Portal

Portal Review

Portal Feature

• Award-winning, innovative gameplay
• The first first-person puzzle action adventure game
• Two bonus games introduce new play challenges
• Support for level editing and mod creation - build your own Portal puzzles
• Hours of single player gaming

Portal is an action/puzzle video game from Valve, creators of Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike. The winner of over 40 awards, including 15 Game of the Year honors, it is one of the most original games on any platform in years and offers gamers hours of unique gameplay. Set in the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories, Portal is designed to change the way players approach, manipulate and surmise the possibilities in a given environment; similar to how Half-Life 2’s Gravity Gun innovated new ways to leverage an object in any given situation. Players must solve physical puzzles and challenges by opening portals to maneuver objects, and themselves, through space.

The new physics of fun

Use the portal gun to create your path. View larger.

Every portal has two ends. View larger.

Toss companion cubes through portals. View larger.

The Story
Portal contains only two characters, the player-controlled Chell and GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System), a computer AI that monitors, directs and misleads Chell in a kind of twisted experiment. It's not exactly a match made in heaven

Regardless, Chell must rely on information provided by GLaDOS to survive as she navigates through a series of mostly doorless rooms using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device ("portal gun"). The portal gun creates two portal ends, one orange and the other blue. Both are simultaneously a potential entrance and exit and objects, alive or otherwise, that travel through one end will exit the other at the same speed. In addition, portals create a visual and physical connection between two different locations in 3D space. Their ends are restricted to planar surfaces, but if the portal ends are on nonparallel planes, bizarre twists in geometry and gravity can occur as the player character is immediately reoriented to be upright with respect to gravity after leaving a portal. Chell can pass through open portals at will, but barriers, known as "Material Emancipation Grids" or 'fizzlers' prevent players from carrying objects beyond them. Luckily certain objects, known as 'companion cubes' can be tossed through. Once through these can then be used as the player wishes. Passage through these fields also closes any open portals, so it's important to look before you leap. It's Chell's challenge and yours to survive the hazards of the portals, including bobby traps, hidden gun turrets and the treachery of GLaDOS in the search for eventual freedom.

Features

• Award-winning, innovative gameplay.
• The first first-person puzzle action adventure game.
• Two bonus games introduce new play challenges.
• Support for level editing and mod creation – build your own Portal puzzles.
• Hours of single player gaming.
• Makes you feel smart!

System Requirements:

	Minimum Specifications:	Recommended Specifications:
OS:	Windows Vista/XP/2000
Processor:	1.7 Ghz Processor	Pentium 4 Processor (3.0 Ghz or better)
RAM:	512 MB RAM	1 GB RAM
Video Card:	DirectX 8 level Graphics card	DirectX 9 level Graphics card
Other:	DVD-ROM Drive/Mouse/Keyboard/Internet Connection

 

Portal is a new single player game from Valve, creators of Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike. Set in the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories, Portal has earned over 15 Game of the Year Awards and offers gamers hours of unique gameplay.The game is designed to change the way players approach, manipulate and surmise the possibilities in a given environment; similar to how Half-Life 2's Gravity Gun innovated new ways to leverage an object in any given situation. Players must solve physical puzzles and challenges by opening portals to maneuvering objects, and themselves, through space.

Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits

Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits Review

Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits Feature

• Start off as Kharg, expert swordsman and royal scion, and learn how his destiny is intertwined with a half-demon boy named Darc on the other side of the world
• In a unique twist, you'll get to play either side of the conflict -- fight for the human or demonic side, then unravel the mysteries behind their forgotten links
• Engage in the quest from town to dungeon to town, as you accumulate the magic power you need to uncover the spirit stones
• Use your combination of arcade-style combos and strategy to face off against monsters and beasts of all types
• An incredible storyline combined with vivid graphics bring a legend to life in the latest Arc The Lad game!

In Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirit, you'll set off on a quest that decides who controls the planet of Deimos -- the humans or the demons!

Nintendogs Lab & Friends

Nintendogs Lab & Friends Review

Nintendogs Lab & Friends Feature

• More than 100 items like tennis balls, flying discs and even clothing accessories.
• Choose from a wide range of pets - Labrador Retriever, Miniature Schnauzer, Toy Poodle, Pembroke Welsh corgi, Miniature Pinscher and Shiba Inu.
• Socialize your pups by walking them around town, where they'll meet neighborhood dogs -- and maybe even find new toys.
• Walk it, buy the right supplies and work with your puppy to increase its stamina.
• As a puppy competes in obedience and agility trials where owners can win money to purchase other puppy breeds.

