Today's question:

What are some of the best, yet most under-appreciated games you can think of?

What do you think the biggest omissions are?

Guitar Hero II Goes Gold 05:11 pm - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (5 comments)
Time to rock out you mofos:

Get ready to crank up the speakers once again, as Activision¹s Guitar Hero II prepares for its highly anticipated world tour onto next-gen videogame consoles by announcing it has gone green, and is now ready for production on the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Featuring a fresh and expanded set list of over 70 finger-melting fret burners, including 10 exclusive tracks for the Xbox 360, Guitar Hero II turns it up with a variety of deafening rock venues, HD remodeled characters, unlockable guitars, and different gameplay modes. Also, for the first time in the Guitar Hero franchise, competitive rockthusiasts will be able to go online to compare their scores and view how they rank through an intuitive online leaderboard, as well as download exciting content on Xbox Live Marketplace such as gamer themes, picture packs, and most importantly, a consistent stream of new tracks.

"With all the new content and features we¹re adding for our initial launch onto next-gen systems, Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360 is definitely going to rock harder than ever," said Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane. "Our online initiative is going to provide an incredible opportunity for our fans to extend the gameplay experience, and we have ambitious ideas to continue to fully support these efforts."

Guitar Hero II, published by RedOctane, is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and is scheduled to rock on the Xbox 360 on April 3rd. Pre-orders are now available, with a free Guitar Hero gig bag, through RedOctane¹s online store: www.redoctane.com/store.html.

Penny Arcade Videogame Footage 04:20 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action / Adventure (8 comments)
Game Trailer has the first gameplay footage of the Penny Arcade flavored videogame called On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One. They have a number of different formats to choose from.

Take Two Sues Jack Thompson 03:29 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (14 comments)
Oh, snap. Ars has the scoop that publisher Take Two is suing fringe anti-video gamer, Jack Thompson.

According to a copy of the complaint seen by Ars Technica, Take Two has just about had it with Thompson's threats, lawsuits, retractions, and dismissals. Thompson has, in the past, "brought suit on behalf of the State of Florida, dismissed it, filed again, sought a temporary restraining order, and then failed to pursue that motion," says the complaint. Such lawsuits come at "unpredictable times and under unpredictable circumstances" and can disrupt Take Two's relationships with retailers, who can also get dragged into these battles (Thompson at one point sued Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, GameStop, and others in the battle over Bully).

Take Two argues that the lawsuits violate its First Amendment rights to free expression, but it also claims that the suits are so vague as to be unconstitutional. "This unconstitutional vagueness will have a chilling effect on Plaintiff as well as Plaintiff's customers," says the company. "Plaintiff's distributors likely will respond to the uncertainty and fear of penalties by withholding Plaintiff's video games from the public."

CNC3 Interview 03:18 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Real-Time Strategy (1 comment)
Play.tm has an interview with EA's Jason Bender who shares some Command & Conquer 3 details:

C&C; introduced us to the tactic of building super-massive bases and stockpiling tanks for about two hours, then steamrolling across maps in about 45 seconds. This tended to be more like armed capitalism than an RTS. What gameplay tweaks have you introduced to encourage more fluid play?

We really focused on getting the player into combat, and out of the base. The average battle lasts closer to 20 minutes now. When the match starts you have to aggressively expand to nearby resources. There simply aren't enough resources in your starting base to win by turtling up. If you sit back and milk your starting resources you'll quickly find the opponent expanding across the map. This will only end in a large force coming to overwhelm you. This means that lots of small encounters will happen all over the map as players fight over precious resources between their bases. Typically we've seen first encounters begin around the 3 minute mark, with constant conflict after that point. Units build very quickly and get to the battle fast. It is always very dynamic.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Multiplayer Impressions 03:15 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (4 comments)
Shacknews has some multiplayer impressions of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. which hits stores in four days:

Artifact mode is much like a single-flag capture the flag mode, except that the "flag" spawns in different locations, and both teams will have to think about offense and defense at once. It is very simple in design: go to the artifact's spawn point on the map, pick it up, and bring it back to your base to score a point for your team. What makes this mode interesting are the changes in gameplay that occur. Weapons are purchased from the safety of your base, so you have ample time to decide exactly what sort of combat configurations with which to arm yourself. You will also have to work together with your allies to decide how best to split up your team. I found it useful to have a group of at least five or six head toward the artifact spawn point while others stayed behind at our base to provide assistance when the artifact retrieval squad comes barreling back home with a bunch of opposition nipping at their heels. The last group should make their way to the rival base in order to ambush our adversaries, should they be the ones that leave the spawn point with the artifact. This is the mode with which I spent the most time, and I imagine this will be the case with most gamers who partake in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s multiplayer options.

