The Mole: And the wiener is...

Most Likely to Succeed - Last week I shared the nominees for the Game Critics Best of E3 2006 Awards. Here are the winners with little tidbits of info from some of the judges.

Best of Show: Wii (Nintendo) - It's a good thing Nintendo got the name change of its next console out of the way before E3. With the shock of that announcement mostly over, the company proceeded to become the talk of the show (and possibly a fire hazard for the LA Convention Center) by inviting audiences to get their hands on an impressive lineup of fun and interesting software for the Wii...not to mention that wild controller. People practically stampeded to try it out--either that or they waited in line for hours. Yet most of them seemingly still came away more excited than ever by Nintendo's weird, inspired vision for how gaming could be different. Some important questions remain about how the Wii will finally turn out, but by giving E3 show-goers a taste of what playing games on the Wii will be like, Nintendo seemed to gather much more momentum for the system's launch later this year. So despite how many great-looking games were on display at this year's show, the Wii stood out as the single most exciting and remarkable new product at E3 2006.
- Greg Kasavin, Executive Editor, GameSpot

Best Original Game: Spore (Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC) - With Spore, storied game designer Will Wright is taking “god” games to the Nth power, creating an original game that we expect will devour many hours peeling back its many layers. Wright didn’t stop with his ingenious game parameters that let you nurture your characters from amoebas into interstellar explorers. He takes the game online in a stealth mode that uploads other players' creations so that we can explore the strange new worlds and new civilizations that they create – without the hassle of actually dealing with them. As the guys on the TV ads for Guinness beer say, “Brilliant!”
- Mike Snider, USA Today

Best Hardware/Peripheral: Wii (Nintendo) - Set aside your potty humor for a sec (Nintendo's Wii wins "Best Hardware"? Too easy...) — this console's legit! While its competitors are improving (bigger, better, prettier) on what's already out there, Nintendo is moving the game console experience in a different direction altogether. The Wii — with its funky motion-sensing and sound-emitting controller, always-online awareness, and retro-friendly virtual console — promises new, totally fresh gameplay experiences that will appeal to the young and old, hardcore and casual, and even the "cool kids" who won't mind looking like idiots while frantically waving a piece of plastic in the air. Can one machine really do and be all that? The three-hour lines to see Nintendo's Wii at E3 seem to indicate, "Hell yes."
-- Dan "Shoe" Hsu, Editor in Chief, Electronic Gaming Monthly

Best Console Game: Gears of War (Epic Games / Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360) - The hype machine's been in motion for a full year on this title, but it took an E3 hands-on multiplayer demo to prove that Gears of War packs as much substance as style. The demo had players take up arms as either the Coalition of Ordered Government (COG) forces or the nasty, subterranean race known as the Locusts. A few of the many features that set GOW ahead of the action pack include a context sensitive cover system for ducking and crouching with the tap of the A button, and an atmospheric, jittery 3rd person camera. In short, a great-looking, unique and fun as hell game sure to be blowing up the Live servers come Q4. Oh, and that chainsaw bayonet? A thing of beauty.
-- Alex Porter, Senior Editor/Producer, MTV Digital

Best PC Game: Spore (Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC) - When Spore won Best PC Game last year, it was at least partly a vote of faith. With not much gameplay to go on yet, the Game Critics judge were nevertheless blown away by Will Wright's audaciously ambitious game design, which finds you evolving from single-celled organism to interplanetary space traveler. At this year's E3, Spore was much more "real"-- and, guess what? It wins again. Once again, no PC game at the show came close to matching Spore's originality, scope, and breadth of design. As Will Wright personally demo'ed the game--creating a creature, spawning, forming a society, building a city, venturing into space and beyond--you could hear audible gasps from the packed theater, as it became more and more clear that what was once just a cool idea is fast becoming an even cooler reality. Spore was *the* event for PC gamers this E3, and thus an easy call for Best PC Game.
- Jeff Green, Editor in Chief, Computer Gaming World

Best Handheld Game: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo for Nintendo DS) - The Legend of Zelda franchise is pure gaming gold, and who better than Nintendo knows how to buff up its 24-carat richness. Anybody doubt that Phantom Hourglass would shine for DS? Amid stiff and deserving competition from Nintendo's own DS product line this game cast out all the proper hooks with a rich storyline, impressive cel-shaded graphics goodness, and innovative touchscreen gameplay to haul in E3 honors. Phantom Hourglass will pick up where the GameCube’s Wind Waker left off, and nothing could be finer for Zelda fans. Despite the obvious difference in processing power the graphics were spot on, but creative touchscreen action is what will make Phantom Hourglass shine. Frankly, as far as E3 demos went, this version even matched up well against Twilight Princess for the Wii.
-- Wes Nihei, Editor, GamePro

Best Action Game: Gears of War (Epic Games / Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360) - Who knows what it is about certain games. Is it how they look? Maybe. Is it how they play? That’s a lot of it. Is it the talent behind the project? Possibly. But there’s no doubt about it, some games just manage to magically capture the gamers’ imagination like no others. It’s what we like to call the “it” factor. Halo has “it.” Metal Gear Solid has “it,” and no one can deny Gears of War its rightful place as the “it” game of E3 2006. From the game’s mysterious dilapidated sci-fi aesthetic to its arrestingly intense spin on futuristic shooter gameplay, Gears gives us that twinge in our bellies – that twinge we got when we first stumbled on the Flood in Halo, discovered a secret cave in Zelda or carjacked our first sedan in Grand Theft Auto. It's a rare game that accomplishes this feat in such early form, and for this reason, Gears of War deserves every bit of the attention it's receiving.
-- Francesca Reyes, Editor in Chief, Official Xbox Magazine

Best Action/Adventure Game: Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft Montreal / UbiSoft for PlayStation 3) - Few games at this year’s E3 screamed “next generation” more than Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed. From the first glimpse of its big gorgeous graphics (the screen shots are true in-game, not “target”) through its Prince of Persia-meets-Thief gameplay, Assassin’s Creed provides an excellent taste of what the PS3 can and will deliver. Ubisoft’s A-team – the Montreal Studio – is creating Assassin’s Creed like the blockbuster it wants to be: an epic Crusades setting with a super-acrobatic hero in an intriguing storyline that has some surprising twists yet to be revealed. The character design, both main and NPC, is noteworthy. Ubi Montreal has always brought a deep sense of gravity to their main characters (when climbing, jumping and fighting, there’s a real-world “weight”) and our assassin is no different as he traverses buildings and leaps from rooftop to rooftop with believable effort. Ubi is upping the NPC role by making them reactive. When our hero runs through crowds, he has to do it quietly and carefully; too much bumping can upset the wrong people, people who’ll turn on him and slow him down – or worse.
- Tom Byron, Editor in Chief, Official PlayStation Magazine

Best Role Playing Game: Mass Effect (Bioware / Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360) - With no less than three previous titles winning this very category (Baldur's Gate in 1998, Neverwinter Nights in 2000-2002, and Jade Empire in 2004), veteran RPG developer BioWare is at it again in 2006. This year they wowed RPG fans at E3 with Mass Effect, the first in an already-announced trilogy of sci-fi RPGs. With a deep storyline, incredibly detailed environments, full character customization, and branching conversations that have a profound impact on gameplay, BioWare isn't straying too far from the formula that has made them RPG champions in the past. However, what they are doing differently is refining all of these elements to create what looks to be one of the most elegant and well-designed RPGs we've ever seen. BioWare is throwing a few new bits into the mix, such as real-time squad-based combat with a tinge of RTS styling as well as creating a world where realistic facial animations and eye movements are important gameplay elements, even if the alien denizens are all digital. Expect a return of the ethical choices that we saw in Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire as well, only this time it's not just on a personal level -- it extends to your squad mates, who may leave your party depending on where your morality meter swings. From what we saw at E3, Mass Effect promises to be more open-ended and in-depth than any BioWare RPG to date, and that's saying a lot.
-- Talmadge Blevins, Editorial Director, IGN.com

Best Racing Game: Excite Truck (Monster Games / Nintendo for Wii) - Nintendo and Monster Games have traded in dirt bikes for off-road trucks in their first arcade flavored racer for the Wii. As Nintendo strives to get everyone into playing their games, both the hardcore and casual gaming set can easily adapt to Excite Truck's control scheme. Subtracting the nunchuck, everything is easily controlled using the Wii remote's tilt functionality. While visually not the most stunning game speeding to Nintendo's new console, Excite Truck is all about addictive fast-paced racing, dynamically changing landscapes, turbo boosting, huge air, and colossal crashes - Yosemite Sam mud flaps not included.
-- Billy Berghammer, Managing Editor, Game Informer Online

Best Simulation Game: Spore (Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC) - It’s just not fair. The other nominees in this category didn’t stand a chance against the most ambitious sim ever conceived. We refer to some games as virtual worlds - Spore makes that term seem hopelessly inadequate. Will Wright and his team at Maxis are creating a virtual universe that’s absolutely staggering in its scope. This year we got to see it in a lot more detail, and we got a much better sense of how it, like the Sims and Sim City before it, employs simple rules and procedures and intuitive tools and interfaces to create an amazing diversity of emergent play experiences. Spore is shaping up to be a game that you could literally spend a whole lifetime exploring. Intelligent Design is a reality…at Maxis, anyway.
-- Chris Baker, Wired Magazine

Best Sports Game: Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii) - If there was a game at E3 that truly demonstrated Nintendo's vision for its new console, it was Wii sports. Simply put, it's a new way to play sports at home – Wii Sports is quick to pick up, super intuitive, and can be enjoyed by anyone. Making use of the Wii remote (and only the Wii remote), Wii Sports encompasses three sports favorites – tennis, golf, and baseball – and for each, it's all about waving the remote to interact with the game. You actually swing the remote to hit a ball...What could be more natural? It's, like, actually playing sports but without the potential for [serious] bodily injury. Wii is really well suited for simple games, and at E3, this is where Wii was at its best.
- Sam Kennedy, Editor in Chief, 1UP.com

Best Fighting Game: Heavenly Sword (Ninja Theory / Sony for PlayStation 3) - I was so taken aback by Heavenly Sword that I declared this supercharged action-adventure-fighting game my best in show immediately following the demo. More than just a pretty face, Heavenly Sword features a rich storyline told via first rate voice talent, along with a mixture of intense, diverse combat and adventure. Beyond its amazingly detailed and animated leading lady -- whom at this moment I believe to be the ultimate female video game heroine ever created -- the choreography of the arena fighting battle on display at E3 was beyond anything I’ve ever seen. It's like God of War fused with Hong-Kong cinema. And the depth, lighting, and all around character model integrity sets a new standard for real-time visuals.
-- Dave Halverson, PLAY Magazine

