• Go anywhere in Metropolis right away, exploring the first open-world game that extends from the street all the way into the atmosphere
• Non-linear gameplay and innovative flight, rescue, and combat mechanics let you create your own experience
• Play through missions inspired by over 6 decades of Superman stories, plus film-inspired events with voiceovers by Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey
• Master and Upgrade Superman’s unique powers – Flight, X-Ray Vision, Heat Vision, Super Hearing, Super Strength, Super Speed, Super Breath, and Freeze Breath are all available to you, so get creative
• Superman’s success depends on Metropolis’ health – Will you stop pursuing a super villain to prevent a tornado from wreaking havoc? Make critical decisions to save the city, but choose wisely or its citizens could pay the ultimate price

Product Description360 Superman Returns. . . More>>

Superman Returns

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Guitar Hero is ultra-popular right now. Although you can easily find it in stores right now (especially with the way the economy stinks), you might be able to find a much better deal. If you can get it cheaper through an auction, why not?… (Check out the other auctions in the tab at the top of Auctions4Games.com called “Gaming Deals”)

With huge amount of games coming out these days there are always going to be some that you miss. Now, some of these are probably best missed but in the heap there are always a few gems.

First among these may be considered an odd choice as it’s more of an anthology of a series, but Metal Slug Anthology on Wii should not be missed by any action fans. Featuring 8 different games, the whole of the Metal Slug arcade and console series is here to play either by yourself, or the much more enjoyable way – with friends, as each game does feature a full co-op mode.

The basic premise of the game is simple, a two dimensional scrolling shoot em up featuring over the top weaponry and brilliant cartoon animation. You play one of four soldiers, who with the help of the occasional tank, the aptly named Metal Slugs of the game, fighting your way through different levels and locales taking on ridiculous amounts of enemy troops along the way.

The game has it’s tongue firmly in it’s cheek all the way through. Nothing is serious, with numerous comical set pieces throughout each level, and to keep the ride flowing smoothly there is of course the inevitable arrow telling you to move on to the next section, just like all good side scrollers.

If your a Xbox 360, one game you probably missed at the time was Just Cause. The game is set on a lush Caribbean island where you are special agent Luis Rodrigez, sent to stop the corrupt government. Now it doesn’t sound that great from that brief synopsis, but the game is so much more than that. The game follows the ideas behind Grand Theft Auto and runs with them. The island you call home is basically a huge sandbox of sun, sea and sand and the 360’s graphical power is used well to show it off. With an incredible draw distance and the ability to take a helicopter far into the sky, the game definitely looks impressive.

The game does have some significant flaws such as a repetitive mission structure and less than brilliant AI from your enemies, but the main reason to play this game is for the sheer fun of it. The first time you tak that helicopter up in the air and skydive from it’s highest points is one of the most satisfying game experiences you can have. That’s right, you can skydive. Anytime. Also you are automatically equipped with a grappling which can be used to latch of to other vehicles including planes and helicopters and this results in some of the most over the top stunts you can imagine.

A very fun game, if you ignore the main story for the most part.

The PS3 hasn’t got one of the most extensive libraries out there but that hasn’t stopped some games being lost in the pile. One game that you really should play, whether your a fan of the genre of not, is Skate. At first glance it looks like a Tony Hawk clone, but the game is so much more than that. The game features a unique control system for a skateboarding game: all main controls are mapped the the right analog stick. This mechanic makes sure that the game is a lot more realistic to real life skateboarding and in some of it’s challenges, nearly as tough.

In the game you create your own character and start off as a street punk trying to get themselves noticed and become a pro-skater. Through various challenges you’ll meet new people, earn respect and get yourself in magazines and videos, eventually leading to your invite to X Games: the skateboarding olympics.

A whole city is mapped out in glorious HD graphics and the attention to details i if you will s fantastic, with even the cracks in the road being visible. Also that unusual control scheme works wonders and really sets this game apart from the rest. If you haven’t played it, you should.

In this day and age of online gaming, one great type of party play has been lost – the experience of the LAN.

Basically a LAN, or Local Area Network to give it the full name, is where you and a bunch of friends get together a link up you consoles via ethernet cables or nowadays wi-fi and have huge 8-16 player games together. Now obviously these LAN or system linked games can take a bit of organizing and do require a separate console and TV for every four players, but they are definitely worth it.

One of my first experiences of using the system link was on the original Xbox playing the original Halo. At the time we could only manage to get 8 people and two sets of equipment, but it was still a blast. Capture the flag is a lot more fun when you can shout and jeer at the other team when they are sitting right next to you.

