Ten Worst Video Games of 2007?

It's an unfortunate part of the video game business that a lot of what hits store shelves is marginally decent, mediocre or just downright horrible.

Shelling out between $40-$70 for a game is an investment of sorts: you pay the money to be entertained, and maybe even as insurance so that you don't throw your controller in times of frustration. New controllers aren't cheap, after all.

And yet, as great a crop of games as there was in these past 12 months, there have been some real duds in the mix, too. Some were hyped and turned out to be real disappointments, while others with lower expectations managed to sink right through them and smack into the bottom of the barrel.

Dishonourable mentions must go out to Activision's Soldier of Fortune: Payback for giving gamers a forgettable experience that includes useless over-the-top gore. Ubisoft proves - again - that the world of CSI doesn't translate all that well into a video game. It may be from the Vegas crew, but perhaps a CSI game might have a chance if it's laced with cutscenes of Horatio putting (and taking off) his sunglasses in Miami, while mouthing one of his patented one-liners. Not to mention Ubisoft's train wreck of a game in Far Cry Vengeance for the Wii. You know there's trouble when a Wii game would look just as terrible on the GameCube. And for those poor souls who picked up TMNT for the PSP or DS, I hope you exchanged or traded it in already.

Ghost Rider turned out to be just as depressing and boring as the droopy expression fixated on Nicolas Cage's face. Microsoft's Project Sylpheed is like an updated space invaders, except for the spiky-haired characters who could've just as easily been placed in a cartoon that never made it past the pilot episode. And while 300 may have been a slick movie to watch, the PSP game is anything but. How much can you possibly mash on the same buttons and still have the mighty Leonidas get a spear in his back?

And there's more where all those came from, but the 10 in this list make all of those look a little bit better this year:

10 Spider-Man 3 (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Treyarch


I wasn't a big fan of the Spider-Man 2 game Activision put out back in 2004 (I thought Ultimate Spider-Man was much better), and my worst fears were realized with Spider-Man 3. Webswinging around an open and breathing rendition of New York City is great unto itself, but not when it's overshadowed by the nonsense that goes on in this game.

For one, the graphics are deplorable by current-gen standards. How is it that Peter Parker can look like he's got a huge head and the eyes of a total drug addict? And what's with the drab modeling across the board? Every character looks like a mannequin with moving lips, while cars all look the same, except for the different paint jobs. The overall look of the city is also terribly dull. It may be a city that never sleeps, but NYC looks pretty boring here.

Things just get out of hand once the Lizard makes his appearance. The twist the story takes is so ridiculous, it almost seems like something that was slapped together over a drinking wager at a bar. And it just continues to slide downhill from there.

This is a very disappointing game from start to finish. Well, that's actually assuming that you could even get anywhere near the finish line.

9 Beowulf (Xbox 360, PS3)
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Tiwak



Movie-licensed video games are becoming a theme on this list, even though Beowulf isn't the worst of the bunch. But seeing as how it made the cut, there isn't a whole lot of good to say about it, either.

Here's the problem: Beowulf has some gorgeous visuals, with sprawling environments and good character models. But when those characters actually start interacting with each other, the whole foundation of the game comes tumbling down. Controlling the Thanes (Beowulf's loyal cannon fodder) is easy enough because you just can't tell them to do all that much. Aside from rallying on you or attacking en masse, there isn't a whole lot of strategy to go around here. Of course, it is worth a good laugh when you hear them sing - in profanity-laced poetry - in order to get the giant monster Grendel going for a big showdown.

And things start to get cheap when weapons break after only a few hacks. Funny how that doesn't seem to happen as easily for your enemies. Pick up one of their weapons and you'll be lucky if you get a second chance with it, since it'll likely just crumble after the initial attempt.

This game might appeal to people who like the movie or have a general interest in all things Beowulf, but it just comes up short in too many areas for everyone else to really care.

8 Tenchu Z (Xbox 360)
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: K2



Tenchu Z is one of those games that leaves you scratching your head only 20 minutes in. And that trend continues unabated after hours of playing this one, which can best be described as a complete waste of time you'll never get back.