Best Strategy Game: Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games/THQ for PC) - Chris Taylor enjoys his role as the comedian of the game industry. But underneath that facade is a hardcore real-time strategy gamer. With Supreme Commander for THQ, Taylor's Gas Powered Games is out to show that the RTS genre still has much to offer gamers. The vision for Supreme Commander is to create a game that has the scale and scope for huge battles fought by vast armies with futuristic weaponry.
- Dean Takahashi, San Jose Mercury News

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game: Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix / Red Octane for PlayStation 2) - Six months before the Wii stunned E3 audiences, Guitar Hero proved a well-designed game with a custom controller working [bad pun alert] in concert could instrumentally change things for the better. And like a great rock show, casual observers and hardcore enthusiasts were left wanting more. The promise of 55 new songs for Guitar Hero 2, and new co-op modes featuring rhythm and bass guitar, all but guarantee more fan-trampling anticipation in our rush to get our hands on this sequel. The working multiplayer version of Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" on the show floor was, in retrospect, an early indicator for judges' votes in this category.
-- Tom Russo, Editorial Director, G4

Best Online Multiplayer: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC) -Initially released in 2003 as a free, standalone download, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory was a highly compelling, top-tier multiplayer modification. Now, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars takes all the juicy bits from the first game – tight, objective-based maps, well-balanced classes, multi-mission campaigns, performance upgrades through experience – and adds the joys of vehicular combat, two distinct warring factions, Quake's futuristic setting, and the ability to drop assets directly onto the battlefield. And powered by an improved Quake IV engine, it's a phenomenal visual treat. Easy to jump into, but extremely deep, Quake Wars was a massive hit on the E3 show floor and promises to be just as successful when the war begins online later this year.
- Richard Greenhill, Editor in Chief, Yahoo! Videogames

Activision Wants You...Or Your Voice Anyway - Activision announced a new contest looking for voiceover talent to be used in their upcoming game, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Winners will get the opportunity to be the voice of Bruce Banner or Jean Grey. The two contest winners (one male, one female) will also each receive a grand prize that includes an Xbox 360, a copy of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance on the platform of their choice, a Stan Lee-signed Marvel: Ultimate Alliance poster and official Marvel: Ultimate Alliance playing cards. Ten runner-up contestants will be chosen for additional prizes, including their selection of any of the Activision titles launched in 2005. For more information, head to http://www.marvelultimatealliance.com/news.php?id=200&cat=all_news&page=1#headline. The audition period ends July 23.

Pretty as a Picture - A majornelson.com update stated that Xbox Live Vision Camera will be released September 19th in both North America and Europe. No price has been announced. The new device will allow users to video conference in such games, as well as send photo messages and take pictures to be used as their Gamer Tag picture. Now we're talking! I'm going to send so many obnoxious pictures to my brother, it'll shut his 360 down.

Calling all Halo 2 gamers!

Think you're a Halo stud? Why don't you put your money where your mouth is? Game Crazy is sponsoring a Halo 2 tournament at Fat City Entertainment Center in Littleton Saturday June 3rd at 1pm (Yeah, I know its short notice, so sue me).

Registration is $15 with a $5 discount for Game Crazy MVP members and the proceeds benefit the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation. The tournament is for gamers 12 and up. First prize is a 6-foot resin cast Master Chief statue valued at $2500. Prizes will be given to the top 3 players based on overall win percentage.

If a Colorado Springs gamer wins, I'll post a picture of you and your new best friend on this blog. If you need more information call the tournament hotline at 303-463-1986 or visit www.fatcityinfo.com. Good luck!

Top 5 June Video Game Releases

Pic: Is there anything more exciting than being a simulated Andy Reid?


Ah yes, summertime. Home of sunburns, blockbuster movies and some stellar video game releases. While we have to wait a month or two for Madden and NCAA football, there are still some good games to be had. Here are the ones I'm most looking forward to.


Terry's Top 5 Video Games for June

1. MLB Slugfest (Xbox, PS2) June 5 - Standard baseball video games (and real baseball games) can get pretty dull, hopefully Midway's offering will liven things up a bit.

2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PS2) June 5 - Sure this has been out for awhile but only on the PSP. Its about time Rockstar gave gamers a chance to play this on a larger screen. Quit screwing with your fan base Rockstar!

3. Moto GP 06 (Xbox 360) June 13 - Everything I've seen on this motorcycle racing game for the 360 looks amazing. Hopefully it'll play as good as it looks.

4. NFL Head Coach (Xbox, PS2. PC) June 20 - I know I shouldn't judge a game by its cover but Super Bowl win or no, I'm not sure if I can buy this game with troll-look-a-like Bill Cowher on the cover. He might scare off all of my other games. I have no idea if this game will suck or not but I'm certainly curious about it.

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (PSP, PS2, DS, GBA, PC) June 27 - I loved the first movie and I'm pretty sure I'll like the second but can Disney make a game out of this that'll have all the fun and excitement of the films? Maybe.

The Mole: Enough news to choke a donkey

Wii News - Last week Nintendo finally announced the price of its new system...sort of. Officials from the company confirmed the Wii will not exceed $250 (or 25,000 Yen for those of you in Japan). The exact launch date and the titles available at launch were not disclosed.

Get Lost - Ubisoft announced an agreement with Touchstone Television to make a video game version of the hit TV show Lost. The game is scheduled to hit stores in 2007 and hopefully won't be as bad as the X-Files video game.

About Damn Time - Microsoft will finally be making an Xbox Live Dashboard update available later this week. The long awaited update (at least for me) includes the following:

- Downloading files in the background, the option to boot directly to the dashboard and friends knowing if you're idle.
- The download will take less than a minute to download and apply. Users not on Xbox Live will be able to get this update in future game releases.
- An additional Media and Entertainment menu that will include new categories for New Releases, All Media and Entertainment, Movie Trailers and Short Films, Television, Music, Sports, and More,
- Gaming Community Videos, Game Tips and Support Videos, and optional Ipod support.
- A new games option will organize your downloads, Xbox Live Arcade games, demos, and video and trailers for games.
- The new update will allow you to download files in the background while you play retail games, watch movies, and more. Users will be able to queue up to six downloads at a time, and if online multiplayer matches begin your downloads will automatically pause and start up after you're finished.
- A number of improvements along the video, music, and DVD playback front. For movies, there will be a new DVD bookmarking feature, so if you stop a movie in the middle to play a game, when you pop it back in you’ll be able to start back up where you interrupted the film.
- On the music side, if you’re browsing through your music and decide to do something else, the 360 will know where you stopped browsing. This will be particularly helpful for those who search through massive lists of music stored on their networked PC or iPod.
- The content will include imbedded software to support the upcoming Xbox 360 camera, which enables video chat and shooting pics of yourself to be used as your gamer picture.

Halo 3 - Designers at Bungie have not only been playing through a single player level of one of the Xbox 360's anticipated games, but daily multiplayer tests are going on right now. I took this off of Bungie.net:
""Paul Bertone, one of our lead designers, let us play something that blew our minds. That was single player, and from a mission very early in the game. And one that takes place before the events seen in the E3 trailer, but Lars, one of the new(er) multiplayer designers, has a regular multiplayer test in session now - that happens every day - and with surprisingly polished-looking graphics, although I'm told a lot of the textures and decorator objects are just placeholder at the moment." Does this mean Halo 3 will be ready by the PS3 launch??? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Best of E3 - Just in case you were curious (and I'm sure you are) 38 gaming publications hand out the Game Critics: Best of E3 awards. Below are the list of nominees with winners being announced May 31. While these games aren't out yet, it gives you some ideas of titles you should be looking forward to.

Best of Show- Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)- Wii (Nintendo)

Best Original Game- Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC/Xbox 360)- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)- LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)- Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii)

Best PC Game - Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts for PC) - Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)- Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios/Namco Bandai Games for PC)- Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games/THQ for PC)- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)

Best Console Game- Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios for Xbox 360)- Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)- Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Handheld Game- Elite Beat Agents (Inis/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)- Killzone: Liberation (Guerrilla/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)- LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)- Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Kojima Productions/Konami for PSP)- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)

Best Hardware - DS Lite (Nintendo)- Logitech G25 Racing Wheel (Logitech for PC)- PlayStation 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment)- Wii (Nintendo)- Xbox 360 Wireless Headset (Microsoft for Xbox 360)

Best Action Game - Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts for PC) - Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios for Xbox 360)- Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Capcom for Xbox 360)- Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Best Action/Adventure Game- Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)- God of War 2 (Sony Santa Monica/SCEA for PlayStation 2)- Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo for GameCube/Wii)

Best Fighting Game- Heavenly Sword (Ninja Theory/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3) - Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway Games for PlayStation 2/Xbox) - Tekken: Dark Resurrection (Namco Bandai Games for PSP)- Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega for Arcade/PlayStation 3)- WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 (Yuke’s/THQ for 360/PS3/PS2/PSP)

Best Role Playing Game - Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix for PlayStation 2)- Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios/Namco Bandai Games for PC)- Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)- Neverwinter Nights 2 (Obsidian/Atari for PC)- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard for PC)

Best Racing Game - Excite Truck (Nintendo for Wii)- Formula One 06 (Studio Liverpool/SCEE for PlayStation 3)- Gran Turismo HD (Polyphony Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3)- MotoGP 06 (Climax/THQ for Xbox 360)- Test Drive Unlimited (Eden Studios/Atari for Xbox 360, PC, PS2, PSP)

Best Simulation Game - Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Microsoft Games Studio for PC)- Sid Meier’s Railroads! (Firaxis Games/2K Games for PC)- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)- The Movies: Stunts and Effects (Lionhead Studios/Activision for PC)- Wii Music Orchestra (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Sports Game- Madden NFL 07 (Tiburon/EA for PS3 / Xbox 360)- Madden NFL 07 (Tiburon/EA for Nintendo Wii)- NBA 2K7 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports for Xbox 360)- NCAA Football 07 (EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts for X360/PS2/Xbox/PSP)- Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Strategy Game - Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ for PC)- Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II (EA for X360)- Medieval 2: Total War (Creative Assembly/Sega for PC)- Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games/THQ for PC)- World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment/Sierra for PC)

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game - Elite Beat Agents (Inis/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)- Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix/Red Octane for PlayStation 2)- LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)- Lumines II (Q Entertainment/Buena Vista Games for PSP)- WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Online Multiplayer Game- Battlefield 2142 (Digital Illusions/Electronic Arts for PC)- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)- Huxley (Webzen for PC/Xbox 360)- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard for PC

And you think you're a hardcore gamer?

There's commitment and then there's COMMITMENT. The picture on the right is a sign of the latter.

