Three Games You Need To Check Out

As the resident “beyond game-geek” I see it as my civic duty, nah my privilege, to keep my eyes peeled for the latest and greatest time wasters being pumped out by the worlds top game factories so I can share it here with you guys.

With the holiday season just around the corner (or already in full swing at most department stores) I thought I’d share the top three games of the holiday season. Will these games be enough to help retailers in the slowing economy?

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, you already know my love affair with Fallout 3, so I’ve decided to omit it from this list.

Far Cry 2 - PC/PS3/X360

With an updated graphics engine, more special effects, and insane system requirements (for PC gamers), Far Cry 2 is promising to be one fantastic visual adventure. Of course, I’m sure the story (something about having to kill some dude in a war torn African country) will make the game plenty playable on its own, but I think most people are going to have more interest in other areas:

Destructible environments. If you’ve ever played Battlefield: Bad Company you’ll know just how awesome it is to literally blow the walls around your enemy to smithereens. Then again, it’s not nearly as awesome when they return the favour.

Realistic AI. Apparently they’ve found a cure for AI’s innate stupidity. This should be good to see.

It’s HUGE. Over 50 square kilometres of space to kick around in… with no loading times.

Vehicles. ‘Nuff said.

Will you pick this one up? I know I will.

LittleBigPlanet – PS3

What happens when you make a game that isn’t really a game, but rather a rather intricate tool that people can use to bend the virtual world at will? Well, you get Spore for one, and LittleBigPlanet as the Spore-less alternative.

This is the game that’s not a game. You start off discovering about your character’s powers to interact in various ways with the environment, and then you’re pretty much able to free-roam after that. Solve puzzles, create little worlds (called “patches”), and then share their creations with the LBP community. Sounds awesome, right? $10 on that it is.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – PC

It’s Command & Conquer, what explanation does it really need? Without a doubt, this game is going to rock the RTS genre in the same way that Supreme Commander did two years ago. Since the genre has been relatively stagnant for the last little while (with the exception of a couple of crossovers that didn’t fly- I’ll write about that later), C&C might be the driving force behind the revival of some old franchises and hopefully the addition of some cool new features.

Personally, I’m looking forward to a couple of things:

Co-Op RTS gameplay. Unlike most RTS’s where your “allies” are simply another force that won’t attack you, C&C3 has the potential to really nail this one down right. Both online and offline co-op are supported.

Kickass bases. Build your base wherever you want- land, water… wherever. One thing the C&C always lacked was effective aquatic combat. No more.

Humour. The cheesy cut-scenes are back, and I personally am very excited.

What games are YOU looking forward to?

Fanboy Is Officially a Word After 89 Years

Fanboy, a word used quite often here on beyond has been added to the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. In fact I don’t think you can find a console, or blackberry vs iphone discussion thread these days without running into the term. Fanboy, along with other geeky terms such as malware, webinar, netroots and pretexting have been added in this years edition.

While the term fanboy is usually associated with Apple customers (mac fanboys, iphone fanboys) it was actually first seen in an english publication by Merriam-Webster in 1919. It took nearly 90 years for the term to be used frequently enough to be added into the dictionary:

Main Entry: fan·boy
Pronunciation: \ˈfan-ˌbȯi\
Function: noun
Date: 1919
: a boy who is an enthusiastic devotee (as of comics or movies)

“As soon as we see the word used without explanation or translation or gloss, we consider it a naturalized citizen of the English language,” said Peter Sokolowski, an editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster. “If somebody is using it to convey a specific idea and that idea is successfully conveyed in that word, it’s ready to go in the dictionary.”

An idea just popped into my head after reading that above quote. With so many members here on beyond that frequent other forums, would it be possible for us to come up with a new word and have it added into a future revision of the dictionary? Can the dictionary be gamed? ;)

Toca Race Driver - GRID Demo

GRID vs Gran Turismo 5: Prologue

I just saw this video over at xbox360fanboy, and even if you’re a die hard Sony/PS3 fanboy, you’ll appreciate this little poke at the Gran Turismo franchise. If you haven’t already played the GRID demo, go check it out, its available for download for the PC, PS3 and Xbox360.

I tried the demo on the xbox360 and thought the game was quite fun. The graphics were top notch, and the damage effects were a real plus. The TOCA series is more of an arcade-like racing game, and not a driving simulator that Gran Turismo aims to be.