Super Mario Bros. - Gameplay clips

Okami ( PS2 )

Gorgeous and evocative, and proof that gaming can reach a higher artistic level, Okami will thrill gamers of all ages. Players control a female wolf in a breathtakingly beautiful world.

Tekken : Dark Resurrection ( PSP )

There were doubts that this would translate well to the small screen. Luckily, Nmaco crams all the best bits in.

Pro Evolution Soccer 6 ( PS2 )

Yes, the Xbox 360 version looks better but the Pro Evolution Soccer 6 on the PS2 is the real deal, with more option, better animation and a more refined feel to the action. Ignore the amateurish presentation and lack of licences, this is the finest football game ever created.

Psychonauts ( PS2, Xbox )

Fantastically warped platform game with an above-average script and story. Psychonauts has the Simpsons-like ability to appeal to adults and children and was much overlooked on release.

Professor Kawashima's Brain Training ( Nintend0 DS )

An inspired twist on the old Mensa-style memory games, perfectly suited to the hardware. Take the test once a day and see if your scores improve.

Nintendogs ( Nintendo DS )

Not quite the new Tamagotchi, but still a charming and unique cyber-pet with a touch of Pokemon. Raise your puppy, teach it tricks, and remember that dog is not just for christmast and it's for impressing your friend too.

New Super Mario Brothers ( Nitendo DS )

Yes, the format is more than 30 years old, but nobody does platform games like Nitendo, Featuring elements from just about every Mario title, this is retro game of the highest order.

Medieval II : Total War ( PC )

The Total War games just keep getting better. This is the perfect blend of turned-based and real-time gameplay. It is everything a strategy fan could want.

Mario Kart ( Nitendo DS )

As racing games get more realistic, Nitendo keeps going in the other direction with its offerings. Maria Kart owes nothing to real physics and everything to brilliant gameplay and colourful characters.

Gears of War ( Xbox 360 )

Good enough to redifine the shoot-em-up genre, this videogame teaches new techniques, looks amazing, is utterly brilliant when played cooperatively and above all provides one of the most intense and varied gameplay experiences ever.

Admittedly, devotees of this game will also neet to get their hand on Activision's Call of Duty 3, whis is a harrowingly realistic depiction of the D-Day push in World War II. SB

Daxter ( PlayStation2 )

Intriguing gameplay meets imaginative design to create a game that looks fantastic and reward your dedication with lost of secrets.

Company of Heroes ( PC )

Second World War strategy games have been done to death. Or so we thought until we played Company of Heroes, which invigorates a flagging sub-genre with both substance and style. Just what the gaming doctor ordered.

Battlefield : 2142 ( PC )

Battlefield : 2142

The fourth instalment of the Battlefield series takes a jaunt into the future. Retains many of the great features of Battlefield 2, but crank them up with weapon, vehicles, oodles of unlockbles and the great new Titan mode.

Animal Crossing : Wild World ( Nitendo DS )

Animal Crossing : Wild World ( Nitendo DS )

A successful return to one of the Game Cube's finest moments, this is a delightful combination of cutesy arcade adventure and life-sim. Innocent and nearly irresistible in small doses.

Time is the real enemy

RUSH TO BERLIN

I have probably played more than 300 real-time strategy games over the years, and the number of times i have found something truly new can be counted on my fingers. Rush to Berlin adds an interesting element to the genre: Time management.

The game is set at the end of World War II when the Allied armies were racing to capture Berlin. In reality, General Dwight D. Eisenhower allower the Soviet to take berlin, but in the game the Allies are in a race with Russia to capture the city first.

Every mission in the singgle-player games begin with a dramatic cut scene and a mission briefing so you wont't get lost. Then you are turned loose a realistic three-dimensional environment that looks so good, you will almost feel bad about destroying nearly everything in it.
In most missions, you have a depot that can create various units, as in a typical strategy game. Bit in this one, it's not about whether you can afford a unit based on material, but whether you can afford the time needed to make it.


On screen is an ever-present time management bar, which tells you if you are ahead, behind or on time with that mission's tasks. If you master the American/British and the Russian campaigns, you can unlock the German campaign, in which you try to wage a two-front war to avoid losing Berlin.

