Challenge

For those of us who cannot remember way back into the early 90’s and the days of Super Mario, and for those of us who can remember, Super Mario was actually rather challenging.  As a game oriented around a simple obstacle course, it is surprisingly difficult to complete each course, for every little obstacle that Mario touches (ie a toad, flower, fish, etc.) causes him to either become smaller, or to die and lose a life.  The New Super Mario Bros. is no different.  The game is very challenging and requires a lot of patience for those who are unfamiliar with the series.  You will die many times and fail many levels, so those of you are not used to such failure when playing video games get prepared!  The New Super Mario Bros. does only feature one difficulty level, but the main difficulty level is enough you don’t need more than one!  The game itself is hard enough.

Graphics

Seeing as it is 2009 and no longer 1990, the graphics in The New Super Mario Bros. have been upped a bit.  What this means is that Mario is now 3D and his environment is, to a certain extent, 3D.  Compared to other games on the market, and other games for the Wii, The New Super Mario Bros. does not feature any graphics worth shouting about.  However, for those of us familiar about the Super Mario Brothers games, it is not about the graphics.  The artists for The New Super Mario Bros. have clearly stayed close to home and gone with graphics that are quite similar to those of the original game, albeit a bit vamped up to please this more technologically advanced age.  However, I think it might have been nice to have upped the graphics some more and made the game a bit more interactive than it is.  True to its franchises, Nintendo has made The New Super Mario Bros. a more attractive upgrade to the original, just as they made Mario Galaxy an attractive upgrade to Mario 64, so I guess we should have expected nothing more than a simple upgrade.

Replay Value

As compared to other Mario games, The New Mario Bros. has a decent replay value.  There are multiple ways to beat the game, not to mention the fact that you do not need to beat every level in order to beat the game, which is a little bit different than the original Super Mario.  Also, The New Mario Bros. features a multiplayer campaign and multiplayer games that differ from the campaign and offer pleasing alternatives if one should beat the game.  With the addition of multiplayer and the ability to play “mini-games” different from the campaign, The New Super Mario Bros. has a decent replay value.

Narrative

The narrative for the New Super Mario Bros. is the same basically as for every Mario game; Princess Peach gets stolen, you have to save her, blah blah blah.  But the Super Mario games have never really been about narrative so I would say that narrative is almost irrelevant for this game.  I find that the game play makes up for the rather stingy narrative, and for those of us who are die hard Mario fans, none of us were expecting a fantastic storyline in the first place.

Ease of Use

The New Super Mario Bros. features controls that are very easy to use.  Basic game play involves three of four buttons at most, and like most Wii games nowadays you can tilt the controller in different ways and directions to make Mario do different things.  For those of you who have played Wii before the controls will be a breeze, and for those who haven’t the instructions are clear and you will learn in no time.

Social Playability

The introduction of multiplayer has allowed for up to four people to play The New Super Mario Bros. at a time.  This is a neat feature that makes the levels easier to beat and adds an element of competition and excitement into game play.  The added mini-games in addition to the campaign just add to the fun.  While not as interactive as say Wii Sports, The New Super Mario Bros. is a fun game to play with friends and family alike.

Overall Grade: B-

The New Super Mario Bros. is a decently entertaining game that is certainly challenging and can be extremely frustrating at times.  It is a perfect game for young children who are just beginning to play video games as the content is perfectly suitable for young kids and the controls are relatively simple.  For more hardcore gamers I doubt this game will please for long due to its lack of graphics and game features.  However, for those of us who are Mario fans and for older players who miss the old days of Super Mario, this game is a good throw back and decent entertainment for at least an hour.

Overall

The New Super Mario Bros. has decent replay value and will definitely take your child more than a weekend to beat.  The addition of multiplayer in this version makes it so that siblings and friends can all play together.  For those parents who enjoy playing with their children, The New Super Mario Bros. is a great game to get because up to four people can play in the campaign together, and in the mini-games as well.  I would recommend this game for kids who are fans of the Mario series and for younger players; I feel like older players would not be very stimulated by the game play and graphics, and as I mentioned before this game is really just a throw back to the old Super Mario days and is more a game out of nostalgia than anything.  There is next to no questionable content in this game, and its lack of true graphics depreciates its potential immersive and interactive qualities which makes any kind of addiction next to impossible.  If you have young kids and a family who likes to play together this game is a pretty good buy and should keep everyone in the family entertained until you all get bored of it.

