Posted on Mar 31, 2008 under desktop computer |
The tennis game has always been a popular genre with its roots leading right the way back to Pong. But games have come along way since then as Top Spin on Xbox so kindly demonstrated with its super-realistic visuals real-life-players and online play. One year on and the PC port of the popular tennis sim is finally ready. Making the most out of an official license Top Spin plays host to 16 of the game’s sporting greats including Pete Sampras Anna Kournikova and Lleyton Hewitt. All characters look convincing and help to immerse the player in an engrossing game of tennis. In what initially appears to be a simple but solid tennis game Top Spin employs an ever-popular gameplay mechanic whereby players must aim the ball preferably with the analogue stick of an appropriate third-party controller and choose their type of shot with single button press. There are several obligatory game modes featured here boasting singles and doubles play and there’s even an extensive create-a-player mode to sink your teeth into. But what makes Top Spin special is online play. Via your ISP players can partake in worldwide tournaments and competitions with players from anywhere in the world. You can chat to your opponents when playing arrange tournaments via the web and even track your progress and rank through a global leader board. With the industry at such a competitive time in its life online play has become a vital addition to the tennis game. This way games are more competitive more compelling and more addictive than ever before.
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Posted on Mar 31, 2008 under desktop computer |
It’s been quite a while since the concept of cowboys has graced the gaming world - quite surprising really considering that it makes for ideal subject matter what with all the action danger and guns of your average John Wayne-type movie. Well not exactly hot on the heels of classic western-em-ups such as Sunset Riders and Mad Dog McCree Dead Man’s Hand brings all the saloons spitoons and six-shooters to the PC courtesy of a modern day first-person shooter. The game sees you step into the spur-clad boots of one El Tejon a master gunslinger riding with one of the roughest gangs in the West known as The Nine. When the ruthless leader of The Nine betrays El Tejon he is left with no option but to turn to a life of vengeance and embark on a quest to put every member of his former gang six-feet under. And that would be nine of them you see? Thankfully retaining every well-loved cliche of the films from where it draws its inspiration the adventure sees you travel the American Frontier experiencing the likes of bar fights shoot-outs stagecoach chases and a host of other definitively Western scenes. Along the way all your favourite iconic images are in abundance such as six-shooters rifles black hats horses hombres dancing girls riverboats and as an added bonus saloon poker. Besides the typical straight shooting the game also incorporates a number of other unique gameplay elements taken from the Old West. Along the way you get to try your hand at the likes of blasting desperados from the back of their trusty steed and shooting it out on a moving train (but mind your head when those tunnels crop up!). In addition as the game progresses you acquire what’s known as ‘Legend’ a scoring system that awards points based on your performance and cowboy skills. When accumulated Legend enables you to pull off stunts such as trick shots and death-defying feats. The aforementioned poker also plays a fairly large role throughout Dead Man’s Hand. Before each mission you get to sit down to a game of poker which kind of serves as a bonus round awarding you with such necessities as health ammo or ‘Legend’ if you play your cards right. With over 20 adventures on offer taking you through deserts hills towns mountains mines and cities as well as the inclusion of nine accurately modelled Old West firearms knives and (of course) dynamite Dead Man’s Hand is more or less the answer to every Western fan’s prayers. And who can honestly say they’ve never dreamed of being John Wayne before? Eh? (Cue heavily-tremolo’d minor chord on a Fender Strat plus some eerie whistling…)
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Posted on Mar 31, 2008 under desktop computer |
Victoria McPherson is a brilliant young FBI agent who’s investigating a serial murder case. The body count is now at five and she has no real leads nothing but a mountain of circumstantial evidence and a boss who’s breathing down her neck. In order to take a break from it all she decides to visit her father in the suburbs. Since it’s close to the Christmas holidays she and her father talk about their family including Victoria’s grandfather who used to be a private investigator. This discussion leads Victoria to read one of her grandfather’s old case files a file which reveals an uncomfortably high number of similarities between a seventy-five year old case in Europe and the current string of killings in Chicago…
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Posted on Mar 31, 2008 under desktop computer |
Risk II adds a whole new set of challenges that allow the game to be played at the ‘Same-Time’ by one or more players. It also features a 3D battle arena which presents each of the game’s 48 territories as a theatre of war. The all-new interface has been designed to make the game play at the player’s own pace and with the addition of the ‘globe-view’ players can now play ‘God’ on a truly global scale. In addition the I-Com System allows players to talk to each other without concern for nationality or language.
