Ballmer Apologizes

It was exactly as expected. In response to my post Friday about Steve Ballmer supposedly unveiling a new Xbox system for next year and setting the internet on fire, everyone learned today that it was a simple misinterpretation.

Ballmer sent a letter of apology to IGN stating that what was presented at E3 was fact as it pertains to a new console. Which means that Natal should be on store shelves sometime next year.

New Xbox 360 Console in 2010?!

Steve Ballmer has a secret....

And he unleashed that secret to the masses of the Executive's Club of Chicago today during a speech on Recession. Ballmer commented that a new Xbox 360 system will be on store shelves in 2010. He says the new system will bring users closer to "actuality" sporting a built in camera with movement and voice recognition.

It's unclear, however if Ballmer is referring to the much anticipate Project Natal, or if he is indeed alluding to a completely new console. I'll be sure to post more on this story as information becomes available.

Source: [TG Daily]

Xbox 360 Arcade: Now With More Memory!

Now all the fancy new Xbox 360 Arcade machines out there will be able to handle just a little bit more of whatever you're willing to throw at it.

New machines are shipping with 512MB of on-board memory. Keep in mind that the system itself still uses some of this memory to power the machine and not all of it is available to you for storage. Nor does it do anything different as far as how the machine operates. Hopefully though, it cuts down on the likelihood of your receiving the dreaded RROD.

If It Ain't Broke....

So Tuesday's 24 Hour scheduled maintenance of Xbox Live seems to have caused more problems than it fixed. Nevermind the fact that even though you could still play your console, but any content that you had downloaded was inaccessible during this time - something that really needs to be addressed.

The two biggest victims of Live's service hiccups are Criterion and Harmonix. Criterion had scheduled to release possbility the biggest expansion in their ongoing series of content for Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island. BSI is an entire area dedicated to giant jumps and massive playgrounds for your cars and looks to be the most exciting addition to the already massive game.

Harmonix has also been hit extremely hard. Not only did their latest Rock Band track content get nixed, but a humongous chunk of their pre-existing DLC seems to have vanished as well. Harmonix was supposed to release 3 new tracks by Evancescence and 4 tracks by Spinal Tap.

No news yet on when this issue will be repaired but one thing's for sure: the Xbox team needs to stop breaking Live when they're supposed to be fixing it.

Ghostbusters Video Game Feelin' Funky in First Week

So the Ghostbusters video game seems to be having some trouble in it's first week of bustin'. The game is getting pretty solid reviews and people I've talked to (who are immense fans of the films) are loving the experience. But other demons seem to be a-lurkin'.

There are reports that the PS3's visuals aren't quite up to par with the Xbox 360's despite the PlayStation 3 being a more powerful machine. Also, the PC version seems to have shipped without any multiplayer support. In regards to this issue, Activision said that they had to focus on the console versions of the game first and foremost in order to set the bar high for the game and "some things had to be sacrificed." There was no word given as to whether a multiplayer component would be added later via update.

It's NEW-sday!

That's right! It's NEW-sday, which is my term for new release Tuesday. This is usually the day of the week when all the new games drop at your local retailer. Traditionally, the summer is a dry time in terms of good games to play and new releases are few and far between. 2009 is thankfully different. And each week I'll be showcasing the top games coming out on each platform right here. So let's get started.



Guitar Hero Smash Hits

Available on Xbox 360, Ps3, Wii and PS2

Rated T for Mild Lyrics

Available June 16th, 2009

MSRP: 59.99 (49.99 for Wii, PS2)


Guitar Hero Smash Hits is a compliation of music from the previous Guitar Hero games. Up until Guitar Hero World Tour's release, the game only allowed you to play the guitar and bass notes of the songs in the game. So essentially what they've done is taken all of the most popular tracks from Guitar Hero I, II, III and Rocks the 80's and given full band support to those songs. Now you can drum along to "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce or belt out the vocals to "I Wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister. This is a great collection for those of you who never got to experience some of the awesome songs that were only available on the Playstation 2 games, so definitely give the full track list a look.




Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Available on Xbox 360, Ps3, Wii, PS2, and PC

Rated T for Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language

Available June 16th, 2009

MSRP: 59.99 (49.99 for Wii, PS2 and PC)


The Ghostbusters have been around for a long time. The movies themselves are instantly recognizeable by the characters, the one-liners and even the cast of ghosts themselves. Spawning comic books, video games and action figures alike, the Ghostbusters remains a classic series of films that anyone is sure to enjoy.


