Like Max Payne only with stereotypes. Mastertronic brings us Made Man, a game of climbing the ranks of a New York City mafia family.

You play Joey Verola, son of an Italian immigrant, who happened his way into the mob life. As Joey you save the life of Johnny 'Eggs' Biondo, nephew to Phil Lombardi. Phil is a high level man in the Frazone crime family. It's all very Brady Bunch meets The Soprano's.

Even though the game tells you the story of how Joey moves up through the ranks of the Frazone family it can get a little hard to follow because the levels/story actually jump around in chronological order. You start the game with the very first job Joey ever had in the mob, then the next mission has you jump back to when you first meet Eggs in Vietnam, then back to finish the original mission. The narration between missions is done nicely, via Joey telling basically his life story to the other hood in the car.

The game has some well implemented, innovative, game play elements. The cover system is done fairly well, diving into cover is a bit buggy at times though. But for the most part it works well, it feels good to be propped up behind an object then to jump up and blast your foe's head off with a sawed-off. And with destructible barricades it adds a slight challenge because you can't always hang out at the same one for a long period of time. As I found out while trying to hide behind a pallet of cigarette cartons.

The game also uses some picture-in-picture help you out along the way. It will show you the location of weapons, conversations being had elsewhere, and on occasion your enemies perspective to help you during those difficult fights, particularly with snipers.

As for the combat, what the game is all about, it's pretty straight forward. You've got guns, they've got guns, whomever runs out of ammo first loses. Luckily, ammo is plentiful. Head shots are very satisfying what with the blood splatter that follows. And if you happen just to injure your foes enough to drop them you can do a retaliation shot. Your enemy spats something unpleasant at you, you give a brief retort, then blow their brains out onto the floor.

Oh and going Rambo on everyone with dual AK-47's is a just as much fun as it sounds. Although pray to God if you run out off bullets first

Made Man is another game with a good premise, young guy rising through a strong mafia family, but was implemented in a mediocre fashion. It took the best things from games such as Max Payne and The Godfather and dulled them up. I'd say play either of those instead, but to each his own. I'll give it a 7 out of 10. Bada-bing.

Well today was the day, if you got your Playstation 3 today, most likely at midnight, then congratulations to you. And if you bought one and only one, then sold it on e-bay you should be ashamed. Though if you bought yours on e-bay for $4000+ then you should be more ashamed, for being a dumb ass. For the rest of us, looks like we have a couple more months to wait.

See you all on the 19th for the Wii launch.

The new age in graphics for your PC arrived today, with the first appearance of a video card supporting DirectX 10.

Nvidia is first out the shoot with their brand new GeForce 8800. Too bad there's nothing out yet that would actually require it's power. Nevertheless it's the first officall look at what is to come in the world of computer graphics technology. There are two 8800's being released the GTS and the GTX, it's big brother. Check the stats.

GTS

96 stream processors pitched at 1.2 GHz

640MB GDDR3 in a 320-interface

500 MHz core

1.6 GHz memory clocks

GTX

128 stream processors at 1.35GHz

768MB GDDR3 teamed up with a 384-bit bus

575 MHz core

1.8 GHz memory clocks

Not to mention the SLi capabilities along with 16x anti-aliasing. Yes you can run two in your system and never have to upgrade for a good long while.

In layman's terms what this all means is the best looking games you've ever seen. You can watch some small tech demos at the Nvidia site

Time for a focus on something a little different. Moving from the game front to the internet comic landscape.

Everyone knows of Penny-Arcade, VG Cats, and CTRL+ALT+DEL. Granted they are all pretty top notch. But if you've been to VG Cats as of recent you many have noticed their current featured comic. Gone With The Blastwave. It's relatively new one, considering the total of 29 strips, but definitely has it's strong points.

Clearly inspired by team based multiplayer games mixed with the humor that of Red vs. Blue, Blastwave brings a little more ridiculousness to a world already filled with plenty. But that's not a bad thing. I suggest you check it out.

A point-and-click comeback, Secret Files: Tunguska. Before I begin let me restate, this is a point-and-click adventure game. If you didn't enjoy games like Myst, Siberia, or The Longest Journey, feel free to stop reading now.

Secret Files, is your traditional point-and-click, hereafter referred to as PAC. That meaning you go from scene to scene collecting items, to figure out puzzles, to solve a mystery. It's a game where *gasp* you'll have to use your brain! At least for the first half of the game anyway.

