The Resident Evil 5 demo that was released a few months back had me feeling a bit wary of what the final product would look/play like.  Now after quite a few playthroughs with the retail copy I’m happy to say that the control problems from the demo are not deal breaks after some time with the game.  The levels are set up so that they provide the player with the utmost excitement without ever letting the “tank-like” control scheme become too much of a hindrance.

Two To Tango

As with any activity. having someone to play with is where Resident Evil 5 truly shines.  While the single player game does allow you to play along side an AI partner having someone sit down on the couch with you or play with online is where the real fun starts.  Staying ahead of the zombies becomes a breeze when you have another human to play along side.  It can be quite satisfying to plan strategies with a partner when facing off against one of the game’s many larger-than-life enemies.

Plain ole’ Dumb Fun

I’m sure there are many die hard fans of the Resident Evil franchise that will love the small throw backs to the series’ prior installments but when it came to me it seemed more like a summer blockbuster action movie plot rather than anything to pay attention to.  While this may be a negative point to some, I feel it’s a perfectly acceptable video game equivalent to a popcorn flick plot that’s just meant as a backdrop for the action that’s happening on screen.

But Wait There’s More…

What really caught me off guard was the fact that there was such a robust end game that was unlocked once you completed the campaign the first time.  There’s money and XP to gather that is utlized to upgrade weapons and to purchase bonus items like costumes, unlimited ammo, and 3d figurines of all the characters in the game.  Along with those features you’re also able to play the Mercenaries mode which puts you and your AI or human controlled partner against waves of infected creatures.

Resident Evil 5 provides an experience that is well worth any of the frustration you may come across while attempting to learn the control scheme.  The variety in locales throughout the game provide a backdrop that keeps the stop and pop pace of the from getting to monotonous.  I’d recommend the game to anyone looking for an exciting experience that is a blast to share with friends.

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Rumble Massage

Use the rumble to

release the stress, don’t forget

the happy ending!

This has to be one of the most interesting uses of the rumble functionality in game I’ve seen thus far.  You’re able to set the pulse and strength of the rumble and there’s also a setting that allows you to control someone else’s controller’s rumble for interactive massaging that can be done over Xbox Live or while in the same room .  It blows my mind simple yet inventive this game is because it has functionality that spans not only massages and stress relief but could also function as a way for adults to have some personal fun which is quite innovative.

RC-AirSim

Fun RC plane sim

that gives you a backyard to

perform your tricks in.

This game is fairly simple but is definitely a fun time waster.  You get to choose from a good sized list of RC Airplanes and you’re immediately thrown into a huge backyard to fly your plane in.  While the game will most likely grown stale after an hour or so of play it is well worth the 200 Microsoft Points price tag (about $2.50).

Groov

Groov-y  tunes created

from the shooting I’m doing

and I’m loving it.

I’m glad to say that the gentleman that made this game is a member of the boards on 1Up.com and I have to say that he did an amazing job on this game.  Yes it is a bit of a throwback to Geometry Wars and Everyday Shooter but at the same time it has its own flavor that is a fun experience.  Groov is a game that could easily be on the regular Xbox Live Marketplace and is an absolute steal for 200 MS Points.

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I, like many of you gamers out there, have tried and failed when trying to share my love of games with others.  While all of us may have the best intentions from the beginning, we usually meet failure because of lack of forethought or over enthusiasm for our hobby.  Instead of adding new gamers to the gaming community’s numbers we usually only succeed in solidifying their already negative view of gaming.  With this in mind I created a short list of ways to introduce people to gaming and what pitfalls could occur while doing so.   

1. Gentle and Accommodating

Just like taste in movies, you have to respect what your significant other’s tastes are when choosing a game to play with them.  Make sure that whatever your choice is, that it doesn’t expect too much from the player right from the start.  Watching that it both satisfies their sensibilities, as well as doesn’t drop them into something difficult, will make the transition into gaming all the easier.

Things To Watch Out For – Don’t make it too easy, just because they can breeze through it doesn’t instantly equate they’ll get any satisfaction out of it.  Try to respect their inexperience and taste – don’t mock them.

