Analyst believes PS3 will win war and I laugh

Can you win? Not a chance.

According to an analyst over at Screen Digest discussing video game trends with Economist, not only will the Playstation 3 beat out the Xbox 360 in this generation's console war, he fully expects Sony's console to surpass the Wii by 2011.

The reason: as more games become available for the Playstation 3, more people will find a reason to buy the console, which will propel Sony to the top spot.

Although I can see where the analyst is coming from, I think he's dead wrong. Will the Playstation 3 overtake the Wii? Absolutely. But will it beat out the Xbox 360 when it's all said and done? Not a chance.

Why Sony will beat Nintendo

As I've mentioned before, Sony and its newly refreshed Playstation 3 will kick the Wii to the curb.

Sure, with its current success, it's easy to think that the Wii will always stay atop the list of the most popular video game consoles on the market. But at what point will everyone realize that the Wii is a fun device to play when a group of people are around, but quite boring when it's just you?

I think it has already happened with current Wii owners. A quick glance at October 2007 video game sales figures show that the Wii only holds two out of the top ten places with Guitar Hero III and Wii Play.

And if that means nothing else, it tells you one important fact about Wii owners -- they really only play a handful of games and don't bother to buy most of the games that are currently available for the console.

As I've said before, the Wii is a novelty device that doesn't have the long-term appeal that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 do. Is it a fun console to use? Sure. Are there some good games? You bet. But is there enough of a software offering and downright appeal to entice gamers to buy a Wii over a Playstation 3? Right now, it does. But within the next year, look for Wii sales to slump as the PS3 continues to grow.

Suffice it to say, the Wii is a fine device, but it's not going to continue selling this well and if Japanese console figures are any indication of the rest of the world, Nintendo won't be selling more Wii units than Sony going forward.

Look for the Wii to end this console war in third place.

The Xbox 360 will take the day

Why has everyone just about written off the Xbox 360? Let's not forget that it was the first entrant into this generation and to this day, it's still selling quite well. And although it no longer holds the top spot for most consoles sold (it has the Wii to thank for that), I truly believe it will win this war.

Remember those October 2007 sales figures I mentioned? Well if you look at that list again, you'll find that the Xbox 360 accounted for three of those spots and was tied with the Playstation 2 for most games on the chart. By the way, the Playstation 3 didn't even make the cut.

Perhaps most astounding from the report by the analyst is his assertion that the Playstaion 3 will surpass the Xbox 360 in 2008 and never look back. Huh?

Doesn't this analyst know that in the US alone, the Xbox 360 has sold more units than both the Wii and Playstation 3? And doesn't he know that in worldwide sales, the Playstation is still millions of units behind the Xbox 360?

Now, just because the console is behind now, it doesn't mean it can't surpass the Xbox 360 and contrary to what I may believe may happen in the end, I think Sony has a shot at surpassing the Xbox 360 for at least a year during this console cycle. But in the end, the Playstation 3 will fall to the Xbox 360's side because of software.

At this point, there is no debating the fact that Microsoft has been successful because of its relationship with developers and the general consensus from developers is that development for the Xbox 360 is much easier and far more efficient from a money-making standpoint.

More than anything else, this is where Microsoft will be able to take the day. If developers prefer to create games on the Xbox 360 and they find that development on that console is most advantageous, what's the impetus for those same developers to create compelling titles on the Xbox 360? And while this industry is full of game porting, if you currently own an Xbox 360 and more and more games are ported to other consoles, why would you want to buy new hardware to play the same game you can already have on your current machine?

I commend Sony on reducing development costs in an attempt to coax developers to its side and I think its decision to drop the price of the PS3 was an intelligent one. But in the end, when console sales start to dwindle and people are only buying hardware because of the games that are available and not those that will be available, Sony's console will start to falter. At the same time, Microsoft's Xbox 360 will continue to sell well and eventually take the day. Just look at either console's upcoming release calendar and you'll know what I mean.

And in the end, the tried and true trend in gaming will still be true: innovation and advanced technology are great, but it's the games that matter. And when it comes to the variety and appeal of games, Microsoft commands the market.

The Future of Sandbox Games

Last summer, we launched our new GAMBIT lab, which brings together students and researchers from around the world, to work together to develop projects which stretch our understanding of the medium. Thanks to a grant from the National Research Foundation and the Media Development Authority of Singapore, more than fifty faculty and students from nine different universities and polytechnics in Singapore come to MIT to work with our students, faculty, and staff, in a rapid design and development process. Students working on this project are able to go from conceptualization to user-testing, developing a finished, playable game in a little over eight weeks.

