Popgames recently lowered the price on their iPhone version of Peggle on the app store for a limited time.  Of course, at only 99 cents, its hard to refuse, so I bought my first copy of Peggle to try on the growingly popular mobile platform.  The experience translates well and maintains its addictive game play.

The first impression Peggle makes is in its vivid title screen.  As the game loads, music plays, as if the game were waking up.  Short bites of witting writing accompany the loading bar.  Phrases like “turning gears,” or “coming up with witty sayings” break the barrier between the player and the game.  Any pessimism towards the colorful graphics and charm is assuaged.

The main menu is the next screen the player sees.  Here you’ll select from the adventure, quick play, challenge, and duel modes.  Selecting one of these will bring the player to the specific game mode.  Each offers the same core element of play, but the subtle nuances will add replay value.  Even if you’ve already mastered the adventure mode, challenge mode will ramp up the difficulty and the specific objective of play.  Quick play is titled appropriately as people who are messing around with your iPhone (how dare they!) will probably want to jump right into the game.  Duel mode is the only multiplayer mode and it focuses on you and another player passing the phone back and forth while competing for the most points.

The general premise of Peggle is best conveyed through the adventure mode.  In adventure mode, you’ll learn the basic ins and outs of Peggle play as each board increases in difficulty.  Peggle is basically a fancy game of Plinko (from The Price is Right).  You’ll aim your peggle ball from the top of the board.  After firing, your peggle ball will react according to natural physics, bouncing off the pegs.  Each peg is color coded.  In order to clear a board, you must hit each orange peg.  Blue pegs are extra points, while green pegs enable special abilities.  You’ll rack up points as you ricochet around the board, until you finally fall off the bottom.  If your ball lands in the moving cup, you’ll get an extra shot.  Generally you’ll have 10 shots to begin with.

What makes Peggle so special?  Why do people play Peggle?  Plainly put, Peggle makes the player feel empowered.  The average shot will rack up tens of thousands of points.  And the game lets you know this through big sound effects and colors.  The final shot that clears the last orange peg is accompanied by a drastic zoom in.  As the peggle ball nears the last peg, slow mo raises the drama.  Near misses will have a player smacking their forehead.  But you’re never afraid of trying again, because when you do finally clear the board, Beethoven blasts and fire works fly.  This all adds together to make you feel like you’ve gotten the highest score imaginable.  Players who want to get a little deeper into the game will want to check out their stats and attempt to increase their score.

Unfortunately, the Peggle sale has ended, but you can still snag the game at a mere 4.99 on the App store.  Honestly, I was considering picking up the downloadable title at that price but was reluctant.  Look out for another sale as current sales die down again.  If you want to try before you buy you can probably find a trial version of Peggle somewhere around the internet, but this will be for the PC version.  Even so, the iPhone version is nearly identical to the PC version so very little will be lost in the translation.

_{You can read more of Daniel’s writing on video games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.}

There were plenty of games at this years E3, and plenty of people to see them and play them too.  Over 40,000 people were in attendance over the course of three days.  Some of them were mere enthusiasts, some were journalists, and some were business types.  All of these people were shown games in development, unfinished products of imagination and marketing, but which of these games had the best showing?  Which needed more work?  Here’s a quick review of all of the titles That’s the Name of the Game saw over the past three days.

THE BEATLES ROCK BAND: We already wrote up our impressions of the fab four’s debut in video game form, but it goes without saying that this title is definitely ready for the masses.

ALAN WAKE: Alan Wake is a psychological thriller about a writer unraveling the mystery surrounding his latest novel and his wife’s disappearance.  The developers have used light and dark to create drama in the plot-centered video game that has been long in development for the Xbox 360.  We saw the developers present the game behind closed doors and it looks like its coming along well.  Certain effects look great but hopefully the textures will be cleaned up a little bit more.  Overall, Alan Wake made a great impression on us.

ARMY OF TWO THE 40TH DAY: This sequel from Electronic Arts seemed enticing, certainly enough to reserve our doubts and check it out.  Unfortunately it failed to wow us.  Having played some of the original title (Army of Two), I was hoping that the developers were making some changes in order address some of the failings we found in the first title.  During the demonstration we noted a low frame rate, and kind of boring gameplay.  Army of Two focuses heavily on co op tactics, but beyond that we didn’t see much that the game had to offer.  One scene however was pretty cool.  As the two player controlled characters made their way through an office, the roof is literally ripped off right over their heads.  Maybe if these dynamic environments played a bigger role in the game we could stick around through the end.

