DataBox Games: Nine guys in their mid-20s on an island off Sweden. They are all attending Gotland University and working on their final thesis for their Bachelor's and Master's Degrees. Why is this important? Because much like the current wave of independent titles that flood the Xbox Marketplace - they are just a bunch of people with a love for games trying to deliver a unique experience. They don't have a major machine behind them, but they have a passion for crafting something that we can all get into and as such are definitely worth promoting around these parts. The game that they are currently working on is Penalty of Heroes, which I believe is their 26th title; most of the previous 25 have been made in ten weeks or less and have more fun crammed into them then a great majority of bigger budget titles. Read More...

You could potentially get your hands on the new Firefight mode from one of the most anticipated titles of the year. Bungie, Microsoft, and Gamestop have joined into an unholy alliance and are presenting a Halo 3: ODST Transport vehicle that will be making stops at GameStops all across the US, giving lucky folks a go with the title. Major Nelson via his blog, dropped the dates for the tour, and hopefully one of them are going to be close to you - if you are interested, that is: Halo 3: ODST Transport Vehicle Stops City Location Date Seattle (Redmond, WA) Redmond Town Center 8/22 Portland (Hillsboro, OR) Tanasbourne Town Center 8/23 San Francisco (Union City, CA) Union Landing 8/25 San Jose (Antioch, CA) Center At Slatten Ranch 8/26 Los Angeles (Pasadena, CA) Hastings Village 8/28 San Diego, CA Carmel Mt. Read More...

EA Sports's Madden NFL 10. The Best Madden Ever In years past (especially between 02 and 08) the annual Madden has been seen as somewhat of a roster update, however, Madden NFL 10 is something I've not experienced before: an ultra good looking, ultra realistic football game. Madden NFL 09 was a step in the right direction, with better graphics and new animations, however Madden 10 is a giant leap in the right direction, such a big leap it may have just landed where it needed to be. In years past, Madden has been hampered by a lack-luster graphics system that was essentially a beefed up PS2 engine. Textures were hi-res and the detail was there, however player models and the overall stadium experience was still fairly sixth generation. Read More...

Rock Band: Country Pack Rock Band is well known for the DLC updates they do every week. Very well known, for it. But one thing that the franchise is not well known for is having a good selection of music that falls in line with the controls and set up. In this case I am talking Country. A genre that isn't normally popular amongst the more hardcore gamers and fans of rhythm games. Well that was up until just recently with the expansion to Rock Band with the Country Pack. I use the word expansion here because this is really what the whole pack is. Read More...

The original Way of the Samurai title was released on the Playstation 2 back in 2002. It was set in 19th Century Japan, where you would take on the role of a ronin who wanders into a remote village and becomes involved in a conflict between rival clans. One of the best features about this game was the branching storylines that offered some very solid replay value while at the same time offering enough in the way of varying weapons and side content to really constitute different gameplay experiences. Although the story in the first game follows one overall framing narrative, the actual events that the you would engage in really depend on the decisions you make. Some decisions, while seeming small, could affect who lived and died at the end of the story. Read More...

Gameloft, never one to rest on its laurels when it comes to the mobile gaming market, has released what might be one of the most ambitious iPhone titles to date.  NFL 2010 takes the thrill and excitement of the NFL license and goes mobile; allowing you to transport your favorite players and teams anywhere. From the site: "Experience real football and play for the Super Bowl against the Cardinals, Steelers and the rest of the NFL on your cell phone. Every 2010 player and over 100 plays make this a complete sports game. Read More...

From id Software’s site: “Immerse yourself in the first person experience that takes your iPhone or iPod Touch beyond previously imagined limits. Introducing DOOM Resurrection, a brand new, technologically advanced, heart-pounding chapter in the legendary DOOM Saga! Scientists on a remote research facility on Mars have lost control of their experiment and all Hell has broken loose. As the last surviving marine, you must defeat the intruders and help the remaining scientists unravel the mystery of what happened and more importantly, figure out how to stop it. You must succeed! Read More...

