Video Games Review

ZT Pro Gaming PC X6647

September 16th, 2007 - No Comments

ZT group’s Pro Gaming PC X6647 looks like a fast PC on paper, but it doesn’t live up to expectations. With Intel’s new 3.73GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition CPU and ATI’s 256MB Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition graphics card, we expected better results. The X6647’s 90.5 frames per second on Half-Life 2 (1,024×768) benchmark test was up to snuff, but its overall application score of 218 on BAPCo SYSmark was low for this processor.

The X6647’s black Cooler Master Cavalier case has an understated design, but it still includes touches gamers will appreciate, a clear side panel, a blue lighting strip, and a blue-lit fan onthe power supply.

The front mounted thermometer is better than the decibel meter, although the PC ran cool andquiet. You’ll find two USB 2.0 ports and a FireWire port up front, along with headphone and microphone jacks. Around back are four more USB 2.0 connectors and two more FireWire ports.

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Sony Quests for Better Online Gaming Auctions

September 14th, 2007 - No Comments

Sony Online Entertainment is launching an online marketplace where fans of its multiplayer games can buy and sell virtual artifacts, a practice it previously discouraged.

The Station Exchange site is apparently in response to the growing underground market for such items. The site will first offer subscribers to Sony’s EverQuest III the option to buy, sell, or trade the right to use specific characters, items, and online funds they have earned playing the video game.

Until now, Sony has been among the most aggressive game makers in restricting sales of such articles, even insisting that all material related to its EverQuest series belongs to the company. For instance, Sony has blocked numerous EverQuest-related auctions on eBay and Yahoo, and convinced both of those sites to ban sales of such items. In addition, Sony has sued othersites specializing in the barter of the online commodities.

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Tags: EverQuest II

My Pet Hotel

September 12th, 2007 - No Comments

My Pet Hotel is a people simulation that replaces most of the human characters with pets. The purpose of the game is to take care of animals for their owners, from cleaning and feeding the animals to teaching them new tricks. The pets in question range from the expected cats,dogs and rabbits to more tricky charges, such as guinea pigs and horses.

Progress is made by meeting scenario objectives; these generally involve maintaining or improving the condition of the animals in your care, and as you advance, new facilities become available with increasingly numerous and challenging jobs coming your way.

Anyone familiar with Sims-style programs should have little trouble getting to grips with My Pet Hotel,and its reasonably linear premise make it ideally suited to younger users. The subject matter itself means it probably won’t be suitable for all tastes,but My Pet Hotel should prove popular for those with an interest in programs that involve people and pet management.

Pippa Funnell 2 – Take the Reins

September 10th, 2007 - 1 Comment

Many won’t recognize her name,but to followers of equine events,PippaFunnell is something of a legend.This second PC game to bear her name will probably be as much interest to non-horsey types as Championship Manager is to football haters, but it’s a fun little title that’s especially good for children.

You play one of five characters learning their craft at Pippa’s Scottish riding school,where you’ll interact in a basic Harry Potter-esque adventure and compete in events around the world. Naturally,the riding is the main selling point,and it’s fun with graphics that roll along smoothly.

There’s little in here that’ll hook gamers looking for long term thrills,but given that there’s not much competition other than the Mary King games,this is a perfectly good horse simulator.

Link: www.pippafunnellgame.com

Viva Pinata X360

September 8th, 2007 - No Comments

Microsoft’s Viva Pinata X360 scrapped it out against Capcom’s Dead Rising for third-place, and Viva Pinata came out on top for its addictive, original gameplay, beautifully stylized graphics, innovative Xbox Live! integration, and family-friendly content. This is the 360’s sleeper game of the year; it also managed to be the most interesting and enjoyable game released by developer Rare since its acquisition by Microsoft. Next up,Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas featured a squad based tactical experience in a virtual Las Vegas. Solid gameplay mechanics for cover and rappelling made the game accessible for even less experienced gamers, and the numerous multiplayer options guarantee a lengthy stay on your 360. That leaves Microsoft’s Gears Of War as our top-dog game. Developer Epic created an intense duck-and-cover third-person shooter experience that made the 360 a must-have console for the holiday season. The awe-inspiring graphics and atmosphere made the PC quake in its proverbial DX9 boots.

The fresh take on the overcrowded shooter genre along with the jump-in co-op and visceral multiplayer experience pushed GoW to the top of the heap.

Get a copy here: Viva Pinata X360

Tags: Viva Pinata X360, XBox 360

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

September 6th, 2007 - No Comments

There were a number of great games for the PS2 in 2006 despite developers’ eagerness to jump on the next-gen bandwagon, including especially Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, which improved on 2004’s fantastic MGS3 by adding a ridiculous variety of new gameplay modes and bonus content all for $29.99, and Activision’s Guitar Hero II.

When you see people playing GHII in Best Buy it’s hard not to scoff, but take it home and see if you don’t play until your fingers bleed. In the end, however, there can be only one, and our pick for PS2 Game of the Year is Final Fantasy XII from the excellent folks at Square Enix. There’s a truckload of console RPGs out there to choose from, and the bulk of them are pretty forgettable, but if you are a fan (or even if you’ve never played an RPG) you owe it to yourself to play FFXII.

Don’t miss this games: Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence

Tags: Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

Games Make A Smooth Next-Gen Transition

September 4th, 2007 - No Comments

Transition years usually are tough on the video game industry. When last-generation machines lose their luster and the installed base of next-gen consoles slowly ramps up, game sales suffer. Not this time. NPD reports that games sales were up 11% so far in 2007, and that was before a holiday season that will see the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 join the Xbox 360 on the market. Apparently, people are still buying hundreds of thousands of PS2 games each month and spending a lot of time with the Nintendo DS handheld. Who needs a next-gen console when the last one is doing just fine?

Tags: Games, Next-Gen Transition