The Sims 2 Bon Voyage

So, what is next in line for the lovable Sims? How about a nice vacation? The next Sims 2 expansion will be all about the Sims getting away from it all and traveling to new lands. The Sims 2 Bon Voyage will allow Sims to travel to new places like the Far East, mountain tops, or even a tropical island.

As the Sims travel they will get to interact and learn from both real and mythical locals like the wise old hermit or even Big Foot. You will be able to send your Sims on tourist rides like on a glass bottom boat or an adventure van tour. Like with all expansions, there will be plenty of new objects to buy and have your Sims interact with. Whatever your Sims learn on vacation like the hula dance lei they can teach their neighbors when they return home.

The The Sims 2 Bon Voyage will be a nice addition to the Sims, adding even more fun to this great franchise that is still going strong after seven years.

The Sims 2 Bon Voyage requires The Sims 2, The Sims 2 Special DVD Edition , The Sims 2 Holiday Edition or The Sims 2 Deluxe for PC to play. Look for this expansion to be released in September.

Rock the 80s Quick Review

While Harry Potter fans anxiously awaited at midnight to buy the 7th and final book in the series, I could not wait for today arrived since it is the release of Guitar Hero Encore Rock the 80s. I didn’t wait up to buy the game but did hurry to the store the first chance I had to purchase the game.

Guitar Hero Encore will not disappoint fans. It features a great song selection of classic 80s hits. The characters all wear their 80s duds with Judy Nails being my favorite with her Madonna-like outfit. Some of the outfits were spot on, in fact, I think I may have had a few of those back in high school.

I was sad to visit the GH store and not find any additional songs to buy or outfits. I have to remember that it is an encore edition so not to expect all the features of the regular game. Some items in the store are not available until you beat the game on easy and medium. The Grim Reaper character is a steal at only $4,000. He has come down in price since GH II.

You still have the practice area and multiplayer settings. Play three songs in a row well and get an encore performance. The encore songs are always fun to play and a gem to find out which songs are included in this “hidden” part of the game.

My first impression of the game is a good one. Guitar Hero Rock the 80s will be played a lot in our household just like the first two games. Get out and buy this one as soon as possibile if you are a GH fan. You will not be disappointed.

Guitar Hero Encore Rock the 80s

The wait is over as Guitar Hero Rock the 80s is on sale today. Red Octane’s hugely popular franchise pays homage to the decade of big hair and glam rock.

Guitar Hero Rock the 80s will retail for $49.99. The Encore edition will feature some of the same game mechanics as Guitar Hero II. There will be a cooperative and competitive two-player mode. Players can practice before tackling hard songs or to slow a song down to get use to it. New playable characters have been added who look like they are fresh from the 80s. New venues and different songs make this Encore edition more like a stand alone title. A more comprehensive song set has been released and features some quintessential 80s rock music. Read more for the list.

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Study says In-Game Ads Work

Remember the good ole days when games hadn’t been penetrated with advertising? Those days are long gone and probably won’t ever be visited again since a new study says that those in-game ads are effective.

Double Fusion released their findings today show the majority of gamers do interact with advertising in their games. The study was done on the top 10 games for advertising. The study also showed that the less cluttered an ad was, the more likely it was to be noticed.

In-games ads is a mixed blessing. On one hand it is good that the publishers and developers have this new source of revenue since we all know games can be incredibly expensive to make. Also a lot of games don’t even make the money it cost to produce the game, so if by selling advertising this helps the little guy make more games, then I’m all for it. The downside is that games are being taken over with even more selling messages. This can be distracting when playing the game but I guess in time is something that gamers just get used to.

Since in-game ads apparently do work, this might open up more opportunity for game makers to get their product to market. It’s good news as long as it doesn’t hurt the integrity or the playability of video games.

Dreamcast

The Sega Dreamcast is a great video game system. While it is no longer supported, some great games have been released for it. Since the Dreamcast is no longer being supported, you can find some great deals on one at auction sites and pick up games for very little money.

The problem with the Dreamcast was that it was put out by Sega, who is notorious for pulling support of their products in the United States. I have a Sega museum with my Genesis, Saturn, and Game Gear to prove this point. In it’s heyday, there were some good titles put out for the Dreamcast that still can be a lot of fun to play today.

Not only can you pick up a Dreamcast for very little money, you can get controllers, memory cards, and other accessories really cheap. I picked up a controller from Gamestop for 99 cents. Games are also pretty cheap and there are even homebrewed Dreamcast games that have been created by fans who know how to make games.

An exploit with the Dreamcast allows copied games to be played on the system without any hacks needed. This problem has been cited as a reason for the demise of the console, whether it is true or not is another story. There were probably several factors that caused Sega to pull the support plug. Sega is much like the big networks that pull the plug on great programs before they have a chance to find their audience. Sometimes people need a few years to catch on to a really great product. The Dreamcast is still a great console that offers a wonderful gaming experience.

Wii Fit

One might argue that playing Nintendo Wii games is already a workout. You haven’t seen anything yet as Nintendo announces plans to ship later this year the Wii Balance Board (name not final). The balance board will come with come with the game Wii Fit and will challenge players to perform all sorts of different exercises. Wii Fit will also instruct the balance board to perform daily tests like determining a players’ BMI(Body Mass Index) and their Wii Fit Age. There are 40 different activities that fit into one of four categories: aerobic exercise, muscle conditioning, yoga poses, and balance games.

With different activities like learning to block soccer balls or using your hips to hula hoop, there will be something to appeal to every member of the household. Family members will be able to compare their results on a new Wii menu channel.
No release date has been set for Wii Fit.