2. Size Does Matter

You’re going to have to give some thought into what their tolerance will be for lengths of time between save points or time needed to complete levels.  In most cases there has to be some satisfaction of accomplishment when the person plays the game.  Whether it’s Xbox Achievements or being able to play a full level from start to finish, the game has to have some built-in situations that they can strive to overcome and eventually beat in one sitting.

Things To Watch Out For – Accomplishment is a great thing to get from a game but make sure that the difficulty isn’t too steep.  Us hardcore gamers can get frustrated and we’re already prepared for the headaches video games can be so you could only imagine what someone who doesn’t care about games can feel if they die three or four times during a boss fight.

3. Have It Your Way

Being able to customize your own avatar or gamertag within a game can be a fun addition and playing up this fact to a new gamer can only help in drawing them in.  Perfect examples of this is the Xbox 360′s Avatars, the Wii‘s Miis, and to a lesser extend  PS3‘s Home application.  But even if they personally don’t want to play a particular game, giving them the chance to make your character can make them curious as to how the person they made becomes part of the world.  This will only add another point of sharing between the two of you.

Things To Watch Out For – Grin and bear how long it may take for them to complete this process.  While it may take you three minutes to make yourself a character, it just might take them three times that time to do the same.

4. “Couch Punch” Games

Try to find games that emphasize playing co-op with others rather than just sitting around taking turns on games.  Having the ability to share in the experience together can make bringing the other person into the gaming fold go a bit smoother.  Rather than emphasizing the sometimes anti-social nature of gaming you’ll be showing off how great it is to have someone next to you helping you along with the game.

Things To Watch Out For – Make sure you don’t rip through the game without them getting a full experience of what it is to play.  They’ll feel like a placeholder rather than an active participant in the experience.

5. The Wonder Years

Utilize the different compilation discs and retro downloads that can be found on each of the Big Three’s consoles.  Many of these classic games can instantly rekindle the fun factor they enjoyed experiencing in yesteryear.  Some great franchises to revisit can run the vary from Pac-Man and Galaga to Mario and Sonic.

Things To Watch Out For –This can be a great starting point but it would defeat the point if their only want was to play Centipede for the 1000th time to date.  While these are fun to experience you don’t want old arcade games to be the only games they want to play.

6. Like Tyson Vs. A Baby

While your gaming ego may take a hit in doing so, not being too competitive while playing with the other person is a must.  You’ve been playing games for quite some time and completely dominating multiplayer games will only help to alienate your loved one.  Give them a bit of space to begin with and they just might surprise you by providing quite the opposition after getting the basics down.

Things To Watch Out For – Don’t be a complete pushover. It’ll be pretty easy to see right through your ploy to give them some wins before you whoop them into submission.  Once again respect their inexperience, don’t under estimate it.

7. My Very Own Cheer Squad

Be enthusiastic about getting them to play with you.  You don’t want to make it seem like it’s an arduous situation for you to go through.  While it may seem a little cheesy this will only help for it to be more of an experience for both of you, rather than them just sitting on a couch in silence while playing a game.

Things To Watch Out For – While it can add to the experience, try not to overdue it.  No one likes to feel like some kid at their soccer game with their mom cheering from the sidelines.

8. Backseat Gaming

No one likes someone standing over their shoulder nitpicking each and every move they make.  So don’t do the same while the other person is playing the game regardless of how many times they try to open the door that clearly wasn’t programmed to do so.  Many people learn by experience and you showing your frustration could only prompt them to give up on the game all together.

Things To Watch Out For – Give them their space but also let them know that you are most likely aware of what to do next or how to go about beating a boss.  You definitely don’t want them to just toss down the controller in frustration once they’ve hit a seemingly dead end.

Knowing is HALF the battle

While following any of the above can help make the introduction into gaming go as smoothly as possible, it’s not an all access golden key card.  It will not just instantly happen, it might not even happen at all.  Some people just don’t get the idea that pushing these buttons for hours on end could be fun.  If they continue to show lack of interest, chalk it up to differences in tastes and stop “taking one for the team” while watching HGTV when you know every fabric of your being wants to put on Spike or ESPN.

