A cunningly simple title to an unbelievable gaming experience, Rock Band can be ultimately described as a true testament to the successful blending of the two seemingly most distant categories in gaming, rhythm and cooperative.

Rock Band is exactly what it says it is…you pick the instrument of your choice in a band, choosing between guitar, bass, drums, or vocals, and rip it on stage with a score meter being your objective measure of progress.

However, the one biggest feature that sets this rhythm game apart from every other rhythm game before it is that it incorporates not just the ability of one or two instruments together, but up to four to truly work together to play songs just as bands in real life have to truly work together to create music.

Graphically, it sets new bounds for what can be achieved visually in a musical game, which usually tend to have either slightly cartoony images on screen, real music videos just playing in the background, or flashes of patterns and colors that tend to match the tempo of the song you are playing at the time.

Rock Band’s visual style approach definitely takes a turn for the slightly more realistic, looking more like what you would see in a real underground concert or what you would watch in older classic music videos and live concert DVDs, and does so magnificently. The tracks themselves are cleanly polished, and the notes all have a sleek and modern look to them that all together complement the background action very well.

As with any music game, the one element that is critically important are the songs, and I’m very glad to say that Rock Band delivers greatly to a broad spectrum of music lovers. The game is not specifically dedicated for one instrument like most other rhythm games, and who really knows how many true variations of rock music exist? Chances are if you’ve been alive some time for the past forty years, you’ll find a song in this game that you’ll not only recognize, but appreciate as well.

From extremely popular current bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Queens of the Stone Age to rock icons such as The Who and Metallica, the song list is sure to strike a chord with anyone who has a taste for rock music of any decade. Not only that, but there are new additions put up weekly to expand your song collection that does a wonderful job of keeping the game alive even after you thought you’d heard it all.

The single-player doesn’t differ too much from that of Guitar Hero, you still have a single track representing the notation of your instrument that you play according to the rhythm of that instrument in the song, with Overdrive (the new equivalent of Star Power, an ability used to either double your score or keep your crowd entertained at your not-so-shining moments).

A neat thing to know is that this time, Overdrive can be added on as you are using it, so you can earn while you burn, and extend the time you stay in Overdrive as long as you can nail the section while you are still in it, whereas Guitar Hero simply overrode the sections if you already had Star Power active.

However, one unique thing about the game is that each instrument has some way to “improvise” within the song, something that has never been done before in the way of Harmonix’s earlier projects of Rock Band.

For example, the drums activate their Overdrive by playing fills, which basically come as long solid lines that allow the player to play literally whatever they wish, and then ending their moment in a big crash to release the energy and let the crowd go nuts.

The singer has moments where they can literally say anything, from the classic “Yeah!” or “Whooo!” to the most random thing that pops in their heads (My personal favorite: Toasty! MK style), and Overdrive can be activated. For guitar/bass, there are sections known as Big Rock Endings where everyone can freestyle and do whatever they wish where they can live out their ultimate shredding dreams.

But it is in the multiplayer aspect where this game truly deserves its glory. One grand thing is that there is very minimal lag between consoles that play this online, and consoles are able to carry guest players (so for example, you can have a three-man band at home, and have another player online join you for a full band).

The game truly delivers a sense of band cohesiveness in the way that each member must do their part in both playing the song properly AND support each other that rivals even the most demanding of cooperative shooters. The main reason this is possible is that each member is individually capable of releasing their Overdrive, as opposed to the early iterations of co-op for Guitar Hero where both members had to activate Star Power together for it to work. This, in turn, can cause Overdrive to be used in a variety of ways.

For example, each member can individually survive or fail out, but if any band members have failed out, it is up to the remaining band members to revive them using Overdrive. If one player is struggling through an exceptionally tough section for their track, the other players can provide support by activating their own Overdrive and it would give the support as Overdrive would for single-players to all band members involved.

And if each player is playing well during segments where they all would receive Overdrive a “Unison Bonus” can be achieved where they get double the amount of Overdrive added on to their meters. It normally takes up to four sections to fill the bar, but the bonus adds another section immediately if all band members (vocals excluded) are able to play their section perfectly at the same time.