Age of Conan Class Preview 03:03 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (0 comments)
This week, Funcom takes a look at the Demonologist class in its upcoming MMORPG:

Of all the mages the Demonologist may be the most power hungry and twisted amongst them. Such is their pure thirst for absolute power that they are willing to trade their very souls to whichever demonic power is currently seeking to extend their influence into the affairs of man.

Through demonic pacts and sacrifices they tread a fine line between the mortal world and the depths of the demonic realms, drawing forth the power of their immortal masters at the price of the corrupting influence of that power.

The Demonologist is not as studied as other mages, and while they might have some rudimentary knowledge of the magical arts it is their ability to wield and command these ancient and sinister arts that allow them to strike down their opponents on the battlefield.

The Demonologist has two main areas of expertise, firstly in the command of demonic minions and then also a variety of fire and electrical based direct damage spells.

Valve: Left 4 Dead to Beat Counter-Strike 01:11 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (13 comments)
The blokes at Eurogamer interviewed Valve's Erik Johnson and Doug Lombardi, who seem to think Left 4 Dead will become more popular than even Counter-Strike. Why?

Erik Johnson: Maybe a different setting, and it's co-op and not multiplayer, but in terms of people's attachment to it, I feel like it's definitely offering the better version of that experience. I'm not saying that people are going to throw Counter-Strike away and start playing Left 4 Dead exclusively.

Doug Lombardi: It's kind of different, at a certain point it's comparing football and basketball. But it is brutal and unapologetic about its gameplay in the same way Counter-Strike was. Counter-Strike was not making apologies for the fact that it was just a game, it wasn't trying to dress itself up to make it a sexy commercial product. It's tough.

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 01:00 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (0 comments)

Boards

• Abit's AB9 Quad GT - Neoseeker

  Cases
  

• Enermax Uber Chakra Case - 3DGameMan
• Ultra E-Torque Black ATX Computer Case - Tweaknews

  Cooling
  

• Noctua Low Noise Computer Case Fans - A True Review
• Thermaltake TMG A2, AT2 Coolers - TechAge
• Vigor's Monsoon II TEC CPU Cooler - THG

  Guides
  

• March 2007 system guide - Tech Report

  Memory
  

• DDR2 Memory Frequency Performance - Legion Hardware

  Pads
  

• Icemat Second Edition - GideonTech

  Power Supply
  

• Corsair HX620 620w Power Supply - [H]
• Silverstone Strider 850W - Xtreme Computing
• Ultra X-Pro & X-Finity 800W - Overclockers Club

  Storage
  

• 80 and 160 GB SATA Hard Drives Round Up - Tech-Hounds

  Video
  

• Connect3D X1650XT - Trusted Reviews
• HIS Radeon X1950PRO AGP - HWUpgrade
• The Future of Anti-Aliasing Settings in Question: NVIDIA Discussion - Anandtech

RPG Vault Goodness 12:45 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (0 comments)

Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures Second View
Funcom's eagerly awaited persistent state interpretation of the famed fantasy property created by Robert E. Howard

Game Reviews 12:30 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (1 comment)

PC

• Silverfall - Gamesxtreme - 8/10
• Tortuga: Two Treasures - GameSpy - 2/5

  360
  

• GRAW 2 - C&VG; - 8/10
• GRAW 2 - Game-Revolution - C+
• GRAW 2 - GamePro - 4.25/5
• TMNT Classic - Eurogamer - 3/10

  PS3
  

• Major League Baseball 2K7 - GameSpy - 3.5/5

  Wii
  

• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - Game Informer - 6.5/10
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - Gaming Age - B
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - 1Up - 7.5/10
• Wario: Master of Disguise - GameInformer - 7.25/10

  DS
  

• Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel - GameSpy - 2/5

  PS2
  

• God of War 2 - GamePro - 5/5

  PSP
  

• 300 - 1Up - 2.5/10
• Lumines Plus - 1Up - 8.5/10

In Other News... 12:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (20 comments)
TGIF, mofos.

Today's question:

What games kept you busy last week?

Right now I'm playing Supreme Commander on Aeon 6, as I've finished the UEF and Cybran campaigns.