Matthew Weise is one of the people we've brought to MIT to help supervise the production process. Weise is equal parts gamer and cinephile, having attended film school before segueing into game studies and then game development. Matt is a producer for GAMBIT and a full-time gamer, which means he not only plays games on a variety of systems but he also completes (most of) them. Matthew did his undergrad at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he studied film production before going rogue to design his own degree. He graduated in 2001 with a degree in Digital Arts, which included videogames (this was before Game Studies was a field). He continued his research at MIT's Comparative Media Studies program, where he worked on Revolution with The Education Arcade. After leaving MIT in 2004 Matt worked in mobile game development for a few years, occassionally doing some consultancy work, before returning to work at GAMBIT.

Matt, along with Clara Fernandez and Philip Tan, two other alums of the CMS graduate program who have returned to MIT to oversee the launch of the GAMBIT lab, have been the primary writers of a recently launched blog, affiliated with the lab, which showcases games research at MIT, offers reviews of innovative games, and shares commentary on trends, ranging for public policy to product placements, which are impacting the current games sector. Check it out!

If you'd like to know more about how GAMBIT contributes to undergraduate education in games at MIT, check out this recent story written by Game Tap's Jonathan Miller. Weiss is spearheading the development of a new game, GunPlay, which is featured in the story:

Consider GunPlay, one of GAMBIT's four undergrad research projects this semester. Using the Source engine made famous by Half Life 2, the students are creating a first-person shooter that doesn't feature any weapons or ammunition. Instead, GunPlay is based on the childhood game of guns in which kids used their hands as makeshift pistols and yelled out "bang!" in order to shoot.

While the early prototype is still running in the Half-Life 2 universe, the final coat of graphics will feature children scampering about a playground. The team has already replaced the Half-Life weapons with children's hands. Instead of bullets firing from a pistol, a voice yells out "bang!" You can also switch to a shotgun ("ch, ch, bang!") or a machine gun (bangbangbangbangbang). It's, quite simply, hilarious.

The point of GunPlay is somewhat more profound. First-person shooters are often denounced by politicians and parenting groups for their ultra-violent gameplay. But what if you remove the bullets and the blood and make the exact same shooter with smiley-faced grade schoolers? Is a child shooting another child with his imagination, using the exact same gameplay mechanics as Doom or Halo, still violent?

And then consider what reactions would have been if the team had chosen to take a completely opposite direction that bordered on obscene. GAMBIT faculty member Matt Weise points to Raph Koster, who examined how context affects gameplay. Imagine if, for example, that instead of placing colored blocks in Tetris that you were organizing corpses in a Nazi death camp puzzle game. It's graphic and profane and not a game you would ever want to see. But it is nonetheless an important way to examine violence in games.

It's this kind of dialogue that Weise hopes will get game designers and critics thinking. Is it the act of pulling the trigger that can be considered violent, or does it depend on context, be it the playground, Auschwitz, or the fictional City 17? Answering these questions through research is at the very core of GAMBIT's mission. "Whatever you can do to get people talking and increase discussion on designing games is a good thing," Weise says.

Still, the team behind GunPlay is focused on making the game fun to actually play. Some challenges ahead include creating an argument system for when one Child 1 shoots Child 2 but Child 2 says that Child 1 missed. While this argument was common on the playground when we were kids, how do you incorporate it in a videogame? Use a voting system? A bully meter? Such are the dilemmas for a game designer.

I asked Matt to share with my readers what he's thinking about these days. What follows are his thoughts on Assassin's Creed and Sandbox Gaming.

The Future of Sandbox Gaming
by Matthew Weise

Chris Kohler over at Wired has written a brutal review of Assassin's Creed.

[T]he open-world concept does absolutely nothing for Assassin's Creed's gameplay. I simply can't see any reason why they decided to go this route other than the fact that sandbox games are the hip new thing that all the kids are doing these days. Yes, it's initially very impressive to look upon and roam about this vast, detailed world. But a progressive, linear series of deliberate challenges would have suited the concept so much better.

Sandbox is a term often used but rarely defined. There is a general awareness that the term refers to open-ended game design, but there are many types of open-endedness. In the loosest sense almost any game that does not funnel player navigation into some obvious path could be considered sandbox. The most commonly cited example of this is Grand Theft Auto, with its giant world freely navigatable by car. Recent titles identified as sandbox games often take GTA as a model, as in the case of Spider-Man 2, Mercenaries, or Saint's Row. All these games feature massive worlds, rapid navigation systems for travel, and amusement park-like mission design.

Although Kohler never defines exactly what he means by sandbox it feels like he's using the popular definition, citing the incompatibility of stealth with a GTA-style massive world. "How do you make an open-world Metal Gear Solid? Apparently you don't," he concludes.