MASS EFFECT 2:  Despite not having played the original Mass Effect title, we were still enticed by Bioware’s long track record of putting out quality titles.  Having seen the demonstration behind closed doors at Electronic Arts’ booth, we can say that Mass Effect 2 is utilizing an extremely dynamic cinematic quality that was constantly raising our blood pressure.  In the first sequence, the hero came into contact with a deadly assassin after blasting through numerous fire fights.  This scene highlighted the dynamic conversation dialogue choices players would make in the game.  The second scene was on board a space ship consumed in flames, damaged, and about to crash into the planet’s surface.  The graphics showcased in this scene were fantastic, as was the difference between the ship consumed in flames and the outside of the ship devoid of sound because of the vacuum of space.  Mass Effect 2 should definitely be one to watch.

We’ll have more previews for you later.  Until the next game, we’re going to rest our traveled feet.

You can check out more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

I saw MTV Games and Harmonix present this band-specific iteration of Rock Band today at E3.  They had constructed a set made to look like the famous Abbey Road recording studio.  Inside, we sat in rows as the developers took the stage.  They introduced the game and walked us through the menus.  They explained some key features and tweaks they had made to the typical Rock Band title to make it more accessible to new players attracted by The Beatles moniker.  No-Fail Mode is on automatically so that brand new players aren’t scared away their first time.  And new players will definitely be making their way to Rock Band.

The game is set to launch in the fall to coincide with the shopping season.  Harmonix and MTV Games are hoping that two things will be under the tree for people of all ages, of all places, and especially those that have never owned a video game system before.  The first will be a Playstation 3, an Xbox 360, or (even more likely) a Nintendo Wii.  The second item will be a set of The Beatles Rock Band.  I say a set because a lot is packed into that box.  The first is a microphone, possibly even 3 microphones.  The game allows for harmonizing of up to three vocalists.  The second item is a guitar controller made to look like a guitar used by a Beatle.  The third is another guitar replica.  The last is a newly designed drum set that even comes with a decorative drum plate.

You would be correct in thinking that this all will cost plenty.  But with more people staying at home, video games are a growing past time and what could be more fun than an elaborate form of karaoke?  Really that’s all it is, but Rock Band puts smiles on people faces because of the success people feel when playing an instrument and hearing their favorite music.  Now you’ll be smiling because that music will be the songs of The Beatles.

The menus and visuals have all be redesigned to reflect the band and the personality of the music.  The developers have even considered Historical accuracy saying that the studio-only albums of The Beatles will not be played in front of crowds in the game.  Instead they’ve created what they call “dreamscapes” that will amplify the colorful songs.

Having played a pair of songs after the demonstration, we can report that playing the music of The Beatles is definitely fun, and extremely satisfying.  We can also report that despite some of the tweaks made to make the game more attractive to less experienced players, The Beatles Rock Band retains a lot challenge when played at the higher difficulties.  The Beatles Rock Band is scheduled for a fall release on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii.

You can check out more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

All of the characters come out at video gaming's big show.

Lots of big news is piling out of E3 2009, and today is only the first day the Exhibit doors are open.  Of course it helps that Microsoft, Ubisoft, and EA (three of the biggest exhibitors) held their individual press conferences yesterday.  Nintendo and Sony had their press conferences this morning.  All together, there was a lot of news to process.

Microsoft holds the Xbox 360 platform.  During their press conference yesterday they showed off some of the exclusive titles that were coming to the 360 in the next year.  They also announced upcoming Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm integration with their 360 operating system.  More interesting was the revelation of motion camera technology.

Microsoft’s plans for this new technology was for people who were too intimidated by video game controllers to be able to affect what’s on screen without having to pick anything up.  Playing a sports game like tennis would involve the player to merely swing their arm as if they were holding a tennis racket (even though nothing would be in their hand).

