QueenAlice - The Site for Casual Chess on the Web (A Review)

By Timothy Trimble

I've been playing chess since I was 15 years old. I was in the Chess Club in school. And I remember the big media blitz on chess during the Boris Spasky versus Bobby Fisher matches. Whew! That was a long time ago. But I'm still a big chess player. As such, I'm always on the lookout for a good internet based chess client where I can hang my chess hat. In my initial search I tried many different sites. I even paid for membership on one of the sites for awhile. But then I came across www.queenalice.com!

QueenAlice is a web based chess site that provides correspondence chess playing in a very laid back and non-intimidating environment. What attracted me to QueenAlice was the need to be able to play some chess with some of my remote friends, by making moves when I had the time. Which is where QueenAlice shines! When a player makes a move, QueenAlice will send an email to the opponent, letting them know that it's their turn to move. Moves can be spread out for up to 14 days per move or up to 90 days per game. The email message contains a layout of the board and a history of the game moves.

One of the features that I use the most on QueenAlice is called the "Think" gear. When you click on this, you can move pieces around the board and try out different move combinations, without affecting the actual game. Then when you're done trying out your "what if" positions, you click on the gear again and go back to the original board setup.

Currently there are just a little over 600 players, from all around the world. There is support for multiple languages and players can contribute to new translations if their language is not currently supported.

Players can play rated or nonrated games. Ratings are provisional during the first 25 games, and then the player gets an "established" rating. The rating calculations are posted on the site for review. There are also ongoing Round Robin and Swiss System tournaments.

The ART of Software Development in QueenAlice is in the feel of the site and the dedication of the author Miguel. The theme of the site is taken from the book "Through the Looking Glass" by Lewis Carroll. The site itself is very easy to use and does not promote the "pretentious" attitude found on many chess sites. It's the perfect place to go for a "casual" game of chess. Miguel has done an excellent job of putting the site together. He's always avalable to listen to comments and recommendations made by the users. Much of the feel and functionality of the site is due to comments from the players. There is an active forum on the site where players can discuss chess tatics, site functionality, or just life in general topics. I have found QueenAlice to be an excellent location for playing chess with many of my friends who are not computer or internet experts. It's very easy to register and begin playing without having to jump through a lot of techical configuration hoops. And the site is currently free to use. It has been during the past few years that I've been using it. There is a minimal amount of advertising on the site, but it does not get in the way of playing or using the site.

Now if you're looking for high end chess discussions with international chess masters and advocates, then you'll be happier on other sites like The World Chess Network, The Red Hot Pawn, or The Internet Chess Club. If you want a casual game of chess, with some very friendly folks, on a very easy to use site, then QueenAlice is THE place to go. Now if they could just figure out how to serve expresso with each game. Check it out at www.queenalice.com

Timothy Trimble, The ART of Software Development Timothy Trimble is a award winning, freelance writer, and software developer. He has written a book for Microsoft Press, articles for significant computer industry trade magazines, and is currently working on his second computer technology book to be published in early 2006. He is the Blog publisher of The ART of Software Development which can be found via his web site at http://www.timothytrimble.info Proud member of http://www.WordBrains.com

N - Classic Gaming with a New Twist (A Review)

By Timothy Trimble

If you've ever wasted hours or even days on playing a video game on your old Commodore 64, then chances are it was a game called Load Runner. Well, it's amazing how this genre has come back full circle. "N" is such a game. Developed in Flash by Raigan Burns and Mare Sheppard, of Metanet Software Inc.

My first sight of this game was from watching my son play it on his computer. I instantly became mesmerized by it's smoothness and the intricate details in the movement of the main character as it moves, flys, jumps, and falls thoughout maze after maze of enemies and bonuses. I especially took note of the simplicity of the game. Finally, someone has released a game that one can sit down to and play without having to crack open a 20 page instruction guide. But don't be fooled! There are over 200 levels to get through! And what amazes me, is that after watching my three sons play this during the past few weeks, they've yet to finish the game! They're totally hooked. The family PS2, with its adrenalin pumping shooters, 3-d ray traced, real-time graphics, and total game play immersion - sits cold and alone. Only to be touched if one of the boys is waiting for their time on the PC with N.

The ART of Software Development in N, is not just in the finished product and its ability to capture the gamer. Its also in the fact that Raigan and Mare have published source and tutorials on their web site, which explains the technique and process of developing this wonderful game. And we not just talking a few rapid paragraphs here! This is a full blown tutorial on Collision Detection, Physics, Movement, Geometry, and Mathmatics. With pictures and diagrams too! For anyone who wants a full blown education on the science of game design and development, this is the place to go!

I can't say enough about this amazing game, the Metanet website, and the kindness of the developers. There is heart in the offices of Metanet Software Inc.! I have no doubt that we'll be hearing more about Raigan, Mare, and Metanet! You'll find this quote on their web site: "We're not professional -- that's our strength." That pretty much sums it up.

You can check out N at: http://www.harveycartel.org/metanet

Timothy Trimble, The ART of Software Development Timothy Trimble is a award winning, freelance writer, and software developer. He has written a book for Microsoft Press, articles for significant computer industry trade magazines, and is currently working on his second computer technology book to be published in early 2006. He is the Blog publisher of The ART of Software Development which can be found via his web site at http://www.timothytrimble.info Proud member of http://www.WordBrains.com

MMORPGS: World of Warcraft, a Review

By Stefan Pratter

Introduction

If you're into computer games, you probably have heard of World of Warcraft, the latest hit produced by Blizzard Entertainment, and you're probably aware what an MMORPG is. If you're not, let me explain it quickly. A MMORPG is a massivly multiplayer online roleplaying game that allows thousands of players to play in a persistant game world.

World of Warcraft currently entertains close to 7 million people world wide. It has drawn many of the mmorpg veterans but also introduced a lot of new people to the genre. Why is world of warcraft so successful? Well. I think it comes down to more than one thing.

First of MMORPGs are usually not that easy to get into, often the player is presented with a akward interface, tons of options and a lot of things going on around them in general the first time the log onto the game. Blizzard has done a pretty solid job in keeping the interface simple and stupid, allowing even newbie players to get into it at a quick pace. Hints and Tips help guide the true MMORPG newbie along as well. When the developers of the game created the interface, and gameplay in general their goal was for it to be easy to get into it, but to be hard to master.

They have definitely accomplished the first part, the second part can be argued about. What defines a good player in an MMORPG basically comes down to two things.

1) Does he know his character and the abilities

2) Does he pay attention

There are no twitch skills involved, and in my opinion if youre looking for a competitive game, current mmorpgs - including WoW - are not the place to look at. If you want skillbased competition stick to RTS and FPS games.

