Section: News, Consoles, PS2, Xbox, PCs, Windows, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 3D, Action, FPS, Shooter

Who can say “no” to a free game? I certainly can’t do it, especially if the free game wasn’t all that bad to begin with. I’m referring to Area 51 which was released on the PS2, Xbox, and PC back in April 2005. Cruise on over to Strategy Informer to get in on all the alien splattering action.

The complete download will take up close to 2GB of space on your hard drive and features the voice talent of David Duchovny, Marilyn Manson and Powers Boothe. How’s that for a star-studded cast?

Area 51 is a typical first-person shooter that didn’t break any new ground when it was released. If you’ve played Resistance or any Halo game, you pretty much know exactly what to expect. You’ll have access to a variety of weapons that has two firing modes such as standard shooting, or extra damage shots that gobble up more ammunition. Just shoot at anything that doesn’t look human and you should be fine. You also get some nifty mutated powers as the game progresses.

Download [Strategy Informer] Read [Gamershell]

Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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Download Area 51 for free

Section: News, Features, Research-Studies

The two biggest stereotypes when it comes to gamers are a) that they are kids and b) they are males. A recent study put out by, IBISWorld, Inc. (one of the nation’s most respected independent publishers of business intelligence research), indicates that the complete opposite it true.

Results of the study suggest that most of the current gamers are older adults and may of those are – you guessed it – women.

According to the study, the average purchaser of games in the U.S. is 39, which means these adults started playing video games when they were teenagers and haven’t stopped. As if that’s not enough, 24% of current gamers today are in their 50s. These gamers would have easily been in their late 20s when video games became popular.

The early ’80s was certainly a high point for the video game industry. I’m not talking about Pong either, I mean systems like Atari, ColecoVision and the Sega Master System (then, of course, the Nintendo Entertainment System which came a little later). Sure there were systems before that (Odyssey for example) but those aforementioned systems were the ones that really started the era of “gamers”.

As for “girls,” the study shows that a whooping 38% of US gamers are female, stomping out the ridiculous stereotype that “girls don’t play video games.” This could be due to the fact that the market produces much more games geared towards girls then in the previous years but that’s not the only reason. The basic fact is that plenty of girls enjoy the action, strategy and challenge that video games produce.

Girls love to play Halo for the same reason boys do. Plus, girls grew up with these games too.

Of course, there are plenty of girls who don’t enjoy video games. This could because a lot of girls are not into all the violence and challenge associated with video games, or they just simply didn’t grow up with them. Maybe their parents never bought them a Sega Genesis. (I’m banking on the latter.)

All the girls that I know of that grew up with a game system (even the real girly-girls) love to play games. Those who didn’t grow up with it think they are a waste of time or boring.

So, it seems that if you grew up with game systems, you are a fan for life. With all the technology that comes with gaming, and all the new ways to play, it would impossible to not be a lifer. So it’s really no surprise that today’s gamers are adults, and women. This is not to say that children aren’t also a huge contribution to the industry, but they are not the majority anymore.

Site [IBISWorld USA] Via [The Earth Times]

Full Story » | Written by Jessica Moen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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Duh of the Day: Study indicates adults and girls are gamers, too

Section: Exclusives, Originals, Features, Opinions, Handhelds, DS, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers

My name is Jenni and I’m a Nintendo addict.

Hello Jenni.

I have a particular fondness for the Nintendo portable systems. Throughout the years, I’ve accumulated a collection that includes a Game Boy, a Game Boy Micro, a Game Boy Color, a Game Boy Advance (imported from Japan), a Game Boy Advance SP, a DS and a DS lite.

I’ve had no qualms about purchasing ‘tweaked’ versions of existing handhelds. Until now.

*clap* *clap* *clap*

The DSi crosses a line. Instead of being a familiar, handheld game system, it is trying to do it all. It resembles a PDA or a Windows Mobile Device more than a video game system. If people are buying a handheld console, they’re buying it to play games. Let’s keep things simple, and not drastically alter a system in its golden years.

Here are the reasons I am not getting a DSi.

I don’t want another camera.

My cell phone has it. If I need to take a picture, its simpler to just pull out my phone, snap it and move along, rather than prepare a DS. On the DS, it’s more of a gimmick than a necessity. There’s been talk of games using the camera function but this might not be anything to get too excited about. So far, Otona no DS Kao Training, a face muscle training game, and a Shisedo makeup game make use of a DS camera peripheral in Japan. If Square Enix decided to port the Japanese cell phone game Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis to the DSi, then maybe it would be worth the purchase but it seems like a silly and unnecessary built-in peripheral.

