The PS3 comes with Internet connectivity through WiFi, allowing you to download games, videos, music, and more to your console for your entertainment. This functionality also lets your browse the Internet as you do with your computer. This feature comes at no extra cost, unlike the XBOX 360. You can buy a bundle edition of the PS3 that comes with a 320GB hard drive, which is a huge amount of storage space, a wireless controller, a camera, the Move motion controller, and a copy of Sports Champion. For the regular editions, the size of the storage determines the price of the console; the console with the smaller, 40GB storage unit is the cheapest, but there are also 120GB and 160GB versions. All versions of the PS3 have a Blu-ray player, letting you watch movies in fantastic high definition (and no other console can boast that).

The PS3, like the XBOX 360, occasionally has an error that the parent company (Sony and Microsoft respectively) doesn’t really explain. If you’re looking into the PS3, you’ve probably heard of the “yellow light of death.” If you get this on your PS3, follow these tips: (1) turn your console off, wait 20 minutes, and turn it back on (it might have overheated); (2) check for loose cables; (3) take off and replace your hard drive. If these things don’t work, you have two choices: you can send it back to Sony (which means a 4-6 week wait and a minimum of $150 if your console is out of warranty) or you can purchase a guide to repair it yourself for between $40 and $100, and you don’t have to wait. That’s your choice.

Use this information to help you decide whether or not you want a PS3. It has some great features, and it can be relatively easy and inexpensive to fix if it breaks, provided you’re willing to do it yourself.

The Original Post is Located Here: PlayStation 3: Fun to Play and Surprising Easy to Fix

The Wii is the least expensive of the current gaming consoles, starting at $139.99. Compare that to the Xbox 360′s $199.99 and the PlayStation 3′s $299.99. Bundles cost more, but they also come with multiple games and other equipment. Some good things to look for are the nunchuk controllers, which add functionality to some games, the steering wheel, which is great for racing games like Mario Kart, and the Wii Fit board, which allows you to play the game Wii Fit.

Speaking of the Wii Fit, the Wii is great for getting yourself fit. Not only is the Wii Sports game engaging and invigorating, but the Wii Fit has numerous exercises and a system of tracking your weight so that you stay on track to lose those extra pounds. For even more exercises and functionality, you can get the Wii Fit Plus or the Wii Sports Resort.

The Wii is the least likely of the three big consoles to break. The PS3 has the “yellow light of death” and the Xbox 360 has the “red ring of death,” but the Wii doesn’t have anything “of death.” It has the highest record of quality, even with 87.57 million units sold, according to Nintendo’s public records. But with that many consoles, there are bound to be a couple duds in the bunch, so a few errors do occur. Here are a few tips: if you get a disc error, meaning the console can’t read your disc, make sure it is clean and inserted properly; if you have a problem synchronizing your controllers, make sure you do each controller one-at-a-time; if you have a problem with your console powering itself off, that’s because the AC adapter is designed to prevent power surges, so just unplug the console for a while, then plug it back in.

The Wii is a very popular, wildly fun gaming console. It is inexpensive, can help you get in shape, and is of the highest quality.

The Original Post is Located Here: Why is the Nintendo Wii So Popular?

The single player campaign is the first Call of Duty campaign to be set in the 1960′s, during the height of the Cold War (most other games were set either in World War II or in modern war arenas). The game features prominent actors voicing its main characters, including Sam Worthington (from “Avatar” and “Terminator: Salvation”), Ed Harris (from “A Beautiful Mind,” “The Abyss,” and “The Rock”), and Gary Oldman (from “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”). Black Ops also adds some helicopter and jet piloting to its standard first-person-shooter fare in this campaign. The game’s soundtrack includes some classic Vietnam-era music, including some from the Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The multiplayer aspect of the game adds some new details, as well. On top of your standard FPS game types of “slayer” (in which the goal is to kill as many other players are possible) and “team slayer” (which is the same as slayer, but players are on teams), Black Ops has Capture the Flag (in which each team of players tries to retrieve the enemy flag and return it to their own base) and Domination (in which players attempt to capture and hold three areas on the map for a given amount of time). There is also the Theater Mode, which allows players to record clips from their online games and upload them to the Internet so others can watch them. There is also the Combat Training mode, which lets you play against AI units instead of people, so you can practice and improve your skill, or try out a new strategy.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is popular for a reason: it’s one of the best games on the market today. Both its single player and its multiplayer aspects are proof of that.

The Original Post is Located Here: Call of Duty Black Ops

The Xbox 360 Slim adds some features to the orignal Xbox 360. The Slim has WiFi functionality built it, saving you the $100 ticket for the attachment; this brings it up to speed with the Wii and the PS3 in Internet capability. The Slim comes with more storage standard, so they removed the memory card slots and added more USB ports, bringing the total to 5. They also added a special port for the Kinect, so you don’t have to find another power source (as you do with the original Xbox 360, if you have a Kinect). Its smaller size also gives it more breathing room in your entertainment center, letting it stay a little cooler.

