Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure is a video game that breathes virtual life into game characters frozen as plastic action figures.

The magic happens when players put the Skylander figurines onto a special wireless dock, aptly called the Portal of Power.

The Skylanders are then virtually transported into the game world as warriors with unique powers and attributes.

This might sound like incredible wizardry at work, but the technology behind this unique feature can also be found in your ez-link card.

A chip embedded in the action figure stores game data such as a character’s level and abilities.

The dock reads this information and conjures up the corresponding character in the game world.

It takes two to have fun

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure 3 Character Pack 2
During the two hours, I managed to play the entire first chapter of the game’s story mode, in addition to all of the two-player mini games. I tried about 10 of the 32 Skylander characters available.

Importing a Skylander into the game was easy. Place an action figure on the dock and the same character appears in the game almost instantly.

Swopping characters in the game’s story mode was equally easy. Add a second action figure to the dock and a friend can help you in your quest, or challenge you head-on in the mini games.

Players can conquer the story mode using only one Skylander, but the game world can be fully explored only if you switch characters as you go along.

The characters are sorted into different groups, according to the element which they belong. Restricted areas marked by magic element gates open only to those of the corresponding element.

Even though it was fun playing the game on my own, it is evident that this is designed to be a multiplayer game. It is available on most current-generation gaming platforms and the action figures work on all versions. So, players can import their Skylanders into a friend’s game even if they are using different game consoles.

Click for more: Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure is available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii consoles, as well as for the PC and Mac.

Green Lantern: Rise Of The Manhunters available for XBox 360, PS3, Wii/3DS, NDS

The Green Lantern franchise is proving to be a beacon of hope for gamers. It is one of the few movie-game tie-ins that is heavy on the action and fun to play, it is rare among comic book properties in that it has produced a quality game.

Rather than mirror the movie, the game expands upon the idea of an intergalactic peace corps created by the Guardians of the Universe.

The hero, Hal Jordan, is voiced by the movie’s star, Ryan Reynolds. While it adds to the authenticity of the game, fans will prefer the comic book elements brought to life in the game.

This ranges from the use of the Manhunters – the Guardian’s first and failed attempt at a peace corps – to the Zamarons, whose abilities are fuelled by love, represented by the colour purple.

With a ring powered by the force of will, players have the ability to form green constructs in this action game. As players gain experience, they can unlock more powerful weapons and constructs, from a giant hammer, spinning saw blades and even missile launchers.

Of course, these abilities require green energy, which players need to find but, for the most part, this game plays a lot like God Of War, in which the hero has regular attacks and can call upon a suite of special attacks for the bigger bosses. During large battles, one-time-use green lanterns, which Hal can use to boost his abilities, will sometimes appear.

But the nature of the controller means there are more abilities than there are buttons on the controller, and players have to choose which ones they want to map on their gamepads. Players also have to remember which button creates the Gatling-styled gun for range attacks and which button forms the giant baseball bat to whack projectiles back at the sender.

But unlike God Of War, which offers an immense game mythology to play with, Green Lantern seems to be taking baby steps.

In this game, players battle different versions of the evil Manhunter robots, from the low level ones that run away to the larger ones that require players to execute moves via special on-screen buttons.

In some levels, Hal zips through space in dogfights, but in most battles Hal walks fights, and walks even more. This limits what players can do with the intergalactic hero.

The levels are also rather short and, while gameplay can lean towards the challenging, I left the game hungering for more.

With a rich comic book history to tap into, one hopes Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment will not wait for a movie sequel before giving the green light to a sequel to this game.

Click for download:
Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters

Having made its mark as the premier singing game on consoles, SingStar has expanded its routine with some dancing but everything ends up looking more burlesque than brilliant.

With the addition of PlayStation Move controllers, you can now dance to the songs on disc, ranging from NSync’s Bye Bye Bye to Gwen Stefani’s What You Waiting For?

The problem is, I do not know how to dance.

Compared with the Dance Central game on the Xbox Kinect, which has step-by-step instructions and walkthroughs, dancing on SingStar Dance is akin to learning how to dance by watching movies like Flashdance or Dirty Dancing.