While strolling through Colorado City with the Mrs. today, checking out Territory Days, my eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw this tatoo...on a woman no less.

Amy (her last name was too hard to remember and I didn't have anything to write it down on) allowed me to take a picture of her right arm bearing the ever famous Nintendo logo.

This just goes to show that gaming has no age limits (Amy is in her early twenties) and crosses all genders. If you ever meet Amy, buy her a drink. And if someone from Nintendo sees this, could you send her a game or something? I think she's earned it.

Why the Wii Will Fall by the Wayside

Lets set the record straight, the Nintendo system is a kid system pure and simple. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron. If you don't believe me, just let the greatest games in the Nintendo history speak for me - Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, SuperSmash Bros are all directed towards kids. Sure there have been some exceptions (GoldenEye, the Zelda series) but as the popular saying goes - it is what it is.

I don't have a problem with this - kids need simple, fun games to play and I'm not cool with my 12-year old playing Resident Evil. I don't want him joining the Trenchcoat Mafia when he's in high school. My issue with Nintendo is two fold, they're foolishly reaching out to older gamers and that hideous looking controller is an abomination.

Now normally I'm all for a gaming company taking risks (Microsoft sure took one by jumping into the video game console market in the first place) but why can't Nintendo leave well enough alone and stick with what works. They own the 8-15 year old age bracket, so why confuse consumers with un-Nintendo like titles such as Project Hammer and Disaster Day of Crisis, obvious attempts at reaching the adult market. Isn't it already a crowded enough place with the PS3 and Xbox 360? You have a niche Nintendo, you are unique, play on that. Use the family angle, the other two companies can't.

As for the controller...Nintendo owes me some money. I was checking out the Nintendo Wii website and they called it the "Nunchuk Controller". This is what I called it on this blog February 8th. I expect some royalties Mr. Iwata! Besides thieving the name, I just don't see how this controller will be appealing to adults. Much like the Eye Toy appeals to kids because its amusing to see yourself jumping up and down on your TV, waving around a controller is only going to be fun for the youngin's. The average gamer is 30 years old and I don't see this being a big selling point for that age group.

What I'm trying to say Nintendo is stick with what got you here. Challenging Microsoft and Sony is like an 8-year old trying to pick a fight with his 16-year old brother, brave to be sure but not really a good idea.

The Mole: Atari Slices and Dices, Sony tells us...a little

The word is... - Not much. So far Sony has been
as quiet as Ving Rhames in the basement of the gun shop in Pulp Fiction about most of the PS3's details. That trend continues as Sony was kind enough to announce last Wednesday that it will have 15 games available at launch. This of course leaves us with the question - Which games?!? Maybe sometime in October we'll finally find out about the PS3's online plans.

Microsoft demonstrates online dominance - Last Thursday Microsoft shared with the world that 1.5 million gamers took advantage of the free Xbox Live Gold week that coincided with E3. This just goes to prove that if you attached the word 'free' to something, people will take advantage. Below were the top 10 downloads.

1. Halo 3 Game Trailer (Microsoft Game Studios)
2. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Free Playable Demo (Capcom)
3. Test Drive Unlimited Free Playable Demo (Atari)
4. MotoGP '06 Free Playable Demo (THQ)
5. X-Men: The Last Stand Pack (20th Century Fox)
6. Gears of War GameTrailer (Microsoft Game Studios)
7. Call of Duty 2: Skirmish Map Pack (Activision)
8. Spiderman 3 Game Trailer (Activision)
9. Fable 2 Trailer (Microsoft Game Studios)
10. Uno Xbox Live Arcade Game (Microsoft Game Studios)

Atari Gets Down - Atari announced last week that beginning June 1st, the prices for all of its current gen games will drop to $20. This includes Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Driver: Parallel Lines, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, and Indigo Prophecy. Expect to see more of this from other developers.

And finally... - This weeks "I could care less award" goes to THQ's The Outfit which has new multiplayer maps you can buy for 500 Microsoft Points. I guess if you've already wasted money on the game, another few dollars won't hurt.

Hunting down McDonald's

Watch out Mayor McCheese, I'm right behind you. That's right, The Gazette gaming blog has passed the ever important 1,500 page view plateau. According to sitemeter.com, this site averages a little over 100 views per week (and none of those are mine). Not too shabby.

That being said, I'm still looking for more reader input and my dream of building a local gaming community is still unrealized. If you have a topic you'd like to discuss, some cheat codes you'd like to share or a cool website you want to give some love to - let me know.

As for a local gaming network, I know I've let this slide a little but lets really get things going. If you send me your gamer tag, I promise to add you to my friends list or if you prefer, I can post a list of gamer tags for anyone interested in playing anyone. Just give me your tag and your favorite online games. Can you imagine how cool it would be to have a 50 - 100 person clan list for Halo 2? Or an All-Colorado unit in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter? Now that would be fun.

Just to remind everyone, my gamer tag is coloradojoe.

My Tail of Whoa

One of the reasons I gave up on my Playstation 2 (I still have it but I
traded in all my games and its no longer my primary console. I only use it for reviews now.) is because of all of the problems I had with it. Disc read errors, games locking up, DVD's freezing in the middle of a movie - it was enough to make me want to scream! I went through three PS2's (I was Sony loyal to a fault) and my current one isn't the most reliable machine in the world.

I also had an original Xbox which never gave me any problems. So when I bought my Xbox 360 and heard rumors of overheating I didn't care. I didn't have one issue with my original Xbox and with all of the problems I had with my PS2's, I figured I had earned some good karma. Oops. That's what I get for thinking.

About 2 weeks ago my Xbox 360 started acting up - locking up during games, not signing me up for Xbox Live, displaying some kind of weird white and blue checker design on my blades. It was minor at first, just a hiccup. But then things got progressively worse until I couldn't even play anything. I was completely caught off guard by this. I didn't have one problem with it and suddenly it started screwing up on me. I knew it wasn't over heating because it would give me problems when I first turned it on, I knew it had to be something serious.

Thankfully, I also bought a service agreement from Game Crazy when I bought my 360 (Yes I have to buy my own consoles and no, I don't get reimbursed by The Gazette for it). I didn't do this when I bought my first PS2 and learned a very painful lesson. I brought it back to the store and they gave me another one with no hassles. Of course all of my single player loads, burned music and anything else on my hard drive no longer exists. Luckily my achievement points, gamer tag and friends list were not affected - but it still stinks.

While I know there are risks in buying the first generation of a new console (hello PS2 and Xbox 360) I know I would still have bought my 360 on launch day anyway. But there are some things I've come to realize as certainties when it comes to new gaming consoles.

#1 Buy a service agreement - The best way to cover your butt in case you get a bad console. I know the extra $40-$60 seems like a lot after you just plopped down a few hundred for your new system but its worth it. I prefer buying one from the store rather than the manufacturer. With my second PS2, I bought an agreement from Sony and I had to mail the console to them and wait weeks for it to get repaired. With my Xbox 360 I had a new console in 1/2 hour. Besides the time issue, the manufacturer would rather repair a console than send you a new one and chances are you're going to have the same problem anyway. With a local store, you deal with a real person and they're much more helpful - especially if you're a regular.

#2 Don't be blinded by loyalty - One of the first things that popped into my head after getting locked up for the fifth time while trying to play some online Battlefield 2 was "Screw this, I'm trading this hunk of junk in for a PS3". And I know I will, if I have any more problems with the 360. As much as I love all of the cool things the 360 can do and as great as I know Xbox Live is, my prior experience has taught me that there is no such thing as product loyalty when it comes to gaming consoles. I plunked down $400 for an Xbox 360, I expect the damn thing to work everytime. If it doesn't, I'll trade it in and move on. I know for some gamers this is blasphemy. There are Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony fanboys out there that would rather eat a hand grenade then play an opposing system - I know, I used to be one of them. Not anymore. I spend way too much of my hard earned cash to waste it on a system that doesn't deliver what it advertised. Its time a console was loyal to me, not the other way around.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing any console maker, I'm not bent out of shape about my recent 360 issue. I know it happens sometimes and I still think Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft make incredible products. I'm looking forward to the PS3 and the Wii and I still love my 360. I'm a gamerguy and I always will be.

Gamerguy is the key word in that last sentence. I'm all about video games and the enjoyment I get from gaming. No matter what system its on.

Oh yes they call him the cheat...look at that, look at that

For your cheating pleasure.

Far Cry Instincts Predator (Xbox 360) - On the cheats menu, input these codes exactly as they appear:

ImJackCarver ... Refill Health (only during gameplay)
Bloodlust ... Infinite Adrenaline
UnleashHell ... Infinite Ammo
FeralAttack ... Unlock Evolution Story
GiveMeTheMaps ... Unlock All Maps
FeralAttack ... Start with the feral punch


OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (PS2): Cheat: 1000000 OutRun miles - Enter MILESANDMILES when editing a license. Decline when asked to confirm the changes.
Cheat: Complete Everything - Enter ENTIRETY when editing a license. Decline when asked to confirm the changes.

Runescape hints (PC) - Hint: Method Money - One easy way to earn money is to increase mining and crafting. Once you're able to create items, sell them for easy cash.

Hint: Scife - To get a scife in Runescape you must go to Varrock. Go to the place with a bunch of logs. Get your magic high enough to use weaken. Use weaken on the log pile. A level 22 Tree Spirit will appear. If you kill it it will drop a scife and nature runes.

Hint: Colored Text - In RuneScape Classic, if you enter text like this: @red@, then press enter, the next text you enter will be red. You can also do this with other colors, by just putting in the first 3 letters of the word, like blue would be @blu@.

Hint: Easy Money and Experience - Complete rune mysteries quest in either free server or member server. After that you have the ability to go to the rune essence mine so get a pickaxe.
Go to rune essence mine, the Varrock Rune Shop has a bank nearby. Teleport. Mine essence till full. Go to portal. Go to bank deposit essence. Repeat. You now have enough essence to sell them 10K= 500 RUNE ESSNECE, 20K= 1K Rune Essence, 30K= 1.5K Rune Essence.

Hint: Easy Money- At Port Salim and ask the men in blue to take a ship to Karamja. Then go to the first house you see on the right. Talk to the man in black clothes. He will ask you to do a job. Get 10 bananas and put them in the crate to get 30gp. Keep doing this to get a lot of money.

Top 5 Ways Gaming is Better Than...Part 2

There hasn't been a post for the last couple days due to my E3 burnout. Between Tuesday's three posts, watching live coverage of E3 on G4 and all the emails I've been getting from my gaming brothers and sisters - I'm toast. And I didn't even go!

You may also have noticed there was no article/review in Friday's GO! section. Don't worry, it'll be back next week. In the meantime, here's my continuing series on the Top 5 Ways Gaming is Better Than...today its TV.