Playing as a ninja can be great fun, as the venerable Ninja Gaiden franchise has proved for 20 years. But when the "ninja genre" is turned upside down by a title that lacks all sense of direction and purpose, you have to push all the right buttons to eject the disc and never put it back in the tray.

You play a ninja that kills seemingly innocent government bureaucrats with the same ruthlessness as the gangsters and other perceived bad guys he rips into. I say "rip" because the littlest prick from a knife or sword turns the victim into a raging hemophiliac. Since when can a guy still move to hit me when there's a fountain of blood raining out of him? It makes zero sense, and that's just one example of the implausibility in Tenchu Z.

Throw in the repetitive stealth kills and the laughable AI, and you get a game that should never have made it past the cutting room floor.

7 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3)
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Eurocom



The more I play games based on this popular franchise, the more I realize that Jack Sparrow might not have a place in this business. Not one Pirates game has been good, and the Wii version of At World's End is easily the worst of this bunch. If not for the typical chatter coming out of Jack, it would resemble a game that was in its first beta stage.

The problem is that Jack isn't as vocal in the Xbox 360 version. This guy is like Peter Parker and John McClane all rolled up into one, albeit with a pirate costume. How could he resist quipping and taunting while dueling with someone? Jack Sparrow is all about that. It's a shame, too, since the Xbox 360 version has good visuals, and good voiceovers which only add to the experience (even if they aren't from the real actors). The Wii version, on the other hand, is a broken game in almost every way.

I've never had an easier time taking out enemies in succession, particularly with the exact same move each and every time. Slash twice, the guy turns around, and you stick it to him in the back. He's down for the count, and you get to do that over and over again for hours and hours. Doesn't sound like a ton of fun, does it?

6 Lair (PS3)
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Factor 5



It wasn't supposed to be this way for Sony and this game. It had a lot of potential upside and was touted by Sony as a real winner for 2007, but with its broken gameplay, frustrating controls and endless cutscene interruptions, Lair will surely find its way to the bargain bins very soon (if it hasn't already).

The control scheme tries to make use of the PS3's SixAxis motion-sensored controller, but instead forces you to try your hardest not to throw it against the wall out of frustration. See, the controls in Lair are like that kid who goes on a tantrum and does the complete opposite to upset his or her parents. You want the game to do something, but instead it throws you a curveball and takes you on a ride onboard a dragon to certain death. Now imagine that scenario playing out repeatedly. Yup, that's Lair for you.

The best are the faceoffs between the dragons. It's like Rocky staring down Drago, only with claws instead of boxing gloves. Oh, and the fact that you have no real clue how to win the fight doesn't help matters much. Mashing buttons seems to be the only way, and with the odds being pretty even, you could probably take bets from friends on who wins. Now that I think of it, it's almost like cockfighting with dragons' tails. And the best part is that this one would be legal.

5 Transformers: The Game (PSP)
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Savage Entertainment



The Transformers movie may have been a blockbuster at the box office, but the video games that preceded it were either halfway decent, or in the case of the PSP version, outright embarrassing. The lack of a second analog stick hurts this game, but nowhere near as badly as the second-rate production values.

You could excuse a glitch here and there when watching the old cartoon episodes from the 80s, but what happened here? How could an Autobot or Decepticon transform without any animation showing it? One frame, they're standing, and the next frame, they're in vehicle mode. They may be robots in disguise, but they're not that good. And for some reason, the controls change completely between the modes, too. Shouldn't I be able to fire my weapon with the same button, regardless of what mode I'm in? Not here you can't.

The fighting system is just lame. The lock-on reticle always seems to miss its target, and because the animations are so poor, you can't really tell if your enemy is taking damage or just toying with you. Overall, the game looks like it missed the mark in almost every way. This one is best left for the scrapyard, which in gaming terms should be the bargain bin.

4 Hour of Victory (Xbox 360)
Publisher: Midway
Developer: nFusion



World War II shooters have become a genre unto themselves, thanks to the popularity of the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty franchises. But when a wannabe upstart like Hour of Victory comes along, you realize why there are so many WWII titles - and so many reasons not to play them all.

