars - Okay I am stoked about this one! I am seriously considering buying a Nintendo DS just for this game. My friends say don't buy a system for one game, but I say rules are made to be broken. Besides, this game is badass! Listen to this: there is a drug dealing minigame a la Drugwars, which will allow players to peddle six types of drugs around the city. Players will make a profit by recognizing market conditions and demands based on geography and plying their wares accordingly. Wow, and I thought Scarface had a decent mini drug game. If that doesn't have you sold, you can use the stylus on the DS as a screwdriver to hotwire cars. After doing so, the vehicle's alarm can be set off, which can be deactivated with a special device. Different cars need different tools to be hotwired. Greatness. The game comes out March 17.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Bought and loved the first one. Have been a huge fan of the Call of Duty series and they haven't let me down so far. This is the sixth installment in the series. I see a pattern of them flipping back and fourth between world war 2 and modern warfare. Very smart, that way by the time the users are bored of one type the other game will be about to come out. Activision is great about improving their games by leaps and bounds. They provide some of the most realistic fps war games. Now that the Battlefield games have slowed down, they have cornered the market. The game comes out in the fourth quarter of this year.

Resident Evil 5 - Official Xbox Magazine gave Resident Evil a 9.0 out of 10, praising its "balls-to-the-wall shootouts and awesome battles." Sheva's A.I. was praised concerning how she is "vigilant about reviving you and is an able combatant," though criticized for its inability to be strategized with, making the final battle "maddeningly tough." That the enemies in the game come in all speeds was positively received. Of note were gun-wielding enemies which can fire blindly and duck for cover. The game's control scheme was criticized for not allowing the player to shoot and move at the same time. The new inventory system was also called into question, the review saying that many will hate it though it is "essentially game balancing-making sure you're never too well armed." RE5 was summarized as "an action spectacular with terrific production values" and as an "excellent co-op game." The Official PlayStation Magazine gave the game a 5 out of 5 praising the controls and visuals. Xbox World 360 gave a much more critical review saying "East meets West with mixed results" and stating that its "A solid shooter which sadly falls short of Resident Evil 4's standard.". One of Xbox worlds main criticisms was Sheva's A.I. saying she is "responsible for both the best and worst Resident Evil 5 has to offer". The review also states that she will always choose the weakest weapon given to her and that when playing in single player that playing with Sheva is "a babysitting nightmare". However the game did receive 81/100, while complimenting the "great" Co-op mode. The UK based independent PlayStation magazine PlayStation World criticized the game for it's lack of tension and it's failure to significantly move the series forward. However it did give the game an 8 out of 10. Resident Evil 5 is set to release March 13th.

Diablo 3 - It's release date hasn't been issued yet, it may not be this year, but the sheer possibility leaves it hard to ignore. Simple and addicting, you can get hooked into this game just like a great rpg. Going from hellacious cavern to the next, fighting increasingly harder enemies, It doesn't get much better. Diablo 3 looks to make it even greater. Diablo 3 will retain a feel similar to that found in earlier games in the series, including a viewpoint reminiscent of the old isometric view. The trailer for the game looks awesome, it has new features, but retains the nostalgic feel of the first version. An enhanced quest system, a random level generator, and a random encounter generator are slated for use in order to ensure the game provides different experiences when replayed. Quests have always been great for Diablo unlike some mmorpgs like Age of Conan that ruined the positive connotation of the word quest for me. Additionally, there will be class-specific quests to go along with the main storyline quests. For the first time in the series, in-engine cutscenes will be employed during key moments.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction - This game will have stunning graphics using the unreal engine 2.5. There have been a lot of delays in the production so this game has been long overdue. It was recently pushed back to April and let's cross our fingers that the date sticks. The information about this game is as stealthy as the gameplay itself. Little is known, but a couple of trailers and screenshots that were leaked give us some insight. The trailer demonstrates a more civilian based Sam interacting with props (tables and chairs) to disable enemies. The events depicted in the trailer take place in Washington D.C, and several landmarks, including the Korean War Memorial, the United States Capital and the Washington Monument, have been seen in various promotional videos and trailers. On June 30th you can get your hands on a copy.

The Sims 3 - In contrast to the earlier versions, the houses and neighborhoods will be seamless, allowing players to explore and interact with their neighborhood without loading time. Twelve careers are available to pursue (law enforcement, crime, military, science, politics, journalism, business, entertainment, culinary, medical, athletic, and gardening). Each career has a workplace building in the neighborhood, which Sims travel to for their shifts. Sims can also apply for jobs within these buildings. Evidently they have beefed up the "create a sim" feature as well. You can change the obesity and muscle level among other things like facial features. The part I think is the coolest is this: Create-A-Sim now features over 80 unique traits to choose from. Some of these are Evil, Slob, Good Sense of Humor, Charismatic, Loner, Computer Whiz, Vegetarian, Frugal, Clumsy, Athletic, Hot Headed, Lucky, Insane and Flirty. It is not possible to give a Sim traits that contradict each other (such as Brave and Cowardly). The player can also edit many aspects of a Sims' personality, such as favorite hobby, color, music genre and food. A lot to explore in this one. Find it in stores on June 2nd.

Tekken 6 - One of the greatest fighting games of all time, right up there with Mortal Kombat. I figure this is a lot like when Star Wars re released the originals, there is a ton of anticipation here. It has been awhile since there has been a new Tekken game. Can you imagine playing this game in 1080p? Tekken 6 will boast the greatest number of characters ever seen in a Tekken game with a total of 42 characters (including the two Bloodline Rebellion characters). According to Namco, virtually all of the Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection characters will be returning with new additional characters. Don't miss out on this one, it comes out in October 27th of this year and by that time Japan will have nearly had it for two years!

Clarke Baldwin is a journalist who has worked for Dallas Morning News and other publications. You can find his site at Super Media Blog and a related story at Top 10 Upcoming Games 2009.

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Battlefield 3: The New King of Console FPS Games?

When people think of First person shooter (FPS) games, Call of duty is almost always the name that is synonymous with FPS gaming. For better or worse, COD has been a juggernaut when it comes to FPS console gaming. However, in February 2011, DICE (EA Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment) revealed they were working on Battlefield 3, and this sent shockwaves through the gaming community. For the first since 2005, they were releasing a direct sequel to Battlefield 2, one of the greatest FPS games of all time. Not only was Battlefield 3 highly hyped, but it was also coming out a week before Modern Warfare 3. It quickly became a Battlefield.vs. Call of Duty competition for FPS supremacy. This became an indirect message to infinity ward that after 4 years,their reign as the kings of FPS games was being challenged and possibly coming to an end. Now after almost a year of both games being released and all the hype is gone, did Battlefield 3 dethrone Call of Duty as the king of console FPS games?

Graphics, Sound, and Setting:

Battlefield 3 is set in the near future. The game is mainly a multiplayer game, but it does have a single player campaign mode. In the single campaign, you take control of various military operations such as a force recon marine, a Russian spec ops officier, an F-18 fighter pilot, and a M1A2 tank operator. The story of Battlefield 3 is surprisingly interesting and engaging. As you progress through the story there are many twists and turns. The main themes of the story are an upcoming war in 2014 which spans from Iran to France. Battlefield 3 does a good job of blending the action and the story together. Overall, Battlefield 3 has a solid single player story.

While the story is solid, a huge question that many people wonder about are the graphics. When DICE showcased Battlefield 3 at gaming conventions, the graphics looked phenomenal. The footage of the tank and the sands of Karkland were absolutely incredible. The level of detail was unseen in any other game before this.

