Lost Planet: Extreme Condition for Xbox 360

In Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, you're a snow pirate - battling for control of the precious thermal energy needed for humans to survive. Navigate your VS (Vital Suits) through hostile ice-covered environments, fighting against the indigenous Akrid creatures for the precious thermal energy they need to survive. For one such pilot named Wayne, death almost seemed imminent until he was fortunately rescued. However, he can only remember a few fragments of his past including the slaying of his father by the monstrous beings. Yet under the veil of ice, a devious plot has been set into motion by NEVEC. What really happened to Wayne and how will his destiny become intertwined with NEVEC's plans? Xbox Live enabled - Enjoy online multiplayer cooperative and versus battles; Download content like additional maps, missions, and weapons

Game Features:

• Alien Encounters- Face off with an array of Akrid, from massive rolling behemoths and long-legged ground-dwellers to fast-flying swarms overhead!
• Xbox Live Enabled- Download additional maps, compete in 16 player cooperative and versus battles!
• On-Foot and In-Vehicle Modes- Command heavily armed bipedal vehicles or switch to more stealthy exploration on-foot.
• Vast and Vivid Environments- Snowstorms, arctic winds, towering buildings, and mountains of ice create cinematic, stunning visuals and breathtaking landscapes!
• Next-Gen Realism- Immerse yourself in the brutal chilling world of Lost Planet as you labor through waist-deep snow, hear the crunch of ice with each step, and fly backward from explosive force during battle!

Gears of War for Xbox 360

Gears of War, an Xbox 360 exclusive game that blends tactical action with survival horror, thrusts gamers into a deep and harrowing tale of humankind's epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet. The storyline plays out like a Hollywood blockbuster -- lead character Marcus Fenix pits advanced human technology against the overwhelming Locust Horde. Built around a revolutionary third-person tactical combat system and breathtaking, high-definition visuals from the Unreal Engine 3, Gears of War immerses you in a horrifying tale of war and survival.

The gameplay is focused on a fire team co-op so advanced that your A.I. teammates are indiscernible from human players. Voice recognition and real-time lip synching heighten the absorbing experience. The Unreal Engine 3 technology brings out the smallest details in the largest of battles. With GOW you're sure to experience a rich, dynamic world where characters spring to life. Speaking of life, the battlefield is a lethal place. To survive, you must suppress your enemy with blindfire, take cover in interactive environments, and use weapons and teammates to outwit your dreaded, inhuman foes. And with a title like GOW, it would be shame if you couldn't get online and challenge live gamers. With the next-generation of Xbox Live, you'll be able to experience individualized matchmaking, view player statistics, earn player achievements, customize games, and build personalized gamer profiles.

Gears of War shined bright at Microsoft's pre-E3 press briefing, but a deeper demo at Microsoft's E3 booth revealed many of the game's mechanics. GOW is built with both the hardcore and casual gamer in mind. But, instead of selecting a difficulty level at the start of the game, GOW offers a choice at the beginning of each level. In the vein of choose your own adventure, you can select between a difficult or easy path. And it's not just a simple choice of battling tougher enemies; each path (explained by a comrade) represents additional content that is crucial to the storyline. After easing your way into the experience of the gameplay with the simpler paths, you can go back and test your skills on the more difficult routes and never feel like you've played through the areas before.

Standing around in the open is likely to get you killed in GOW. You must use cover to survive. With a context sensitive A button function, you won't have to sweat memorizing cumbersome button combos. The A button will:

• Slam you into cover. As you approach cover in GOW simply tap the A button to slide and make immediate use of cover.
• Vault you over the cover. Once you're in cover, pressing up and A will vault you over your cover to engage the opponent or next cover opportunity.
• Evade enemy fire. When you're forced to be out in the open, tapping the A button will engage a roll maneuver to evade enemy fire.
• Activate a "Swat Turn." When taking cover on the side of a doorway, pressing the A button will spin your character from one side of the doorway to the other, helping avoid fire.

Ripping a magazine free and replacing it in the midst of bloody combat is no easy task. GOW simulates this difficult action by forcing you to perfect your reloading skills. To be effective in combat you'll need to allot for time to successfully reload your weapon. Do it well and the battle is yours; do it poorly and you may actually jam your gun. Time it perfectly and you'll earn a bonus with a temporary damage boost. Though GOW clearly showcases a sci-fi experience, its roots are in tactical, realistic combat scenarios. Therefore, running and gunning makes for seriously erratic shooting. Think about what you're doing. Unless wasting ammo is your goal, you better stop, aim, shoot, and then move on. Otherwise, the Locust Horde might swarm you and take your life.

Gears of War presents a focused and well-paced cinematic experience, and nothing ruins that faster than a time-consuming exploration of every switch or button to find the elusive trigger to open a door. This game introduces a "point of interest" button that comes up on the screen so you can immediately interact with the necessary item to move forward in your gameplay. GOW certainly offers drool-worthy graphics, but the mechanics have also received equal attention. Keep your eyes and ears on high alert for a release date, as Microsoft hasn't let the cat out of the bag on when gamers will be able to tackle this great-looking and great-playing title.