There are some issues, however, with the PS3 version of the game, as well as some complaints. The peripherals used in the game are stable enough as their own, but for those who are expecting their PS3 Guitar Hero guitars to be compatible with Rock Band, you will be disappointed.

Unlike its 360 and PS2 counterparts, oddly the PS3 Les Pauls do not work at all with Rock Band. There has been a patch made to remedy this issue, but due to issues of compensation and legality, this patch has sadly not been made available to the public, which puts the PS3 players in need of an extra guitar at a fix.

Recently there have been advents of third-party guitars that are reported to be compatible with both Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band, as well as adapters that would allow your PS2 Gibson SG guitars from Guitar Hero(es) 1&2 to play on Rock Band on PS3.

Also, with a game that places heavy focus on team cooperation, another oddity of the PS3 version is that it does not include voice chat, which can greatly complicate things between players during songs if they need to get a message across in mid-song, a feature that 360 players have been able to enjoy from the beginning.

Aside from minor drawbacks, this game truly is a spectacular combination of many beloved gaming features integrated seamlessly into a wonderful package. All I can possibly say is this: if you have a love for music, gaming, or any combination thereof, you have no reason not to try this game out for yourself, and make sure you bring a couple buds over with you!

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You grip the controller tightly in anticipation. You let out a slow breath as the countdown from three begins. Just as two is about to become one, you rev your engine hoping to get just that much more of a jump on the competition. Then the cloud waves the flag and off you and all other eleven speedsters shoot.

You quickly shoot to the head of the pack using a combination of speed and daring maneuvers. Soon you begin to out pace the others, and there is no one else near you. You begin to relax a little, allowing the groove of each turn to seem more a part of you than a part of the track.

Then you hear it. The sound of an alarm meaning something is approaching you. You zig left, but it’s still on you. You zag right…no good you can’t shake. Then a blue turtle shell with wings hovers above you a short moment before diving on top of you sending you spinning out of control and the lead.

You yell out loud. How could it all be so cruel? But there is not time to contemplate the nature of life. You have managed to regain control of your kart.

You grimly tighten your grip on the control, press the acceleration button and launch yourself back into the heat of both the race and the battle. You will take first place, even if you have to leave a wake of banana’s and turtle shells behind you to do it.

Wait. Did I just say banana’s and turtle shells? I did, and if you are thinking I am describing the latest installment of the Mario Kart series, you are right as well. This game actually managed to catch me a bit by surprise.

I originally picked the game up because I remember being a kid when the first Mario Kart came out. I loved it, and there was nothing better than having some of my buddies come over and waste a few hours driving each other insane with the combination of racing and battle. Now that I am a father, I really thought my kids would dig it. Well I was right, however what I had not expected, was to like the game so much myself.

At first glimpse Mario Kart Wii is a pretty simple game. You select a character, pick a vehicle and off you go. The idea that it is a simple game is only reinforced as you easily win race after race. However somewhere in there, the other drivers get a little better and the tracks get a lot more difficult.

Pretty soon, where once you were winning by easy margins, you are now yelling at the television because of the latest pwnage that the other drivers have just handed you. Add to the mix being able to race three different styles of races, the 50 cc (Karts only) the 100 cc (bikes only) and 150 cc (karts and bikes) and the game has a lot of variety that keeps the game fresh.

While for the most part my experience with Mario Kart Wii was a positive one, there were several things that I found annoying. First the learning curve on the way the control works in the game is somewhat steep. Instead of using the D pad to turn the vehicle of your choice, you tilt the control from left to right.

This may seem like a simple thing to do, however it takes a minute to get the fine tuning down and while you are getting this fine tuning down, don’t be surprised if you knock over your soda, elbow your friend in the ribs or ever fall out of your chair. Yet once the control style is mastered, it’s off to a first place finish.

I did give the wheel a try and strongly recommend anyone who wants to retain their sanity stay far, far away from this little device. The concept is neat, but the follow through and the game play result is very frustrating to say the least. However, if you have a masochistic bent to your nature, then by all means use the steering wheel.