However, all that footage was pre-rendered and expected to look good. When put into a real-time setting with thousands of changing variables, did BF3 deliver the same amount of intensity and rich realism in it's graphics? It absolutely did. Battlefield 3 is simply put a beautiful game, DICE put $100 million dollars into marketing and it's apparent they wanted to show off a product they are proud of. Battlefield 3′s graphics are made on a new Frostbite 2 engine and new character animation technology called ANT. The frostbite engine allows the game to create immense details, dynamic shadows, and smooth textures all throughout a large environment while it's all destructible. The ANT character animation is incredible, every soldier looks incredibly realistic with facial expressions that change when the action heats up.

The single player campaign in Battlefield 3 spans many locations including Iran, New York, and Paris. Most of the areas are urban with many buildings and DICE did a wonderful job adding clear detail to each area. There are a lot of vibrant colors and Battlefield 3 has great distance terrain.

The graphics in the multiplayer maps are also very impressive. There are 9 main maps, not including the downloadable content. These maps are Caspian Boarder, Damavand Peak, Grand bazaar, Kharg Island, Noshahr Canals, Operation Firestorm, Operation Metro, Seine Crossing, and Tehran Highway. Each of these maps has it's unique elements and style. DICE did a great job of making the multiplayer experience different in each map. Caspian Boarder is a forested map, which is really large. It contains buildings and forests and is excellent for sniping and using vehicles. Damavand peak is set in a dark and rainy market place. Kharg Island is set in a rocky island and has an ocean surrounding it. Noshahr Canals is set in an industrial area with various canals you do battle in.

Seine Crossing is a bright colored map focused in Paris. Tehran Highway is the last main map and it's focused in an urban area in Iran during the night. Overall, the graphics in Battlefield 3 are exceptional, from the single player campaign to the diverse multiplayer maps, there is plenty of variety in each map graphically.

The sound in Battlefield 3 is some of the best sound quality I've ever heard of any game. Each bullet whizzing by sounds sharp and realistic and when you get good enough you can pinpoint where it came from. The tanks, jets, and other vehicle sound effects are all amazingly realistic. The voice acting is superb, and it really feels like your a part of the action. The game also features a 19 track official soundtrack composed by Johan Skugge and Jukka Rintamki. The sound in Battlefield 3 is very impressive. Overall, the graphics in Battlefield 3 are exceptional, from the single player campaign to the diverse multiplayer map, there is plenty of variety in each map graphically.

Graphics: 10/10

Sound/Music: 10/10

Story/Setting: 8/10

Controls and Gameplay:

The controls for Battlefield 3 are your standard First person shooter controls. They can be customized, but the default setting is pressing L1 to aim and R1 to fire, movements done by the left analog stick. The right analog stick allows you to move the camera around. Holding down the analog stick allows you to sprint. Pressing triangle allows you to change weapons, circle is used to interact with objects in the environment, square is used for reloading or picking up a weapon, and the X button is used to jump. The right and left diagonal buttons are used to switch between technologies you have, the up button is used to toggle laser sight, and down is used to toggle between firemodes such as automatic and burst fire. The R2 button allows for a quick knife, while the L2 lets you throw a frag grenade. The controls are easy to learn, but difficult to master. Learning the controls for driving a tank or flying a jet can be confusing at first, and do have a small learning curve. Overall, the controls are fantastic for Battlefield 3.

While the graphics, great sound quality, and interesting story all powerful and set the foundation for a game. None of these things hold a candle to the most important part of games. The gameplay is the heart and soul of games. DICE had a bold task when creating gameplay that would be fast, exciting, and intense enough to knock Call of Duty from it's throne as console gaming king. The team at DICE delivered in many areas, but also fell short in quite a few.

Battlefield 3 uses the Frostbite 2 engine. This engine allows for fully destructible environments, advanced physics, and real-time radiosity. All of these things basically mean that the physics and graphics of Battlefield 3 are vastly improved for every pretty much every game before it. Bullets are able to penetrate through walls seamlessly, the front wall of a building can be blown open from a tank shot, a grenade can send debris flying everywhere when it explodes. Battlefield 3 is one of the most realistic FPS games out there. So many things can happen, but the frostbite 2 engine streamlines them and allows the game to run smoothly by rendering textures at a fast rate. This allows the action and excitement to happen without any lag. There are 3 modes of gameplay in Battlefield 3: the single player campaign, a co-op mode, and multiplayer mode.

The single player campaign looks great and has many different locations, however it can get a bit repetitive. The fact of the matter is that Battlefield 3 is primarily a multiplayer game. The single player campaign is a good way of learning the basics before you go online or in co-op, but it offers no real replayability. It would have also been nice to see the offline map mode from Battlefield 2, where you can play with bots. However, Battlefield 3 does not offer this.

The co-op mode allows you to team up with a player online and complete 6 missions. There are a variety of objectives that you and your partner must complete in each mission. Co-op can be a lot of fun when your playing with a friend, however Battlefield 3 doesn't offer any split-screen co-op. This can really suck if you have friends over, as theres no way to play together unless you have 2 PlayStation 3s.

The multiplayer mode is the main attraction of the game. In Battlefield 3, there are 6 multiplayer gamemodes: Conquest, Rush, Team Deathmatch, Squad Deathmatch, Conquest Domination, and Squad rush. Each gamemode has a different objective and playing each one is a different multiplayer experience all together. Some gamemodes require precise teamwork, while others can be every man for himself. The Conquest gamemode is the classic Battlefield 3 gamemode, in which two teams fight in a large scale map for control of various bases. This gamemode is best suited for teamwork and vehicle warfare. In my opinion, conquest is still the best gamemode. It's exciting and you have a variety of ways to gain points.

In Rush, there are two teams. One team tries to attack and destroy an M-COM station, while the other defends it. Squad Rush is essentially the same, but in a more confined environment. Team Deathmatch is another classic mode where you are part of 12 person team vs another 12 person team. The objective is basically to kill as many enemies as you can and reach a certain amount of kills as a team. This mode doesn't have any vehicles and is all about just going out with guns blazing and killing as many people as possible. Squad Deathmatch is the same as Team Deathmatch, but instead of 2 teams of 12, there are 4 teams of 4 people battling each other to reach a certain amount of kills. Conquest Domination has two teams of 8 people fighting in a close quarters location. It's similar to Conquest, essentially the same, except for it's more confined and has more tactical planning when attacking a base.

When you select a gamemode, you are given 4 classes to select.There is the Assualt class which are the infantry soldiers but also the medics. Selecting Assualt allows you to rack up kills and also revive dead teammates. The Engineer class is able to repair vehicles and carry rocket launchers to take out other vehicles. The Support class is a class that provides others with ammunition and also carry heavy guns that are able to kill many enemies. Recon is the last and final class, and they are the snipers in the game. Recon is useful for taking out opponents from a distance.

Battlefield 3 puts a huge emphasis on teamwork and squads. Each class has major strengths and weaknesses, and to succeed and win being able to utilize each one is essential. Upon joining a conquest game or any other gamemode you are placed into a squad. Being able to come up with tactics and choosing the right classes for the right situations is what makes Battlefield 3 stand out from other First person shooter games. Battlefield 3 has VOIP support meaning you can communicate on a headset with your teammates, it also includes ingame messaging. Battlefield 3 is a solid game if you play it without any other friends, but with friends it's quite simply one of the best games ever made. This game thrives on teamwork.