Academic Perspective

From an academic viewpoint, this game has little to offer.  It lacks real graphics and any kind of game play that could stimulate presence, aggression, or any of the variables that academics tend to test for.  However, this game does try heavily on one’s patience.  This particular avenue of research is lacking in the gaming industry and this would be a very good game to test the effects of video games on one’s patience.  Also, players tend to fail frequently during this game, which also offers the opportunity to test for gamer’s response to failure.  Finally, this game has next to no questionable content, and the only violence that is features is bopping walking mushrooms on the head for points.  Therefore, this game would be great to use as a non-violent game in any test or research that looks for aggressive effects, or just needs a game that is non-violent.

Note:

The casino group business has spread is wings far and wide. The Las Vegas casinos although started off as a spot for entertainment has assumed the proportion of an entire lifestyle.  The casino group evolved with the establishment of the casino resorts where you can live in and casinos online allowing you to play from your home. In fact a lot of people flock to these casinos to pick up casino tips from Las Vegas.  Some great casino tips are available online as well.

Challenge

The missions in this pack are HARD.  You are presented right from the beginning with missions at the difficulty level of the last few missions in GTA IV.  Naturally, this aspect will be night and day.  If you have already cleared all the missions in GTA IV, this difficulty will be great for, you can pick up right where you left off.  If you haven’t completed GTA IV yet, I would advise doing that first.  Fortunately the game really doesn’t get too hard, even towards the end of the game there are only a few missions beyond the difficulty of the hardest missions in GTA IV.

Graphics

The graphics in the GTA series have always been good.  The city feels very real, all the landscapes and the depictions of New Yor… I mean-  Liberty City are very lifelike.  The people are still slightly cartoonish, but I feel like that is a good thing.  GTA has always been a little more lighthearted than games like Call of Duty, so they don’t really need the intense hyperrealism like those types of games.

Replay Value

This is where the developers at Rockstar have taken a huge step forward for the expansion pack.  Unlike GTA IV, which simply had missions to complete, Gay Tony has goals within missions, such as minimal car damage or fastest time, as well as many side quests.  GTA games by nature have always been at the bottom of the industry in terms of replay value, but Gay Tony steps it up and provides new ways to play and will finally have some players coming back for more.

Narrative

The story is almost as good as any other GTA game or episode.  This series never ceases to provide the most captivating, keep-you-thinking plots in the industry.  Unfortunately due to this being an expansion pack and not a full game, the plot rushes a bit.  You go from being a perfectly innocent civilian to blowing up yachts and stealing helicopters in only the first hour of the campaign.  This game still has a great story, but it is a little rushed and sometimes disjointed.

Ease of Controls

They are the same as in GTA IV, so they are still a bit awkward.  Fortunately, however, the controls are explained at the beginning of the game, which gives you an opportunity to refresh your memory of the standard controls, a perk that many add-on games (namely Halo 3:ODST) omit.  One of the main problems I see is how basic controls such as punch, shoot, and aim are constantly changing depending on whether you are walking, driving, hiding in cover, or flying.  The controls are easy to pick up, but very difficult to master.

Social Playability

GTA games have always been a unique brand- a single player game that can actually be very fun to play with friends.  There is always potential for “exploring” with a friend watching or a nice “let me show you this cool thing I found” session.  GTA IV made this even more possible with online multiplayer, with competitive “Death Match” modes and wildly fun co-operative “Free Mode”.  Now, GTA Gay Tony has taken things even further, with new mini games, a new online game mode, and overall a much more expansive world.  When it comes to playing with friends, this is the best that Rockstar has done yet.

Overall

If you enjoyed GTA IV enough to play through the 30+ hour campaign, than this expansion pack is most definitely worth your $20.  Even if you haven’t delved into GTA IV yet, the original game is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for only $20, you might be well advised to check it out if you want a glimpse into the life of an urban gangster.  GTA Gay Tony is the best and the brightest version in the GTA saga, which I believe to be one of the top 3 video game franchises of all time.

Final Grade: B+

It would be a B, but IT’S ONLY TWENTY BUCKS!  You can’t turn that down.

Replay value

The regular storyline in this game will be enough to keep your kids going for quite awhile, and this newest GTA episode has new and improved multiplayer as well as competitive single player capabilities, so your kids will likely be going back for more even after they have “beaten” the game.  Comparing the time your kids will spend on this game to the $20 price tag, this game is probably the best value you can find.

Social Playability

This game definitely has good potential for play with friends.  It might not have the same “let’s all get together tonight” possibilities as a Rock Band or Guitar Hero game, but you may often find your children and their friends playing this game all together, online or in person.  You should take note, however, that if you walk by and see what looks like your child and his or her friends piling up cars in the middle of Times Square and blowing them all up, that is probably what they are doing.  Multiplayer in this game has a tendency to err on the side of ridiculousness.