Microsoft also announced a second Halo game.  After showing a demo of the upcoming Halo: ODST title, the Bungie representative announced that Halo: REACH would be release in 2010.  Despite Master Chief’s swan song in Halo 3, Bungie and Microsoft still have plenty of the Halo universe to cover.

Big titles were also detailed at the Electronic Arts and Ubisoft press conferences.  You can expect Assassin’s Creed II later this year as the sequel takes the silent assassin action to Italy.  You’ll find yourself equipped with Da Vinci’s inventions as you take on the aristocracy in Venice.  EA will be publishing Tim Schafer (of Monkey Island fame) title Brutal Legend this fall.

I got a chance to play the demo for Brutal Legend on the show floor today.  The humor, while mature, is cartoony, and Jack Black’s voice acting breathes character into the lead Eddie Riggs.  Eddie is a roadie who is transported to another dimension that blends metal music with mythology.  You’ll attack enemies with an ax and your guitar (also an ax).  The game also features a system that has the player playing notes on the guitar to open new areas or activate events (much like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s ocarina mechanic).

Nintendo announced lots of games (with few extra peripherals).  New Super Mario Bros. will bring a new 2D Mario title to the Wii, while Super Mario Galaxy 2 won’t be released this year, it’ll follow up the 2D action with more interstellar Goomba-stomping.  Nintendo also pulled the veil off of Wii Fit Plus and provided more details about Wii Sports Resort.  Both will improve upon the much played Wii titles through the inclusion of deeper, more varied games.  While Wii Fit Plus improves on both the number of games and the accuracy of the balance board, Wii Sports Resorts introduces many new games while only retaining Tennis and Bowling from the original Wii Sports.  Wii Sports Resort will also come packed together with the Wii Motion Plus technology.  This small add on adds extra functionality and sensitivity to the Wii Remote.

Sony showed off some of their hotly anticipated titles like God of War 3.  Possibly the biggest news from Sony was what we had already heard about.  The Playstation Portable will see a new iteration in the form of the PSP-Go!, a handheld that forgoes disc based media for 16 gigs of flash memory.  Titles will be downloaded from the Playstation Network store.  The PSP-Go! also features a new aesthetic by taking the shape of a smaller device with slide out controls.

Tomorrow will bring further game demos, as well as That’s the Name of the Game’s preview of the upcoming Beatles: Rock Band title.

You can check out more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

Unfortunately, the public relations department can get a little wild over this.  Knowing full well what an excitable bunch gamers are, they’ll prey on that weakness in order to build hype for their games and in turn build monstrous sales.

In fact, I remember two years ago, at E3 2007, I wasn’t much of a fan of the Call of Duty series.  It was just another WWII shooter to me.  Then I saw the demonstration of CoD 4: Modern Warfare.  In it, the player is a sniper disguised in an advanced cammoflauge suit, with another sniper, they sneak through a level, passing by guards, until finally they have to lay prone in a field that becomes overrun with enemies and even tanks.  It blew me away, the gameplay, the graphics, the aesthetic, everything seemed really put together, really polished, and I’m sure hooking undecided gamers like me was what they were aiming to do.

Now, on the eve of another E3, the hype train is rolling again.  Unfortunately it appears to have pulled into the station a little early.

Take for example the screen shot from above.  It was taken from a teaser trailer that teases another trailer.  The gaming populace is being enticed with a few seconds of in-game footage in order to get them excited for a mere minute of in-game footage.  It’s a little ridiculous, in my opinion.  Why are we being led on like this?

Here’s another example: Kojima Productions, house of legendary game designer Hideo Kojima, recently published a web page with a countdown clock.  Much speculation was had: could it be another edition to Kojima’s blockbuster Metal Gear Solid series?  Or, could it be a teaser for an old Kojima title called “Snatcher,” whose last iteration was seen on the Sega Saturn game system two console generations ago?

When the countdown clock finally reached zero, more time was added.

I understand that PR is a means of generating sales, communicating with your customers, and generally “relating to the public.”  But this is rediculous.  Games are a very frivolous pursuit in life, I understand that, but if you care about something, it isn’t fun to be teased like a dog.

