The TrackMania series has left a mark in gaming history with multiple awards in The Guinness World Records. It's most prominent records include Largest Content Base for a Racing Game, Biggest Online Racing and Most Popular Online Racing, as well as a few others. The games have been hailed for their online gaming addictiveness, spectacular graphics, and relative originality. Unlike other racing games, players can opt to race however they wish. Restarting many times by respawning is a viable option if one is faced with difficulty. This recent installment, issued solely for the Nintendo DS, adds even more laurels to the name and honor of the series. It was launched in Europe on November 14, 2008 by Focus Home Interactive and is currently waiting to be released by Atlus in the United States, sometime in March of 2009.

It may sound weird for the average TrackMania fan to hear that this new installment has been developed by another video game company other than Nadeo, but Firebrand Games is more than capable of the task, mainly because of their experience with developing other hit racing games for the Nintendo DS. Also, Firebrand Games has trademark software called Octane Engine, used in the TrackMania DS game, which they would naturally hesitate to let another company use. Nadeo certainly doesn’t seem to mind anyway.

At the start of the game, choice of the player to pick the Solo option on the Menu reveals five levels of difficulty; Practice, Easy, Medium, Hard, and Extreme. The latter options are locked and the only way to select them is to beat the earlier levels. After selecting a difficulty, the player is again presented with three settings for the tracks; Stadium, Desert, and Rally, unlike the PC versions that had additional choices such as Island, Coast, Bay, or Snow. After selecting the settings (let’s say you choose Stadium), the player is again invited to choose around 4 stadiums that one can race in (there’s actually a fifth but you have to buy that in the game).

Yes, there is currency within the game, and it’s useful for shopping great stuff (which is in the game too) like skins for cars and blocks for building your own custom tracks (Yes, yes, you can do that too, if you don’t happen to follow the series). One finally begins to see why this game can be massively addictive.

Before the start of the race, the game gives the player the option to choose the opponent’s difficulty level. Then the fun begins. Unlike most other racing games, which, in their laborious attempts to make it seem realistic, fail completely, TrackMania completely does the opposite. The ridiculous tracks and ghost cars you compete with are so much fun to do over and over. There’s a sense of familiarity as you imagine that this must have been what the driver of your childhood toy race cars felt like when you led them through the slopes, jumps and windings of the toy tracks.

Each track in the game lasts about 20 to 30 seconds. You say; WHAT?! Now, don’t get agitated. Keep in mind, playing the Nintendo DS is not like the PC, wherein the player commits hours and hours, basically spending one’s life in front of the monitor. No, this is about quick fun. One realizes that you can still have a social life while injecting yourself with a TrackMania fix as you wait at the bus stop. Seriously, starting a game and then stopping after one race gives the gamer enough sense of achievement to socialize (parents, take note), unless one gets addicted with the customizations option, that is. The game offers Puzzles by way of editing, where the player can customize the tracks and then beat it.

All in all, TrackMania DS breathes new life to a genre that is wearing thin due to the absurd realism factors that more and more developers are obsessively focused on improving. The fun factor of racing sims is almost being neglected (emphasis on almost) by other video game companies. TrackMania DS goes back to the roots of racing games and braves the storm. It is smooth and fast (graphics wise) and the adrenaline rush is just as it should be. It is probably one of the best racing games for the DS and is heralded for carrying on the torch of the previous original quality of the TrackMania series.

The wait is almost over for those of you that are hooked on the game series Suikoden. Unlike the other Suikoden games, Suikoden Tierkreis is set in a parallel universe called Kingdom of Salsaville. The Japanese saw the release of this game in December of 2008, with the next launch in Europe on March 13, 2009. North America will see the game introduced on March 17, 2009. The new game was introduced in the Famitsu Magazine, and the expectations are high for this spin off. The music for this new series comes from the capable composer Norikazu Miura, with the services of Yoshino Aoki and Masahura Iwata.

The game will be for the Nintendo DS system and can be played with D-pad or a stylus, according to the games developer Konami. The genre remains the same as the original Suikoden series, which is that of role playing. You as the player will be able to converse with the animated characters. Battles will ensue with the enemy and your destiny will be to complete the many missions. Although four characters are the optimum number for any battle, there is a chance to use an extra one for assistance.

