Electronic Arts Shank – Game Review

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It seems that gaming industry hasn’t yet ended its surprises for newer types of games. Risks are always taken for making things more complex; however, EA has reversed the trend by being risky for trying something too simple. EA is about to unleash its latest action game for Xbox users called “Shank”. When we hear of things going more of 3 D, EA is going for a 2D game experiment.

Shank is a fighting game with a comic style background for each fight scenario. The game which has already started receiving applause in demo, is grabbing a lot of attention towards itself. Shank is a single player game with a lot of fighting scenarios. Shank is a side scrolling action game with a story that primarily revolves around a revenge plot netted around Shank. The story also explains in part the reasons for his extreme desire to take revenge. The demo of the game showed a duo version however as mentioned earlier, in the release version of the game it will all be on you to fight through the game single handedly.

Don’t get eluded by the term 2 D. The game has a lot of fight in it for you and you also have a lot of weapon choices to combat your enemy. Stabbing your enemies, shooting them in the head, or killing them in any other way you like can soothe your ravaging nerves. The game looks too simple and cartoon like to you, but there have been special effects added for the death and fight scenes with blood flying all over the screen. An amputated head remains on the screen for some time before it disappears to remind you of what just happened. The game also includes some strip violent scenes which is why it is advised that parent’s have a clear understanding of what they want their children to see before allowing them to play the game.

Kinect or Project Natal for Xbox 360

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The long talked about Project Natal for Xbox 360 is unusual and exotic in its appeal for the audience. The device is an add-on to the Xbox 360 and eliminates the need of having a controlling device to play games. The controller-free platform unveiled will be commercially available in the market around November 2010. User interfaces have changed many shapes in the past and each time they have added to the quality of game play offered. This new interface is called the natural user interface in which a user can interact with the console through spoken commands, objects, images or posing gestures. No official word has been out on the price of this gamers dream machine however the retailers are known to be booking an advanced order for $150. The device is designed to be placed under the video displaying unit. It is loaded with advanced technology features like facial recognition, voice recognition and sensitivity to capture three dimensional motions. The device doesn’t need special empty room for proper working and its built-in features are able to detect the settings automatically like furniture placed in the room.

According to the latest available information, Kinect can accommodate up to six people simultaneously involved in the game play. The displaying unit enables a wide viewing angle both horizontally as well as vertically. The new controller-free styled gaming device Kinect is said to have a lot of games specially developed for it. Earlier rumors suggested that with the launch of Project Natal Microsoft would also introduce a new gaming console for its Xbox 360 series, though this news had been dismissed by Microsoft. Microsoft cleared it to all the audience that the new device (which is Kinect now known) would be compatible with all the Xbox360 versions. Wii has already been the market leader in providing physical fitness games and Microsoft is entering the market with the aim of gaining some of that market share as well. The wait though unavoidable seems too long for Xbox fans.

Civilization V – Game Preview

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Civilization is a turn-based strategic video game with a continuing chain of sequels for its different installments. The game has been built around the same philosophy, it is well known for. The player has to start building a civilization from scratch (pre-historic set of circumstances) to bring it into a modern era on the given game map. The process involves intelligent use of the resources with smart maneuvering of diplomacy, proactive research and appropriate use of the given military might.

The game’s first discussable upgrade has been the introduction of newer game engine on Lua scripting. The maps have also been changed to hexagonal shape from the boring squarer ones. The game is said to support some 18 civilizations such as American, Arabian, Chinese, Persian, Indian, and a whole lot more. The game is anticipated to be available as a DLC as well and so far Babylonia in Nebuchadnezzar II has been offered as a bonus civilization in the Digital Deluxe Edition. It is important to note that each of these 18 civilizations has different set of characteristics. Each one has its own chosen leader to lead the civilization. Every one of these has either one or two of their unique unit’s superiority in one or two aspects over other civilizations. For example, the American civilization will be lead by George Washington. It will have B17 bomber and Minutemen (earlier used in fighting by real America against colonial resistances) as two of its core military strengths though they haven’t been assigned any particularly architectural uniqueness. The unique ability given to the American civilization is the famous manifest destiny from the American past.