Luckily, the gaming public is a vocal bunch, and when PR goes a little overboard, we speak back.  Hype can kill a game too.  If a game is overhyped and sales don’t meet up to expectations, it can kill careers.  Hopefully that end won’t come to anyone as a result of these teasers, especially in this economic climate.  Instead, I just hope that these tactics find a nice place to quietly die.  They are tired and lazy PR tactics that much of the gaming community has started to decry.

Luckily, I’m still excited.

You can check out more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

“The Long Tail” is a term used describing a video game that continues to sell long after its initial release.  A good example of a video game with a long tail would be Mario Kart DS, which has sold nearly 15 million copies world wide.  That is a huge statistic for a video game.  Rarely will a video game sell monumental amounts of copies, but with the advent of the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii, new demographics have opened up for companies looking to sell more copies of their software.  While titles like Nintendogs and Wii Fit will always be in demand by new owners of video game consoles, companies are trying to extend this “Long Tail” sales philosophy to more hardcore-centric titles.

What happens when the core video game demographic is marketed to?  The core video game demographic tends to buy titles immediately, and then pass on the ones they don’t pick up right away.  As the business side of the video game industry starts to attack this issue in order to increase sales, we see tactics like those of developers Valve and Criterion Games rise in popularity.  These methods of development take titles and continuously shake them in front of gamers in an effort to keep the attention and the sales driving forward.

First off is Valve’s Team Fortress 2.  TF2 launched packed together with other Valve titles like Half-Life 2 and Portal, and while those titles certainly made a splash together when they were released back in 2007, TF2 has been continuously updated.  Every other month one of the character classes in the game will receive an update.  New weapons, achievements, maps, and game modes will be released for the PC version of the game.  More and more gamers will buy the game with each update and as such Valve has seen specific sales spikes every time they have an update or free-play weekend for the game.  This allows Valve continued sales, marketing, and awareness.

Criterion Games has also continuously updated their title Burnout Paradise, an open-world racing game where players can commune online and crash into eachother across “Paradise City.”  At the outset, updates merely fixed bugs and glitches, but those were followed quickly by updates that included more game modes to play with friends, and the addition of motorcycles.  As Criterion’s updates grew in size and content, they started to charge for each update.  While this might turn off some gamers, many more jumped on board in order to further their experience in Paradise City.

Long tail sales might seem out of reach for many developers, but its an ideal that many strive for.  As the video game industry transforms into a a business at the front of an economy struggling to reestablish itself, more and more of these business terms will come to the fore front.  As game budgets get bigger and bigger, more of these sales models will have to be developed to make ends meet for the developers that remain open through the recession.  If not, we’ll all be forced to play iPhone games for the rest of our lives.

You can check out more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo is coming up in just a few weeks.  The show runs three days (go figure) from June 2nd to June 4th, and already the hype train is rolling into each and every station.  Companies are holding back announcements, reveals, and especially any and all screenshots and videos of the new games that they’ll have at the show.  Its a media blitz, a PR killing machine, a exposition of electronic entertainment!  Well, it’d have to be….

This is kind of a big deal.  You see, two years ago, the Entertainment Software Association (they act as a lobbying group for the video game industry and run E3 as a trade show) decided collectively that they had had enough of all the spectacle and flash, and especially the huge amounts of money companies would throw at the event to hype their upcoming games.  E3 became an invite only, private, and especially quiet show in Santa Monica, as opposed to taking up the entire LA convention center.

This turned out to be a big downer, and people just didn’t care.  The ESA lost a few of its biggest members and everyone’s general opinion of the organization fell.

Now E3 returns to the LA convention center and it has made for a slow news… month!  I usually keep myself tapped into what’s going on in the industry, what’s being announced, what games are being worked on, what new footage is being revealed… but lately, there’s been nothing!  Luckily, all this waiting will hopefully payoff with some big announcements.

Both Microsoft and Sony are rumored to be showing new motion controllers (or motion capturing device in Microsoft’s case), Activision will probably have lots of new information on the sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Nintendo might have some games that don’t involve minigames (maybe a new Zelda or Mario title!).

Maybe that’s what’s so appealing about E3 to the hardcore gamer.  It’s the unknown: video games, and gamers by association, are all about the future.  The medium relies on the newest technology; we always want to experience new things in video games; and there’s a high amount of secrecy between game developers and the community because excitement drives sales.  What do you think we’ll see at E3?  What do you hope to see?