One of problem of this game are the maps. The same maps that are very detailed can become annoying, because they are very large. You can go minutes without any combat, and also health is lost very easily. It's very easy to die in this game when you first start out. Another major problem is all the downloadable content. You're not obligated to buy DLC, but the game does feel empty without having all the maps and items. The DLC can bring the $60 price tag of Battlefield 3 all the way up to $125. One huge problem in BF3 is that this game requires you to have an online pass. New games come with an online pass, but used games don't. An online pass can only be used once, and buying a new one costs $10. This was done to boost sales, but it really does hurt the resale value of Battlefield 3.

Controls: 9/10

Gameplay: 8/10

Is this game worth buying? Final Thoughts:

Battlefield 3 does a lot of things right: the graphics are incredible, sound quality is outstanding, and the multiplayer is very diverse and exciting. However, it also misses in a lot of areas. No splitscreen co-op, no replayability in the single player campaign, no offline maps, expensive DLC content, and gameplay that can become repetitive after some time leave so much to be desired. Battlefield 3 is ultimately not the revolutionary game that it was hailed to be when the first few minutes of footage were revealed. At the same time, it's by no means a bad game. When you buy Battlefield 3, you're getting a solid, finely made First person shooter. It's similar to Call of Duty in the FPS aspect, but the squad based system, vehicles, and large maps make it a very different experience. I would highly recommend buying Battlefield 3, it is one of those games that you can find yourself coming back to over and over again. Battlefield 3 is a solid game and a definite buy for PlayStation 3 owners. I give it a 9/10.

Breakdown:

Graphics: 10/10

Sound/Music: 10/10

Story/Setting: 8/10

Controls: 9/10

Gameplay: 8/10

Overall: 9/10

Did you enjoy this article? Read more quality PS3 reviews here: http://www.ps3reviews.net

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From Coleco Vision to iPhone Games - Some High Water Marks in Video Game Design History - Part 4

Street Fighter II (arcade) - Developed by Capcom as a follow-up to their much maligned original Street Fighter title, Street Fighter II (SF2) solidified the company as the industry leader in fighting game design. In searching for the standout design elements of SF2, the search begins and ends with the games incredible balance. Featuring 8 characters, SF2 presented players with more character options than most arcade games up to that point. Faced with this large selection, many players chose one of the games stars (Ken & Ryu) as their character of choice. Armed with their combination of ha-do-kens and sho-ryu-kens, these two seemed at first glance to be the game's strongest characters. However, the beauty of SF2 was the fact that each character had their own strengths and, despite initial impressions, their own vulnerabilities. Despite the fact that most players used either Ken or Ryu, many of the world's best tournament players could be found using the games quartet of boss characters: Sagat, M. Bison, Vega and Balrog. The mighty Zangief was another darling of world class players due to his incredibly powerful arsenal of moves, while those who invested the time into mastering Dhalsim's intricate ranged attacks also garnered their fair share of tournament victories. Thanks to ingenious balancing on the part of the game's designers, each character offered players their own distinct path to victory and placed all players on equal footing among their peers.

Day of Defeat v1.2-1.3b (PC) - This popular World War 2 themed Half-Life mod has since gone onto retail release, but most fans will agree that the game actually peaked with the release of Beta 1.2 in April, 2001. With precious few levels (and even fewer actually being used), most of the games of this early iteration of Day of Defeat (DoD) were played on the maps DoD_Caen, DoD_Hill, DoD_Snowtown, DoD_Dam, Dod_Valley and a selection of Normandy-like maps. The incredible amounts of traffic on DoD servers at the time spoke to the quality of the game, but much like SFII, the standout element for this game was its near perfect balance. Players had the choice of choosing either the Allied or Axis forces, but the choice made little difference to the overall gameplay. DoD, perhaps more so than any other shooter before it, truly allowed the player to showcase their skill set. Missing were the super guns or tactical nukes of other games of the era. Instead, players were armed the most basic options of rifle or machine gun. Battles were won with teamwork and skill rather than firepower and a race to the super weapons. In an era where space themed shooters and a 'bigger is better' attitude dominated the FPS landscape, DoD delivered a gaming experience that demanded collaboration to succeed, and kept the players grounded in the harsh reality of wartime combat. Balanced gameplay, skilled players rising to the top to become team leaders, limited but near perfect maps and a less is more approach to weapons and player classes are what makes DoD v 1.2-1.3b a game that truly deserves its place among the all time best.

Tim Kennedy writes on behalf of AppsPatrol. He recommends you visit AppsPatrol for your iphone app reviews and iphone game reviews.

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Create Your Own Cool Games - Beginner's Game Making Guide

If you want to create your own cool games, you have to face a several choices and you might need to put in a lot of work if you are okay with that so let me tell you that first before you continue.

First you have to decide what kind of game initially should your game be. One of the possible choices are:

- RPG

- Strategy

- FPS

- Escape

- Arcade

and many more.

These are just typical for beginners except strategy that is a personal preference of mine but might be a bit more difficult to start with. I would recommend escape flash games for starters since those are the easiest ones to make, followed by arcade that are also relatively easy to make.

Secondly you need to decide whether your game will be a desktop version, what kind of graphics do you want, do you want to make your own 3d game and things like that.

I would recommend you to go with flash games since they will be easiest to make and then starting off to desktop version and more complicated games if you are really into those.

As for me I usually like playing flash games since they are quick and fun, but yes if I want to dedicate myself to some serious playing I would go with a desktop version.

Then again if you are just beginning I would highly advise you to start with something easy.

Later on you can get more experience and knowledge so you can move on to things and in the mean time you will also have your flash game working.

Next if you would like to make flash games, you should know how to code in flash. In order to do this you need to learn about Flash and ActionScript, which is much easier than learning how to code c or c++ for example and learning opengl or directx, but of course if you do learn them too then you would become a pro.

Ok so from here I would recommend you to just pick up a book ( or find one online ) and start learning about Flash and ActionScript. Some tutorials are pretty nice, however most that I have checked do not cover enough so that you are able to put your individual input into practice, but they are mostly teaching you how to create one genre of the games which might not be good for you if you want to actually make the game on your own.

Also you might not want to read in details in the later chapters of the book since if you are a gamer and not that much into coding, chances are that you might get bored... Instead, once you are done with the basics, try to get the solutions for the problems that you need online, there are many solutions out there once you start understanding the basics.

Well, I hope that I have been helpful to you guys and hope to see lots of your own great games soon.

John Slater is a gamer from Florida who is also sharing his cool games on OrcPad.com with other developers.

Also if you want to play cool games check out OrcPad too.:)

Have fun!

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How to Pick Video Games Both Parents and Their Kids Will Love

To hear parents tell it, the perfect video game is educational, provides small life lessons, strengthens hand eye coordination, and keeps the kids entertained for roughly 30 minutes at a time. Listening to kids, however, it appears that educational qualities rank far below the needs for speed, action, rad moves, and great weapons. It is hard to believe that there are games which fulfill the requirements hoped for by both parents and kids.

Parents should always make the time to play the games alongside their kids; the only problem with using this approach to picking video games is the fact that the game is already in the house and the money spent. Opened games are rarely returnable and once they are in the house and their hot little hands, kids will not let go of games without a lot of arguing, complaining, and upset. Thus, making an informed decision prior to bringing the games home is a must!

So how does a parent go about picking out a video game for the children to play? Reading the back of the cover is unlikely to present a lot of information whereas the buzz on the Internet can be so forbiddingly filled with insider lingo that it is hard to discern if the game is appropriate, too violent, or perhaps even contains content that is objectionable.

