The gameplay is totally different than the rest of the series.  If you played the first few, you remember sneaking around rooms, pulling bodies into dark corners, and frantically picking locks as the guards patrolled closer.  But Conviction has Sam as a determined killer; out to get the guys who took away his daughter.  The game hasn’t turned into a run and gun shooter yet, and stealth is still important, but it doesn’t have the same tricks of the trade that old Sam Fisher used to have up his sleeve.

One of the new features of the game are the interrogations that Sam will sometimes put his foes through.  Overall, the interrogations seem to both hit and miss.  The first few may be kind of exciting, but overall, they’re few and far between, and don’t get any more exciting or feel as fresh and interesting as the first.

But, that shouldn’t draw away too much from the game.  The sound track is pretty amazing.  It weaves you in and out of the story by adding to it, rather than becoming part of the game itself.  It builds suspense when you need it, and is fairly unnoticeable otherwise; the way a good soundtrack should be.

The length of the game was a little too short for my taste as well.  Since most companies are focusing on building the replay value, they often neglect making the first play through exciting enough to want to play it again.  Gamespot has the correct idea when it said that the first play storyline isn’t challenging enough, but the co-op is what really brings the game to life.

In addition to the 70+ quads, trucks, bikes, and cars featuring in the game, a new video released today also reveals hovercrafts that race across both land and water. Featuring exhilarating arcade racing and sweeping shots of FUEL’s stunning environment, the video is available from www.fuel-game.com (in the Downloads section).

There’s a lot of discussion about whether or not they were able to succeed, but if you take a look at what they were able to accomplish in the game, it’s pretty impressive and worth your time. With sales, the series will be continued, with improvements most likely being made. This isn’t a car racing game or a bike racing game per se, but you can race both cars, bikes, and other vehicles. With tons of vehicles and miles and miles of diverse tracks and courses, you won’t get bored quickly with this game.

While the courses and the vehicles are impressive, the AI behind the other racers could use a little work. Luckily, there’s great multi-player that will keep the races interesting and more important – fair!  There are minor problems with online play, but these will surely be worked out as more people become attached to this driving game that could be a dream video game for a lot of people.

If you’ve played FUEL, let us know and leave a comment below. Whether you love or hate this epic racer, we want to hear from you because of your love for video games.

“Our goal is to make exciting, fun and accessible games that translate to the masses,” said Ben Smedstad, creative director & co-owner, Endrant Studios Ltd.. “Our backgrounds and experience enable us to be more creative, more focused and deliver a higher quality game no matter what the platform.”

If you’re waiting for the game, you might look around for older versions of this classic to “get in the mood” and be “blown away” when you finally see the latest 2009 Wolfenstein. If you’re a fan of FPS video games, there are good chances you’re going to love this game. You’re going to want to play it at least a few hours with a few different people to run it through the paces. Sometimes people are too quick to judge a new game. This is a shame and gives a lot of bad publicity to a potentially very good video game.

Let’s not let this be the case with Wolfenstein. If the previews are to be believes, we’re looking at a very fresh take on the FPS video game, something that’s a good thing.

Once the game does come out, you’re invited back here to Video Game Freaks for a closer look and to leave your thoughts on the video game. That’s right, we love to hear from our readers. Keep in touch!

There’s a multiplayer mode that lets up to four friends compete to grow the biggest harvest. Players can also change Mama’s outfit to their liking while customizing the screen design to their preference. This is a small touch, but one the target audience might really like. These days, you can customize pretty much everything, so why not your Gardening Mama?

This game was developed by Cooking Mama Limited, the team that created the award-winning Cooking Mama franchise. (They sold over 3 million units in the US alone.)  Gardening Mama stars the iconic culinary cutie in her first ever gardening game. And speaking of the game, it’s really rather simple, but a lot of people are going to love it. (I mean, just look at Tetris if you don’t believe me. Could anyone have predicted that that game would take the WORLD by storm? I didn’t think so…)

Back to Gardening Mama, though. While it’s a video game, it’s also somewhat of an instrutional tool. It’s not like one of those learning “games” that isn’t fun, though. There’s actually a lot you can “get into” in this game. If you know someone younger (or you feel really young and loved Cooking Mama) you should check out this game.

If you’ve played Gardening Mama for the Nintendo DS, leave a comment and let us know what you thought. Have a great tip for Gardening Mama? Leave a comment? You get the picture.

Until next time, remember to weed the garden!

“Diabolik: The Original Sin represents for us the effort to create an international success based on a well known Italian comic story. We strongly believe Diabolik is beloved and admired by anyone because anyone secretly admires his wildness and transgression.” Said Fabrizio Vagliasindi, Black Bean Games Head of Marketing.

The main character in the game is pretty cold. Diabolik  is an anti-hero, a skilled thief and a master of disguise who loves luxury, expensive cars and hi-tech gadgets. He can be merciless and he has no concern for anyone but himself and his one true love, Eva.

Eva, the only woman who can keep up with him, likes being involved in mysterious and complicated stories. Diabolik and Eva make up a great if unconventional couple. They’re both lovers and partners in crime.

“After years of mutually profitable collaboration, we’re excited about this long-term partnership with Black Bean,” said Riccardo Cangini, CEO of Artematica. “Finally an Italian joint-venture showing the skills and the determination required to obtain a relevant position in the international market.”

It looks like this game is going to excite a lot of people. If you like comic books or just video games that are a little different (in a good way) this may be right up your alley. It looks like it’s going to be well suited to the Wii and Playstation controllers … as you know, sometimes games don’t make the translation from PC very well.

If you’re wanting to play this or have any comments on Diabolik: The Original Sin, leave a comment below.