And now, the Ghostbusters are returning to video games with (nearly) the full cast in tow. Egon, Ray, Peter and Winston will be present in the game and voiced by their real life counterparts. The game itself recruits you as the newest member to the ghostbusting team. You'll find yourself battling through scenes from the original movies and even taking on some new ghosts as you train to become a full fledged ghostbuster. All the tools of the trade will be at your fingertrips: the protonpacks (don't cross the streams!) and PKE meters are all at your disposal. The game supports both a versus and co-op gameplay element to keep the action fast paced and long-lasting, too.



Vertigo

Available on Wii

Rated E

Available June 16th, 2009

MSRP: 19.99


Vertigo is simple. It's a futuristic racing game that can be played two ways. Either with the Wii Remote or while standing on the Wii Fit Balance Board. By either shifting your weight from side to side or tilting the Wii Remote, players control the direction of a racing orb as it speeds across tracks that bend and twist in a multitude of directions. As you race, you can pick up power-ups and even upgrade your orb as your progress through the game. At a budget price, Vertigo might just be the thing for those of you looking for something a little more exciting than the current selection of cart-based racing games on the Wii. Think racing in the way of classics like F-Zero or Extreme-G.


Other releases worth mentioning:


Flower, Sun, Rain (DS) - A mystery-action-thriller game for the handheld from the creators of No More Heroes.

Hurry Up Hedgehog! (DS) No, not THAT hedgehog. Hurry Up Hedgehog! is a puzzle/strategy game that allows for multiple ways to play. But the main concept is to lead your hedgehog through a garden while dodging obstacles and make it out before everyone else. Kind of a Pacman/Frogger hybrid if you ask me.


That's it for this week. Buyer's tip: Toys 'R' Us is offering giftcards with the purchase of Ghostbusters and Best Buy is giving out extra foot pedals to those who buy the new Guitar Hero. Only while supplies last, so hurry!

Game Too Hard? Fear Not!

Well, Wii owners should fear not anyway. Shigeru Miyamoto, the man who created Mario (as well as several other of your favorite Nintendo characters) told USA Today in a recent interview that future Wii titles will be shipping with a new "Demo Play" mode.

"Demo Play" mode, as it's currently being called will literally allow the game to play itself. If the player encounters an area in the game that is simply too difficult for he or she to overcome, this mode can be activated and the game will take over, clearing the obstacle or level until the player re-assumes control.

The first title to incorporate this new "Demo Play" mode will be the recently announced New Super Mario Bros. Wii which was unveiled to overwhelming applause at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

"Demo Play" is a tentative name for the new feature for now and is expected to change in time for it's inaugural debut with New Super Mario Bros. Wii this fall.

[Credit]

Prototype (XBox 360) Review

Game: Prototype
Developer: Radical Entertainment
Publisher: Activision
Release: June 9, 2009
Type: Action
Rating: Mature(Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language)
Players: 1

Prototype is a third-person action game that puts you in control of Alex Mercer. A man with no memory and no past. He's out for revenge and he has the means to get what he wants. As the back of the box states: "Become Anything....Change Everything."

The beginning of the game introduces you exactly what Alex Mercer is, and exactly what's going on within the game. You see, there's an infection. And this infection lives inside of you and it's what gives you the ability to shape-shift your body into a vast array of weapons and also perform feats of superhuman strength. However, the citizens of Manhattan aren't so lucky as the infection is turning them into mutated creatures who are hunting and killing the rest of population and more primarily, you.

After the introductory phase of the game, all the powers that you had are stripped away and the game rewinds itself back in time to 3 weeks prior. Mercer awakens in a morgue surrounded by men in biosuits ready to cut him open and start experimenting. Obviously, you escaped and Mercer becomes re-aware of the abilites that he possesses. As you control The Prototype, Mercer will talk to himself, in complete disbelief of what he is doing, like his body is on autopilot.