At the same time, simply because a game is very popular and the evening news shows long lines of consumers waiting outside the stores for them to go on sale, does not mean that it offers the kind of game play the parent wants to invite into the home. Fortunately, there are five simple steps to picking video games both parents and their kids will love. These steps are not complicated, require a minimum of effort, and are rather reliable.

1. Check the ESRB Rating

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) developed a rating system that ranks game content according to age appropriateness. The ratings are "EC," "E," "E 10+," "T," "M," "AO," and "RP."

Games designated with an "EC" are educational and fun for preschoolers and young grade-schoolers. An "E" notes that the games are appropriate for all players, and while preschoolers might have more of a learning curve to get the game-play right, there is no objectionable content. Look out for games rated with an "E 10+" since these games are reserved for kids older than 10. Some mild language is usually incorporated into the game.

A game rated "T" is reserved for teens, and parents should know that violence, sexual innuendo, partial nudity, and also curse words are par for the course. "M" for mature indicates games for those over the age of 17 and the blood, guts, gore, and sex are legendary in these games. Upping the ante are games marked "AO" or adults only, as they are "M" squared. An "RP" rating simply means that a rating is pending, and parents should hold off on buying the game until the rating has been apportioned.

2. Read the ESRB Content Descriptors

Since preschoolers and grade-schoolers cannot simply be pigeonholed into age brackets, but should be much further differentiated by their maturity levels, parents will be wise to read the ESRB content descriptions on the backs of the video game packets. They list potentially objectionable content.

For example, "animated blood" refers to purple, green, or other kinds of unrealistic blood that may be shown during game play, while a listing of "blood" is an indicator that realistically depicted blood is part of the game play. Children highly sensitive to blood may not enjoy playing these games, even if they are rated for their age brackets.

3. Understand the Classifications When Shopping For Older Kids

Parents who have braved the age appropriate ratings, and also made it through reading the descriptions may now be stumped by a further classification: the kind of game-play their kids may expect.

Older kids may like "FPS" (First Person Shooter) games that put them into the action from a first person perspective, rather than seeing the character they are controlling doing the actions -- which is the case in "TPS" (Third Person Shooter) games. In addition, some games are classified by the kinds of content that provides the storyline, such as vehicle simulation games, strategy games, or sports and puzzle games.

Shooter games are the most violent while strategy games are perhaps the most educational. Puzzle games require strategic thinking but do not offer a lot of action moves that appeal to teens.

4. Visit the Game Platform Manufacturer Website

Parents may visit the website for the gadget that will ultimately allow the kids to play the video games. This may be the website for PlayStation, GameCube, Nintendo, Xbox, and a host of sub-platforms. The companies list the video games made for them, their ratings, and more often than not also post trailers, screen shots, and brief outlines of the actual game itself.

Although such a website does not offer an in depth and unbiased analysis of the game, it is a rather useful tool for getting a good feel about game play and content without having to rely solely on a rating, the back of a package, or the marketing efforts.

5. Check with Organizations That Offer Independent Game Evaluations

There are various organizations that are not tied in with the video game industry and still offer advice to parents. Some groups focus on the educational aspects while others are faith based and review the games from this angle. Find a group that meets your personal criteria and peruse the reviews on various games you are considering for your kids.

One of the most well known groups is the Entertainment Consumers Association that offers insight into the industry as well as the games. Parents who want more detailed information about the games they are considering will do well to visit the forums and websites of such groups and learn from other parents whose kids might already be playing these games.

Since these are interactive forums, parents have the unique ability to actually ask questions of other parents, and if there is a particular concern about a game, this is the venue where to get more information.

If All Else Fails

Of course, if all else fails, there is the old fallback on the classic games and characters. Crash Bandicoot, Mario, Spyro, and Pokémon are game characters which have been around for a while and in a host of incarnations. Even as the educational value of some of these games is debatable, they do offer rip-roaring fun, rad moves, and most certainly the entertainment value the kids appreciate most. At the same time, they eschew foul language, nudity, and explicit violence parents object to.

Parents in a time crunch or those who simply cannot find a game that meets their standards will usually find a winner in these genres. Moreover, since they are part and parcel of a popular series, parents and kids can make the buying decisions together. For example, the popular Mario games offer offshoots like "Luigi's Mansion" that offers the exploration of a haunted house, while other offshoots are cart racing games.

Completely different game play -- yet the same reassuring characters and the same level of appropriateness -- make this a premier opportunity for parents and children to agree on the game play the kids would like to try out, while staying away from potentially objectionable games that offer similar game play.

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Are RPG PC Games Making a Comeback in 2010?

Some might argue that RPG PC games have always been popular and cite Warcraft as evidence of this, but in reality WoW is the exception rather than the rule. With in excess of 11 million subscribers to Warcraft alone Blizzard is in a commanding position within the MMORPG market, but that market seldom stands still.

In 2009 very few games were released for the PC that featured roleplaying to any significant extent. It is true there were some great RPG games released, but there weren't that many overall.

One of the best PC RPG games of 2009 was Fallout 3. Although for large part the game plays in the mould of a first person shooter(FPS) rather than a RPG, it still classes as roleplaying game primarily as it has a real back story. The game designers (Bethesda) took some care in developing this sequel and it was nice to see.

Another honourable mention must go to Age of Conan. This is one of the first real attempts by any gaming house to present a game marketed at adults. The majority of online RPG gamers are in the 20-25 age bracket but software houses continually play it safe and avoid offending parents. To some extent this playing it safe philosophy is understandable as it avoids bad publicity, but there remains a huge market for a game aimed more solidly at the large market segment which is adult gamers.

Will any software company ever take the risk and market a true 18+ game?

In 2010 we are due for many more releases in the roleplaying genre. Some are already released like Mass Effect 2, but this is more like a FPS than a real RPG. Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening is an expansion rather than a new game, but it is a game in which character development is possible. Another expansion to an existing game is due in the shape of Fallout: New Vegas. This is another Bethesda release and there is much interest surrounding its anticipated arrival in late 2010 as the Fallout title has a strong fan following.

Witcher 2 is also due this year and the development company promise "an in depth and interesting storyline that will keep a gamer playing for hours". Let us hope they deliver on their promise.

Probably the most anticipated product by far though is the new Warcraft expansion "Cataclysm". Aside from adding more levels and two new races into the Warcraft world the expansion will radically alter the existing maps and terrain of the old world and allow flying mounts for the first time in those areas. With over 11 million subscribers to protect Blizzard will no doubt be ensuring that it is a quality product.

With other releases promised like the Marvel Universe MMO, Mars, Two Worlds 2 and Arcania: A Gothic Tale; 2010 looks like being a great year for return to mass market popularity for RPG PC games.

Dave has recently set up a new site dedicated to RPG PC Games at http://rpgpcgames.co.uk. Come and visit us and have your say on what you think the best games really are.

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PS3 Games That Support Keyboard and Mouse

The PlayStation 3 also commonly known as PS3 is a very popular gaming console which is manufactured by Sony. The PS3 is a successor to the PlayStation 2 and is the most updated part of the PlayStation Series. The PS3 is a major competitor to its counterparts like Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360. Some of the major features of this gaming console that makes it unique is the format that it used for storage which is the Blu-ray Disc format. The PS3 also allows unified gaming service online and excellent multimedia capabilities. The PS3 allows users to play 607 different games on this gaming console. However this is not a fixed number and this list is growing day by day.

