Breaking in the video gaming industry reports that overall video game sales dropped 23% this May as compared to last year. It also means sales are down below the one billion dollar mark for the first time since August 2007 (according to a report by the NPD group). Some blame the summer season and others blame the lack of good games released at this particular time of the year.

Video Game Sales Fall in May

Since last year, sales of video game hardware, software and accessories dropped from $1.2 billion to $863.3 million this May. Every category dropped versus last year’s standings except for portable hardware sales which are actually up a bit due to the Nintendo DS, DSi and Lite.

Of all the platforms selling, the Wii from Nintendo is still the favorite and showed May sales of 289,500 units. Microsoft Xbox came in second with 175,000 units and the PlayStation 3 from Sony can in with 131,000 units. Surprisingly, the PlayStation 2 is still making sales following in close to the PS3 with 117,000 units sold.

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lisa Industry News, gaming, video games 360, drop in sales, game, may, profit, PS3, sales, video game sales, Wii

You see a table, on the table is a loaf of bread, a vial of poison, and a shiny sword.

> put poison on bread

You cannot do that right now

>take table

That item is too heavy for you!

>pick up sword

I don’t understand

>take sword

You take the sword

Any gamer over a certain age will be familiar with the above scenario. The careful choice of verbs and nouns, the frustratingly specific way of answering a simple question, and of course spending the first 10 minutes after booting seeing how the game would react to such commands as “have sex”, “do a poo” and “wet yourself”.

I am of course talking about text-based games. The original staple of systems like the Commodore PET and the ZX Spectrum, these games were demonstrations of where gaming could go, but they did it without the help of fancy 3d graphics or drawn-out cutscenes.
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roisi Industry News, Uncategorized, gaming, pc 3D, fallout 3, game, gaming, mass effect, text, text based games

Tomb Raider is a series that has been able to push out new and exciting games, while still maintaining the basics that make Tomb Raider so great. The latest installment Tomb Raider: Underworld features Lara Croft at her finest and proves to be a hit.

Like in every other Tomb Raider you’ll spend most of your time exploring ruins and jumping around like a monkey. There will be times when you’re faced with an obstacle and have to use all your brain power to figure out the correct steps. The correct course of action isn’t always obvious and provides for challenging game play. Climbing and jumping on ledges and footholds are simple and if you position Lara right you’ll have little difficultly maneuvering around.

One new added feature to Lara’s gymnastics is her beam balancing. Now when you walk across a beam you’ll need to use your left analog in order to steady her. If you don’t Lara won’t fall to her death but drop and grab the beam, which will allow you to pull yourself up.

I tried this game on the PS3 and the graphics were simply beautiful. The water reflects and moves like real water, dynamic lighting and the shadows add even more detail to the environments. On your journey you’ll travel from Thailand to Mexico to Norway and each area resembles reality. Even the rain changes the atmosphere of the game.

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Gammerwihz Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, Video games review, Vigster, gaming, xbox360 360, edios, game, gaming, laura croft, pc, PS3, tomb raider, underworld, Wii

Prince of Persia is a game series that has been around since 1989. In 2003 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was released bringing the franchise to a whole new level. The last in the series to date, Prince of Persia, is eye candy followed by a beautiful npc named Elika.

Elika Revealed

Before the game was released there was a lot of hype about its groundbreaking character Elika. Ubisoft was quiet and only revealed that she would provide a completely different game play that has never been done before. No one knew the extent of Elika’s abilities or how she would interact with the prince.

When the game hit the shelves everyone was eager to test it out. Visually it used the next generation systems to their highest potential. It’s cel-shading gave the game a very artistic feel, making the scenery look more like artwork but the one aspect that made it stand out the most, was Elika.

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olu_guy Video games review, Vigster, review elika, game, gaming, preince of persia, review, Vigster

There has been a lot of hype around Twisted Pixel’s new XBLA title The Maw. Considering how unusual it is for there to be this much buzz around an Xbox Live Arcade game, I decided to break my rule of never buying Microsoft points (They have no accurate monetary value and you’re always left over with 100 points that you can’t use for anything) and find out what all the fuss is about.

The Maw

The game follows Frank, a small alien who is captured by robots for an unknown reason. The space ship that he is imprisoned on crashes, freeing Frank on a strange alien planet. After the crash he befriends Maw, a tiny purple blob with an insatiable appetite for pretty much anything. Frank leads Maw to food, which causes him to grow larger and eat bigger and bigger enemies.

One thing that was immediately apparent is that a lot of time and money has been spent polishing this game as much as possible. It is impressive to see a small developer managing to make a game in full 3d with such style.

The Maw’s definite strong point is it’s character design. It is very cute and colourful, and the monsters that make up Maw’s diet are varied and interesting to look at. It is surprising to see such innovative design in such a small game. One of the best were snails disguised as rocks, and when Maw is smaller you must find a way to first smash the shell before he can eat them, but as he grows he is able to eat them fully intact. Small touches like this are what sets it apart from the competition design-wise. The soundtrack is also great. Although there is a lot of repetition, it never gets annoying and fits the game without being overpowering.

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roisi Video games review, Vigster DLC, game, the maw, video, vigster review, xbla, xbox live

Age of Conan (AoC) was 2008’s most hyped up MMORPG and when it was finally released gamers got a taste of Robert E. Howard‘s fantasy world.  The game’s system requirements were demanding and stopped many people from playing the game, including me. Even with my uber video card, I was left watching my toon freeze during combat.

The Fall of AOC

With all AoC had to offer somewhere down the road, people stopped playing and the game began to tank. In order to find out what went wrong and why, I asked two gamers about their experience.

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olu_guy Industry News, Uncategorized age of conan, game, massively multiplayer online role-playing game, MMO, MMORPG, multiplayer, online, pc

When the Sims 3 hits stores late February gamers will get to experience an entirely new freedom and creativity in the Sims series. Players will be able to customize, have new traits and now be able to walk around freely.

One aspect that has made the Sims such a popular game is the customization. You can create what your sim looks like, choose their clothes or create your own and even build your own dream home. EA has added in an all new create a sim system that will allow players to fully customize their sims. Now instead of choosing just brown hair, you can pick out just the right shade of brown. Eye color can also be fine tuned along with their skin tone and all facial features. In the past you had to choose whether your sim was fat or skinny, now you get more options, your sim can have that hourglass figure they’ve always wanted.

Aspirations have always been a feature that made game play a bit of a challenge, especially if your sims life goal is to have ten or more children. The Sims 3 will introduce short and long term goals. These goals will allow gamers to fulfill their sims life long dreams or provide some instant gratification and rewards.

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Gammerwihz Video games review, gaming, pc, review game, pc, sims3, the sims