It starts with a good premise in an alternate storyline where the Nazis are on the cusp of building a nuclear bomb, with your squad being tasked to put it out of business. But it's all downhill from there. You've got German troops who have no idea what's going on, resembling a fighting force that should have no business even occupying a barracks, much less entire countries. The controls are a total mess, with sensitivity settings all over the map, usually culminating in painfully slow movements.

The visuals are also sub par, to say the least. Hour of Victory has parts that look like they were drawn in by a kid who missed his colouring book. The framerate is also choppy, making the game look worse than it already does. This needed a lot more than polish; it needed to go straight back to the drawing board.

3 Vampire Rain (Xbox 360)
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Artoon



If Spinter Cell's Sam Fisher ever had a clone, the clown who passes for the protagonist in this game would fit the bill perfectly. Except the only difference is that Sam is cool, and his job makes more sense than whatever it's supposed to be in Vampire Rain.

Hey, it's true that Sam could take on a lot of guys, but even he would probably opt out of this assignment. The forgettable lead player here is a special ops guy who carries only a single pistol. And with that golden gun of his, he's expected to take down a sea of "nightwalkers", which is pretty much a euphemism for vampires, though I'm not sure the whole daylight thing applies here. You could have a tank in this game and it wouldn't make a difference. Who knew that becoming a bloodsucker gave you all those great things we want in life: super speed, strength and the chance to have your favourite meal over and over.

Killing these guys is like a pure crapshoot. You can fire at them, and they could be gnawing at your neck in no time. Considering the epidemic of epic proportions, you know the story is heading in the wrong direction when there's no military mobilization, and the fate of a huge city (Los Angeles) rests in the hands of our forgettable lead and a few of his cohorts. Forgettable characters, a forgettable story and forgettable production values make this easy pickings for the "Please buy me" bin.

2 Star Trek: Conquest (Wii, PS2)
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: 4JStudios



I feel bad for Trekkies who went out and bought this game. It's Star Trek in name only, and hardly resembles anything good about its mythos.

The Federation is okay with wiping out another race in genocidal rage, just so they can take over a planet? Doesn't make any sense at all, and it's really just a microcosm of everything that's wrong with the game. You'd think Picard would have a real tough time advocating or condoning that kind of a bloodthirsty approach. Oh, that's right, he's not even in this game, and neither are the other key characters from The Next Generation. No, instead, you get the red-shirted grunts taking the lead on all command posts.

I was never a huge fan of the show, but I know enough that diplomacy was a central theme. You don't get any of that here. No, here it's victory or death, with little regard to what happens to innocent, neutral planets. This is a strategy game devoid of any actual strategy. Combat is pretty much made up of awkward turn-based shootouts, and even then, it just comes across like a computer game from 10 years ago.

This game is a travesty to the license and should be avoided at all costs by anyone even remotely thinking of spending money on it.

1 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (DS)
Publisher: Take-Two Interactive
Developer: 7 Studios



Even though almost every other platform had a game featuring the Fantastic Four, I'm picking on the DS version of this game for a lot of reasons. It's a game that proves any real lack of imagination and common sense can lead to disastrous results - as well as some lost time and money for those unlucky enough to have actually bought this.

Just as it's hard to find a game that can be considered "perfect", it's arguably just as hard to find one that has absolutely no redeeming qualities of any kind. Well, maybe in the case of this game, its box could be used as a coaster or door-stopper. It's just so supremely awful in every way, shape and form. Whether it's the bland platforming or atrocious overhead missions with the Human Torch, this is an experience that never fails to disappoint. You could play your own mini-game by betting on whether or not the buttons you press actually translate into the right moves onscreen.

If button-mashing were an art, this game might stand a chance, but since it never will be, it just goes down as brain-dead gameplay. This game is so bad it doesn't even qualify for a hand-me-down. Picking on a younger sibling is par for the course, but putting them through this kind of torture would be cruel and unnecessary punishment. After all, who would want to pay $30-$40 for a game that displays graphics unsuitable for even the Game Boy Advance?

The DS may have the Brain Age games to test your mind, but games like FFRotSS can just as easily test your sanity. Avoid this one like the plague because you'll see copies of it fester in bargain bins for a long time to come.