So all in all I liked the Mario Kart Wii game. It could offer a bit more, but it still manages to be a great game that is fun to play with both family and friends. On the proverbial scale of 1 to 10 I would have to rank it a pretty solid 8. Just remember, stay away from the wheel!

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If you are familiar with any of the previous Mario installments such as Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and so forth, Super Mario Galaxy plays similarly to the other games. What Nintendo has done, however, is almost perfect the 3D platforming world in this game.

As per usual, Mario is on a quest to rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of the infamous Bowser. Mario ends up teaming with Luma, an anthropomorphic star, and ends up on the Comet Observatory where he meets Princess Rosalina.

There he learns that Bowser is taking all the power stars from the come observatory. It’s up to you to get back these stars for Rosalina and rescue your damsel in distress. As Mario is traveling out in the galaxy, the rules of gravity are completely different.

The developers have completely utilized the 3D environment into the gameplay. When you land on a sphere, you can walk all over it, going sideways and upside down in the process. Or you can jump in one area and end up gravitating toward the ceiling or walls.

The change in gravity and physics might seem daunting at first; however the controls are so intuitive that you can pick up the controls right away. You can even play with a friend who can help you in the beginning levels by shooting star bits, helping Mario perform a super jump and freezing enemies in place.

Although the game controls much like Mario 64, there are several wii-centric additions. Mario’s primary attack is a basic spin move which you perform by shaking the Wii Remote. The Wii Remote also acts as a pointer. By pointing at the screen you collect star bits, which serve as a currency and as a weapon.

You can also feed hungry lumas star bits. The lumas will transform into a new galaxy, world, or sometimes a launch star. As you progress through the levels, not only do you have to feed the hungry lumas more star bits to get them to transform, the bosses, puzzles, and enemies get progressively harder.

Still, because the difficulty level gradually increases, you are never completely overwhelmed by the levels. The level designs, by the way, are superb. Some levels require you to take advantage of certain suits that give Mario various powers. For example, the bee suit allows you to fly for a short amount of time and land on flowers.

Although some of the puzzles with these suits can be frustrating, for the most part they add great dimension to the gameplay. One of the great things about the levels is that there is a lot of replay value. There are hidden stars that will give you special powers (such as flying), green stars that give you access to another world, and still others that just increase the power in the Comet Observatory.

Comets also pass over certain levels. Essentially, comets will enter orbit in some of these galaxies, and change the gameplay. Whether it’s speeding up all the enemies in an area, making you finish a difficult level with only 1 HP, or having you race against a doppelganger Mario, there’s a nice variety of change-ups in the game. And of course you receive a star for each comet level you successfully complete.

In terms of graphics, this game is the best-looking Wii game on the market. The colors are vibrant and the levels, despite having the same starting point, introduce more of the world to you. In essence you see more of the world as you play through each level, which keeps the worlds interesting.

The camera angles as well are stellar and follow you throughout the game. You can adjust it right or left in certain areas, and go to a first-person view if you just want to look around. There are very few places where the camera prevents you from seeing everything. Audio is also very crisp and clean, and for many of the levels you’ll hear the original Mario theme song.

To get the most out of this game, you need to collect all 120 stars and fight Bowser again. When you beat Bowser, you unlock a special character. I don’t want to give it away, but you play through again with this character and unlock the Grand Finale Galaxy where you collect 100 purple coins to get the final star. Collecting all the stars can be difficult, especially when you are racing against Cosmic Mario (he always seems a lot faster than regular Mario).

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Overview
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare hit the shelves on November 5th, 2007. Activision was pleased to see high sales on all platforms (PC, Xbox 360, PS3) and rave initial reviews. The game is the fourth installment in the Call of Duty series, a first person shooter (FPS) powerhouse.

For games 1-3 developers stuck to WWII as the battlefield, but sensing the market for 1940’s shooters was starting to fall, they decided to spin the clock forward to present-day conflicts.

Players fight through a single player campaign as either American Marines or British SAS Special Forces trying to stop a mastermind terrorist from wreaking even more havoc on the world.

The newest graphics and physics technology were utilized in the creation of the game, and the gameplay is incredibly realistic. NPCs (non-playing characters) from the COD series are famously animate and lifelike. They react to the world around them with impressive accuracy, even pausing to cough or talk to their buddies.