Product Description
Gears of War thrusts gamers into a deep and harrowing story of humankind's epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet. players live and breathe the role of Marcus Fenix. A disgraced former war hero, Marcus seeks personal redemption as he leads his fire team against an onslaught of merciless warrior fiends. Gamers immerse themselves in an experience so intensely emotional and gut-wrenching that playing will be like controlling a blockbuster action movie. Control Marcus Fenix and his fire team as they pit advanced human technology against the overwhelming and horrific Locust Horde. Gears of War unites next-generation technology with classic, emotional storytelling and a revolutionary tactical combat system, engrossing the gamer in a horrifying epic story of war and survival Unreal Engine 3 technology pushes high-definition visual designs and brings out the smallest details in the largest battle. Experience a rich dynamic world with an unprecedented level of detail

Crackdown for Xbox 360

Pacific City is overridden; crime controls the streets. Three powerful gangs have taken the once-great metropolis hostage, and the police have proven powerless in their efforts to regain control. Only the Agency's deploying genetically enhanced agents of justice can provide citizens with some sense of hope. With an open-ended "sandbox" environment, players are free to explore the city and decide on the best tactics for each breathtaking scenario. Brace yourself. Justice is coming to Pacific City.

A next-gen visual and gameplay style Crackdown pushes the action-driving hybrid genre into the next generation with the first ever truly 3-D playground. Gamers will level up their Agent's strength, agility, firearms, explosives, and driving skills while scaling the fully vertical world. Enforce justice by any means necessary in Pacific City, a crime-ridden urban center primed to explode and ready for you to explore. Enter an interactive world where anything can be used as a weapon as you clean up the streets the only way you know how. Your way. Developed by Scotland's Real Time Worlds exclusively for Microsoft Game Studios and the Xbox 360 console, Crackdown is the brainchild of Dave Jones, the creative genius behind many innovative game titles such as Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings.

Harnessing the amazing power of Xbox 360, Crackdown players enforce justice against the backdrop of a crime-ridden metropolis that is massive in scale and meticulous in detail. The game's unique presentation employs a highly stylized rendering technique that turns it into a living, breathing graphical novel. You play the role of an enforcer for the city's "Agency," a law enforcement entity looking to take back neighborhoods and lives from three large crime syndicates. You are part of the new generation of crime fighters- an entirely new breed of genetically superior super-cops, designed to use the enemies' tactics against them.

Multiplayer mayhem
From the initial conception, Crackdown has been built to feature a dynamic and engaging co-op experience for double the action, carnage, and intensity. Never before has a game allowed two players to simultaneously explore and interact with an open-ended game environment. Will you work together to find new ways of detonating your impressive stash of explosives? Or will you race each other to the next batch of collectible ability orbs? The choice is always yours!

An impressive number of weapons and objects are also at your disposal. Low on ammo? Never a problem. Thanks to an amazing amount of props and a deep physics system, you can use whatever you get your hands on as a weapon: Trash cans, vehicles, even people. Set the scene for mass destruction with a game that remembers your actions better than you do. Gather vehicles to assemble barricades, build epic piles of explosives, push it to the limit. Crackdown can take it.

A sandbox full of opportunities
For the first time ever, every inch of an urban playground has been designed for you to explore and exploit. Use any route necessary as you take down the crime syndicates, going under, around, or through the environment however you choose. While previous "sandbox"-style titles have allowed you to merely walk or drive around the environment, Crackdown encourages players to find new routes to and from destinations. Often times, scaling a building or traveling beneath the surface will present new and unexpected challenges to the player- or provide an even more deadly option for the enemy.

Get the job done, no matter what it takes. Any strategy or tactic is acceptable, so long as you re-claim the streets. Unleash the awesome powers of your agent, developing his full genetic potential, becoming faster and stronger, learning bone-crushing moves, using outrageous weapons, and defying certain death at every turn.

Product Description
Crackdown pushes the action-driving hybrid genre into the next generation with the first ever truly 3-D playground. Gamers will enforce justice by any means necessary in Pacific City, a crime-ridden urban center built to encourage the exploration of the full width, depth and height of the city. Coupled with highly innovative co-op gameplay -- a genre first -- and an interactive world where nearly anything can be used as a weapon, gamers will be able to create a volatile cocktail of judicial oppression as they clean up the streets. More than 100 licensed tracks, spanning a wide range of styles and genres -- with 5.1 sound

Game Features:

• Players enforce justice against the backdrop of a crime-ridden metropolis that is massive in scale, monstrous in scope and meticulous in detail
• Cooperative gameplay for double the mayhem - Real Time Worlds focused on delivering dynamic, engaging cooperative gameplay for double the carnage, action and intensity
• 3D freeform gameplay -- explore and exploit the full width, depth and height of a city, as you face nonlinear objectives in a myriad of wild and creative ways
• All strategies and tactics are acceptable, provided players reclaim the streets -- players will be able to run at dazzling speeds, take death-defying leaps, handle the most incredible weapons, perform impossible vehicular maneuvers, move massive objects and deliver bone-crushing blows
• Use your environment as a weapon - Grab trash cans, vehicles, even people. Take your enemies' weapons, buid barricades, even arrange explosives to set them off later