You can check out more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

One of the survivors, Louis, is being pulled by a "Smoker" infected.

Last year saw quite the influx of zombie-related media, and video games were no different. EA released Dead Space, and the Playstation Network which plays host to many downloadable games was the platform for “The Last Guy.” While both titles had great spins on the undead-horror theme, neither made as big a splash as Valve’s Left 4 Dead.

The game pits four survivors against hordes of “infected.”  Mankind has suffered a bizarre rabies-like virus outbreak and the four survivors are immune to the infection.  As they traverse four campaigns they fight off countless enemies as well as “special infected,” zombies who have special skills like being able to lasso survivors and pull them away from the group or a “tank infected” who’s large amount of hit points allow him to steam roll the survivors.

The four campaigns are available from the first time you launch Left 4 Dead and can be played through by your lonesome with AI controlled partners or with three of your friends online.

The real fun is in Versus Mode.  In Versus, players can take control of the special-infected and attempt to take down the survivors.  The balancing is excellent with each side challenging each other despite the difference in play styles and the powers afforded to the players on either side.

I’ve been playing around with Left 4 Dead for a couple of weeks now and it keeps drawing me back for more.  There’s a certain panic that is shared between you and your cohorts as a survivor and a certain pleasure when playing as an infected taking down the survivors in coordinated attacks.

Maybe playing both sides gives you a sense of where the other players are as you attack.   As a survivor, you know that the infected players will try to attack at certain points and in certain formations.  As an infected, you know you’re inducing a panic that will only further the damage you do to the survivors.

Its this sense of duality to the game that breathes new life into the zombie-horror genre, not to mention the cooperative efforts you make when playing with others.

The survivors are tasked with making it through a campaign.

Working together will offer plenty of incentive to try again as the game’s unique “A.I. director” throws different obstacles at the survivors every playthrough.  Theoretically, you’ll never experience a campaign the same way.

And it works.  I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Left 4 Dead on the PC (its also available for Xbox 360).  Playing with friends is a blast and the experience is never the same twice.  Playing as the infected does have a certain feeling to it and there is a high difficulty curve when trying to take down the survivors, but with practice you start to learn points on each map where attacking will yield the most damage and points where staying back and waiting with your fellow infected is the best plan.

If you have a Windows PC you can try the game for FREE today by download the Steam client from Valve and running a free trial of the game (which ends tonight at midnight).  Left 4 Dead is also at a discounted price all weekend at 23.99 (regular price 39.99).  Run over to www.steampowered.com for more details and to download Steam.

You can check out more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

The beginning of the competition was arduous, as fights were quick 3 out of 5 matches.  Much of the action was hard to keep up with since two fights were taking place at the same time.  Even commentator, Seth Killian, struggled to maintain narration of simultaneous fights.  Despite this difficulty, Killian provided colorful commentary as Special Advisor for Street Fighter IV’s development and as the founder of the EVO Champion Series.

The first round of matches clearly established Mike Ross (E. Honda) and Justin Wong (Rufus) as the top contenders.  Eventually, opposition was whittled down to the two fighting for the crown.

As the music swelled and the audience chanted the names of each respected player, Ross and Wong approached the stage once again for the final showdown.  The fight was initially slow to start, each player hesitant to make the first move.  Ross, however, was first to the offense, commencing the heated battle.  Eventually, Wong dominated in the first round and turned to his opponent with an air of intimidation.  Wong confidently celebrated this first victory as he hassled Ross and practically “threw it in his face.”

Each victory saw Wong dealing big damage to Ross.  Wong succeeded in winning rounds 1, 2, 4, and 5, while Ross prevented a shut-out by winning round 3.  After his ultimate victory, Wong was presented with a large, silver trophy, a one-of-a-kind black belt, and a over-sized certificate declaring his admittance to EVO 2009.

Fellow international competitors Poongko of Korea, Japanese arcade tournament champion Iyo, and widely-acclaimed Street Fighter Daigo Umehara, were also present at the competition and participated in a round-robin exhibition tournament with newly championed Wong.  Gamestop invited these special guests to participate as a preview of what may come in the EVO Championship Series.