The Kinect is Microsoft’s answer to the Wii, but this camera-based system can detect and pick out a person – so your body is the controller, not some other peripheral. It has greater detail than the Wii or the PlayStation Move, and it even accepts voice commands.

The Internet functionality in the Xbox 360 has two types: gold and silver. Gold has a subscription fee, but it lets you play games online with your friends, get first access to new downloads, as well as Hulu Plus and Netflix functionality. Silver is free, has delayed access to new downloads, and there’s no online gaming; you can only chat with your friends.

So if you’re in the market for a gaming console, you need look no further than the Xbox 360: its innovative features keep it ahead of the game in the market, with Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 Slim and Kinect, and its Internet options give you the choices you want.

The Original Post is Located Here: Xbox 360 Now a Console for Everyone

Sony calls the PSPgo “the most portable full-featured gaming machine.” Perhaps most importantly, it comes with a 16GB hard drive, which means no more memory sticks and no more universal media disks. Its Internet connectivity can take you right to a full library of games, demos, movies, TV shows, music, and more that you can download straight to your PSPgo system and start playing, watching, or hearing immediately. This is what makes the PSPgo revolutionary.

The PSPgo is only 5″ long, making it 35% smaller than the PSP 3000 and 43% smaller than the original PSP, the PSP 1000. The PSPgo comes with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as USB2.0, Memory Stick Micro, and a microphone for input and output. It has stereo speakers around its 3.8″ LCD high-resolution screen, which displays over 16 million colors. It can play or display all standard video (such as AAC, MP4, and AVI), audio (such as MP3, WMA, WAV, and AAC), and image (such as JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, and PNG) file types.

When you purchase a new PSPgo from Sony, you get the following items in the box: the PSPgo system, either in Pearl White or Piano Black; an AC adapter to charge the battery; a USB cable to connect to your computer; the Media Go software; and a Rock Band Unplugged Lite voucher. They also have a bundle pack going now that includes LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3, and Ratcheck & Clank: Size Matters for the same price – $199.99.

The PSPgo is Sony’s latest innovation in handheld gaming. Its extensive library, new hard drive, reliable connectivity and features, and availability makes it a solid purchase for any serious or aspiring gamer.

The Original Post is Located Here: PSPgo: Sony’s Latest Entry in Handheld Gaming

The PlayStation Portable (PSP) 3000 is Sony’s latest rendition of their handheld line, the PSP. It has a number of great features, many of them common to the PSP series of devices; we’re also going to mention a few pros and cons for selecting this handheld system, based on user opinions.

The PSP 3000 has quite a few strong features for a handheld device. It has high-fidelity audio and full-motion video, as well as powerful graphics. If you don’t want to play games, you can listen to your MP3 files, watch movies, or chat with your friends or family on Skype with the built-in microphone. You can easily connect to the Internet with built-in WiFi, letting you play games online, browse the web, or download new games, music, or movies. The device also has a large, bright screen, making it the perfect handheld device.

Users reported its sleek style, indicating that it was slimmer and more compact than earlier versions, making it easier to carry around. Its new AV compatibility means it can be connected to older, non-HD televisions as well as the fancy new flatscreens. The display screen also has less glare than earlier PSP versions. Users reported that the controls were natural, comfortable, and easy to use. The operating system allows a great deal of personalization, which many users found refreshing. And when buying a handheld gaming console, the most important thing to look at is its game catalog, and the PSP’s is hard to beat.

A few users mentioned some downsides. Some reported slow Internet connectivity and low speaker volume. Others complained about the lack of internal memory, citing the need for memory sticks or other devices. A few reported scan lines and dead pixels on their screens. Ultimately, though, these were few and far between.

The PSP 3000 is a powerful and diverse handheld gaming system, with great features, strong pros, and few cons.

The Original Post is Located Here: PSP 3000 Packs Strong Features in a Handheld

Portal 2 is the stand-alone sequel to 2007′s Game of the Year Portal (originally included in Valve’s “The Orange Box”). It has a new story, but preserves the same brilliance and the same style of gameplay (with new elements) as the first game, which was truly innovative, creative, and original for the video gaming world.

The new story revolves around the same main character, Chell, whom you played in the first game. In the new game, she wakes up in a test subject’s dormitory, as before, but years have passed and decay has struck the Aperture Science facility. It is now crumbling and overgrown because of surrounding vegetation. Your goal is to escape – but things get much worse when GLaDOS, the AI villain from the first game, is awakened and attempts to force you through another series of tests.

Portal 2 is a new game, but it retains the same brilliance of the first – only better. The dark humor of the original returns with a vengeance in the second game, with comic lines so rapid-fire that you can’t even catch them all on your first play through. The jokes are delivered by talented Ellen McLain, returning as GLaDOS, Stephen Merchant, and J. K. Simmons.

The innovative gameplay mechanics from the first game remain in Portal 2, as well, but in new, more complex stages with additional elements. There are now light-beam walkways that can be made into bridges; there are gels of various colors to propel you across the map, help you run with super-speed, or allow you to project portals onto surfaces that do not normally support them; there are new cubes that redirect all-new lasers; there are even energy funnels that you can travel through or send gels through to accomplish your goal. And best of all, you still have your one trusty tool: the portal gun.