The second thing that makes wow so successful is mostlikely the name of the producer and their huge fanbase - which they deserve by all means - after having released such great games as the diablo and warcraft series, which were all huge hits.

Let's get to the review part :)

Character Creation

Like every MMORPG or MUD out there the journey always begins with the character creation. You get to pick your site - alliance or horde , your race and a few visual features. Character customization is definitely one of the game's weakest points, the diversity and amount of features to select and change for character remind of Everquest which was released almost 8 years ago. You get to chose

* between a handful of faces

* skin tone

* between a handful of haircuts

* between a handful of facial hair styles

* hair color

It is probably not a huge deal, and its certainly nothing game breaking, a bit more would have been nice though.

First steps

As you take your first steps within WoW, getting used to the user interface, you will quickly notice that the game is very quest driven. You can earn most of your character's experience via quests, you will still be grinding mobs for exp once in a while though.

The starting quests also lead you along nicely, out of the starting area to the bigger towns and into the deep dungeons

The world

The amount of detail that was put into the world of warcraft is amazing and stunning. The cartoony style may not be everyones cup of tea, but whether you like it or not you cannot dismiss that the world has a lot of character. It is filled with content too, and you will find yourself stumbling from point of interest to point of interest.

The dungeons

The dungeon instances, which are zones that belong to you and your group, while pretty linear most of the time are also amazingly done. The boss encounters are fun, and the best loot is gotten from doing instance runs. The dungeon instances are supposed to be the group part of the game (aside from pvp) and it would be unwise to enter them alone unless youre like 20 levels stronger than the mobs inside the dungeon.

The way to 60, and beyond

Most people ive talked to tell me they have the most fun leveling their characters to level 60, because it is quick paced most of the time, and only slows down rarely. The quests are done well, and there is just so much to discover.

Once you hit 60 youre basically stuck with three things to do though

a) do instance runs (raids) for items

b) grind monsters for money

c) pvp

Now this might sound as if it should be enough. But the core problem is this: there is no character advancement beyond 60 other than getting items. These items are gotten by raiding elite dungeons with your guild, playing the bazaar game or by gaining rank while pvping.

Right now, if youre a raider, you raid so you can raid more. There is no reason to take that super dagger of stabbing into a normal 5 man dungeons and just carnage stuff left and right, other than for the sake of carnageing - is that even a word.

The game at this point, 2 years after its release, direly needs some alternate advancement, luckily the expansion (The Burning Crusade) is right around the corner, so that should help out some for now.

Server Issues

This is were i have an axe to grind, so pardon my rant

Ever since wow was released , the game has had severe sever stability issues. I guess they did not expect the kind of amount of people to buy the game back then and got surprised. Not a big deal, most of the MMORPGs face server issues the first few days of the game's release, even if is not as popular as wow.

But even after 2 years of development it is sad and annoying to see that the same server problems still exist, while not as severe, and the servers need to go down for maintenance weekly.

Content Updates

We all know it, Blizzard likes to do things correctly, and they always take their time. The thing is, that this is a MMORPG. People need to be handed new content almost constantly, waiting 3-4 months between content updates that deliver content that was promised to be in the game when it was released just seems weak. Then again i can certainly appreciate the amount of work that must be needed to create the content. It wouldnt be so bad if there was actually some way of alternative character advancement.

This review may sound a bit harsh and dont get me wrong, WoW is an amazing game, and what the artists did is just mind boggling. I leveled 3 characters to level 60, and as i was progressing along through the vastly different world zones of the game there was always this thought on mind.

Wow is an amazing online world, but it is as if they do nothing with it. Where is the dynamic world, that i imagined when i first read about WoW in 2002. There has been a world event of the opening of a raid instance that involved the players gathering resources for a month or two and then battling in a war like scenario to unlock the dungeon. While this is definitely a step in the right direction it is not enough. Next generation MMORPGs need to be developed with dynamic behaviour in mind. The world needs to change and feel less static.

Fazit

World of warcraft is a great game, and you will definitely enjoy leveling your character. After that it is uncertain, you will have to see for yourself. Doing raid instances can be fun, unless you dont like to rely on people. PVP can be fun too if youre into that kind of thing. Heck, even trying to amass huge amounts of virtual money can be fun to some people.

Stefan Pratter is a developer of the free browser based MMORPG Lands of Kazram - http://www.landsofkazram.com

Enigma: Rising Tide Review

By Neal Stevens

SINGLE PLAYER REVIEW

Enigma lives! Tesseraction has released a single player offline version of their upcoming massively multiplayer naval game and it lives up to its potential and then some. Playing Enigma offline gives you a chance to see what this game is all about and train for the upcoming Virtual Battle of the Atlantic (and Pacific, since the Japanese/British are part of this).

Enigma is set in an "alternate history", "one that begins in 1936 but in a world as it might have been had Germany won World War I". The Germans drove the British Empire from Europe and into alliance with the budding Japanese Empire. Together, the Nippo-Anglo faction faces off against the German monarchy and an expansionist United States joins the war to make a unique three-sided conflict. No Pearl Harbor, no Hitler, no Nazis, no Soviet Union. With each mission you are kept current with newspaper headlines and briefings from HQ.

There are over 35 single training missions and six separate campaigns in which you play as a destroyer, corvette, PT boat, or a submarine, for a total of over 90 missions with two difficulty levels, easy or difficult. The campaign structure is scripted and to progress you must complete each mission and live to tell. Each mission is an instant encounter at sea. There is no Aces-style hunting or tracking. The mission starts just after your lookouts make contact and the action is about to begin. The single player version does not have time compression, nor an in-game save feature. When you start a mission, you have to finish it. Getting pinned by escorts and waiting them out can take hours--real life hours. Like any good captain there were occasions where I was forced to take her deep, cut the engines, and trust my luck while I was away from the room.

Enigma makes no pretensions about being a full-blown simulation and it isn't. Be that as it may, the level of combat and the essential elements needed for an authentic naval game are there. Enigma is no arcade game by a long shot. Enigma allows first-person control of guns but all other stations are integrated in a command-style interface. Firing torpedoes is done by casual aiming, there's no TDC to operate. While I personally would be more satisfied with some kind of tangible input into target-motion analysis other than just "eyeballing" it, with all the pace and lethality of Enigma battles, it's sufficient. No player-controlled method of damage control is present, nor can you send radio messages. Aside from this and the lack of TDC, Enigma gives the simulation player most of what he could wish for in a naval game.

