I recently got my first look at two very different games from Capcom that share one interesting trait –your on-screen character will fly through the air with the greatest of ease (although not getting shot and landing without killing yourself prove pretty challenging).

DarkVoid was first to catch my eye.

[ Read Full Story ]

The hearts of PlayStation 3 fans are beating a little faster right now, with the release of Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots exclusively for Sony’s system. This is more than the final chapter in a fan-favorite series, though; It’s probably the last blockbuster title—other than Sony’s own creations—we’ll see released by a third-party publisher exclusively for PS3.

[ Read Full Story ]

Graphically sophisticated action games you play in a Web browser, for free – is anybody not interested so far?

They come from InstantAction, an offshoot of GarageGames, which is a well-known maker of software tools for game developers. Now the company has created a Web browser plugin that lets programmers build full-featured 3-D games to run within the browser, a feat that's never been accomplished before. No store-bought discs. No lengthy software downloads and installation routines. You surf, you click, you play. Instant gratification.

[ Read Full Story ]

A console version of Civilization? For many PC gamers, that's as heretical as a Citizen Kane TV series–you just don't mess with the classics of popular culture. In this case, though, the man helming the project is the same guy who started it all, legendary designer Sid Meier. After struggling with the challenge for two years, Sid's found a way to streamline his turn-based strategy game without lobotomizing it.

[ Read Full Story ]

If you're a PC game developer, the console market has to look pretty good right about now. In 2007, $910 million was spent on PC games versus $6.6 billion (with a “b”) for console titles. While most genres born on PCs have found success on consoles, strategy games have been left behind. It's not easy taking a gaming style that relies on a full keyboard, pinpoint-accurate mouse clicks and a high-res monitor and making it work with comparatively sloppy thumb-based controls and TV set that may still be standard-res.

Recently, though, I've seen two breakthrough strategy games under development that have conquered the console conundrum. First up is Tom Clancy's EndWar, due before year's end, a real-time strategy game of warfare on a grand scale, with you as fun-loving commander of fearsome forces.

[ Read Full Story ]

I arrived yesterday in San Francisco, a city where my evening's entertainment has often taken a turn for the unusual. I certainly wasn't disappointed on this trip, as I joined three friends on a stroll through devastated buildings and wasted streets, blasting hordes of aggressive subhuman attackers into chunks of lifeless meat. Hey, if the local government won't do something about the aggressive panhandler problem in this city….

[ Read Full Story ]

You heard the hype, you read the astonishing array of perfect-score online reviews. So you bought a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, sat down to play and . . . what's going on here? How can a perfect game be ticking you off? I'm not saying that GTA IV is less than amazing, but it most definitely is less than perfect, particularly if you're not one of the professional gamers writing those frothing-at-the-mouth-with-delight reviews. Some of the most basic elements in the game are just plain aggravating.

[ Read Full Story ]

Used to be, when I answered my phone at work, I didn't know what to expect. A college frat boy wanting to build the world's largest beer bong. Ashrita Furman, a guy from Brooklyn planning to break the marathon unicycle-riding record for the greater glory of his spiritual leader, Sri Chinmoy. A woman who had toilet-trained her chameleon. I was the associate American editor for the Guinness Book of World Records, and point man in the U.S. for would-be record-breakers.

[ Read Full Story ]

Used to be, a guy could sit comfortably on the couch and, by mashing a few buttons, make onscreen characters do all the hard work. Nintendo changed all that with the Wii. Suddenly, if you wanted to bowl or play tennis or help Mario save the galaxy, you had to stand up (gasp!) and move major muscle groups in a coordinated manner (heresy!). All those years of disciplined training to develop Thumbs of Steel (and Buns of Marshmallow), and Nintendo changes the game.

[ Read Full Story ]

Just because game developers have the technological cojones to create a perfectly accurate simulation of the real world doesn't mean it's a good idea. The more a simulated racing-game car handles like the real thing, the more likely I am to destroy it on the first turn. If The Sims were an accurate simulation, you'd uninstall the program after the first insufferable meeting at work or interminable family argument over original recipe versus extra-crispy.

Sometimes, though, the accuracy of the simulation is precisely where the fun lies.

[ Read Full Story ]

We're happy to bring you the first installment of our newest regular blog column, "Playing Around" with Steve Morgenstern. Since his days as founding editor of Atari Age, one of the first videogame magazines (covering the hallowed Atari 2600), Steve has served as reviewer, industry pundit and even a game developer. In his new column he'll focus on the latest developments in the art and science of electronic amusement, ranging from game design innovations to intriguing new technologies to lifestyle and culture in the interactive age. Without further ado, here's Steve. [Eds.]

It's illegal to wager on online games, right? Don't bet on it! Our nation's lawmakers, ever vigilant against sins they're not personally committing, passed the Safe Port Act in 2006. The bill combines maritime-security enhancements, the creation of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and, in a spectacular nonsequitur, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, effectively banning games of chance by making it illegal to transfer money to an Internet casino. Games of skill, though, weren't affected.

[ Read Full Story ]