Xbox Elite Console

As the Holiday Season continues, many people might still be trying to decide which gaming console to purchase as a gift – either for the full family or just a single person. That’s one of the things you should consider when choosing what type of gaming system to purchase. Should you get the Nintendo Wii? The Playstation 3? Or how about the XBox 360? It can all be a little confusing until you take a look at the gaming systems.

Nintendo Wii for Families

While not necessarily just for families, the Nintendo Wii makes a great gift for an entire family, with games that will keep them entertained (and in shape depending on what games you get – the Wii fit is a good gift.) That’s not to say you can’t get a Nintendo Wii for a single person, but it makes a terrific group gift on your holiday list.

Playstation 3 for Roleplayers

If you’re getting a game station for someone who is into role playing and strategy games, the Sony Playstation 3 might be the best game system to purchase in 2009. With a great selection of games (of all types), the system is made for solitary gamers who occasionally like to get online to challenge others.

XBox 360 for Halo

Xbox 360 online is a hit with many people who are really into gaming, making this system a winner for them. With a lot of great online games that will keep them busy for hours, the Microsoft Xbox 360 might cost a little more, but it’s worth it. If you can, go for the extra storage. There’s a lot of great deals out there this year.

The Winner?

Well, that’s up to you. As mentioned, these game consoles are good for anyone really, because they have such a wide selection of games. Do you disagree or agree with our generalized look at gaming consoles circa Christmas 2009?

Let us know
in a comment below!

If you like FPS (first person shooters) with great visuals (read: exploding bodies), Killzone 2 is going to be your type of game. While there’s a decent selection of weapons, the enemies in the campaign game get kind of repetitive after a while.

The good news is that the multiplayer maps for online play are another area that Killzone 2 excels in.

On the bad side, there’s not really much to the story, especially if you’re not familiar with the first Killzone. When you’re playing other humans via multiplayer, though, the story doesn’t really matter as much. If it came down to it, I’d much rather have good gameplay over a good story.

Don’t let the lack of a storyline fool you, though. It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘world’ of Killzone 2 because it’s so beautifully put together. The game designers paid attention to the small visual details and it really shows in the finished product. If for nothing else than the visuals of the world in Killzone 2, you should check this game out.

If you’ve played Killzone 2 for the Playstation 3 (or the original Killzone for the PS2), leave a comment and let us know what you thought of the game.

Until next time, keep your eyes on the screen and your thumbs on the controller.

Street Fighter has been around for 20 years – and it shows. Not in an I’m wrinkled and old kind of way, though. The work that has gone into fine tuning Street Fighter really shows in the latest installment, a real work of art.

As with other games in the series, there are new characters to choose from. Street Fighter IV adds six new characters to the roster – Abel, Crimson Viper, Rufus, El Fuerte, Gouken and Seth (who is only unlockable once you unlock all the other characters.) All your favorite 12 fighters from the original game are also still around, which is important for a game like this.

The gameplay in Street Fighter IV is changed somewhat significantly. You’ll quickly get used to it, and should agree it’s a better overall fighting system. There are eight levels of difficulty, making the game enjoyable for a wide range of people.

If you’re a Street Fighter fan, we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below letting us know your favorite character or anything else about the Street Fighter franchise you’d like to share. Street Fighter is back in a big way.

Until next time, memorize those combo moves.

In the game, you control a rectangle made up of two blocks stuck together, and try to make its way toward the glowing exit on each level. Sounds simple, right? Well, it wouldn’t be any fun w/out a challenge, so rest assured it’s not going to be too easy to get to the exit on each level. The beginning levels are kinda easy, gradually sliding you into the game world of Cuboid, but soon you’ll be pulling your hair out (in a good, fun way!) as you try to finish the game by getting past the harder, more difficult levels. The game is really good at ramping up the challenge level after leve by just a little bit, enough to keep you interested and wanting to clear just one more level before going to bed.

The visuals in the game are great. They’re not the highpoint of the game (that’s the puzzles), but having something attractive to look at while you play is a good thing in my book – keeps you interested.

There is a free version of a game really, really similar to Cuboid that you can play online for free – Bloxorz anyone? You do get value, though, with being able to play it on your Playstation 3 with the addition of new puzzles and great graphics.

There is an online leaderboard that tracks the best players, but there’s a flaw in the game. Well, sort of a flaw. You can hit the pause button and stop the timer without any penalties. So…. the leaderboard might not actually contain the best players of the game.

Overall, whether you’re a puzzle game fan or not, you should check out Cuboid for the Playstation 3.

Do it now! Smile.

That was back then, though, in the 1990s. Ever since Sonic made the leap from a side scroller to a 3D virtual environment, the game just hasn’t been the same. Maybe it has something to do with it being more awkward to move so fast in a 3D environment or that it takes more wrangling of the controls to get Sonic to go where you want, but whatever it is, the recent incarnations of Sonic the Hedgehog just do not match up to the Sonic side scroller games from the 90s.

Beyond the controls or other problems in this latest incarnation of the game, it’s been said that the gameplay just isn’t up to par. From enemies that stand around absentmindedly until you attack them to repititious levels, there seems to be more frustration than fun in Sonic Unleashed. There are two styles of gameplay in the latest Sonic game – platforming (where Sonic used to shine, running fast, fast, faster!) and combat (beating up monsters.) Unfortunately, both types of gameplay have more things wrong than right, which makes for a not too fun game, especially when you add all the problems with controlling Sonic in a 3D environment.

All that said, if you’re a Sonic fan, you’re going to want to have this in your collection. If you agree that the creators of Sonic need to get back to basics with the game, email or write them a letter. Or better yet, send them many letters begging them to take a little more time and talking with gamers about what used to make Sonic the Hedgehog such a great game.