The latest incarnation for the Nintendo DS and PSP has three modes -Classic, Speed it Up, and Slam modes. All are fun, depending on what type of mood you’re in.

There’s also single player modes and support for up to four players, which is really nice – especially if you’re in the car on a long trip or somewhere else you want to kill time with someone.

The graphics in the game are ok. They’re certainly not stellar. They do the job ok, and probably keep the game running faster. That is, without a lot of unneccessary and large animations to slow it down, the game can load a little faster. Even if that’s not the case, Scrabble is all about the words and gameplay. There’s a reason this game has become so popular over the years and remains so today.

Whether you’re  a casual Scrabble player or just a fan of words, Scrabble for the Nintendo DS or Playstation Portable is just the ticket to satisfy your cravings. The multiplayer modes are really nice as well, making it a great value.

If you’re a Scrabble fan (the boardgame or the videogame), we’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below … just make sure you hit the triple word score space in the comment box! Smile.

While it may look like early GTA games, the features make it more like GTA 3 and GTA4, or maybe even a little more removed from them. The Nintendo DS doesn’t offer a lot for graphics, so there’s a top down view, but don’t let the looks fool you (and remember there was a reason the early games were popular too…)  It’s all about the gameplay. and GTA: Chinatown Wars definitely delivers.

The game is set in Liberty City and is a pretty faithful replication from GTA 4. The controls are a little different, but the screen is used in pretty interesting ways. If you’ve liked any of the GTA games, you’re going to feel at home playing this game.  It’s very open ended, with a lot for you to do in Liberty City, although you do get a nudge here and there for the overall storyline.

There is a multiplayer version, but it only supports two people. You can simulate playing with in-game characters, though, with a PDA like interface. The two player games are interesting and fun, though, giving you a lot of control over the type of game or experience you want to have – car chases? shooting? There are lots of different modes to keep everyone happy.

Overall, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is NOT just a clone of the game to the Nintendo DS. Designers took their time to craft a game that’s special and unique and should be a great hit to GTA fans all over.

If you’ve played GTA: Chinatown Wars, we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.

Until next time, keep it real on those Chinatown Streets.

With single player and 2-player action (including online play), MLB 09 is the way to experience baseball. As they say on their website – “nothing gets you closer.”

If you’re a baseball fan, you’re also going to appreciate the attention to detail when it comes to the teams and players on the teams.  MLB 09 The Show is more about making MLB 08 the Show better rather than trying to invent a totally new baseball game. And it shows. The latest game in the series is one of the most realistic ways to experience baseball … in a video game anyway.

If you’re not a hardcore baseball fan, you might have a little trouble getting into the game. It’s definitely not an ‘arcade’ or ‘action’ baseball game. This is more of a fun simulation of what baseball – the game the passtime – is all about.

Dave Campbell, Rex Hudler,  and Matt Vasgerian are the ‘broadcasters’ in the game, giving you the play by play action. While they’re pretty good, things do get a little repetitive after a season or two, especially the cliches. What would baseball be without the cliches, though?

If you’ve played MLB 09: The Show, we’d love to hear what you think. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on one of the best baseball video games ever created.

Til next time …. Batter up!

According to the Pew report on video games:

Over half of American adults play video games, and four out of five young adults play Among adults, computers are the most popular gaming device, but among young adults gaming consoles are preferred. Virtual worlds only draw a small crowd of players.

The blog post at CS Monitor is also informative, looking at the different areas that are seeing video games used more including the military, sports, and politics.

Other information from the report:

Some 53% of American adults age 18 and older play video games,1 and about one in five adults
(21%) play everyday or almost everyday. While the number of video gamers among adults is
substantial, it is still well under the number of teens who play. Fully 97% of teens play video
games.

Overall, men (55%) are slightly more likely than women (50%), and urbanites (56%) are a bit
more likely than rural-dwellers (47%) to play any kind of digital game. There is no significant
difference in game playing across income groups or between suburbanites and adults from other
locales.

About the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project

The Pew Internet Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center, a nonprofit “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Pew Internet Project explores the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care and civic/political life. The Project is nonpartisan and takes no position on policy issues. Support for the project is provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

SingStar for Playstation

When video games for the home first came out, they weren’t really made for more than one or two people to use at a time. Sure, there were some instances where four could play at the same time, but as video game consoles evolved, a new genre emerged – the party game. Here’s a breakdown of some great multi-player video games that will keep all friends and family having fun over the holidays.

Singing Party Games

A form of home Karaoke game, SingStar (Playstation 3) has personalization, community and, of course, lots of singing along to your favorite songs. The latest generation of the game has the ability to purchase single tracks online, which means you don’t have to buy 30 or more songs to get just the ones you want. That’s pretty nifty.

Dancing Party Games

Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 [Bundle] [Xbox 360 Game] is the latest incarnation of the DDR craze that swept the planet. In this version, appearing on the games 10th anniversary, there are more than 70 songs dating back to the Disco 70s.

Multiplayer Party Games

By adding the Wii and Mario, you get little party game gems like Mario Party 8. Several different mini-games are wrapped around a board game theme that has you rolling dice and “moving squares” to get to the mini-games. This multiplayer game has enough of something for everyone that it’s good for large groups of people.

Thinking Party Games

For those older party goers or maybe for after dinner, there are a lot of great trivia and knowledge multiplayer games as well. One that goes all out, inventing a whole game show, including a wacky host, is the Buzz! Quiz TV Bundle.

Your Top Party Video Games for Holiday Gatherings?

Whatever console you have and whatever type of people you have coming over to your holiday gathering, I hope these ideas will work for keeping your guests entertained for a little bit.

What are some of your favorite party games for the holidays?