The goal of the game is to get a five star park. As your popularity increases, you can unlock a new dig-site to access three new dinosaur species. Unfortunately you can only unlock 3 dig sites out of nine, and the first one is predetermined by the game. Each dig-site unlocks 3 dinosaur species, so you are limited to nine species of dinosaurs for your park. This problem is amplified by the fact that you can only have a set number of dinosaurs in the park at any given time, and they can’t breed. This is because they are all female which is from the movie, but it is a bit of a headache to have to constantly replenish your supply of animals manually. Even in the alternate game mode, site B in which there is no park, you have to constantly create dinosaurs manually rather than try to create a balanced ecosystem between predators and prey, which I think would have been a very interesting game mechanic.

Better dinosaurs attract more people which makes your park more popular. You also have to deal with keeping your park clean, and animals healthy which can be a chore until you research auto immunization and all the vaccines. Otherwise your animals become sick and you have to select them and order your helicopter to cure them, if you have the cure researched. Another constant hassle is the weather. It changes between seasons, but none of it really affects you other than the tornadoes which tear through your park, kill animals and people, and damage your buildings. This can be very annoying if you just spent a fortune on a pack of raptors only to have them sucked up to the land of OZ. Another frustration is when one of your animals goes on a rampage. This happens in the raptors so often I’m convinced it’s a glitch. This happens when your animals become stressed, they go crazy, kill any nearby animals, and destroy the fence. If you don’t react quickly they will eat the guests before they collapse and die.

The game does have a few other game modes in which you either take certain photographs from a jeep, kill rampaging beasts from a helicopter, or muster a herd of herbivores with a helicopter. There are also a few special parks in which you have a specific goal to meet such as get a good rating within a time limit or get a photo worth a certain amount of points. Despite all of this, the game only really comes down to doing one of two things: either breeding a bunch of carnivores and letting them loose to eat your visitors, or to zoom in on your favorite dinosaur and watch it like a peaceful nature show. Actually playing the game to make a five star park seems a pointless and unrewarding chore. Once you’ve unlocked the three dig sites you’ve chosen and bred all nine dinosaurs, there’s really no incentive to get a five star rating. There is also a limit to everything you can build which further limits your options.

This isn’t an exciting action game, and I can only really recommend it for dinosaur fans such as myself who can enjoy watching dinosaurs just walking around and grazing. The game does have a very relaxing soundtrack, and this game can put you to sleep if you let it.

That’s all there is to it, to be honest. The gameplay is almost identical to previous Guitar Hero and Rock Band games, save for perhaps a few more unlockable items (in the form of photos, videos and tracks concerning the band’s career). Guitar Hero’s “Star Power” is replaced by “Beatle Mania” but it works in the same way and the system for the star ratings is easier to see but exposes itself as being as flawed as the points system (the cumulative multipliers still ensure that you’re more likely to score highly if you cock up in earlier in a song than later). The graphics are a little improved, with enough detailing on the band’s faces to see who’s who in an endearingly stylised way with some nice changes over time as they age, and there are some fabulous cut scenes and psychedelic backgrounds to ensure the visuals maintain the same charm as the music. In fact sometimes the visuals are too much: one can’t very easily play and watch the pretty pictures at the same time, but presumably these are added more for the game’s capacity as a party game than for solo enjoyment, giving others in the room something to watch. The resulting experience is a little bit like playing through both the “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Yellow Submarine” films but without the humour, sometimes leaving me pining for the films themselves.

Unfortunately all these pretty extras come at a cost: the story mode is criminally short with only 45 songs to play (compared with the 80 or so on similar recent titles), and though the decision to group songs chronologically rather than by difficulty is cute but ensures that most of the songs are pretty easy, leaving no learning curve. The different difficulties could have made up for this if they weren’t so disparate: Medium is uniformly easy, hard is uniformly hard. So does the rest of the game make up for it? Well almost. Of course if you like the general format and you like the Beatles, you’re going to enjoy it, even I’ll admit it’s a lot of fun, but it’s also more than a little disappointing. The short soundtrack means that lots of real classics are removed: Help, Eleanor Rigby, Strawberry Fields Forever and All You Need is Love, among others, are missing, despite the latter being referenced a dozen times in the cut scenes and unlockables. Presumably these will appear on downloadable content eventually, for those willing to spend even more money on tracks that are already in their CD collections. In terms of Beatles history it’s also heavily sanitised, early band members are neatly omitted, for example, so purist are likely to be disappointed too. To keep players going, the game throws in achievements awards for anything and everything, from calibrating your machine to playing bass left handed, though there seems to be some faults in the achievement system: my copy would award me for things I hadn’t done on some occasions and on others would award me with nameless achievements, though I can’t tell whether this was a problem with my copy alone or with the game’s design.