Each competitor faced one another in consecutive rounds that seemed to double in intensity compared to those of the national competition.  Poongko led fierce attacks in each round, but ended up losing to each of his opponents.  Iyo held his own, despite losing to Wong and Daigo.  Ultimately, Daigo lived up to his reputation as the world’s best Street Fighter and won an all expense paid trip the the 2009 EVO Championship Series in Las Vegas.

If you’re interested in watching the highlights of the tournament, there are plenty of clips available on YouTube.  Be sure to be on the lookout for coverage on the 2009 EVO Championship Series.  If it’s anything like the Street Fighter IV National Tournament you can count on some fierce fighting and round-to-round excitement.

Daniel will be back next week, in the mean time you can see more of his writing and more of Jenna’s photos at http://wellspringgames.blogspot.com.

Image copyright Ubisoft via Wikipedia

Late last year, Ubisoft released another iteration to their popular Prince of Persia series.  At the time, reviews were favorable, noting the game’s art style.  Critics also noted that the game was very easy, almost holding your hand while you traversed the dangerous landscape in the game.

This mechanic came with the inclusion of Elika, a princess your character is trying to assist in returning her land to a state of peace, ridding it of a powerful God named Ahramin.  There are a lot of layers here, and the story is extremely developed.  It takes its material from what Wikipedia refers to as “Zoroastrianism.”  While this is all very interesting, the player has the option to completely pass over the details.

And that’s perfectly fine too.  Why?  Because Prince of Persia is absolutely gorgeous.  Everything is detailed, layered, colorful, lively, bright (even when its dark), imaginative, –I can’t say enough about the visuals.

The game engine is heavily modified with a lot of cel-shading and vivid textures.  Everything seems to breathe despite the fact that it may not interact with the player.  The same engine powers Assassin’s Creed and Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway.  I think its safe to say that I hope Ubisoft continues to use this engine, tweaking it to fit the game’s mood and style as well as it has in Prince of Persia.

But back to the “hand-holding.”  It’s really odd splitting my gaming time between Street Fighter IV and Prince of Persia.  They seem like polar opposites on the difficulty scale.  But what I wonder most is whether or not I would be OK with PoP’s difficulty if it weren’t so gosh darn gorgeous?  Maybe… Video games follow cultural trends all the time, and the downturn of difficulty in games is something that’s been happening over time.  But really, being able to walk through Prince of Persia really makes it seem MORE like art.  Hear me out: for me, in order for something to be considered art, people have to have the ABILITY to appreciate it.  Nevermind whether or not they appreciate it, they at least have to be able to see it (or hear it, or feel it, whatever medium the art is in…).  So, as games, or gamers really, try more and more to define video games as art, more and more people are going to have to be able to experience them all the way through.  That’s what Prince of Persia can do.  While people are experiencing the Wii, flailing about playing Wii Sports will not convince anyone that video games are artistic in anyway.  But at least maybe it will open the door to other games, like Prince of Persia.

While this isn’t a review, and I’m a little late to the party as the game was released way back in December, I would highly recommend PoP to anyone and everyone.  It is a great example of what the medium can do and it won’t break your dedication, or put you off video games.  If you don’t want to sit through very much story, you won’t have to, but there’s plenty there to enjoy if you want.  Prince of Persia is available on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC, and Mac.

You can check out more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

The short story is that I’m addicted.  The fighting is fast, furious, and fun.  There are some great characters and the challenge is on par with what I feel fighting games should be at (which is high.  Fighting games were always about the arcade experience, laying down quarters to claim the next round, constantly filling the machine with change in order to beat the final boss).

Unfortunately, the challenge has also fueled some hate-filled rage at my controller.

The last boss of the arcade mode, Seth, is so infuriatingly cheap, and I’m playing on the easiest difficulty level!  Any fighter I throw at Seth will come away bruised and beaten numerous times before I manage to continuously use kicks to sweep his legs off the ground and keep him in the corner.

I will say that the difficulty has only made me hungry.  I’ve played training mode, I’ve gone through a lot of combo tutorials.  I’m even looking at tutorials on youtube for help with the game!

What has me so determined?  Why am I not walking away from a game that seems to mock my very being?