Enigma has AI that makes you say, "Ouch!"--enemy ships can put the hurt on you. Poke your periscope up in the middle of an armed convoy and you are plastered with tracer fire so dense, you can feel the hate and desperation of the crews aboard the merchants. Destroyers behave aggressively with tenacious, if somewhat predictable, tactics. The ships and planes are based on historical models with some modifications. Subs carry a realistic loadout of around 22-26 torpedoes. They reload much quicker than real WWII subs could, usually in a couple minutes. However, being that this is an alternate history, that can be explained by hydraulics that were actually employed on the German Type XXI U-boats that were developed at the end of the war (the real war). Destroyers, corvettes, and PT Boats (motor torpedo boats) have varying kinds of armaments-depth charges, torpedoes, hedgehogs, and guns.

All ships contain a small radar/sonar screen that gives you updates on surrounding vessels. When you play as a submarine, the screen can be interpreted as the sonar map usually found on subsims like Silent Hunter and Aces of the Deep. I was pleased to note that the indicated positions while submerged are not precise and the closer the range, the better the contacts. Tesseraction did a good job on finding the middle ground between giving the player information and withholding information he should not have depending on the tactical situation. Combined with the alarm bell that rings every time your sonar guy detects an incoming torpedo, you are equipped with fair and accommodating sensors.

Enigma has an easy mouse/keyboard interface to learn and it has the best voice control I've ever experienced in a subsim (in the same league as Sub Command). With no special mike set-up I was able to change speed, headings, depth, fire weapons, and more just by muttering into a mike. It allows you to keep one hand on the mouse, one on the keyboard, and simultaneously issue helm and weapons orders.

Graphics are a strong point for Enigma--especially the ocean wave effect. It is as close to looking out a porthole in a real ship as anything I have ever beheld. The ocean surface has very good textures, motion, and definition. The waves have sharp, white crests that are several notches above Silent Hunter II. Your sub or ship is a constantly moving platform on the surface and adds to the challenge of hitting targets with the guns or holding your binocs steady. The ocean battlefield varies from calm seas, to heavy seas, to flat-out gales with rain and blustering wind sounds. Just incredible.

Ships and subs are rendered with great detail. Not only are lifeboats, guns, portholes, screws, and antennas illustrated with inspired detail, but the decks, windscreens, and surfaces have a weathered look that straight away adds to the sense of watching a real ship in a real ocean. Hard-charging escorts part the seas with a frothy bow wave and subs leave foam on the surface when they dive (although the foam lingers too long, as if it is designed as a targeting key). Along with the voice control, Enigma graphics earns high praise.

An ample sound suite accompanies the good graphics. I enjoyed the whistling of falling bombs, changes in engine sound linked with vessel speed, ocean sounds, interior sub sounds, especially the sonar pings, and ricochet sounds. When your sub is damaged by depth charge attack, you can hear breaking glass and light bulbs and threatening water leaks. Sounds are directional, too, a plus. I noticed enemy screw sounds when in a underwater submarine were missing. Some of the best sound effects include the death scene, when your boat is fatally wounded. Water rushing in, rivets popping, and hull creaks accompanied by the slowly dimming lights... the effect is appropriately stark and eerie. Finally, you’re treated to a musical score with different anthems for each faction.

This wouldn't be an adequate review without noting the physics of the Enigma. It's easy to see that Tesseraction put a lot of effort into making the ships interact with the ocean in a convincing fashion, and they succeeded. Ships appear to be engaged in a constant dance with the ocean surface. Smaller boats such as the PT boats require a constant hand on the helm--they are pitched about by heavy seas. I also noted that when you are using the binoculars and en enemy ship hits you with a round, your view is drastically jolted, requiring time to readjust your sighting. Same for the sub cabin under depth charge attack. The display is visibly shaken after near misses. That's realism, simulation or not.

One thing Enigma has going for it in spades is ambience. The graphics are so good and the action is so compelling you will not mind repeating the same missions over and over. Some scenes caused me to marvel--watching my sub advance on a squadron of distant escorts and seeing the flash of their muzzles followed an instant later by a streaking, smoke-trailing, death-tipped shell and an audible whi-zzz! The color and moodiness of the stormy skies and towering waves touches the seadog in you. When the action really gets going with circling destroyers, skulking subs, merchants burning--planes dive bombing! torpedo bells ringing! shells splashing!--Enigma rules the ocean. While it is an action game, in some ways Enigma is more simulation than Silent Hunter II. When you are in the control room, you really are in a control room. Executing a crash dive makes the room tilt noticeably. Tesseraction knows how to suspend your imagination.

With the development emphasis on the eventual multiplayer action, there is no random mission generator, scenario editor, or dynamic campaign. Offsetting this is the implied assurance that since Tesseraction will be releasing upgrades on a three month cycle, that could include new mission packs. And when they get the online version completed (Dec 2003, we hear and hope), most players will be facing off on the Internet.

It's funny but much of what separates Enigma from Fleet Command is the first-person view from the bridge; and Enigma is distinguished from Fighting Steel by a vastly superior representation of the ocean. Yet, a host of other details and engineering touches make Enigma superior to most naval games that have come before it. The AI is better, the pacing is geared for action, the voice control works, and the environment is thoroughly engaging. Enigma promises fun and action in a superior ocean landscape and the single player version delivers completely. If Tesseraction is able to forge ahead and bring new versions and enhancements to Enigma as promised, including the massive multiplayer component, Enigma will have a lock on the naval game community. If you like naval games in general, you'll like Enigma. If you love good naval games, you'll love Enigma. This is truly a good naval game.

Neal Stevens is the editor of Subsim.com and contributing author of the coffee table book United States Submarines.

Half-Life 2: Episode One Game Review (Avg Ratio: 89.2%)

By Murat Dikici

One thing you can say about the team at Valve Software: they don't like to rush. After taking six years to craft the sequel to Half-Life, it's taken another eighteen months for the first mini-expansion, Half-Life 2: Episode One, to arrive. As the initial installment of a trilogy to be offered in episodic format, the good news is that Episode One is a welcome return to the world of Half-Life 2, with the same great graphics and gameplay that helped that game win numerous awards in late 2004 (including GameSpy's PC Game of the Year).

Episode One starts off exactly where Half-Life 2 ended: with you (as scientist/killing machine Gordon Freeman) atop an exploding Citadel, with your sidekick, the spunky Alyx Vance, about to be toast. Without spoiling things, let's just say that Alyx is kept out of harm's way, and the two of you are quickly reunited outside at the base of a smoking Citadel. After establishing an uplink with old friends Dr. Kleiner and Alyx's father Eli (once again voiced by Robert Guillaume), you discover the Citadel is about to go kerplooey, and in order to give yourself, Alyx and countless other citizens more time to escape City 17, you'll have to go back in to try and delay the meltdown.