Ironically, I've long considered Metal Gear Solid--and many stealth games in general--sandbox games. I've used the term sandbox to refer to any game world--regardless of size and scope--that offers free-roaming, open-ended gameplay. For example, I've always felt Mario64 is the greatest sandbox game ever made because of its ingenious non-linear level design. Levels in Mario64 do not rely on multiple paths but instead allow for improvisational play based on a simple, elegant rule set. In my view this is what all good stealth games do as well. Games like Thief, Tenchu, and Hitman are based largely on open-ended spaces designed for improvisational play. And even once-linear series like Splinter Cell and Sly Cooper seem determined to adopt more open-ended design with each new installment. I'd say stealth has the market cornered on sandbox design in a way no other single genre has... which is why Creed's inability to create a deep sandbox experience is so interesting.

Assassin's Creed's problem is that it's too much GTA and not enough Mario64. The cities are massive and the player can run, jump, and climb effortlessly over every building. This lies in stark contrast to stealth games like Hitman, which also have fairly large environments yet limit the player's actions in ways that create tension and strategy. It's not the complexity of the world in Assassin's Creed that's the problem. The problem is that the player's super-human abilities negate most of that complexity. One can easily imagine a version of Assassin's Creed in which Altair is far more mortal, enemies far more deadly, and climbable structures far more limited. It's also easy to imagine a world where targets are available at all times. Then it would be entirely up to the player to decide how and when to perform a hit--sort of like deciding how and when you get a star in Mario64. In the current game, though, it's as if the designers feared Creed would be too short if players were simply allowed to use the freedom they were given, hence the GTA-style mission design in which the people you are supposed to assassinate only "appear" after you complete task A, B, and C.

When I think of open-ended world design I tend to think of worlds that don't involve such limitations. Call it the result of a childhood playing Ultima. I think of worlds in which, if you need to kill the dragon in the cave and you happen to have a drill, there's no reason you can't just drill straight down, bypassing all his little traps, and kill the bastard. That's open-ended to me. That's sandbox. The pleasure of such incredible agency is much more satisfying than any forced narrative structure.

It's true that Assassin's Creed offers some interesting dynamics. Kohler mentions how absurd it is that your targets--which are really just bosses--will follow you to the ends of the earth in an effort to kill you should you botch a hit. This is sort of stupid, but that doesn't mean it can't result in an interesting experience. Once I was being pursued by a target who had spotted me. He began following me up a ladder to a rooftop, brandishing his sword. Instead of engaging him in a swordfight I waited until his head peaked over the roof's edge, quickly grabbed him by the face, and threw him to his death. I have to admit I found this both hilarious and satisfying. It gets hard after a while, though, to see such character behavior as anything but predictable A.I. since all bosses seem to display this suicidal quirk. And even if there were deeper dynamics to be explored in each boss encounter, you cannot actually go back and explore them without restarting the chapter and sitting through endless unskippable cut-scenes. So while there may be some depth to Creed's dynamics, you'll likely never see them since you've got basically one chance at each boss.

Part of me wonders if a good chunk of Creed's problems might gave been solved by a manual save system. In most stealth games I find myself wanting to perform tasks perfectly, which means I like to replay certain moments over and over in an effort to perform them in exactly the way I find the most dramatically satisfying. Creed actively prevents this: you have to live with your mistakes. While I respect that philosophy in the abstract, I think it undercuts Assassin's Creed. Altair is a badass; the player is not. Therefore the player has to make mistakes in order to assume the role of their avatar. By the time I've replayed a Hitman level six times in order to achieve the Silent Assassin rating, I feel like I've become an assassin. The ability to engage in such trial and error in Creed might have totally altered the experience.

It will be interesting to see how sandbox gaming evolves in the future. Are we going to get bigger worlds with shallower dynamics or smaller worlds with deeper dynamics? Or maybe there doesn't have to be a trade off. I still don't believe sandbox games, stealth or otherwise, have to sacrifice depth for size. Hopefully a game will come along that will prove this someday. Maybe it will be Assassin's Creed II.

TIP N TRICKS - I

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New York – Every minute of every day someone somewhere is placing a bet with the hopes of hitting it big. Gambling is a fast growing passion, and most would agree that a few tips and tricks would be much appreciated. The authors of Gambling For Dummies have just what your readers’ are looking for: a guide to the $500 billion gaming industry that could help your readers’ strike it rich (or at least hit one winning bet!)

Gambling For Dummies (Wiley; ISBN: 0-7645-5360-7, $21.99) is stocked with information that will appeal to the first time gambler who has never stepped foot into a casino or racetrack as well as the seasoned gambling veteran who is not doing as well as he thinks he should. Your audience can use Gambling For Dummies to get started on their way toward not only understanding this tricky business, but also enjoying it and possibly succeeding at it as well. Gambling For Dummies includes chapters explaining various casino games, the best games to win at and the games to avoid, gambling etiquette, strategies, tips on horse racing, sports betting and the ever so popular lottery. This book also includes information on Internet gambling, the laws on gambling, and how to report those fleeting gambling winnings to the IRS.

