Twilight Princess is a gargantuan adventure filled with a dazzling variety of places to see, people and creatures to meet and things to do. The scope of the game is epic and you can play it however you please. For the purposes of this review, we tore through the main adventure and oftentimes overlooked the meaty selection of side quests. We later came back to them and were amazed by their depth. In one corner of the map there is a beautiful, lifelike pond whose primary purpose is to house fish. You could conceivably spend hours upon hours at this location doing nothing but casting your lure. A robust fishing mechanic has been enhanced through the use of the Wii remote and nunchuk and as a result the process of catching a big one is all the more engrossing. In contrast, though, you could speed through the game and never so much as bother with the fishing options. There are an impressive number of other side quests and mini games that follow this same, impressive structure.

Valve Bans 10,000 Accounts 07:51 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (6 comments)
Valve has banned over 10,000 Steam accounts last week for cheating in Counter-Strike:

New Valve Anti-Cheat technology caught a few people cheating in Counter-Strike: Source and other games this week -- over 10,000. VAC detects anyone using cheat software and permanently bans their Steam account. We expect to see a surge of forum posts laying blame squarely at the feet of "my little brother."

Gears vs Fall of Man 02:26 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (44 comments)
GameDaily has compared the 360's Gears of War vs the PS3's Resistance: Fall of Man. The outcome they reached may surprise you. Too bad you can't buy a PS3 and play Resistance for yourself.

Nintendo: Wii Keep Moms Happy 01:15 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: Nintendo Wii (21 comments)
So many innuendos, so little time:

Miyamoto told BusinessWeek that the Nintendo Wii was made very much with mothers in mind. He said, "Our goal was to come up with a machine that moms would want--easy to use, quick to start up, not a huge energy drain, and quiet while it was running... Also we thought a low-cost console would keep moms happy."

Age of Conan Update 12:47 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (1 comment)
Funcom updated the official Age of Conan site with a new weekly update. The topic is - Behind the Scenes #5 - Beta progress:

As you all know Beta is a time of finalization and changes, and as we see it the changes are for the better as it's based on feedback from people actually playing the game. Like everywhere else in life change is unavoidable as no amount of planning, design documents or ceremonial sacrifices to the gods of game development will prevent your prized creation being subject to some alterations.

As a developer you always know that it's coming, even if you don't admit it, and doing changes is almost like one of those 'unspoken truths' of development that designers like to pretend won't happen to them but is inevitable. (The devs don't really fear change; it's actually a good process, as ideas on paper might not always translate as well into real life. It sounds so much more impressive though when you picture it as some kind of mysterious evil entity that stalks the halls of our offices looking for some unwary dev to pounce on!)

Luckily in actual fact it isn't such an evil entity and the changes brought on aren't all about removing things, but more about reacting to the feedback we get and tweaking or improving the experience the player will have in the game.

Warhammer Online Vault Launches 12:21 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (1 comment)
The Warhammer Online Vault is now live covering Mythic's upcoming massively multiplayer game. There, you can learn more about the game, chat with other fans on the boards and keep abreast of the latest news. To kick things off they have a video interview with WAR Design Manager Paul Barnett.

Enjoy.

Rainbow Six Vegas Multiplayer Demo 08:40 am - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (11 comments)
Now on Live is a ~GB Rainbow Six Vegas multiplayer demo. Here's the description:

Take to the streets of Sin City and Calypso Casino in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas. Players will experience chaotic online battles in Rainbow Six Vegas' multiplayer demo. You will be able to choose play in the Adversarial mode, Attack and Defend, where players will have to struggle to determine what happens with a lethal bomb in the casino. Also available Terro Hunt, a coop mode where 4 players try to eliminate huge amounts of deadly terrorists.

Hellgate London Chat 01:45 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (0 comments)
Later today Hellgate Guru will be holding a live chat with Flagship Studios and Hellgate: London's Community Manager Ivan Sulic that starts at 6pm EST. IRC server details and such:

server: irc.enterthegame.com
channel: #hellgatelondon
time: 6pm EST / 3pm PST

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 01:30 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (0 comments)

Boards

• Abit IL-90MV Core 2 Duo Mobile Motherboard - HotHardware

  Cooling
  

• Noctua NH-U12F Cooler - Pro-Clockers

  Memory
  

• Corsair's Dominator memory modules - TechReport
• Crucial 10th Anniversary 2GB DDR2-667/PC2-5300 Kit - OCInside