Players will enjoy a wide range of weapons and missions, intense combat, and an incredibly written storyline that is emotional, surprising, and quite a commentary on modern international relations. Many people, however, have complained that the campaign is too short, and that the supplementary game modes (in which a player tries to get as many points as he can for headshots, kills, and various other things) are just not as fun as they could be.

Multiplayer action is also available, and has been hailed as one of the greatest games ever made for online play. This is one of the first FPS games that has mixed a “leveling” system into the heat of a firefight. Players gain experience points as they fight, and eventually they gain promotions through military ranks and unlock new guns and accessories.

Overall the game is great in Single Player and even better in Multiplayer. It is realistic, fast-paced, fun, and a general good time.

Single Player
The single player campaign starts with the main character, named Soap, being admitted into the British Special Forces, the SAS. One is taught to fire, aim, melee, and throw grenades in a realistic barracks setting.

Once you’ve completed these tasks, you are introduced to your team and you get a chance to run through a training course filled with pop-up targets. You need to complete the course in a quick (but not unreasonable by any stretch of the word) time, following your commander’s shouted commands.

The missions that follow develop a story that is actually quite complicated, involving the sale of nuclear weapons, a regime change in the Middle East, and the perspective change from American to British soldiers. Health is rechargeable, so if you are hurt badly you can recover- one aspect of the game that is unrealistic. The recharge system, however, is necessary to the gameplay because of the sheer amount of gunfire, explosions, and other sources of damage that are nearly unavoidable.

Weaponry differs per map and country, and the game offers up very realistic sniper rifles, assault rifles, RPGs, SMGs, C4, Claymores, Grenades, and any other manner of harming someone you can imagine. The levels in the campaign are massive and very lifelike. The degree of realism is sometimes a bit disturbing to some players.

In one mission, the player mans the guns on a C130 Gunship, laying down air support for his comrades on the ground. The imaging is done in black and white heat vision, which is what is used in real life. A screenshot from the game and an actual photo through gunship technology are nearly indistinguishable from one another. Many gamers, though, went crazy for it, and that particular level was quite fun.

Fantastic graphics combined with meticulous attention to detail by the designers creates a real-world experience few are likely to forget. Enemies are also realistic- communicating with each other and using tactics to defeat you. They are, however, very easy to kill even in Hard Mode; it is much easier for you to kill them than for them to kill you.

Sometimes the game can have that “007” feeling in which you are the all-powerful destroyer of anything trying to kill you, although upping the difficulty level will definitely squash that feeling into frustration and smashed keyboards.

Other than the campaign, Arcade Mode allows players to run through missions they have already beaten and rack up scores for time of completion, headshots, number of kills, and tons of other surprises. This adds to the game’s replay value, challenging participants to beat their scores and try again. The real competition, though, starts with multiplayer…

Multiplayer
If you’ve played single player, you know how fast paced and evil this game can be. Now imagine playing the campaign but everyone else is real, and has been playing longer than you have. Starting out is a bit hard since people you are playing against have all kinds of perks such as “overkill” which allows you to carry two main weapons.

In the Xbox 360 version, a skill-matching system pits you against other players of your level. On the PC, however, you choose a server from a list, and hope that you’ll survive. One thing that I’ll give the system, however, is that the amount of experience needed to gain a level is directly proportional to how difficult it is

This means that in order to move up to the first unlockable rank one doesn’t need to work too hard- only a few kills are necessary. As the levels unlock more powerful weapons and perks, more experience is needed and therefore more work.

Luckily for most PC users that don’t have the latest in PC technology, there is an option for graphics labeled “Optimal System Settings” that will set the game for the best performance on your computer. I (and many others) have found that checking this option and then setting the screen resolution to whatever monitor you have gets the best out of the graphics and the least lag for a nice balance of playability and “cool.”

Actual gameplay is fantastic. Kill streaks allow players to call in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVS), Air Strikes, and even Helicopter support. Multiple gametypes are available to fit each player’s style. Team Deathmatch is a classic, in which the team with the larger amount of kills wins.