2. Netflix can be directly streamed from your Xbox 360 to your TV as an added feature that Microsoft and Netflix have offered to their mutual subscribers.  Man of the titles have HD versions that you can Watch Instantly with more being added on a regular basis.

3. Your Xbox 360 also has the ability to connect to Xbox Live which is the premiere way to play games online.  Through Xbox Live you have the ability to connect to your friends and have live chat while playing games together or even while wathcing TV.  It’s extremely easy to use and has a slick interface that allows for layers of customization that you can tweak to your tastes.

4. Some of the best HD graphics around can be found on the Xbox 360.  The Xbox 360 offers a level of realism that meets or trumps the competition in almost everyway.  Developers are also continuing to push what the Xbox 360 has under its hood so the best could still be yet to come.

5. Price tag…period.  For $199.99 you get a system that does all of the above and is slick piece of technology that can be utilized as the central hub for most of your family’s entertainment.  The Xbox 360 is a versatile piece of equipment that has the unique ability to be enjoyed by every member of the family.

When Microsoft first announced Microsoft Community Games at 2008′s GDC conference, I was amazed by the prospect but doubted whether I would ever see the platform come to fruition.  While not perfect, Microsoft Community Games was released into the world late last year with a wide variety of “home-brewed” games to try and/or purchase.  They ranged from artistic reinterpretations of older games like Groov to downright experimental craziness like Rumble Massage.

The simple fact that the people featured in the Community Games section of Xbox Live have a chance of getting their work seen and bought by gamers around the globe is a amazing in itself.  Because of the suite of product and services provided by Microsoft you also don’t have to be some programming genius to start making your own games.

Thanks to my rekindled love for Community Games I added a Haiku Preview for my standout favorite of the games I’ve downloaded so far:

CarneyVale Showtime

Simple game with charm

galore.  Makes me laugh without

realizing it.

I am not joking about the laugh part.  It escaped on its own as I saw my guy twirled through the air doing cart wheels as he made his way up the level.  CarneyVale Showtime is a simple physics game but can be an awesome time waster that is well worth the couple dollars it’s being sold for on Microsoft Community Games.

To refresh my memory on how F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (Xbox 360) played I ran through the Demo level they have up on Xbox Live right now.  I remember attempting to play through the original F.E.A.R. way back when and loving the paranormal stuff that was going on but realizing that I spent most of my time in static office building environments waiting for generic grunts to come running at me.  The slow motion stuff was quite cool at the time but didn’t make for much amusement after the 20th or so time you watched some dude fly back in slowmo from a strategically placed shotgun blast to the crotch.

I am glad to see that Fear 2 is shaping to add a little more variety into the environments that you’re traversing throughout the game.  Thankfully I have not been through a single office hallway, though I did visit a creepy blood-coated school.  I am glad to see that just within the 30 minutes or so worth of gameplay contained in the demo there already seems to be a substantial amount more of the paranormal activity that drew me into the first one.  I also loved the fact that you will have a chance to enter the badass mechanized suits that were huge headaches in the original game.

Overall the Demo seems to be a perfect vertical slice of excitement that I’m hoping is duplicated throughout the rest of the game.  The game is absolutely gorgoeus and gives equal graphical attention to the gore and the destroyed world around you. Each of the weapons I was able to get my hands on felt and played like exactly how I would like them to have.  I know it’s hard to judge how a full game will be just from what companies provide you through demo’s but I can say in confidence that I am thoroughly geeked about F.E.A.R. 2′s release on Feb 10th, 2009.

The Maw

Visuals out of

Lilo and Stich with just as

much fun to be had.

When I first fired up Twisted Pixel’s The Maw I was shocked by how cute this game looked and the fact that it was a really good looking game.  There are many stylized games on Xbox Live Marketplace that look gorgeous but The Maw is one of the first that look on par to late Last Gen graphical quality.  From the taste I got in the demo I would have to say that if the humor and quirkiness found there is held throughout the game it looks to be a fun action platformer that is easy to pickup and play.