Top 5 Ways Gaming is Better Than...Television

1. Connectivity - I can play games with friends and family members who live far away. I can't watch TV with them unless I want to rack up huge phone bills.

2. What you want when you want it - I watched the series finale of Smallville Thursday night and now I have to wait 4-5 months to see what happens next. Not an issue with games.

3. Trash Talking - Razzing your friends and putting down jerks online is strongly encouraged. Making fun of the bean poles on America's Next Top Model will have your girlfriend or wife telling you to shut up. Not that this has ever happened to me.

4. Better Programming - There may be a few bad games out there but you don't have to buy them. But when flipping channels Tommy Lee Goes to College, The Swan, The Simple Life 3 and So You Think You Can Dance are on whether you want to watch them or not.

5. More Physical Activity - Sure your still sitting on your butt whether your watching TV or playing games but I know my blood is racing much faster after an intense team slayer match in Halo 2 than it is after I watch The Office.

The Mole: Yet More Microsoft E3 News

Three posts in one day?!? What am I thinking?

Rockstar/Microsoft Agreement - Used to be Xbox owners had to wait months after the PS2 release of a Grand Theft Auto game before they could enjoy it on there own systems. Not anymore, Rockstar and Microsoft announced today (I accidentally skipped over this in my last post, oops) an agreement stating that GTA 4 will be available on the 360 on Day 1 of its world wide release. The yet to be named GTA title is set to come out October 16, 2007. Also included in the agreement will be exclusive downloadable episodic content through Xbox Live.

Halo 3 Video - If you're interested in watching the Halo 3 trailer Bill Gates showed at E3 today, its downloadable at bungie.net.

The Mole: E3 Microsoft Press Conference

Microsoft honcho Bill Gates made his first E3 apperance and headed his company's annual E3 press conference with some bold statements.

Gates stated that the Xbox 360 should have a 10 million unit head start by the time the PS3 comes out this November.

Gates also announced plans for "Live Anywhere", an online gaming system that makes Xbox Live available to PC (with Windows) and Mobile gamers. This would allow PC, Mobile and Xbox console owners to go head-to-head online. He said there will be 160 titles available on the Xbox 360 by the end of the year and stated he expected there to be 6 millon online gamers by this time next year.

Gates was then joined by VP Peter Moore and announced a number of upcoming Xbox 360 and Windows Vista (coming out January 2007) titles.

For the 360, Microsoft showcased “Gears of War”, “Fable 2” and “Forza Motorsport 2”. Ubisoft’s next-generation version of “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent” will also debut on Xbox 360. In addition, Microsoft Game Studios showed “Alan Wake” and “Shadowrun”, both slated for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. A "Halo 3" clip was also shown but no real information (release date, new features) was discussed.

For Windows Vista, Microsoft showed off "Crysis”,“Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures” and “Flight Simulator X”.

For Xbox Live Arcade “Pac-Man,” “Galaga,” “Dig Dug”, “Rally-X”, “Frogger,” “Track & Field", “Contra”, “Super Contra”, “Defender,” “Paperboy,” “Root Beer Tapper”, “Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3”, “Sonic the Hedgehog™ High Speed” and new title “Lumines Live” are future downloadable games.

Microsoft also announced new cross-platform accessories such as the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel and Xbox 360 Wireless Headset, to be used on Xbox 360 and Windows. The new Xbox Live Vision video camera will allow gamers to customize their gamer picture, send photo messages, and video chat with friends and family over Xbox Live.

The Mole: E3 News Part Tres

Sony had its annual E3 press conference Monday afternoon and finally revealed some information about the long awaited Playstation 3.

The new console will make its debut on November 11 in Japan, and will also be released in North America and Europe on November 17. The system will come in two iterations, the $499 model that comes with a 20GB hard drive and a $599 model that comes with a 60GB hard drive. To compare, the Xbox 360 with a 20GB hard drive sells for $399.

The PS3 controller has been revamped. Sony had given previews of a silver controller shaped like a boomerang, which the public didn't seem to like. The new PS3 motion sensitive controller now looks more like the dual-shock. Like the Xbox 360, a wireless controller for the PS3 is also available.

The Mole: E3 News Part Deux

This comes straight from one of my best EA contacts, Honey Hamilton. And no, I didn't make her name up. Here is EA's descriptions for some of its upcoming titles. Try and read through the propaganda.

Madden NFL 07 - With the exclusive video game license of the NFL and its players, Madden NFL 07 continues to be the #1 football franchise in history with more than 51 million copies sold. In its 17th installment, you control the running game like never before. For the first time ever, step up as the lead blocker to create a hole, and then take control of the tailback and smash through, overpower, or slash away from would-be tacklers as you fight for every yard. Innovative rushing controls give you a game-breaking ground attack featuring all-new jukes, cutbacks, and the distinct running styles of your favorite backs. Developed by EA Tiburon, Madden NFL 07 will launch in August on the Xbox 360, Xbox videogame system from Microsoft, PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo GameCube, PSP system, PC, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. Madden NFL 07 is also in development on the PlayStation 3 console and Nintendo Wii.

NCAA Football 07 - Momentum changes everything now college footballs most celebrated videogame turns the tide with NCAA Football 07. Whether battling your biggest rival or playing for the first-ever BCS National Championship Game in Dynasty Mode, success on the field depends on your ability to maintain momentum. Featuring unprecedented graphics that capture every moment in complete detail from the authenticity of the stadiums, mascots, and marching bands, to the true-to-life look and feel of the players on the field. NCAA Football 07 delivers the most realistic college football experience ever. NCAA Football 07 is scheduled to ship in July on the PlayStation 2 console, Xbox, Xbox 360 and the PSP system.

NASCAR 07* (Working title) - Take risks, be rewarded, and become a champion with NASCAR 07* on the PSP system. With all-new Adrenaline Moments, use your skill and instinct during the most intense situations and control the outcome by avoiding disastrous wrecks and flying debris. Maintain your focus on dangerous conditions ahead with the new RaceBreaker feature, which guides you through every treacherous moment of the race. With all-new speed blurring, realistic spark and smoke effects, and camera shakes, get your adrenaline pumping and experience the all-out drama and intensity of 190-mph racing with NASCAR 07.

ARMY OF TWO - You're not alone soldier, not anymore. At E3, EA unveils details of the action title that has been kept top secret for the past year. Developed at EA's boutique production house in Montreal, Canada, the new, original game will redefine strategic TWO man cooperative play when it launches on the PlayStation 3 console and Xbox 360 in 2007. ARMY OF TWO will throw gamers into hot spots ripped from current day headlines where they will utilize unique TWO man strategies and tactics while seamlessly transitioning between playing with intelligent Partner AI (PAI) and a live player. When one man is not enough, it will take an army of two to fight through war, political turmoil and a conspiracy so vast it threatens the entire world.

Battlefield 2142 - The year is 2142, and the dawn of a new Ice age has thrown the world into a panic. The soil not covered by ice can only feed a fraction of the Earth's population. The math is simple and brutal: Some will live, most will die. In Battlefield 2142, players choose to fight for one of two military superpowers in an epic battle for survival. Armed with a devastating arsenal of hi-tech weaponry, including assault rifles, cloaking devices, EMP grenades and sentry guns, players can level the playing field against massive Battle Walkers that control the ground and futuristic aircraft that rule the skies. Massive online battles for up to 64 players drop gamers on the front lines as part of a formal squad, or behind the scenes in Commander Mode to direct the strategic assaults of their team-mates. Battlefield 2142 also introduces an all-new game type for the first time in franchise history: Titan mode, which challenges gamers to control the battlefield and destroy their opponents Titan - a massive flying warship - while defending their own. Battlefield 2142 is developed by Digital Illusions/DICE Sweden and is slated to ship for PC in Fall 2006.

SPORE SPORE takes players on an epic journey from the origin and evolution of life through the development of civilization and eventually into the outer reaches of space. Create a creature, then control every dimension of its evolution from pond scum to galactic god. Experience multiple styles of gameplay as your creature advances through different stages of development. Fight for survival in the wild, develop a sprawling metropolis, trade and war against rival civilizations and explore the outer reaches of the galaxy. Every aspect of the universe from creatures to vehicles, buildings to plants, are created by the player and automatically shared with other players, providing a limitless number of worlds to explore and play. Create, control and explore your universe with SPORE. SPORE is under development for the PC by legendary game designer, Will Wright.

Crysis Crysis is all-new first person shooter from Crytek, the award-winning developers of the critically-acclaimed hit Far Cry. Powered by the revolutionary CryEngine 2, Crysis delivers next-generation PC technology, graphics and gameplay. Set in 2019 after a colossal asteroid crashes to Earth, Crysis begins amidst a tense military standoff between the North Korean and United States governments for control of the impact zone. Amid rising tensions, the asteroid suddenly bursts open revealing a massive alien ship, which begins freezing vast portions of the island and altering the global weather system. The invasion of Earth has begun. Crysis features an epic three-act story of alien invasion where players are able to customize their armor and weapons in real time to confront an ever-changing enemy and a harsh, dynamic environment. Advanced enemy AI employs realistic military tactics, forcing gamers to actively outsmart their opponents rather than simply reacting to them. Crysis is slated to ship for the PC in Winter 2006.

Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars The genre defining Command & Conquer series is back! The epic struggle between the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and The Brotherhood of NOD continues and the third Tiberium War is about to begin. Welcome back, Commander. Command & Conquer, the groundbreaking series that put the Real-time Strategy (RTS) genre on the map, is returning in full force with Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars. This highly-anticipated next chapter takes the popular series back to its roots in the Tiberium universe and features the fast, fluid gameplay that Command & Conquer is known for and a gripping story that will redefine storytelling in RTS games. Experience a revolution in RTS gaming with a breakthrough single player campaign that rewards you for your gameplay style. Add layers of strategy to your gaming experience by building mobile bases, wielding the power of terrifying Ion Storms on the battlefield, or customizing your armies by combining units. Battle it out online with native voice-over IP, integrated clan support, and new spectator modes that let you play RTS games like a sport. Windows PC, 2007.

The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II for the Xbox 360 Now command the epic battles of Middle-earth from your living room couch! Take control of huge armies and venture into the heart of Middle-earth to live the battles seen in the blockbuster New Line Cinema films and classic J.R.R. Tolkien literary fiction all in spectacular high-definition. The game boasts a new, intuitive console-specific control scheme that allows novice players to enjoy the games signature Real-time Strategy gameplay while giving expert players the flexibility needed to engage in a deeply complex strategy experience. Directly control hundreds of units in an attempt to defeat enemy armies, conquer new lands, and seal the fate of Middle-earth. As the first game in The Lord of the Rings series to be playable over Xbox LIVE, add to the intensity of the experience and challenge friends online to engage in action-packed real-time battles. Summer 2006.