Some of the tricks and strategies offered in Gambling For Dummies are:

* Understanding Basic Gambling Principles. Information on why people gamble, places to gamble (legally, of course!), knowing and estimating your true odds, beating the odds and overall just ending up a winner.
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* A gambler’s guide to gaming: Discover the truths about Internet gambling and safety, complimentary offerings, gambling and the law, and the ever so famous IRS who will share in your winnings.

Slot Machines

First Thing first gambling is a really bad addiction.

Virtually anyone who visits a casino, even for the first time, is familiar with a slot machine and how it operates: just put in your money, pull the handle and wait a few seconds to see if you win. It isn’t intimidating like table games where you really need some knowledge of the rules before you play and it’s this basic simplicity that accounts for much of the success of slot machines in the modern American casino.

As a matter of fact, the biggest money-maker for casinos is the slot machine
with approximately 60 to 65 percent of the average casino’s profits being
generated by slot machine play. As an example, in Nevada’s fiscal year ending June 30, 1998 the total win by all of the state’s casinos was a little more than $7.8 billion. Of that amount, slightly more than $5 billion, or about 64 percent, was from slot machine winnings.

With this in mind, you must ask yourself, “can I really win money by playing slot machines?” The answer is a resounding yes...and no. First the “no” part: in simplest terms a slot machine makes money for the casino by paying out less money than it takes in. In some states, such as Nevada and New Jersey, the minimum amount to be returned is regulated. In Nevada the minimum is 75 percent and in New Jersey it’s 83 percent. However, if you look at the slot payback percentages for those particular states in this book you will see that the actual average payback percentages are much higher. In New Jersey it’s about 91 percent and in Nevada it’s about 95 percent. Even though the actual paybacks are higher than the law requires, you can still see that on average for every $1 you play in an Atlantic City slot machine you will lose 9¢ and in a Las Vegas slot machine you will lose 5¢. Therefore, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that if you stand in front of a slot machine and continue to pump in your money, eventually, you will lose it all. On average, it will take you longer to lose it in Las Vegas rather than Atlantic
City, but the result is still the same: you will go broke.

Gee, sounds kind of depressing, doesn’t it? Well, cheer up because now we go on to the “yes” part. But, before we talk about that, let’s first try to
understand how slot machines work. All modern slot machines contain a random number generator (RNG) which is used to control the payback percentage for each machine. When a casino orders a slot machine it tells the manufacturer what percentage it wants that machine to pay back and that amount is programmed into the RNG. A casino can always change the payback percentage, but in order to do that it must go back to the manufacturer to get a new RNG programmed with the new amount. For this reason, most casinos rarely change their payback percentages unless there is a major revision in their marketing philosophy. And what exactly is a random number generator? Well, it’s a little computer chip that is constantly working (as its name implies) to generate number combinations on a random basis. It does this extremely fast and is capable of producing hundreds of combinations each second. When you put in a coin, or push the bet button, the RNG stops and the combination it stops at is used to determine where the reels will stop in the pay window. Unlike video poker machines, you have no way of knowing what a slot machine is programmed to pay back just by looking at it. The only way to tell is by knowing what is programmed into the RNG.

Okay, now let’s get back to the “yes” part. Yes, you can win money on slot
machines by using a little knowledge, practicing some money management and, mostly, having lots of luck. First, the knowledge part. You need to know what kind of player you are and how much risk you are willing to take. Do you want to go for the giant progressive jackpot that could make you a millionaire in an instant or would you be content walking away just a few dollars ahead?

An example of a slot machine with a wide-area progressive jackpot is Nevada’s Megabucks where the jackpot starts at $5 million. These $1 machines are located at more than 125 Nevada casinos at various locations around the state and are linked together by a computer. It’s fine if that’s the kind of machine you want to play, but keep in mind that the odds are fairly
astronomical of you hitting that big jackpot. Also, the overall payback
percentage is lower on these machines than the average $1 machine. During
Nevada’s fiscal year ending June 30, 1998 Megabucks averaged around 87% payback while the typical $1 machine in Nevada averaged a little more than 95%. So, be aware that if you play the machines with the wide-area progressive jackpots you’ll win fewer small payouts and it will be very difficult to leave as a winner. Unless, of course, you hit that big one! If you really like to play the wide-area progressive machines your best bet is probably to set aside a small percentage of your bankroll (maybe 10 to 15 percent) for chasing that big jackpot and saving the rest for the regular machines.

One other thing you should know about playing these wide-area progressives is that on most of them, including Megabucks, you will receive your jackpot in
equal payments over a period of years (usually 25). You can avoid this,
however, by playing at one of the casinos that link slot machines at their
own properties and will pay you in one lump sum. The Circus Bucks slots at
Circus Circus casinos in Nevada offer this as well as the Million Dollar
Babies at Caesars Palace. There is also a wide-area progressive slot system
called Cool Millions which will pay the first one million dollars immediately.