  Mice
  

• Flexiglow Cyber Snipa Intelliscope Laser Gaming Mouse - Tweaknews

  Power Supply
  

• Tagan TurboJet 1100w Quad SLI Power Supply - Virtual-Hideout

  Video
  

• ATI Radeon X1950 Pro vs. Nvidia GeForce 7900GS - TechSpot
• GeForce 8800 GTX/GTS Overclocking - Firing Squad
• NVIDIA and ATI HDCP Compatible Graphics Cards Roundup - Anandtech
• Overclocking the GeForce 8800's - Tweaktown
• XFX GeForce 7900 GS Extreme 256MB PCI-E - Digit-Life

Assorted Downloads 01:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

• Battlefield 2 retail patch & server v1.41
• The Mark demos
• X³: REUNION retail patches v2.0.02

RPG Vault Goodness 01:03 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (0 comments)

Arcane Legions: A Rising Shadow Interview Slitherine's intriguing fantasy title described as a blend of role-playing and real-time strategy at an army level

Game Reviews 12:45 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (10 comments)

PC

• Gothic III - Pro-G - 6/10
• Neverwinter Nights 2 - Uncompressed - 3.5/5

  360
  

• Defender - 360.IGN - 5.5/10
• Gears of War - Pro-G - 10/10
• Phantasy Star Universe - Team Xbox - 6/10
• Phantasy Star Universe - GameSpy - 2.5/5
• Rainbow Six Vegas - 360.IGN - 9.3/10
• WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007 - Team Xbox - 8.5/10

  Wii
  

• Marvel Ultimate Alliance - GameSpy - 4/5
• Rayman Raving Rabbids - Wii.IGN - 8.3/10
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz - GameSpy - 4/5
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz - GameSpot - 8.3/10
• Trauma Center: Second Opinion - GameSpot - 8/10

  Playstation 3
  

• Madden NFL 07 - PS3.IGN - 8.3/10
• Madden NFL 07 - 1Up - 6.5/10
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire - 1Up - 2/10
• NBA 07 - GameSpot - 4.9/10
• NHL 2K7 - GameSpot - 8.3/10
• Resistance Fall of Man - GamePro - 4.5/5
• Ridge Racer 7 - 1Up - 8/10
• Untold Legends : Dark Kingdom - GameBrink - 57%

In Other News... 12:30 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (56 comments)
I have to say that I wasn't impressed with those Halo 3 screenshots yesterday. They did not ooze next-generation graphics to me. After Gears, I don't think they can get away an EA style cash-grab 360 sequel.

The big news of the day is of course the PS3 launch in North American. Nice piece of hardware and all, but no games interest me enough to camp out for a system. Resistance looks cool, but I'm not going to pay $600 to play it. The Wii launches on Sunday, so I think my gaming dollars will be going there instead.

Today's question:

Do you plan on getting a PS3 or Wii this weekend?

In its holiday issue, soon to be on store shelves, PC Gamer may have inadvertently announced Gears of War for Windows. On page 28 of the Holiday 2006 issue, a display stand photographed on the Microsoft campus shows Gears of War among several upcoming PC games.

PS3s Pinched At Gunpoint 07:04 pm - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: PS3 (20 comments)
Thanks to James for linking me to a story about two armed robbers who entered a GameStop store and demanded PS3s:

Just hours before their highly-anticipated release, Elk Grove Police investigators are searching for two armed men who robbed a video game store Thursday, making off with four PlayStation 3 game consoles.

The two armed hooded gunmen walked into the GameStop store at 7717 Laguna Blvd. around 10:20 a.m. Thursday and demanded employees turn over the gaming systems, according to Elk Grove Police spokesman Chris Trim. Trim said the robbers took four of the consoles and four XBox 360 systems before making their escape.

Certainly the most extreme case of pre-PS3 launch violence I've heard about, though this report about a 9-month pregnant woman refusing to leave a line despite having contractions is pretty nutty.

Wired Calls for Vaporware 06 Nominees 03:36 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Vaporware (9 comments)
Wired is looking for victims nominees for its 2006 Vaporware Awards.

Every year, the technology industry promises a raft of revolutionary new products that will change our humdrum lives forever. And invariably, a whole bunch of these hotly anticipated doohickeys are delayed, or never show up at all.

And so every year Wired News gives our readers the opportunity to nominate whatever it was they most looked forward to, and were cruelly denied. Until then, help us build a list of nominees by leaving a note in the comments section below.

As in previous years, software locked in the pre-release, beta-testing stage is considered vaporware, even if it's widely available. It hasn't shipped until it's shrink-wrapped.