The PS3 games that have been designed and are being used by several users all around the world are played with the PS3 joystick when connected to the TV or a monitor as long as the monitor is compatible to the resolution and the format used by PS3. There have not been games introduced till recently that allows the mouse and keyboard support on PS3. However several gaming companies have announced allowing mouse and keyboard support for their games in the PS3 especially with Penguin United launching their new product Eagle Eye that will allow all PS3 users to use the mouse and keyboard for playing FPS games with exactly the same comfort levels that PC gamers enjoy.

Given below are some of the PS3 games that allow the mouse and keyboard support. Some of the games are free flash games that can be accessed with PS3's web browser and can be controlled using the mouse and keyboard which has to be connected to your gaming console using the USB port.

Unreal Tournament III

Unreal Tournament III developed by Epic Games and is one of the most popular games for PS3 users. The game originally was introduced as a PC game and given its immense popularity and with the introduction of gaming consoles like Play Station and Xbox, the game was soon made available on these gaming consoles. This is an online multiplayer video game and which is to be played in the first player mode. In the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament the players from different continents can play this game together and also allows mouse and keyboard inputs. This is one of the most popular games that allows mouse and keyboard inputs. The game is all about online multiplayer titles matches which includes Capture-the-Flag, Deaths match and large scale warfare. If you are the kind of person who enjoys duel and warfare and fighting this is the game for you. Apart from the online version the game can also be played in single player mode offline that has a great storyline and several twists in the game to keep you occupied.

Frogger

This is an old school classic arcade flash game and can be played on the PS3 with a keyboard and mouse that can be paired with the PS3 console. What you need to do in this game is to guide the frog towards the pond. While doing so, you must ensure that he is not hurt or eaten by enemies and cars on the busy intersection that you have to cross.

Matt Anton is an avid player and journalist of video games. He enjoys blogging about all things in the tech industry, specifically related to game news. He is best known, however, for his contributions at http://GameFriends.com - The Video Game Social Community for Gamers.

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Top Four Xbox 360 Exclusive Games

With the Xbox 360, which turned five a few days ago, Electronic Theatre thought it was time for a small amount of honor was paid to some of the biggest names in the console. Of course, some games come with a bigger name in the format of Microsoft's console to the Halo franchise, but with innovative first-person shooter (FPS) series are a number of heroes of the game, some more often others chanted.

This week runs Sunday through play special top ten unique experiences currently available in stores for Xbox 360, and to the console market is concerned, only the Xbox 360. Of course, Mass Effect 2 will have earned a place on this list is now confirmed for the PlayStation 3 version is not just around the corner and almost losing a number of titles including Dead Rising, Alan Wake, Halo Wars, Saints Row and both repression and Crackdown 2 is not reached in comparison with the genre defining titles below.

One of the key factors that many players may notice is that no titles have made their way Kinect here. Although many of the titles of full body motion control providing enjoyable game experiences, none of them has managed to live-up to the majesty of many more traditional video game releases. All titles listed below are available in stores for Xbox 360, and culminate in a selection that any real hardcore gamer should have at its maximum.

Shadowrun

Genre-defining just about the perfect term for the new disappeared Fasa Studios, Shadowrun, breaking entirely new ground in online multiplayer focused on First-Person Shooter (FPS) field. Of course, in the three years since its launch, Shadowrun numerous ideas have been taken by many other games and even further developed in some cases, with the likes of MAG and Section 8 to make new moves in the genre, but few can stand-up Shadowrun, as such a fascinating experience, and even fewer can boast a hot online community three years after his release.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction

Several years in development and what appears to be a completely broken build that way was a more traditional experience of Splinter Cell, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction finally did what every fan expected: delivered a new game, controls other than the currently used power generation to expand the gameplay familiar, renewal and revitalization of the venue of the revolution itself. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, Sam Fisher was back in action, and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction was without a doubt was a return to his best form.

Deadly Premonition

One of the most recent releases on this list, mortal Premonition is also more likely to be what gets most of the discussion. Simply, there is nothing like adventure games accessible "dark in the market for current generation consoles, and so the collective memory addresses Theatre has never been. Premonición mortal marks a new dawn for games like an art form, one that is about the music, film and television: a time of relatively low-budget productions can be delivered with more impact than the emissions of success, and develop their own cult following eager to give mechanics more cumbersome and less visual quality for the overall experience. And as regards death Premonition, the major objective is most certainly the investment worthwhile for any fan of video games as an industry.

Gears of War

Although it has since received a second part, the original Gears of War is still favored by the electronic equipment in theater. From the time of announcement of the delay has recently announced the release of the third title of the series, Gears of War has been an emblem of the current generation systems. Along with the likes of Halo 3, Super Mario Galaxy and Gran Turismo 5, Gears of War has been the showcase for unprecedented visual quality. It may be all the blatant sexism balls-out, but no matter how much he wants to be a futuristic The Fast and the Furious, Gears of War will be remembered for being one of the exemptions to the definition of existing systems generation.

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Online Games - Fun and Addiction

There is one major reason why more and more internet cafe have been growing at almost every block on the streets of today. Two words: Online Games. These are the flavor that has spiced up the digital blend of technology today. We have gone beyond the age of modems and terminals required to actually have a multiplayer game possible. Not only did these gadgets limit the connectivity of the users to the confines of small rooms, or phone bills, you render your lines inaccessible during game play. Online network allows you to tap people from all over the globe, making the growth of online games one of the sources of virtual socialization.

Then the evolution the gaming industry took a wild turn with the rise of Java or Flash games. Cyberspace become the storage center of the entire world as sites are able to host posting of live video or audio streaming, uploading of photos, massive data and other digital files anyone could possibly have. Now, not only did the World Wide Web become famous as a data center, it soared through the charts as an entertainment center with its catalog of games and social networks that are created by the minute.

Online games have greatly increased in complexity. Gone were the days of solitaire and simple animations where the character does not even blink. Imagery and graphics have become phenomenal, and game plots have developed to be highly intricate. The duration of game time has exceeded the usual hours, which have made the internet market a highly profitable industry.

Flash games are an addiction, where one can earn great profits if played wisely. Developers have learned to charge gamers for new and highly sophisticated games. Always expect a sequel or even a prequel for profitable games. Some, choose to have these games played freely in certain sites, and relies on their popularity ratings to acquire more advertisers and earn through commissions. Others also choose to distribute free games, where you would need to purchase upgrades in order to actually finish several plots. All are very well planned strategies. No amount, it seems, is too great for hooked enthusiasts.

You may hear most gamers talk about MMORPG or MMOFPS, or even MMORTS. No, these are not alien talk but more of their special lingo brought about online games. MMO would stand for Massive Multiplayer Online, and the next set of letters defines the type of game involved; examples of which are RPG (Role Playing Game), SG (Social Game), RTS (Real-Time Strategy) and FPS (First-Person Shooter). These require a large supply of bandwidth supply constant connection online.

Boredom will never be a problem again! All you need is your personal computer, a laptop or gaming console, or maybe your next door cyber cafe. Grab a taste of that java or flash game hot off the shelf and find yourselves craving for more. Never have these digital blends been so addicting. There's always a perfect one brewing, so what are you waiting for?

We have compiled all best possible online games at our website. Click to play Flash Games.

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Top Gaming Keyboards Have Become Vitally Important in Online Games

Gaming has turned into a preferred routine for a lot of people. Probably the most common type is playing games on a PC. Over the past few years many top games happen to be playable on the net and on a laptop computer or home PC. This provides yet one more dimension and option of online gaming for anyone. One of the required gear for this is a keyboard. A gamer keyboard is sort of a normal key-board which enables consumers to use it to experience certain game titles with a personal computer. These types of computer keyboard are specifically designed to manage PC games and enable folks to more efficiently perform their actions when gaming on the PC.

