Game Publisher: Sony
Platform: PS3’s Playstation Network
Release Date: September 11, 2008

I’m not a major game show fan. Most of the people in my house are. My son is a game show fanatic. In fact, one of his favorite television stations is Game Show Network. If he could play game shows on the computer or on video games every waking moment, he would. I just don’t really like game shows all that much. The only ones I can stand to watch are test your knowledge games. I’ll watch Jeopardy and the Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader. I’m not so fanatical about these shows that I can’t miss them, but I do enjoy playing along with them when they are on.

On a side note, as a kid, I was in love with the Match Game. It was the craziest, kookiest game and I loved to watch reruns from the 1970s. It had to be the outlandish nature of the celebrities that participated on the show, that made it so fun to watch. That being said, it’s insanely clear to me that I prefer the games where I can actively participate in the game, by answering questions and gauging how I’d do if I were competing against the contestants. Just watching people do things that I can’t participate in is not much fun. I’m pretty sure that’s why I never dug The Price is Right.

When I found out about the Playstation Network offering Jeopardy for a downloadable purchase, I knew I had to get this game. Not only would I enjoy it, but the rest of the family would go ga-ga during time spent together. I knew that Jeopardy would be a crowd-pleaser in the Evans household. That’s part of why I’m writing this review, right now. I had the chance to download and play several games of Jeopardy, both online and off.

For the most part, Jeopardy is exactly like you’d expect. You get to play the part of the contestant on Jeopardy and to answer questions. You get to play two rounds and answer daily doubles if you select them. You get to play final Jeopardy. It’s all there. You can play in a single player mode, against family and friends locally or online against other players. Of course here are some disappointing aspects, that make this game a little less enjoyable than it could have been. Had these issues not been a part of the game. I’ll get into what’s wrong with the game a little later in this review.

Game Play:
What’s there to say about game play? It’s Jeopardy. You get to use your own customizable character to take on others in a variety of settings (locally – single and multi-player and online vs. other players). You can play friends online or complete strangers. No matter how you play, the gameplay is identical. In single player, local games, you get to choose the first category. In online games and multi-player local games, you might or might not get to choose a category first. You have so much time to read a question and then you press a button to answer the question. All of your answers are selected, multiple choice, from a list of four questions.

The questions are ones you’d expect (and may have seen before) when watching Jeopardy on television. There are questions for every subject you studied in school (i.e. Science, Health, World History), Potpourri, Pop Culture, Politics, and a plethoric selection of other topics. You make money from questions you get right and lose money from questions you miss. While there are over 2,500 questions, one downside (or upside if you want to make a lot of money) is that when you cancel a game in the middle, you have to restart that exact same game over the next time you play, locally. The categories and questions also repeat from online to offline formats. This can be an advantage for a player who has gone through all of the clues.

There really isn’t much more to this game. If you’ve seen Jeopardy on television then you’ll know exactly how to play this game. If you like Jeopardy, on television, you’ll love it when you’re actually in the driver’s seat, playing your own game of Jeopardy. I played on my own and with the family, which is pretty cool to play as a single player, because you’re more likely to get the answers to the questions right with so many opinions and knowledge levels being represented. Of course, the game does get old after awhile, so I don’t recommend having 12-hour Jeopardy playing marathons. In fact, this game is best played in short bursts with kith and kin.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor:

Features:
One of the most noticeable features of Jeopardy for the Playstation Network, is the custom Avatar option. I wish this was more customizable. You get to choose from a few different guys or girls, with different skintones, choose their hair color, make a few, minor modifications and you really can’t customize much more than that. You can change your avatar’s name to your own and then you might just have to play in a game versus the customized avatars your family members create. Ashtyn found this bothersome, when the AI took over my Dominick avatar, who was whooping her butt! I would rather the AI not have access to character-created avatars, but that’s just my personal choice.

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Written by Dominick & Ashtyn - Visit Website
Dominick and Ashtyn Evans are gamers. That's all you need to know!

