If your guitar has one of the model numbers 95065 or 95055, it might have a defective whammy bar. Opening up the case and slightly adjusting the position of the sensor inside seems to do the trick.
If that doesn't work, or if you'd rather not take the risk, you could always visit Red Octane's official support page.
Faulty Guitar Hero II Controller Fix [All About The Games]
Playvue.com Editor's Rating: 8.0
Storyline
Diner Dash brings us the story of Flo, an office lackey fed up with the monotonous, unchanging pressures of everyday life and work in the big city. Thus she hucks everything out the window and runs off to find something better to do with her life. As it turns out, that is starting a restaurant chain in suburban America.
We are taken right into her quest as a restaurateur as Flo herself; an energetic, enthusiastic owner who fulfills every role from hostess to server, bartender and busboy (thankfully, cooking is provided by a overworked dark figure behind the counter).
Beginning with her very first diner, and ending with an upscale surf and turf joint, we take on Flo's every activity; seating her guests, handing out menu's, delivering breadsticks, taking and delivering orders (not to mention cocktails), clearing tables, and seating the next guests. All this in the pursuit of money with which to improve her existing restaurants or even open up a new one!
Navigation
The navigation is easy enough to pick up on the first try; it's point and click (click on a dirty table, she runs over and clears it, click on table awaiting their food, she delivers it from the counter). This does get quite challenging in the later levels where it becomes necessary to click on other activities while Flo is executing the current one (the game creates a queue of activities which Flo will execute one by one until they are complete).
Ease of Use
In terms of ease of use, this game is fantastic. I wasn't surprised when I was able to pick it up rather quickly, however I was surprised when my grandmother was flying through at a faster pace then I managed to muster. While easy to get going, it does require a master's touch to reach the highest scores at the end of the levels where constant motion is a must. But this just adds to the playability, and is a welcome change to contemporary games which prove easy to complete with no added challenges.
Playability
I found myself wanting to complete this game all the way through the first time I played it; which would worry me as to whether the game would hold my interest a week or even a month later. However, these worries are relieved with the Endless Shift feature: a score building endless level which "keeps 'em comin'" and provides extras like super ovens, bobcat-fast tennis shoes, and a super podium 3000 to help you along the way.
Full Version Features
The free trial includes unrestricted access and allows you 60 minutes of play; which just got me started. The full version includes 40+ levels of gameplay, 4 different chains, 5 different types of customers, two modes of play (Career and Endless Shift) and high score tracking. At only 10MB, it's not a hard drive buster, nor will it clog up your dialup line for too long. And at $19.99 its not a wallet buster either: cheap enough to warrant casual play throughout the year.
Pros/Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Bottom Line
A busy restaurateur provides a nice change of pace to card and puzzle games for those of us who aren't interested in shooting up aliens, goblins, or terrorists for 12 hours on end. Definitely high repeat playability, even after beating the Career portion of the game. Low price and download size are a real plus. Lacks in competition and multiple player support, however this only matters if you're interested in such things. One of my top 10 games of the year.
Editor's Rating:
Storyline: 8 Ease of Use: 9 Playability: 7
Overall: 8
Game Specs:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
Download/More Info: http://www.playvue.com/pv/downloadablegames/casual/dinerdash/
Keith Blake is a Featured Editor at Playvue.com, an up-and-coming online games website specialing in providing online games, game downloads, and multiplayer games in a rich, immersive, one-of-a-kind environment.
Source: http://www.playvue.com
I've recently been thinking about where video games could be going in the future. I'm hoping to work in the game industry one day after I've finished university study and I've been wondering about it a lot. What do I want to see happen in the future? Well I may not have too many answers right now, but I have come up with a few ideas that I think may come into 'play' in the not too distant future.
Firstly forget Virtual Reality, as we know it. They've tried VR goggles and they made a lot of people sick in doing so. It's probably never going to work very well in its current form. They're still around and you can still buy them but they really don't seem to be taking off. It will probably take a lot to get people totally immersed and involved in a new form of game play. It's threatening to lose touch with the outside world and the people around you aren't going to appreciate it much either. The Sci-fi neural implants are also both a long way off and not likely to be accepted by a majority of the general populace without some severe marketing and luck. I for one am not planning on going through brain surgery just to have a computer attached to my head. In fact I never want anyone to able to plug into my brain.