There's a good deal of exposition at the start of Episode One, as characters are quickly reintroduced and tasks are laid out before you. The intro includes a reappearance by Dog (Alyx's pet robot), who makes your re-entry into the Citadel a memorable one. Once inside, you and Alyx spend a lot of time exploring the deteriorating monolith, giving you a chance to get reacquainted with the gravity gun. Before long, you'll be flinging around Combine soldiers just like the good ol' days. As you work your way to the Citadel's central reactor core, you're confronted with a healthy dose of puzzles, which start out simple enough but require more imagination to solve as you proceed.

Once you've delayed the Citadel meltdown (and picked up some extra intel on what the Combine is up to in the process), the second half of Episode One focuses on Gordon and Alyx's efforts to haul ass out of City 17. Of course, the escape is anything but simple, as you're first forced underground where you have to deal with headcrabs, zombies, and ant lions, and then you make your way onto the streets where you get knee-deep in combat with Combine soldiers, who are none too happy with the information you pilfered from the Citadel.

The gameplay in Episode One never strays too far from the familiar Half-Life formula: levels are kept pretty linear as you're steered from one challenge to the next, with lots of scripted events to move the plot along. The opening levels in the Citadel feel the most unique, due to the heavy emphasis on storytelling, the gravity gun, and all the puzzles involved with stabilizing the reactor. Things slow down a bit once you go underground and start fighting zombies, although there are a few interesting scenes where you have to shine your flashlight on enemies so Alyx can see and shoot them in the dark. Once you get outside with a full complement of weapons, things move along much faster, although it can sometimes feel a little too familiar, as if you're replaying the later sections of Half-Life 2 instead of new content.

Probably the biggest change introduced in Episode One is how Alyx fights at Gordon's side for the majority of the game. Plenty of shooters have tried this and failed, with NPCs who get lost or get in the way or are just plain annoying. Valve strikes just the right notes with Alyx; she doesn't nag Gordon, she can competently follow you around, and even provides useful support a lot of the time. There's a fun sequence in the later chapters where you're free to run ahead and fight alone, but it's far more fun to draw enemies into Alyx's line of sight so she can snipe them from afar. Aside from her use in combat, Alyx is also effectively used to put a human face on things and keep the story moving along, and Episode One is a better game for it.

As was the case in Half-Life 2, the graphics in Episode One are drop-dead gorgeous; there may not be another graphics engine today capable of consistently producing such attractive scenes in so many different settings. From the dramatic sights outside the crumbling Citadel to the shimmering reactor core to the dramatic lighting effects when fighting zombies in the dark, it's almost impossible to take a bad screenshot in Episode One. The NPCs are once again rendered with amazing detail and animations, and Valve has included the advanced HDR lighting effects that it showcased last year in the Lost Coast tech demo. Best of all, Episode One appears to be every bit as hardware-friendly as Half-Life 2, and ran without a hitch at 1920x1200 on our test machine (a 3.4Ghz CPU with 2GB RAM and a GeForce 7800 GTX video card).

One of the most unique features in Episode One is the addition of developer commentary, which, once enabled, can be accessed via chat bubbles sprinkled throughout the game. There's a healthy amount of commentary, with Valve developers mainly offering insights about design decisions that influenced sections of the game. The commentary offers a fascinating look at why parts of the game turned out the way they did, and while Episode One isn't the first game to try this (the PC version of The Chronicles of Riddick had a commentary feature as well), it's a feature well worth checking out once you've finished the game, and something we'd like to see more of.

The biggest question you'll probably have about Episode One is whether it's worth the $19.99 price tag. With about four to five hours of new gameplay, it goes by really fast, which is all the more disappointing when you consider we've waited so long for new Half-Life 2 content. (Episode Two is currently scheduled for the end of 2006.) There's also the Steam factor: so far, Valve's download service appears to be holding up okay, but the game is also in stores now for the same price for those of you (like me) who like having a box and a disc. (For the record, Episode One is a standalone title that doesn't require Half-Life 2 to play, and includes access to the previously released Half-Life 2 deathmatch.)

Half-Life 2: Episode One delivers exactly what you'd expect from a Half-Life expansion: it returns to the intriguing setting of City 17, delivers lots of tight action sequences and well-crafted puzzles, and is arguably the best-looking shooter out today. At $20, it goes by pretty quick, but the developer commentary adds some replay value, and it's impossible to imagine anyone who enjoyed Half-Life 2 passing it up. It's exciting to see developers finally embrace the idea of episodic content; the big question now is whether Valve can keep up with the demand.

Go to http://www.zopcuk.eu/en/game_reviews/half-life_2_episode_one.asp to read the full article.

You can find more articles on http://www.zopcuk.eu

A Review of the Return to Castle Wolfenstein

By Morgan Hamilton

The classic computer game Castle Wolfenstein has became one among the most popular first person shooter games of all times. I used to play Castle Wolfenstein as a 2D shooter game, before Castle Wolfenstein 3D came out. There is an unmistakable influence of Wolfenstein Castle 3D on almost all other games of the genre.

I was delighted at the news of the arrival of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, a sequel to the much cherished shooter game. I was convinced that Return to Castle Wolfenstein would offer me much thrill and fun and capable of taking me back to the shooting paradise. I felt it like a visit to Nazi shooting ground.

Wolfenstein games put Nazis as bad guys deserving to be shot at. Their demo suggested they have not moved away from the track I was pretty much used to. It is going to be pretty good shooting festival.

What waited for me with the full of Return to Castle Wolfenstein disappointed me. I hate the bizarre bugs associated with newer games. What to do with the patches? I don’t like to go through the routine of cleaning up the files and my system as a whole. The end is also too plain, with little to no special feeling attached. Return to Castle Wolfenstein does keep up to mark of today’s shooter games. But I always expect them to come up with benchmarks that others are follow.

Though I disapprove Return to Castle Wolfenstein sticking to the norm, I personally would recommend it to my friends who like to experience the fun and thrill of shooter games. Or it may be my special love to shoot Nazis? Or am I so much biased, against them?

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning computer software. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting Return to Castle Wolfenstein

A Review of Bejeweled Deluxe

By Morgan Hamilton

Do you like to play online games? Well, I do and I used to spend most of my time playing games on my computer. I play a lot of games, but Bejeweled Deluxe is one of the games that I like to play the most. However, I haven’t played it in a long time because when my computer crashed the game went along with it. I didn’t want to pay for a second time so I decided not to download it again.

The gaming company refused to give me a new license key when I informed them that I lost my old one. I didn’t hold this against them because I’m sure that a lot of people are trying to do this all the time. There would no way for them to know if these people are honest about it. Anyway, it’s not really a big deal for me because I had played the game for so long that I was ready for something new.

I’m sure that you are going to love Bejeweled Deluxe if you like the original. It is a great game, and it greatly improves on the original version. However, you should not start playing this game unless you have a few free hours to give up because you can easily get lost with playing. Bejeweled Deluxe can be very addictive that you might neglect to wash the dishes or make dinner because you are too busy playing it. I have been so involved in the game in the past that people have shown up at my house to make sure that I was fine.