Superman Returns: The Video Game - challenges players to master Superman's unrivaled powers to save Metropolis. Based on 60 years of DC Comics and the upcoming motion picture, SUPERMAN RETURNS: THE VIDEOGAME creates the ultimate open-world super hero experience. As the Man of Steel, you'll hone your unworldly super powers such as Flight, X-Ray Vision and Freeze Breath to fight villains that only Superman can defeat. SUPERMAN RETURNS: THE VIDEOGAME will be available on Xbox 360, the PlayStation 2 console, Xbox, the PSP system, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance.

Def Jam Fight For NY: The Takeover Experience the ultimate hip hop fighting game anywhere you go. Master over 180 new fighting moves and 50 new dirty moves in order to win fights and rise among the ranks of your crew. Create your own fighter and battle through over 40 of the hottest artists and celebrities in Hip Hop including Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Method Man, Redman, Snoop Dogg, and Xzibit. With a new story, new moves, new venues, and head to head wireless gameplay, Def Jam Fight For NY: The Takeover is the summer's must have title for the PSP system.

EA MOBILE E3 GAME LINE UP
EA Mobile is the leader in wireless entertainment with a slate of games that demonstrate a commitment to quality, innovation and value. The dynamic roster offers something for every mobile phone user puzzle, sports and cutting-edge action. At E3, EA will debut of Orcs & Elves, id Softwares first original intellectual property since Quake, created exclusively for mobile phones by Fountainhead Entertainment. The line up also boasts an impressive slate of EA SPORTS games including 2006 FIFA World Cup, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3, Madden NFL 07, NBA LIVE 07, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 and an enhanced version of the popular puzzle game Tetris.

The Mole: E3 News

E3 doesn't start until Monday but my sources have already been
feeding me information. Here's what I've found out.

Bada Bing! - THQ has announced a video game based on the hit HBO TV show The Sopranos, set to be released on the Xbox 360 and PS2 (not PS3) this Fall. Sopranos creator David Chase is heavily involved in creating the storyline which has gamers play as the long lost son of Big Pussy. James Gandolfini is the only member who's involvement has been confirmed but expect many other cast members voices and likenesses to be in the game.

Atari Lineup - Atari announced its lineup of games it will be showcasing at E3: Dragon Ball Z, Test Drive Unlimited, Alone in the Dark, Arthur and Minimoys. Battlezone, HOT PXL, Neverwinter Nights 2, Super DBZ and Dungeons and Dragons.

Sega Lineup - Sega announced its lineup of games as well: Chromehounds, The Club, Full Auto 2: Battlelines, Medieval II: Total War, Phantasy Star Universe, Sega Rally Revo, Sonic Rivals, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Monkey Ball Adventure, Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz, Virtua Tennis 3, World Pool Championship 2007 and Yakuza.

Midway Lineup - Here are Midway's featured games at E3: John Woo Presents Stranglehold, Unreal Tournament 2007, Blitz: The League, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run, Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War, Happy Feet, The Ant Bully, The Grim Adventures of Bill and Mandy, MLB Slugfest 2006, Rush, Mortal Kombat: Unchained and NBA Ballers: Rebound.

All of these games are set to be released sometime in 2006.

DS Lite Release Date - The new DS Lite - a smaller, lighter version of the DS that can literally fit in your pocket - will be released in the U.S. June 11th and will sell for about $130. The screens are exactly the same size but the new DS is considerably smaller and lighter. The new backlight system is a significant improvement and it plays all of the games the DS does.

Guitar Hero II - Seven new songs for the upcoming Guitar Hero II, out this fall, have been announced: Reverend Horton Heat - Psychobilly Freakout, KISS - Strutter, Butthole Surfers - Who Was in My Room Last Night, Van Halen - You Really Got Me, Black Sabbath - War Pigs, Rush - YYZ, Drist - Arterial Black.

Superman's Late - EA announced that the Superman Returns video game, which was supposed to be released along with the movie in June has been pushed back to fall when the DVD of Superman Returns will be in stores.

Expect more E3 updates later this week.

The Mole: Seattle is Numero Uno

Sperling's Best Places (you know, those jokers who rate the best and worst places for things like jobs, health, etc.) announced today that Seattle is the number one gaming city in the nation. The survey used the following statistics: number of systems owned per household, number of games purchased, number of game rentals, frequency of online play and number of Big Foot sightings to determine their rankings. Here are the Top 15 cities for gaming in the U.S.

1. Seattle
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
3. Atlanta
4. Detroit
5. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.
6. Washington, D.C.
7. St. Louis
8. Boston
9. San Diego
10. Philadelphia
11. Chicago
12. Dallas
13. Houston
14. San Francisco
15. New York

Did you notice no Colorado Springs or Denver? What's up with that? Its time to step up to the plate Colorado. Let no hand be controller free!

Some other interesting gaming facts - According to the Entertainment Software Association, in 2005 the video game industry is growing in popularity among all age groups and both genders. The average age of a gamer is 30, and 19 percent of gamers are older than 50. Men currently dominate the industry; however, the gap is closing, with approximately 55 percent of players being male and approximately 43 percent female. Don't ask what the remaining 2 percent is.

Top 5 Ways Gaming is Better Than...Part 1

As a proud advocate for gaming, I'm starting a new Top 5 series that demonstrates how gaming is better than other forms of media. Don't get me wrong - I love music, movies and TV as much as anybody. Its just that sometimes people don't realize how much fun gaming can be.

Top 5 Ways Gaming is Better Than...Going to the Movies

1. Refunds - If you don't like a game you can either take it back or at least get store credit for something better. If you don't like a movie, don't bother whining to the manager, you're screwed. Although I can think of plenty of movies (Wild Wild West, Catwoman, Batman and Robin) that I would like the 2 hours of my life back that I spent watching them.

2. Better Actors - You will never find David Spade or Rob Schneider doing voice over work in a video game. At least I hope not.

3. No Lines - If you want to play games, just turn on your system and go. If you want to go to the movies get in your car (don't forget to pay $40 to fill it), park 50 yards from the theater (at least on a weekend) and wait in line to buy tickets, get popcorn and go to the bathroom.

4. More Interactive - Talking is discouraged while watching a movie. Trash talking is encouraged while playing video games with friends.

5. Cheaper Snacks - Cost of popcorn, candy and a Coke at the theater - $10. Cost of popcorn, candy and a Coke at home - $2. Cost of pounding your brother in Halo 2 - priceless.

These are my 5 reasons, what are yours?

Cheat Me Once, Cheat Me Twice, Cheat Me Deadly

Here's some great cheat codes for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Unfortunately, these only work for the PC version.

Console menu functions - While in the game, hit the tilde key [~] at any time to bring up the console. With the console open, there are multiple commands that can be used, some that require targeting by selecting an object with the mouse while the console is open.

Click any human or creature, type "kill" - Instant kills
Click a locked door or chest, type "unlock" - Unlocks target object
Without targeting, type "tgm" - God Mode
tfh - Toggle Full Help
player.additem 0000000F 'XXX' -Adds the desired amount of gold. Replace the 'XXX' with the amount wanted.
modpcs skill 100 - adds 100 points to the skill
modpca luck 100 - adds 100 pointsto an attribute (here luck)
player.setlevel 1 - Changes player level to desired number. Use 1-255
advlevel - forces a level up with the levelup screen.
advskill skill # - Forces a skill level up of # levels, example: advskill blade 4
showclassmenu - Allows you to change your class
Showbirthsignmenu - Allows you to change your birthsign
caqs - Completes all quest stages
psb - Add all spells to player
SexChange - Changes your gender
TAI - Toggle AI
player.setAV <#> - Increase (Or decrease) Ability or Attribute
player.additem - Gives the player the given item and amount of the item.
player.setcrimegold 0 - Removes Bounty on your head. NOTE: If being chased by city guards, you must leave the city and go back for it to work on them.
player.payfine - Guards stop attacking you and bounty is paid off.
help - List console commands
lock [1-100] - Lock selected door or container
showfullquestlog [quest id] - Show all log entries for indicated quest
coc testinghall - Teleports player to an area with all objects, monsters, and NPCs in-game.
stopcombat - Immediately stops the combat of the selected friend/foe.

The Mole: Let the Madden jinx go into effect

The latest news and rumors in the world of gaming.

Alexander getting ready for a horrible season - The annual Madden cover boy hex continues. This year's victim? NFL MVP Shaun Alexander. The over/under on his season ending injury? Week 3.

PS2 drops in price, nobody cares - Sony has announced that it has lowered the price of the Playstation 2 by $20 to $129.99 effective immediately. Forgive my lack of enthusiam but to date, over 100 million PS2's have shipped worldwide. Is there anybody on this planet with a TV that doesn't own one? And if they really want to help financially strapped people out, lower it to $50. Which is about the price I can pay for a used one.

Hello Mr. Cipriani - Rockstar will be releasing its PSP hit "Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories" on the Playstation 2 June 6th. If that weren't cool enough, its going to sell for a measly $20. This almost makes up for the news of Rockstars upcoming Table Tennis game.

Joanna Dark update - Microsoft has announced new downloadable content for "Perfect Dark Zero". The updates will load automatically (as usual) when you insert your PDZ disc and include eight new bot personalities and four new multi-player maps. The new bot personas include Judge Bots (attacks the player with the most kills) and Bully Bots (attacks the player with the least kills) among others. No word yet on a Cleaner Bot (runs around picking up bullet casings).

The Top 5 Things You'd See at E3

Its almost that time of year, time for E3, the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo held in Los Angeles. Its a gamers Disneyland. This year events for E3 are running from May 9th - May12th. While I won't get to go this year (I begged and pleaded with my editors to no avail) I did go in 2001 and I know some other gaming journalists who are going to give me all the juicy details for this year. If you're one of the lucky few who get to experience this event, here is what you can expect, no matter what year you go.

1. Seas of People - Every year E3 seems to get bigger and bigger with more and more people dying to attend. The lines are long and the crowds are huge. Get used to doing alot of walking and standing in line.

2. Booth Babes - In a place where the guy to girl ratio is a ridiculously unhealthy 1000:1, Booth Babes can bring a little bit of sanity. These are the beautiful women who hang out at gaming booths and are paid to be nice to you. They even let you take a picture with them so you can prove you can get within 5-feet of a hot babe without puking.

3. Hype - They hype machine at E3 is even worse that at a political convention. Its loud as heck and is the perfect example of style over substance.