A technology that was brought to my attention by a zealous presenter at the local 'Science and Technology Centre' (a sort of science museum aimed at making science fun for children and juvenile adults such as yours truly) is that of 'Augmented Reality'. Augmented Reality is essentially the overlaying of virtual elements onto the real world, such as a pair of transparent glasses that can display certain elements over the top of what is actually there. I agree with the presenter in that this could indeed have some awesome potential. Forget all the socially beneficial applications such as workmen being able to view underground pipes before digging, think about it from a games point of view. This technology could provide gamers with the ability to run around looking like complete idiots shooting at things that aren't actually there and that no one else can see, kind of like in the film 'They Live!' The upside to this is that it would be a lot of fun. A group of people from the University of South Australia created the 'ARQuake' project, http://wearables.unisa.edu.au/projects/ARQuake/www/, merging the classic shooter Quake with this Augmented Reality technology. Again, this technology may not ever become overly popular, but it would be entertaining to play with.
Technology has driven the games industry for a long time with new games always trying to keep one step ahead of the competition. It started way back at the dawn of technology and it continues to this day. 2D graphics gave way to 3D and 3D is becoming ever better. Graphics are starting to lose the ability to impress like they once did. The step between Quake 2 and 3 was amazing, but DOOM 3 while being visually very impressive isn't leaps and bounds ahead of its competitors in the same way new games used to be. 2D graphics encountered a similar problem; there comes a point where you just can't do much more with graphics technology. It is this that turns graphics from striving for technological achievement to becoming art. It is my hope that we will start turning away from tech demos and return to game play and making great entertainment. Games such as Zelda: The Wind Waker or The Sims that strive to show greater depth of character through simplifying the game enough to portray emotions will hopefully become more common (and more fun? but that's just one person's view?). Technology plays a certain part in the conveying of emotions and story but it's quite hard to focus on everything at once. When technology is easier and less essential to game sales we'll hopefully see an increase in games that cast a lasting impression.
Somewhat unfortunately the rise of the 'Casual Gamer' will probably lead to more simplistic games being released. While personally I would love to see depth of story and characters, there are a significant number of players out there who want to pick up a game for twenty minutes or so, have a bit of fun, and then put it down until another time. These gamers are generally less interested in the latest greatest technology and more interested in a 'fast food' kind of entertainment that satisfies the moment, despite the lack of quality or the lasting effects. Hopefully the two game types can co-exist peacefully although recently it has been seen that some developers are cutting down on some of the planned depth of a title in order to accommodate the more casual gamer.
As technology pushes forwards boundaries are slowly being broken down between systems. We saw the Bleemcast a few years back enabling the running of Playstation games on the Dreamcast, and the PC is able to run almost anything given the right emulation software. Consoles are able to emulate other consoles and new consoles are being announced that promise the ability to play PC games. The Xbox 2 is reported to have a model in planning that comes in a PC case and with the ability to run both PC software and Xbox software. Macs can emulate Windows software and vice-versa. We'll probably start seeing less of a distinction between consoles and PCs as the price of technology continues to drop and consoles continue to become more and more powerful and able to compete with the more expensive computers. Ideally we'll see a single platform come into prominence so that everything can be run without purchasing a copious number of different machines, although that does have a downside in that it can establish a monopoly for one particular company.
The technology price drop and increase in power has also lead to more powerful hand-held machines than before. Real games, not just simple toys are now available for the portable market. The advent of PDAs and mobile phones with the ability to play games raises awareness of portable gaming and new competitors are starting to get in on the field that was once primarily dominated by Nintendo's GameBoy. There is a new product, the gp32, that can run many different emulators and hence, many different system's games (including some PC games).
I can't say for sure what's going to happen but these are just a few ideas that I've had recently. Hopefully the games industry will continue to strive towards new heights with new and interesting game play, stories, characters and ideas. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the next few years.
You got it! You can do just about any type of learning for a child or an individual learning a second language through the use of various computer games. You are sure to find something that will fit with their needs. You are also able to find a game that will keep them interested. Let's take spelling as an example.
Many kids struggle each and every year at school with that dreaded Friday spelling test. It doesn't get any easier because chances are good that the words just keep getting harder. For many parents, spelling is often a challenge to teach as well. The English language is nothing simple. But, what if you could teach them through the use of a PC game? That would be excellent, wouldn't it?
Think about this. The next time your child comes home with that awful list of twenty words they just have to know, you can easily say to them, "Why not go play a game on the computer." Yes, you can do this!
There are a number of games that are just perfect for teaching children the art of spelling. For example, you might want to try a word puzzle game like Beesly's Buzzwords. Or, if Spiderman happens to be your child's favorite character, you have games like Spider-Man 2: Web of Words. In this game, you child can advance through the levels by correctly spelling words. Its fun, rewarding, and most of all, it will help to improve their spelling capabilities.