As with the majority of other products, a keyboard comes in many varieties and styles. A proven way to identify which PC keyboard is best in your case is to go over reviews of gamer keyboards. By reading over these evaluations, you'll be capable to find the one that's best suited for your demands. The reviews also mention countless attributes and benefits of each keyboard so that you can learn all about what to search for when buying one. User reviews of keyboards for games are the very first source to check out when looking to buy a gaming keyboard.

One of the finest models of keyboards are manufactured by Microsoft. The SideWinder X6 is one that might have less capabilities compared to the Logitech models, however it's got some unique functions that make it advantageous. A Microsoft keyboard includes a completely detachable numeric pad that allows for simpler access to your computer mouse. The keys of a Microsoft keyboard are large so they will furthermore reduce your typing mistakes. A Microsoft gaming keyboard also provides management of up to 90 macro combinations so you'll get a significant advantage when playing on a Desktop. When having a Microsoft gamer keyboard, you likewise have a continuous actionkey that operate the functionality of any other key that you use when you touch the pair together. This enables for quicker functionality and efficiency. VLC and iTunes can also be managed with the Microsoft gaming. Using a Microsoft gaming keyboard is an excellent choice for PC game play especially for video games like Warcraft.

Yet another popular model based on countless keyboard reviews is almost any Logitech keyboard. Logitech is possibly the finest maker of keyboards for gaming. The Logitech G19 in particular is the best model built by Logitech. The Logitech model includes quite a few useful and progressive capabilities which can help you perform at your very best in games such as Warcraft. A Logitech keyboard has a keys backlight that allows it to be personalized with several different hues as wanted. Utilizing a Logitech keyboard you'll get around 36 macros along with having the ability to turn off the contextual menu. This enables for the prevention of interferences when you're playing a computer game such as Warcraft. If you are into FPS and RPG video games, Logitech's gaming keyboard is the very best for these particular kinds of games. A Logitech keyboard also features numerous USB connectors which permit consumers to attach extra hardware to the keyboard and Personal computer.

In accordance to the numerous keyboard for games ratings the two very best are produced by Logitech and Microsoft. The numerous gaming key-board ratings demonstrate that these gaming keyboards are great for all kinds of video game titles. Even so one game in particular is best suited for keyboards based on the gaming keyboard reviews and that's Warcraft. This video game is a RPG game that's quite popular and frequently played on a Computer. To experience the best performance in WoW, you will need the best keyboard.

A wireless gaming keyboard offers you a bonus when playing online games. Gaming keyboard reviews will provide you with all the info you'll need to assist you determine which keyboard is right for your needs.

John Popes - senior tech editor which writes articles about gadgets, the Internet and how to build a website. If you want to know more just read my work and browse through various topics. I'm familiar with site building and gadgets testing so you might want to look for those things first.

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Popular PC Games

Majority of the best PC games lists include only the latest releases that appraise the technical aspects of the games. A game's standing is also influenced by its likability, endurance and its entertainment quotient. Over here, we take into account other factors that have transformed a game series into a recognizable brand with not only gaming enthusiasts but also the general public:

Medal of Honor

This series pushed the impressive Crysis game series off the chart with its intensive ambience that offers as near as possible imitation to a battle arena, making for an engrossing experience for the player. This feature makes the PC game numero uno with gaming fans across the globe. In 2008, Medal of Honor entered the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008 as the "Best selling FPS (First-Person Shooter) franchise."

Doom

No roll-call of top PC games can be completed without the deliciously gory Doom series. While the newest Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil has been well- received by critics and players alike, it is the original version that captured the imagination of long time gamers.

Duke Nukem

Duke Nukem is to PC games what Super Mario was to the video game. Unbeknown to many people, Duke Nukem entered the gaming arena as a 2D platform game that was developed by Apogee software. Most people think of the racy character that is present in Duke Nukem 3D as a perfect example of a 1st person shooter. This series produced a number of highly enjoyable games as well as some average sequels, typical of an iconic PC game. Unfortunately, you won't find any new developments of this series as the Duke Nukem franchise has been aborted.

Jazz Jack Rabbit

You probably will take a bit of time to recollect this particular game or you need to be old enough! In the era of 2D platformers, Jazz Jack Rabbit was one of the most well- known characters in the gaming world. Many game freaks consider the spin-off to be much more fun. This game makes it on the list for having one of the funkiest soundtracks for a video game. There is talk of the rabbit returning to your game screen which will be a real treat for younger players.

Worms

This is an excellent game in which the entire family can join in the fun. The beauty of Worms is that it is interesting for all age groups, making it the life of the party at any get-together with friends and family.

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Online Games - The Evolution

Now we see thousands of people playing online games such as tetris, ping pong, mario bros, super mario etc for free but despite its history dating back to 1970s, for most people online gaming began with the explosion of Internet in 1993 and with the advent of Doom and Warcraft sometime in 1994 or 1995. This got further boost with publishers starting to add Internet connectivity to computer games in 1994-95.

The media, in fact, have themselves been ignorant about online games history. As far as they are concerned, online gaming just coincidentally happened when their advertisers started producing Internet-capable games. But it isn't so...

Early Years of development

In early 1950's a college student created a game much like Tic-Tac-Toe for a class project to be played on dinosaur computers of those days complete with cathode ray tubes for the screen display. The 1960's had MIT students programming a game called "Space war" that could be played with two people over a primitive network. The late 1960's brought the first "real" video games like table tennis and shooter games.

The 70s - the game begins

Serious online gaming began with the first interactive online game called ADVENT. In fact networked gaming got conceptualized with ADVENT. Networked gaming had users playing against each other within an online fantasy world. The first networked game was called Mazewar, a game which involved networked players traveling through a maze and attempting to kill one another.

Next came the interpersonal interaction in a multi-player environment. The first such game was called DUNGEN. DUNGEN had players competing against one another to complete a series of quests. DUNGEN provided with new settings and players each time the user logged on.

The late 1970's saw the start of video game craze with more and more households getting computer savvy. As a natural corollary, people started writing their own games for the home computers. These programming hobbyists traded and sold these home-grown games in local markets.

Other changes in the 1970's were home gaming consoles which used game cartridges. That meant the people could collect games cartridges for one base unit instead of having bulky game console systems.

The 80s - some pause before the storm

1980's saw growing craze for the video and computer game craze, but online gaming wasn't on the horizon yet. New games with better sound and graphics were introduced and gained popularity. Pole Position and Pac-man were two that achieved big popularity. It was during 1980's when Nintendo introduced its first gaming system.

The 90s - revolution begins

The 1990's saw the phenomenal growth in both popularity and technology mostly because of the rise of 3-D and multimedia.

Myst, the intellectual adventure game introduced gaming on the CD-ROM format. Fancier 3-D graphics hardware made FPS (first person shooter) games such as Quake possible.

The late 1990's saw the exponential growth of the Internet, MUDs (multi-user dungeons) which made online games wildly popular. New and improved graphical interfaces had people all over the world playing against each other not only in FPS games but also in real time strategy games (RTS games) as well as third person games like Grand Theft Auto.

This was also the period when websites started offering online games such as tetris, ping pong, mario bros, super Mario, and other free online flash games and non-flash based games free for playing after registering with them. This really pushed online gaming into the popular psyche.