I don’t want an internet browser.

My laptop already does that. My PSP has an internet browser in it and I’ve used it once. Seriously. I went online once with my PSP to see how it would work. That’s it. The portable game browsers have too many limitations, when it comes to viewing pages, using email clients and accessing the web to make it worthwhile.

I do not want slightly bigger screens.

The DS Lite has 3-inch screens and the DSi will have 3.25 inch screens. There won’t be any difference in brightness or in the number of colors that can be displayed. So, basically, your games will just appear a quarter of an inch bigger. Yes, that quarter of an inch (about the size of a mosquito, in case you’re curious) is going to make a drastic difference when I want to play games.

I do not want to have to charge my DS every day.

The DSi has a shorter battery life than the DS lite. This is a crucial issue for me, since the battery life of my PSP keeps it captive in the house because I can’t trust it to keep a charge or last over five hours. Kotaku specifications post on the DSi shows the DS lite getting between two and six hours more battery life at each brightness level than the DSi. That’s disgraceful.

I do not want another MP3 player.

I have an iPod (and a phone and PSP) for that. My PSP has 50 of my favorite MP3s on it. Do you know how many times I’ve used it to listen to said mp3s? If you guessed once, you’d be right. The rest of the time, I use my iPod because it doesn’t kill the battery on it. I can understand some people possibly wanting one gadget to do everything, but I don’t want that from my handheld gaming system. I want everything to be focused on providing the best gaming presentation.

I do not want region locks.

CVG has just confirmed that the DSi and its specific games will be region locked. So you can’t play Japanese DSi games on your US DSi and vice versa. Regular DS games will be fine, but any DSi-specific games will be exclusive to that country’s handheld. It is unfair that a company should try to limit people’s playing and libraries by imposing region limitations.

I do want my GBA slot.

The elimination of the GBA slot will be a let down for many gamers. Especially for those who purchased Guitar Hero for the DS or imported a Japanese DS peripheral. So much for enjoying games like Guitar Hero: On Tour, Oshare Majo Love and Berry, Slide Adventure: Mag Kid or Arkanoid with the paddle controller. Plus, it means you have to have a separate unit for playing GBA games. Quite a hassle. Plus it halves your gaming collection. I know, the games could also be released via the upcoming DSware gaming store, or a Virtual Console for the DS could be implemented, but I don’t want to pay for a game I already own.

Nintendo shouldn’t have created the DSi. Instead, it should have saved these additions and implemented them in the next incarnation of the DS. Thanks, but no thanks.

My name is Jenni and I’ll be sticking with my DS Lite.

*clap* *clap* *clap*

Read [Kotaku] Also Read [Videogaming247] Also Read [CVG]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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DSi? Do not want.

Section: News, Handhelds, DS, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers

After debuting the Nintendo DSi at its conference in Japan last week, Nintendo has clarified some issues regarding the handheld’s compatibilities across different regions. Apparently the gaming features of the DSi will be region-specific whereas the web browsing feature is not.

Talking to CVG, a Nintendo rep said games released on the DSi will be locked to the region in which it is released. For example, any game you purchase from retail or download in Japan will not work on DSi units that are purchased in North America.

Although DSi games will be made specifically for the DSi, regular DS games will still be playable on any DSi regardless of the region it came from. The web browsing mechanic installed on the DSi can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

The reason for locking the DSi to regions is so that Nintendo can offer services to specific areas and to adhere to certain parental control age limits which differ from continent to continent.

Read [CVG] Also Read [Crunch Gear]

Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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Some DSi features will be region locked

Section: News, PCs, Windows, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 3D, Action, FPS, Shooter, Online

A lot of us gamers might cringe even at the headline, swearing it’s impossible to run anything with the word Crysis in it on our computers. I’m sure there are a good number of hardcore PC gamers out there that can comfortably run Crysis with no problems at all and that is why EA and Crytek are giving players the chance to experience Crysis Wars online for free from October 10, 2008 through October 12, 2008.

Crysis Wars is the online multiplayer component to Crysis Warhead that features four gameplay modes spread out across 21 different maps. Just because we can play this game for free doesn’t mean it’s going to be a stripped down version. Crysis Wars will include every weapon and vehicle that has been shown in the Crysis games to coincide with maps that range from intimate to massive environments to promote different strategies.

To get in on the action visit the My Crysis website and register. From there you’re good to download Crysis Wars and immediately play through a local connection today (October 6, 2008) with friends until the online frag fest begins.

Site [My Crysis] Read [Spawn Point]

Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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Play Crysis Wars for free starting October 6, 2008