The spelling games are not boring, dull, and difficult. To the opposite, these games will hold your child's attention so that they can get the knowledge they need. That is what makes these games different. If you are thinking back to your school days and those boring computer programs you were allowed to play and wondering how your technology loving child is going to play with something like that, don't worry. These games are much different. They are made to stimulate your child's knowledge without even allowing them to realize that they are. To them, they are simply playing a Spider Man game.
The value of these games is huge. In fact, there are more than just spelling games, as we will see down the line. They are great ways to feed your child the knowledge that they need without boring them. When it is fun, it will get played more often. The more that it gets played, the more they can learn from it.
So, then, what is the bottom line? You can easily allow your child to play some computer games but of course, you still need to monitor their usage. And, yes, you may have to practice those specific spelling words each week, but it may just get easier as time goes on. Here's a thought. Replace their favorite computer game with one of these for a week. They still get computer time and they still get to play a fun game. But, you get the satisfaction of knowing that they are playing an educational game as well. All in all, we think these games may be a great way to boost confidence and knowledge. Consider them for any age of child. You'll be happy that you did.
Steve is a member of the GrandMatrix team. They provide a broad range of games, puzzles, articles and reviews. Read more articles, download and play the latest PC games for free plus enjoy thousands of user submitted puzzles, quizzes and word games at GrandMatrix Free Game Downloads
For PS2:
1.Winning Eleven 10
2.Grand Thief Auto
3.Guitar Hero 2
4.Bully
5.Naruto (konoha spirit)
For Xbox 360:
1.Saints Row
2.Winning Eleven X
3.Gears of War
4.Ffifa 2007
5.Fight Night Round 3
For Ps3 not much wants to play this console, because I just have 4 games.
At the recent E3 gaming Convention, Sony gave the world a first look at the new Playstation 3, Sony's contribution to the next generation gaming consoles. Much like the news surrounding the Nintendo Revolution, the Playstation 3 has been immersed in mystery and controversy for the last several years.
Due sometime in spring 2006, the PlayStation 3 will out perform it's predecessor in every way imaginable. Powered by the "Cell" processor, which Sony proudly claims makes the machine 35 times more powerful than the PlayStation 2, tops the list of the new incredible features. So, what else can we expect from Sony this time around? What we know?
Initially, even the name of the new gaming console was still very much unknown. With teasers, billboards and misleading posters with the very recognizable font "Prepare for Chang3," advertisement had gamers guessing. However at the E3 convention, it was announced that the name of the new console would in fact be "Playstation 3;" much to the dismay of many online blogers and game forum members.
Sony also confirmed the PlayStation 3 will use Blu-ray discs as its media format. The discs can hold up to six times as much data as current-generation DVDs. This will essentially open the doors for game developers to produce higher quality games without having to worry about disk size limitations.
Sony also unveiled the PS3's graphics chip, the RSX "Reality Synthesizer," which is based on Nvidia technology. The GPU will be capable of 128bit pixel precision and 1080p resolution, (some of the highest HD resolution available anywhere). The RSX also has 512MB of graphics render memory and is capable of 100 billion shader operations and 51 billion dot products per second. The new Playstation 3 graphics chip also has more than 300 million transistors, larger than any processor commercially available today. Below is a full "official" spec breakdown of the new Playstation 3.
Playstation 3 Specs
CPU
Cell Processor
PowerPC-base Core @3.2GHz
1 VMX vector unit per core
512KB L2 cache
7 x SPE @3.2GHz
7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE
* 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy
total floating point performance: 218 GFLOPS
GPU
RSX @550MHz
1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
Multi-way programmable parallel floating point shader pipelines
Sound
Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell- base processing)
Memory
256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz 256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz
System Bandwidth
Main RAM 25.6GB/s
VRAM 22.4GB/s
RSX 20GB/s (write) + 15GB/s (read)
SB<>
System Floating Point Performance
2 TFLOPS
Storage
Detachable 2.5" HDD slot x 1
I/O
USB Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0)
Memory Stick standard/Duo, PRO x 1
SD standard/mini x 1
CompactFlash (Type I, II) x 1
Communication
Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 3 (input x 1 + output x 2)
Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)
Controller
Bluetooth (up to 7)
USB 2.0 (wired)
Wi-Fi (PSP)
Network (over IP)
AV Output
Screen size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI: HDMI out x 2
Analog: AV MULTI OUT x 1
Digital audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1
Disc Media
CD PlayStation CD-ROM, PlayStation 2 CD-ROM, CD-DA, CD-DA (ROM), CD-R,
CD-RW, SACD, SACD Hybrid (CD layer), SACD HD, DualDisc, DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side)
DVD: PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM, PlayStation 3 DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-ROM,
DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW
Blu-ray Disc: PlayStation 3 BD-ROM, BD-Video, BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE
As you can see the new Playstation 3 is going to be an incredibly powerful system, offering stunning graphics with the new Nivdia chip, as well as incredible multiplayer potential with up to seven Bluetooth controllers. With enormous horsepower, stunning graphics and a slew of multimedia elements, the Sony Playstation 3 is going to revolutionize the way we play games. The only issue that needs to be addressed now is, how much will the system cost?
