This week brings a relatively middle-of-the-road lineup from all directions, with Guitar Hero focusing on classic rock and Rock Band dishing out a suite of tracks across the spectrum.
This week brings a relatively middle-of-the-road lineup from all directions, with Guitar Hero focusing on classic rock and Rock Band dishing out a suite of tracks across the spectrum.
Wii Fit to Catch Terrorists?
The Department of Homeland Security has been trying out a new project for airport screening called Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST), which measures heart rate, breathing, eye movement, body temperature, and fidgeting, under the assumption that irregularities in any of these measurements could indicate nervousness and possibly an intent to do harm. The device they're currently using to measure fidgeting is none other than a modified Wii Balance Board. Whether the results from the board have actually been useful we cannot say, but this cross between video game technologies and other real-world uses is an interesting one, and we should look for similar uses to come.
Whether you're looking to get sweaty yourself or make virtual people sweat from the comfort of the couch, this is the week for you. With two new fitness games -- Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2010 and The Biggest Loser -- plus a slew of this year's NBA games, it's a sweaty week for games. Spore and Star Wars fans also have new games this week as well.
Nancy Drew has consistently been a popular and powerful role model for girls and women for almost 80 years. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor regularly sites Nancy as a positive and inspirational influence in her life, as do an uncounted number of successful women across the world. This teen detective is the star of the hugely popular series of mystery books published under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, and while newer book titles and films have worked to modernize Nancy, her power as a cultural icon has remained largely unchanged. Nancy's adventurous spirit, good nature, and keen intelligence have been able to charm readers of all ages across the decades, even as the values and roles held by women have undergone numerous changes.
Major licenses and franchises continued their march to the iPhone App Store over the last few weeks, with the release of large apps like Madden NFL 10 and Dexter: The Game, among other anticipated games. But while these larger titles carry some prestige (and execute their licenses with varying degrees of success), it's still the smaller, original titles that tend to keep us pulling out our iPhones at every free moment. Here are our latest picks for great (and cheap!) games on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Why would you want to make your house float up into space? When it comes to the limitless possibilities and potential for weirdness in the gaming world, I suppose the real question to ask is why not? Attaching balloons to your abode seems a good a means as any to slowly launch it skyward, but keeping it afloat is far more challenging than you might think. Sit down for a few minute of Higher!, and you just must not get back up for a few hours. Watch out. The sky is calling.
I might as well get this out of the way: I was not a fan of Wii Fit. Though it was a well-executed game with a strong variety of exercises and admirable ambitions, it didn't work for me, or for many others, as an effective fitness game. I was constantly frustrated that I couldn't get my heart rate up and keep it up because there was so much down-time between exercises. It always felt like I was spending more time navigating the menus and getting feedback than I was actually getting sweaty and fit. Though this new version isn't perfect, Wii Fit Plus comes packed with lots of notable improvements over the original. It includes everything that was in the original game and then some new features and new games to keep you moving even longer.
When I was a kid, most of the video games I played weren't necessarily made for children. I'm not saying there was inappropriate content -- the majority of games were fairly age neutral and by most standards perfectly appropriate for children. I'm speaking more to the difficulty of the games. Popular platforming games on the Super Nintendo, such as Donkey Kong Country and its sequel and Super Mario Bros. and other Mario games, though kid friendly, aren't necessarily known for being easy. In fact, though I didn't have a whole lot of games and largely played the same handful of games over years of my childhood, I also didn't beat most of these games. Luckily I didn't expect to beat them, though of course I was very proud of myself for the few that I was able to complete.
Downloadable games tend not to receive as much hype as their retail, disc-based counterparts, but the PlayStation Network houses some of the best and most unique experiences on the PlayStation 3. With the lower-priced PS3 Slim bringing the console into more homes this fall, we thought it a ripe opportunity to spotlight eight of the best titles available from the PlayStation Store that aren't also found on other consoles. But don't hesitate to look around the virtual marketplace -- there are many more great downloadable games available for PlayStation 3 owners to enjoy!
I’ve always loved a good mystery. Whether I'm reading a novel or watching a film, this genre has been able to keep me hooked to the very end. That’s why it’s so cool that detective-style games have started to appear in the last few years. MySims Agents is a great entry into this expanding genre, with fantastic gameplay combined with the cuteness and humor of the MySims franchise.