NBA '07

NBA 07 hits the hardwood loaded with incredibly detailed and lifelike graphics supported in High Defintion at 1080p. Immerse yourself in the most engaging NBA experience as NBA 07 places you in the arena and on the floor like never before. Feel the passion from the hometown crowd as you nail a game-winning jumper. Play your heart out and leave everything on the court in NBA 07. See how defensive pressure impacts the ability to make a shot, with the Open Shot Indicator - It dynamically provides feedback on who's open and who's covered The emotion & intensity of the NBA brings the hard core gamer onto the court -- right down to the beads of sweat run down player's faces as they pump their fists after hitting a big shot Play on your own or against friends in multiple mini-games including Own The Court, 3-Point Competition and the PlayStation Skills Competition

Game Features:

• Experience a new era of NBA action in 1080p, and a blistering 60 frames per second
• Take advantage of jukes, crossovers and spin moves as well as low-post moves using the PS3 motion sensor controller
• Reenact all of the past year's great performances by current NBA All-Stars - Score 81 points as Kobe Bryant, nab 21 rebounds with Ben Wallace or dish out 22 assists as Steve Nash
• Download 5 scenarios each week involving recent NBA games that are current and relevant in the NBA and try to relive those moments
• Crash the boards on a missed shot -- the new Power Boarding System lets players see the best position to grab the rebound

Reviews:
1. NBA 07
The PlayStation 3's launch was not without its fair share of ports and shared titles with other consoles, including NBA ...
› Read full review at www.dailygame.net

2. NBA 07 Reviews
Delivering the most engaging NBA experience with fast, fluid gameplay, NBA '07 for the PSP expands upon the franchise by ...
› Read full review at www.gamerankings.com

3. NBA Live 07 Reviews
NBA LIVE 07 plays as good as it looks with gameplay advancements that build upon the depth and authenticity that ...
› Read full review at www.gamerankings.com

FEAR: First Encounter Assault Recon

PS3 F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) is a paranormal action thriller presented entirely in first-person. An unprecedented adrenaline rush of close quarters combat seamlessly melded with the spine-tingling, shocking intensity of the paranormal unknown. Already a critical and commercial smash on the PC, F.E.A.R. will bring a new level of FPS game play to PlayStation 3 with exclusive single player content designed to immerse the player deeper in the world of the F.E.A.R. team, as well as the visceral action of F.E.A.R. multiplayer. F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) is a unique fusion of stylized first person combat and supernatural suspense in which you are an elite soldier trained to deal with situations others cant even imagine. Be the hero in your own spine-tingling epic of action, tension, and terror...and discover the true meaning of fear. A mysterious paramilitary force infiltrates a multi-billion dollar aerospace compound, taking hostages but issuing no demands. A Special Forces team is sent in by the government to contain the situation, but contact is severed as an eerie signal interrupts radio communications. When the interference subsides moments later, the team has been obliterated. Live footage of the massacre shows an inexplicable wave of destruction tearing the soldiers apart before they can even react. In light of the desperate situation the F.E.A.R. team is assembled.

Reviews:
1. F.E.A.R. Extraction Point Review
In 2005 developer Monolith and publisher Vivendi Games released F.E.A.R., a horror themed first person shooter for the PC. Though ...
› Read full review at www.firingsquad.com

2. F.E.A.R.
One of the first things you notice when firing up F.E.A.R. is that a lot of work went into the ...
› Read full review at www.dailygame.net

3. F.E.A.R. Reviews
F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) makes you part of a classified strike team created to deal with threats that no ...
› Read full review at www.gamerankings.com

Resistance: Fall of Man

In Resistance: Fall of Man, US and British forces band together in a last-ditch effort to save England from a horric scourge -- the Chimera. This parasitic species infects other life forms with a virus that rapidly mutates victims into new Chimera. In mere decades this race has ripped apart populations across Asia and Europe and by 1951 has landed on the shores of England. You play the part of US a Army Ranger, fighting alongside a group of British resistance soldiers to free the country from the Chimera and to halt their spread across the globe.

The Chimera wars
War is everywhere and everything in Resistance. An alien race began toying with the planet just after Word War I and in mere decades, the Chimera Ð a species of unknown origin propagating a virus that converts other life forms into more Chimera Ð has overrun Russia and all of Europe. Humanity's hope for survival is slim, and the tide of the battle rests on the shoulders of U.S. Army Ranger, Sgt. Nathan Hale.

The Chimera didn't plan to take this protracted war lying down, however, and amassed their forces in Russia. Once Russia was captured, they quickly erected a wall around the former country, rebuking all efforts at communication or contact. While the world waited and wondered what other terrors might spill from the wall, England prepares for and falls to a major Chimera invasion in 1951.

The United States comes to aid their English allies, but all does not go as planned. The next three days will see some of the most intense fighting the war has known thus far, and it's up to you to end the Chimera threat before the plague of defeat can encircle the globe.

Next-generation gameplay and style
The gameplay of Resistance is classic First Person Shooter. Insomniac Games has combined its passion for creating exotic weapons and vehicles with a proprietary physics system to create unique human and alien weaponry. Many of the weapons of the game are era-appropriate, such as pistols and grenades. Other weapons, such as the Chimeran Auger, are of alien design. Due to the differences in the ways that the various weapons handle, great care must be taken when entering an area infested with Chimera with their own weaponry. In addition to the obvious array of weapons, players can use melee attacks and jump to avoid attack.