Nintendogs Lab & Friends is an animal simulation where you can raise one or more adorable puppies and play with them to your heart's content. Teach your pups new tricks. Just speak into the system's microphone and they'll respond to the voice commands you've taught them, then use the DS touch screen to play with your puppy. Breeds available in the game include Labrador retriever, miniature schnauzer, toy poodle, Pembroke Welsh corgi, miniature pinscher and shiba inu. 6 pups to love and care for. View larger. Gameplay In Nintendogs Lab & Friends owners purchase one of the six breeds available at the beginning of Nintendogs, then start spending time with their pups. They throw flying discs and balls to improve the pup’s agility, bathe it when it gets dirty and repeat voice commands to train the dog to do tricks. If owners train it well enough, they will excel in obedience and agility trials and disc competitions, which will earn money that they can use to buy other supplies and puppy breeds. When owners earn enough cash, they can buy even more puppies to live with their original pup. Key Game Features Visit the kennel and select a puppy from some of the most popular breeds, including Labs, Chihuahuas, dachshunds and more, then care for and train the puppy using the touch screen and microphone. Pet the pup, acquire and play with more than 100 items like tennis balls, flying discs and even clothing accessories. Owners teach their dogs to do tricks by creating their own personalized voice commands. Owners who train their pups well can compete in obedience and agility trials. They win these competitions to earn cash, which they can use to buy supplies and even more dogs to keep their first puppy company. Owners can set the DS to Bark Mode, then take it with them as they head out into the real world. The DS will bark to let them know when another Nintendogs owner is in range and ready to meet. Screenshots: Feed your pup. View larger. bathe and care for him. View larger. Win cash for in-game gear. View larger. Make a connection. View larger.

MODEL- NTRPAD3E VENDOR- NINTENDO FEATURES- Nintendogs (Lab Retriver) DS Put a puppy inside your Nintendo DS! In this game choose from Labrador retriever miniature schnauzer toy poodle Pembroke Welsh corgi miniature pinscher shiba inu. Players care for and train their puppy by petting it walking it and buying it supplies to play with. As a puppy competes in obedience and agility trials owners can win money to purchase other puppy breeds. Players can socialize their pups by walking them around the town where they will meet neighborhood dogs and maybe even find new toys. Trips to the park and gym offer valuable training time to prepare for agility trials and disc competitions. Over time the pups stamina will increase so players can explore farther and farther. Players also can interact wirelessly with their friends Nintendogs -- they can set their DS to bark whenever another puppy is within wireless range. Nintendogs lets you pick a puppy from a variety of breeds available at the beginning of the game. As you start spending time with your pup you can throw flying discs and balls to improve the pups agility. You can bathe it when it gets dirty and use your own personal voice commands to train the dog to do tricks. If you train it well enough your dog will excel in obedience and agility trials and disc competitions which will earn money that you can use to buy other supplies and puppy breeds. When you earn enough cash you can buy even more puppies to live with their original pup. Players can socialize their pups by walking them around the town where they will meet neighborhood dogs and maybe even find new toys. Trips to the park and gym offer valuable training time to prepare for agility trials and disc competitions. Over time the pups stamin

Half-Life: Adrenaline Pack

Half-Life: Adrenaline Pack Review

With Half-Life, 1998's Game of the Year; Team Fortress Classic, the incredibly popular multiplayer-only game; and Opposing Force, the most impressive expansion pack we've ever seen, Half-Life: Adrenaline Pack is a complete collection sure to alter any gamer's body chemistry.

Half-Life quietly debuted in late 1998, and the gaming community was forever changed. Instantly soaring to bestseller status, the groundbreaking title eventually earned over 50 Game of the Year awards. The combination of an intriguing, well-paced plot, smooth graphics, cunning enemy AI (artificial intelligence), brilliant level design, and revolutionary in-game scripted events make Half-Life an unforgettable gaming experience. You play as Gordon Freeman, a mild-mannered scientist assigned to handle hazardous materials in the government-funded Black Mesa Research Facility. Something goes wrong--horribly wrong--with one of the more exotic experiments, and Gordon must try to escape. Along the way, he has to try to rescue his fellow scientists, master the use of conventional and not-so-conventional weapons, avoid or kill bizarre alien monstrosities, and learn the true nature of the research at Black Mesa.

Team Fortress Classic is a multiplayer-only action game that uses the Half-Life game engine and interface. Ease of use and pulse-pounding game play have made TFC one of the most popular action games on the Net. Finding and connecting to games is a quick and painless process; once connected, any gamer will quickly feel at home. Players choose a character class from such World War II movie favorites as Scout, Pyro, Soldier, Engineer, Medic, Spy, Sniper, or Heavy Weapons Guy. The class determines your health, armor, speed, available weapons, and special ability. Special abilities range from the Medic's ability to heal comrades and poison foes to the Spy's ability to assume the guise of any other class.