The Secret of Monkey Island has already come out in 3 editions, the floppy version for the Atari ST, Mac, and PC in 1990, the re-release PC version and Amiga versions in 1991, and the much more widely known CD version in 1992 that featured better audio and a new UI. The most recent fourth version, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is by far the best. It is available for the PC and 360 and features all new graphics as well as brand new voices recorded by the cast of Curse of Monkey Island (aka Monkey Island 3). The music is also redone and was made by the same composer. Read More...

With today’s entertainment industry, it’s rarely a surprise when a performer jumps ship and moves from one avenue to another. Be it a singer acting in movies or an heiress releasing an album. Okay maybe that second one wasn’t a great example but the point still stands. In the case of rappers, Ice-T, LL Cool J, and Ice Cube are just a few examples of successful musical artists who have transitioned into movie stars and following in their footsteps is Tyrese Gibson. The former model and rapper has gone on to star in a number of major films including 2 Fast 2 Furious, Flight of the Phoenix, Death Race, and Transformers and its sequel Revenge of the Fallen. But now he’s taking an unexpected turn and expanding into the world of comics. Read More...

As a fan of hidden object and puzzle games, I was pleased to be able to review Kuros, the newest game from Sandlot Games. You begin the game as Katya, a young woman who finds herself in a mysterious land with no recollection of whom she is or why she is there. As she sets out to regain her memories, she finds herself solving the problems that have arisen in the strange land. The game consists mostly of locations in which you must discover hidden objects throughout each landscape. Each area consists of an Elemental Glyph (Fire, Water, etc... Read More...

Defenses be damned, offense is the name of the game in EA Sports' NCAA Football 10, their newest iteration of the NCAA football series. With all new game modes and a new presentation, it is clearly the sharpest looking of all, but is it the best? NCAA Football 10 continues the time-honored tradition of only adding just enough to get people to buy the new edition for the new year. Incorrect uniforms, dull (and often inaccurate) stadiums, boring commentary and lackluster audio plague the game, however it has always been that way. The first game I played, a rivalry game between Wisconsin and Minnesota, wasn't a very good first impression. Read More...

High Voltage Software unveiled its Wii-exclusive first person shooter (FPS), The Conduit, to the eager gaming public more than a year ago. Nintendo fans saw the game as a surprising, yet welcome, departure from the Wii’s library of casual games. Furthermore, the lack of exclusive quality shooters for the Wii have starved owners since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption back in 2007. It goes without saying that The Conduit has high expectations to meet. Now that it has finally arrived on store shelves, will High Voltage’s alien blast-fest live up to the hype? Read More...

MERCY!? You Want MERCY! I'm Chaotic Neutral! When the Unreal 3 Engine and game came to market, many of us looked at it in awe with the power it game developers and modders to make their own visually stunning FPS games. Other genres can work with it too, but it is totally an FPS engine. One thing I always though would do great was to have a shooter with some of the better of the licensed superhero characters of comic fame. Granted, Punisher was not the absolute first to come time mind for some reason, but it was the top three ideas I thought of. It was also an idea that Zen Studios came up with and make work extremely well with Punisher: No Mercy. Read More...

It’s been close to a year and a half since Koei released the original Dynasty Warriors 6, which did, well very little to change the Dynasty Warriors formula. Thankfully the creation of the Empires spin-off games have added some much needed depth to the original games. Primarily Empires adds a fairly deep level of strategy as you take on the role of either a Ruler or an Officer. The two sides generally play the same as your overall objective is to capture enemy territories and control all of China. As an Officer though, you’ll have a little less freedom than playing as a Ruler. Read More...

Mass Effect Galaxies, formerly Mass Effect: Jacob's Story, is an iPhone game developed by Bioware to offer fans of the franchise a little more in the way of mythology and action. It's a top down shooter with a great deal of personality for such a tiny title. It is not required to enjoy the series, but playing the game does give you insight into more of what is going on with characters you will encounter in the highly anticipated sequel, Mass Effect 2, Jacob and Miranda.Many of the same options in the 'higher end titles' appear here, including biotic powers and branching conversation trees. Unfortunetly, using the branching conversation mechanic here does not seem to have as much weight as it does in the aformentioned big brother to this game. Read More...