There are plenty of free versions of Bejeweled Deluxe on the Internet, but these free games will only be free for a very limited amount of time. These are only trial versions, so you have to pay for the rest of the game when the time of the trial expires. The trial version of Bejeweled Deluxe can help you decide if you would like to purchase the full version or not even if it may not be long enough of a trial.

There are also free versions of Bejeweled Deluxe online, but these come with expensive costs because they are not legal. These free versions are often infected with spyware, malware, and a ton of viruses that can cripple your computer. These games are for free but they also allow hackers to mess with your computer. Of course, the creators of Bejeweled Deluxe will never do this to you because they are honest businessmen who want to earn an income in an honest manner.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Bejeweled Deluxe. Visit our site for more helpful information about Play Bejeweled Online and other similar topics.

A Review of Backyard Football

By Morgan Hamilton

To play a game of football with your buddies or with the family doesn’t mean the same thing any more. Probably you still remember the time when we all played full fledged football in neighborhood skirmishes, and if you don’t it’s not so bad as you can still have some fun on your computer while playing backyard football. The game makes a great Christmas or birthday present for you children also. You just have to cover the hardware requirements and learn to play.

Having the chance to choose from more than 30 professional teams and of course all of their players, and to even modify every single player in the game, will be great fun for your little treasures. The fact that it allows players to change what they don’t like makes that game really great. And you don’t have to worry about your Backyard Kids standing up against adult players of Gannon and Bledsoe. Both you and your kind will get excited when you see the junior-sized characters of those real professional footballers in your copy of Backyard Football.

Another strong point of the game is that even offering so many options for the play itself it does not require having a super computer as some others do. In the computer age that we live in, even if the game is having problems to run on your computer it will be easy to upgrade it. It only requires a standard version of Windows – 2000, 98 or even 95 will do, your processor speed should be at least 166 MHz and you’ll need at least 32 MB of free space on you hard drive, and you’re ready for kick off. In case you decide to save all your teams players and scores in the tournaments you’ll need some more free hard drive space too. And of course the better the SVGA video card you have the better you’ll enjoy the game on the screen.

It will be great fun for you too if you give it a try. Nobody knows what a competition you may start. And you kids will be very happy with that if you finally found the time to spend a few hours with them playing Backyard Football on the PC. It will definitely leave you with some nice memories too. Sharing all the emotions of your children around that great game can even bring some of your memories about the days of real backyard football back.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning games. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting Backyard Football

Starwars Galaxies - PC Review 2006

By Misty Pathster

Starwars Galaxies (SWG) is an ambitious Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) from Sony Entertainment. It is a game surrounded by history and controversial views. The actual product itself has been around now for a number of years but has been significantly re-invented by Sony twice since going live.

These large changes that Sony made have often been open to fiery debate by both old and new players. For the purpose of this review I will treat the game as new and try only to refer to the game in it's current form.

The Starwars Galaxies starter kit has everything a new player needs to get up and running. You start by choosing from a set of races and then pick one of the available iconic careers. They are iconic because each career is based on a starwars character. A career may have you searching the galaxy as a bounty hunter or if you prefer learning the path of a Jedi. You can even customize the look of your character and give them a name.

Once your finished with the character generation you can launch into a specially designed training level that helps teach you the basics of your chosen class. During this level you will run into the likes of Han Solo and even Boba Fett.

Your character develops by gaining experience levels. With each level new skills and rewards become available. The maximum level is 90 but even with a regular player it will take many hours of gameplay to reach this.

The galaxy itself consists of planets from the star wars films and books. A recent addition was the volcanic planet Mustafaar which was seen in the final Star Wars film. To play on this planet you will need to purchase the online expansion.

Each planet has it's own eco system and day / night cycle. As you grow within the game you will eventually be able to purchase your own home and vehicles. As well as the land based game you also get to fly around in space. The vehicle you fly in will depend on both your alignment (Rebel/Imperial/Neutral) and your piloting skill level. You can upgrade various components on your starship such as it's engines, shields and weapons.

Both the land and space areas contain a wide range of missions. Some are short while others are lengthy but all will give some kind of reward for completing them. One way of completing difficult missions is to create a group with other players.

Starwars galaxies is set at a time somewhere between the first (A new hope) and the second (the empire strikes back) films. Throughout the game you will come across reminders of the clone wars. In one mission it is even possible to obtain some old clone armour. There are rumours of the time frame moving on for the game but so far nothing offical has appeared.

Combat takes place in real time whether it is ranged, melee or force powers. The combat system shows by a simple colour icon as to whether or not you are likely to win a fight.

For myself the verdict is not out yet on this game. I know that Sony are planning on making many improvements and additions in the near future. Star Wars fans will be at home in the SWG universe. All the favourite places are there like the Mos Eisley Cantina and the waterfalls at Naboo. The social aspect of this game creates the potential for all kinds of adventures. Although it's good to make alliances in SWG it also works just as well if you prefer to take the single player approach.

I would like to give this game a higher score but as I feel it is still yet to be improved I shall lower it.

MMORPG fans may find this a disappointment where as hardcore Star Wars fans are more likely to stick with it.

Misty Pathster's Score - 7/10

Gamers Diary My current in-game experiences.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 - PS2 Review

By Misty Pathster

I have played an awfull lot of Starwars games over the years right back to the early days of the wireframed arcade game. Battlefront 2 has brought back to me some of that early fast paced arcade excitement.

As a youngster I also enjoyed the toys so being able to jump into multiple starwars vehicles and ships is just brilliant.

I never played the original Battlefront but can see why it was so popular.

The game has a lot of content and is based across the starwars universe at different times. You can play during the clone wars as well as the later period. What makes the game particularily appealing is the use of special hero characters.

Battlefront 2 has been given more emphasis towards the single player as well keeping its multiplayer roots. Both work well and the AI of the bots in a single player game is quite good.

There are three distinct game types you can play. A training game set during the clone wars, a galaxy conquest game and the instant action games.

New to Battlefront 2 is the ability to wage war in space. This is very exciting as you have the option of taking down an enemy capital ship from either space or by boarding and sabotaging it's systems. This is not one sided though as the enemy can do exactly the same to you.

The more competent at combat you become then the more strategies you discover. You start to use the landscape, weapons and vehicles around you.

Taking control of a lumbering AT-AT and blowing that rebel scum to pieces is just sheer fun. The AT-AT are a unique unit in this game as they act as a mobile base capable of spawning troops.

I do have some grumbles though and one or them is certain missing vehicles. The Millenium Falcon and B-Wing do not appear to be flyable vehicles in this game. I would have also liked to have seen bigger Star Destroyer, Rebel Cruiser interiors as these massive ships only have a limited area in which to fight and explore. If there is ever a Battlefront 3 then maybe some of these elements would be considered.