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Posted on Mar 31, 2008 under sony playstation |
With Poker appealing to every level of society from the postman to the billionaire banker Liquid’s Poker Masters allows the player to engage in any one of the five forms of poker; all gauged to test his or her cunning and strategy to their limits. Whether you want an evening of intense play or a quick ten minute game Poker Masters gives the player the option of either. In Career Mode playing for a few dollars on an upturned crate in an alleyway the player is pitted against increasingly tough opponents until they progress far enough to gamble for million-dollar pots in an exclusive casino. Single Game mode allows play against a dozen distinctive opponents across five difficulty settings. Poker Masters allows players to learn the intricacies of each variant and also to develop his or her own strategies. With numerous difficulty levels and environments to play in as well as 12 devious opponents to defeat in Career or Single Game modes Poker Masters offers all the complexity of real Poker with five different forms to choose from: Texas Hold ‘Em Omaha Five Card Draw Caribbean Stud and Seven Card Stud.
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Posted on Mar 31, 2008 under electronic games |
Victoria McPherson is a brilliant young FBI agent who’s investigating a serial murder case. The body count is now at five and she has no real leads nothing but a mountain of circumstantial evidence and a boss who’s breathing down her neck. In order to take a break from it all she decides to visit her father in the suburbs. Since it’s close to the Christmas holidays she and her father talk about their family including Victoria’s grandfather who used to be a private investigator. This discussion leads Victoria to read one of her grandfather’s old case files a file which reveals an uncomfortably high number of similarities between a seventy-five year old case in Europe and the current string of killings in Chicago…
click here to learn more
Posted on Mar 31, 2008 under electronic games |
Well we’ve played Ridge Racer on PSP to death and marvelled at its resemblance to RR5 on PS2. There’s only so much braking accelerating and drifting we can do before putting that weird golf game back in the slot. But now we have a different RR challenge: the DS version no less with its strap’n’stylus control combo. Lemme at it! Me first! Ahem. There are three environments in Ridge Racer DS each with three courses of varying difficulty: Novice Intermediate and Expert. The first course is Ridge Racer Classic with its backdrop of the original RR cityscape. The crowded downtown the mountain tunnels and the sunny beaches are all present and correct. For the RR elite there is a high speed race through the moonlit downtown. Number two is Revolution Northwest with the heights of the evergreen mountains and the plunge into the valleys and canyons. These narrow twisting courses require all your driving skill and precision to master especially in the latter stages. Lastly there’s Renegade Southwest and three courses set in the sun-baked desert that’ll really test your driving skills as gulches and twisting tunnels pass by in a blur. In solo mode there are three main racing options on offer: Quick race is pretty self-explanatory - two laps around the RR Novice course in an S-Class car against 11 opponents; Grand Prix lets you choose any available car and track and allows you to select certain settings before letting you loose against 11 other cars; then there’s Car Attack where you can compete for better cars. Once you have won the first stage trophy the Car Attack mode will become available. As in GP mode select an available track and car change selected settings and off you go against a single computer opponent which drives a more powerful car. Beat it and you get to use the losing car from thereon in. Lastly in single player mode there’s Time Attack and if you don’t know what that means are you really sure you should be playing a driving game? Ridge Racer DS is really very good. The controls are erm interesting to say the least: traditional control pad for ease; stylus for medium hard difficulty; and the wrist strap for bitchin’! And the multiplayer aspect is great. Up to six racers can compete at once wirelessly of course with each player needing their own card to take part. We haven’t tried this yet (’cos we’re a friendless bunch) but it sounds promising enough.