Objectionable Content

Okay, I know.  GTA probably has the worst reputation for all different kinds of bad content, of any game ever made.  I am here to tell you, it’s not that bad.  Sure, there is violence.  Sure, there is blood and gore; and sure, there is very frequent inappropriate language.  But the thing is, all these things are not presented in a suggestive manner.  Your child is playing the role of a New York City gangster, which is certainly shown as a rough and undesirable life.  GTA IV and GTA Gay Tony do a much better job than previous GTA games at showing that the character’s life is a difficult one, and this lack of real reward for bad behavior greatly reduces the desire for your child to emulate this kind of behavior.  I certainly still wouldn’t recommend that you buy this game for your eight year old, but I think the 17+ age group that goes with the M rating could be expanded a little more.  The only thing I see as a major red flag is the frequent sexual content.  Although there is no nudity, the player controlled character is shown having sex in cutscenes several times, and in one case sex is shown as a reward for completing the “managing the club” sub quests.  Depending on your personal stances, especially on sexual content, this game may be too graphic for your children, but I would bet that any child by the age of 14 or 15 has heard enough stories and seen enough movies about drugs sex and violence that this game will be no shock to their system.

Addictiveness

Fortunately, I feel I can safely say this game is not addictive at all.  Ends of missions are frequent and are great stopping points.  The only time you might have trouble pulling your child away from the game is when they are at the climax of the plot on their first play through, GTA plots have always been very engaging and carry the same need-to-finish effect as any good book or movie.  Other than that, your kids will really have no problems getting away from this game when they should.

Academic Perspective

Some good points I was thinking of when playing the game would be the immersion provided by the enormous open ended environment, and the 15-minute decrease in aggression model.  I noticed in myself that in my first 15 to 20 minutes playing the game, I really feel like the character, trying to act normal, drive the speed limit, stop at stop signs etc, so then when I get into a firefight it’s pretty exciting.  After that threshold, the sort of fun and games nature takes over and I start shooting things at will, driving trucks 100mph through Times Square, and doing various other ridiculous things.  After that 15 to 20 minutes I felt I lose the immersion a bit and play it more as just a game.  Hope this info helps.

Note:

There are loads of games that are associated with gambling and before you get involved with any casino it is advisable that you have a good idea about what all the popular games are. Of all the games, people rush play poker the most. Whether it is to play poker online or to play poker in live casinos it is one of the most sought after games. To play poker you will first have to buy cheap poker chips. In case you wish to play for free poker games you can get the poker fun poker chips. It is also possible to play poker online for free. With these chips you get your ticket to sit at a table. Now there are different variations to the game like Texas holdem poker, 7 card stud or the poker full tilt. Of these it is the Texas holdem which is the most sought after game. What you will have to remember is the value of each card. Each player will be dealt with a number of cards and if you receive the best holdem hands when you play holdem you win.

Challenge

We found Halo 3 ODST slightly more difficult than its predecessor, but largely consistent with previous versions of the series in that any particular mission or battle, even on your proper difficulty level, could take several tries and slow your progress down. The difficulty is increased by the infrequency of checkpoints, coupled with long, drawn out battles. Also, there are no real major changes in difficulty throughout the game, so as your skill level rises, you will begin to plow through enemies with a little too much ease.

Graphics

The graphics are mainly unchanged from Halo 3. They have the same clarity and vividness, but they also have the same rigidity. Graphics in the Halo games have always been good and still are, but they are not quite on par with some of the competition. The graphics are very vivid and interesting, but seem to lack those little details that make the game seem realistic.

Replay Value

Although the world of ODST is much more open and explorable than previous Halo games, there is really not much reason to go back through it again. There are just about zero side quests, unlockables, or any other secrets to uncover by going back through. The only motivation you might have to play this campaign again is simply to beat it on a higher difficulty level. However, the multiplayer provides for great replay value. The multiplayer is exactly the same as in Halo 3, which is a major plus, as Halo 3′s multiplayer is very in depth and well put together. Also, a new game mode has been added for ODST, called “Firefight”. This is a more arcade style game mode, with enemies coming in waves and getting progressively harder. The single player campaign is too linear to merit replay, but, if you like multiplayer, you are guaranteed to keep coming back to ODST.

Narrative

The narrative serves to create a breath of fresh air from the normal routine of the Halo series. The new exploration of a city while trying to find your squad mates gives the storyline of the halo an entirely new feel while exploring the city of New Mombossa. However, as the player switches characters, the story line reverts back to the same style of plowing through enemies to a checkpoint that we see in the previous Halo games. The story more or less works in motivating the player to finish the game, but tended to be fairly anti-climactic. The story is interesting while playing the game, but will fail to truly satisfy the player with closure after finishing the last level.