In Secret Files you play as Nina, who one day finds her father missing. You must find various clues as to where he has been taken and who did the taking. The story actually pans out along the lines of The Da Vinci Code, what with big cover ups, secret societies, and shadowy figures, all of which surround one main event. The Tunguska incident of 1908, look it up. As Nina you will also team up with a number of extra characters, some of which you'll control, and they all have some sort of relationship to the missing professor.

Game play is pretty self-explanatory when it comes to Secret Files. It's a PAC game, guess what you'll be doing a lot of. For the majority of the game the puzzles are pretty straight forward, even clever at some points. Basically you have to collect objects and combine them to fulfill tasks so you can further the plot. Unfortunately because the plot is everything and clues come from what you hear in the game, every character has to say every thought that comes into their head. This would be so bad if there were any decent actors in the entire game.

For the first half of the game it is relatively obvious as to how you are supposed to use the items you acquire. I felt particularly clever when I taped my cell phone to a cat so I could listen in on a conversation. Yes you read that right. But at some point in the game the manner at which you complete your tasks goes from sensible to "how the hell was I supposed to get that?". Such as putting a spike through a painting to keep a door open. Oh yeah that's completely logical. Games like this is why we have Gamefaqs.

Secret Files isn't much to look at either, not that it has to be though. Your character moves across the, although pretty, static background looking for clues and helpful items. But is a run feature a little too much to ask for, the characters move so slowly across the screen. The cut scenes are visually pleasing but still feel sluggish. This is prevalent even when the scene is supposed to be heavily climactic. Oh and a little more animation with the characters would be nice. There is nothing worse in the game then during conversation portions where two or three characters are just standing there without so much as a gesture.

I'll toss Secret Files a generous 7 out of 10, but this one goes back in the file cabinet for me, and not even a fire proof one.

There is no explanation for this, just watch.

Press "A"

Not all gaming focuses around big budget productions of grandieur. Some of the greatest games you can play are simple to play, enjoyable by everyone, and free. Many indpendent game companies produce astounding games for the masses.

Recently ThatGameCompany, formed by USC students Kallee Santiago and Jenova Chen, made a deal with Sony Computer Entertaiment America to produce their garage made game flOw on to the PS3.

flOw is a game based off of psychological theory of the mental state of 'flow'. Now I'm not going to pretend to know what I'm talking about so here's a quote from good ol' Wikipedia. "Flow is a mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity." Wrap you brains around that. Now isn't that the goal of almost every video game on the market, to get you so involved in the game that you feel as if you are actually the character?

Well TGC does things a little differently, their two games flOw and Cloud are the two most relaxing experiences I've had in a while. Yet I can't really talk about them. The only way for you to realize what I'm trying to convey is to try them out for yourself. And don't worry about the fact that flOw on the PS3. You can play it for free at their website, www.thatgamecompany.com.



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You will fight for the Emperor once again with Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, the new expansion for the visceral RTS from Relic.

In this expansion Relic introduces two new races, the nobel Tau and the maleficent Necrons. Along with the original four races and the Imperial Guard you bout for the planet Kronus.

Tau

Necrons

The Tau Empire is full of highly specialized units making it a necessity to have a well thought out combination of ranged and melee proficient soldiers. Their heavy units are some of the best in the game.

Tau Empire

As for the Necrons think robotic zombies, dirt cheap to produce but slow and lumbering. The base Necron unit cost zero resouces to produce, but their speed can be quite the factor in battle. They also don't use requisition in the same way that the other races do. Instead the more strategic points you hold, the faster your units are produced. Also their main base can slowly be upgraded to possible the most powerful superweapon throughout the game.

Necron Horde

This time around instead of the deep and driving campaign that we were handed in the first two games, the campaign is done in the style of Risk. Every race has a small story as to why they are on Kronus and what happens if they take the planet, but that's as deep as it gets. You are also given a small background to your races' leader and when you invade certain areas or enemy strongholds. Taking over different zones gives your army different bonuses and helps you in you conquest.

Risk-Hammer: 40,000

After claiming certain victories you are also given the option to upgrade your main commander unit with 'war gear'. This war gear can either be offensive or deffensive, adding plasma pistols, or reinforced armor. Not only do these make your commander better in battle but as a nice touch they change his appearence while on the battlefield. Kudos for that Relic.

The mulitplayer holds up well also. Now if you only own Dark Crusade you can only be either Tau or Necron while online, if you want want to blow someone away for the Eternal Emperor then you're going to have to pick up the original Dawn of War. But what's a little money between great games.