And if you complete that one, a bonus French campaign is unlocked, which, though not in the spirit of the rush game, is nonetheless fun to play. You also can play multiplayer games. All real-time strategy games have a time-management element, but Rush to Berlin makes it a central theme. For those who love to fight without catching their breath, this is the perfect workout. JOHN BREEDEN II ( LAT-WP)

System Requirements:
Pentium 4 1.5GHz or faster, 512MB RAM, 64MB graohics card
Price: US$40 ( RM148)

source:thestarnewspaper

Brain-busting fun ( SUDOKU QUEST )

SUDOKU, in case you’ve been stuck in a cave for the past year, is the fabulously tricky and brain-busting logic game where you have to fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3 x 3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

That’s all there is to it, and there’s no math involved (the grid has numbers, but nothing has to add up to anything else).

Sounds simple? Not so. It’s fun but it’ll challenge even the best puzzle-solvers, and you’ll need reasoning and strategy to get through this.

Sudoku is as fun as it is challenging, and it’s even more addictive. Depending on your skill and experience, solving a grid will typically take 10 - 30 minutes.

The myriad of potential puzzles and solutions provides a gamer with almost endless gameplay.

The key features in Sudoku Quest include four elemental themes (fire, water, earth and wind), high-score tables for each level of difficulty and generation of endless unique Sudoku boards.

Review courtesy of Jumboplay.com.my

source=star-techcentral

Game for transport education

A computer game featuring a freen alien has been developed by Singapore's Land Transport Autgority ( LTA ) to educate primary school pupils, the LTA said. Named after the alien, VR-10 the game has been such a success schools are incorporating it into their curriculum.

Translating land transport policies into an interactive game for 10 to 12 years olds took some doing, team member Sim Lou Wei told The Straits Times. Players take on the role of VR-10, who is stranded when his spaceship breaks up over Earth.

To get home, he must navigate a map of the city-state by bicycle, bur or train, and locate parts of his spaceship. Players who correctly answer transport-related question receive cashcards for the next leg of the journey.

"One Primary 4 pupil told us he's rather skip his recess than stop playing the game," Sim was quoted as saying. - dpa

Zoo , zoo , skip to my zoo

ZOO TYCON : COMPLETE COLLECTION
System requirements : Intel Pentium II 300MHz processor, 128 MB RAM, 600MB free hard disk space, DirectX 8.0a-compatible video card.

Zoo Tycoon, as its name suggest, requires you to build a zoo and attract as many visitors as you can. This "complete collection" comes with the other expansion packs, namely Dinasaur Digs and Marine Mania. The basic gameplay for Zoo Tycoon is pretty straightfoward, you start with an empty lot, built exhibits to house the animals, and take it from there.

Handy hints and status menus are on hand to help you determine what makes you're animals happy, healthy and well-fed - importance considerations since they are your main attractions.

The original Zoo Tycoon comes with about 40 different animals, while Dinosaur Digs and Marine Mania add some new exhibit types and more interesting creatures.

Jurassic lark and swimming shark

In the Dinosaur Digs expansion, your exhibits arrive as eggs, which are looked after by scientists- not the zookeeper until they hatch. Safety precautions such as reinforced concrete walls and electrified iron fences are needed to keep the dinosaurs from eating your visitors.

Six new scenarios and a specific tutorial for Dinosaur Digs are threaded in nicely with the game. New filters are also added which enable players to remove guests, foliage and buildings, making it easier to pick animal and staff members out of crowd.

Marine Mania brings 20 aquatic creatures such as dolphins and sharks inthe the picture where you can put on an aquatic show for paying visitors. Although it is an interesting addition, the animation and sound effects could do with some imprevements.

Very young children would enjoy these show, while older gamers will lose interest after a while. They are 10 new scenarios in this expansion, which includes a kid's map, where all objects and animals are already researched and there is an unlimited supply of money.

Every which way but loose

The gameplay is undemanding, and most of the time it is left open-ended: You can play it any way you want, as long as the basic objectives are met at the end of the game day. A "freedom" mode is also available where you get to build a zoo from scratch with as little or as much starting money as you want, but be prepared to encounter little activity or interactivity here.

The game's audio effect and music are sparse, but sufficient for a game of this genre. Overall Zoo Tycoon : Complete Collection is an enjoyable strategy game that is suitable for all ages.