MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3

The first thing you notice about Marvel vs Capcom 3 is its graphic novel style. Everything from the menu text to the post-battle screens is rendered in Marvel Comics style, which is pretty cool. The levels and characters look very pretty and detailed, and stay true to the authentic designs in the source material. The game is fluid and never experiences any slowdowns, which is vital in a fighting game. Overall, MvC 3 does quite well in all technical aspects.

Controls follow the Tatsuneko vs Capcom scheme, with individual buttons for light, medium, heavy and special attacks. Assists and character switches can be activated by tapping or holding specific buttons. There’s even a Simple Mode that will let those unaccustomed to fighting games learn the ropes by activating combos with a single button. However, most of the powerful combos are locked here, so Simple Mode won’t give you the complete experience.

The combo system is very fluid. There’s more freedom, allowing you to chain as many hits as you can imagine. You can aslso call in assists or switch-outs in the middle of aerial combos, making things even more chaotic. Damage has been increased, giving MvC 3 an on-the-edge feel. When you know that one devastating combo could wipe out your entire health bar, you have to stay focused, and this is where MvC 3 succeeds. Augmenting that is the X-Factor. Each player starts off with the ability to use one X-Factor, which will give them boosts in all areas. The boosts increase the more peril you are in, so choosing the right moment to activate it is important.

MvC 3 treads the fine line between too accessible and too hardcore. It’s way more accessible than before, but it stops short of being too easy. There’s still enough depth to entice the most experienced gamers. Where MvC 3 really shines is in its character roster. While the number of characters has been reduced from MvC 2, there is plenty of variety on offer. While some fan favourites like Mega Man are excluded, all the characters that are there have something unique to offer. While characters like Dante might seem too powerful, for such characters, individual hit damage is reduced. You’ll be spending months trying to perfect their teams, simply because of the number of combinations that the roster brings. Character interactions are also pretty cool. They respond to each other with snarky quips and there’s some nice opponent-based chatter.

Mode wise, MvC 3 has quite a bit to offer. There is the simple Versus mode, which is offline multiplayer, and the Arcade mode, which is a series of battles until you get to the final boss. The MvC3 Training Mode is one of the best we’ve seen. Almost any situation that you can think of can be simulated, which is what training modes should do. The Mission Mode will lead you through character-specific missions. You’ll have to perform certain moves and combos to move to the next level, with scrolling commands teaching you about your character.

Usually, story modes are as important in fighting games as they are in porn, but the game’s story was talked up a lot before release, and so the failure to deliver is a real downer. The online modes consist of ranked and unranked matches and a Lobby mode. A major snafu on Capcom’s part is the absence of spectating in the Lobby mode. In a winner stays situation, you’d expect others to be able to watch games in progress. Instead, all you see is diminishing health bars.

If there is one word that can be used to describe Marvel vs Capcom 3, it’s insane. Insanely fun, insanely addictive, insane combos, insane damage, insane replayability. You could talk about the increased damage or accessibility, or the complete lack of a story mode, but when the game is as fun as this, it all goes out of the window.

Nintendo Warns 3DS Could Damage Kids' Eyes

Nintendo is now warning customers on its Japanese site that children under 6 years old shouldn't use the 3-D console, because it might damage the development of their eyes. The 3DS, which features 3-D gameplay without glasses, will have the option to lock into 2-D mode so younger kids can safely play, according to Engadget. While overprotective parents will still freak out, it's important to note that there aren't yet any credible studies of modern 3-D technology that could prove Nintendo's concerns hold water.

Nintendo also warned adults that they should use the 3DS for just 30 minutes at a time, since eye fatigue occurs faster when you're looking at 3-D images than at 2-D ones.

source: Engadget

CityVille passes FarmVille as most played game on Facebook

CityVille has surpassed FarmVille as the most popular application on Facebook.

About 69 million have played CityVille over the last 30 days, according to a Monday report from AppData, a website that tracks the use of Facebook applications.