9/10

Don't stop believin' in the power of Guitar Hero. The sequal to the smash hit Guitar Hero, from Red Octane, is due out in less than two weeks. Put on your studded jacket, get out your hair spray, and start booking your world tour.

Guitar Hero 2 features 64 tracks, 40 of which are licensed covers. This line up covers the spectrum when it comes to rock 'n' roll. From some of the worlds largest bands like KISS, Aerosmith, Motley Crue, and Van Halen to todays mainstream stars, Wolfmother, Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold, and Foo Fighters. Grunge is back with GH2 also, RedOctane dug up some Nirvana and even Alice In Chains for this go around. Having a played a couple of tracks let me just warn you, it's going to get ugly.

On top of the new set list there are new venues to rock out at. You'll start your career at a high school battle of the bands and work your way up to rock superstardom. Throw in three new playalble characters and you're all set to become "bigger than Jesus". Please no angry letters.

Judy Nails and Eddie Knox going head to head

If you plan on playing GH2 on your Xbox 360 when in come out in 2007, you'll be given some extra treats such as the Mini Gibson X-Plorer Guitar controller. Now you can rock out even harder. Also with the 360's online abilities there will be downloadable songs incase you burn through the first 64.

Xbox controller

With more hard rockin' good times than the first one, Guitar Hero 2 garunteed to melt your face.

With the launch just around the corner I've decided to give you all a heads up on what you might be looking forward to.

On November 17th, if you're going to dish out the cash for one, you can drop $500 or $600 on the PS3 you may also want to bring an extra C note for a game or two. There are some very nice opening day releases to pick up.

You've got Resistance: Fall of Man, Call of Duty 3, and Rainbow Six Vegas for the FPS fans.

Resistance

Call of Duty 3


Rainbow Six

Role-players and comic nerds alike will be druling for Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. We are aslo seeing a port of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to the new system, but you've all heard enough of that game.

Ultimate Alliance

The next installment of the Need for Speed series is due for launch on the 17th as well. Need for Speed Carbon and Ridge Racer 7 will keep all you speed junkies happy, of this I'm sure.

Carbon


Ridge Racer

And as for the sports heads out there, you'll be in full supply with Madden 07, Tiger Woods 07, NHL 2k7, NBA 2k7, Tony Hawk's Project 8, Fight Night Round 3, and NBA 07.

With a number of other releases I'm sure the PS3 will have a strong launch this November. See you at the stores.

But all do not see things the way I do so voice your opinion what do you think will happen with Sony's baby?

Will the Playstation 3 be a flop come the 17th?
	Yes
	Yes, but I'll probably buy one
	No
	No, but I'm still not getting one.
Free polls from Pollhost.com

In honor of X-Men 3: The Last Stand coming out this weekend I decided to try out the game brought to us by Activision, X-Men: The Offical Game. Great title guys.

The game picks up where the last movie, X2: X-Men United, left off. You as Wolverine, Iceman, and Nightcrawler. This is the first thing I find odd about the "offical game". The offical movie doesn't not include Nightcrawler, so why is he in the game? But this is not a complaint, just a quandry. Nightcrawler is by far the most interesting and fun character to play in this game.

Unfortunetly the pluses in this game a few and far between. Speaking of "between", did you like that transition, the "cut-scenes", if you can call them that, are quite possibly the most horrendous things I've seen in a long time. No fancy visualy pleasing stories for us. Instead we get still pictures and characters that slide across the screen for animations. Luckily the voices for the charaters are done by the actors in the movie, at least for Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Iceman, and Professor X. The graphic during gameplay on the other hand are quite nice.

There are three playable characters, Wolverine, Iceman, and Nightcrawler, each having their own unique playing style. Wolverine can stay in the fight a bit longer than the other two, he deals out the most damage and when he goes into fury mode he can pull of some devistating attacks. The biggest threat to him is when he becomes surrounded by foes and bad men with guns. Iceman sticks to the air with his slick iceslide te cnique. All of his attacks are ranged, shoot a chilling beam to put out fires and slow your opponets or hurl iceshards at them. The top part of this game are the missions completed with Nightcrawler. Teleportation is the only way to fly. Although he can't last long in a fistfight you can instantly teleport behind your advesary for a quick combination of attacks.

After the first few missions though you find yourself doing the exact same combinations and attacks on every enemy. Needless to say it gets quite tedius after just the first couple of missions. But the strong parts in the game are the boss fights. Iceman faces off with Pyro and Wolverine takes on the likes of Lady Deathstryke and Sabertooth. Though the boss fights are well done and actually fun, getting to them is like slowly drilling into your brain.