Likewise hardware. Prototypes may exist in some company's skunk labs, but it's vaporware until the public gets its hands on it.

But if it shipped -- even if it stank -- it's not vaporware.

Sony Fanbois Deemed Most Rabid 03:30 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: Xbox 360 (27 comments)
TeamXbox is reporting that Sony fans are the most loyal to their system:

"We believe that Sony's much larger installed base combined with higher loyalty among current generation owners could translate into significant gains for them if they can, in fact, convert these prospective owners," said Wolf. "Microsoft and Nintendo, while still seeing strong overall loyalty, do not enjoy the same intensity."

C&C3; Gets Consolized 09:10 am - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (33 comments)
Today, the Xbox 360. Tomorrow, the NDS.

Electronic Arts Inc., today announced that Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars (C&C; 3) is in development for the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system. C&C; 3 boasts an intuitive console-specific control scheme, fast-action strategy gameplay, deep single player campaign, and an immersive multiplayer experience featuring massive battles where you take control of large armies on the battlefield of the future.

"The Command & Conquer series finally makes its return to the console after seven years," said Mike Verdu, Executive Producer at EALA. "C&C; 3 will help expand the RTS genre on the Xbox 360, building off of the foundation laid by the development of The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II. EA is evolving the console controls so that strategy gaming plays and feels native to the platform."

"C&C; 3 is a perfect fit for the Xbox 360," said Mike Glosecki, Senior Producer at EALA. "Xbox 360 players will enjoy the action-packed online play and watching the epic Sci-Fi story of the game unfold as they play through the single player campaign."

The year is 2047 and the stakes could not be higher. Tiberium—a self-replicating alien substance that has infected the Earth—is spreading like a radioactive ice age. The Global Defense Initiative, a high-tech alliance of the world's most advanced nations, is fighting to contain Tiberium, but Kane, the megalomaniacal leader of The Brotherhood of Nod has other plans for Earth. Kane's secret society turned superpower is bent on using Tiberium to take control and transform humanity into his twisted vision of the future. All-out war rages over Tiberium and the fate of the planet rests in the balance.

The epic story of C&C; 3, set in the Tiberium Universe, is seamlessly tied together with live action, high-definition video sequences featuring top Hollywood talent including Tricia Helfer, Josh Holloway, Michael Ironside, Billy Dee Williams, Grace Park, and more!

C&C; 3 will be one of the most robust titles on Xbox LIVE, with a steady stream of downloadable content on Marketplace. The first dashboard theme featuring amazing concept art from the development team will be available soon.

From the team at EALA who brought you the critically-acclaimed The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II for the Xbox 360, C&C; 3 will ship worldwide in 2007 for the Xbox 360 and Windows PC.

Colin McRae: DIRT Screenshots 08:32 am - Andrew Burnes - Games: Racing (15 comments)
Supposedly these are in-game images:

Colin McRae: DIRT will roar in with all the sensational realism and sublime car handling that the series is renowned for, only this time, with true next-generation technology under the bonnet.

Coming 2007 for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC, Colin McRae: DIRT is the first game being created using Codemasters Studios' proprietary engine, Neon.

Neon is a growling powerhouse of a game engine that will drive the next-generation of the series' impeccable car handling, incredibly detailed vehicles and fantastic living environments.

Neon is a multi-platform continuous technical development that's already been in production for over 18 months with over 30 tech experts on the team. Neon is being used to build Colin McRae: DIRT from the ground up with technology developed exclusively for next-generation formats; there's no adaptation of previous McRae tech in DIRT.

Neon will ensure that DIRT's exhilarating mix of off-road race events will be compounded into one adrenaline rush of a video game with playability that's true to the Colin McRae series.

With more than 40 officially licensed vehicles covering 12 car class categories, fans of the McRae series will get their fix of throwing official 2WD, 4WD, Classic and RWD cars, including Colin McRae's prototype R4 and Travis Pastrana's X Games-winning Subaru Impreza, around the most challenging and treacherous rally stages around the world.

Says Gavin Cheshire, Vice President of Codemasters Studios:
"Neon delivers an engine that provides us with so much more scope and possibilities than an update of existing tech would have ever allowed. The most obvious result is in the visual detail and physics that produce incredible particle effects. Neon makes it possible to go into seemingly minute detail but will create the most realistic and involving environments in the racing genre."

The detail Neon provides enables the team to model locations and environments as accurately as possible, providing each with a unique look and feel, right down to the effects of the wind.

Using real-time physics to model air movements, everything will be affected by the wind: exhaust smoke, trees, foliage, trackside flags, rainfall and the vehicles themselves. A car will create an air rush wake that will have an effect on everything it passes and also generate a real-time slipstream.