There was a time in video games where players would find themselves throwing and abusing their controllers in rage at almost every game.  Lately though, video game developers are on this kick about assisting players, allowing all users to enjoy the full experience their money buys them.  I can appreciate that.  If I spend $60 on a game and the final levels are too difficult for me to play through, I’d be pretty upset.

While games like last December’s Prince of Persia are definitely narrative driven, Street Fighter IV is a different breed.  Games can be skill based too, requiring users to have a fair amount of practice and time invested in order to play at high levels.  Games like this certainly lend themselves to competition too. I don’t see any Prince of Persia tournaments popping up anytime soon.

I guess I’m just not good enough.  Try as I might, am I going to be able to best another Street Fighter?  Maybe not, but I’ll continue playing SF IV in the hopes that I’ll get better at some point.

Luckily, my controller survived the vicious attack waged by my foot.  I’ll be playing a little more SF IV today against some real people and my hope is that I’ll find some sort of skilled growth in one of the many matches I’ll fail.  In short: its really fun, it feels like an old-school arcade brawler, but it still has very deep mechanics that only the most practiced fighters will be able to tap into.  The gameplay is great, and the visual style and aesthetic is also outstanding.  The animations are crisp, fluid, and they look very organic.  Nothing seems forced, but it all comes off flashy too.  You can pick Street Fighter IV up for either the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3 for about $60.

You can read more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

Nintendo is releasing their third iteration of their popular hand-held console this week.  The Nintendo DSi features a few improvements over the previous model (Nintendo DS Lite), while also lacking a pretty significant hardware feature the previous two DS units had.

First, the DSi has two cameras, one mounted on the front of the device, and another on the inside of the consoles hinge, pointed at the player.  To accompany these cameras, the DSi comes with some light photo editing software.  Maybe you’ve seen the ad featuring this software. The DSi also has slightly larger screens than the previous iteration as well as software side features that enhance usability and the fun you can have before even putting a cartridge in the unit.

The DSi also has some internal memory (as well as an SD card slot for further memory expansion) so that programs can be downloaded and saved to the system.  The hope is that users will download games from the same Wii Ware service that hosts classic titles and smaller games that can be downloaded from Nintendo’s online service.

The major drawback that has a lot of hardcore gamers questioning the release of this new release of the DS is that it lacks the Gameboy Advance slot its predecessors have, effectively ending the backwards compatibility with all of your old Game Boy games.

Honestly, I was very skeptical about the DSi when I heard it was missing that key feature.  I know I still have a lot of old games and without that backwards compatibility, I feel like I’m missing out on something.  Plus, I’ve already gone from the original DS (coined “DS Phat”) to the DS Lite.

So how is it that I find myself wanting one, two days before its release?  I’ve already bought 2 forms of the Nintendo DS, and I’m being lured back in for another go around.  I’m almost disgusted with myself.  I must be some kind of Nintendo fanboy, or they’re using mind control and subversive psychotherapy in their commercials.

It is so tempting!  My brother is the most regular user of my DS Lite, so I find myself mulling it over in my mind, could I get a DSi to play with him?

When I first read about the DSi, I thought that it would never sell.  In Japan, almost everyone who can possibly afford one owns a DS Lite, and the sales of the system there are lagging.  The release of the DSi saw a sudden spike in sales all over again.  2 million DSi units have been sold since release!  How is this possible?  With the economy in the state it is (Japan’s is no different) how can the DSi be selling to all of these people, some of which have already bought DS units?  I suppose I would be a good case-study for this question.

Well?  Will anyone out there be getting themselves a DSi unit?  The release is on Sunday and so far, Gamestop has reported that preorders for the unit are off the charts.  It’s stunning really, a testament to Nintendo’s ability to market to the masses.  I just can’t believe that they’ll have done it three times over.

You can read more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

Despite this, every year sees more big names announcing even bigger titles.  Nintendo announced a new game that makes use of the Wii Fit balance board and Infinity Ward announced the release date of their sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (11.10.09).

The biggest news for the video game industry might have come from a company that even the most dedicated gamer has never heard of.  OnLive is a service that promises to bring the newest and biggest games to your computer or TV with little to no technology on the user end.  The idea is that users will pay a subscription fee and OnLive with remove the hardware from the user experience.