The 21st Century - world is just a playground

Early years of the 21st century were dominated by the DVD-CD-ROM. It has changed the way online games are played. The latest gaming systems such as Sony's play station and Microsoft's X-box have networking capabilities to enable people play with each other in real time from all over the world. Exponentially growing broadband internet services have made playing these online games possible in true sense of the word.

The only drawback to the constantly evolving technology for online games is that what you buy today might become obsolete by the next year. Luckily, for the serious gamers, the resale industry for these online games is huge. This resale industry is just another element to the ever-changing history of online game.

Susie is a game developer advocating to play online games free. Visit http://www.Play-Online-Games-Free.com to play tetris online for free.

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Cheap PC Games

The average new video game costs $50. For most people, $50 means almost an entire day worth of wages. Many people are unable to afford new video games, so they just make do with whatever they have. I am here to tell you that it doesn't have to be this way! There are video games out there that are cheap, but still worth playing.

If you're a PC gamer, finding cheap games is slightly easier than if you're a console gamer. However, it can still be a challenge to find good cheap video games for PC - especially ones that are fun. Below you will find a brief list of the best PC games for less than $15 or so.

Medal of Honor: Airborne.

Medal of Honor has always been a great series of the FPS genre, and Airborne is one of the best of the series. You can find this game for $15 or so from most electronics stores.

Counter Strike: Source.

Counter Strike: Source is, and has been ever since its release, one of the most popular PC games. It is played by thousands of people every day, and it is truly one of the best first person shooters on the market today. You can find Counter Strike: Source online for $10, and around $20 from an electronics store.

Bioshock

Bioshock received countless awards, including game of the year by many respectable gaming critics. The PC version of this game is, in my opinion, the best version. Bioshock is the definition of a good cheap PC game - it can be found for $10-$15 quite easily.

To find general gaming tips, as well as console-specific reviews, tips, tricks, news, and more, please visit http://videogamereign.com
If you're strictly a PC gamer, please visit http://videogamereign.com/category/pc-gaming

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From ColecoVision to iPhone Games - Some High Water Marks in Video Game Design History - Part 9

In this ongoing look at significant moments in the history of video game design, we have already taken a look at Bungie's Halo, Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series, Nintendo's Mike Tyson's Punch-Out and several others. The goal of this series is to go beyond simple gaming magazines and iPhone Game Reviews, and take a closer look at what defines memorability and quality in game design. In this ninth part of the series we will examine some more of those classic moments where video game designers undoubtedly got it right and delivered a memorable, enduring and progressive gaming experience.

Halo 2 - A launch title for the original Xbox, Halo:Combat Evolved not only ensured the success of the Xbox, but served as the launching point for what would go onto become one of the biggest franchises in all of video games. Its first sequel, Halo 2, had more than its share of hype to deliver on and seemed poised to yet again redefine the first-person-shooter (FPS) genre upon its release. Despite its warm critical reception and record breaking sales, a small but vocal contingent of Halo fans felt that Halo 2 fell short in many ways. Animations were lacking and stiff (melee animations in particular were of markedly lower quality than the original), draw-in and pop-up was abound, and a surprise playable character coupled with an undelivered upon - yet promised - story arc left enthusiasts feeling slighted. Regardless of these actual and perceived shortcomings, Halo 2 did many things exceedingly well. Its new vehicle mounting and dual wielding systems were implemented effectively, and the Arbiter character, though maligned, offered a refreshing change of gameplay pace and style.

In singling out a single aspect of Halo 2 for its lasting greatness, we can simply focus on the game's refined enemy selection. While most players praised Halo 2 for its newly introduced online multiplayer element, the single player received a much needed shot in the arm in the form of new enemies - various Brutes, Drones and Prophets.

Much line in the original Halo, Halo 2 demands the player to be well rounded. Intricate and carefully planned battles among humans and the Covenant make way to the all out bullet storms that are interactions with the Flood. Tactical gunfights with the much more powerful Brutes were tempered by frantic wars with swarms of flying drones. The game demanded not only precision aiming and battlefield smarts (take a Brutes helmet out and the Brute will shortly follow), but stealthy assassinations performed under timed periods of invisibility (Arbiter levels). The introduction of boss battles with the Prophets serves as another example of a new character being seamlessly introduced into the narrative and gameplay. In playing Halo 2, players are forced to call upon skills that have been refined over many years of FPS gaming. Battlefield experience from games like Call of Duty helped the player overcome hordes of foot soldiers and entrenched enemies. The Dooms and Quakes of the world helped develop those fast twitch reactions required to beat enemies like the flood and the drones, while the original Halo primed the player for the vehicle battles that made up such a healthy portion of each game. It is because of its varied enemy selection and the demands it places on the skill-sets of even the most seasoned FPS players that Halo 2 will go down in history as a game that pushed the genre forward and truly tested all gamers who chose to rise to its challenge.

Frank Taylor writes on behalf of AppsPatrol. He recommends you visit AppsPatrol for your iphone app reviews and iPhone Game Reviews

Professional Video Game Testing - What Games Will I Test as A Paid Game Tester?

If you're interested in pursuing a career as a video game tester, but still have some doubts about it, then you will want to read this article. In it, I will answer the questions of most aspiring young game testers and talk about the different games that are tested.

The games you will test as a video game tester largely depend upon the developing company you are working for. The simple fact is that no matter what company you're working for, you'll be testing games that have yet to be released to the public and are nearing the final stages of development. Typically, you will test games in a variety of different genres, which means you should have some level of expertise in all the different types of video games (FPS, MMORPG, RTS, RPG, Racing, Sports, Etc).

If you are a specialist in only one particular game type, such as role-playing games or racing games, and nothing else, then you won't likely make for a good professional video game tester. That's not to say you won't get any game testing jobs. It's just that you won't have as large of a "job field" as most other game testers. Generally speaking, if you're going to make it as a professional video game tester, then you simply must be skilled with different video game genres. There is really no other way to look at it.

Why must you be an "expert" in a multitude of different video game types? Simply because the game company that hires you will determine what type of video games you will be testing. You can't pick and choose what game you want to test; it doesn't work that way, unfortunately. On a side note, many video game tester jobs will involve testing computer games. This is due to the fact that PC video games are prone to having many glitches and bugs. Don't worry about being a PC game tester though, as there are plenty of companies that focus purely on console gaming systems. However, it wouldn't hurt to get some PC gaming experience.

When you're done testing a game, it is yours to keep with no strings attached. This is a great way to amass a library of awesome video games for free. It's true these videos games won't be technically "complete", but that's just a technicality. After all, a free video game is still a free video game.

Generally, the games you will test will be sent via snail-mail, along with a "Glitch/Bug" report form that you will fill out after you've completed the game testing. And, just in case you haven't caught on yet, this means you will be getting paid to play video games from the comfort of your own home!

Video game testers really do have it made. They get paid to play the coolest and most technologically advanced video games, and they get to do it from their very own home. Honestly, what more could any gamer ask for?

Sean Saunders Spends Most of His Time Playing Video Games And He Now Has A Very Successful Career as a Professional Video Game Tester. If You Too Would Like To Get Started With Paid Video Game Testing, Visit Gamer-Testing-Ground.com, The Number One Resource For Video Game Testers Everywhere.

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Storytelling In Video Games - Is It Necessary?