Alongside the lyrics on display is a video of a dancer that you watch and try desperately to imitate. And that is all there is.

When they move, you move, but this visual imitation means you will always be a second slower in your steps.

SingStar Dance Party Pack

Whereas Dance Central has visual cues informing dancers of the next few moves, and even has a lesson mode for folks like me, SingStar Dance assumes you are a natural born dancer.

Points are scored with the camera tracking the Move controller, to see if it moves in accordance with those of the video being played, but I ended up looking more like a wayward bartender holding a radioactive mixer than a club dancer.

And the other let down: you cannot dance and sing at the same time. Well, you could, if you call holding a microphone with one hand to the mouth, and moving the other vigorously, dancing.

If you use the wired microphones provided, the wire will interfere with spins and other movements. Those who own wireless mics may fare better, but try matching the pitch of the song while gyrating.

This is more a tag team routine, much like Wham, where you get a lead singer and the other guy whose name no one can remember.

Luckily, SingStar maintains the quality of tracks on the disc, with popular tunes like Paula Abdul’s Straight Up and I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.

For those who want to master more realistic but complex dance routines the hard way, as compared to Dance Central, feel free to mirror the ones in the game if you can.

If singing is more your thing, SingStar 2offers a library of over a dozen game releases and thousands of songs for download, to built your own karaoke collection.

Let’s now SingStar Dance

Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs

With cute graphics, an entertaining story and relatively easy gameplay, this game feels like a simpler version of the main titles in the Pokemon franchise.

However, unlike the flagship Pokemon games in which the main aim is to catch and train the critters for battles, this spin-off focuses on the player’s ability to befriend the monsters.

You play a Pokemon ranger who uses a device called a Styler, which appears on the bottom screen of the Nintendo DS handheld console, to send friendship waves.

By drawing circles around the wild or rival Pokemons on the screen, you send oodles of friendship waves to them.

Completing a circle successfully increases a Pokemon’s friendship meter. Filling up this meter will calm it down and cause it to join your entourage.

The Styler’s power meter acts as your health bar. It loses energy whenever you get hit by a Pokemon’s attacks. Once the power meter empties, it is game over.

Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs

Making friends with the Pokemons this way is not difficult, especially in the early stages. You also get help from the other Pokemons that you recruit along the way.

While the Pokemons are cute, the limited role they play is a dampener. It did not really motivate me to want to catch all of them.

Furthermore, you can keep only seven Pokemons at any one time. As they do not take part in battle, the critters do little more than assist you in navigating the game’s dungeons and capturing new Pokemons.

On the plus side, the game has an interesting storyline that moves along at a relatively fast pace due to its simplified gameplay.

In addition to missions, which drive the main storyline, there are plenty of characters to meet and side quests to complete.

Points are awarded for completing missions and quests and players can use them to customise their Styler. This adds more variety to the game.

Those who have played Pokemon games before are likely to find this game too easy for them.

Still, many fans will enjoy the sheer cuteness of the characters, especially the ukulele-totting Pokemon Pichu, which you befriend early on and becomes your partner throughout the rest of the game.

With the theme centred around friendship and doing good, this title is ideal for parents who are picking up a game for their pre-teen kids.

Get them now: Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs

No, it isn’t Ms. Manners to the rescue, nor is it Polite Polly knocking at your noggin. We just know how easy it is to get frustrated or even angry while playing a difficult game, but if we’re not careful, that anger and frustration could lead to some butt-ugly moments during a time that’s supposed to be amusing.

The following is offered in an effort to keep everything fun and entertaining during a session of group play.
1. Encourage each other. Even if you’re competing with each other in a boxing match or car race, take time out to congratulate another player for making a smooth or cunning move. There’s no need to be a kiss-up, but when tensions are high, and the desire to impress is high, you can help relax any stress just by throwing out a few compliments here and there.

2. Be patient. Your gaming comrades may not be as fast, as coordinated, or as smart as you. So when you notice your regular game pace slowing down, don’t criticize. You could quietly plan your next move or you could offer to help if you notice that your buddies seem lost. This will encourage cooperation and relive some of the stress involved with playing a difficult game.

