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Gaming for Life - March 2009

Zeebo Gaming Console

March 31st 2009 22:59
It's not like we need another gaming console in the market with the Wii, xBox 360. PlayStation 3, and now with OnLive in the works, but that doesn't mean that manufacturers aren't still finding ways to create a better gaming system.

The manufacturers of Zeebo, think that they've created the new end-all gaming console. It will be launched in Brazil in April 2009 for $199 USD with the games ranging from $7 to $13 each. Zeebo is a budget-priced, network-based console that is supposed to target smaller, untapped world niches.


But, even being marketed as a budget console, many still think that it's too expensive for middle-class consumers. We will see if Zeebo will provide a solution for the emerging market problem by combining the 3G wireless technology with compelling content and a secure business model.

Qualcomm is backing the Zeebo console.

Zeebo is an entirely disc-free console that runs on a constant free-of-charge 3G wireless broadband network.

When Zeebo is released in Brazil, it will include four pre-installed games, those include a port of the mobile game Action Hero 3D, Evil Prey, and Quake.

Capcom, THQ, and Namco have all announced their support of the new gaming system, so we will all have to watch and see what's going on with the current gaming systems on the market and with the newly announced On-Live and Zeebo gaming systems. Who will prosper and who will die out?



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Posted By: Whitney - Category: News
   


Nintendo's Educational Side

March 28th 2009 17:16
Nintendo is working on entering the education arena, which is a pretty interesting and neat concept considering they've been in the gaming arena for years... But, you'll find that they aren't getting out of gaming considering that what they're doing is creating educational video games.

Nintendo filed the patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office, which tells a tale of an educational future aimed at young children between the age of toddlers and pre-kindergartners, and/or people with disabilities.

The patent includes various ideas including those of matching sounds with pictures and daily chores. Nintendo will include some of the favorite Nintendo characters such as Mario, as well as famous television characters such as Dora the Explorer and Bob the Builder.

But, remember that even though the patent has been filed, it doesn't meant that any of these plans will ever see the light of day. It's just an interesting idea that Nintendo is working on. Personally, I think it's a great idea being the older sister of a younger handicapped sibling.

Here are a few pictures that have been released with the patent.





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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Other, Nintendo Wii
   


Gamerverdict on GTA: Chinatown Wars

March 28th 2009 11:49


When your main character is pilfered of everything he has and chucked out into the gutter, you know you’re playing a Grand Theft Auto game. Chinatown Wars feels like a combination of GTA1 and 2’s style with GTA3 and 4’s controls, which equals into a fun, portable package.

Rocky start

Despite being two connected islands, Liberty City is freakin huge. So huge that you will find yourself bored out of your mind when driving from one island to another to get to a mission. The top-down view makes the environments look less interactive as I would’ve liked, which made driving from one contact to the other rather monotonous. Storywise, the main character is my favourite in the series; his sense of sarcasm is equal to Seth Green’s character in the movie Sex Drive. The only downside is the lack of a female character in the mix, as there are only male characters in 98% of the plot.

The good

I liked how Chinatown Wars improved on GTA4’s cop detection. The vibe of the game is more GTA3’s sense of humour rather than GTA4’s quest for realism. Instead of trying to escape from police radars, you are encouraged to ram the amount of cop cars equivalent to the stars you acquired. It would take 1 cop car smash to get rid of a one star, than two to get rid of 2 stars plus another to get rid of a 1 star. The cops are quite eager to smash into things, so it never felt like your struggling to get rid of cops, but is actually quite fun to experiment ways in destroying them.


Unlike most GTA games, gangsters come at you in numbers, spiraling around the double digit mark. Luckily, mowing down people is very easy since the next bad guy is automatically targeted after you kill the first one…

The bad

However, the lock on can be frustratingly unintuitive, you could be bashing the right shoulder button as hard as you like, but you’re likely to aim at a person several feet away, instead of the gangster shooting right next to you.

The good

For a handheld game, hell even for a GTA game, there are so many missions! You can tell the script writers had a ball naming all the missions in the game. There are even missions that you will run into by chance, like when a person icon pops up on the screen, which usually leads to hilarious missions that won’t be spoiled here. The strongest aspect of the game is the selling of drugs to dealers. It’s similar to the territory-taking game in San Andreas and its very addictive (pun intended).

GamerVerdict: ****

I guess the old view never really appealed to me as much as GTA3's 3rd person view, but I never was deterred from completing it. GTA on handheld doesn’t mean a smaller helping of the series, its, in fact, equal in size to GTA3. I loved the main character, the drug size missions are fun, and the main story is long and gets really epic near the end as it twists and turns to a very sharp conclusion. There are your niggles, but it never hampers the feeling of satisfaction after completing a mission. I’m happy to say it’s a worthy edition to the series, and its fun enough to motivate me to complete it, unlike a certain number 4 at the end of the title…
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Posted By: Edward 1 - Category: Review, Action, Nintendo DS
   


The New Way of Gaming - OnLive

March 25th 2009 19:18
OnLive is the new gaming phenomenon that is being tested. Basically, by connecting to your internet via your PC, Mac, or TV, you can play your favorite games by just downloading them. It is pretty fast to download, so you won't even have to wait hours or days for the full download. Plus, you can test the demo or rent the game on OnLive before actually purchasing the game using the system.