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Posted on Mar 31, 2008 under sony playstation |
With Poker appealing to every level of society from the postman to the billionaire banker Liquid’s Poker Masters allows the player to engage in any one of the five forms of poker; all gauged to test his or her cunning and strategy to their limits. Whether you want an evening of intense play or a quick ten minute game Poker Masters gives the player the option of either. In Career Mode playing for a few dollars on an upturned crate in an alleyway the player is pitted against increasingly tough opponents until they progress far enough to gamble for million-dollar pots in an exclusive casino. Single Game mode allows play against a dozen distinctive opponents across five difficulty settings. Poker Masters allows players to learn the intricacies of each variant and also to develop his or her own strategies. With numerous difficulty levels and environments to play in as well as 12 devious opponents to defeat in Career or Single Game modes Poker Masters offers all the complexity of real Poker with five different forms to choose from: Texas Hold ‘Em Omaha Five Card Draw Caribbean Stud and Seven Card Stud.
click here to learn more
Posted on Mar 31, 2008 under electronic games |
Well we’ve played Ridge Racer on PSP to death and marvelled at its resemblance to RR5 on PS2. There’s only so much braking accelerating and drifting we can do before putting that weird golf game back in the slot. But now we have a different RR challenge: the DS version no less with its strap’n’stylus control combo. Lemme at it! Me first! Ahem. There are three environments in Ridge Racer DS each with three courses of varying difficulty: Novice Intermediate and Expert. The first course is Ridge Racer Classic with its backdrop of the original RR cityscape. The crowded downtown the mountain tunnels and the sunny beaches are all present and correct. For the RR elite there is a high speed race through the moonlit downtown. Number two is Revolution Northwest with the heights of the evergreen mountains and the plunge into the valleys and canyons. These narrow twisting courses require all your driving skill and precision to master especially in the latter stages. Lastly there’s Renegade Southwest and three courses set in the sun-baked desert that’ll really test your driving skills as gulches and twisting tunnels pass by in a blur. In solo mode there are three main racing options on offer: Quick race is pretty self-explanatory - two laps around the RR Novice course in an S-Class car against 11 opponents; Grand Prix lets you choose any available car and track and allows you to select certain settings before letting you loose against 11 other cars; then there’s Car Attack where you can compete for better cars. Once you have won the first stage trophy the Car Attack mode will become available. As in GP mode select an available track and car change selected settings and off you go against a single computer opponent which drives a more powerful car. Beat it and you get to use the losing car from thereon in. Lastly in single player mode there’s Time Attack and if you don’t know what that means are you really sure you should be playing a driving game? Ridge Racer DS is really very good. The controls are erm interesting to say the least: traditional control pad for ease; stylus for medium hard difficulty; and the wrist strap for bitchin’! And the multiplayer aspect is great. Up to six racers can compete at once wirelessly of course with each player needing their own card to take part. We haven’t tried this yet (’cos we’re a friendless bunch) but it sounds promising enough.
click here to learn more
Posted on Mar 31, 2008 under sony playstation |
Cloistered in our hi-tech bunker we often think about how much the world of espionage actually resembles the version we are offered in the vast amounts of spy books spy films and spy games that have piled up over the years. Consider that Bond creator Ian Fleming was actually involved with the secret service: all those smart suits posh parties sexy cars seduction and gambling - did that sort of thing really go on? Does it now? Does it matter? The important thing is that it makes a pretty good video game and the latest spy-related offering comes from the direction of developers Swordfish and is published by Vivendi Universal. Eschewing the glitz and glamour of Bond’s world though Cold Winter is a pretty gritty affair. Nor strictly speaking do you play a spy. The beginning of the game sees your character on death row in the People’s Republic of China double crossed by a double agent and disowned by his government. You are the very Britishly named Andrew Sterling an ex-SAS man who after long service in Great Britain’s premier fighting force became a government sanctioned hit man or ‘featherman’. Philosophically Sterling prepares to receive what seems to be his fate but escapes courtesy of some prompt and loyal assistance by an old friend who served with him in Columbia. This chap now runs a private security company and as you have no future in the British Services obligingly puts you on his books. It isn’t long before you are packed off to eliminate an arms dealer who trades with terrorists. As the plot unfolds you’ll find that nobody is exactly who you thought they were. A First Person Shooter Cold Winter leads you from Chang Political Prison in China to North Africa where you will explore a scary world of lawless warlords arms traders and terrorists. The rich environments feature real world physics and you can manipulate large objects to work to your advantage as cover. No self respecting shooter can hold its head up if it doesn’t feature satisfying zone-specific body damage and rag-doll physics these days. Cold Winter delivers these and as well as including grisly features like the ability to search the dead the game will challenge you with realistic enemy AI - foes will take cover call for reinforcements or charge you when cornered. You can enjoy the game with your friends too either playing four player split screen or going online. Available only on PS2 interesting storyline and environments make this spy thriller stand out over your more run-of-the-mill FPS.
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