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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

Kung-Fu Election Be a fighting candidate in this awesome online game!

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

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Game QuickTakes

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Edition

Gen X pinballers, take note: your favorite machines have just made their home video debut. Before they quit the business in 1999, Williams were the best pinball machine designers period, and this collection of ten machines released between 1970 and 1990 is as bulletproof a collection as you’re likely to find. Nearly every cutting edge game Williams made – Black Knight, Gorgar, Firepower, Pin*Bot, Sorcerer and Taxi, to name a few – is here, and the gameplay is remarkably lifelike. The machines have two main visual modes, one that zooms in on the ball when it is towards the top of the machine and another that emulates the player’s standard view in front of an actual machine. The former view is helpful when trying to increase the score multiplier, but watch out if the ball comes flying down towards the bottom flippers. Sadly, there is no online option, and Jive Time’s frustration factor far outweighs its retro cool factor (we would much rather have seen High Speed here in its place), but for a pinball fan, there is far too much to love here to be disappointed with its minor shortcomings. With any luck, Crave will follow this with a Bally edition, complete with The Addams Family, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Attack from Mars, and Twilight Zone. Just sayin’. ~David Medsker

Major League Baseball 2K8

As an American sports fan and avid gamer, you’d think I’d be a little more excited about 2K Sports’ latest next-gen baseball title. After all, it is our national pastime, and with the baseball season lasting two-thirds of the year, you’re pretty much shit out of luck if you’re not a fan. Consider me one of the very few who fall into this category, but even though I’ve had bad experiences in the past, “MLB 2K8” doesn’t quite suck like I expected it to. This year, 2K Sports has really gone the distance by revamping the game engine and piling on an assortment of new features. Some of these features are homeruns (like the return of Inside Edge, which allows the player to purchase scouting reports on opponents), while others are a little more questionable (do we really need the option to play as minor league teams?). Still, even the sheer awesomeness of something like Total Pitch Control – a three-step process that emulates the motion of throwing a baseball – comes with its share of cons. Some critics would like you to believe the game’s biggest issues lie within the choppy frame rate and subpar graphics, but it simply isn’t so. True, you’ll probably have some issues with the clunky outfield controls (which will in turn lead to some blowouts during the beginning of your season), but the player models are crisp and, well, who doesn’t love how their jerseys blow in the wind? Unfortunately, it means exactly jack squat if you’re not a fan of the sport, and even if you are, it’s not like there’s a better option on the market. Until 2K Sports’ exclusivity agreement runs out in 2012, this is the only place you’ll be able to experience real major league baseball. Just be happy they didn’t release a dud. ~Jason Zingale

Conflict: Denied Ops

The guys over at Eidos are clearly fans of co-op gameplay. Mere months after the release of “Kane & Lynch” comes yet another first-person shooter that’s all about teamwork, but unlike the titular duo of that game, “Conflict: Denied Ops” is an absolute bore. You play as Lincoln Graves and Reggie Long, two CIA agents from the Special Activities Division who have been sent on a black ops mission to stop a third-world dictatorship from attaining nuclear weapons. No doubt inspired by the positive reaction to early “Kane & Lynch” trailers, “Conflict: Denied Ops” also features a bickering duo, but this time around, they haven’t cut any corners in stressing just how different these two guys really are. Graves is a white veteran whose weapon of choice is a sniper rifle, while Long is a black rookie who totes around a machine gun. The makings of comedy gold, right? You wish. The dialogue sucks (get ready to roll your eyes), the combat system is shit, and the graphics are seriously lacking that next-gen polish. And just in case that wasn’t problem enough, your partner (who you’ll also control in a single-player campaign) is more trouble than he’s worth. Unless you think chasing down a lost kid in a mall is cause for excitement, you may want to steer clear of “Conflict: Denied Ops.” ~Jason Zingale