Free-For-All is the same idea; however each player is his own team and is fighting everyone else on the map. Headquarters and Domination are ground-control King-of-the-Hill type games, and Sabotage and Search & Destroy evoke counter-strike type bomb plant and defuse scenarios.

Another facet of multiplayer is the “Hardcore” option in which there is no HUD, and weapons are realistically powerful. This is a terrifying and high-stress game in which seeing an enemy player means one of you is going to die since a 3-shot burst is likely to kill you immediately.

Many players complain about this game because helicopters and air strikes are so powerful, but many also love it because of its realism.

Overall I love the multiplayer in CoD4 and it makes up totally for the short campaign mode. The action is paced around the number of players on the map, since overcrowding causes massive firefights and under crowding allows players to stalk each other.

As an avid FPS player I feel that this is the future of the genre- a merging of the RPG leveling system and the unique feeling of a shooter. Well done, Activision- Call of Duty 4 was 2007’s best selling game according to BBC News (and I trust them).

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Liberty City is back in the limelight in Rockstar’s latest take on the Grand Theft Auto world. With the title of IV, this installment is arguably the first “true” sequel to the game that made the entire franchise famous, GTA III. Vice City and San Andreas both took place earlier in the time line and in other locations, whereas Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories were more like side shows.

Set in the present day, complete with cell phones and internet cafés, GTA IV also features a completely new take on Liberty City, a lot more faithful to its real world role-model New York City than its predecessor from GTA III.

The game puts you in the role of Niko Bellic, a Serbian immigrant and veteran of the Bosnian war, who at the start of the game is literally fresh off the boat. You are greeted by your cousin Roman, who has been telling tall tales of his success in the land of opportunity.

As it turns out, you quickly notice that Roman is just barely any better off than yourself, and so the game’s traditional journey through the underworld takes off, starting from the very bottom.

It is, in some respects, difficult to talk about Grand Theft Auto IV without mentioning the incredible hype that surrounds it. Few games have been as anticipated, and fewer still have reached the same kind of early sales figures. Much of this hype the way we see it, stems from building on a very successful formula, which was pioneered (and subsequently widely imitated) in GTA III.

The prime features of this formula include an open, sandbox-style and very alive world where the character is given a lot of freedom; a central car-theft and driving game component; plenty of tongue-in-cheek western-world criticism; and, well… frivolous amounts of violence.

GTA IV follows this formula closely. In fact, the core of the gameplay is pretty much exactly the same. You start out with little more than the clothes you arrived in, and slowly work up your fortune through a long series of varied missions from a multitude of characters, some more colourful than others.

When you aren’t doing missions, the whole of Liberty City (at least toward the latter parts of the game) is open to you. You can call a friend up on your cell phone to visit a comedy club, go bowling, get drunk, visit a strip club, or several other options.

If you take care of your friends, they will ultimately take care of you, by way of certain in-game bonuses achieved by getting them to like you enough. You can also just drive around to take in the sights, listening to your favourite radio station and observing the very well-designed inhabitants of Liberty City go about their business.

This part in particular, making sure the game world is alive and authentic, has received extraordinary amounts of care. In no other game so far has the stage been as detailed, or your personal agenda been such a small part of it. You pass by people talking on their phones, jogging, or trying to pick up a date, and even if you hang out at one specific place for a long time, it’s unlikely that you’ll see the same situation come up twice.

You can stay in your room and watch TV, featuring several shows by and with people living in Liberty City (and some real-world ones too), or go to an internet café and visit a great many websites not unlike today’s offering, whether you’re looking for blog circles or a mail-order bride. To sum it up, Liberty City really feels like a living, breathing entity, whose existence goes on whether or not you happen to be there and observe it.

Having said that, your options for interacting with all this variety of people and places are, much like in earlier games, with few exceptions rather limited. You can’t deal with people in more ways than bumping into them and getting them annoyed with you; or in the spirit of the franchise, going on a killing spree and taking them out, eventually getting the police to come after you.

One thing that is new though, is the addition of “friends”. Now and then showing up on your map, they are little encounters with random people trying to get by in Liberty City, who for one reason or another are in need of Niko’s friendship. They are like little side missions, widely varied, and with a certain continuity in and of themselves.