Source: PCWorld

TV and Video Games Strain Children's Vision?

Watching images on a flat screen (as in any flat surface screen, including CRTs) for prolonged periods has a deleterious effect on a child's vision, and eventually leads to nearsightedness and issues shifting focus, according to eye experts in the US and UK.

Professor Andrea Thau, spokeswoman for the American Optometric Associations, advises:

Children need appropriate visual stimulation for sight to develop normally. Parents should limit TV and computer games, especially in children under six whose sight is still developing, though the effects occur in older children too.

I guess that explains my problem, or part of it, anyway, though I'm extrapolating out to adulthood as someone who didn't use computers or watch much TV as a child. I have increasingly poor vision as I age, something so trivial as a teenager I didn't bother wearing my glasses most of the time, but which now seems to grow increasingly worse as I spend longer and longer hours either gaming, writing (on a laptop), or reading (often by lamplight, in the evening, in bed).

I'm not blind, but it's bad enough that I need glasses in front of a desktop computer screen a couple feet in front of me. Which has additional downsides if you're into various specialty gear. For instance, I slipped on Natural Point's Track IR infrared-based head-tracking system (it lets you look around inside the cockpit of a plane or other vehicle just by moving your head) and was suddenly all too aware of my glass frames, which obscure parts of your view since, per the Track IR freelook mechanic, it's explicitly tied to the shifting visual field. In other words, when I look around, I invariably end up looking through my frames around the edges.

A few years ago, my optometrist noticed I have problems focusing correctly. He said I "overfocus," which as I understand it, means I look at something like the page in a book that might be X inches away, but my eyes exert themselves focally as if I were looking at something X + 3 or 4 inches extra.

Keith Holland, a leading specialist in children's eye problems who examined 12,500 children's eyes in the last decade, noting an "alarming increase" in problems linked to TV and computer game exposure, says:

Humans are not designed to look at a flat screen for long periods – and this is especially the case for children or infants whose vision is developing – and we believe visual skills are being damaged.

As anyone knows, anything that strains your vision is going to be harmful to it over time. I presume some of my focal issues may be due to extended time in front of computer screens (I've never been much of a TV watcher). The good news is that they make special corrective glasses for focal issues. They only help when you're reading up close (not to be confused with reading glasses, which are different) but I can actually feel my eyes forcibly relax when I slip them on. (Now if only I could be more disciplined about wearing them.)

The bad news, of course, is that the only cure-all is spending less time in front of flat screens, kids especially, be they TVs or computers.

Or maybe that's good news too.

Source: PCWorld Blog

Purrfect Pet Shop video game on PC to launch

eGames Hopes to Find Good Homes for Purrfect Pet Shop

Casual Pet Adoption Game Includes Special Mode for Kids

Casual games developer and publisher eGames announced today that its new pet adoption themed PC game, Purrfect Pet Shop will launch online later this month. Part of the popular time management genre, Purrfect Pet Shop is poised for download from major casual game portals across the Internet.

Purrfect Pet Shop puts players in charge of an animal adoption center, caring for strays as they arrive at the shelter, and matching them with prospective owners based on the customer’s desired pet traits. At the same time, players must nurse a special customizable dog or cat back to health, choosing from thousands of possible pet combinations, and earn the animal’s trust through playing with toys, going on special trips to the aquarium or butcher shop, careful grooming, medical care, and the occasional tasty treat. While earning money in the shelter through donations from satisfied customers, players purchase center upgrades and special items to get their friend ready for adoption by the end of the game.

“We expect Purrfect Pet Shop to experience similar success to Burger Island, our first time management game released earlier this year,” said eGames Product Manager Greg Zesinger. “Burger Island was a top seller out of the gate, continues to sell well online, and is building momentum at the retail level. We are confident Purrfect Pet Shop will follow a comparable path.”

In addition to Purrfect Pet Shop’s unique mix of pet care and adoption matchmaking, eGames also introduces a special mode in the game designed specifically for younger players.