It's the teamwork that makes TFC so much fun. Each player is a member of a team and must work with the other team members to accomplish the goals, of capturing the flag, base defense, or planning to kill the enemy VIP. An effective team includes a good mix of character classes and a leader of the team's efforts. The person in charge might assign a sniper to cover a large expanse of open ground or tell a team to take out an enemy bunker. The maps included with TFC emphasize team-based play, and the surprisingly productive Half-Life/TFC player community constantly produces new maps and modifications.

Opposing Force returns the player to the Black Mesa facility, but tells the tale from the perspective of Col. Adrian Shephard, one of the soldiers sent to clean up the scientists and their reality-altering mess. Just as in Half-Life, things quickly go badly for Colonel Shephard and his men. Ambushed by aliens, scattered and confused, Adrian must fight his way through the ruins of the facility in an attempt to reach a helicopter extraction point. Gameplay is similar to that of Half-Life: Adrian must collect weapons; get over, around, or through collapsed passages; fight aliens; and contend with the mysterious--and murderous--Black Ops agents.

All three games in Half-Life: Adrenaline Pack could easily stand alone on their own merits; being able to get them all in one package is a real treat. Half-Life will draw you in, Team Fortress Classic will keep you in multiplayer heaven for months, and Opposing Force will remind you just what makes the Half-Life game world so good. --Mike Fehlauer

Half-Life 2: Game of the Year Edition

Half-Life 2: Game of the Year Edition Review

Half-Life 2: Game of the Year Edition Feature

• Realistic physics: objects have varied and appropriate mass, density, physical properties
• Sequel to the hit first-person shooter
• Scientist-with-a-crowbar Gordon Freeman joins a ragtag human resistance fighting extradimensional invaders for the survival of a conquered Earth
• Unnervingly realistic graphics the likes of which have not been witnessed outside of a motion picture or pre-rendered cut scene
• Special Edition includes Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, plus Half-Life 2: Deathmatch and Half-Life: Source.

Half-Life 2: Game of the Year Edition compiles all the best elements of this incredible game, with all-new player options and even better graphics. Start out with Half-Life 2, where you return to the alien research facility called Black Mesa. The aliens are now pouring into our world and you'll join the resistance movement to stop them. Battle it out with friends in crazy, realistic mulitplayer action with Half-Life 2 Deathmatch. Then test your tactical abilities with Half-Life: Source -- where the gaming kicks up anotch through the amazing Source game engine. With the Source engine, you get high-resolution textures, detailed character models, realistic physics and lighting, support for up to 64 players, shiny water effects & better objects - creating a more realistic gaming experience. The action continues in bigger, better form with Counter-Strike: Source

Valve Half-Life 2

Valve Half-Life 2 Review

Valve Half-Life 2 Feature

• Amazing new graphics with pre-rendered cutscenes that look like they came a movie
• More realistic physics - Objects have varied and appropriate mass, density and physical properties
• Incredibly advanced AI as enemies adapt, plan, improvise, and respond
• Hordes of new aliens and other enemies -- plus a plethora of new guns and weapons

Half-Life 2 delivers a new level of realistic action and excitement. Players return to the world of Gordon Freeman, as he returns to the Black Mesa research facility. The aliens are pouring into our world, and Freeman becomes part of a resistance group to stop them. New weapons, new enemies and new characters are waiting -- along with major enhancements in animation, artificial intelligence and graphics.

The King of Fighters XIII

The King of Fighters XIII Review

The King of Fighters XIII Feature

• Improved Online mode, and a host of other additions, tweaks, and enhancements
• A refined fighting engine built for speed and complete with new moves and supers
• A number of detailed stages bursting with life
• Featuring over 30 hand-drawn and animated fighters
• Over a half dozen play modes

With a roster featuring over 30 hand-drawn and animated fighters, a number of detailed stages bursting with life, over a half dozen play modes, a refined fighting engine built for speed and complete with new moves and supers, a vastly improved Online mode, and a host of other additions, tweaks, and enhancements, THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII represents a rebirth for one of gaming's longest tenured franchises and one of the most popular fighting brands ever. With the triumphant return of fan favorite characters like K', Mai, and Vice, extensive refinement of the core fighting engine based on community feedback, and vastly improved network functionality, THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII represents the HD entry in the series that fans have been waiting for. Painstaking effort has been made to address every last concern following the last entry: fights play faster; the addition of over a half dozen play modes offers variety and replayability; the game's beautifully rendered and animated character sprites are better distinguished from the backgrounds-which happen to be richer and more detailed; the camera perspective is less restricted; fighters have more moves, including new supers and the all-new NEOMAX supers; and much, much more!