All in all this game is well rounded and entertaining and it should keep me occupied for sometime to come.

Misty Pathster's Verdict - 8/10

Gamers Diary My current in-game experiences.

Kingdom Hearts Review

By Matthew Boyd

2002 Kingdom Hearts was released, many fans of Square-Enix games were drawn to it as it contained many of their favourite FF characters such as Cloud and Squall. But when people found out that the game contained many Disney characters and worlds also it became something that many people laughed t you for if you owned it.

Now it’s the year 2006 and the majority of the people that laughed at you before now own the game, it was so successful that a sequel is now coming out at the end of the year.

The main part of the game that drew many people in was the interesting storyline, a boy named Sora having his home world destroyed away from him and slowly finding out that he is the universes only hope fighting against the darkness that was about to destroy it it. The Storyline is not something that is easily written down so you’ll have to take my word it’s a good game and buy it to fully understand.

So far it sounds like a sci-fi game but it’s not quite that simple as the game contains many elements that make it an action game as well as an RPG, you can interact with other characters choose where you go, also fight huge battles harnessing your skills, magic and strength. Kingdom Hearts also possesses many of the elements that most games developed by Square-Enix have such as a storyline that will take you well over 50 hours to fully complete and also many of the abilities in FF games: summons, HP&MP, Abilities, Items and special enemies to fight when you think you have done it all.

Even through all the benefits there are still flaws that you will most likely notice. As with most games there are camera angle problems and once you’ve played the game for about 30 hours you’ll find that the battles are a bit repetitive and start to get tired.

Boydies Overall Score - 9/10

Matthew Boyd - Geekazoid Writer For more Games Reviews and Free Online Games Visit http://www.geekazoid.co.uk

Final Fantasy VII Review

By Matthew Boyd

Since its release in 1997 this game has set the benchmark for all other RPG games, since its release there have been up to FF XIII so far in the series but as the number in the series gets higher there seems to have been some loss that has been making FF games less popular. So Square-Enix has been going back and reproducing their previous FF games for hand held gaming, but enough of the facts let’s talk about the game.

When FFVII was released it was the first of its kind, a 3D RPG game that had one of the most detailed storylines of its time, the main source of evil and enemies in this game comes from the Shinra company that controls a city where most people live called Midgar. The Shinra company mainly supplies electricity to the city and other places round the world with reactors, but the catch is that it they make this electricity by taking the life-force of the planet (It basically takes today’s problems with power to the extreme), but as well as supplying electricity Shinra has an army of troops the strongest being the 1st class SOLDIER who are genetically modified humans who have been exposed to the planets life force and injected with alien cells.

These alien cells come from an almighty being called Jenova, which crashed on the earth hundreds of years before FFVII. Shinra found Jenova and took her into captivity and performed various experiments even creating a human being from Jenova’s cells.

As every game has an evil guy in it this game has Sephiroth who was the best SOLDIER there ever was, during a routine check up of a reactor Sephiroth goes into the Shinra mansion nearby and starts to read some books from the secret laboratory underground, one book mentioned a child of Jenova who has super human physical abilities and being the best fighter in the Shinra corporation Sephiroth believed this child to be himself and took it upon himself to free Jenova from captivity and destroy the planet, but he was stopped by two Shinra SOLDIER’s Zack and Cloud (the hero of the game) and when Shinra learned of their victory they captured the two SOLDIERS and performed various experiments on them until the day they escaped. But during their escape Zack was killed.

FFVII takes place five years after Sephiroth was killed and you take the role of Cloud, as you progress through the story you meet new friends and even some old ones from Cloud’s past throughout the game, these friends will join you in the fight against Shinra and Sephiroth. The battle system is time-based meaning that you don’t have forever to think of what you want your character to do which keeps the action and the pressure coming time and time again. During battles you have a wide choice of moves that are updated as you progress through the game. The main factor that affects your moves is ‘materia’ which will allow you to cast a variety of magic spells, steal and even summon monsters. Also there is one factor that can turn the tide of the battle in the blink of an eye, this is called the limit gauge and fills accordingly to the amount of damage that your character receives, when the gauge is full you will be able to perform a special move that deals great damage. Your limit move will be upgraded depending on how many enemies you kill and also how many times you use it, each character has about 8 different limit break moves and are very different from one another, I'm sure FFVII fans will understand when I say “Omnislash destroys all!!!” google it if you don’t know what Omnislash is.

As you can see from the length of the review FFVII was a very long game but entertaining none the less. Most Playstation games usually have one disc but this game had three and since its release there has been what is known as a ‘Compilation of FFVII’ and in this compilation there is a fully animated movie (Not Cartoon looks more like real life) that was a huge success and also games that tell the story of the past and future of Final Fantasy VII and also other characters stories, FFVII was so successful there have been millions of requests for a remake of the game.

Even though it’s a Playstation 1 game it is still worth buying and is better than most of the games out today. It's also my favourite game of all time, and Cloud rules!!!!!!!

Boydies Overall Score- 10/10

Matthew Boyd - Geekazoid Writer For more games reviews and free online games -> http://www.geekazoid.co.uk

Devil May Cry 3 Review

By Matthew Boyd

Developed by Capcom, which is famous for such Titles as Resident Evil, Street Fighter and my personal favourite Megaman. The first Devil May Cry was released in 2001 and ever since has gained a huge reputation as the sword & gun kick ass bloodlust demon slaying death defying game.

Now that the third in the DMC series is out the game has had time to be fine tuned and ways have been found to take out the annoying bits for example the camera angle has been fixed, a wider selection of moves has been put in and your demon slaying arsenal has been upgraded. Unlike the second DMC this game was hugely successful as you only have one character and the awesome story line has been told from before the begging, that’s right this game is the prequel to them all, but is also the best of them all.

At the start you see the infamous Dante sitting in his chair eating pizza when he his visited by some bald guy who delivers a message from Dante’s brother Vergil, next thing you know Dante’s attack by demons and starts to kick some serious ass in a cut scene before letting you have a try at it. If you didn’t already know Dante is a half human half demon person, at first he looks like an ordinary guy but when you see him fight he aint so ordinary any more. About half way through the game you’ll get to see Dante turn into a demon for a short time and also use this ability in battle.

The battles in the game are virtually tireless as just as you think your getting bored another weapon is handed to you and you can unleash yet another devastating combo. The storyline is pretty unbelievable as well what could be better than Dante wanting to stop his Evil twin brother Vergil from opening the gate into the demon world and absorbing their fathers demon powers?