The game is also featured with AI. Four of the games levels will be controllable through AI that are; Tactical, Operational, Strategic, and Grand Strategic. The leaders leading the AI effort will have different sets of personalities. Each will have some strengths and weaknesses that would have a slight variation with each new game.

A newer twist has been added to win the game. You will have to complete the Utopia project to claim victory. To reach the Utopia project, you will have to complete a number of six social policy trees to start the project.

The final release date of the game has not yet been confirmed, albeit 2K Games is determined to release the game in September 2010. Current version of the game is for Windows platform, although some are anticipating a Mac OS release as well.

Creating online gaming site for earning

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Online games have been the rage of the gamers for quite sometime. Millions of online gaming sites are built to provide gaming facilities to the interested gamers. People from all around the world visit different gaming sites to play different games of their interest. Gaming sites are a fun way to pass time. These gaming sites either purchase the rights to games that they want their visitors to play or they just develop these games in house.

Making a game playing website is an excellent way to earn money online. Often people get frightened because they think that making games is impossible for any novice and it is next to impossible for them to successfully run an online gaming site. The greatest hurdle is the development of games. This hurdle however has been successfully overcome by technology. Technologically advanced software has been specially designed for people to help them overcome the difficulties they had in developing games. Earlier versions of game making software were very difficult to learn and posed challenging to individuals with no programming background. Easy to use software is now available with drag and drop facilities. Just few clicks of the mouse and you can create a lot of games in a lot lesser time. There have been different genres of games available for playing. To start with the development process you should look towards games that are easier to develop for you and you can easily translate those developed games into excellent game playing experience for the players. Games that are of no interest to players and don’t make any enjoyable game play, are highly discouraged to be developed. People only want to spend time with those games which they think as enjoyable.

At the start, try to include a variety of games. When you are starting an online gaming website, you can also get some very interesting games developed by the developers themselves. This will help you gain audience in the beginning. Don’t ask for the money at the launch of your website. Let the people get addicted and then start charging them money. Online gaming sites earn in two main ways. First is charging for the game play or game download, & secondly the advertisements that they get. It is even better to give away most of your games free and only charge for those ones which have cost you very heavily.

Toy Story 3 – Game Preview

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Toy story movie was the start of the real story. Ever since it came on screen, it proved wrong the notion that animated movies & games are only for the kids. The movie was liked by the kids as well as grown ups. The game has been for quite a long time in making and gamers have been tired of waiting for its release. The release of the game is scheduled on 15th June, 2010. The earlier unveiling of the game revealed the following simple facts about the game.

The game is playable in two modes. One mode replicates that long chase train scene originally shot in the movie. This mode is named The Story mode as it follows the story already revealed. The second mode of playing the game is The Toy Box Mode. The  first mode i.e., The Story Mode does not confine the players to just make the chase successful but you can also explore certain areas in that game mode like Andy’s Room and Sunnyside Daycare (a daycare center).

The second mode to play the game i.e., The Toy Box Mode is set in a totally different environment with many customizable options given to you. The main aim in this mode is to earn as much gold coins as possible and try to purchase toys for populating the different areas in the game. Buying new toys not only helps you advance to higher levels but it also rewards you by giving more rewarding mission with each unlocked or purchased toy as you proceed further up in the game. The newly bought toys will also help you finish these newly unveiled missions, making them a compulsory part of the game.

As the whole game idea revolves around toys, most of the missions are enriched with a lot of prizes. The missions are also very engaging yet easier to accomplish unlike other games. Many might not like this but this reflects on the fun giving nature of the game making it different from the other action games. The missions are also much diversified in their nature from fencing the cows to putting lawless into the jail.

Games like these made earlier, seriously lacked the necessary gadgetry to accompany the gamers. This game however gives you the additional tools you need to complete the game. Like for example your direction guided with the help of a compass. You also have the status updates of the mission and indications of what you need to do more in order to successfully complete the mission. For all fun loving gamers, this game is just for you.

APB (All Points Bulletin) Game Preview

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All Points Bulletin is an upcoming high density action packed multiplayer game that is on its way to release for the Windows OS. The game is based on an urban plot where fighting is the only sport people play. This time, the bigger change is creation of the two sides i.e. the good and the evil. You can become either of the two. Either you can choose to become Enforcer or the Criminal. The Studio producing the game is Realtime World and the creator of the game is the famous David Jones (who also made the original version of Grand Theft Auto and Crackdown).