Special game actions, called "Skill Tasks," are worth set number of points that can be spent to unlock new content in the game. A Skill Task may be something as simple as killing a number of enemies in a short period of time or as involved as locating a hidden area in the single player campaign. The mystery of the tasks, however, is that they aren't actually revealed until you have completed the task. This makes for a great reply incentive, as you will be mowing down Chimera and be suddenly rewarded with task points, often when you least expect the reward.

Obviously, presentation is one of the areas in which Resistance shines. The frame rate is silky-smooth, and never seems to get bogged down when there is a large number of Chimera or teammates on screen. Animations are believable, the locations are detailed, and the voice acting is top-notch. Explosions are especially impressive, sending shrapnel and smoke in all directions. If you're looking for a game to impress your friends with graphically, look no further. Resistance is the type of game that makes you feel confident about the future of the PLAYSTATION 3.

Track stats and more online
Resistance also boasts an impressive 40 player online multiplayer mode. It's not uncommon to find large-scale battles with both intricate strategy and simple "run and gun" play styles. Created and managed jointly by Insomniac Games and Sony Computer Entertainment, MyResistance.net is the official online community destination for Resistance: Fall of Man. At MyResistance.net, players can view their multiplayer stats in near-real time, participate in forums with other fans, download unlockable content and more.

Product Description
Resistance: Fall Of Man takes you back in time to an early 20th century that's very different from our own. Through brute force, a species of unknown origin known only as the Chimera have conquered Asia and most of Europe in mere decades. Seeing the risk of annihilation, the United States supports the British Resistance in a European counterattack. The story follows Hale, a US Ranger, as he struggles for survival and desperately seeks a means to eliminate the Chimeran blight.

Resident Evil: Extinction movie September 21, 2007

Resident Evil: Extinction (formerly Resident Evil: Afterlife ) is the 2007 sequel to Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Resident Evil: Extinction is the third and (according to the official site) final installment in a series of film adaptations based on the popular Capcom survival horror game series Resident Evil. The film is directed by Russell Mulcahy and produced by Paul Anderson. The film stars Milla Jovovich, Mike Epps, Ashanti Douglas, Ali Larter ("Heroes", Final Destination), Chris Egan, and Oded Fehr (the Mummy). The film will adapt several plot elements from Resident Evil: Code Veronica and will feature several new characters and creatures from the game series. Details regarding production are top-secret but minor details have been revealed, "fans of the series will be pretty damn happy with a new boss monster that's going to rear its ugly head in the film".

Milla Jovovich returns as Alice, and she's running with a new pack of humans, with Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) leading a convoy (a school bus and a modified ambulance) that's cutting through the wastelands of the United States on a long trek to Alaska. Hunted by the minions of the scheming Dr. Isaacs, Alice has zombies hungry for her flesh and lab rats hungry for her blood, while Alice is hungry for Revenge.

Resident Evil: Extinction is set in between 3 - 5 years after the events of Apocalypse. The Umbrella Corporation has failed to control a series of T-Virus outbreaks and the world's population has been almost wiped out. With very little humanity left, a handful of survivors are traveling around the remnants of the world in heavily armored convoys that go to the least populated parts of the world.

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City of Heroes - This Game is Freakin' Awesome!

Synopsis: The Story so far

For me, what makes this game so great, is its versatility. I'm not talking about how fully customizable the heroes you create are, from height, build, skin tone, hair style, hair color, costume, powers, etc. What I mean is you can play solo, doing missions given to you by contacts (police detectives, reporters, snitches, etc.), patrol the zones looking for criminals (muggers, arsonist, vandals, etc.), or simply collect badges. Or, you can join / form a team to take on harder missions ie higher level villains. The missions themselves vary, from timed, rescue, defeat all the baddies, prevent an escape, to locating items, etc. There are tunnels, caves, warehouses, secret labs, sewers, etc. The different zones of the game are easily navigable and offer their own unique look, back story, and resident villains.

Another fantastic reason to play this game is that NCSoft could have stopped there, as they already had a winner. Thankfully they didn't. They continue to update the game, offering more zones, costume and power options, and most recently "Veteran Rewards" which are in-game rewards based on how long you have subscribed to the game. About a year ago, they introduced City of Villains for those who would rather cause the mayhem. You can play both games for the single subscription price of just one, in addition to unlocking additional features such as accessing your secret base if you've joined a super-group.

NCSoft's developers also work hard to bring seasonal events to Paragon City. This past Christmas, for a couple of weeks, for instance offered gifts scattered throughout the zones. If you were naughty you were rewarded with a couple of snow-beasts to fight, occasionally getting the Winter Lord himself (think 50 foot tall snowman that requires many people to take out). If you were nice you were rewarded with temporary powers such as jet-packs for flight, debt protection for when you fell in combat, and mystery inspirations (temporary boosts for health, accuracy, endurance (mana), etc.)