Boydies Overall Score - 10/10

Matthew Boyd - Geekazoid Writer For More Games Reviews And Online Games Visit http://www.geekazoid.co.uk

Warhammer Mark Of Chaos GamerZ Review

By Matthew Baldacchino

Warhammer Mark of Chaos is the eagerly awaited RTS (Real Time Strategy) game by Namco Bandai. Based on the Games Workshop tabletop wargame, Warhammer, one can fight alongside the evil Chaos or the mighty Empire. The game itself is amazing, graphics are top-notch and the AI is stunning. It captures the whole Warhammer experience greatly and has pretty good multiplayer action. Although there are some disadvantages (such as multiplayer technical issues and a fairly basic campaign) its well worth buying this game.

The game is fairly simple to get used to (after about half an hour you will probably be used to most of the basic controls) Basically, its mostly drag and click but there are some useful rotating/zooming options (all explained in the tutorial, which is a must for first-time players) and if a quick view reset is required, all you have to do is tap the Space Bar on your keyboard.

The battles are very similar to the Total War games (only instead of just humans, these include Orks, Elves, Skaven, Chaos and other creatures/armies from the popular fantasy wargame) The battles are amazing to watch and at some points I just zoom in and watch my men fight. Unfortunately the campaign-mode is nothing special. The player has a choice of two campaigns, the Chaos campaign and the Empire campaign. Even though Mark of Chaos and the Total War games feature the same type of epic-battles, the same can't be said for the campaigns. The Mark of Chaos campaigns are nothing close to the strategic depth of the Total War campaigns, but they both feature the same turn-based style.

Both the Empire and the Chaos campaigns are very similar, you move along a pre-determined battle path and fight battle after battle, meet and help a besieged town, duel an enemy hero and defeat and encampment of enemies. Occasionally you may come across a crossroads leading to an optional battle, but other than that, there aren't really any random events. You are able to buy your own army's units, upgrade them with better armor, weapons, siege equipment, banners, musicians and unit champions and even bless your troops in a temple, granting them various battle benefits. When you decide to fight a battle, you can obviously choose which troops to take with you and this is were the decision making and strategic planning begins.. do you want an army full of ranged weapons, such as muskets, bows or axes or would you rather rely on a force made up of swords and spears? The choice is up to you..If you lose some units in the battle, you can replace these (for a cost) at your army camp/town(eliminating the whole "resource gathering" process that may make other RTS games boring). You also get to control various heroes throught the game. These can also be upgraded with unique upgrades, they can collect armor and other items from dead units and use special skills to boost their/their regiment's fighting/defense skills. These heroes can duel enemy heroes in one-on-one combat. Speaking of battles, these involve quite a bit of strategic thinking and with the right tactics, it is possible to crush the enemy with minimal losses from your side. The fighting isn't like most RTS games, it isn't "fight to the death", units have morale and if a significant amount of that unit is killed, the survivors will break ranks and flee, giving you (or your opponent) the chance to regroup and chase the remainder of the enemy's army until they're forced to surrender.

Multiplayer battles are often huge and exciting (that is, if you manage to connect..) Unfortunately there are some connection problems (even after patching) but thankfully, these will eventually be fixed and Mark of Chaos supports multiplayer play over a LAN so its not THAT big of a problem.

This game is a fine example of a modern day RTS and any future expansions should be interesting..

I give this game an 8.5/10

Matthew Baldacchino - Admin/Webmaster http://game-aid.awardspace.com

PC Game Review: 'Telltale Texas Hold 'Em'

By Konstantinos Dimopoulos

Poker Ladies. The sinuous ladies, that haunted my early youth. A sexy coin-op money-sink, that forced me to (illegally, according to my age at the time) enter seedy arcades in order to see badly-drawn manga-styled nude ladies doing naughty stuff. I did learn to play the American 52-card version of poker though, and I was only 13. Now, that’s something I call a good start in my life. And I owe it all to Poker Ladies. I could have of course waited for something more than a decade and enjoy their dancing for free in MAME, but that would have been too late. No one can pull through high school and university without decent poker skills, just like nowadays nobody can avoid stupidly watching Texas Hold’em tournaments on TV.

Telltale Texas Hold’Em is not on TV, it’s on the PC instead. It was actually the first game released by the (hopefully) adventure maestros of Telltale, and has been around for quite some time. It is apparently a poker game. Of the Texas Hold’Em variety. This of course is neither a serious gambler’s tutoring software instructor, nor a hardcore/ultra-powerful simulation. Even though Telltale Texas Hold’em does play a decent and varied poker game, its great appeal is the atmosphere and the characters. Characters and atmosphere in a poker game I hear you say? Well, yes. You’ll be playing against four lovingly animated and fully 3d characters, each sporting a unique personality and thus a unique playing style. Their mid-game banter is excellent, amusing and at times downright funny, their facial expressions are great, and the whole thing is well directed. The camera pans, cuts and zooms correctly, the players look suspiciously around, move their chips, Grandma talks about her dead husbands and Boris tries to be a quite desperate bully. Voice acting is superb, and really helps flesh out those four quirky characters you’ll be gambling against. Characters that are a testimony to Telltale’s origins: none other than the 90s Lucasarts adventures.

The most impressive part of this game is the variety and quantity of the dialog included. You’ll need to play for quite some time before some expressions start feeling overused and even after 25 hours of poker action you’ll still hear the odd unexpected line and/or joke. Great writing and smart programming make all this possible in a download that’s less than 20 megas. Unfortunately not much else is included in those less-than-20- megas. There is only one mode of play, only 4 characters to play against, one room to gamble in, one possible screen resolution and a too simple tutorial/introduction text.

On the other hand, Telltale Texas Hold ‘Em only costs $12.99,and will definitely provide you with hours and hours of mindless entertainment. After all, you will quickly learn when to fold, when to raise your bet, when to bluff or when to call the other characters’ bluff.

Visit the official website (at http://www.telltalegames.com) and have a look. Download the demo; it’s the least you can offer yourselves.

That’s a (seven) out of (ten)

the Gnome... a specialist time waster, trying to save a little time for his phd...

Online Game Reviews Make People Buy and Play

By Kevin Dark

Information along the lines of performance ratings, genre, review on the actual game play or special features of the game, the positive and negative aspects of the game, what console it plays on, who created the games, and the overall rating for the audience it is initially targeted to.

The gaming industry has become a multi-billion dollar enterprise, which has infected everyone from, every known aspect of society. From rich to poor, child to adult, everyone has had come in contact at on point in time with video games, so much now that there is a need for these reviews to act as advertising to the masses. Also for the amazing amount of different genres and more realistic video games being produced monthly, it has become so much easier for adult content, violence, and even nudity to find its way to the wrong type of audience, say children.