Knowledge also comes into play when deciding how many coins to bet. You should always look at the payback schedule posted on the machine to see if a bonus is payed for playing the maximum number of coins that the machine will accept.

For example, if it’s a two-coin machine and the jackpot payout is 500 coins
when you bet one coin, but it pays you 1,200 coins when you bet two coins,
then that machine is paying you a 200 coin bonus for playing the maximum
number of coins and you should always bet the maximum two coins to take
advantage of that bonus. However, if it’s a two-coin machine that will pay you
500 coins for a one-coin bet and 1,000 coins for a two-coin bet, then there is
no advantage to making the maximum bet on that machine and you should only bet the minimum amount.

Knowledge of which casinos offer the best payback percentages is also helpful. When available, we print that information in this book to help you decide where to go for the best return on your slot machine dollar. You may want to go to the Las Vegas Strip to see the free pirate show at Treasure Island, but take a look at the slot machine payback percentages for the Strip area casinos in the Las Vegas section and you'll see that you can get better returns for your slot machine dollar by playing at the off-Strip area casinos.

The final bit of knowledge you need concerns slot clubs. Every major casino
has a slot club and you should make it a point to join the slot club before
you insert your first coin. It doesn’t cost anything to join and as a member
you will be able to earn complimentaries from the casinos in the form of cash,
food, shows, drinks, rooms or other “freebies.” When you join the club you’ll
be issued a card (similar to a credit card) that you insert in the machine
before you start to play and it will track how much you bet, as well as how
long you play. Naturally, the more money you gamble, the more “freebies”
you’ll earn. Just make sure you don’t get carried away and bet more than
you’re comfortable with just to earn some extra “comps.” Ideally, you want to
get “comps” for gambling that you were going to do anyway and not be pressured into betting more than you had planned.

Now let’s talk about money management. The first thing you have to remember when playing slot machines is that there is no skill involved. Unlike
blackjack or video poker, there are no decisions you can make that will affect
whether you win or lose. It is strictly luck, or the lack of it, that will determine whether or not you win. However, when you are lucky enough to get
ahead (even if it’s just a little) that’s where the money management factor
comes in. As stated earlier, the longer you stand in front of a machine and
put in your money, the more likely you are to go broke. Therefore, there is
only one way you can walk away a winner and that’s to make sure that when you do win, you don’t put it all back in. You really need to set a “win goal” for yourself and to stop when you reach it. A realistic example would be a “win goal” of roughly 25 percent of your bankroll. If you started with $400, then you should stop if you win about $100. The “win goal” you decide on is up to you, but keep in mind that the higher your goal, the harder it will be to
reach it, so be practical. And what if you should happen to reach your goal?
Take a break! Go have a meal, see a show, visit the lounge for a drink or
even just take a walk around the casino. You may have the urge to keep
playing, but if you can just take a break from the machines, even it’s just
for a short time, you’ll have the satisfaction of leaving as a winner. If,
later on, you get really bored and find that you just have to go back to the
machines you can avoid a total loss by not risking more than half of your
winnings and by playing on smaller denomination machines. If you made your
winnings on $1 machines, move down to quarters. If you won on quarters, move down to nickels. The idea now is basically to kill some time and have a little fun knowing that no matter what happens you’ll still leave as a winner.

And now, let’s move on to luck. As stated previously, the ultimate decider in
whether or not you win is how lucky you are when you play. But, is there
anything you can do to help you choose a “lucky” or “winning” machine? Not
really, because there is no such thing as a “winning” machine. Remember, in
the long run, no machine will pay out more than it takes in. There are,
however, some things you could try to help you find the more generous machines and avoid the stingy ones. Keep in mind that all of the slot machine payback percentages shown in this book are averages. Some machines are programmed to pay back more than average and some machines are programmed to pay less. Also, like everything else in life, machines have good cycles where they pay out more than average and bad cycles where they pay out less than average. Ultimately, what you want to find is a high-paying machine in a good cycle. Of course if I knew how to find that machine I wouldn’t be writing this story, instead I’d be standing in front of it with a $100 bill in my hand and looking for the change attendant. So, I guess you’ll have to settle for my two recommendations as to how you might be able to find the better paying machines.

First, is the “accounting” method. With this method you always start with a
pre-determined number of coins and after playing them in the machine you take an accounting of your results. If you have more than you started with you stay at that machine and start another cycle. Just keep doing this until the
machine returns less than you started with. As an example, let’s say you start
with 20 coins. After playing those 20 coins you count how many you got back. If it’s more than 20 you start over again with another 20 coins and then do another accounting. If, after any accounting, you get back less than the 20
you started with, stop playing and move on to a different machine. This is an
especially good method because you have to slow down your play to take
periodic accountings and you will always have an accurate idea of how well you are doing.