A great new option in the Suikoden Tierkreis series is the ability to log on and interact with other players. This ability allows gamers to change items with each other. It also allows players to battle extra monsters that are not found in the actual game, but online instead.

The game begins with the one hundred and eight heroes being lead into battle by the head leader. “The One King” is the adversary who faces their wrath. “The One King” rules over “The Order of the One True Way”. You will be witness to a defeat in the opening; however, it is unclear if this defeat has already occurred or is a flashback. The Infinity is still the name of the Suikoden multiverse. The Kingdom of Salsaville where this game takes place is just one of the many universes. As your part of the journey begins only four of the heroes are alive. Your character is the adolescent boy from the village of Shitoro. You have been given the duty of keeping the village safe from all manner of monsters and criminals. An eerie light is coming from the mountains close to your village, and this is where your journey will begin.

The game play will be quick paced, especially the battles. You will find the one hundred and eight characters that you can play with enormous fun. The graphics are intensely detailed and on an enormous scale. You will have to search each area thoroughly to find extra quests. They won’t be part of the storyline, so the possibilities of exploring new aspects of this game are practically endless. You want to be able to locate every one of the characters and help them become superstars.

Konami has made these extra missions easy to accomplish. One such instance uses Moana. You can access her within her caravan or if you have already made her a part of your allies then access her at your fortress. Once you have achieved this with her the missions will be plentiful. You will instantly go to the destination and you will be inserted into the story right away. They have made this transition very easy.

Some of the quests will include extra characters that will support you on a mission. The Search for Nhazu is a prime example of this type of quest. It takes place in a snow covered village in the mountains. The characters battle a monster before they find Nhazu. This is one of the easier quests that you will encounter but it is a good introduction of how the game works.

The excellence of the previous game, Suikoden, has a lot of gamers waiting anxiously for the new series. The graphics are more than you could have hoped for with the characters being anthropomorphized. The animation that you will witness is spectacular, with a sound quality that is entertaining. The storyline is complex, detailed and engaging for players. Considering the storyline encompasses the original Suikoden feel the game will certainly be a success. An added benefit is that all ages will enjoy the whole new world and new characters. There is something for everyone in this Suikoden Tierkreis game. The adventurous quality of the game belies hidden depths of the fantasy world. Luckily the wait is almost over.

The new iteration of the Guitar Hero series release is now closer. Neversoft, Vicarious Visions, Budcat Creations along with publisher Activision is going to release Guitar Hero: Metallica soon. They are offering over 20 guest acts, making it a very solid game. The new installment features rock to heavy metal songs, which supports all of the guitar hero instruments.

Metallica is known for their great metal songs, they have been around since 1981 and making hits continually. With a game dedicated to them, you can always expect that Guitar Hero iteration will be a blast. The game may not include former members such as Cliff and Jason, but they are all mentioned in the band biography otherwise.

Neversoft hinted some things about what to expect on the highly anticipated game. The goal of the game is creating music dedicated to the artists and progressing within the Career mode. The approach is similar to the last game Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is to have a gameplay to be chronologically followed from their greatest hits. This is all being done while there is real storyline that puts you in a Metallica-inspired band as they started out playing as a garage band. There are cut-scenes that play between the sets that show the fans doing their utmost to win over the famous rock heads. The graphics is reminiscent and true to the guitar hero franchise of games.

Within the Career mode, there are alternate performances done by Metallica. With complete and accurate avatar models of all four members, they will be playing their hits such as Master of Puppets, Enter Sandman, No Leaf Clover, The Unforgiven, and Nothing Else Matters. There are also many lesser-known tracks. Your garage group will cover the music of bands that have an association with Metallica.

To whether which inspired who, there are many bands that are inclined to Metallica’s music preferences. An example is Mastadons’ Blood and Thunder. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Tuesdays Gone, Social Distortion’s Mommy’s Little Monster, Bob Seger’s Turn the Page and an unnamed Queen Song.

The venues will be inspired to where Metallica had crucial moments in their career that includes Hammersmith Apollo, the Los Angeles Forum, and Tushino Airfield in Moscow.

The game offers a lot of fan services to the band's followers. As the game has a lot of it compared to previous installments, you can unlock bonuses of old live performances, behind the scenes clips, footage from Neversoft, images on backstage photos and setlists and many audio visual fragments that make the game more interesting to play. There is also the “Metallifacts” in which is a computer performance of every song in the game, which are accompanied with pop-ups on screen that shows facts about the songs.