Ease of controls

If you are new to the Halo series, you might get lost for a bit because the game really doesn’t outline the basic controls. Fortunately, the controls are relatively intuitive, so although it might take some time and frustration figuring things out, eventually you will know what you’re doing. However, if you have played a Halo game before, the controls will come very easy to you, and the new controls are presented very well.

Social Playability

The main social element of this game comes from online play with the well-known Halo multiplayer, which has always been excellent. The new Firefight mode also adds an extra social element, with the ability to play co-op with up to 3 friends.

Overall grade: B-

All in all, ODST is an interesting addition to the Halo series, adding a new campaign with new characters, but with the same multiplayer that has made the Halo series so successful. The new Firefight mode is a great addition as it provides for much more interesting co-op play. That, combined with the multiplayer are what is great about this game, but the storyline and the often frustrating challenge levels hold it back. What ODST lacks in single player, it makes up for in multiplayer. So,  this game is great for the more competitive gamer.

Replay Value

Halo 3 ODST has great multiplayer, and if your child enjoys playing online they will keep coming back to it and make the game well worth your money. One thing to be wary of, however, is that the game lacks good replay value in single-player.  So if your child is not subscribed to Xbox Live, he or she will likely be done with the game after they beat the game for the first time. To get good value out of this game for your child, you are going to have to spend the extra eight dollars per month for Xbox Live, if you haven’t done so already.

Social Playability

If your child played and enjoyed Halo 3 with friends, they will enjoy ODST even more. The addition of the new level-based Firefight mode will allow more potential for “video game get-together” nights where your child and their friends can all get together and compete cooperatively. Another benefit to ODST along with any Halo game is that the game mechanics make it very accessible to novice players, so it will be enjoyed by all.

Objectionable Content

ODST, like all previous Halo games, is certainly violent, but the violence really is not that bad in nature. Sure, the game has you using guns to kill enemies, but the guns are futuristic and somewhat cartoon-like, and the enemies are all alien, never human. There is profanity in the game, but it really does not go anywhere past “hell” and “damn”, words children could easily hear on the nightly news. Halo games really are not nearly as objectionable as their “M” rating shows.

Addictiveness

The campaign in this game will certainly not be addictive, as there are no real side quests or extensive other goals. The multiplayer, much like any other multiplayer game, has potential to be addictive. The pursuit of new and higher rankings may frustrate your child and cause them to keep coming back to the game a little too much, but in that sense ODST is really no better or worse than any other multiplayer game.

Academic Perspective

This game is a prime example of a game with violence against aliens as opposed to humans. As some studies have shown, non-human violence leads to less aggression in players than when a game contains aggression against humans, as this game would likely demonstrate. In addition, ODST is likely to allow players to experience more presence (perceptions of non-mediation) than previous Halo games. ODST takes place in a very vast and open-ended environment, so the players have more control over the game and their character’s actions. According to the theory of stimulus-arrangement, people naturally want to affect their environment and change it. ODST fulfills this need much more than previous Halo games.

Note:

It is even possible to play online poker like online holdem. In case you are playing online holdem you also have the chance of playing free Texas holdem or no limit holdem.  With the internet opening up to the casino lovers, there was a lot that attracted the casino lovers. It is not juts the idea to play Texas holdem free that attracts the casino lovers, it is also the thrill of learning so much about the game like knowing about the official poker table rankings and picking up Texas holdem tips, that pull people to holdem online sites.

About our Consumer section

This section provides a comprehensive review of everything that you need to know about each video game we have reviewed. We’ve thought about everything a gamer needs to know before making a purchase: Is the game too difficult? Does it have good graphics and sound? A solid story-line? Can you play it with your buddies and are the controls so hard that a cyborg would struggle with them? We all know how tough it is to find an awesome game and we hope that this review will help.

About our Parent section

Parents, we understand the problems you have with video games. Some are violent, inappropriate, and most just cost a lot of money. Fortunately, we understand that these are legitimate concerns and have therefore included in our review a few things that parents need to know about a video game: the amount of violence it has, sexually suggestive material, gender stereotyping, bad language, addictiveness and replay value. We have included all the criteria for a money-worthy and appropriate purchase for your children. We hope you find our evaluations helpful.

About our Academic section

In our dealings with virtual gaming, we have also explored the academic research on the topic. We understand the roles that presence, narrative, and even aggression have and we also understand that certain video games might influence learning, gamers’ social interaction, stereotyping and sexual messaging. We have included in our review this section for those interested on the academic perspective of video games and how certain game characteristics can affect video game players.