OnLive is meant to allow you to play games that you would normally play on an Xbox 360, Wii, or PlayStation but on a small MicroConsole that is no larger than a DS.



The entire concept is pretty neat, actually. I mean you don't have to wait in line, pre-order, or wait for your delivery, in order to get your new releases anymore, as the company has a contract so new releases are made available instantly at the launch.

And, once your purchased and downloaded the game, any patches or updates are done automatically, so there's no more manual updated or secret trails to patch your game. The whole concept is revolutionary for gamers.

You can even play single, multi-player, or socially.

Although, it's currently in Beta trials, you can sign-up here to help Beta test the program. The manufacturer is hoping for a full release by the end of this year throughout the entire continental United States.

Basically OnLive is like Movies on Demand but for gamers. You can play and test out the newest, hottest game titles instantly on your television through your broadband service, cable modem, fiber, or LAN from your college or office. You can access OnLive from either a PC or a Mac, as well as from your TV,

When connecting to a PC or Mac, you'll find that the system requirements are pretty low. If you have a PC you will need Windows XP or Vista, and using a Mac you'll need the current version of OS X.

If you want to use OnLive with your TV, you'll need to use a OnLive MiroConsole to connect with a standard TV with a standard resolution and a 1.5 Mbps connection. Otherwise, if you're using an HDTV will need 5 Mbps and a 720p60 resolution.

The price of the OnLive service will has not been released, but when they get closer to the release, I'm sure much more details about pricing and availability will be made available to the public. I mean, I know I won't be buying anything if I don't know the price.



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Posted By: Whitney - Category: News
   


SimCity For iPhone Isn't Worth the $10

March 20th 2009 16:02


Apple is marketing the iPhone and iPod as great gaming consoles in addition to a cell phone and MP3 player, well it's really all in which games you purchase for your Apple product. SimCity is $10 and created by Electronic Arts. This is a game you would think would have a great impact on cell phone gaming.

Think again...

You can spend hours playing SimCity on your iPhone, and it can be fun an exciting to see the features of the game and the features of the phone, but it's a bit dull. The graphics are mediocre, and yes, it is cool to be able to zoom in and out, but eh... There's nothing special about it really.

Electronic Arts didn't use it's best designers on the SimCity for iPhone as it is a bit cheesy and awkward at times. The instructions don't really even explain the game all that well. But, you'll find that the biggest problem is that because the iPhone doesn't support background processing, you can't leave the game running and then pop back in from time to time.

So, all-in-all the game just isn't worth the 10 bucks. So save your money and purchase another game for your phone.



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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Other, Simulation
   


Where Can I find the Serial Number on my Xbox 360?

March 10th 2009 14:10
When trying to register your console, you will need your serial number, but if you don't have the box, you'll want to make sure that you know where else you can look to find the number.

When looking for the serial number for your Xbox 360, you can check the sticker on the back of the console, but if that has fallen off, don't worry because you can find the serial number in one other place


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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Other, Xbox 360
   


DR: Chop Til You Drop Review

March 5th 2009 18:27
Chop Til You Drop is the third remake of the game for the Wii console, but for the most part, it's a downgrade versus an upgrade. The trailer sounded great, but you know what? It's just not all there. There are fewer undead and the hero doesn't know how to use his camera apparently.

Basically you are in a mall of zombies and you must survive until rescue arrives by keeping the hordes at bay. You are using baseball bats, buckets, mannequins, saws, golf clubs, and just about anything you can find in the mall as a weapon


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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Review, Action, Adventure, Nintendo Wii
   


The House of the Dead: Overkill Wii Review

March 3rd 2009 21:23
Although there haven't been many great games released for the Nintendo Wii, House of the Dead: Overkill, is just one just one unique title that you may or may not like. Stylistically, it's in-betweee an AO content and comedic type game. Many believe that Overkill is the first original House of the Dead game in the series, and with its release there is a big shoe to fill for any upcoming releases to the series.

The game can actually be considered a success for hte Nintendo Wii. It will definitely kick off a new era of Wii games. The interface of the game is filled with poster art, character cut-outs, screen shakes, and film scratches. The game essentially sets the tone for a movie-style game. Although, at times the characters are a little over the top, it still works for the game when combined with the audio and graphics


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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Review, Action, Nintendo Wii
   


Halo Wars xBox 360 Achievements

March 1st 2009 18:54


Halo Wars has been released everywhere except the United States, and well guess what! The time is come and it will be released on March 3rd. Below you'll find the achievements for Halo Wars so that you can get started figuring out what you need to do to increase your GamerScore


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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Achievements, Strategy, Xbox 360
   


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