“While the normal difficulty settings certainly cater to the ‘traditional’ casual game audience, generally considered as the thirty and up crowd, we know from firsthand experience how much young children also enjoy the game,” said Zesinger. “From the beginning of the game’s development, we’ve seen how much children as young as four have loved taking care of the animals in the game, but at the normal difficulty setting, it was sometimes hard for them to complete the game’s objectives. Through the Kiddies setting, young players receive a much easier path to success with a minimum of help from an adult. Of course, we also encourage adults to sit with them and play Purrfect Pet Shop together. It’s a great opportunity to share some quality time and work together to give animals in the shelter the best homes possible.”


As an added bonus, players have the ability to take pictures of their special pet in Pet Photo Shoot mode that can be saved, printed out, and emailed to friends.

“After you create your special pet, you have the opportunity to capture images that you can email, use as Internet avatars, or simply print out with customized frames and captions,” said Zesinger. “Literally thousands of dogs and cats can be digitally recreated in the game, and it’s fun to share Purffect Pet Shop interpretations of beloved real world pets with friends and family.”

Free trials of Purrfect Pet Shop will be available at http://www.egames.com and other top online casual game portals, with the full game available for purchase at $19.99.

Chunk 2 - second update for free-to-download and play game, Dungeon Runners

NCsoft Europe today announced the release of Chunk 2, the second content update for its successful free-to-download and play game, Dungeon Runners.

This update includes in-game advertising in non-member worlds, more bank space for members, item trading, increased access to prime loot, and overall Player versus Environment (PvE) and Player versus Player (PvP) balance refinements.

Dungeon Runners is a free to download and play online multiplayer role playing game in a satirical, fast-paced sword-and-shield setting, where defeating monsters and evil enemy’s results in piles of loot, treasure, and non-stop fun.

The hallmark of Chunk 2 is in-game advertising which will help fund future development of the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) and keep it free for players. The in-game advertising will be visible to non-members in loading screens and in a banner that sits on top of the game window during play. Dungeon Runners members, who can subscribe to the game for only $4.99 per month (equivalent to approximately £2.50), will not see any of the advertising.

Advertising in Dungeon Runners will open up new content and functionality for all players. Non-member players will gain access to new content previously unavailable to them, including dungeons and valuable items. Also, non-members will now have access to one page of bank slots, enabling them to store more items. Members will increase their bank storage space from one to three pages.

Also, by popular demand, a secure trade system has been added to Dungeon Runners. This new feature allows everyone to easily trade items (with the exception of gold) with other players through a simple interface.

“Chunk 2 unlocks an enormous amount of playable content for non-members that they didn’t have access to before thanks to the addition of in-game advertising,” said Stephen Nichols, NCsoft’s producer and lead programmer for Dungeon Runners. “Our non-member players are very happy they can now use what was previously members-only loot, and our members are really excited about receiving additional bank slots to hold their items. These changes, plus our new secure trade system, make this update a win-win for everyone!”

Further enhancements include increased rare item drops and stackable potions for members and non-members alike, which lead to more success in this hack–and-slash game.

Dungeon Runners can be downloaded for free at http://www.dungeonrunners.com/join.html. Players can play for free or subscribe to the members version at any point for $4.99 a month. Members have access to such benefits as log-in queue priority, members-only servers, and the most powerful items, weapons and armor. Membership status also includes three bank pages for hundreds of loot items and the ability to stack potions in one inventory slot to save room for even more loot.

To find out more please visit the Dungeon Runners web site at: www.dungeonrunners.com.

The game is rated Teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

Wonderworld Amusement Park video game for Nintendo Wii

New Game Lets You Enjoy Boardwalk Games and Rides in the Family Living Room

Majesco Entertainment an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced Wonderworld Amusement Park for the Wii home video game system. Developed by Coyote Console, Wonderworld Amusement Park brings to life a fully 3D world of games, rides and prizes across multiple themed areas that players can explore with personalized avatars.

“In summertime, nothing is more synonymous with family fun than a day at an amusement park. In Wonderworld Amusement Park, we bring this sense of excitement and adventure to the Wii with four player support that enables the whole family to play together,” said John Merchant, Marketing Manager, Majesco Europe. “Only the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers let us reproduce the real life thrill of these games and rides from the comfort of the living room.”

