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