They also offer various contests from time to time. The most recent being a halloween contest where players were encouraged to dress as one of their created heroes or villains and submit in-game screenshots of their character in addition to photos of themselves out in public in their costume. The selected winner got a pile of prizes including:

• One (1) BFG AGEIA PhysX 128MB GDDR3 PCI Physics Accelerator Card by AGEIA Technologies, Inc. (Retail Value: $299.99)
• One (1) Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic Sound Card by Creative Labs, Inc. (Retail Value: $129.99)

And, since this is a super-hero game after all, there's a monthly comic-book by Top Cow (Image) too. This used to be mailed to your home monthly, but is now offered online for free. You can still have the comic mailed to you for a $1.99 an issue fee. The story-line frequently corresponds with new game features or features coming.

Car Travel Activities for Kids

Time flies when you’re having fun - The miles fly by too! You can make a long family car trip seem a lot shorter if you have fun with your kids along the way. Plan ahead with a few car activities, and making the journey can be as much fun as the destination. Here are a few ideas to get you started.


Make a Trip-Journal or Scrapbook
Give everyone a big spiral bound sketchpad and a box of crayons or markers. Each day of the trip or for each event along the way, draw a picture of what you did that day, or draw a map of where you went, and write about it. You can also paste in souvenirs.

Get a Good Songbook With All the Lyrics
It surprising how many songs you think you know, but you don't really know all the words. Have a singing marathon and learn the old classics by heart.

Give Your Kids an Allowance for the Day
Tell them that this money is for snacks, treats, souvenirs etc. Help them learn to budget their money and make good choices.

Let Your Children Have a Map
Give your kids their own copy of a map of where you are going. Show them how far you have come, how much further there is to go and let them mark it with a crayon. Every time someone asks "How much further?” let them see for themselves. You might also like to get a compass and show them how it works along with the map.

Have Bubble Gum Blowing Contests
The weirder the gum the better. Get it at the rest areas and try all the different flavors.

The License Plate Game
Print a U.S. map off the computer and color in the states as you see license plates from each one. See if you can get all 50 states between Memorial Day and Labor Day. You might even record the time and date and the state where you saw it. This can be a family project as you build your "collection" of license plates together.

Cats Cradle or String Loops
You just need a piece of string for this one. See if you can make "Jacob's Ladder", "Kitty Whiskers", or play Cats Cradle!

Magnetic Board Games
Do your children know how to play classic board games like Chess, Backgammon, Checkers, or Chinese Checkers? What better time to learn than in the car to pass the time! The magnetic car versions of these games are nice because they are small and compact, and have easy ways to store the pieces so they don't get lost.

Counting Cows
Count the cows you see on your side of the car. If you pass a cemetery on your side of the car, you lose all your cows. The one with the most cows wins.

Read Out Loud
This passes the time quickly in the car for the reader and for the family members who are listening.

Lego Contest
Have a contest to see who can build the best item that relates to where you are going. Use a shoebox to store the Legos, or large zip lock bags.

Guess How Far Away That Is
Pick an object and have everyone guess how far away it is, then clock it on your odometer.

Play Favorites
Have everyone think of different "favorite" questions for the group. What's your favorite... movie, flavor of ice cream, song, game, toy, place to visit, restaurant, book, animal, fish, etc. Be creative and don't forget to ask the driver too!

Aluminum Art
Give everyone a sheet of aluminum foil. Have them mold it into anything they want: animal shapes, Frisbees, balls, jewelry, crowns, headband, necklaces and masks. Be creative. It’s inexpensive fun and easy to clean up. Toddlers love this one too.


Remember that it's sometimes nice to sit in the back of the van with your kids while Dad is doing the driving and play some games right along side them. You might be surprised at how much fun you have too. Happy travels!

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Laurel Smith is a former schoolteacher and mother of three who has logged thousands of road trip miles both as a kid and a mom. Visit her website for more than 101 travel games and activities for kids at MomsMinivan.com

Publishers note: One of my favorite travel games as a kid was "I'm going to..." Lets say you're going to your grandparents, so the first person would say "I'm going to my grandparents and I'm taking an..." and they would say something that begins with the letter "A", lets use "apple" for this example. The next person would say "I'm going to my grandparents and I'm taking an apple and a ..." and they would select something that begins with the letter "B". When a player can't remember all the items, they're eliminated. The last player to be able to list all the items is the winner. The great thing about this game is it can involve everyone in the car, and isn't so distracting that the driver can't participate.

Gamers graphics - our guide

Graphics for Gaming
The die-hard gamer has some important features to examine when making a graphics card selection. Memory is probably the most important. For most gamers, a 128MB might be sufficient, but you have to check the specs on the game and think about what resolution you like to play it at. At a resolution of 1600 x 1200, you're going to need a 256MB card. Bare in mind that the memory is used to store image data, the more data it can store, the faster the rendering of images. Also, make sure the board uses DDR memory. It's not too much more expensive, but is much faster.

Clock Speed
For the most serious gamers, you'll want a clock speed of at least 350MHz. This doesn't mean that if you are a hard-core SimCity gamer you need speed like this. A 200MHz card would be fine for that, but the more processor intensive 3D rendering of games like Tomb Raider will greatly benefit from the increase in power. The clock speed alone doesn't dictate how effective the card is, but it's usually a good indicator of what it will be capable of.