The game portrays the surroundings of a fictional city called San Paro. The people of San Paro are never at rest and always fighting for what they believe in. Where Criminals are always looking to commit the next big crime and the Enforcers are always on their toes to punish them for their wrong doings.

There are many aspects of the game that make it different from its predecessors. First of all, it is highly interactive and you can even use headset and microphone to communicate with other players. Then, it has a massive 100,000 player’s crowd in each of its worlds. The game is online which makes everything doable on real time basis. The options to choose players and make them look the way you want is really fascinating. You can create any type of player with dozens of options to ensure that no other player looks the same like yours. The game makers also claim the game to be very different in the sense that it won’t work on the old model of “the more you play, the better you rank in the game” philosophy. It will all boil down to the quality of play that you display, which will determine the type of status you achieve during the progression of the game.

The standard price of the game is set to be around $ 50. This will give you 50 hours of play excluding the time that you will spend socializing, wandering, and trading throughout the city. Once you have consumed all your gaming hours, you can buy additional 20 hours of game play for $ 7 or you can choose to pay $ 10 for a 30 day time period. Let’s hope it delivers what it promises to. It would also be interesting to see if gamers compare it with already running less similar versions of this type of games like Red Dead Redemption.

US Navy may use video games for training

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One of the hardest military trainings in the world is that of US Navy. As the physical standards are getting stringent due to the many fronts US has opened elsewhere, it has raised its bar for accepting new recruits into US Navy. There are many new video games that offer the facility of getting fit along with playing at the same time. This gives a unique opportunity to enjoy at the same time get in shape as well. The two game console makers Wii and Konami are already ahead in their lead to produce such games that entire focus on fitness. These games are so comprehensive that they can personify each user using a single gaming console according to each user’s individual needs.

The usual training camp set for the US Navy is not only hard but the other main factor is that its entire focus is on fitness which can be achieved by video games. Recently the Navy Surgeon General Vice Adm. Adam Robinson recently shared his view point over using such games in combination with the usual methods of training that would help the Navy train as well as remain fit. He was although quick to dismiss the notion that the entire program will be shifted to physical video games and he added that these games were used as an added tool to train the soldiers more effectively. One prime reason for inclusion of the video games in training is that recruits at boot camp suffer a lot of injuries while at training and these injuries can be considerably reduced with the use of physical videogames. Many of the recruits that enter the Navy every year suffer injuries because of the fact that most of them enjoy a lapsed life style which makes their bodies less active. When they are subject to fatigued activity, they aren’t able to bear the pressure all at once. In video games the options to customize the level of activity give more time for the new recruits to adjust to the hard physical training exercises. Robinson also made clear that he wasn’t putting any deadline to when will the video games be included in the regular part of training the US Navy. Wii and Konami are two of the biggest names in the physical fitness video games and they have got the biggest opportunity to capitalize on as US Navy is a very big and lucrative customer to cash on.

Free Games for Ubuntu Users

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If you are the Ubuntu operating system user, and you haven’t been introduced to the gaming options that are made just for you, then you must be feeling dejected and disappointed that in spite of having such a world class operating system without paying any cost, you are trapped and you don’t have the right to enjoy. Well for that, we have brought a lot of light to light up your darkened, saddened, and without any games life. Linux shifted from text to a graphic based operating system long ago, but people using Windows only for games don’t realize that now they have a lot of free games just built for them that they can play in Ubuntu as well. Don’t get me wrong by thinking that we are talking about some old style games which aren’t any fun to play.

Let’s look at some of the games that developers have developed for us with a lot of hard work that we can play on Ubuntu and enjoy as well.

Flight Gear

To start with, we have put in Flight Gear at the top. Flight gear is though primarily been made for flight simulation and academic as well as research purposes, but the depth it has in its graphics, you can also enjoy flying as well.

Planet Penguin

This game is for those who are real fans of Linux and Ubuntu. In this game you will be handling the mascot of Linux (yes the penguin) in a snow slide and the aim is to increase the speed of the penguin while collecting the goodies on your way down the hill.