These days with more technology and a greater focus on online gaming, system linking your consoles may seem a little redundant but still some modern games do include the ability. One of the best games out there at the moment is the Xbox 360s Gears of War, and soon to be release Gears of War 2. Each support a cooperative approach to gameplay and with numerous modes and tactics to be used, suit the system link idea perfectly.

If you like the idea of the system link or have indeed tried it yourself and have found the same joy as I have then why not try something special. The idea of a 24 hour LAN was an idea that came out of boredom between myself and friends and originally intended for the PC. If you’ve never stayed up for 24 hours straight playing video games then it’s an experience worth having, just don’t expect to get much done the next day! To effectively pull off one of these events you need a few essential items:

1. A list of games to play:
   Planning is so important for this type of thing, because you don’t want to be sitting around at 3am arguing about what to play with 7 or even 15 other people!
2. A list of equipment.
   There is nothing worse than turning up all ready to go and then finding out that someone has forgotten to bring the link cables or their wi-fi adapter.
3. Snacks:
   Probably your most important item. High caffeine and sugar is obviously the order of the day and having a set idea of what take-away food to have on hand is also a good idea

Although 24 hours of gaming is too much for some, I do urge you to at least give the system link LAN idea a try as I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time.

The Xbox 360 is best known for it’s fast paced first and third person shooters and action titles and one the best of these such games is Gears Of War. Now with a sequel (Gears of War 2), this Epic Games developed sci-fi blockbuster took the 360 to new levels in graphics, gameplay and overall atmosphere.

The game is set in a post apocalyptic earth (yes I know…), where the human race fight a losing battle against a terrifying race called the Locust who have lived under the earth, waiting for their time to strike. Taking up the mantle of “hero” is Marcus Fenix – a previously imprisoned soldier released on special orders to lead his team and take the fight to the Locust Horde. Standard sci-fi shooter plot aside, Epic have created a game that feels like playing through some multi million dollar hollywood action thriller.

Using the Unreal 3 Engine the game has some of the greatest visuals ever seen on the 360 and any other consoles till now, with great special effects such as blood spattering on the screen and huge draw distance. Other great touches include the shaky cam effect when using the sprint button and special use of the Y-button to highlight specific objects and basically “cool” things on screen. The visual style is carried through every section of the game from opening menu to final cut-scene making the game universe feel real and substantial.

With this game Epic managed to create one of the most important and loved franchises on the system, only surpassed by the likes of Halo.

A complete opposite to Gears is the bright and fun world of Viva Piñata. A game featuring brightly colored types of Pinata with confectionary based names doesn’t seem like the most obvious choice for the average 360 owner, but as an Xbox junkie, I would recommend Viva Piñata to anyone. The game places you in the role of gardener in charge of a plot of bare land. Using spades, seed and watering cans you will create your own gardens to lure in different types of Piñata. Each different type has it’s own set of requirements such as a pool of water, plants or even a certain amount of another pinata for food!

During your tenure as gardener you’ll come up against lots of different threats and problems like bad, or sour pinatas or just the fact that you put two of you pinatas together that don’t get on. After a while the game can get quite manic and fairly difficult, but an intuitive dial menu system keeps all needed tools to hand and the different colors and art style keep everything standing out and easy to place. In case your wondering, yes the Piñatas can have children, but for those with young children don’t worry there’s no x-rated material hidden away in this game. When two Piñatas get together they simply have a quick love dance and then a baby Piñata is born.

A great game for all ages and of people of all persuasions, Viva Piñata is fun and easy enough in the beginning for kids and depending on how you play can end up fast paced and difficult for the more mature gamer.

If sci-fi isn’t your thing, and the idea of managing a garden full of sweet filled animal doesn’t float your boat, perhaps you’d enjoy something a bit more knights in shining armor and with a bit more freedom, the world of Oblivion might be for you. Number 4 in the Elder Scrolls series from Bethesda, Oblivion gives players the freedom to roam around in an amazingly rendered world filled with monsters and quests. The game is so free that, if you don’t feel like doing the main quest or the storyline doesn’t grab you straight away you don’t have to, you are completely free. Horses can be bought or stolen, caves can explored, towns robbed and pillaged or you can simply wander around and explore the world.

The game starts with you as a convict in the imperial prison who somehow gets mixed up with the king, given a mysterious prophecy to fulfill and sent on your merry way. Through this opening sequence in the sewers and dungeons beneath the prison you’ll decide on your characters skills and class, eventually learning the rules of the game along the way. Once this is complete, as I say your free to do what you want, although there are limits. For some reason the guards are incredible at catching you out for crimes and you can find yourself in a very difficult dungeon with not much hope of getting back out as the games quests don’t level with you.