4. Parties - It seems like almost any company with any relation to gaming whatsoever has a party during E3. Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, gaming publishers, gaming magazines, online gaming sites - you name it and they're partying on. There are usually multiple parties a night. They're just as much of a reason to go as E3 itself.

5. Big Announcements - Every year there is some hot new thing everybody is dying to see. Getting a chance to be one of the first ones to see what's going to be the next groundbreaking thing in gaming is a thrill.

So there you have it. If you've been to E3, or know somebody who has gone, share your story.

The Mole: Uh, oh another Superman game.

Superman or Superdud? - Gaming giant EA announced that "Superman Returns: The Videogame" will be released in conjunction with the new movie this summer and will feature the voices of Brandon Routh (Superman/Clark Kent), Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor), Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane) and Parker Posey (Kitty Kowalski). I just hope this game doesn't stink as much as the N64 Superman game, which still ranks as one of the worst video games of all time.

PGR 3 Speed Pack - A new "Project Gotham Racing 3" Speed Pack is now available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace for 400 Microsoft Points (roughly $5). The pack includes 12 new cars, new Xbox Live Achievement points and other new game play enhancements.

Colton White on the move - "Gun" will get its debut on a handheld system when it is released this summer on the PSP. While no details are certain, it looks like some slight improvments will be made to game play but the portable version will be a little shorter. Unlike the console version, there will be some multi-player options available on the PSP version.

Call of Duty PC update - The Xbox 360 version of "Call of Duty 2" recently received an update and now its the PC versions turn. The release date has not been confirmed but will include anti-cheat software and two new multi-player maps. Expect it within the next 3 weeks.

All the Cheats are Brown and the Sky is Gray

These games just came out last week, yet here I am, digging up cheats for you. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! (Yes, I have way too much free time.)

Tomb Raider: Legend (Xbox 360) - While in game, pull and hold the Left Trigger. These codes can only be used after they are unlocked.

Hold LB: and press RT, B, X, LT, X, A - Infinite Shotgun Ammo
Hold LB: and press B, Y, LT, RT, A, B - Infinite SMG Ammo
Hold LT: and press A, RT, Y, RT, X, LB - Bulletproof
Hold LB: and press Y, A, B, RT, Y, LT - Wield Excalibur
Hold LB: and press A, RT, B, RT, LT, X - Wield Soul Reaver
Hold LB: and press LT, Y, RT, B, LT, X - Infinite Grenade Launcher Ammo
Hold LB: and press A, B, A, LT, X, Y - Infinite Assault Rifle Ammo
Hold LT then press Y + A + Y +X + LB + B - One Shot Kill
While holding LT, press: LB-A-B-A-Y-RT - Textureless Mode
While holding LT, press: X-B-A-LB-RT-Y - Draw Enemy Health

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Xbox 360) - In the middle of gameplay in the campaign mode.

Hold the left and right bumper buttons and press right, right, down, up, left, left on the D-Pad - Unlocks all Weapons

The Top 5 Things Gaming Could Live Without

While I'm the first to admit its a good time to be a gamer (I even wrote an article on it), there are plenty of things in the gaming world that could either be improved or just eliminated completely. So today I rid myself of my normal sunshine and roses gaming outlook and share my Top 5 things gaming could live without.

1. Sports Game Price Gouging - Every year our favorites sports titles come out with a new version of last years model, with updated rosters seemingly the only difference. I feed into this machine by making sure I get my copy of Madden the first day its released - but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it. Gaming companies (this means you EA) should sell their sports games for about $10-$15 less than other new releases.

2. Subscription Fees - If I buy a game, why should I have to pay anything else to play the complete version of it. Star Wars Galaxies is a great example of this. A $15 monthly fee to play a game I already bought? That's nuts.

3. Console Exclusivity - Any game thats made should be available on every system. When I only owned a PS2, I missed out on Halo. When I bought an Xbox, I had to wait a year to own GTA: San Andreas. It was only available on the PS2 at the time. Its torture.

4. Rude Online Gamers - There are way too many online gamers who feel free to curse up a storm or spew homophobic and racist diatribes. I guess the anonymity of playing online is just too great of a temptation for some people. I can't stand these guys.

5. Gamer Bashing - Gamers, despite the fact that the vast majority of us are intelligent, good looking folk, have a bad rep. For some reason we're sterotyped as nerds obsessed with only one thing - games. While there is certainly some truth to this, I hate the fact that identifying myself as a gamer automatically stereotypes me as someone with no other interests but to hold a controller for 12 hours a day. People who adore TV and Music as much as the typical gamer cares for video games don't get this much grief.

Its time to embrace and love the gamer! There are many more of us out there than you think, we just keep our dirty little secret to ourselves...in shame. I have news for you, gamers don't have a typical look, we could be anybody. Sure, there are nerdy gamers out there who wear Bungie shirts and don't wash their hair (I'm referring to myself on weekends). But there are also gamers who are accountants, lawyers, teachers and professional athletes. So be careful what you say about us, you just might be talking to a gamer.

Dishonorable Mention - Most movie based games, condescending video game store employees, Grand Theft Auto bashing (people who've never played this game take it way too seriously), Halo bashing, the incomparable Roger Ebert (for saying gaming is not an art form).

Cheat Like An Egyptian

Anytime I can get my man David Ortiz (the cover boy for MLB 06: The Show) on the blog is a good thing. Here are this weeks cheat codes.

MLB 06: The Show (PS2) - Codes must be entered in the Menu, the controller will vibrate to confirm the correct code entry.

All Uniforms - Press Up, Down, Right, Left, Down, Right, Down, Up at the main menu.

All Teams - Press Left, Right(2), Down(2), Left, Up(2) at the main menu.

All Players - Press Left, Up, Left, Right, Down, Right, Left, Up at the main menu.

All Stadiums - Press Down, Up, Left, Right, Up, Right, Up, Down at the main menu.

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition (PS2) - From main menu, select Options, then select Cheats

dfens - Special move Agro
getheadl - Bunny ears
roadtrip - Unlock all cities
ontheroad - No damage
allin - Special move Zone
R04r - Special move Roar
getheadj - Yelloew Smile
getheadk - Pumpkin Heads
haveyouseenthisboy - chrome body
trythisathome - flaming head
getheadm - snowman head
getheadn - skull head
crosscountry - All cities unlocked in arcade mode
urbansprawl - Faster pedestrians/All cities in arcade mode
hyperagro - Increase car mass in arcade mode

The Mole - You want me to pay how much for a PS3?

Brother can you spare 73,500 dimes? - Bust open that piggy bank, cash in those savings bonds and check your sofa for loose change - the PS3 is going to set you back, alot.

According to reports released by a radio interview on French radio station Europe 1, Sony Computer Entertainment France (that's right we're getting breaking gaming news from the French) and VP of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's George Fornay said that the PlayStation 3 would retail in Europe in the range of €499 to €599.

This adds up to be between $611 to $735 in US dollars. Read that again $611 - $735. While there hasn't been any confirmation on the U.S. retail price, the price points between Europe and the States are usually very similar. Hopefully we'll find out more at E3 next month.

Gentlemen, start your Xbox 360's - Would you like to visit the Lamborghini factory in Italy? All you have to do is win the Xbox Live Project Gotham Racing 3 online tournament. Registration is open now and competition starts April 17th. The tournament final is at the Lamborghini factory in Sant' Agata Bolognese, Italy. To sign up, go to www.pgr3tournament.com.

Doctor, do you have a cure for my Achievement Addiction? - If you're one of those Xbox 360 nuts who works hard for those beautiful, ego inflating achievement points in 360 games (I'm not bragging but I have over 5000), I have good news for you. The website www.achieve360points.com was made for you. This site offers a complete list of 360 games and the achievements for each one.

Mario fans rejoice! - Nintendo finally announced a release date for The New Super Mario Bros on the DS. Put on your red hat and trim your mustache, make sure you're in front of your favorite gaming store May 16th.

The Top 5 Xbox 360 Games

Now that Microsoft was kind enough to double its production of Xbox 360's, those of you who have your shiny new systems might be wondering what games to buy. Before you spend a dime, check out this list of the best games for your next-gen system. And don't forget to pick up Halo 2 as well. It should always be in the rotation.

1. Call of Duty 2 - Beautiful graphics, a great setting and fun game play make this shooter a blast. The newly improved online play bumps this game to the top of my list.

2. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - That's right, two third-person shooters are in the top 2 but for different reasons. The weapons at your disposal and the power you wield in G.R.A.W. is just plain exciting. The single player can be outright redonkulous (Yes, I meant to spell it that way) but I enjoy the challenge.

3. Project Gotham Racing 3 - Photo-realistic cars, controls that are just difficult enough and lots of multi-player action. Every new system has a great racer and this one is it for the 360.

4. Fight Night Round 3 - There is no better game to play with a friend. Its like virtual rock 'em sock 'em robots. You'll both be worn out after a fight.

5. Madden - The most realistic looking (key word: looking) sports sim ever. Except for Jake Plummer, he looks like crap.

Games to look forward to in 2006: The Godfather (After playing the PS2 version, I know this one will be awesome), Saints Row (GTA killer or GTA wannabe?), Tomb Raider: Legend (Can Lara make a comeback?) and Scarface (Say hello to my little friend!)

These are my top 5. If you're an Xbox 360 gamer, share yours.

The Mole: Pikachu hits double digits

Pikachu turns 10 - Much like Barney before him and The Wiggles now, Pikachu (that annoying Pokemon that blasted lightning and repeated his name over and over) was at one time the most annoying kids obsession on the planet. Pokemon recently turned 10 years old?!? I felt about 60 after finding that out. The Pokemon franchise, currently worth $25 billion, proves that sometimes really dumb ideas can make money.

So long Playstation One - Sony has finally yanked the cord on PlayStation One production. The console was originally launched in Japan in December 1994, selling more than 100 million units worldwide. Personally, I'm amazed these were still being made. And who was buying them?

PSP movie sales stink - Before you rush out and buy "Big Mommas House 2" for your PSP, you might want to know that the future of UMD movies looks bleak. According to an article in the "Hollywood Reporter", UMD movie sales are so poor, many companies (Universal and Paramount included) are getting out of the UMD business.

Evidently the gamers purchasing the PSP are looking at it as only a gaming system, not something to watch movies on. How will this effect the future of the PSP? It's possible future PSP models will be enabled with TV connectivity or possibly even Blu-ray discs. We'll have to wait and see.

Leave the guns, take the cheats

Here are the most recent cheats I could get my hands on.