An example is if you haven’t realized that the song “For Whom the Bell Tolls” was inspired by Hetfield’s love on the works of Ernest Hemingway. There are also many literally allusion that are included in the facts. With many unlockables that opens details on each song such as original recording date, complete lyrics, producer, and lyricist is all included to further improve the fan service of the game.

There is definitely more room for improvement even on a well-established franchise. On this installment, there are a few helpful tweaks that provides better gameplay. A new game feature includes new changes in the heads up display. The overall success gauge will not be on the upper left corner but is attached to each player’s own note highway in which it can lessen the time looking for it. There is also the overall feedback system that turns the screen redder as the failure rate goes up; this is also evident on FPS games such as Call of Duty.

There is another new addition to gameplay. This is the one that sets Guitar Hero: Metallica apart from the franchise iterations is with the prominent use of the double bass pedal that is played in the music tracks. With the new difficulty setting called “Expert+”, will allow gamers to plug in an additional kick pedal to play the songs with full pedals. But this is purely an additional bonus to relive how the band plays their songs. The usually difficulty settings are retained and using only a single kick pedal from the beginner to expert levels.

All of the new features included in the Guitar Hero: World Tour will be included in this game where the music studio is available. There are also notable sounds that are distinctively from Metallica are added such as the ESP Truckster guitar tone. Each of the tracks that have been done in the previous music studio can still be available in the game.

The gameplay of Guitar Hero: Metallica is very solid and follows the same formula on previous installments, if you like any guitar hero game, you will definitely enjoy this game. You can play Metallica songs for no end with Guitar Hero: Metallica this spring.

This is the forthcoming installment of the God of War series of games. The iteration is currently being developed solely for the Playstation 3 console as the project was announced on E3 2008. With the protagonist, Kratos still hungers revenge from the stories in the series. In which he wants to be rid of the nightmares that have plagued him since he had been tricked into murdering his own family. The last iteration ended with a cliffhanger. If you know how God of War 2 ended, you would usually know what lies ahead in the upcoming game.

Kratos has been seen on the trailer climbing Mount Olympus along with many titans to his aid. As hostile as Kratos’ attitude, he is seeking for a way to even the score. The games’ Director Stig Asmussen in which he worked closely since the first game has stated its notable new features.

As the game is purposely being made to show the prowess of the Playstation 3, its other focus is to revamp the story, mayhem, scale, eye-candy, and gameplay. While the ambitions of a game still in development might be dubious but the past series is synonymous with quality and always been a triple A title ever since.

In the trailer, Kratos has been seen running in the forest and racing along with skeletal warriors. In his moves are all reminiscent in the past games in God of War. With the added probability that the new moves he shown on the trailer might be used in real gameplay.

Asmussen stated some elements that are going to show up on God of War 3’s gameplay. First is the titan gameplay, in which it’s also being credited to the Playstation 3’s hardware capabilities. The game would be set on the moving titans whom will change up depending on what the titan is doing. It may be similar to the game Shadow of Colossus but better due to shifting level of orientations from horizontal to vertical. The levels are going to be set on acres of land; this feature will surely make all the God of War fans happy.

The next gameplay elements are the option to mount enemies. With the past games not technically being able to do so, this can have great benefits to the protagonist. It is surely satisfying to use a Cyclops in clearing mobs of enemies. You can also use Harpies to dive-bomb mobs. But the enemy mounts don’t have too much energy and life to spare due to the amount of energy needed to obey Kratos’ commands such as throttling, stabbings and painful contortions but will offer better additions to gameplay.

The third addition to gameplay is the new and revamped weapon system. This was the product of user feedback from past games. People that played the game are very fond of the main weapon as opposed to alternative ones; the producers are working to level the prominence of other weapons to have more variety. The trailer showed a metal ringed lion gauntlets, which showed a faster attack but shorter dodgers along with area-of-effect attacks to mow down mobs of enemies. Another addition to the game is the ability to use different weapons while doing combos, making unholy chains cooler.

The last addition to the gameplay is the new grabs. This is one of the staple cool moves in the past series. An example to the new moves is the battering ram move in which you can grab one enemy to deal with mobs. The new moves are the product of the past series with the need to deal with mob in a different way.

