Halo Wars Preview

Halo Wars should need no introduction. However, here are a few details about the game just to remind you of why Halo Wars will be a must have game for 2009. Halo Wars is a new strategy game based on the incredible Halo universe. In the campaign mode, you will command the armies of the UNSC warship "Spirit of Fire" against the Covenant. The game takes place in an early period of the Halo universe and players will experience events leading up to the original Halo title. Guided a spirited artificial intelligence persona Serina, gamers will direct legions of UNSC soldiers, Scorpions, Warthogs and other units. Gamers can also utilize ancient Forerunner technology, which can be found hidden throughout the battlefield.

In Halo Wars multiplayer mode, gamers can also take control of the Covenant forces via the New Xbox Experience. The new XBOX Experience will support up to 6 players in multiplayer mode. The Covenant uses an arsenal of new and familiar units such as Grunts, Ghosts, Elites and even Scarabs to defeat foes on the battlefield. Strategic-minded players who react well under pressure will emerge victorious.

Most strategy games are originally designed for the PC and then transferred over to consoles at a later date. This transfer does not always succeed due to difficulties in transitioning from keyboard controls to a console controller. This will not be a problem with Halo Wars! Created from the ground up for the Xbox 360 console and controller, Halo Wars is being developed by the real-time strategy developer Ensemble Studios. By designing the game exclusively for the XBOX 360, the designers have created a game where players can easily command and manage powerful armies and engage in epic battles intuitively and effortlessly.

Halo Wars is going to be available in a both a standard version and a Halo Wars limited collectors edition. The collectors edition will include a few extras, such as three Halo Wars maps, the Halo Wars: Genesis graphic novel, access to the Honor Guard Wraith, six leader cards and a Halo Wars patch. Plus, if you place a pre-order with Amazon for either the standard or collectors edition, you will receive a free exclusive Warthog vehicle with flame decals. Pretty kick ass!

Halo Wars will release on March 3rd, so place a pre-order now and be one of the first to experience a new way of interacting with the Halo universe. Want to know more, check out this cool Halo Wars trailer.

Street Fighter 4 Ships Tomorrow!

Street Fighter IV will officially begin shipping tomorrow, February 17th! The game will be available for both the XBOX 360 and the PlayStation 3. There is a standard version and also a collectors edition of Street Fighter IV which includes a figurine, an animated movie, a strategy guide and more.

Round 1... Fight!

Street Fighter 4 Coming February 17th

There is absolutely no question in my mind that I put more quarters into Street Fighter 2 arcade games than any other game in my entire life. Street Fighter 2 was a major part of my social scene for a few years from about 12 to 14 years old. My buddies and I would go to the local arcade any chance we got and pumped quarters into Street Fighter 2 machines, fighting each other, the computer, or anyone who stepped into the arcade. I even played in a few local tournaments and did pretty well. No major wins or anything, but I held my own.

So when I heard that Street Fighter IV was coming out soon, I started paying attention to some of the articles, previews and trailers out there. What I have seen so far leads me to believe that Street Fighter 4 will be a great update to the best fighting game of all time. The graphics look sharp and will combine 2d and 3d graphical elements, there will be a greater degree of customization than before with the characters and costumes, and there will be the greatest new feature of all: online tournament play.

Although Street Fighter 4 is designed to draw heavily from past game features in its franchise history, it does offer some stunning new gameplay options. The first of these are Focus Attacks. These moves allow players to absorb the energy from an attack and quickly counter with their own. Used properly, Focus Attacks allow for tremendous flexibility during combat and are the end result of efforts by the game's development team to evolve combat away from the rigid memorization of set combination patterns, giving players the freedom to be creative against opponents. The other new combat feature are new powered up moves called Ultra Combos. Like standard combos their purpose is to unleash maximum damage on an opponent, but unlike the combos of old, when performed correctly these long strings of punches, kicks and moves result in changes to the in-game camera angle and quick cinematics which illustrate the strength of your skills like never before.

We are only a couple of weeks away from launch, so now is the time to get an order placed for what is sure to be one of the hottest titles of 2009. You can get Street Fighter IV with free shipping at Amazon.

Also, check out the trailer from E3:

Resident Evil 5

I believe that Resident Evil 4 was one of the best games of all time. Without a doubt top 25 and maybe even top 10. I would have to break out a pretty serious list to say for sure, but until then let's just say that Resident Evil 4 kicked major gaming ass and is among the elite games. Now we have the latest in the Resident Evil franchise: Resident Evil 5. Will it take the greatness of 4 and take it to the next level? Or will it disappoint based on the incredible experience of 4? I am willing to put my money on the fact that Resident Evil 5 will take the next step in gaming evolution and will be one of the best games of 2009. Let's take a look at what we can expect out of the latest by Capcom.