The other method is even simpler and requires no math. It’s called the
“baseball” method and is based on the principle of three strikes and you’re
out. Just play a machine until it loses three times in a row, then move on to
a different machine. Both of these methods will prevent you from losing a lot
of money in a machine that is either set for a low payback or is going through
a bad cycle; yet both will still allow you to take advantage of a high payback
machine or one that is going through a good cycle. Give one of them a try on
your next trip. Good luck!

Download crack version of NHL HOCKEY 08

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• NHL Hockey '08
• With new features EA-Sports NHL 08 is your virtual world into hockey - almost as real as the game itself. But you're no longer a spectator. You're inside. Whether you're managing or playing, you're choices reap benefits and consequences and
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Download crack version of Half Life Game

Half-Life 2 (commonly abbreviated to HL2) is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game that is the sequel to Half-Life. It was developed by the Valve Software Corporation and was released on November 16, 2004, following a protracted five-year development cycle^[1] during which the game's source code was leaked to the Internet.^[2] The game garnered near unanimous positive reviews and received critical acclaim,^[3][4][5] winning over 35 Game of the Year awards for 2004.^[6] Originally available only for Windows-based personal computers, the game has since been ported onto the Xbox and Xbox 360 console, and is also due to be released for the PlayStation 3 in late 2007.^[7]

Taking place in and around the fictional City 17, Half-Life 2 follows the scientist Gordon Freeman. Dr. Freeman is thrust into a dystopian environment in which the aftermath of the Black Mesa Incident has come to bear fully upon human society. Freeman is forced to fight against increasingly unfavorable odds in order to survive. In his struggle, he is joined by various allies, including former Black Mesa colleagues, oppressed citizens of City 17, and the Vortigaunts.

The game uses the Source game engine, which includes a heavily modified version of the Havok physics engine.^[8] Half-Life 2 has been critically acclaimed for advances in computer animation, sound, narration, computer graphics, artificial intelligence (AI) and physics. As of June 8, 2006, over four million copies of Half-Life 2 have been sold.^[9] Exact numbers for digital delivery service Steam and retail have not been revealed, but in general, the former accounts for 25% of Valve's business and is significantly more profitable per unit.^[10][11] Overall, the Half-Life franchise, including Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat, has sold over 20 million units.



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Gang nets $1m in one hour at casino

A HIGHLY organised Asian syndicate cheated the Gold Coast's Conrad Jupiters Casino out of almost $1 million in less than an hour at the high rollers' tables before being arrested trying to leave the Gold Coast Airport, a court has been told.

The meticulously planned operation, which took place in May 2005, involved one man switching cards from hands dealt by the baccarat dealer with cards hidden in the palm of his hand in a bid to weaken his chances of winning.

Other members of the Chinese group sat at the same table and bet against whatever he had bet on.

In just 50 minutes they had netted more than $750,000, but were arrested that night at the airport after casino security staff monitoring video footage alerted police.

An alleged group member, Wei Shan Liu, 44, faced trial at Southport District Court yesterday. Four of the others have already been convicted over their roles in the scam, but Liu had her verdict overturned on appeal. A sixth man was cleared of all charges.

Back in court yesterday, Liu pleaded not guilty to one count of fraud, as crown prosecutor Judy Geary told how Songtao Zhao, 35, had used the hidden cards to make his hands weaker, giving the others betting against him a better chance of winning.

"He began to manipulate the result . . . and this defendant knew he had an extra card," Ms Geary said.

She said that over 27 hands, Liu, placing bets ranging from $7000 to $40,000, won 21 times, collecting about $400,000, while Zhao, betting in amounts ranging from $400 to $1500, lost 21 times.

She said the casino's security cameras had detected 14 instances where his left hand, which stayed facing palm-down virtually the whole time, had moved suspiciously over the hand he was dealt.

She also said the group had travelled together from Hong Kong, stayed at the same hotel, and were arrested playing cards at the Gold Coast Airport as they waited for their flight to leave.

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New Buffalo casino brings a crowd to Harbor Country

First thing's first: Gambling can be dangerous.

Casinos, on the other hand, are fascinating.

Think about it: Top-notch restaurants, well-appointed hotel suites, luxurious spa services, live entertainment, boutique retail outlets, free-flowing alcohol and, of course, gaming galore -- in most cases, at all hours. Minus the whole "experience nature" thing, casinos essentially provide all the major amenities of a luxury vacation under one neon-clad roof.

They're also not without their annoyances: that steady hum of ringing slot machines tuned to the pleasant key of C major, which can get stuck in your head for days; and, despite advanced air filtration systems, the lingering stench of smoke.

But it's all part of the experience. Staying at a casino -- even just for a weekend (I wouldn't recommend any longer) -- means immersing yourself in a culture that may be foreign from your own. Which, when you think about it, is the whole point.

So, where to go? The obvious destination for experiencing casino culture is Las Vegas.

And then there's New Buffalo.