Wonderworld Amusement Park includes 30 different mini-games that mirror real carnival games but are re-imagined in the park’s five stylized fantasy areas. Players immerse themselves in this fantastical world of fun by creating and customizing their own unique character with outfits and accessories purchased with mini-game winnings. As an added bonus, gamers can also enjoy playable rides within the 3D park and challenge other family members in several 4-player gameplay modes.

Wonderworld Amusement Park will launch in summer 2008.

Wonderworld Amusement Park video game for Nintendo Wii

New Game Lets You Enjoy Boardwalk Games and Rides in the Family Living Room

Majesco Entertainment an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced Wonderworld Amusement Park for the Wii home video game system. Developed by Coyote Console, Wonderworld Amusement Park brings to life a fully 3D world of games, rides and prizes across multiple themed areas that players can explore with personalized avatars.

“In summertime, nothing is more synonymous with family fun than a day at an amusement park. In Wonderworld Amusement Park, we bring this sense of excitement and adventure to the Wii with four player support that enables the whole family to play together,” said John Merchant, Marketing Manager, Majesco Europe. “Only the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers let us reproduce the real life thrill of these games and rides from the comfort of the living room.”

Wonderworld Amusement Park includes 30 different mini-games that mirror real carnival games but are re-imagined in the park’s five stylized fantasy areas. Players immerse themselves in this fantastical world of fun by creating and customizing their own unique character with outfits and accessories purchased with mini-game winnings. As an added bonus, gamers can also enjoy playable rides within the 3D park and challenge other family members in several 4-player gameplay modes.

Wonderworld Amusement Park will launch in summer 2008.

Trickster Online Revolution download new content

Ntreev USA, Inc. announced today that Trickster Online Revolution has recently released new content for their popular 2D fantasy MMORPG.

Trickster Online Revolution Releases Much Anticipated 3rd Jobs and Related Content:

In the 2.6.5 Patch, Ntreev USA has added 3rd Jobs and all related content for Trickster Online Revolution - www.tricksteronline.com/entrypoint/?epn=10030 . The 3rd Jobs are an extension and an in-game upgrade for players. It not only changes the appearance of characters, but also unlocks a host of new job based skills and maneuvers.

Sang Kwon, Manager of Game Operations for Ntreev USA and Trickster Online Revolution, said that, "We are all glad that we were able to get this long awaited feature out before the holidays!" He further explained that, "[3rd Jobs] Opens the door to more exciting skills and items, but this is just a first step [for upcoming content and releases that will enhance the game]!" He later added his extreme appreciation on behalf of Ntreev USA, for the already "huge response" that the new content has gotten from players.

By adding 3rd Jobs and related content, Ntreev USA has expanded the already large number of possible Jobs and Advancements from the initial 16 variations (including 1st and 2nd Jobs) to a new total of 33 unique Jobs and Advancements. 3rd Jobs now add a total of 17 Job variations for Trickster Online Revolution character types, which is more than 1st and 2nd Jobs combined. These new Jobs are based on the initial 4 character types already available for all players, including a male and female version of Charm, Sense, Power and Magic character types.

Players interested in advancing their characters to 3rd Jobs should proceed directly to the Garden of Skill Masters.

NVIDIA Gives PC Gamers More Processing Power With The GEFORCE 8800 GTS 512 MB

News Facts:

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB graphics cards are available today, just in time for the holiday-buying frenzy.

Coming on the heels of the introduction of the critically acclaimed GeForce 8800 GT, the GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB graphics card delivers impressive new levels of performance in the $299–$349 price range.

GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB graphics cards offer an intense gaming experience with stunning special effects and high-definition visuals for the hottest holiday PC games, such as: Crysis, Hellgate: London, Gears of War, Unreal Tournament 3, and Call of Duty 4, along with full support for current DirectX 9 games.


Product Facts:

• NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB offers 25% more graphics processing power than NVIDIA products previously offered at the same price point[i].


• The GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB also offers new features such as support for PCI Express 2.0, dual-link HDCP, and the second-generation PureVideo® HD engine from NVIDIA.