The premise is pretty simple.  The user logs on to the OnLive service and selects which game they would like to play.  Through their broadband internet connection, the game is streamed to the user.  While the controller input is being made on the user’s end, all of the processing and rendering is made by the OnLive service’s hardware.  Users can play on their PC or Mac, as well as on their TV utilizing what OnLive calls their “OnLive Microconsole.”

Why is this important?  Why should I care?  The biggest value proposition that OnLive presents to gamers is that upgrading your computer is no longer necessary.  As is, presumably, buying a new console every 5 years.  Now all you need to do is maintain your broadband connection, as well as your subscription to the OnLive service.  How is this revolutionary?  Console manufacturers generally lose money on their newest consoles.  Their bottom line is always helped out by the sale of games with those new consoles.  Now, with internet speeds reaching higher and higher, the hardware market can be cut out and games can be streamed into the player’s household, a lot like Youtube, or Netflix’s streaming services.

This sounds great doesn’t it?  But maybe it sounds a little too good.

Gamers are crying foul because of the logistics of the service.  OnLive promises to send a lot of information back and forth between the gamer and their servers.  OnLive service centers will be some distance away from the user of course, and information will take a matter of time to travel back and forth.

The first step is for the user to push a button on their controller.  That information must be sent to the OnLive service center.  Then the OnLive service center has to register this button-push with the game running on their hardware.  Then the game has to react to that input.  Then OnLive must send result of this button push back to the user.  Then the user has to react to what happens.

All of this information traveling would supposedly result in some drastic lag, possibly even making games unplayable.  Even if the information can travel that fast, imagine hundreds of thousands of users all using the service at the same time.  How could it work?

Gamers might be in the right in their disbelief, but we’ll see more for ourselves when the service launches possibly later this year.

Find out more at Onlive.com.

You can read more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.

When was the last time you took control?

How do you define video games?  When you think of “gamer” do you think of a face lit up by a bright screen?  Is it late at night with a complicated controller in hand?  As video games grow, so should the definition of the “gamer.”

The general public’s definition of gamer is vastly different than that of the video game publisher’s or the video game developers.  You might not notice it, but the public is constantly being marketed to by the video game industry.   Web portals like Yahoo have full blown games-reporting on an industry specific page.  AOL owns Weblogs incorporated which runs the Joystiq blog.  Games are a big deal and the mainstream’s interest is starting to pique.  Let me explain.

Recently, Nintendo has reignited the general public’s fascination of video games with its Wii console.  10.7 million Wiis were sold last year alone, and it continues to sell like hot cakes.  As Nintendo rakes in the dough, the rest of the video game industry is playing catch up.  The Xbox 360 launched a brand new interface called the New Xbox Experience before the sales rush of the winter holidays, making the “Dashboard” more user friendly, even including an avatar system, not unlike Nintendo’s Mii avatars.  In this way, publishers and developers are creating new video games specifically taylored to the people who haven’t played games for 10 years, or those who have never played video games for that matter.

Where does that leave the general public?  It opens the door for all the countless ways the publishers and developers will try to sell games.  It also allows the video game industry to redefine “gamer,” and you can bet they’re going to cast a wide net.  Here’s an exercise: next time you get on the bus, or take a flight, see how many people are playing Nintendo DS, or Playstation Portable.  How many of those players are children?  How many of those players are adults?  How many are senior citizens?  The demographics of the average gamer is changing.  Just remember what defines a game.

Do you play games on your phone?  The video game industry wants you.  Do you play flash games online?  The video game industry wants you.  Do you play solitaire at work?  Do you commute on the train to work?  Are you traveling in the next month?  The video game industry wants you.  Every console and handheld manufacturer is counting on their machines ability to attract new users.  Nintendo has shown that the new demographics are where the game industry will find its economic growth, despite the current situation.

As the Wii proves that anyone can be a gamer, the industry is going to advertise to everyone.  You don’t have to wave a Wii-remote to get into games.  Try anything!  When you think about it, there are plenty of video games at your finger tips, so don’t think you have to look very hard, and don’t be afraid to talk to people about the games you’ve been playing!

Welcome, new gamers!  The video game industry wants you to play their games.  But how are they going to do it?  What will get you into the gaming scene?  That’s the name of the game.

You can check out more of Daniel’s writing on Video Games at playreadwrite.blogspot.com.