The Godfather - PC
Go to the Pause Menu (by pressing ESC) and, using the keyboard, type:
corleone - Full Health
stracci - Full Ammo
cuneo - $5000
tattaglia - Unlock Movies

The Godfather - PS2
Enter while game is paused.
Circle Square Circle Square Square L3 - Unlocks all movies
square,circle,square,square,circle,L3 - $5,000
circle,left,circle,right,square,R3 - Full Ammo
left,square,right,circle,right,L3 - Full Health

The Godfather - Xbox
In the menu screen where you can click on viewing the "Movies" enter the following codes
Y,X,Y,X,X Click Left Analog Stick - Unlocks All Movies
left, x, right, y, right, click left analog stick - Full health
Y, left, y, right, x, click right analog stick - Full ammo
X,Y,X,X,Y, click left analog stick - $5000

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - Xbox 360
Press start during the game and while on the pause menu hold the back button, Left Trigger, and Right trigger and enter the password.
LB, LB, RB, X, RB, Y - Put your life at 100%
RB, RB, LB, X, LB, Y - Unlimited Ammo
X, X, Y, RB, Y, LB - Team Invincible
Y, Y, X, RB, X, LB - Scott Mitchell Invincible
Y, RB, Y, RB, X (Input on the Mission Select Screen) - All Levels

The Mole: Bill Cowher, Supermodel

The first sign of the Apocolypse is upon us - Pittsburgh Steelers coach Sgt. Slaughter...er...I mean Bill Cowher is now a model. Thankfully, he's keeping all of his clothes on.

On Wednesday, EA Sports announced that the Super Bowl winning coach will be the cover boy for the new football game "NFL Head Coach" to be released June 20th.

I'm not sure which sounds worse, a game based on coaching or looking at one of the most hideous coaches in the NFL every time I go to put my game disc in.

Lets see... a game where your primary duties include pacing a sideline, yelling (and in Cowhers case, spitting while yelling), and watching film for 12 hours a day while ignoring your wife and kids for personal glory. I know the NFL is the country's number one sport but can a game based on being a head coach really be that enthralling? What's next, "NHL Coach"? "NBA Coach", "Little League T-Ball Coach"?

I have some better ideas. There's definetely a market for a "Crazy Tennis Dad" or "Obsessive Compulsive Figure Skating Mom" so why not make those as well.

To be honest, I'm sure this game will be alot better than I think. Its made by EA and those guys know what they're doing. At least I hope they do this time.

The Mole

Here are the latest rumors and trends.

Take that Apple! - According to a report in The Mercury News, Microsoft is working on a portable hand held that plays games, music and video that will be released some time in 2007. The team creating the new device is made up of a number of members who worked on the Xbox 360. Details are scant (to non-existent) but it looks like Microsoft is looking to compete with Sony, Nintendo and Apple - especially since Apple is working on the iGame (check earlier posts).

Hubba Hubba - Laura Croft makes her return April 11th with the release of "Tomb Raider Legend" on Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2 and the PC. This is the seventh title in the series that started in 1996.

Zelda Returnz - Late last week Nintendo announced a new Zelda game for the DS, "Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass". The game is set to be released later this year.

It's About Time - Microsoft recently announced it has finally significantly increased its production of Xbox 360 consoles. Up two to three times as many consoles will now be produced. Microsoft has also announced additional content, achievements and maps (through Xbox Live) in "Call of Duty 2", "Kameo", "Project Gotham Racing 3" and "Perfect Dark Zero".

It appears that now that the PS3 release date has been announced, Microsoft wants to get as big a head start in the next-gen gaming war as they can.

Hello...is there anybody in there...just nod if you can here me...are there any gamers home?

I'm still looking to get a group of local gamers (and by local, I mean anybody who reads this blog) together for some online play. I'm always on the look out for some friendly competition or some people to help me gang up on the helpless masses. I play on an Xbox 360, so I'm limited to people who have Xbox Live. I do have a PS2 but I don't have online service for it. If you're interested, send me a friend invite. My gamer tag is coloradojoe. Below is a list of games that I play online, some more frequently than others.

Xbox - Halo, Knights of the Old Republic, but mostly Halo 2 (please don't send a clan invite, I'm already an overlord in my son's clan)

Xbox 360 - Project Gotham Racing 3, Call of Duty 2, Fight Night Round 3, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Perfect Dark Zero

P.S. Even if you don't play the same games I have listed, or if you play online with a DS or PS2, list your info in the comments section of this post. Hopefully some other gamers will see it and link up with you.

Best. Top 5. Ever.

The Simpsons, one of the greatest TV shows ever, has spawned a number of video games. Playing as one of pop cultures biggest icons started in 1991 with The Simpsons arcade game by Konami. If you've ever been to an arcade (or a Chuck E. Cheese) you're sure to have seen it. For the most part, Simpsons games have varied from craptacular ("Krustys Super Fun House") to passable ("The Simpsons: Hit and Run").

So with this poor gaming history, why would anyone want to play a Simpsons based game? Because they offer some of the funniest quotes in TV history and guys are quote machines. We're like parrots and we want to hear those famous Simpsons catch phrases if we're going to invest in their game. Just in case Matt Groening is reading this, here are the quotes I'd most like to hear in the next Simpsons game. Let me know your favorites.

Top 5 Homer Simpson Quotes I'd Like to See in the Next Simpsons Video Game

1. I believe children are the future... unless we stop them now!

2. Now that happy moment between the time the lie is told and when it is found out.

3. Stealing? How could you?! Haven’t you learned anything from that guy who gives those sermons at church? Captain What’s-his-name? We live in a society of laws. Why do you think I took you to all those Police Academy movies? For fun? Well, I didn’t hear anybody laughin’, did you?

4. Good things don't end in 'eum,' they end in 'mania'...or 'teria'.

5. You tried and you failed miserably. The lesson is never try.

The Mole

I can't think of any more euphemisms for the latest gaming news so from now on any new gaming rumors will be under the heading "The Mole". Try not to think of that horrible D-list celebrity reality show when you see it.

Turn that Xbox 360 into a home version VH1 - Last Thursday Microsoft announced an agreement with Epic records that makes music videos available to Xbox 360 owners. Every month for the next year, 12 "up and coming artists" will be featured, one new artist each month. This month British singer Natasha Bedingfield (who is taking America by storm according to Microsoft) is the artist of the month. There are no fees for this new feature.

Stan Lee and the Master Chief team up - Bungie and Marvel comics have joined forces to develop a 128 page "Halo" novel (essentially a very long comic book) to be released July of this year. Expect the Master Chief cookbook, "My favorite recipes, Covenant style" to be released later this year.

Surprise! PS3 release delayed until early November - In a move surprising no one, Sony announced the Playstation 3 has been pushed back to an early November release instead of this Spring. Sony also announced their online service, tentatively called the Playstation Network Platform, will have features almost identical to Xbox Live. Surprisingly, Sony stated their base online service will be free. No details were given if there would be a premium service that will require a fee.

Sony PSP price slashing - Sony announced the PSP will drop in price from $250 to $200 at the end of March. I'm sure hoping you didn't buy one recently. The company also announced plans for two new PSP peripherals to be available before the end of the year - a camera and a USB GPS receiver that will work with certain games. Sounds pretty cool.

I told you so! - This morning Microsoft announced it has made its Xbox Live Server Platform available to game developers and publishers. This will allow them more creative control of their titles features available online. Now developers can make changes and add new modes to the online experience. This can also lead to new content and even possibly (here's the 'I told you so' part) entire games being downloaded from Xbox Live. Not that I'm bragging (yes I am) but I called this months ago. See, I know what I'm talking about. At least half of the time.

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with Cheats

Time for this weeks set of cheat codes, this time from the very popular PSP game "Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories".


UP, SQUARE, SQUARE, DOWN, LEFT, SQUARE, SQUARE, RIGHT - Weapon set 1
UP, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, DOWN, LEFT, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, RIGHT - Weapon set 2
UP, X, X, DOWN, LEFT, X, X, RIGHT - Weapon set 3
L1, R1, TRIANGLE, L1, R1, CIRCLE, L1, R1 - Money Cheat ($250,000)
L1, R1, CIRCLE, L1, R1, X, L1, R1 - Full Armor (Blue Bar)
L1, R1, X, L1, R1, SQUARE, L1, R1 - Full Health (Red Bar)
CIRCLE, X, DOWN, CIRCLE, X, UP, L1, L1 - Cars Drive On Water
L1, L1, LEFT, L1, L1, RIGHT, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE - Spawn Rhino
L1, L1, LEFT, L1, L1, RIGHT, CIRCLE, X - Faster Clock
L1, L1, LEFT, L1, L1, RIGHT, X, SQUARE - Destroy All Cars
L1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, LEFT, SQUARE - Peds Riot
L1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, UP, TRIANGLE - Peds Attack You
R1, R1, L1, R1, R1, L1, RIGHT, CIRCLE - Peds Have Weapons
L1, UP, LEFT, R1, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, DOWN, X - Perfect Traction
TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE, R1, SQUARE, SQUARE, L1, X, X - All Green Lights
DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, X, L1, R1 - Bobble Head World
DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, X, X, SQUARE, R1, L1 - Upside Down Gameplay
CIRCLE, RIGHT, X, UP, RIGHT, X, L1, SQUARE - Change Bike Tire Size
TRIANGLE, R1, L1, DOWN, DOWN, R1, R1, TRIANGLE - All Vehicles Chrome Plated
UP, UP, UP, TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, L1, R1 - Unlock multiplayer skins

An offer you can't refuse

I'm as giddy as a boy on Christmas morning, The Godfather video game will be released March 21st on the PS2, Xbox and PC. It will be released later this year on the Xbox 360 and the Sony PSP. The game should be great!

This of course makes me ask the question - what other movies would make great video games. Here are my top 5 suggestions. Share some of your ideas.

1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Take on the Black Knight ("Its just a fleshwound!"), defeat the dreaded killer rabbit and storm Castle Aaaargh.

2. Caddyshack - This would be a great golf sim. A mix of "Tiger Woods" and "Hot Shots" golf. Sound effects could include "nananananana" when you put and "Its in the hole!" when you make a hole in one.

3. Princess Bride - Giants, monsters, miracles, a six fingered man - whats not to like about this? You could play the game as three characters. Swordsman Inigo, giant Fezzig and the man in black, Wesley.

4. Pulp Fiction - This would be a strange shooter with a goofy storyline. Kind of like a very twisted "Max Payne". An rated M game to be sure.

5. Hoosiers - A basketball sim with motivational clips from Gene Hackman taken from the movie would be great. Cut Ollie from the team and let Jimmy Chitwood single handedly beat every opponent you face.

Nose to the Grindstone

I have no idea how the phrase "nose to the grindstone" came about. It sounds painful. Either way, here's the newest news from the gaming world that my network of spies have to offer.

Rockstar announces...table tennis? - The bad boys of the gaming industry, Rockstar have announced a Table Tennis game for the Xbox 360 to be released in May. No word on whether Forrest Gump is an unlockable player.