Interface
The ultimate gaming rig will utilize AGP 8x or, if your PC supports it PCI Express. AGP is faster than standard PCI, but PCI Express is even faster yet. Again, make sure your PC supports it before you drop $500 on an Express board.

Connectors
Here's one place it's good to get only what you need. You'll pay more for a lot of different in/out connectors, so if you're not going to use them, find a board that only has what you need. Instead of spending money on all those connectors, you can get a faster 3D card for the same price, that only has the connector you need. If, however, you do want to do some video editing, all the options are available on the higher end cards.

Software
Microsoft has released DirectX 9, so you?ll want to find a card that supports the DirectX 9 API. As always, check the software that comes with the card. For example, if the card is a little pricey, but includes a $50 game you're planning on buying, you could easily justify the cost of the card.

About Author
John Gibb manages Nutritional supplements The site dedicated to nutrition.

A Newcomer's Guide To Final Fantasy XI

Final Fantasy XI is an excellent game and has a variety of strengths. It is a wonderful title because even if you are new to this series it is simple to play and understand. The game contains an enormous world and yet it is easy to become familiar with it and learn how everything works. A newcomer should find it a delight.

Final Fantasy XI is a massively multi-player online role-playing game [MMORPG]. It functions as an online world. Players can access this world by buying the game and paying a subscription of $12.95 a month. The game is a cross-platform title, which means that players on both PCs and consoles can interact with each other in the same game environment. This makes it a truly unique experience.

The PC version of Final Fantasy XI comes on five disks that you must install to set up the game. The first disk installs the PlayOnline client, a piece of software required for access to the game, while the other disks install the game itself. The PlayStation 2 version requires a special Hard Disk Drive and network adapter, the first of which is usually sold with the title. Once the game and the PlayOnline software have been set up, you will need to download any updates, and then it will be ready to play.

The first thing that you will do in Final Fantasy XI is create your character. There are five races to choose from, all of which possess their own abilities and skills. There are the Hume, who are human and are useful in most areas of the game; the Elvaan, who are Elves and are strong in combat; the Galka, who are enormous beast creatures; the Mithra, who resemble cats; and the Taru Taru, who are small individuals and are talented at magic. They are all great characters and they excel in different ways.

Final Fantasy XI allows you great range in customizing your character. You are able to choose your character's body size, face and appearance, and select a particular look and style that will suit them. You will also choose a career for your character, and this will affect your progress in the game. The various careers include positions like mages, monks, thieves and warriors. The characters suit certain careers better than others and you must choose one that will fit your character perfectly.

Final Fantasy XI is set in the world of Vana'diel. Vana'diel is a fantastic world that is home to a number of civilizations. The game takes place in the aftermath of the Crystal War, a battle where the five main races fought with the Beastmen, a collection of hostile creatures who wanted to destroy them. The story of the game sees the Beastmen return and stir up further conflict. It is up to your character to face them and defeat them.

Vana'diel consists of two main continents, Mindartia and Quon. It is further divided into a number of regions, all with their own climate and features. There are cities, towns, forests, ports and wasteland areas. Final Fantasy XI allows you to choose from one of three places as your starting point. You can be a citizen of the nations Bastok, San d'Oria or Windurst. Each nation is unique and has its own history and population. In the course of the game you are able to visit other nations and explore them.

Final Fantasy XI contains a great deal to do and is a very engaging game. The world of Vana'diel is immense and there is much to explore and see. There are missions and quests to go on and there are a number of storylines running through the game. There is also an element of teamwork. It is often necessary to join a group of players and work together to defeat enemies and opponents. In general the gameplay is multi-layered and enthralling.

Final Fantasy XI has a well-designed control system that works as a perfect complement to the game. It is best experienced with a keyboard, which allows you to chat with other players. The game controls are logical and it does not take long to grasp the various functions and commands. The game camera works nicely and is easy to handle, allowing you to view the world of Vana'diel as you please. The entire system is great and really strengthens the whole experience.

Final Fantasy XI is a joy to play. A newcomer to the game will be pleased with it and will have no difficulty getting set up and started. It is ideal for anyone who is looking for an interesting and rewarding game.

About Author
Hunter Crowell is a researcher and creator of Buy World of Warcraft Gold. A site showing players the best place to buy gold and more.

Publishers Note:
Get the Final Fantasy XI walkthrough here.

World of Warcraft: boosting the game industry

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment wanted to make a big splash in the video game world back in March when it introduced "Matrix Online," a massively multiplayer online game based on the once-hot film franchise. The game made a big splash all right, like a belly flop.

Over its first three months the game signed up fewer than 50,000 subscribers, a pittance, so in June, Warner cut bait and agreed to sell the game to Sony. Last month "Matrix Online" was downsized from nine virtual "realms" to three, because users were having a hard time finding one another in the game's vast digital ghost town.

The troubles of "Matrix Online" were partly of Warner's own making; many players and critics agree that the game is a mediocre experience. But the online market used to make room for mediocre games. Now, the broader phenomenon is that so many contenders, including "Matrix Online," simply cannot stand up to the overwhelming popularity of online gaming's new leviathan: "World of Warcraft," made by Blizzard Entertainment, based in Irvine, Calif.