One of the first things you learn to do is how to Consume another living person. Alex will actually absorb the person into his own body, taking with them their life force, memories and abilities. Key persons throughout the game can be consumed that will give Alex more insight into what's going on around the city as well as what happened to him. It's also a neat feature to note that if you want to hijack a tank or a helicopter, you will need to consume a solider that knows how to pilot that vehicle so you can absorb his training. Think of it like the Matrix. What took that solider 8 months to learn, can instantly be injected into your brain through consumption. Earning other abilites throught the game is easy too, and there are alot. As you kill enemies and complete missions, the game rewards you with EP (Enhancement Points). These can be used to upgrade Mercer's abilites throughout the game. Everything from increasing your overall health, to adding a new type of shape-shifting weapon to your arsenal. And core abilities that you've purchased can even be upgraded, like your running speed or your jump height.

Now, once you get Mercer upgraded a little bit, it becomes easier and easier to move about the city, which is vast. You can go from the ground to the top of any building with no effort at all. Running through the streets is also no problem as Alex will automatically jump on and over cars and push people out of the way. Almost nothing will stop him once he gets moving. Just moving about the city and smashing and destroying things is what most people will want to do, and it's a lot of fun. The explosions are huge, the draw distance is vast and the amount of action going on at once on screen is just amazing. This game just runs smoothly and looks beautiful even with so much chaos going on.

Aside from just running around and blowing stuff up, the game also has some hidden orbs for you to search for. Some are hidden near landmarks or points of interest like the Empire State Building, and others just offer helpful gameplay tips. Prototype also offers you the chance to (sort of) take a side as you can destroy army bases for extra EP or upgrades or destroying infected hives for the same type of rewards. As time goes on, these hives will pop up in more places and more military bases will as well to try to contain them. And as the hives spread, the city becomes more infected and the situation gets more and more out of control.

In closing, Prototype is a great game if you're into the free-roaming action games like Spider-Man 2 or the Incredible Hulk games. This one, however, is definitely not for the kiddies. There's copious amounts of blood and sometimes disturbing amounts of gore and lots of cussing. The game looks great and the city literally transforms as the populous becomes more infected. Alex will start out weak at first, but don't worry, you'll be upgrading so fast you'll be handling your enemies with ease and running at super speeds in no time. Even when your're not doing the missions, Prototype offers a world where the player always has something to do: whether it's just running around and beating up tanks or just seeing how many of the challenges you can complete.

I would also just like to say that this game has been compared to Infamous a lot and after playing both of them, you can't really make that comparison. Yes, they're both sandbox action titles with a main character with special powers, but that's where the similarities end. Any fan of this genre of games needs to do themselves a favor and play both games. Both titles are great in their own right and I can honestly say that one isn't better than the other.

Rating: 4/5

LEGO Rock Band Coming This Holiday

Do you really want to get the Guitar Hero or Rock Band games for your younger children but are afraid that the music contained within them might be a little too risque? Fret not. LEGO Rock Band aims to put a family friendly spin on the popular Rock Band music franchise.

Allowing the player to take up smaller, less complicated replicas of music instruments and play along to music as the notes scroll down the screen, playing Rock Band is easily one of the most enjoyable experiences to be had by anyone with a video game console. And this iteration looks like it won't be that much different than the last two games that came before it.

Everything about the game is LEGO. The characters and the clothes they wear, the instruments and even the venues that your avatar performs in are all right out of the LEGO universe. Players familiar to the franchise will be amused to notice that the shapes of the colored notes the scroll down the "track highway" have even taken on the shape of the single LEGO studs. As you play through a song, the environment your character is in will react to different notes and verses of the song and transform from beginning to end. If you hit the right notes correctly you can even earn extra clothes and gear to outfit your rocker with.

There's no word yet on whether or not the game will be released as a bundle with it's own instruments or even what songs the game will include. One thing is for sure, anyone who was interested in Rock Band before but was turned off by it's somewhat complicated nature should definitely keep an eye on LEGO Rock Band.

Tetris Turns 25

Last week celebrated the 25th anniversary of the most influential puzzle game ever created: Tetris.

If you've every played a game in the vain of Dr. Mario or Bejeweled, you have this game to thank. It was created 25 years ago by a man named Alexey Pajitnov while working for a Soviet-funded government R&D center. Unfortunately for Patitnov, the Soviet government claimed ownership of the game and sold off the rights very cheaply and he received nothing for it. Fortunately for Nintendo, they would profit greatly from the game when it released in 1986 for their Nintendo Entertainment System (pictured above).