There are some unlockables to be had, different costumes, bios, and the like. Plus the branching storylines may bring a player back for a little more a second time through. But is it really worth it? This might be a game to pick up if you are a X-men fanatic, but otherwise rent it or avoid it altogether. This one gets a 6 out of 10.

Now for some screen shots.

For more screens check out IGN

Namco has brought us another installment in the Ace Combat series. Ace Combat Zero brings us to a time 15 years before the happenings of Ace Combat 5, during the Belkan Wars. Thus the name Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan Wars.

"Hooray!" I think, "a new Ace Combat game, more aerial combat goodness and hey what's this?" As the opening shot of ....live action actors appears on the screen. Welcome back to 1996, I am confused. Why have you forsaken us Namco? But shenanigans aside Ace Combat Zero is still the polished great gameplay that we recieved with past titles.

The controls are as tight and perfect as they ever were. The graphics are just as beautiful. And the missions...well they are missions. And where did my nicely played out story go?

The colorful characters that I grew to love in Ace Combat 5 have gone, and instead have been replaced by unintelligent chatter, from people I don't care about. How are we supposed to enjoy and want to continue on with a game if we don't give a crap about what is going on in it?

But let us not focus just on the negative. Ace Combat Zero does what the series does the best. We still get the most well done flight combat simulator available on a console. There a wide variety of planes to choose from, inculding a jammer craft. Some of which you may actual change the paint style of.

The game includes a few new features that fit nichely into the background. The wingman orders have been expanded so you are able to tell your wingman to focus on air, ground, or for them to choose freely. Also their are significant enemies that you have the option of shooting down. Some of the enemy pilots you go up against will appear on your screen and you can read their call signs. If you manage to shoot them down you can read their bios after the mission.

As for the missions themselves, it's pretty much the same run of the mill "destroy all targerts", "destroy the super weapon", and "canyon" missions. Nothing overly special.

All in all Ace Combat Zero is a solid game, that just bores me into lethargy. I'll cough up a 7 out of 10 for it.

Konami showed off some new Metal Gear Solid 4 imagery at E3. Check out the returning characters. It would seem that Naomi, Otacon, Colonel Campbell, Meryl, Ocelot, and even Cyborg Ninja as done by Raiden make a return. For the full trailer click HERE.


Images taken from www.playmagazine.com

New Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots screens.

Our Man

The MemoriesOcelotCyborg Ninja 2.0NaomiColonel Campbell

Time for a little good old fashioned US v Russia action. Black from Criterion, the people behind the not so shabby Burnout games, which is suitable because if Burnout was an FPS it would be Black.

In Black you play as an operative in the Black Tactical Squad, the most covert and highly trained unit that the US doesn't have. Your mission, track down and elimenate the leaders of the Russian terrorist group, Seventh Cell. At the start it sounds like your basic FPS story, and it is. But you're not playing this for the story now are you?

You start out in Black stuck in a small room with just a pistol at your side, but you quickly find your next armament, a nice big shotgun. The only problem is your still stuck in said small room, the door is locked and there are no keys to be found. Oh what is a boy to do. Simple you just found the best key in the game. Point your shotgun at the door and gently remove it from it's hinges with one big bang.

That is Black's big selling point, completely destructible worlds. And I don't me just shooting stuff that is in the room, or on the walls, I mean taking down the walls entirely. The bottom line is if it looks like it can be destroyed then it probably can. Cars, signs, pillars, headstones, cranes, busses, even statues. You name it, you can blow the crap out of it.

Weapoin selection is pretty average throughout Black. Pistols, shotguns, assualt rifles, sniper rifles, rpgs, and an assortment of other items. My favorite by far is the magnum, particulary after you play through the game once and gain silver weapons. Nothing better than a one hit kill small handheld weapon with infinite ammo.

AI is pretty basic. They use cover effectively, even if they are hiding behind exploadable boxes. They run from your grenades, don't stand still, and really lay on the heavy fire. The bad guys with the rpgs are by far the most difficult to deal with. But the explosion they leave behind is quite pleasing.
All in all a good strong game with just one minor flaw, that being game length. With only seven levels you've played through it in a couple of days. Though the length of the missions trys to make up for it. The game also has some minor replay ability, with the small reward of going through with infinite ammo and another secondary objective added on to the missions. I'd give it 8.5 out of 10.

For more info and screen shots check out the Offical Site.