That type of mishap has happened before and to a grand scale. The many video game bodies of America and the world have been given ultimatums by the censorship boards that have to clean up these sort messes, and tighten their grip on what is the correct thing to do. They now have a tougher criterion when handing out these ratings for Mature, Everyone, Teen etc. And there are now stiff penalties for anyone choosing to stray from the rules that have been set by these boards.

These reviews are done by any number of individuals, websites or business that revolves around the innumerable characteristics of the gaming industry. And reviews on every single game has to provide some kind of useful information to not only the users of these games, but also the reviews work as an advertising post and putting the game out there for potential new gamers that may be interested in the games.

The majority of these reviews are done for online gaming sites, and various e-zines that relay that information to a wide number of people. Some examples of these sites and search engines are: Tech TV, Game Spot, Game Zone, IGN Games, Game Rankings, Computer Games Online, Business Week/Game Room, Gamers, Review Center etc. And these are just a few of the popular reviews that are available to the public. There are actually millions of sites on line that give out this information, and the games are reviewed by a lot of players also, so you always get great feedback on the games of your choice.

These games are reviewed by any and everyone and are for the many consoles out there; Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation, PS2, Nintendo Game Cube, Nintendo DS, and even for the PC. Games are already being tested and reviewed for the highly anticipated PS3. I just shudder to think about it, such grandeur. Anyway these ratings are very important, it lets you know what to spend your money on, what games are right for children, if you highly awaited game sucks, or scores, or if you just want to know what the competition is up too.

Kevin Dark is an online marketer. You may find more information on game reviews on his new site.

Downloadable Game Review: Diner Dash

By Keith Blake

Playvue.com Editor's Rating: 8.0

Storyline

Diner Dash brings us the story of Flo, an office lackey fed up with the monotonous, unchanging pressures of everyday life and work in the big city. Thus she hucks everything out the window and runs off to find something better to do with her life. As it turns out, that is starting a restaurant chain in suburban America.

We are taken right into her quest as a restaurateur as Flo herself; an energetic, enthusiastic owner who fulfills every role from hostess to server, bartender and busboy (thankfully, cooking is provided by a overworked dark figure behind the counter).

Beginning with her very first diner, and ending with an upscale surf and turf joint, we take on Flo's every activity; seating her guests, handing out menu’s, delivering breadsticks, taking and delivering orders (not to mention cocktails), clearing tables, and seating the next guests. All this in the pursuit of money with which to improve her existing restaurants or even open up a new one!

Navigation

The navigation is easy enough to pick up on the first try; it’s point and click (click on a dirty table, she runs over and clears it, click on table awaiting their food, she delivers it from the counter). This does get quite challenging in the later levels where it becomes necessary to click on other activities while Flo is executing the current one (the game creates a queue of activities which Flo will execute one by one until they are complete).

Ease of Use

In terms of ease of use, this game is fantastic. I wasn’t surprised when I was able to pick it up rather quickly, however I was surprised when my grandmother was flying through at a faster pace then I managed to muster. While easy to get going, it does require a master’s touch to reach the highest scores at the end of the levels where constant motion is a must. But this just adds to the playability, and is a welcome change to contemporary games which prove easy to complete with no added challenges.

Playability

I found myself wanting to complete this game all the way through the first time I played it; which would worry me as to whether the game would hold my interest a week or even a month later. However, these worries are relieved with the Endless Shift feature: a score building endless level which “keeps 'em comin’” and provides extras like super ovens, bobcat-fast tennis shoes, and a super podium 3000 to help you along the way.

Full Version Features

The free trial includes unrestricted access and allows you 60 minutes of play; which just got me started. The full version includes 40+ levels of gameplay, 4 different chains, 5 different types of customers, two modes of play (Career and Endless Shift) and high score tracking. At only 10MB, it’s not a hard drive buster, nor will it clog up your dialup line for too long. And at $19.99 its not a wallet buster either: cheap enough to warrant casual play throughout the year.

Pros/Cons

Pros:

• Appeals to the rest of us (non-hardcore teen gamers)


• High repeat playability


• Easy to use, navigate

Cons:

• No multiple player support


• Little high score competition (score posting available on publisher’s website)

Bottom Line

A busy restaurateur provides a nice change of pace to card and puzzle games for those of us who aren’t interested in shooting up aliens, goblins, or terrorists for 12 hours on end. Definitely high repeat playability, even after beating the Career portion of the game. Low price and download size are a real plus. Lacks in competition and multiple player support, however this only matters if you’re interested in such things. One of my top 10 games of the year.

Editor's Rating:

Storyline: 8

Ease of Use: 9

Playability: 7


Overall: 8

Game Specs:

• Publisher: PlayFirst


• Full Version Price: $19.99


• Download: 10 MB


• Windows 98/2000/Me/XP


• Processor: PIII 600 MHz


• 128 MB RAM


• Free hard drive space: 12MB


• Video Card


• Sound Card

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

Download/More Info: http://www.playvue.com/pv/downloadablegames/casual/dinerdash/ Keith Blake is a Featured Editor at Playvue.com, an up-and-coming online games website specialing in providing online games, game downloads, and multiplayer games in a rich, immersive, one-of-a-kind environment. Source: http://www.playvue.com/

Playstation 3 "Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution"

By Camilla Bertelsen

One of the finest game strategy games on PC s are produced by Sid Meier. They make one of the most engaging civilization simulation video games around. Popular titles like Railroad Tycoon and Civilization have always continue to deliver the most heralded game play. Thus it no surprise that the company move their popular titles from the PCs genre toward PlayStation 3 platform. And a good job they did, 2K and Firaxis together manage to translate that PC experience successfully towards the Playstation 3 Platform.

In Sid Meier Civilization revolution game play, the idea is to take a civilization in the stone ages and through strategic planning built it up to the Space Age. When you choose which civilization will be your base, the leader of that civilization also have added bonus for your game play. For example if you chose Cleopatra, you might get additional interest on gold reserves, at the medieval age, population growth is increased by two additional percentages. There five difficulties level in this game. Use the first level as a guide. As you get more proficient, try the more difficulty level.

To play this video game, you can choose multiplayer mode using LAN or Single player mode. For those who had played this game under PCs, you will know the game can take several weeks to complete. But under Playstation 3, it doesn't last as long but not in the least as unsatisfying. In the Playstation 3 version. Micro managing of the game has also been removed. The graphics are good, bright, colorful and engaging with animation to the characters. The sound track are satisfying as well. Overall the transition form PCs based to the Next Gen game console like the Playstation 3 is well executed.

The controls of the game are also simple. You don't need to be a computer engineer to understand how they work. Though the game didn't have the depth of the Pcs platform, the game play in the Playstation 3 version is as satisfying and as well as entertaining.

Article by Camilla Bertelsen and the owner of http://popularvideogame.com