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Top Ten Women of Gaming The demands placed upon women in gaming are great. Not only do they have to be totally hot, but they've gotta kick serious ass. You won't find any bimbos on this list.

Game Commentary

The social side of gaming (J. Morgan, 01/15/2008)
Video games will rot your brain and ruin your social skills, or so our parents told us. Yet, as Jeff Morgan explains, the gaming industry has tried to combat this stereotype by developing games like "Halo" and "World of Warcraft" with complex multiplayer components that have spawned virtual societies.

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IGN.com
When you think of video games, this should be the first site that comes to mind. IGN has forever been a staple on the internet with its reliable supply of in-depth coverage on the game industry. From previews and reviews of all of the latest games, to updated news and cheat codes, IGN is the one-stop source for the serious gamer.

Video Game Controller Family Tree
An interesting family tree chart that displays the evolution of various game controllers throughout the years. While the site is still in the early stages, it's amazing that no one thought of making these obvious connections earlier.

Cool Online Games

Classic Pac-Man It's the arcade favorite you remember, with some cool twists!

Animator vs. Animation Game The stick figure returns! Fight with him… or against him.

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Game QuickTakes

Kirby Super Star Ultra

Kirby’s latest adventure may look familiar to those who’ve been a fan of the pink puffball since his days as a rookie for Team Nintendo, but don’t write it off as a simple case of déjà vu. In an attempt to bring Kirby’s most popular title to a new generation of gamers, “Kirby Super Star Ultra” is little more than a remake of the SNES title of the same name. Featuring the same five levels and introducing three new touch-controlled minigames, the handheld version may be the perfect sampling of what makes playing as Kirby so fun and unique, but it’s ultimately too short to be considered a complete game. Though inhaling enemies and then copying their abilities results in some clever get-ups for our cute hero, the difficulty level has been set ridiculously low. The same goes for the included minigames, like Kirby Card Swipe and Kirby on the Draw. Only the fast-paced, tap-happy Snack Tracks provides any real challenge, and it’s even more fun with multiple human players.  Nevertheless, most gamers will still finish the title in a matter of hours, and though we’re certain Kirby is perfectly fine with table scraps, his fans will be expecting a little more. ~Jason Zingale

MLB Power Pros 2008

If you have a job, a girlfriend or a term paper due, you should probably stay as far away from “MLB Power Pros 2008” as possible. This game demands your time and dedication, and with its multiple playing modes, you’ll be happy to hand it over, job/girlfriend/term paper be damned. Exhibition Mode is a tricked out version of the “Wii Sports” baseball game, where you can play as your favorite team in a big league park (you can even adjust the weather), or participate in Home Run Derby. Success Mode has players start at the AA level and try to work their way up (this reviewer never got to AAA), while the MLB Life Mode adds hobbies, cars, houses and diamond rings into the mix, along with the occasional demotion to AAA if you can’t keep your average up. You can even be a GM and make trades in order to improve your team and advance to the World Series. It’s a blast to play, but those with little patience for the role-playing side of it – the Success Mode is almost nothing but role-playing – may find the daily grind of deciding whether to rest versus working out to be a chore. Definitely not for casual gamers, but baseball fans of all stripes will find much to love here. ~David Medsker

Beijing 2008

Whoever’s bright idea it was to make a video game based on this year’s summer Olympics must have been smoking a giant bag of Pineapple Express. Aside from the fact that most Olympic sports don’t translate well to video games, the idea of button-mashing your way through a swimming competition sounds about as promising as running through a kennel filled with rabid Rotweillers. It’s not just that the game is bad, but that it’s so poorly designed that even the most patient gamer is bound to get frustrated. The button mapping is just plain stupid (how is anyone supposed to pound the hell out of the A and B buttons and still be able to reach the right trigger?), some of the games are downright impossible (Judo, anyone?), and the Power Bar system pretty much assures that you’ll be playing catch-up in any event involving running or swimming. The few games that you do perform well in are fun at first (but quickly grow old), while the rest are just downright frustrating – not because they’re particularly difficult, but because the control system makes it virtually impossible to succeed. Button mashing has never been less fun. ~Jason Zingale