About 2 miles from downtown New Buffalo (population 2,200) lies the brand-new $180 million Four Winds Casino Resort, which opened its doors Aug. 2. The place is huge. It boasts 130,000 square feet of "gaming positions" (actual seats at slot machines or gaming tables) which, were it located in Las Vegas, would make it the second-largest casino on the Strip; plus a half-dozen restaurants and a modest 165-room hotel.

And, when I visited two weeks ago, all of its grandeur seemed absolutely necessary, due to the sheer volume of visitors. As I approached the long, winding drive leading to the casino nestled in the woods, I encountered something I've never before experienced in New Buffalo: traffic. People were lined up in their cars, waiting to park in one of the 2,120 spots in the heated, four-level parking garage and commence spending money. And after hanging out for a few days, it's easy to see why: The place is beautiful -- and, perhaps more importantly, resembles nothing of the gaudy glam of Vegas.

Designed by Urban Design Group (which counts Disney among its clients) and owned by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Four Winds has the look and feel of a regal North Woods lodge, situated far enough back from Interstate Highway 94 that the "woodland retreat" facade is believable.

Just inside the entrance, a grand rotunda (on which a local Pokagon artist will soon begin a mural project) is flanked by two ridiculously huge fireplaces; the beams lining the arcades (leading to shops and a bus terminal at one end, the hotel at the other) were carved from dead standing cedar and birch trees, which are often used in tribal ceremonies for the Pokagon band.

At the heart of it all is the gaming floor itself, which, despite the refreshing lack of neon, looks like a casino (darkly lit, maze-like carpet, banks and bars at every turn), but the restaurants tucked within could stand alone -- even in Chicago.

There are six of them, ranging from high-end steakhouse (Copper Rock Steakhouse), to upscale sushi (SWIMM) and down-to-earth deli (Timbers). There are white tablecloths. There are wine lists 300 bottles strong. There is a buffet that looks, feels and tastes too good to be a buffet. And there is a 24-hour comfort food cafe whose decor rivals sit-down luncheon spots in the Loop.

And then there's the hotel. Although void of typical luxury hotel amenities -- no spa, no pool, no concierge (when I unwittingly inquired at the front desk about changing a dinner reservation with the concierge, I was met with a blank, almost apologetic stare) -- the rooms, and their flawlessly vacant views of the surrounding woods ripe with fall color, more than make up for it.

Mine, a 500-square-foot Junior Suite (from $269 per night), featured a king-size bed, two flat-screen TVs, a full living room and wet bar.

The place was big enough to justify a tiny hallway between the main suite and the equally huge bathroom, where a soaking tub and a large shower took up barely half the chamber. (Apparently, Junior Suites are the norm: there are 72 of them versus 67 standard rooms -- themselves, a hardly modest 400 square feet; more upscale yet are two dozen 800-square-foot Deluxe Suites and a handful of 1,000-square-foot Celebrity Suites.)

As a foreigner to the land of casinos, these elements -- the architecture, the cuisine, the accommodations -- are the most enjoyable things about dipping into casino culture, possibly -- no, definitely -- because they have nothing to do with gambling.

Here in Harbor Country, there are lingering reminders of Sin City stereotypes: ashtrays everywhere (literally -- including bathroom stalls), cocktail waitresses donning outfits that could pass as leftover Halloween costumes, oxygen tanks being dragged along to craps tables.

But it's also easily escapable. Downtown New Buffalo, which brings a healthy dose of weekender retreat, is a five-minute drive west; the southern tip of the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail is a 10-minute drive; Warren Dunes State Park is 15. There is the lake; there are antique stores; there are quaint cafes at which to sip coffee. And none of them is smoky or ringing with slot machines (see 5 More Reasons to Go).

Unlike Vegas, when you've had enough, home is just an hour's drive away -- and as the old saying goes, what happens in New Buffalo stays in New Buffalo. READ MORE


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Video game hits the high notes

Are you a High School Musical fan? Do you like karaoke?

Well, I have some good news for you: "High School Musical: Sing It!" is the best video game you will ever play and you get to sing karaoke style!

The game, which is based on the 2006 phenomenal Disney Channel movie, High School Musical, and its 2007 sequel, High School Musical 2, features all the songs from both movies plus 10 additional songs by other Disney artists, including Jordan Pruitt and the Cheetah Girls.

The game can be purchased for either the Wii or the Playstation 2 console.

It comes with a USB microphone that you plug into your console and use as your microphone for the game.

To play the game, you choose one of the game's three modes: Quick Play, Story Mode or Party Mode. When you use Quick Play – you choose the songs and play the game either by yourself or with a friend. When you use Story Mode you sing the songs in movie order and get a mini replay of the movie itself.

With both Story Mode and Quick Play you can play this mode by yourself or with a friend.

Now, if you are having a party, you use Party Mode ... where you can sing with up to 8 people, either in duets or solo performances!