Oblivion is a fantastic game which lends itself perfectly to the Xbox cannon along with many others and many different genres and will fit in anyone’s collection just fine.

The vast majority of games on the Xbox 360 are aimed at the late teen, early 20s male market, however Microsoft and its third party developers have been working hard to diversify the available options. Obviously there are numerous titles out there aimed at children, such as the animation movie tie ins and mini game selections. These however aren’t usually up to much and to pick a really good game you need to shop around a bit. But that’s where this brief guide comes in.

The first game to look at is aimed at the younger children’s market and is based on the popular gaming and kids TV show Viva Piñata. This is infact a series of mini games, entitled “Viva Piñata Party Animals” and it does exactly what it says on the tin. Featuring all the characters from the television show including fudgehogs, fizzlybears and horstachios it’s sure to keep young children enthralled with it’s bright colors and simple play structure. The game consists of a selection of games to participate in under the guise of the Party Animals Championship Challenge, with characters aiming to be crowned top pinata.

The game can be played with up to four players either in one room or on Xbox Live and is full of good-natured fun for all.

The gameplay, graphics, sound and presentation is all top notch as you would expect from one of Rare and Microsoft’s collaborations and will no doubt be a great to spend some fun time with the kids.

A game aimed at older children and young adults alike, or at least those who possess a good amount of dexterity is Rock Band. You’ve probably seen the advertisements and think that playing a set of plastic instruments looks a bit silly and pointless, but as soon as you get started in the game you’ll be hooked. Players get the chance to play together as a band or against each other on either drums, guitar or vocals and can even design and personalize their own characters. Obviously the game does take some skill at the higher difficulty levels, but is still wholly enjoyable on the easiest setting.

The price may seem a bit steep but you do get a lot of kit in the box, and they are all quite sturdily put together, so perhaps you’ll need to make this a joint birthday and Christmas present.

Other games which might not on first look seem like normal family titles, but are in fact suitable for all ages are the many different sports games on offer on the 360. Covering many different sports including football, soccer, hockey, basketball and more there really is something for everyone. Nearly every game has the ability to go through a career or league mood with your favorite team, and what could be better or more beautiful than a family playing their way through from pre-season to superbowl in Madden NFL 09. Although if that’s not your thing then each game has a comprehensive versus mode and many others besides.

The 360 may not have the normal family titles you recognize from the other systems, but does give a unique play experience and is probably best suited to older families who like a good bit of competition.

There are many games that people like to call, “must have”, but what I’d like to focus on now though, are those special games which plumb the depths of awfulness – those with a certain quality that sets them apart. Now, of course there have been thousands of terrible games over the past two decades of modern gaming, but let’s look at games for the current generation of consoles, and specifically those that were released with quite a bit of hype.

Playstation 3 (Sony) Game To Avoid: Haze

The PS3, even though it has only been out for just over a year now, has had it’s fair share of mediocre titles, and a good few which hit our hype laden criteria. The first of these was a very widely advertised and highly sought game at the time of release, but after the first set of reviews, it’s lacking nature was shown to the world.

The game in question is Haze. Haze, a game about a stereotypical conflict between large faceless corporation and small band of rebels fighting for freedom – think Star Wars with less scope and you have the idea. The “mechanic” for the game is the soldier enhancing drug Nectar. The corporation troops use this to turn themselves into super soldier killing machines, but, to keep things nice and balanced of course these troops can overdose and kill their friends – shock horror.

With the tawdry story out of the way the game was hyped as the next best first person shooter, with great AI, cool weapons and fantastic explosive action! It turned out that the game fell way short of it’s expectations and ended up being another generic post apocalyptic-type game. The levels were brown or a browny shade of grey, weapons were dull and the AI was lackluster. As with most of the games I’m mentioning here, don’t believe the hype!

Xbox 360 (Microsoft) Game To Avoid: Sonic the Hedgehog

As you may have seen from the advertisements, the Xbox 360 has over 1000 titles in it’s extensive library. What it doesn’t tell you is that some of these many titles should have never left the idea phase.
For the 360 though, let’s look at one of the greatest fallen angels of gaming, Sonic the Hedgehog, and particularly his awful HD graphics debut…

Now, anyone who has played games for a few years knows that at the very least, Sonic has seen better days, and this game shows him at his very worst. So in that light, not many people were taken in by the hype, but that didn’t stop SEGA throwing money at the problem with many advertisements on TV and a large number of “exclusive” articles both online and off line.