With its finely polished, subtly humorous rendition of fantasy gaming - complete with orcs, mages, dragons and demons - "World of Warcraft" has become such a runaway success that it is now prompting a debate about whether it is helping the overall industry by bringing millions of new players into subscription-based online gaming or hurting the sector by diverting so many dollars and players from other titles.

" 'World of Warcraft'(WOW) is completely owning the online game space right now," said Chris Kramer, a spokesman for Sony Online Entertainment, buyer of "Matrix Online" and one of Blizzard's chief rivals. "Look, 'Matrix Online' is good, but it's like being in the early '90s and trying to put a fighting game up against 'Mortal Kombat' or 'Street Fighter'; it's just not going to happen. There are a lot of other online games that are just sucking wind right now because so many people are playing 'WOW.' "

Kramer is in a position to know. Last November, his company released "EverQuest II," sequel to the previous champion of massively multiplayer games. Such games, also known as MMOs, allow hundreds or thousands of players to simultaneously explore vast virtual worlds stocked with quests, monsters and treasure. Players sometimes cooperate to take on epic tasks, like killing a huge computer-controlled dragon, and sometimes fight one another in what is known as player-vs.-player combat.

But November 2005 was the same month that "World of Warcraft" hit the shelves. In a subscriber-based multiplayer online game, the customer buys the game's software for perhaps $30 to $50, and then pays a monthly fee of usually about $15. (There are also many games that are sold at retail but then are free to play online.)

Since November 2005, "World of Warcraft" has signed up more than 4 million subscribers worldwide, making for an annual revenue stream of more than $700 million. About a million of those subscribers are in the United States (with more than half a million copies sold this year), and another 1.5 million are in China, where the game was introduced just three months ago. By contrast, "EverQuest II" now has 450,000 to 500,000 subscribers worldwide, with about 80 percent in the United States.

Just a year ago, numbers like that would have classed "EverQuest II" as a big hit. The original "EverQuest" topped out at about a half-million players, and many, if not most, game executives came to believe that the pool of people willing to pay $15 a month to play a video game had been exhausted. The conventional wisdom in the industry then was that there could not possibly be more than a million people who would pay to play a massively multiplayer online game.

Now, "World of Warcraft" has shattered earlier assumptions about the potential size of the market.

"For many years the gaming industry has been struggling to find a way to get Internet gaming into the mainstream," said Jeff Green, editor in chief of Computer Gaming World, one of the top computer game magazines. "These kinds of games have had hundreds of thousands of players, which are not small numbers, but until 'World of Warcraft' came along no one has been able to get the kind of mainstream numbers that everyone has wanted, which is millions of players."

Or as put by another Blizzard rival, Richard Garriott, an executive producer at NCsoft and one of the fathers of computer role-playing games: "Every year someone writes a big article about how the MMO business has reached a new plateau and won't get any bigger. And then every year we seem to grow 100 percent. 'World of Warcraft' is just the next big step in that process."

Worldwide, about the only subscriber-based multiplayer online games that can compare to "World of Warcraft" are "Lineage" and "Lineage II," from NCsoft. Each game claims about 1.8 million subscribers, but in both cases the vast majority of players are in South Korea, where Internet gaming has become practically a national pastime.

"World of Warcraft" has taken off in many countries because Blizzard has made a game that is easy for casual players to understand and feel successful in, while including enough depth to engross serious gamers, who may play a game like "World of Warcraft" for 30 hours a week or more. Previously, many massively multiplayer games had seemed to pride themselves on their difficulty and arcane control schemes.

"The emphasis has clearly been on removing all sorts of barriers of entry," Ville Lehtonen, a 25-year-old Finn who runs Ascent, one of "Word of Warcraft's" elite player organizations, or guilds, said via e-mail. "The low-end game is a great triumph of usability - everything is aesthetically pleasing and easy to learn, making the experience a very positive one. Also the ease of leveling guaranteed that people didn't get frustrated too easily. These effects combined to lure in the so-called casual crowds in huge masses."

It is much the same formula that Blizzard has used with its other major properties: the action-role-playing "Diablo" series and the "Starcraft" and "Warcraft" strategy franchises.

"This is what Blizzard always does," said Green, of Computer Gaming World. "They have an innate genius at taking these genres that are considered hard-core geek property and repolishing them so they are accessible to the mainstream. To do that without losing their geek cred is an incredible achievement."

Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard, which is controlled by Vivendi Universal Games, estimated that about a quarter of the game's players are women, up from fewer than 10 percent on previous Blizzard games. "I think we've introduced a number of people to online gaming who didn't realize that they would even enjoy it, and so I think that's good for the industry," he said.

Some of Blizzard's biggest rivals seem to agree.

" 'World of Warcraft' is absolutely expanding the market, and that's a positive for us because we don't want this to just be a niche market," said Mike Crouch, an NCsoft spokesman. NCsoft has at least three new massively multiplayer games on the way, including "City of Villains," a superhero-themed sequel to last year's "City of Heroes" that is scheduled for release this fall. " 'World of Warcraft' is great, but people eventually move on, and we will have the catalog for them to move on to."