The whole idea of the game is to sing karaoke style as one of the characters of your choice from the HSM gang.

You can choose to play along as Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, Sharpay, Chad, or Taylor. Or, you can choose to make your own character.

While you are singing, the game awards you points and grades you after each verse of the song. Then, once you finish your song you receive an overall grade.

Now, using your accumulated points from the song you just sang, the game uses the points to "give" you new characters, new outfits, new songs and new locations in which to sing. How awesome is that!

One of the best things about the game is that you don't have to worry if your singing abilities are not perfect ... the game helps your vocal chords to somehow morph into the vocal chords of a blossoming superstar (well, sort of).

There's one more reason to buy this game!

This game did not disappoint. Just like the movies, the game totally rocks!

As GameStop Goes, So Goes the Consumer

Well said by MARK VEVERKA.COMPUTER VIDEOGAME analyst Mike Hickey of Janco Partners in Colorado still thinks the glass is half full. He notes that the company posted extraordinarily strong earnings and sales for the third quarter, beating the Street estimate by 10 cents. Some of the current apprehension, says Hickey, is simply a calendar issue: This year's holiday shopping season is shorter than last and therefore will reduce fourth-quarter earnings by about a nickel from 2006 levels.

THE PREOCCUPATION WITH CONSUMER spending is all-consuming going into the holiday shopping season.

Judging by fourth-quarter guidance from corporate buyers of technology, the big spenders of the Barron's 400 are unlikely to spend a penny more -- more likely, a penny less -- than their tech-spending budgets allow, due to the sputtering economy. The abysmal performance by Nasdaq during November certainly didn't help (See Eric Savitz's Tech Trader Daily blog).

That puts a lot of pressure on Mom, Dad and Santa to place a slew of computer games, iPods, notebooks, mobile phones and other gadgets under the tree this year. Consumers have already begun to increase their share of the load in recent quarters, considering that the tech leaders have been the likes of Google (ticker: GOOG), Apple (AAPL), Research In Motion (RIMM) and Nokia (NOK).

One company that is ground zero for electronics and software sales this holiday season is GameStop (GME), the $7.8 billion-in-sales computer-game retail chain with about 5,000 stores in 17 countries.

It sells consumer technology, the kind that consumers have continued to buy in previous periods of weak spending. It is a purveyor of big-ticket computer hardware (game consoles) and must-have software (computer games) that kids and teens prefer in their stockings over other items, such as apparel.

GameStop bears watching to assess whether the consumer is going to capitulate this season. There are a few scenarios: 1. Most retailers, including GameStop, have a surprisingly merry Christmas. 2. The computer-game retailer thrives while the rest of the retail economy endures a blue Christmas. 3. GameStop suffers a lousy season, a sign of a worst-case scenario for retailing.

That's what made last week's comments by GameStop management so fascinating. They forecast fiscal-fourth- quarter earnings of 95 to 97 cents a share, a few cents higher than their previous guidance.

Unfortunately for shareholders, that was still lower than the lofty $1.01-a-share consensus for the fiscal quarter ending Jan. 31. As a result, GameStop shares were punished before the dawn of Black Friday. Piper Jaffray's Anthony Gikas, for instance, reiterated his Neutral rating and cut his price target to 54 from 59. Shares closed Friday at 50.15. There is also a sizable short position in GameStop shares, betting that Scrooge prevails.

Even so, Hickey thinks consumers won't skimp on the things that children really want. "Kids aren't getting clothes this Christmas. They're going to get a Wii," he says, referring to the red-hot gaming console by Nintendo.

The Wii machine is a super-popular computer game that, as clichéd as it sounds, is fun for the whole family. Because it's physically engaging and easy to use, nongaming geeks can play it. Some fans even go so far as to credit it with getting their game-addicted kids off the couch. "The iPod is sort of a solo experience, but the Wii brings families together while the Monopoly board is collecting dust in the basement," Hickey says.

The machine has been such a smash hit that consoles have been hard to come by. While Nintendo has ramped up production, supply will still be tight, Hickey says. GameStop is a big seller of Wii machines and other game hardware. It also handles some of the season's more popular gaming software, such as Guitar Hero III.

Of course, a game console isn't going to save the holiday retail season, or the economy. But it provides a glimmer of hope that at least one segment can ward off the ghosts of the subprime-mortgage mess. Hickey is so confident that he reiterates his Buy rating for GameStop, with a target of 68. Says Hickey: "They are just going to crush it."

If that isn't holiday cheer, I don't know what is.

HERE AT PLUGGED IN, we don't write about many privately held companies. But once in a while we bend the rules to focus on game-breaking technologies or business models that might have legs. Ingenio was one such private company (Plugged In, Oct. 4, 2004). A pioneer in "click to call" online advertising services, Ingenio didn't go public like some others we have discussed. But it was bought last week by AT&T (T) for an undisclosed sum.