The live demo of the game has already been shown by Asmussen. The demo was set in a massive stone side of Mount Olympus. In which Kratos is seen to come out of a cave with the same time taking view of the battle of Helios and a volcanic titan that disturbed harpies nearly. The director stated that the goal of the demo level is to find a mystic door within the keep that led to a secret path into Olympus. But the story will always not be easy as it seems. With Kratos’ having the Icarus wings, he is seen jumping the gap between the cave exit using it. After he lands, enemies creep out of the woodwork to kill him. With the mob being good enough to try out the battering ram move, the mob then regroups but Kratos is seen using a fire bow to kill his enemies which can also affect nearby enemies that due to the fire. After that, the end of the level spawns a new mod led by a centaur comes up.

Before the centaur gets beaten, there is the familiar button press scene in which you can finish enemies in horrific ways. In this case, gutting him and sprayed out guts and intestines. The release date is still unknown but the game is surely to be as intense as the past installments.

Capcom has certainly reached a point wherein they are trying to focus on worldwide respect and legendary status. Ok, maybe that was a little exaggerated, but with this new game coming out, one would certainly wonder. Resident Evil 5 is an excellent action packed survival horror game that builds upon its forerunners. The game is massively fun, though this description is referred to the demo (issued for the Xbox 360) that was released in Japan around December of 2008 (and a month later in Europe and North America). Fans of the genre and the series will definitely be amazed at the scale and ambition of this game. Although the demo has its downsides, it is hoped that all the minor irks would at least be tweaked before its official release for better performance and therefore garner praise from the gaming community.

Published by its developer, Capcom, the full game is set to be released on March 5, 2009 in Japan for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. It has yet to be confirmed whether it will be issued for other platforms. After its initial Japan launch, the game will then be released in Europe and North America on March 13, 2009. It’s kind of strange to think that the game was announced way back in 2005 but it only proves that the developers certainly had time to think about making the game more appealing to the western gaming community. Jun Takeuchi, producer of this lovely game, brings out the survival horror category in a new light that hopes to attract more fans to the genre.

Playing the game is much like the previous Resident Evil installment, except it’s on a huge scale with a lot more enemies to put down. There’s a new control scheme introduced as an alternative to the orthodox system that fans have gotten used to (or hated). The main character that one plays is Chris Redfield (from the original Resident Evil). Chris still can’t strafe or move while aiming and one wonders why the creators did not include this. Other games have certainly come out with this option but Capcom insisted that this was important for game balancing. The controls are a bit like Gears of War or Call of Duty, obviously to placate the average western Joe Gamer.

Aside from the main character that one controls, the player is assigned a partner that follows one around helping you take down evil bad guys. Sheva Alomar, a beautiful yet deadly BSAA agent (from the Western African Branch), is quite helpful in teaming up with the player. Adept with hand-to-hand combat and loads of different firearms, she is almost too good to be true. Her AI is amazing but it still could use more work. Somehow it gets to the point where she is always in the way, making it a bit irritating to progress through the game. Overall, however, the AI is solid and all the other little annoyances about it are overshadowed by the sheer beauty of the game.

The Demo shown back in December 2008 starts out in the basic slums of Africa. It is still unclear whether all of it will certainly be in that setting. However much of the plot tends to focus on the continent. It has been said that the Progenitor Virus that caused the outbreak of other virus strains in certain parts of the world came from there. The outline of the story starts 10 years from the original Resident Evil. Apparently, Chris Redfield is no longer a member of the S.T.A.R.S. organization and that this group seems to be defunct. The aim of most of the sub plots that reveal themselves as the game progresses is to try to answer some of the mysteries involving the Umbrella Corporation. It seems there’s more to the mysteries than the mysteries itself (if you follow all of the series and including the movies that is).

Overall, the game is promising. The gaming community is very much excited about the possibilities and one wonders if the reality could live up to the hype. Other Gaming Magazine reviewers have stated their content and even with agitation about Resident Evil 5. Most give it 9 out of 10 stars while others give it high praises without fault.

What more would you want in fighting robots and wrecking each other. Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 has already been released in its Japanese version. The American release will be on March 24, 2009 on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Playstation 2. There is a slight variation between world regions. Some regions may not avail of the downloadable content. As compensation for this, the PAL and North American versions will also have enhancements to the games versus mode.

