If you ever tried one of the old Microsoft Flight Simulator series then you’ll know that learning just the basics took time, effort and real commitment. Which, of course, was why some people liked it: there was a real challenge involved.

If you were more intimidated by the program’s complexity, though, Microsoft Flight, the free successor to Flight Simulator, may appeal as it’s far more accessible.

Continue reading →

Anyone who grew up in the `70s and `80s will remember the lure of the arcade and the thrill of pumping coin after coin into a machine to have one more go on a tricky level. Games have come a very long way since the days of Defender and Spy Hunter, but these are classic titles that still have appeal.

While recent games such as Need for Speed and GTA have found their way onto the iOS platform, iPads and iPhones are perfect devices for a little retro gaming. Enter Midway Arcade to enable you to relive your youth or discover it anew.

Continue reading →

When you’re thinking of files that you really should include in a backup, then saved games probably don’t rank highly on the list. But maybe they should. After all, in some cases your current game state will represent hours, days, maybe weeks of effort, and if for some reason this gets lost, will you really want to start again from the very beginning? (No. Didn’t think so.)

It can make sense to back up at least some of your saves, then. And there are few easier ways to do this than with a copy of SaveGameBackup. The program is portable, for instance, so there’s no need for installation: just unzip it and go.

Continue reading →

In the world according to Microsoft, the Windows Games Explorer should provide everything you need to organize, update and manage your favorite games. And it’s not too bad: with a little work you can get a display that includes game information, ratings, cover art and more.

If Game Explorer just isn’t powerful enough for your needs, though, you might find the free Game Manager useful. It also provides a database of games that you can organize and view in several ways, but can do this via a Media Center-style full-screen interface, and includes plenty of extra functionality as well.

Continue reading →

As we wrote last week, you don’t need flashy graphics to create a great game: there’s plenty of retro entertainment to be had from the ideas behind old classics like Command & Conquer and the X-Com series.

If you prefer something even simpler, though, it’s a good idea to install Lines95. The Color Lines-based game may look about as visually exciting as the old Windows Minesweeper, but it gets everything else right, being simple to learn, yet with real strategic depth that could take a very long time to master.

Continue reading →

Many modern games are all about the graphics, with the developers exploiting the very latest engines and technologies to deliver some truly cinematic experiences. Get past the eye candy, though, and there’s not always a great deal left. So if you place a higher value on compelling gameplay, then you might find considerably more entertainment in a retro-style project, something that’s based on interesting ideas rather than just pretty pixels.

OpenRA, for instance, is an open-source implementation of the Red Alert engine, which right now supports classic Westwood games like Command & Conquer and Command & Conquer: Red Alert. These aren’t clones of the originals, rather they’re what the developers call “reimaginings”, with “improved and rebalanced gameplay”.

Continue reading →

Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 in 2005. The console has been around for just about 6 years, but in that timeframe, through the distribution of numerous software updates, the company has kept the console fresh and competitive. The latest major software update is now available for the 57.7 million Xbox 360 consoles that have been sold worldwide, and with it comes a brand new Metro based user-interface along with a number of fresh capabilities that not only improve the Xbox experience, but moves it several steps closer to being the jack-of-all-trades device of your living room.

In a way, the new Xbox 360 dashboard reflects Microsoft larger ambitions -- a declaration that Xbox is much more than just a games console. It's a full-blown entertainment system that not only competes with the likes of game-industry rivals Sony and Nintendo. It also contends with Apple and Google.

Continue reading →

Classic comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" opens with a body collector calling: "bring out your dead!" "Here's one", replies a man carrying a geezer, who pipes in: "I'm not dead". Major Microsoft competitors -- Apple, Google and their supporters, for example -- have repeatedly tried to give up Microsoft for dead. But today's major Xbox updates clearly proclaim Microsoft isn't dead, or even dying. The Redmond, Wash.-based giant has repositioned the console and supporting cloud services as a whole entertainment package -- more than just about gaming.

If any dead deserve to be brought out, they are Apple and Google. Xbox 360 and Live trailblaze where rumor whores claim Apple TV and Google TV will go. It's pathetic that bloggers and journalists spread rumors about Apple's future TV plans -- the newest about a television coming in three sizes -- a year from now! How the frak could anyone possibly know? Instead of what might be, how about writers focus on what is? Some commenters accuse me of linkbaiting. Apple future product rumors are real prime examples. You won't read them from me.

Continue reading →

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a new enemy: Mario. Yes, that lovable overall wearing plumber of Nintendo fame. His crime? Wearing fur in Nintendo's latest Super Mario franchise title for the Nintendo 3DS, Super Mario 3D Land.

To point out Mario's sins, PETA launched a new online campaign called "Mario Kills Tanooki". The Tanooki is a Japanese raccoon dog, and during gameplay in 3D Land Mario dons the coat of a Tanooki, much like he did in Super Mario 3 for the original Nintendo system. The suit allows Mario to fly.

Continue reading →

It was a big week for video game releases in the United States and United Kingdom, with two eagerly anticipated sequels hitting the shelves within days of one another: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 from Activision Blizzard, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim from Bethesda Softworks were both released this week.

Today, based on video game retail tracking data provided by Charttrack, Activision said the first day sales total for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in North America and the UK was $400 million dollars, or 6.5 million units.

Continue reading →

If you’re interested in finding great free PC games then you could just start browsing the many gaming websites and forums available online. There’s a lot of competition, though, so it may take quite some time.

But a smarter option, at least initially, might be to use the portable Game Downloader, a tiny client which provides easy point-and-click access to more than 100 of the best free PC games around, with more being added all the time.

Continue reading →

At its keynote presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011, video game company Nintendo had a full orchestra perform symphonic arrangements of music from The Legend of Zelda video game series to simultaneously celebrate the 25th anniversary of the action role playing game franchise, and to ramp up excitement for the latest installment in the series, the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword which launches on November 20.

Legend of Zelda game designer Shigeru Miyamoto said in the presentation that the symphony would be touring around the world in the Fall, and so far the group has only put on one show besides the one at E3.

Continue reading →

If you have a gamer in your household, this is a story you might want to read before deciding what to buy them this holiday season.

First person shooters remain hot according to a survey of hotly anticipated upcoming video games, as the top two most sought after games fall in the genre. Research firm Nielsen found that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, available November 8, tops many gamer's wish lists: a quarter of respondents listed the title in their top five holiday games.

Continue reading →

A protein causing AIDS in rhesus monkeys that hadn't been solved for 15 years was resolved by players of an online science puzzle video game called Foldit, which challenges groups of players to "unfold" chains of amino acids.

It took competing teams of gamers just three weeks to generate three-dimensional models of the enzyme, which is called M-PMV (Mason-Pfizer Monkey virus) retroviral protease.

Continue reading →

Despite the generally bad news thus far from many US retailers about this holiday season's sales, the nation's largest gaming retailer has posted stellar results.

Holiday same-store sales for GameStop shot up some 20% over the previous year, with total sales increasing 35%. GameStop's success even gave it enough confidence to raise its 2007 fiscal guidance by 13 cents per share.

Continue reading →