Nexuz

For action lovers this is a pure action based game that is based on death matches through which you will have to pass in order to go to the next level. This is one of the most favorite of all games in Ubuntu and its official site claims a huge download figure of 1.5 million downloads.

This purpose of this short introduction to Ubuntu games was that if you are using Ubuntu as your operating system, just stick to that and you don’t need to through in the towel for using Ubuntu. There are literally thousands of games and most are free. Developers dedicated to Ubuntu and Linux platform are making Ubuntu based games on a daily basis. Therefore the next time you are bored as a Ubuntu user, just go to Google and search for the new arrivals of Free Ubuntu Games. Things have even got easier after the graphic interface being unrolled and you will have the best support of the community behind it. Have a good time playing Ubuntu Games.

Transformers War for Cybertron – Game Preview

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Getting tired of seeing the transformer movie again and again, you are not alone. Millions of transformer fans are waiting to get their hands on Optimus Prime and company. Well if you are thinking that the game follows the story being already told in the movies, then you better think again. It is a complete make over of everything that you have ever seen. One key thing before we indulge ourselves into the preview is that you can play as the bad guys AKA the Deceptions as well as the Autobots.

This game has been built based on the same philosophy of good against the bad, which is the inherent phenomenon of all action games including Transformers. The game is said to share some of its control mechanism and viewing angle with Gears of War. The game offers all the usual controls in which you can control your bot like you do in ordinary shooting games which include running, jumping, aiming, shooting, and of course fighting. The game maker has tried to make things easier for us so that we are able to control the giant things in a usual manner. Transformation or conversion from one form to other is also very easy and you don’t have to worry about anything. Just a click of the mouse will make things happen. When playing transformers you should remember that while transformation from one form into another, you can move in between. This gives you an additional advantage to keep moving while you are being fired at from all the sides. A key feature added to the bots is that we can apply our turbo charger to the bots as well. When we do so, this helps us move faster then in the usual routine, but can affect our handling ability a bit. When you are completely immersed in the game, don’t forget to use the built-in abilities of each of the transformers. These abilities give your bot a new set of abilities to handle the situation according to its own strength. However, by reading these, don’t fall into any false impression regarding the level of difficult because who knows what surprises it has packed for all of us.

Autobots get ready!

Video game tester SCAM!

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There are different kinds of scams online in almost every industry. As the recession has started prolonging, people have become even more desperate to try and earn some money. One of the most time tested successful weapons of fooling around is offering a lot of money for doing a work. The scammer usually introduces the scheme that you need to register for this much amount and once you are registered then you would be able to easily earn that much amount of money.

The first sign is that the scammer will offer you something like $70 or $100 an hour that you can earn by becoming a video game tester. So much people are so good at video games that why on earth a video game tester would be offered such a lofty amount for just an hour’s play. Usually even nowadays video game testers volunteer themselves or change close to the minimum amount per hour (if they have to charge at all) to test the game. Honestly tell me one thing. Why some people are paid so much money? Like engineers, doctors or lawyers? The reason is that they are a rare commodity and it is hard to find people like them with so much technical knowledge and that knowledge is also in great demand to solve different problems faced by the mankind.

If I have been able to successfully drill my first point into your head then now the other thing will also make a lot of sense to you. If someone needs you on a job, he will hire you straight because he wants you to work for him. Why would he charge for making yourself available to him or her? This doesn’t make any sense as well. You are doing a work for someone but no where in the world you have to pay first in order to be eligible for applying to a job.

Lastly one very dangerous weapon being used by the game testing scammers is sending you a game through mail. A scammer will say you that if you send this much amount of money he will send you a game into your mail box through postal mail and you will have to test that game You need to use some commonsense here. When you are testing some new game, this means that the game is not seen by anyone or very few people have seen that game. Which game maker in the world would send any game by postal mail to you or anyone just to find out that the game got leaked out.

Therefore the next time you are offered a job as a game tester, ask yourself that why you and what will you have to do for that. Lastly do find out the address of the game company and verify that from Google map, because physically going there might get you in trouble in case it is a scammer.