The game is strictly to the gaming style of Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors games. With the usual slash and hack methods and slight tactical elements. But having to be of the same type of gameplay, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 has unique game mechanics such as core content, the games draw its material from many mobile suit gundam animes. There can also be the option to change pilots, allowing any combination of Gundams and pilots.

There are many featured mobiles suits in the game. There are new units playable in the Mobile Suit Gundam series such as:

* MS-06V Zaku Tank

* MS-07B Gouf (Ramba Ral)

* MS-07H8 Gouf Flight Type

* MS-09 Dom (Black Tri Stars)

* RB-79 Ball

* YMS-15 Gyan (M'Quve)

* MSM-07S Z'gok Commander type (Char Aznable)

* RGM-79G GM Command (Sleggar Law)

New suits playable on the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam series

* RMS-154 Barzam

* AMX-103 Gaza C (Haman Karn)

* PMX-001 Palace Athene (Reccoa Londe)

* PMX-002 Bolinoak Sammahn (Sarah Zabiarov)

* NRX-055 Bound Doc (Rosamia Badam, Jerid Messa)

RMS-099 Rick Dias (Quattro Bajeena, Apolly Bay, Emma Sheen, Amuro Ray)

* RMS-106 Hi-Zack (Jerid Messa, Kacrikan Cacooler, Sarah Zabiarov)

* RMS-108 Marasai (Jerid Messa, Kakrian Cacooler)

* RX-139 Hambrabi (Yazan Gable, Ramsus Hasr, Dunkel Cooper)

RX-160 Byalant (Jerid Messa)

New suits playable on the Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ series

* AMX-107 Bawoo (Glemy Toto)

* AMX-004G Mass Production Qubeley

* AMX-106 Gaza D

New suits playable on the Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack

* RGZ-91 Re-GZ (Chan Agi, Amuro Ray)

* RGM-89 Jegan (Hathaway Noa, Chan Agi)

* RX-93 Nu Gundam (Amuro Ray)

* MSN-04 Sazabi (Char Aznable)

* MSN-03 Jagd Doga (Gyunei Guss Colors) (Gyunei Guss)

* MSN-03 Jagd Doga (Quess Paraya Colors) (Quess Paraya)

New suits playable on the Mobile Suit Gundam F91

* F91 Gundam Formula 91 (Seabook Arno)

New suits playable on the Mobile Suit Victory Gundam

* LM314V21 Victory 2 Gundam (Uso Evin)

* ZMT-S33S Gottrlatan (Katejina Loos)

* New suits playable on the Turn a Gundam

* CONCEPT-X 6-1-2 Turn X (Gym Gingham)

New suits playable on the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny

* ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam (Kira Yamato)

* ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice Gundam ( Athrun Zala, Lacus Clyne)

* ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam (Shinn Asuka, Lunamaria Hawke)

p>There is also an addition to the previous installment of the game; there are now more ranged combat options. But the root focus of the game is still in melee fighting, the Gundams are now much more responsive in terms of thrusting, jumping in mid-air and even up to flight.

Another notable improvement in Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 is the games AI. Even with experienced players would be grinding their teeth on its difficulty levels. There is also the ability of combining aerial maneuvers with attacks, which is a nice addition. There are 2D illustrations within intermissions as there are also various outfits in the games pilots. In the official mode, the chronological events are depicted within the Universal Century calendar that is reminiscent of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. There are also mobile suits that appear in the game, although unplayable on the previous game such as Guncannon and Hambrabi can now be playable and added to the roster of Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2.

There comeback of the official mode offers four characters to be playable in the stages set within the order of the Universal Century Timeline. In which it covers the stories of Zeta Gundam, Gundam ZZ, Mobile Suit Gundan, and Char's Counterattack. But with the games focus is still on its unique story. The Original Mode has now been replaced with the Mission Mode, in which characters are given specific mission objectives such as acquiring parts for their mobile suits, reinforcing status of friendships, and developing rivalry. The game prevents the use of other mobile suits outside their continuity in which they must finish License Missions to pilot other units. There is also the addition of the Gallery Mode being renamed as the Library. In which there are detailed character biographies, mobile suit information, battleship information, music tracks, and movie clips from various Gundam series themes.

Gundam lovers would easily enjoy the whole game with its great missions, interaction, and customization options. But this is solely not for the Gundam fanatics. On the Mission mode, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 makes it all worth playing due to its various gameplay offerings.