First a brief description of Resident Evil 5: The biohazard threat has not ended: Just when it seemed that the menace of Resident Evil had been destroyed, along comes a new terror to send shivers down player's spines. Chris Redfield, returning Resident Evil hero, has followed the path of the evil literally around the globe. After joining a new organization, Chris heads to Africa where the latest bioterrorism threat is literally transforming the people and animals of the city into mindless, maddened creatures. He is joined by a new partner, Sheva Alomar, who lends her strength, intelligence and sharp-shooting skills to the mission. In order to survive, Chris and Sheva must work together to take on the challenges of discovering the truth behind this evil plot. Utilizing a revolutionary new co-op mode of gameplay, players will be able to assume control of either Chris or Sheva and experience Resident Evil in new ways. In Resident Evil 5, Capcom will have players fearing the daylight as much as they have feared shadow in previous games. Promising to revolutionize the series by delivering an unbelievable level of detail, realism and control, Resident Evil 5 is certain to bring new fans to the series. New technology developed specifically for the game, as well as incredible changes to both the gameplay and world of Resident Evil will make this a must-have game for gamers across the globe.

Also, check out the Resident Evil 5 trailer:



Resident Evil 5 is scheduled to ship March 13th and orders are being taken now. This should be a must play game for 2009.

Guitar Hero - Metallica Coming Soon!

Before I start about Guitar Hero Metallica, there are a few things that I have to admit to. First, back in junior high school and the first couple of years of high school, I had long hair. No, not a mullet. Real, serious, long hair. At the longest, it went more than half way down my back. I am blond, so let's say I stood out a bit. I also listened to all sorts of heavy metal bands and my favorite for a long time was Metallica. I saw them live twice and headbanging until my neck muscles were jelly, owned all of their albums on cassette tape and even played One for a lip sync competition in high school. I guess you could say I was a bit of a Metallica fan...

Okay, the admissions are not quite done yet. I also have to admit that I own Guitar Hero and rock out on occasion. One of my favorite moments was when I got to play Metallica's One on Guitar Hero. I was grinning from ear to ear the first time I ripped through it and probably would have been headbanging if I could have watched the screen and played at the same time!

So when I heard about Guitar Hero: Metallica I was pretty excited. Being able to play through career mode starting as a garage band and working your way to stardom in Metallica's shoes is just what the Guitar Hero franchise needed. Not only will you have Metallica songs old and new to play through, but also bands and songs connected to Metallica in one way or another. Not only can you rip up the game on Guitar, you can also play the whole band just like in World Tour.

Guitar Hero Metallica is set to release on March 29th, 2009 and orders are being accepted now. I am already lined up for the game's release and will be prepping on prior Guitar Hero games so I am ready when Metallica arrives at my door.

Until release, we do have a Guitar Hero: Metallica Trailer to tide us over:

Video Games and Physical Activity

As more and more Americans continue to become overweight and obese, many cultural trends have been looked at as reasons for the increases in the waistlines of Americans. One cultural phenomenon that has been examined under the microscope was the emergence of video games as a major form of popular entertainment. Video games have been blamed by many sources as a major contributing factor to obesity, especially in America's children. As Americans spent more and more time sitting in front of the television, connected to their video game console, they spent less and less time outdoors participating in physical activity. While there are many contributing factors to the increases in average weight for Americans, I must agree that overuse of video games has contributed to this problem.

For decades, video games and physical activity rarely shared the same sentence, unless the sentence was talking about how people who played video games often did not get enough physical activity. Yes, there have been a handful of games over the past 20 years where physical activity was integrated into the game. Just look at the old track and field games on the old NES systems, where running and jumping on the floor pad caused your athlete to make its way through the Olympic games. Yet most of the early games based on physical activity never really hit the main stream and were short lived. It seemed like most gamers preferred to sit and play with their fingers than get up and work up a sweat!


Yet in very recent times, with the emergence of the Nintendo Wii console in particular, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number and popularity of fitness and physical activity based games. Suddenly, games such as Wii Fitness and My Fitness Coach are becoming top selling games for the Nintendo Wii.

What is it that has caused fitness games to take center stage in the world of video games? One of the most compelling reasons is the popularity of the Nintendo Wii console. When the console was originally announced, many thought that Nintendo had lost their minds. Dramatically less technologically advanced and powerful compared to the XBOX 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3, critics thought that Nintendo was building a console sure to follow the Dodo bird to extinction. However the opposite became true. The Nintendo Wii is one of the best selling video game consoles of all time. It is a system that appeals to the masses and not just to the hard core gamer. It is extremely interactive and encourages multiple people to get up and play together. In addition, more than any other video game system in the past, it gets people off of the couch and moving! Whether minor activity such as bowling, or a full on fitness workout with Wii Fit, physical activity and games have come together successfully for the first time in gaming history.

It is my hope that this marriage of video games and physical fitness is not another short term anomaly in the video game universe. The alarming rise in overweight and obese Americans has to stop and reverse its trend. While I by no means expect that Wii Fitness and other physical activity based games will cure America of its weight problem, I do feel as though it is a step in the right direction.

-BeeHawk-