Verizon to offer free Xbox Live, two people jump for joy - From March 31 through April 2 Verizon will be providing 72 hours of free online play to Xbox 360 owners. Yawn...forgive me if I'm underwhelmed but I guarantee that almost all of the people who managed to snipe an 360 with a hard drive (its required for online play) already have Xbox Live. Verizon will end up spending a whopping $150 on that weekend. If Verizon really wanted to make an impression, they'd get rid of that annoying "can you hear me now?" guy and replace him with Jennifer Garner or Angelina Jolie.

Get your mullet and leather pants ready - RedOctane CEO Kelly Sumner said that the publisher is planning "five or six" Guitar Hero titles by mid 2007. Mr. Sumner, may I make a suggestion for some tracks to put on the sequel? How about a few Monkees or Partridge Family hits? That way those of us who aren't very coordinated can pretend to play the guitar controller and still look like a stud.

Top 5 Best Uses of Celebrity Voices in Video Games

It used to be rare to find a celebrity attached to a video game. Not any more. Now they even make them (see Vin Diesel).

But a celebrity voice does not a great game make. Christopher Walken has one of best and most recognizable voices in Hollywood, but it didn't make "True Crime" any better. Here are my Top 5 best uses of celebrity voices in video games.

1. Phil Hartman ("Blasto") - Phil Hartman was hilarious! Doing voices for "The Simpsons" was a natural segue into video games. He could read a cook book and I'd think it was funny. I don't know why more comedians don't do this.

2. Ray Liotta (Tommy Vercetti in "GTA: Vice City") - Another case of an actor making a perfect transition from his on-screen persona ("Goodfellas") to the video game world. The writing was superb and he was up to the challenge.

3. Michael Ironside (Sam Fischer in "Splinter Cell") - Jester from "Top Gun" has the voice and face (Have you seen this guy? He's a troll.) for video games. If I were his agent, I'd have him doing car commercials.

4. Ian McKellan (Gandalf in "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King")- The white wizard has a soothing, hypnotic voice. He just sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

5. James Woods (Mike Toreno in "GTA: San Andreas") - I hate to be a GTA hack but lets be honest, who's handled celeb voices better than Rockstar? That and Woods' performance was so slimy, my TV screen needed to be wiped off after every scene he was in.

Hey brother can you spare a cheat?

Last week I gave out some "GTA: San Andreas" cheats for the PS2. Here are just a few Xbox codes to make your life easier.

Enter these in game. (Use the D-Pad, not the analog stick). You will see the message, Cheat Activated, if entered properly.

Right, R Trigger, Up, White, White, Left, R Trigger, L Trigger, R Trigger, R Trigger - Faster Cars
Black, White, R Trigger, L Trigger, White, Black, X, Y, B, Y, White, L Trigger -Destroy All Cars
Up, A, Y, A, Y, A, X, Black, Right - Max Stamina
Black, R Trigger, A, Y, A, Y, Up, Down - Pedestrians have weapons
Right, Black, B, R Trigger, White, X, R Trigger, Black - Cars Drive on Water
A, A, X, R Trigger, L Trigger, A, Down, Left, A - Andrenaline Mode
X, Black, Down, Down, Left, Down, Left, Left, White, A - Cars Fly Away When Hit
X, Down, White, Up, L Trigger, B, Up, A, Left - Cars Can Fly
White, Up, R Trigger, R Trigger, Left, R Trigger, R Trigger, Black, Right, Down - No Pedestrians or Cops (Gan Riots)
Left, Right, L Trigger, White, R Trigger, Black, Up, Down, Left, Right - Have Jetpack
Left, Right, L Trigger, White, R Trigger, Black, Black, Up, Down, Right, L Trigger - Parachute
Y, R Trigger, R Trigger, Left, R Trigger, L Trigger, Black, L Trigger - Perfect Handling in Vehicles
Black, B, Up, L Trigger, Right, R Trigger, Right, Up, X, Y - Flying Boats
R Trigger, R Trigger, B, Black, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down - Lower Wanted Level
L Trigger, R Trigger, Y, DOWN, Black, A, L Trigger, UP, White, White, L Trigger, L Trigger - Max Respect
X, White, R Trigger, Y, UP, X, White, UP, A - Never Hungry
Y, Up ,Up, Left, Right, X, B, Right - Skinny
Y, Up, Up, Left, Right, X, B, Left - Max Muscle
Y, Up ,Up, Left, Right, X, B, Down - Max Fat
X, White, A, R Trigger, White, White, LEFT, R Trigger, RIGHT, L Trigger, L Trigger, L Trigger - Max Vehicle Stats
Y, X, B, B, X, B, B, L Trigger, White, White, R Trigger, Black - Super Bike Jumps
Up, Up, Y, Y, Up, Up, Left, Right, X, Black, Black - Super Jumps
L Trigger, R Trigger, X, R Trigger, LEFT, Black, R Trigger, LEFT, X, DOWN, L Trigger, L Trigger - Infinite Ammo
L Trigger, White, White, Up, Down, Down, Up, R Trigger, Black, Black - All Cars have Tank Properties.
Right, R Trigger, Up, White, White, Left, R Trigger, L Trigger, R Trigger, R Trigger - Traffic Lights Stay Green

Look out PSP and DS, here comes The iGame

Later this year Apple, the company that revolutionized portable music with the iPod, is releasing iGame - a new portable gaming device. The official release date hasn't been set but you will see plenty of pics and details during E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, in May.

I don't have too much information but here's what I know so far. It will have a hard drive that will store pictures, music, videos and games - no game cartridges. To get games a system similar to iTunes will be used to download games on iGame. The design I saw looked pretty basic. No analog stick and no touch screen.

Here are the games rumored to be available for iGame at launch.

Call of Duty3, Casino Royale, Madden NFL 07, Splinter Cell Essentials 2, Tak and the Power of JuJu on the Go, WarCraft Armies, Final Fantasy II, and X-Men 3

iPod Update for Xbox 360

Finally there's a download that allows Xbox 360 users to play their iPod on their systems. I don't know about anyone else out there but this has bugged me since I've had it. For copywrite reasons, the 360 will not recognize songs purchased on iTunes. Because I had purchased iTunes songs mixed with songs transferred from CD's on my iPod, my 360 wouldn't recognize any music at all. Sure I could look at the pictures from my Nano in a slide show but I couldn't play my music during games.

Thankfully that's now been corrected. Make sure to check out the Xbox Live Marketplace and find the free download that will allow you to play all of your non-iTunes purchased songs on your 360. Maybe sometime soon, all songs will be accessible.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to driving around Vegas in "Project Gotham Racing 3" while jamming out to "Van Halen".

Top 5 Worst Game Ideas Ever

My love affair with Top 5 Lists continues with "The Top 5 Worst Game Ideas Ever". What's the difference between this and "The Worst Games Ever"? Good question. The worst ideas should have never been thought of in the first place, they make gamers believe it was made on a dare. The worst games just suck. Here are my top 5. Let me know what your top 5 are.

1. Britney's Dance Beat (2002) - A rhythm game based on the musical stylings of Britney Spears?!? At the time this came out, you could stick Brit's image on a bag of trash and someone would buy it. Of course, that doesn't make it right.

2. Shaq Fu (1994) - Pro basketball star Shaquille O'Neill in a Kung Fu fighting game? At least he doesn't rap in it. Oh wait, yes he does.

3. Army Men (1998) - A video game where you play as plastic soldiers. Were the developers aware of how boring these were to play with in real life?

4. Revolution X (1994) - Hmm...let me see if I understand this concept. Rock band Aerosmith is overthrowing an oppressive government with music as their weapon? Where do I sign up?

5. E.T. (1982) - The title character is small, slow, knows only four words ('Elliott', 'home', 'Reece's Pieces') and doesn't carry a lightsaber. Proof that a good movie doesn't necessarily translate into a good video game concept. I love the movie "Casablanca" but I don't think it'd be a great game.

The Skinny, The Word on the Street, Scuttlebutt

I take advantage of any time I can use the word scuttlebutt. Here's the latest word on the gaming world street.

New Games Added to Xbox Live Arcade - I've written about this great feature before, so I'd like to thank game developer Midway for making me look like Nostradamus. Soon to be added to the great library of classic titles on Xbox Live Aracade are: "Paperboy", "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3", "Defender" and "Cyberball". I'm particularly excited about "Cyberball", one of my all time favorite arcade games - right up there with "Ms. Pac Man" and "Karate Champ". The release dates and prices haven't been confirmed but since most Xbox Live Arcade games are free or dirt cheap (around $5), I'd expect them to be very affordable.

Best of Platinum Hits - Most gamers are familiar with Platinum Hits - best selling, slightly older, video games offered for $20. Now Microsoft is announcing its Best of Platinum Hits, this time selling for only $10. Its a great way to pick up some classic games on the cheap. Here are the first wave of titles, most of them available this month.

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Bethesda Softworks)• Enter the Matrix (Atari)• Fuzion Frenzy (Microsoft Game Studios)• Project Gotham Racing 2 (Microsoft Game Studios)• Shrek 2 (Activision)• Soul Calibur II (Namco)• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (Ubisoft)• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (Ubisoft)• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3(Ubisoft)• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow (Ubisoft)• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Ubisoft)• Tony Hawk’s Underground (Activision)• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (Activision)• True Crimes: Streets of LA (Activision)• MechAssault (Microsoft Game Studios)• Counterstrike (Microsoft Game Studios)

Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD - The long awaited battle between these two new home movie formats is about to get under way. From May through July, Lionsgate will release 10 movies (Punisher, Saw, Terminator 2, Total Recall, Stargate, Dune, The Devils Rejects, Crash, Lord of War, Reservoir Dogs) on the Blu-ray format. They'll range in price from $29.99-$39.99. I'm sure HD-DVD movies will cost about the same.

I know what you're thinking, "$40 for a movie? Are they crazy?". The answer is yes. At least for now. Don't rush out and get one of these new players, the price will come down just like it did when CD and DVD players became commonplace. Besides that, Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies are only worthwhile if you have the appropriate system to play them on - in other words, a state of the art home entertainment system. So don't panic. The good news is, this should drop the price of DVD's pretty soon.

But how does this effect gamers? Good question. Sony and Microsoft have taken opposite sides to the Blu-ray/HD-DVD battle. Sony (PS2) is betting on Blu-ray, Microsoft (Xbox) on HD-DVD. One of them is wagering on the wrong team. This could end up as bad as the Beta/VHS war in the 80's. Right now, Blu-ray has more studios signed up with them. Whether or not that means anything is still up in the air. We'll all just have to wait and see.