3. Take some breaks. Permitting that your group finds appropriate places in a game to pause, take advantage and get up to stretch, snack, use the john, talk about school, or catch a few silly commercials on television. A long stretch of game play is tiring and stressful at the same time.

4. Play an inclusive game. By that we mean to make efforts to ensure everyone in the group contributes to the game’s completion. You never want to make another person feel left out or just hanging around to fill the space. Create opportunities for everyone involved to participate and help play.

5. Listen to others. You may think that you know all the answers about a game or game system, but listen to what others in the group have to say. You just might learn something new.

6. Invite the “weird guy.” This bit of advice of course comes after the horrid Virginia Tech massacre. Tales circulating this news event indicate that the young man responsible was a loner and the victim of bullying during his teenage years as well. Sometimes, all it takes to prevent things like this is a simple effort to reach out to someone. We’re not suggesting that an invitation to a gaming party would have saved the lives of 33+ college students, but we are suggesting that making an effort to make others feel welcome and wanted is a huge step towards eliminating the isolation known to cause these kinds of senseless acts.

7. Vow to keep the voice level and cursing to a minimum. That almost goes without saying, but to prevent arguments, agree beforehand to not cross the line when it comes to debating about a particular strategy or selecting a game to play. Some of the most serious fights stem from the silliest arguments.

But you can prevent a flare up within your group just by maintaining a cool composure during the entire session.Now see? That’s not too bad a list. All the things that we suggested are certainly “do-able” and they really do work to create a calm and enjoyable environment.

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Have you ever fantasized about building a video game environment of your own?

A place where you and your friends could spend hours and hours playing your favorite games without interruption? Or how about a place that really shows off your game skills? It’s really pretty simple to create such a place and you don’t need to rent out a video game hall to do it. I will introduce a few ideas you can use to build the ultimate gaming center.

The first thing that you want to do is maintain a happy household if you’re family member. Trying to play a pro-family game like Super Mario Tetris or Halo 2 can be impossible with kids running around the house and screaming bloody murder. You won’t be able to enjoy the latest role-playing game when the wife’s nagging you about bills or undone chores too. Keep a happy home, keep a happy marriage, and your time spent playing video games is heaven away from heaven.

It’s no secret that some games require as much concentration and focus as when studying for a calculus exam and there’s nothing more frustrating than when you can’t figure out how to get through to the next level of a game. This is no time to be distracted and if home life isn’t what it could be, you’ll never be able to concentrate on your game. Strive to make home a place to unwind first and then work on enjoying your games.

You can next dedicate a place in your home as your exclusive game room. This will not only emphasis the importance that gaming is to you and to your family members as well. It will also become conducive to the mentality that you need to play a fun and relaxing. If budget permitting, decorate the room with all the amenities that you want. You could add a recliner or two for your friends, a small stand to hold snacks, a bookcase for your games, and you could even add a small refrigerator and microwave. Your intent here is to declare the space as yours and that it serves only one purpose: pure gaming pleasure.

What you’re after is a place that’s completely and totally pleasing to you, both aesthetically and functionally so that you’ll enjoy your time there.

With your own space dedicated to gaming, you will want to do what’s necessary to maintain it and keep it in a condition that’s inviting not only for yourself, but for others as well. Keep your equipment and games clean. Take care to keep wires from tangling and organize your magazine subscriptions, books, or Internet cheat-sheet printouts. Maintenance is a task that doesn’t have to burden you as long as you make a daily routine of it. The advantages of keeping a regular maintenance schedule shows that this space is important to you and that you have a right to keep it that way.

But take special care not to alienate yourself from the rest of your family. We all can have a favorite hobby and we can even dedicate a special area of the home to that hobby. However it’s extremely important to regard this place as a haven but not a hide out. It’s not an area to hide from the kids, it’s not a place to shun home responsibilities, and it’s not a place to live. If this special space is approached in the latter manner, you’ll soon discover it as a place of resentment, uncontrollable habit, or even depression. Be careful, schedule time with the family, and enter your playroom at appropriate times. Cooperation from others will then come naturally.