The final product, after all the money spent, was a game that pretty much lacked every aspect of what a game should be. The controls were the worst part. Games can be saved from bad graphics and a not very good plot, but poor controls will destroy a game quickly and without mercy. Sonic’s main problem was that the controls were so bad, and the game for some reason had to take place on a series of mid air platforms with no side rails. The smallest change of direction or nudge on the control stick would send our old friend careering randomly over the side of said mid air platform: instant death and extreme controller smashing frustration ensued. In other words, avoid Xbox 360’s Sonic the Hedgehog like the plague.

Wii (Nintendo) Games To Avoid

Nintendo’s Wii is the home of the largest collection of what is affectionatly known as “shovelware”. Cheap development costs of the Wii, coupled with the huge demand for the system, has resulted in many developers jumping in to make a quick buck. For the Wii, there is a simple way to avoid these types of games (3 quick rules):

1. Anything related to a movie – Avoid
2. Selections of mini games – Avoid
3. Things that just look cheap – Avoid

With these points in hand you can avoid most of the rubbish that has been shoved out the door from various companies. Some do still slip through the net, though. One of these such offenders was the total fail of a launch game, Red Steel
. Hyped for it’s first person controls using the Wii remote (sword fights, etc) it was hoped to usher in a new era for new control methods and the start of the dominance of the Wii.

Terrible graphics marred the game from the beginning. Then there was the awful, unoriginal plot and then of course, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, the controls were awful. Flimsy and unworkable, the sword fighting was a joke. Do yourself a favor and ignore Red Steel too.

Here’s a nicer, printable version of Video Games to Avoid for PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Xbox 360

Accessories are small add-ons that can potentially add a lot of features and functionality to your game console. From the helpful and sleek to the elaborate and clunky, gaming accessories come in many different sizes. Let’s check out some of the best, must-have add-ons for each game system.

Wii (Nintendo)

The Wii has so many different random add-ons, most of which are different types of replica sports equipment to stick on to the Wii remote. Now while these are all well and good, they aren’t exactly essential. What is essential is a charger kit for your Wii remotes. Numerous companies such as 4Gamers and Nyko make these invaluable accessories, because as anyone who owns a Wii knows, the remotes rapidly drain their batteries.

Also if you have a TV that can take component connections, it is best to invest in a set of component cables as the graphics will be significantly improved. So an accessory which makes sure you’ve always got juice to play your games and one that makes them look a bit better – effective, yes. Fun? No not really.

For fun you need to look no further than Nintendo’s own range of game specific add-ons such as Wii Balance Board and the Wireless Steering Wheel. The peripherals are as you’d expect fantastically made and awesome fun. The only real downside is that they cost a bit and there is limited use for them outside the games they come bundled with (Wii Fit and Mario Kart respectively).

Xbox 360 (Microsoft)

The Xbox 360 has a few really essential accessories which (most people think) really should have been included in the console box itself. Things such as the “Play and Charge Kit” and the wireless adapter are for quite a few people greatly needed. Aside from these two things, the other things you may need are extra controllers and more chargeable battery packs.

Obviously there are some well publicized 3rd party extras and games such as the venerable Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises now featuring guitars, microphones and drums! One really good homegrown Microsoft add-on you can get is the snappily titled “Official Xbox 360 Wireless Steering Wheel with Force Feedback“. Great on racing games such as Forza 2 or Project Gotham Racing 4
, full force feedback and the great build quality which comes from a Microsoft original.

Playstation 3 (Sony)

The PS3 doesn’t have a huge amount of peripherals at hand and most are replacements for the stock HDMI cables. Now, as the PS3 does come with a blue ray drive, the large amount of cables on offer will appeal to the home theatre nut who decided they couldn’t wait for a stand alone player to be released. Obviously there are your normal add-ons such as game pads and headsets for talking to your friends over the PSN, but one accessory you may not have considered is a wireless keyboard. Now, this may seem a bit odd to get for a games console but because of the well functioning web browser included on the PS3, and if you are in the situation where you household PC/laptop is shared this might be a good idea.

Much like the Microsoft “blue screen of death”, there is an Xbox 360 equivalent… the “red ring of death”. Here’s a video on “fixing” it with three towels and some time…

If That Doesn’t Work, Try These…

• Xbox Repair Kit – 3 Red Light Fix
• Xbox 360 Ring of Death Repair Kit