It may not be quite the sublime experience suggested by title, but it’s still a very enjoyable game, a brilliant concept strengthened by some stunning visuals, and if you’re not smiling as you strum through “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, “I Am the Walrus” and “Dear Prudence” there’s something very wrong with you.

I bought my 11 year old son the DJ Hero game today. All $120.00 worth. And of course, I couldn’t get him to bed fast enough… so I could give it a shot. Which I did, for several hours. Like Guitar Hero and Rock Band before it, this is a game as much for the parents as it was for the kids; with some notable exceptions.

First of all, the dimensions of the equipment are more specifically designed for small people. I have fairly large hands, and it was, at times, rather awkward for me. The music will also be an obvious issue in the crossing of generational boundaries. With the guitar and band games, a parent had the option of musical selections from different eras. Games focusing on the Beatles, Metallica, and Aerosmith are of course going to appeal as much to a 40 year old as a 14 year old. The music from DJ Hero is obviously far more oriented toward a younger demographic.

But on to the game itself… Having never even seen a turntable up close, most people will not have the same frame of reference they did with a guitar or drums… everyone has played air guitar at some point, but has anyone air turntabled? The controls aren’t hard to grasp, at least concept wise, and once you have, the game is fun. I do like the brand of music offered, so that wasn’t an issue for me. Most of it was, in fact, rather good.

But after scratching for an hour or two, you realize that the same problem rears its head here that does with the other games. Guitar Hero: Metallica was rather exciting (being a huge Metallica fan) until I realized It was still just Guitar Hero with different songs. Same with the Beatles, Aerosmith, and other assorted songs. Eventually, you realize that there is only so much room for growth. The turntable does inject a bit of freshness into an already slowing genre, but in the end it’s just another instrument, and the end result will be the same.

There will no doubt be improvements made to the table itself over the next year or two, and it will, I imagine, be incorporated into the other games so that we can all play our favorite Linkin Park songs. But it is still just a temporary band aid on a bleeding brand.

It will be popular for awhile; in today’s ‘Gotta have the newest toy’ culture, it will make money. But I don’t expect it will have much of a shelf life.

Well, for those of you who haven’t dropped the wad of money on this one, save yourself a few bucks.  News Flash…. It’s just another guitar game.  The same disappointment was here that was there for Guitar Hero: Metallica.  It’s really cool at first… playing ‘Fade  To Black’ the first time more than kicked ass.  But a few hours in it hits you that it’s the same game, different songs.  Same with this game, sadly.

There are a few ‘improvements’…. 3 part harmonies (but does anyone who plays this sound good enough that it matters?) , And the fact that you can play on different difficulties, but all in all, unless you’re either a hard core Beatles fan and hardcore Rockband fan, save yourself some money.  Rent it, get the novelty out of your system, wait till it’s 10 or 15 bucks at a used video game store, and get it then.  The cold hard truth of it is that beyond the music, it’s nothing special.  To the average part time gamer, this game is overrated.

-Painting: When your Sim has free time get his/her creative skill up to its peak. Paint often and sell paintings for thousands! (Note: to make masterpieces more often which sell for more Sim money use your life time happiness to obtain traits such as “extra creative”)

-Writing: once you have peaked your writing skill you are able to earn weekly royalty’s for everything you write

-Complete career: an obvious one, but hey.. there’s no doubt that getting your Sim/s to there highest career level will bring in a lot of money.

-Quick cash: If you want a house with say only one or two Sims why not add the maximum amount of house mates to your house (each Sim brings a considerable amount of money to the house) then kick every Sim you don’t want in the house. This will enable you to keep the money you was given in the beginning of the game.