Ron is the CTO for Dice Ventures Inc an internet holdings and development company. For more great gaming information and discussion visit our Video Game Forum for more more informatino on the Nintendo Revolution visit http://www.nintendorevolution.ca
Fans of Genndy Tartakovsky's "Samurai Jack," which wrapped last year on the Cartoon Network, enjoy the quirky storytelling and stunning visuals, also the martial arts sequences. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before the online gaming industry turned the time-traveling samurai's adventures into video games.
I haven't tried any of the games available for gaming console systems, confining my efforts instead to Cartoon Network's own Web Site. Its Games section features six games based on "Samurai Jack," including "The Way of the Warrior," in which the young samurai trains through several simulations for his eventual battle with the shape-shifting evil sorcerer Aku (deliciously voiced by veteran actor Mako in the series and console games).
The other games invariably feature Jack battling Aku's minions--robots, beetle insects, and the like. Two of the games feature a final showdown with Aku.
"Code of the Samurai" was a tie-in with a Samurai Jack marathon, so when you access the game, the interface asks you "Enter Code or Play." I advise pushing Play since the original marathon was two years ago.
Once you get into the game, you have to fight through three treacherous levels before you even get to Aku.
The first level features crumbling ledges, motorized spikes, machine-gun fire as you ride rock lifts up mountains, and of course, the inevitable baddies waiting to attack you. Tip: When riding the rock lifts, duck and jump to avoid the machine gun fire. Seize the opportunity when the second lift descends or ascends close to the lift you're on, otherwise you'll have to avoid the gunfire until the lift comes back within reach. The level features two lift challenges, all with a computerized attacker waiting at the top of the cliff.
The creatures on all three levels are adversaries that fans of "Samurai Jack" will recognize: zombie warriors, Terminator-style robots who look like they have baskets on their heads, and Aku's minions that turn into vapor when you attack them.
Tip: Try whenever possible to hit the targets with a good quick thrust of Jack's katana. The game says other weapons are available to Jack, but for some reason you only see him use his katana. Go slow and time your attacks so that the targets can't hit you first.
Jack gets five "lives," and you can see the red meter slowly shrink as he is bombarded with digital mayhem. Try to at least hold on to the fourth "life" when getting to the second level. After you clear each level the "life" you're currently on is replenished (Jack must have been drinking his trademark green tea.) When you get to the third level, try to keep at least three "lives," although you can get away with two. You need at least two to have a chance during the final skirmish with Aku.
At the end of the first two levels you do battle with a giant adversary more powerful than the others: a skeleton warrior on the first, a basket-head warrior on the second. The good news is you can watch its "life" meter and track your progress on defeating it.
The second level is filled with gears running amuck to mow you down, blades slashing at you, and on all three levels you run the risk of falling in slime or on sharp spikes, which make you lose a life. Tip: Time your jumps to avoid the gears, but don't get too jumpy, otherwise you fall into the slime.
The third level features spikes, moving platforms and even wider jumps, if that's possible. Tip: The vapor demons can appear anywhere and are more poweerful than the adversaries in the first two levels. But this workout is just practice, flexing your muscles for the clash with Aku.
The final stage features ledges that sink into lava--you have to jump fast before you fall in. The computerized Aku is quite impressive, and just as in the series, flies off several times before Jack can deliver the final blow. But be brave, be steadfast, be victorious, and you, gamer, will defeat the evil scourge! The conclusion to the game is satisfying and delivers the anticipated emotional payoff.
Play your destiny now at http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/games/adventure/samjack/codeofsamurai/index.html
Movie reviewer/screenwriter Kristin Johnson composes personalized poems, speeches, toasts, vows, and family memories. Visit http://www.poemsforyou.com to order your personalized memories. She is also co-author of the Midwest Book Review "enthusiastically recommended" pick Christmas Cookies Are For Giving: Stories, Recipes and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts (ISBN: 0-9723473-9-9). A downloadablemedia kit is available at our Web site, http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com, or e-mail the publisher (info@tyrpublishing.com) to receive a printed media kit and sample copy of the book. More articles available at http://www.bakingchristmascookies.com