FarmVille, formerly the most used app on Facebook, has been played by about 57 million people over the last month, said AppData, which collects information on more than 75,000 apps directly from Facebook.

Both CityVille and FarmVille are made by Zynga, a San Francisco-based company that also makes the fourth- and fifth-most popular Facebook apps, FrontierVille and Texas HoldEm Poker.

 In CityVille, players create digital cities that they manage as mayor, deciding how in-game funds are spent to nurture local businesses, build infrastructure and attract residents.

Just as in FarmVille, players can visit the communities their friends create in the game and even operate businesses in their friends' cities.

Kinect sex game coming to the PC

A new sex game for the Kinect motion controller has been demonstrated on YouTube by a company named ThriXXX, maker of 3D SexVilla 2. Less than two months after release, the controller-free experience designed for family activities is becoming a new medium for the pornography industry. The game allows users to simulate sexually intimate acts by only using their bodies.

"ThriXXX is currently in development of adult themed Kinect games for the Microsoft XBOX 360 and or PC. Currently still in its testing stages the company plans to release this technology to the public," reads the video's description. "As you can see from the tech demo the Kinect camera works well with the software matching hand movements with on screen interaction fairly flawlessly."

Microsoft likely won't allow the game on its Xbox console, though there really isn't anything stopping the company from releasing the game on the PC. Still, gamers would have to purchase the $150 accessory to play. The game is slated to be released for Windows 7 next year.

Games for Managers

Sim City Deluxe
It has been more than two decades since Will Wright wowed the world with Sim City. A game in which you took over as Mayor and City Planner of a city and met challenges that varied from deciding whether to build shopping malls or hospitals to saving the city from crises like earthquakes and alien attacks.

Even now, Sim City remains as popular as ever. And it now also has a very good mobile avatar. The challenge remains very much the same: You have to build a city from scratch and make sure that it runs smoothly.

Because if you do not, the people will simply trickle out of your city, leaving you with nothing but a ghost town and a ‘Game Over’ sign. And, just like in real life projects, you will find that the money at your disposal is never quite enough.

Real Football Manager 2010
For most people, the manager of a football club is a figure who is seen hopping on the touchlines of a football match, shouting encouragement (and often abuse) to his players on the pitch. But the fact is that there is more to a football manager's life than just a lot of frothing at the mouth.

One has to work out tactics, decide what formation to play, negotiate deals with players and agents, manage and massage all those egos in the dressing room, keep an eye on the rival camp, oversee training, talk to the media, and make sure that you are on the right side of your club's chairman (and if not, keep a look out for a new job), among other things.

This game brings almost all of this to your handset. It would help if you know football, but even those who do not know the sport can have a blast with this game.

The Settlers
You and your friends set sail on a voyage of exploration and thanks to a storm, get stuck on an island. Having no other choice, you settle down and build your own world there. Unfortunately, there are no happily-ever-after scenarios here as the age-old problem of limited resources with alternative uses exists at its brilliant best (or worst, depending on your inclination) here. Decisions, decisions...and a few of them are easy ones. Remind you of work?

Age of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties
The original Age of Empires launched a whole new era in the world of gaming on the PC, allowing the gamer to participate in and sometimes even manipulate historical events. Well, the third edition of the series has brought that experience to the handset and this variation of it with its stress on India, China and Japan, allow you to choose a nation and lead it to supremacy, once again marshaling resources skillfully and negotiating deals and treaties with rivals.

Air Traffic Controller 4.0
For those who prefer action to planning, this is definitely the game to play.  You play the role of an air traffic controller who is directing a number of aircraft to different locations, ensuring that each lands safely and of course, that they avoid each other.
You have to keep your eyes peeled at your cellphone’s screen, watching the progress of different aircraft in a host of weather conditions, and work out routes to ensure that they all reach safely. Strategic thinking on your toes never got better than this.

