T he Dance, Dance Revolution series, which challenges energetic dancers to tap their toes on a dance mat to the beat of popular music, has been solid gold for Konami. Numerous DDR titles exist and a new one with a different array of tunes seems to come out every few months.
Newest on the scene is Hottest Party, the first DDR game to boogie onto the Nintendo Wii's virtual dance floor. Unlike other versions of the game, the Wii waltz requires players to move their hands as well as their feet to match the visual clues that pop up on the screen. But it doesn't add much to the experience because the Wii's motion-sensitive controllers are used to capture only basic left and right movements.
The single-player Groove Circuit mode plops a competitor in a series of discos where they must outperform computer dancers to advance. Workout mode encourages gamers to - horror of horrors - break a sweat by dancing until a certain number of calories are burned.
R acing games typically fall in three camps - arcade, simulation and those like the Project Gotham series that try to straddle the line between the two.
Unlike strict sims, which only reward speed, PG races typically encourage style points (called kudos). Sliding around a corner, for example, can pause the clock during a time trial. Kudos points can also be used to unlock more vehicles and tracks.
The most noticeable addition to PGR4 is motorcycles, which race side-by-side with cars and are tough to beat. Though initially a bit more difficult to control, the combination of instant acceleration and easy kudos from popping wheelies make them feel a bit overpowered, especially since they aren't as easy to send careening into a wall when they go buzzing by.
Also new are four beautifully rendered cities - St Petersburg, Quebec City, Shanghai and Macau. These cities feature more hills than the five locations returning from 2005's PGR3 - London, Las Vegas, Tokyo, New York and Germany's tricky Nurburgring track.
Weather - rain, sleet, snow - can affect traction, forcing a more cautious approach. Fog is particularly nasty when it obscures turns and other drivers. Graphically, there's not a slicker looking racing title. It's not just the fantastic cars - the meticulously crafted cities and adoring roadside fans are equally impressive.
Dungeons & Dragons fans speak in reverent tones when discussing the critically acclaimed role-playing titles Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights.
Mask of the Betrayer, an expansion pack for 2006's Neverwinter Nights 2, is more of the same, and that's a good thing. Instead of beginning the adventure as a combat dummy, players can start a new character at level 18 or import their high-level character from NWN 2.
The level cap has been increased to 30, meaning players will eventually have godlike powers at their disposal as they go toe-to-toe with an evil sect known as the Red Wizards of Thay. This is not a game for the uninitiated as the addition of numerous spells, feats, races and classes have the potential to bewilder anyone unaccustomed to the D&D rule set. Familiar annoyances remain, including the camera angle, which, despite new options, feels awkward. And the graphics, while often glorious, can be so blinding when spells start exploding it's hard to keep track of the action. The darker tone of "Betrayer" is realized through a new game mechanic - a spirit meter, which forces players to choose between suppressing a hunger for souls or feasting on them.
A compilation featuring the three-part Half-Life 2 canon, The Orange Box should be called The Orange Treasure Chest by first-person shooter fans.
Half-Life 2, released in 2004 and named Game of the Year by more than 30 publications, was far enough ahead of its time that it's still one of the better action games available. Also stuffed on the single disc is Episode One, a relatively short sequel; and, for the first time on the Xbox 360, Episode Two, an expansion pack as extensive as many stand-alone games. If that's not enough, The Orange Box also includes Portal, a mind-bending puzzle game that could double as an IQ test, and Team Fortress 2, an online multiplayer fragfest that is the addiction of thousands. For the uninitiated, the award-winning series pits crowbar-wielding research scientist Gordon Freeman against a race of beings from another dimension that has enslaved humanity.- NY Times news service
April 28 to May 4 During the Japanese colonial era, a city’s “first” high school typically served Japanese students, while Taiwanese attended the “second” high school. Only in Taichung was this reversed. That’s because when Taichung First High School opened its doors on May 1, 1915 to serve Taiwanese students who were previously barred from secondary education, it was the only high school in town. Former principal Hideo Azukisawa threatened to quit when the government in 1922 attempted to transfer the “first” designation to a new local high school for Japanese students, leading to this unusual situation. Prior to the Taichung First
The Ministry of Education last month proposed a nationwide ban on mobile devices in schools, aiming to curb concerns over student phone addiction. Under the revised regulation, which will take effect in August, teachers and schools will be required to collect mobile devices — including phones, laptops and wearables devices — for safekeeping during school hours, unless they are being used for educational purposes. For Chang Fong-ching (張鳳琴), the ban will have a positive impact. “It’s a good move,” says the professor in the department of
On April 17, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) launched a bold campaign to revive and revitalize the KMT base by calling for an impromptu rally at the Taipei prosecutor’s offices to protest recent arrests of KMT recall campaigners over allegations of forgery and fraud involving signatures of dead voters. The protest had no time to apply for permits and was illegal, but that played into the sense of opposition grievance at alleged weaponization of the judiciary by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to “annihilate” the opposition parties. Blamed for faltering recall campaigns and faced with a KMT chair
Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文) stipulates that upon a vote of no confidence in the premier, the president can dissolve the legislature within 10 days. If the legislature is dissolved, a new legislative election must be held within 60 days, and the legislators’ terms will then be reckoned from that election. Two weeks ago Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposed that the legislature hold a vote of no confidence in the premier and dare the president to dissolve the legislature. The legislature is currently controlled
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