But there is also trepidation.

"If you're only playing 'WOW' and you're paying every single month, what does that mean for all of the other Internet games out there that are trying to get your $10 or $12 or $15 a month?" Green said. " 'WOW' is now the 800-pound gorilla in the room. I think it also applies to the single-player games. If some kid is paying $15 a month on top of the initial $50 investment and is devoting so many hours a week to it, are they really going to go out and buy the next 'Need for Speed' or whatever? There is a real fear that this game, with its incredible time investment, will really cut into game-buying across the industry."

In any case, as in years past, there are those who believe that paid online gaming is all a fad anyway.

"I don't think there are 4 million people in the world who really want to play online games every month," said Michael Pachter, a research analyst for Wedbush Morgan, a securities firm. " 'World of Warcraft' is such an exception. I frankly think it's the buzz factor, and eventually it will come back to the mean, maybe a million subscribers."

"It may continue to grow in China," Pachter added, "but not in Europe or the U.S. We don't need the imaginary outlet to feel a sense of accomplishment here. It just doesn't work in the U.S. It just doesn't make any sense."


About Author
Steven Golden has conducted research into online game for several years.He is currently a part time researcher for some game sites such as http://www.gameusd.com , http://www.world-of-warcraft-gold.us & http://www.bankofwow.com

Xbox Game Rentals - Rent Your Favorite Xbox Games

By: John Hinkle

If you've been living on this planet for the last year, you will know how invaluable online video game rentals are to the serious gamer. Are all online rental companies created equally and do they support the game consoles you own. Today, we will be investigating into which rental club offers the best quality selection of Xbox video game rentals.

Our team researched a number of online game clubs to see which one offers the best selection of Xbox video games with quality points awarded to the clubs who had the best selection of new releases, classic Xbox games, and hard-to-find games as well. Out of 7 online rental game clubs, only 3 were viable and worthy enough to put this analysis to the test. These clubs were Gottaplay, GameFly, and Intelliflix, 3 of the major players within the online game rental realm.

Gottaplay Xbox Rentals
Gottaplay rental company is fast becoming one of the best online rental game companies in the US, trailing right next to GameFly. They are the first online company of their kind that offers phone support to all their customers, along with a massive game selection. Gottaplay has a large selection of Xbox games within their arsenal, here are the stats that we came up with:
1. Xbox Game Selection: Roughly 600 Xbox titles
2. New Release Titles: Carried all New Releases
3. Classic Game Titles: Many Xbox classics were included such as Halo, Soul Caliber, and other great titles of the past.
4. Hard-to-Find Games: Many games that we never even knew about were included within their selection. If you want to play a game with little or no popularity, Gottaplay has this covered as well.
5. Xbox 360 titles: Roughly 50 Xbox 360 titles and growing.

GameFly Xbox Rentals
GameFly has been leading the online video game rental revolution for quite some time and were the first advertised company to make this service public. This company is the oldest and many believe the leader within the game rental world. One thing is for sure, when it comes to Xbox game rentals, they sure don't lack in selection and quality. Lets take a look:
1. Xbox Game Selection: Roughly 700 Xbox titles
2. New Release Titles: Carried all New Releases. Even carry up-to-date cheats, walkthroughs, and reviews of all their latest titles.
3. Classic Game Titles: Many Xbox classics were included. Coudn't really find any Xbox title was not included in their inventory.
4. Hard-to-Find Games: Many games that we never even knew about were included within their selection, but most of their game selection comprised of newer titles.
5. Xbox 360 titles: Roughly 60 Xbox 360 titles and growing. They offer cheats, reviews, walkthroughs, and instruction manuals located within their website.

Intelliflix Xbox Rentals
Intelliflix has definately reached out to a market that some gamers have been requesting for years. That is movie, game, and adult titles selection all within one central online gaming facility. This company had a great selection of Xbox rentals available when considering the wide market area that they cover with video games and movies. Although their Xbox game rentals weren't as hefty as the top 2 competitors, they were definately worth mentioning.
1. Xbox Game Selection: Roughly 400 Xbox titles
2. New Release Titles: Carried all New Releases and have posts of up-and-coming releases as well.
3. Classic Game Titles: Many classics were included.
4. Hard-to-Find Games: Yes, they had these covered as well. You will find a wide array of games you never knew were invented within this selection.
5. Xbox 360 titles: Roughly 35 Xbox 360 titles and growing. Still a great selection of newer titles.

Honestly, you really can't go wrong with any of the 3 rental clubs mentioned above. For more of a diverse and massive selection, I would highly reccommend GameFly next in line to Gottaplay. They definately have the market covered within this category of console games.

For Professional Reviews, Tips and Evaluations on all the Top Online Video Game Rental Clubs, please visit us at:
http://GameRentalGuide.com/Reviews.htm

This article was posted at iReprint.info on 2006-04-25. Webmasters and publishers are free to reprint this article as long as the resource box and all the links remain intact.

About the Author

For the latest reviews and cash back offer incentives on the top online video game rental clubs located within the US, come visit us at http://gamerentalguide.com/reviews.htm