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This week's video gamesApr 22, 2010 (The Arizona Daily Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- "Dead or Alive: Paradise" (PSP, $30, Teen) The "Dead or Alive" series was once known for its solid fighting mechanics, but now it's devolved into a collection of minigames that focus on lascivious up-close images of bikini-clad vixens. The game takes place on an island inhabited solely by beautiful women, who sun, compete in events meant to put them in compromising positions, and give one another gifts to earn friendship. You play as one of the women and earn money to buy gifts for other ladies, then take pictures of them as they pose in, say, a new bikini you bought them. To describe the game is to mock it. Hopefully "Dead or Alive" gets back to its fighter roots soon. "Konket Power Pyramid" (360, PS3, $40, not rated) This smart yet bulky charger juices up two Xbox 360 controllers and two PS3 controllers at the same time. It's an excellent, effective space-saving device for those who have both systems, and alternate versions of the Pyramid are available for only the 360 and PS3. I attached four controllers with various charge levels, and they ranged from one to four hours to get to full power. While some chargers have a tendency to overheat, the Pyramid keeps cool by keeping each controller aloft with connections that jut out from a base, giving the devices room to breathe. "Mass Effect 2: Kasumi -- Stolen Memory" (360, $7, Mature) The downloadable add-on offers you a new weapon, a new character you can recruit to your party and a planet to explore. The reasonably priced add-on won't blow your mind with additional game play -- some have said they've torn through it within an hour -- but it does round out the role-playing sci-fi shooter and give you a reason to jump back into the game if you've stopped playing. "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction" (360, $60, Mature) Known for being complex and low-key to the point of agony, the "Splinter Cell" franchise rebounds with a fast-paced, phenomenally exciting sequel. As a secret agent out to avenge the death of his daughter, you slink through the shadows and stalk enemies like a predator, leaping out to annihilate them in whiz-bang explosions of precise destruction that replicate the better work of Jason Bourne. Instead of giving you one long campaign, the game is split into two short ones, one as single player and the other a co-op mission. There's also a sizable suite of competitive online modes, making "Splinter Cell" a glorious resurgence for a fading franchise. To see more of The Arizona Daily Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.azstarnet.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |