“Long before we ever heard of GPS, satellite phones or ESPN, a truck pulled up to our house, the year was 1961. I was worried at the time about how many home runs Mickey Mantle was going to hit but brother Frank had planned a project called “Moonbounce 1961.” Frank had pipes, pipebenders and other materials necessary to build a satellite dish, delivered to our house, with the intention of bouncing a signal off the moon.

Long before any 3rd world nation dreamed about missile testing, we actually had these tests going on in our back yard. Cape Canaveral was set up in our father’s garden and Frank was firing projectiles into the night sky. This went on until our neighbor, poor old Mr. Hurley, complained to our mother, and sadly Frank’s launching pad was shut down.

Long before we ever heard of e-mail, Frank was a HAM radio operator, fluent in Morse code, one of the many languages he had embraced. I still remember his call letters “K1MJC.” The custom was to send your uniquely designed postcard, with your call letters, to people you had contacted. Our walls were covered with these postcards from people from all over the world. Our basement was filled with tube testers and short wave radios, and we always needed to know “Grenwich Mean Time.” We had transmitters, diodes and that miracle of modern technology… the transistor. We hung antennas further and further from our roof into the woods, because the longer and wider they were, the further his signal could go. We always heard Frank’s footsteps on our roof.”

Out of the batch the ones I liked best were Medieval Madness, No Good Gofers, and Arabian Nights. Medieval Madness is a new table, and the most fun. Unfortunately it is the first one you see. After that the rest are a bit disappointing. The Fun House was not fun. The Black Knight was boring. In fact Arabian Nights and No Good Gofers which is is a cute golf game, are both new tables. So it doesn’t speak well of those old time tables for actual game play.

The presentation is a bit cheaply done. There are three rooms in the arcade. The main room, the back room which sounds more interesting than it is, and upstairs. But they also include machines that are there just for looks, which aren’t playable. This would be ok in a game that is using the colorful cabinets for background, but this is a pinball game so the useless scenery isn’t necessary. It could have been set up better.

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection is fine for collectors who will want it because they want all things pinball related. It has a nostalgia factor for those who remember the times when arcades were popular. I give Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection 6 ball bearings out of 10.

It’s largely open world, with elements of action, adventure, brawling, driving, shooting, and even real time strategy. As Eddie the roadie, played by Jack Black travels through the fantasy world of rock each mission you encounter requires something different to solve. It’s inspired and kick ass. Taken in context it does make sense that once Eddie has a road crew created from the inhabitants of the world they rise up and fight the oppressors.

It’s got solid third person action, with very unique weapons and combos. There’s a little bit of Amplitude, and a dash of Overlord in there. It’s an original music game where you do more than bang out fake notes on a plastic guitar. There’s fighting, strategy and over the top humor. At times you hack and slash with a big ax. Or you coerce new minions with irresistible riffs. You’ll drive around in a Deuce car taking on missions, uncovering secrets of metal, unlock more music, and upgrade your powers and equipment at the Guardian of Metal locations. There are a variety of weird looking enemies as well as allies.

Just seeing and hearing Ozzy’s character as the Guardian of Metal making his remarks is worth the $60. US alone. There are loads of celebrity voices, and great music. So many talented artists are in the game, that it makes it interesting for the trivia aspect of it where you would try to guess all the people who are in it.

Of course Jack Black plays the lead and Tim Curry is in it as well as Lemmie, Lita Ford and David Cross. All the musical talents in it are pitching in and stretching away from what they usually do to accomplish excellent voice work as well as acting.

With an art style that can only be described as odd, it’s proving to be a love it or hate it situation. That seems to be the only place where it falls down. I would have preferred a more realistic art style, and it seems a shame that it was done in such a cartoon fashion. The weird looking head bangers with the big necks and the block-ish appearance of the main characters is reminiscent of a PS2 game. There certainly was enough money spent in development I read someplace that it exceeded 15 million.

But even if you are not a fan of artist Frank Frazetta the graphics are still amazing. There are volcanoes erupting all over the place. Thunder lightening, meteors and lava go flying up in the air. There are dark ominous clouds, flaming crevices and mega explosions. The visual effects for the weapons are also very flashy. Every boundary was pushed for this game. The environments range from strange to stunning. The bosses are metallic behemoths, many of them with long crazy looking legs like something out of Star Wars.

The game play all works right too. The camera works, thankfully. The cars are fun to drive. The controls are intuitive and it feels right no matter what you have to pull off. You don’t have to worry too much about knowing where to go. You are given a map function that is fairly simple.

It will most likely appeal to a wide demographic.  This is a good party game too. Not in the same aspects as a Wii game, but more of the kind of thing where a player’s girlfriend would still be interested in watching while the game is on and not get bored. A bunch of stoners sitting around would have a blast with the game, and it seems that’s who the target market is.

People who don’t normally play 3rd person will check it out because it’s Jack Black. Others who are into Metal but don’t play many video games, will be interested in collecting this because of Lemmy and Ozzy’s appearances.

There are several strong female characters in the game. It was an inspiring moment when the female lead characer Ophelia throws off her cloak and is wearing a metal band tee shirt and had two black wakizashi blades. Sweet. A team of female warriors in the game attack with chrome plated RPG’s. They did a good job of representing girls that rock, and for once I’m not complaining about a game that is sexist. Ok, the shoes are bad as usual, but I’m still not displeased about the portrayal of women which is most important.

Brutal Legend is something so different because it doesn’t conform – to anything. Like the spirit of metal itself. It has taken music games, and story driven naratives in a different direction. It’s a perfect candidate for Game of the Year. I give Brutal Ledgend 9 picks of destiny out of 10.

We purchased our copy of Brutal Legend at Gamestop with our own money.

The main problem with the game is the control system. It’s time for the Nancy Drew series to pick it up a little. The movement is very linear, each screen presented doesn’t have many click spots. There are limited ways to do any of the tasks. The little golf carts zip around on a map, rather than being in 3D. And that’s the only time that the arrow keys are enabled to allow free motion. In the rest of the game you are left to scroll all over the screen to find an elusive arrow to let you go forward, instead of using those arrow to find clues. The sailing and the scuba dive with the metal detector
were the most fun. The production values are low. It’s in 2D, and it runs at low-res graphics, which look pixilated. I played a review copy that they gave me.

Ransom of the Seven Ships is a solid addition to the series. It’s a decent game, with a nautical art-style that would make a pleasant element in a little girls summer birthday gift along with other choices in a basket of beach themed items. It isn’t technically advanced enough to keep an adult female gamer or even many teens engaged. I give Nancy Drew Ransom of the Seven Ships 7 star fish out of 10.

“The DDO Unlimited Beta has been a huge success and we want to thank all of our players who have participated to help us make this the best free-to-play game on the market,” said Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer of DDO Unlimited. “On August 6th we are going to change what it means to be free-to-play with the most immersive, action-packed and full-featured MMO that provides players with a choice in how they play and pay for the game.”

DDO Unlimited delivers the best combat of any MMO and the most heart-pounding action this side of a keyboard, plus a lot more!

* Brand New Content & Features – DDO Unlimited will deliver a new class – favored soul, increase the level cap, introduce new adventure packs including a new 12-player raid, major combat improvements and more!
* The Fiercest Combat – DDO Unlimited features an extraordinary heart-pounding combat experience that requires players to fully engage in the battle by relying on their wits and reflexes in real time. No more clicking skills and watching the action from the sideline.
* Mind-blowing Visuals – Explore a vast and dangerous online world that features the most advanced graphics in the industry and is stuffed with the legendary monsters, glorious treasures, devious traps, mind-bending puzzles and endless adventures from the world’s best known RPG.
* Full-featured MMO – Experience sophisticated systems found only in the best games including auctions, NPC hirelings, arena death matches (Player versus Player), crafting, and powerful social tools for finding a group, forming a guild or planning an epic raid!
* Easier Than Ever! – DDO Unlimited gets you playing in minutes instead of hours, using new proprietary Turbine technology. Creating a new character is incredibly simple with guides and templates that speed you through the process. Features an all-new new player experience that gives gamers their first taste of excitement quickly while teaching them how to play solo or with a group of fellow adventurers.
* DDO Unlimited is based on the world-renowned DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® franchise of Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.® (NYSE: HAS), under license to Infogrames Entertainment S.A.® Published by Atari, Inc.®, DDO has been enthusiastically received by many gaming critics, including The New York Times, PC Gamer, Game Informer and many more. For the latest information, please visit www.ddo.com.

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Dungeons & Dragons Online, Eberron Unlimited, Stormreach, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Magic: The Gathering and Wizards of the Coast and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with permission. Hasbro and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions, and are used with permission. Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. Turbine and the Turbine logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Turbine, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

When I downloaded the new Tiger Woods 10 Demo from the PSN network, the controls felt quite different from the last rendition that I played. So I figured “Why not?” I got out the old tin AOL CD box, (remember those) and fired up the Demo disk. First I had to create a PS2 memory card on the PS3 which was a very simple task. I got into the Tiger Woods Demo and was I ever surprised. The avatar of Tiger Woods was floating up in the air with arms and legs raised like a   Cirque du Soleil acrobat. As I attempted to play, the contortions just got funnier. Poor Tiger began to shimmy around the golf club like a pole dancer! Somehow the controls worked on the ball, but the golf club also began to do weird stuff too. Too bad I couldn’t get screen shots of this for you, but I am sure someone with a better digital camera than mine will read this and get the pictures. Believe me it’s hilarious, try it if you still have those disks.

The new Tiger Woods Demo is pretty good. After a few minutes and a more thourough look at the directions the my hands adapted like I had never left the game for six years. These games are always solid, and if you haven’t picked one up in a while this game is so advanced that it will satisfy the pickiest golf enthusiast. There are two holes from Beth Page – too bad Tiger lost. And two more from another course. There is also a Tiger challenge where you have to match Tiger’s shots from existing games he played in the past. Can you hit some of those incredible shots like he did? I’m glad to say that I won the challenge neatly.

A few complaints. Why only an ugly looking ginger guy for an avatar?  Oh right it’s EA Sports. If I were them I would have put the character customization on the Demo. That way once you have your character you’d become more involved in the game and have to buy it to keep your character alive. That is how WoW and the other MMO’s do it. Then the female reviewers would be happy and not have to write “Yet again no female avatar.” Secondly, and I don’t know if this will be different in the game, but you spawn at the tee or at your ball. Your character can’t walk around the course. The other issue is that the angle control for the club face is on the right hand stick where we are used to having the camera in all other games. That fine tuning is a good feature, but it’s only for advanced players and it really should not be taking up the prime real estate on the controller. Over all I’d like to see a wider view of the course on the camera. In fact I wonder if this game will be appealing to casual gamers since there are so many numbers, graphs and stats all over the place which could be intimidating. Tiger Woods 10 looks fun and it’s a nice summer game for family time. I’d buy it, and it is certainly worth a rental or at least trying out the free, yet homely Demo character.

This one contains Sega games which originally came our on the old 16-bit Genesis.  In total 47 are accurately ported using the original music. You can choose the original aspect ratio, or stretch the game  for widescreen television.
That was a great console in its time and I’m sorry I sold mine. It is good that these nostalgic collections come along to assuage the separation anixety. At least with vdeo games you can go back in time. It isn’t the same with remakes an sequels sometimes too. The original games, if they worked for you before they may still do it for you again.

Remeber Shinobi III, Ecco the Dolphin? Four of the Phantasy Star games are there, all three Streets of Rage games, and all of the 16-bit Golden Axe  games are in ther adding to the value. If Sonic was your passion there are six Sonic the Hedgehog games as well, making this a classic game collection that represents a whole era of gaming.

This isn’t a bed of roses entirely either. There is a reason why things become obsolete and progeess needs to be made. There are some bad games on there too. With all the pitfalls that made early gaming annoying still glaring at you and twistng up your fingers. Which games are classic and which ones are irritating is going to be a matter of opinion. My favorites are Golden Axe, Columns, Streets of Rage which I missed on the first cllection, and Ecco the Dolphin. Your nostalgia triggers may be different.

With these games being 20 years old you cannot expect online play. For that they will have to make a trues sequel of Streets of Rage. I’d like to see same living room co-op play like that again as well.

I give Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection 8 dolphin crystals out of 10.