If you choose to help a friend the first time around, chances are you might bump into them again at a later time to see what became of them. This is a very small part of the over-all game, but you still get a heart-warming feeling from many of these minor missions, and it’s easy to think that real people just like that are most likely somewhere out there in the real world, right now.

While some things are new, other things have been removed. Unlike GTA: San Andreas, IV seems to go for an at least slightly more realistic take on the Grand Theft Auto world, and certain elements that may have been considered too over-the-top have been removed. There is no more jetpack for instance, nor can you strafe the highway in a fighter jet, or skydive down to the ground when you’ve had enough.

The only vehicles you can fly in GTA IV are helicopters, and the gimmicky bicycles have also been taken out, along with the ability to customize your character at gyms and hairdressers. You can still change what you’re wearing, but the selection of clothes and accessories is surprisingly limited.

Graphically, Grand Theft Auto has never looked better. This may not be all that strange, given the new-generation systems, but still, whether you’re up in a helicopter, on top of a skyscraper or driving across the Algonquin Bridge, there is a lot of eye-candy to be had. Many of the locations look remarkably, almost photo-realistically like their real world counterparts.

The audio is top-notch as well, be it the voice acting or the sound of your car glancing against another at 110 mph. The offering of radio stations and colourful DJs is more diverse than ever, and as a couple of nice touches, not only can you change the ring tone of your cell phone, but there is also a number you can dial in-game whenever a track is played, to get the name of the artist and the song sent back as a text message.

Not everything has made the move to next-generation consoles as smoothly though. GTA IV still suffers from a, even for consoles, clumsy and limited save game system. Like in previous titles, you can still only save your game between missions, either through the auto-save just after completion, or from one of your safehouses.

Now, several of the missions you will be undertaking are lengthy and contain several steps. It’s not uncommon to start at your safehouse, drive off to get the mission, drive to location A to pick someone up, drive to location B for the actual job, go through a shootout or a pursuit, and then reach a critical part where there’s a decent risk of failure. If you do fail here, it’s back to the start in order to go through the entire thing again, spending 10-15 minutes just to get back to the challenging part.

It may not sound like much, but when you’re restarting the build-up section of a mission for the fifth time, it gets frustrating. It could be argued that this doesn’t have anything to do with limited system resources, but is just Rockstar’s traditional and intended way of making GTA challenging.

However, forced repetition isn’t a challenge; it’s just a waste of time. With GTA IV hyped up as GTA on a next-gen console, we don’t think a save-anywhere feature or at least checkpoints throughout missions would have been too much to ask for.

Another arguable drawback with the game is that when all is said and done, it is essentially more of the same, and deviates very little from the trends set by its predecessors. If you loved them, you will love this. If you on the other hand loved GTA III, thought Vice City was pretty darn cool, felt that San Andreas started to get just a little bit repetitive, well… chances are you will feel like the formula is starting to wear a little thin.

We say arguable though, because there is a case to be made for not fixing what ain’t broke. Judging by the success of the GTA franchise, there’s bound to be enough people out there who think Rockstar’s formula is where it’s at.

Our final bone to pick with Grand Theft Auto IV, is how it ends. Without giving too much away, there are branching endings depending on a choice you have to make in one of the later missions. The problem is that no matter what you do or how you play it, the story ends on a rather dark note, seemingly delivering the message that crime doesn’t pay, and criminals ultimately cannot be happy.

We won’t argue this case, but with a game that goes to great lengths to present the moral choices involved in working your way through the criminal world, and also to build a rather likable character in Niko Bellic; that kind of moral sermon at the end doesn’t sit very well – especially not from a game labelled Grand Theft Auto.

Finally, can GTA IV then be said to live up to the hype surrounding it? We say, not really. It is by all means a good, well-made game, but in the end it’s also a somewhat aged formula delivered in a fresh package. It’s definitely worth playing, but unless you’re an already made fan who loved all the previous games, don’t expect your world to be rocked the way the buzz would make you believe. Of course, if you by chance have never played any GTA title or derivative thereof, this would be the proverbial golden opportunity.

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