• The NVIDIA PureVideo HD engine delivers astounding Blu-ray and HD DVD movie picture quality on a PC with 100% offload of H.264 video decoding, freeing the CPU to perform other tasks and significantly reducing power consumption, heat, and noise.


• All GeForce 8800 GPUs support NVIDIA SLI® technology which allows you to use two graphics processors in unison, sharing the graphics workload.


• GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB graphics cards are available now from leading add-in card manufacturers, retailers, and system builders. For information on where to buy GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB products, please visit http://www.nvidia.com/wheretobuy.

Fantasy Date Demo with Mobile Web, Video, and Gaming in one Experience

Choose Your Date by 'Pressing the Right Buttons'

With boons in online dating and electronic gaming, its no wonder that both sectors would converge into new entertainment products, as is the case with Fantasy Date, a new service from MoConDi. Fantasy Date™ is a WAP-based interactive fictional mobile video dating game featuring role-playing features that lead players through hookup and relationship challenges.

Building upon MoConDi’s pioneering successes with millions of game and video downloads worldwide, Fantasy Date is the first to incorporate the mobile web, gaming and mobile video into one experience. Its use of on-demand character control is optimized for Sprint PCS Vision’s high-speed mobile network.

Fantasy Date™ players select a character, male or female, to whom they will try to seduce by reacting correctly to the different video situations presented. The revolving cast of characters keeps users engaged with a monthly change in the lineup of hotties to hookup with. The game is structured in several levels for every character, each level consisting of three video situations. After each video situation, the user is asked to choose among three options. Every choice prompts not only a score, but also a different video reaction from the character. The more the player presses the “right buttons", the more receptive the reaction of the character will be.

“Fantasy Date allows players to get their game on with a fun and original application providing carriers with a compelling new way to engage users and generate revenue,” said J.T. Klepp, President and co-founder of MoConDi

According to Juniper Research, online dating and content uploaded to third party sites will increase from $572m in 2007 to more than $5.7bn in 2012. Demand for innovation in mobile gaming and dating services makes hybrid products like Fantasy Date, an interesting opportunity for carriers such as Sprint.

“Fantasy Date”™ is available exclusively on Sprint’s wireless network for $2.99 and can be found in the “Chat & Dating” category of the Sprint homepage. A demo is available at http://www.mocondi.com/fantasydate/index.html.

Eidos Christmas mobile games line-up

A veritable Santa's sack of code and assets are now available for all Eidos New Media mobile games.

The Eidos Christmas line-up includes a mix of original titles and classics – from Lara to new guys on the block, Kane and Lynch and the hugely addictive Sola Rola.

Kane and Lynch mobile: Inspired by IO Interactive’s highly anticipated title; players can experience 38 adrenaline filled levels through 5 gripping scenarios. The mobile version of Kane and Lynch takes the gritty essence of IO's new blockbuster title and combines it with innovative design to create a unique game for mobile handsets.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary Edition: To celebrate ten years of gaming’s most famous archaeologist, Lara Croft will star in a new adventure taking in familiar locations from her past. Inspired by the first three Tomb Raider mobile phone games, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Anniversary faithfully preserves the elements which made the original mobile games some of the best available on the mobile platform. Taut, and fast-paced, this is a perfect tribute to one of gaming’s true legends and the first title to come from new British Developer, FinBlade.

Sola Rola: An original title, Sola Rola is a fun mixture of puzzle and action elements in which users control two blobby heroes – Wiz and Waz – as they attempt to save the universe by manipulating shapes. Spanning 25 stages, Sola Rola is crammed with puzzles and uses a unique physics system in which objects and characters can be scaled, tilted and used to solve the increasingly difficult puzzles on offer.

Championship Manager 2008: Released to coincide with the PC version of the game, the mobile version of Championship Manager 2008 is a fully featured game of what is rightly regarded as the pioneer of football management titles. Developed by the award-winning Dundee based Dynamo Games, the mobile game features all the tactical acumen and logistics of the PC title, with a simple to navigate menu system and 2D match overlay specifically designed for handsets.