Christmas 1993 marks the day I became a gamer. I received Myst, which went on to become the second best-selling PC game of all time. From Christmas Day until my return to school after the New Year, I was totally engrossed within the game. The storyline of Myst was entertaining, enriching and was certainly challenging. I fell in love with the game and the virtual worlds within video games from that point forward. Like many of my fellow gamers, we love the storyline within a game and for me, it is a deciding factor upon playing or buying a game.

The video game industry has taken so many turns and twists since I had my first experience within the world of Myst, it's hard to keep up with the flood of options. Whether your style is a role playing game (RPG), first person shooter (FPS), or a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) your choices are endless. We know games offer all types of entertainment to the gamer, but how much of a role is the storyline of a game actually playing? Do most players want to seek and destroy or do users want a more enriching experience which immerses them into the lore and legend of a game? What about quests? What about character background and development? Does anyone really care? As long as it looks good and plays well, is that enough?

Options abound in the gaming world give designers a multitude of challenges when competing with outside media sources. Keeping a player involved mentally in a video game may take more than just the Tetris type challenges in the past. As video games evolve, so does the gamer. There will always be the gamer that wants to take the shortest route from point A to point B, but there is also the gamer who wants a richer based world. They want the visual rewards as well as the skill rewards. Appealing to all types of players is the goal. Story and Lore are critical in getting the players attention when they try out a new game. Boredom can set in quickly and competition abounds in the video game market.

A more recent trend in video games, such as The Sims popular appeal can be attributed to creating your own experiences within a video game and giving the player a choice in actually authoring the experiences of their characters. Fable, a popular console RPG, gives the player the opportunity to make moral choices which will determine their future experiences within the game. We are seeing gamers becoming more intelligent with wanting to make their own choices in the game. Gamers are becoming more savvy every year and their input and ideas should also be a factor in game creation. Without a basic storyline or a more developed virtual world, keeping the player engrossed in a video game for the long term would be a challenge.

As video gamers, we should expect this experience to enrich all of our senses. Utilizing a storyline that's rich in lore, character development and visual experiences are basic tenants that keep a player immersed within a game.

Tiltedgabs is a creator of TiltedHouse, an online Community Gaming Project. TiltedHouse offers users the unique experience of creating the storyline for an online video game with community input and participation. For more information please visit us at http://tiltedhouse.net

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Host Online Games With VPS

Game industry evolution

Globalization of the Internet is still not finished and there are countries that are still evolving in the technical section that is communications and technologies. However during this evolution the new improvements in the already functional communications have led to increase of speed and traffic and in the same time lowering the price. This has led to more expansion on the already growing market to become not only business oriented but also games & fun for example. The fact is this evolution in technology had major effect on the gaming industry, and besides the great online gaming with the casual games and some flash player games, the part where this technology has put together performance and affordability for public is what truly concerns us in this article. The best example of this more and more spreading technology are the game servers with the games like Call of Duty, Need for Speed, Medal of Honor and so forth...

How it works

But how does all of this function? Well this all started with new games that showed great potential with their multiplayer and competitor genre for which the players literally screamed and where saying make it possible. This was all possible long time ago, but now this luxury can afford anyone with the game installed and a broadband connection, because besides the necessity of the very expensive high speed internet connection, the only place you could have done this is on a dedicated server which meant a lot of money... In connection speed terms, nowadays, this would be at least about 1Mbps for a guest to be able to play this game on a server with minimum requirements, but the standard for full experience is higher. Frequently the problem isn't with the guests that want to play the game. The problem mostly lies with the game servers, either in their configuration or the (UN) available resources. When it comes to configuration, this problem can be solved through fitting Control panel that has the options that can simplify the configuration of the servers to a basic knowledge level. But this is only just the beginning, there is many other things that need to be done like administration of the server and its maintenance. All of this can be taken of your shoulders but of course for additional price as clearly nothing is free. If you have trouble with these technical things then the VPS support team is the real deal for you in the combination of helpful we tools you have all you need.

Game Server and Virtual Server

However if you have experience with this type of managing, especially if you have a team of gamers/techies then all you have to do is rent/buy the server. Buying the server is kind of totally unprofitable, except if you have long term plans with it, but with today's prices of monthly charges for a different packages of VPS this is the perfect deal for any gamer. The next step would be installation of a purchased game on the VPS and setting it up, but to enjoy the game (and this will be heard from any gamer) the resolution and the level of details are the things that count the most. Without those two things there isn't any 'real' game enjoyment, but let's say you are playing on a 1920x1080 resolution, all high details (even though the resolution of nowadays graphics cards go much higher), the feeling of playing a game with no side effects of screen slowing down (low fps), is something not everyone can have on their PC's and that's where the VPS comes into play. Standard configuration of VPs plan must have a 2 core processor which is enough for any game on nowadays market, but the level of reliability and hardware performance can be a bit spicy for a single gamer, however a team that wants to play this game that splits the costs is the ideal solution for this giving you the opportunity the select the best configuration that you need and still don't feel the price at all. VPS are affordable when we are talking about business but in this case even games & fun payout in a way. Also important to note is how fast the ping times and the broadband is with VPS hosting companies. Speed is critical in gaming purposes and VPS provides the speed needed to facilitate the games. On VPS, the major difference of a shared virtual hosting is that you have root access and you also control your own background processes. This means that if someone else runs an application with a bug or virus, your will not be infected with their virus. If someone else runs a bad script or applications that lock or interfere with the gaming environment, your games will not be bothered with their problems. The level of security and reliability of the VPS is shown in its full glory on the example of game servers.

This is a system that has been expanding more and more and has proven very useful and affordable. This is a way if you want to play a game with some else then you neighbors, who are probably great fans of such games, but need more challenge that can't be found in your city but only on the WWW. A little organization and small amount of cash and you have provided yourself something that some people can only dream of because they don't even know of such things and the simplicity of making it happen.

Vpswebserver provides web hosting deals upon inexpensive windows VPS hosting. Our windows VPS offers you with greatest overall performance when it comes to uptime as well as space.

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Testing Video Games From Home For Cash

Getting paid for playing video games at home sounds like a pipe dream, right? This is one of those things that sets off the, "too good to be true" alarms, I know! I'm writing this article to let you know that you could land one of these jobs, if you know the secret to getting inside the business. Great jobs like these only last because people don't know how to get them, and if you have previously searched for a video game testing job, you probably know this to be true!

The video game industry is rated at some 50 billion dollars and it is growing very quickly. Experts say that they expect exponential growth over the next couple of years, as well! What does this mean then, exactly? It means that now is the absolute perfect time to get your foot in the door of this industry. With the huge growth in the video game business you can expect many gaming testing jobs opening, including some very nice high paying opportunities as these companies try to best their competitors and grab up all of the best testers.

As an avid video game player myself who enjoys all kinds of games, ranging from MMORPG's all the way down to FPS' like Team Fortress 2, this is where I come in for you and tell you this big secret; game companies typically only hire people who show initiative and come to them, instead of posting jobs. It seems simple at first I'm sure, but really think on it for a moment. They lean towards people especially who already have either contacts in the industry, some sort of game related degree, or both. I'm not about to leave any of you hanging though!

From a gamer, to another gamer, I want to offer you an opportunity so you can get contacts in the video gaming industry; over 50 of them in fact, insuring that you will get into whatever genre you choose if you pursue it. Many people have gone through this service to get a job in the video game industry, and through these contacts they can even ship the games to your house if you prefer, depending on the company!

If you are interested, check out Gaming Tester for more detailed information on this great gaming opportunity. You can live out your dream of being a video game tester if you take action now while the market is hot!

Adam Huff

Gamer For Life!

Get Paid For Gaming.

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