-Buy company’s: once you have a considerable amount of money spend it on business shares. You do this by going on town view and choosing which company you want a part of. You will earn a constant profit doing this

-Rude Landlord: Invite people to move in then kick them keeping there money

Cyber Nations is the most popular browser-based nation simulation game on the internet. You can create a nation anywhere in the world and control it totally, choosing a currency, government type and even an ethnic majority. Build up an army to defend your borders or to attack others, the choice is yours. Keep your citizens happy by lowering your taxes, altering your primary religion and prevent rebellion. Cyber Nations is an Internet game designed to simulate nation building and management and will require you to exercise your management skills on a day to day basis.

NationStates

Image via Wikipedia

NationStates is for those of you looking for a less intense gameplay experience. Whereas Cyber Nations requires focus and strategy, NationStates is much more laid back. You can login less than once a day and still get the full experience of the game. Your nation evolves based on choices you make through “Issues”, with its summary changing to reflect your decisions. To add to all this, there is a forum with a massive roleplay community. You can choose to partake in a play-by-post community, ranging from opening embassies to sports tournament to full scale war.

Astro Empires

Not technically a nation simulator, Astro Empires offers you the chance to run an entire planet, build a space fleet and conque/colonize other planets. Build a mighty space empire through war or diplomacy, it’s all up to you. This one is different from the previous two games in that the game is continuously running. You start out with a colony on one planet and you build structures and research technology in order to improve and expand your control. Each thing that you build or research takes a certain amount of time. You can actually watch the clock tick down until you can do something else.

So I finally got the Sims 3 that I have been waiting on for so very long. When I got the game I though this game was going to be ever thing I wanted it to be and well it’s not. Here are my pro’s and con’s about the Sims 3, first the likes of this game is the alter and refine the details of your Sims face, you can change so much on your sims face way more then in the Sims 2. I love the fact that you can make your own Sims clothing with out using a body shop and I like that you can do the same for hairstyle. You can make your own custom content right in the game and up load it to the Sims 3 site. I love that there are no loading screen once you get in to the game and I also like that a female Sims go’s to the hospital to have her baby. I like that there are more things for you to do in the Sims 3, these are the things that might make you buy this game but there are some that might make you not want to buy this game. Now the dislikes first I hate that you can not do every thing that was in the Sims 2, like there is no weather in the Sims 3 I just fill like every thing that was in the Sims 2 should have been in this game and it’s not and that makes me a little up set cause that means I will have to buy more expansion packs that will take up more space on my computer. I also don’t like the fact that this game take up a lot of space already on my computer so much space that when I run the game it takes forever to do anything and that makes me not want to play the game at all. I now know that if I would like to play my Sims 3 I would have to buy a whole other computer with more space or pay $400.00 to up date my old one, which really just kind of sucks. So I would say if you have the space and want to buy more expansion packs then go ahead and buy the Sims 3, but if your like me and just don’t have the money but you really want the game the I say start saving.

First Up: Sims 3 Overview

Sims 3 is a lot different from the previous versions of The Sims. I personally find the game play harder. Skills are harder to develop and socials are harder to score, especially if you’re adept and so used to Sims 2. Sims 3 however, gives you a lot of things to do. Instead of your Sims being confined at home, they can travel their town

Now for the difference of Sims 3 from Sims 2 and Sims (1).

These comparisons are under the assumption that The Sims 2 and The Sims games have complete Expansion Packs and/or stuff packs

Other new features:

1. There’s a map view where you can see a huge portion of the city. zooming on an area lets you choose an interaction like jog here or shop
2. New recipes like goopy carbonara, sushi and cheese steak [sub]. 
3. New places to visit like fishing holes, theater, stadium, library and bookstore
4. Collecting items and earning titles like Gem collector. Sims collect various objects around the city like ores, metals and space rocks
5. Sims that engage in logic and play chess a lot has the ability to earn chess ranks. Chess tournaments are also available for joining or watching
6. New fitness terms for activities like jogging, cardio workout and strength work out
7. Sims have traits that define their habits and affect their interaction in and with the community

So there you have it, a quick and thorough review of the latest PC game craze… SIMS 3

enjoy!

The Sims 3 is getting release June 2nd.

I have been playing for two weeks now for the GameSpot team! Whats new? FULL neighborhood control, no more loading screens, and bigger possibilities!!

