Brain training games are very popular right now and are now available on most platforms. To capitalize on that momentum, Nintendo is back with another installment of the first brain-training game that started it all, Brain Age 2.
Brain Age 2 will seem very familiar to people who own its predecessor as the presentation is virtually indistinguishable from the first Brain Age. In fact, the only thing that sets Brain Age 2 apart is the different lineup of brain training exercises that are included. Not that this is a bad thing, but it would have been nice to see a little evolution in the presentation of the game.
For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Brain Age series, I’ll give some background. Professor Ryuta Kawashima, a prominent Japanese neuroscientist, has evaluated the impact of certain exercise in the fields of reading and math on one’s brain. His research inspired a game that made it easy to stimulate your brain through simple math problems or quick problem solving exercises. That game was Brain Age and the premise of the game is that you train your brain through various exercises on a daily basis as if it were a muscle. Each day you also complete a series of short tests that determine your A
If you are a baseball fan like me, you probably pick up a new baseball game every other year or so due to the frequency of player trades. I chose to pick up MLB 07: The Show for the PS2.
I purchased MLB 2K7 for the 360 and hated it. The graphics, physics and overall playability of the game was horrible. I don’t own a PS3 so I had to get The Show on the PS2. I can easily say that this video game is surprisingly good. The graphics aren’t that great for a 2007 game, but that doesn’t take away from the good game play. There are a plethora of game modes to play to keep you entertained. They have all the normal modes that one is accustomed to, but there is one that really stands out that I enjoyed–“road to the show”.
The “road to the show” mode allows you to create a ball player and play out his career in a new way. You assign attributes to him and build him up with points you get after each game. Depending on how well you do at the plate or with the challenges the coach gives you, you will either get a lot of attribute points, or sometimes none at all. This is by far the best game mode I have ever played in a baseball game. What makes it so good is the fact that it auto-advances to your career players next action in the game. You don’t have to worry about batting or fielding for everyone else, all you have to worry about is your players position. That makes the games go by faster and allows you to knock out seasons a little quicker.
There are a few drawbacks to this game, but that is only because I picked up the PS2 version. The graphics are fairly poor and the loading and saving time make me want to shoot myself. I did run into a few glitches in the game, but the game play, commentary and game physics are usually spot-on. If you are going to pick up a new baseball game this year, pick up MLB 07: The Show.
NHL 2K8, 2K Sports’ newest hockey game, is coming out in two weeks and we were lucky enough to talk to some of the people involved with the develoment of the game about some of the sweeping changes headed for the NHL 2K series.
The problem that plagues many current sports game is that many of them update nothing but rosters while the gameplay is rehashed. Our time with 2K revealed huge changes in 2K8 that will push the limits of future hockey games.
New features that will be debuted in 2K8 include the ProStick, brand new SuperStar moves, and a totally redesigned Face Off system. The ProStick is a new way to control your player’s stick on offense and defense and promises to deliver an amazingly real hockey experience. The 12 SuperStar moves are unique moves that can only be used if your player meets certain requirements. Two of them are Forsberg’s one-handed reach and Nolan’s shot call from the NHL All-Star Game.
When 2K Sports set out to revamp the face-off, they brought in professional hockey player Joe Thornton, a 6’4A
With Halo 3 now gold and the countdown officially underway, Microsoft has a few goodies to tempt you this holiday season. It is the holiday season now right? I mean tomorrow is the first day of September. Anyway, the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo 3 Wireless Controllers and headset are going to be available next week on Sept. 4th.
These controllers have been designed by legendary artist, Todd McFarlane and come in a Covenant Brute theme as well as one featuring Master Chief himself. They are fade and scratch resistant and come with a special Halo 3 figurine also designed by McFarlane. The controllers will set you back a bit at $59.99 each.
The new headsets come in Spartan green and gold and will be wireless. For $59.99, you better have a real need for one of these.
Also ready to hit store shelves are the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit that includes a chatpad and a headset. If you just have to get your IM on, this set can be had for $29.99.
Microsoft just sent us a little note saying that Halo 3 had been released to manufacturing as of today.