Game Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: Sony PS3
Rating: M
Release Date: October 21, 2008
Buy this at: Amazon for $59.99

I’m all into the first person shooters these days. While I’ll pretty much play any shooter, the better the story and gameplay is the better the shooter. That’s pretty much any game, though. I was looking forward to playing, “Far Cry 2″, which was released by Ubisoft in late October. It wasn’t because of the Far Cry name. In fact, “Far Cry 2″ bears very little resemblance to its predecessor. It’s pretty much a Far Cry title in name only. This isn’t a sequel to the original Far Cry. It’s another take on first shooter concepts, that just happens to have the name Far Cry attached to it.

I played for close to 30 hours. By that point, I felt I had explored enough of the game though there was still a chance for more game play. I wasn’t looking to rush through this game and truly, you can take it at your own pace. That’s part of what makes this an “open-ended” gameplaying experience. I didn’t venture too much into the online playing realm. I don’t always play well with others, but for those that do, the opportunity to play with as many as 16 other players is there. I could see the potential for online play in this game, considering you already have NPC allies that work with you, to help you through the game.

What really appeals to me the most about “Far Cry 2″ is the beautiful scenery and what seems like endless opportunities for gameplay and the ability to explore. You sort of dictate what you do and where you go, though your mission is guided by the various quests you go on. Of course, you’ll need to use your adept skills to navigate through a war torn nation in Africa, while building up relationships and playing the various factions against one another. While this concept has been done, I don’t believe it has ever been done quite like it has in “Far Cry 2″.

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick is in his late 20s. Having been born in the 80s gave him a unique advantage to experience the development of gaming into the massive industry it has become today. From the days of Atari to the purchase of his very first NES (before his 10th birthday), Dominick has been involved in gaming. Initially, a huge fan of Nintendo, he's delved more into the exciting world of Xbox 360, and everything Microsoft in recent years. His favorite games are Action/Adventure, Shooters (especially WWII or Historical based games) and racing games. Of course, some days he enjoys playing an old fashioned game featuring his original gaming heroes, Mario and Zelda. In a wheelchair since age 16, Dominick has the unique perspective of gaming with limited mobility. When not gaming, he is a human rights activist, a creative mind, and he enjoys spending time with his family.

Monday, November 24, 2008 – Hudson Entertainment, the North American publishing arm for HUDSON SOFT, today released new screens for Pit Crew Panic!, an upcoming “panic-action” game for WiiWare. This unique game is full of frantic fixing as the player’s all-female pit crew repairs a variety of bizarre “WHATSITS” as fast as they can.

For those having trouble finding work in the current economy, why not join the pit crew where there’s plenty of wacky jobs to go around! Players can race against the clock by themselves, or play with friends to see whose team can fix the majority of that giant wedding cake! Inspired grease monkeys can even play online and see whose girls can out-fix the opponents on an aircraft carrier, a bridge, a backhoe and many more crazy “WHATSITS”! If a pit crew is up for the challenge, they can team up for 2 vs. 2 or 3 vs. 1 action to see which team can fix the most broken parts on each object.

To help the crew fix each object more quickly, players can use the Wii Remote just like a screwdriver, wrench, or other pit crew tools. There is also a handy tutorial to help players figure out not just how to play the game, but also how to go as fast as they can when fixing all the wacky “WHATSITS” in the game! There’s no shortage of crazy tasks that need to be conducted in Pit Crew Panic!

Pit Crew Panic! is rated E for Everyone by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

For more information on Pit Crew Panic! please visit http://www.HudsonEnt.com

About Hudson Entertainment, Inc.
Hudson Entertainment is the North American publishing arm of Hudson Soft, an international provider of games and entertainment content founded in 1973. Hudson Entertainment focuses on four key businesses: mconsole games, digital download content, mobile games, and music. Hudson introduced best-selling videogame franchises including Bomberman, Bonk, and Super Adventure Island. Hudson’s mobile division is a leading supplier of games and personalized content. Through numerous partnerships with record labels, Hudson has become a leading provider of hip-hop ring tones and mobile content. For more information on Hudson Entertainment, please visit www.hudsonent.com.