However, in 1991, Alexey moved to the United States and founded The Tetris Company where he designed puzzles for the Super Nintendo classics Yoshi's Cookie and a lesser known title, Pandora's Box. Five years later Pajitnov began working for Microsoft where he developed the spiritual successor to Tetris, Hexic, where the player must rotate tiles to form certain patterns.

So, the next time you're playing your favorite puzzle game, just remember; chances are that game probably never would have existed if it were not for Alexey Pajitnov and Tetris.

Fuel (Xbox 360) Review

Game: Fuel
Developed: Asobo Studios
Published: Codemasters
Release: June 2, 2009
Type: Racing
Rating: Everyone (Comic Mischief)
Players: 1(Offline) 2-16 (via Xbox Live)

The Game
Fuel is another racing game from the pros at Codemasters. Savvy gamers may have remembered their previous exploits in the DiRT series and the older Colin McRae offroad games. Fuel aims to follow suit with the same type of crazy offroad races and vast catalog of selectable vehicles as it's distant cousins, with several key differences.

The first thing gamers immediately notice is just how big the game is. Asobo received a Guinness World Record for having constructed the largest interactive world ever in a video game with Fuel at 5000 sq. miles. The gigantic environment is it's own living, breathing colossus with ever changing weather effects such as blizzards, tornadoes, and lightning storms, most of the time taking place while you race and tossing all sorts of debris into your racing path. As you traverse the game world and pass from zone to zone, you'll notice that each area is almost like it's own little planet. Each zone is different either sporting lush, green forests or dry plains that show nothing but leafless trees and brown grass. The weather, the scenery and the world are easily the most impressive thing about Fuel. I found myself multiple times, literally stopping to smell the roses.

So what will you be exploring this awesome world in? Well, a little bit of everything. There's multiple styles for every class of vehicle that include ATV's, dirt bikes, dune buggies, monster trucks, muscle cars, and even a few hidden vehicles for good measure. You can even customize your driver with different helmets, shirts and pants as well as different styles of tattoos if you choose to let him ride without a shirt on.

And what exactly is the point of the game? To race and to win, of course. The career mode of the game lets you race different courses for each zone that you're in. If you win, you gain fuel. Fuel is what the game is centered around and it's the game's currency also. So when you win a race and earn some fuel, you can then take it and buy new vehicles. Now, winning isn't the only way to earn fuel. If you just want to drive around and explore the game world, you'll find white canisters of fuel all over the place and running into them will increase your current stash. So as you progress through the career and continue to win, you'll also open up more zones that you can instantly access via heliports. Since the game is so large, it would take you hours to drive to the other side, so as you can imagine, it's much easier just to fly where you want to go.

That's pretty much what Fuel consists of. It's a lot of fun. There's a lot of huge jumps and places to explore. You'll find yourself lost for hours just driving around chasing Tornadoes and looking for all the hidden vehicles that drive around the world randomly. There's also points in the game where you can drive to and just do some sightseeing. And I nearly forgot to mention, you can even create your own races in this game. Want to challenge your friends to a race up a mountain? Do it. You can draw out the course of a race and set your own checkpoints and ultimately where the race will finish giving this game a lot of replay value. Overall, if you're into racing games, you'll get a lot of mileage out of Fuel.


Final Rating: 4/5

Welcome to Gaming @Hopkins!

Hi, everyone. My name is Erik Mabry and I am the Gaming Technician for Johns Hopkins. What does that mean? Well, it means I am responsible for maintaining the various video game consoles scattered about the different units of the hospital. Whether the problem be as simple as a broken controller or as complicated as faulty wiring with the system, I'm the one you call to take care of.

In addition to keeping watch over all the different machines out there, I also spend time with the patients and even play games with them if they need to. I take great passion in my job and I want to do everything I can to really make it grow and to realize it's full potential. And that's really where this blog comes into play.

You see, in order to properly enjoy all the Playstations and Xboxes and Nintendos, you need to know and understand what they can do and most importantly, what are the best games for them. The aim of the blog is present an easily accessible tool for anyone to find out any information they want about these great machines. Information like what are the best games out there for the younger kids or what new technology is on the way that could maybe benefit one or more of the patients?

So in the coming weeks, be sure to check back regularly for updates and for important information regarding the fun and exciting pieces of technology. You can also follow me on Twitter @HopkinsGamer where I will inform everyone of updates to the blog as well as make short updates via Twitter itself. And of course, feedback is welcomed. Thank you.