Impact from damage will see metal crumple, glass smash and everything that you collide with in the environment will be destroyed in a realistic way. Small trees snap and bend, grass can be flattened, wood will splinter and stone will be smashed, it'll even wrap a car around a tree if the crash is serious enough.

As the evolution of the world's favourite rally game series, Colin McRae: DIRT is coming in 2007 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Sign up for total mud splattering, gravel churning, handbrake turning, off-road racing online here.

Halo 3 Shots 08:15 am - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (31 comments)
1UP's hosted up a load of Halo 3 shots on their site that first appeared in their recent magazine article.

Check 'em out here.

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 01:30 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (0 comments)

Audio

• Razer Barracuda HP-1 Surround Headphones - The Tech Lounge

  Boards
  

• Abit Fatal1ty AN932X - Neoseeker
• Abit AB9 Pro - Motherboards.org
• ASUS 680i SLI Striker Extreme - Motherboards.org
• ECS PN1-SLI2 - T-Break
• ECS KN3-SLI2 Extreme AM2 - Virtual-Hideout

  Cases
  

• Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Trusted Reviews

  Cooling
  

• Cooler Master Aquagate Viva - Overclockers Online
• Thermalright's HR-03 Is A VGA Cooler Gorilla! - THG

  Keyboards
  

• Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless Keyboard - I4U
• Razer Tarantula Keyboard - 3DGameMan

  Mice
  

• Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 - Hardware Pacers

  Video
  

• Gigabyte 7600GS w/ HDMI - Neoseeker
• Sapphire RADEON X1650 XT - [H]

Assorted Downloads 01:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

• NHL 07 demo
• Stoked Rider: Alaska Alien movie
• Steel Beasts Pro Personal Edition patch v2.304
• Supreme Commander tutorial movies
• Warhammer: Mark of Chaos US retail patch v1.2
• Warhammer: Mark of Chaos scenario editor

RPG Vault Goodness 01:00 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (0 comments)

Hellgate: London Peek #1 Flagship CEO Bill Roper begins a series on various aspects of his team's action RPG in a devastated near future

Game Reviews 12:45 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

PC

• Gothic III - ActionTrip - 79%
• Guild Wars Nightfall - Play.tm - 92%
• Medieval II: Total War - GameInformer - 9.25/10
• Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - GameInformer - 6.75/10

  360
  

• Call of Duty 3 - Trusted Reviews - 8/10
• Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 - GameSpy - 2.5/5
• Gears of War - Game Revolution - A-
• Gears of War - Game-Over - 96%
• Gears of War - Whodiggs - 93%
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Game Revolution - B
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance - Game-Over - 85%
• Sneak King - 360.IGN - 6.7/10

  Wii
  

• Excite Truck - GameSpy - 3/5
• Excite Truck - GameInformer - 7/10
• Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - Wii.IGN - 7/10

  Playstation 3
  

• Genji: Days of the Blade - GameInformer - 6/10
• NBA 07 - GameInformer - 7/10
• Need for Speed Carbon - PS3.IGN - 7.9/10
• Resistance: Fall of Man - GameInformer - 9.5/10
• Resistance: Fall of Man - GameHelper - 9.3/10
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - PS3.IGN - 8.3/10

  PS2
  

• Sega Genesis Collection - PS2.IGN - 8.6/10

  Wireless
  

• Medal of Honor - Wirless.IGN - 6.7/10

In Other News... 12:30 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (31 comments)
Right now I'm playing Dark Age of Camelot: Labyrinth of the Minotaur and F.E.A.R. Extraction Point. I should have EP done pretty soon and reviewed. Other than the super chuggy performance I like it. I had to turn most effects to minimum, so while fun, isn't all that it should or could be. It is stable, no bugs or crashes, just framey. Audio is awesome and the new weapons are really fun. Other than that, it's pretty standard F.E.A.R. type stuff. Could use some widescreen resolutions though. The only one even close is 1280x960. The rest are your standard 4:3 formats. Which yes, looks squished on a widescreen display.

The new DAoC expansion is really cool. That will take a little longer to review. I haven't done too much stuff inside of the Labyrinth, as action has been nice outside in the frontiers. I'll get around to it later when more people want to explore. The new client it uses is a lot more stable than previous versions also, so you can play at higher settings and there's much less unsightly memory leakage.

Today's question:

What are some of the best looking, most stable (no bugs, great performance, no technical issues to speak of) out-of-box game releases you can think of?