Hudson Entertainment, and Hudson Soft and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Hudson Soft. Pit Crew Panic! Is a trademark of Hudson Soft.

Technorati Tags: Hudson Entertainment, Video Games, WiiWare, Pit Crew Panic, Screens, Digital Download, Press Release

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Written by admin - Visit Website

AUSTIN, TX – November 24, 2008 – Pangea Software, Inc. is proud to announce that it has reached one million downloads worldwide in game applications for the Apple® iPhone™ and iPod® touch since the App Store launched in July of 2008.

“The App Store is off to a solid start with thousands of successful game apps launched since July,” said Brian Greenstone, President and CEO of Pangea Software. “With so much competition, I’m honored that consumers have chosen to make our titles the top sellers for the iPhone and iPod touch. Our games are well on track to outperform our expectations for the year.”

The unique games offered by Pangea Software have truly captivated audiences across the globe by offering the most diverse game play available for the iPhone and iPod touch. The Pangea library of games now includes a selection of five innovative applications including the extremely addictive Enigmo, a physics based puzzle game named as a “Showcase Winner” at the Austin Independent Games Festival and voted “Best iPhone Game” at Apple’s 2008 World Wide Developer Conference. Other popular games include Cro-Mag Rally, Billy Frontier, Bugdom 2, and Nanosaur 2: Hatchling.

For more information about Pangea Software or its products please visit: www.pangeasoft.net.

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn is definitely the casual gamer in the family. A game fan since she owned an Atari, Ashtyn can remember when her brother rigged the television so he wouldn't lose his Super Mario Bros. game. That is, until the power went out! A fan of all things Mario, Ashtyn is a Nintendo loyalist. She digs playing Mario-style RPG games, watching others play violent shooters (because she sucks at them), and playing casual PC games (like Wedding Dash and Cake Mania). As of now, she is into the Wii and Nintendo DS, though she's certain the games for PS3 and Xbox 360 are more appealing.

Interactive Cooking Title is the First of Nintendo’s New Personal Trainer Series

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– A new software title for Nintendo DS™ turns the world’s best-selling portable video game system into an interactive cooking coach, complete with tasty recipes and video demos. Personal Trainer™: Cooking for Nintendo DS contains more than 240 dishes from dozens of countries around the world. The DS Chef, a friendly electronic cooking instructor, walks users through each step to make sure every dish comes out perfect and delicious.

Personal Trainer: Cooking even includes videos of various cooking techniques, such as how to properly julienne vegetables. The touch screen interface helps budding chefs check ingredients on an electronic shopping list they can take to the grocery store. It also lets them search recipes based on ingredients, number of calories or cooking time. When a user’s hands are too covered in the business of cooking to use the touch screen, the voice-recognition feature comes in handy: Just tell the DS Chef to move on to the next step or repeat the last one.

“Personal Trainer: Cooking is the first in a new line of Personal Trainer titles from Nintendo designed to help users enrich their lives and learn new skills in fun and interesting ways,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Whether you’re cooking for yourself, your family or your friends, everyone in the household benefits from these tasty recipes for months and years to come.”

Personal Trainer: Cooking also builds on the social aspect of food as well. Roommates can try out recipes together, or parents can involve their children in preparing dishes for the family. With a tap, users can even scale the quantity of their recipes based on the number of guests they expect.

Users can customize their favorite recipes. For instance, if a user thinks a recipe tastes better with a pinch of oregano, he or she can jot that note directly onto the recipe using the Nintendo DS stylus and touch screen, and it’ll be saved for the next time the dish is prepared.

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Written by Janey the Admin - Visit Website
Janey serves as the admin for both gamerrazzi.com and li-kids.com. She loves helping run these interesting websites. Janey loves games. She can often be found playing all of the various Halo incarnations on her Xbox 360.