7 best iOS games of the year

Best Transition to the iPad
Angry Birds HD
By Chillingo
In making the leap to the iPad, Angry Birds HD kept the core gameplay of the popular iPhone version-defeat egg-stealing green pigs by bombarding their fortifications with the none-too-pleased ornithoids of the game’.'s title-while making the most of the tablet's spacious screen. On the iPad, you can really appreciate the clever animations and intricate level design. With new updates including a new boomerang bird and new levels, Angry Birds continues to improve-and impress.


Puzzle Game of the Year
Osmos for iPad
By Hemisphere Games
When you first hear about it, Osmos for iPad doesn't sound all that exciting: You tap the screen to propel your small blob of matter, aiming to absorb smaller blobs while avoiding those larger than you. And the truth is, Osmos isn’t all that exciting. But it’s undeniably enthralling, combining gorgeous graphics and hauntingly beautiful music-use headphones or you'll miss out-with Multi-Touch gestures that let you zoom in and out and slow down and speed up time. Gameplay is simultaneously casual yet exacting, frustrating yet oddly relaxing. It’s a game that feels made for the iPad, and like the objects on the screen, it will suck you in if you're not careful.


Casual Game of the Year
Fruit Ninja
By  iPad version, Halfbrick Studios
Whether in iPhone or iPad forms, Fruit Ninja boasts two ideal qualities for casual gaming-it's easy to learn and fun to master. In this funny, quick game, you slice your way through a diverse array of delicious fruit flying across your screen in a Kill Bill-style pulpy fruit massacre. Adding to the fun are great visuals, including lots of fruit juice flying with every slice, and a great, Eastern-infused soundtrack. Avenging yourself against produce has never been so fun.


Platform Game of the Year
The Incident
By Big Bucket Software
Frank Solway’s having one of those days where it seems like the whole world is falling down on him-which, to be fair, it kind of is. Big Bucket Software’s The Incident is not only gorgeous, featuring detailed 8-bit artwork inspired by platform games of yore, but its simple tilt-to-run and tap-to-jump controls make it a snap for even the casual gamer to pick up and start playing. The game’s appeal goes beyond the retro, too: innovative features let you use your iPhone as a controller for the iPad or-with the help of Apple’s iPad video adapter-use your HDTV as a display.


Tower Defence Game of the Year
Plants vs. Zombies
By PopCap Games
Another game that delivers the goods in either iPhone or iPad form, Plants vs. Zombies is a unique tower defense game in which you must plant peapods, mushrooms, squash, and other deadly legumes to fight back the zombie hordes. The beautiful cartoon artwork is on the right side of zany and sets a light-hearted tone from the get-go. The zombies are silly, distinctive enemies that vary in character-besides your standard groaning zombies, you also have to fend off zombie football players and balloon riders, who each boast their own distinctive battle skills. Various mini-games and numerous achievements to unlock will keep you coming back again and again.


Strategy Game of the Year
Carcassonne
By The Coding Monkeys and Hans im Glück
Though it hews closely to the popular German board game upon which it’s based, Carcassonne seems tailor-made for the iOS. Like its cardboard predecessor, the mobile version is all about laying down tiles, building roads and castles, claiming territory, and trying to prevent your opponents from doing the same. But the iOS offering adds multiplayer modes (via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or pass-and-play) as well as solitaire play against eight different computerised opponents with differing strategies, and the simple graphics look great on the touchscreen. It’s a great iOS app for one other reason: A single game takes about as long as the average American's daily commute.


Multi-player Game of the Year
Words With Friends HD
By Newtoy
Words With Friends for iPhone (macworld.com/ 5520) gave the Facebook Scrabble craze its first real competition, letting you play multiple Scrabble-like word games with friends near and far-even when you’re on the go. But Words With Friends HD eliminates the iPhone version’s biggest frustration by giving you a usable full-board view-no more zooming in and out, in and out. Once you're hooked, you’ll find yourself anxiously awaiting that distinct chime letting you know one of your opponents has finished a turn-and hoping it's not a triple-letter/triple-word play of Q-U-I-Z.