The most i’ve done was steal a “classmate’s” boyfriend

It’s so exciting! First, you make a sim. Skin, hair, clothing! Sliders let you define skin tone and weight. And with the hair, you can choose the color of your sims hair roots, highlights, tips and base! You can also go into the Create A Style screen. For clothing, you pick a base item. Halter top or tee? Mini skirt or jeans? THEN you go to the drop down list of material. Themes, metals, woods, patterns. You can choose from plaid to skulls, the pick a color! Even make pink, red, and black flamed shoes if you want! The you choose their favorite color, food, and music, and TRAITS. Traits are important towards behavior. Will your sim be a hopless romantic computer whiz? An evil kleptomaniac that keeps it flirty? You can choose up to 2 traits for toddlers, 3 for a child, 4 a teen, 5 to adults! You gain one every age. They are babies, toddlers, children, teen, young adult, adult, and elder ages.

Then comes the actual playing. ANYTHING is possible! From gossip around town, hanging by the school, seeing a movie, football game, or eating out with friends. It’s great! So far in the game I married my neighbor, and close to my father in law and brother in law, and have 2 toddlers. You can choose to potty train, teach to walk, and teach to talk to help your little ones grow better!

So, whats different from the sims 2?

Traits, body weight, open neighborhood (walk anywhere), bicycles and cars, more aware and unique, relationship labels, and more options, create a style, improvements in build mode, create a sim, graphics!

Yeah it could use some work. It’s addicting if you’re hooked to one of those virtual life games, shooter guys, you’ll get bored. If you’re used to RPGS and Anime games. Sims 3 could be a work of art for you. Shooters and action, not much of it. You might make one family and get bored of it soon enough.

So i’d give this an 8.5/10 rating. Coming to stores June 2nd!!

Stress Relief

This may sound silly at first, but not getting frustrated is a key factor in spending time practicing to learn any new skill. It is also given that sitting in your room with a pair of headphones on holding a guitar and struggling to play something over and over Can be frustrating. This is one area where Guitar Hero came in for me. Again, as silly as it sounds, whenever I became frustrated with something simple on the actual guitar, I got up, ripped through some Iron Maiden or Guns N’ Roses with ease, and sat back down, motivated by the game to be able to play all those amazing riffs and solos and eager to continue practicing. This little rotation allowed me to practice anywhere from 3 to 7 straight hours a day, without feeling the Slightest bit of frustration.

Finger Strength and Speed

If you’re accustomed to playing Guitar Hero on Easy mode, than this one might be questionable for you. Although, if you’ve already beaten the game on expert, you know that you are using your fingers (all of them) a Lot. This really helped strengthen my ring and pinky fingers when it came to real guitar, allowing me to use them almost as much as my index and middle fingers. This is extremely important for when you get past the stage of playing songs that are entirely on one string. Also, hitting an ocean of oncoming notes in a matter of seconds is no easy task. It will teach you to move and shift all of your fingers, and Fast.

In-Game Techniques

Believe it or not, the Hammer-on and Pull-off system in guitar hero isn’t Too far off from actual guitar. On actual guitar, you obviously are not simply hitting buttons with no use of your strumming hand at all, but it Does teach you and build on the concept of pressing one note to play two or three, simply by adding or removing a finger or two in rapid succession. The chords in game (hitting two or three buttons at one time) also helped improve my ability to keep my fingers in a set shape while navigating the neck of the guitar (i.e. the multitude of power chords in the intro to the song Foreplay/Long Time by Boston.) and improved the overall capability of my fingers to stretch. (Hitting the Green and Orange buttons at the same time is no easy task at first.)

Timing

This one was major for me. Guitar Hero taught me subconsciously to find a beat quickly and keep it, (if you don’t, you’ll be hitting notes off-beat left and right and fail the song rather quickly) which is one of the biggest things guitarists often have trouble with. I learned what most need to practice with a metronome a ton to learn simply by playing video-games.

Picking

Last but definitely not least, Guitar Hero forced me to train my hand to pick alternately, and fast. I was having a great deal of trouble with the technique of alternate picking on real guitar, until I got the idea to try to use guitar hero to do just that. No lie, after about a week of playing songs on Expert using Strictly up-down-up-down picking, (Even if I was failing the song), I had the technique down on real guitar and haven’t gone back to only using down-picking since.

There you have it. My testimony that, when applied the correct way, Guitar Hero can truly improve your actual guitar playing skills. Take if from someone who knows. The next time your friends make fun of you for having 5-starred every song on expert while they struggle with an actual electric guitar, you can tell them confidently that you probably already know more about the instrument than they do.