Portal 2 may not have much new innovation, but with the success of Portal, it doesn’t need it. It is a fantastic game with a strong story, stronger humor, and new mechanics to expand the gameplay to new heights.

The Original Post is Located Here: Portal 2: More Creative and Original Gameplay

Both Pokemon Black and Pokemon White go together. They both take place in the new Unova region, which is entirely different from the old regions with all the familiar Pokemon. In Black and White, there are 150 new Pokemon to discover, catch, and train.

Pokemon Black and Pokemon White do have distinct differences, though. White has the classic look for the surroundings, natural and rural, just like the old games. Black, on the other hand, is technological – it takes place, for some of the game, in a city. White has 32 more Pokemon available to its players than Black does, but Black has access to better trainers, which helps you train and level your Pokemon faster, and to rare and powerful items, which can provide the much-needed edge in a hard battle. White players get the electric dragon Zekrom, whereas Black players get the fire dragon Reshiram. At the highest levels, Reshiram is more powerful than Zekrom and can often win in a fight. Really, which game is better depends on the player.

The two games do have the capacity to trade with each other – meaning that Black players can get Pokemon that were previously unavailable to them, and White players can get rare items that they don’t normally have access to. The game is then greatly improved if you have a friend who plays the other color.

If you prefer the classic games, or you know someone who does and needs a gift sometime soon, then consider the new Nintendo DS releases of Pokemon SoulSilver and Pokemon HeartGold. These two games are remakes of the classic Pokemon Silver and Pokemon Gold games.

Pokemon Black and White are two distinct games with wildly differing play styles set in the same world with a great capacity for interaction and competition. And remember: gotta catch ‘em all!

The Original Post is Located Here: Pokemon Black and White

The Nintendo DS Lite’s double screen produces a three-dimensional graphic display that looks better than that of the Nintendo 64. The bottom screen is a touch-screen, which you can use with your fingertip or a stylus. This means that the DS is no longer just a button-based system, like every other handheld device out there, but has innovative touch-screen technology involved. The Nintendo DS Lite does have backwards compatibility, meaning it can play games from older versions of the Nintendo DS, as well as even the old GameBoy games. The batteries allow 19 hours of continuous gameplay on a single charge, so it should last you as long as you need, even if you’re flying to Japan.

The Nintendo DS Lite also supports multiplayer. It has built-in WiFi connectivity, which allows for games with up to 16 players. Even better, you don’t have to pay a dime to subscribe to this service; like the Internet on the Wii, it’s a completely free feature that comes with the system. The DS Lite even lets you communicate with your fellow players through its built-in high-quality microphone. This feature is also useful for offline play, where you can tell some games what you want to do with voice recognition software.

Some people ask: do kids even want these things as gifts anymore? The answer is a resounding yes. The Onyx Black edition was ranked #2 in a top ten list of Christmas gifts for 9-12 year old boys, and the Coral Pink edition was ranked #4 in a similar list for 9-12 year old girls. It’s definitely a popular option.

The Nintendo DS Lite is an innovative, powerful system that is a great purchase, either for yourself or for someone else. Its features, both for single player and multiplayer, are fantastic, and it is wildly popular.

The Original Post is Located Here: Nintendo DS Lite: One for You, One for a Friend

The Nintendo 64 is perhaps the most popular “classic” console to date. People who reminisce about the “old days” of video games will almost always bring up the N64 and their favorite games and moments. It was also a great “first” console, with a truly innovative controller and a solid multiplayer capacity.

The Nintendo 64 has sold just shy of 33 million units since its release in 1996, according to Nintendo’s public records. This makes it less popular than the Wii, but more popular than its immediate successor, the GameCube. No doubt these sales reflect “new” purchases only; the number of times people have bought a used Nintendo 64 may be impossible to count. Some people tire of the console, but most people just move on to new things, letting those of us who reminisce get our hands on the classic hardware.

The most popular games on the Nintendo 64 are doubtless Mario Kart 64 and GoldenEye 007. The former created endless hours of fun with family and friends, at parties and birthdays and sleepovers for years. The latter was an invigorating and innovative addition to the first-person shooter genre and many people remember the fun they had playing both games.

The Nintendo 64 had the first really innovative and different controller. Its three-prong system allowed much more versatility than previous consoles’ controllers. The left prong, largely unused, held the classic directional pad, present on every console prior and since, even the latest generation. The middle prong held the analog stick, made popular by the original PlayStation two years earlier, as well as the Z-trigger. The right prong had the classic A- and B-buttons, as well as some directional C-buttons.

The Nintendo 64 was also the first console designed with multiplayer in mind, supporting 4 controllers straight out of the factory (unlike the PlayStation, which needed additional ports to be added). This made it a wildly popular party console among people of all ages, even those who were not normally interested in video games.

The Nintendo 64, still available used, was probably the most popular console of its generation, if not of several generations. Its best games and innovations stuck it in the minds of gamers everywhere.

The Original Post is Located Here: Nintendo 64 Still Popular After All These Years