Have you ever sucked at a game? And whatever you did, or do, you continued to suck? (Yeah, me too.) But, there’s a theory behind the madness. In a study published in The Journal of the Cerebral Cortex, it revealed that the size of your brain can actually have an affect on your gaming skills.

Scientists at the University of Illinois have studied specific parts of the Striatum, a collection of tissues deep inside your cerebral cortex, and it revealed that brain size can influence a gamers ability to “refine his or her motor skills, learn new procedures, develop useful strategies and adapt to a quickly changing environments,” or in other words, playing games.

“This is the first time that we’ve been able to take a real world task like a video game and show that the size of specific brain regions is predictive of performance and learning rates on this video game,” said Kirk Erickson, professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and the author on the study.

“Playing a game which requires very fast deployment of visual attention and motor movement could prime a strategy of speed over accuracy,” explained Nelson, “while playing a game which emphasizes a slower, more thoughtful pace could prime the opposite pattern. The main point is that different kinds of video games engage different cognitive and perceptual skills, and there are measurable differences in their effects, even in the short term.”

However, it does not work in reverse; you can’t play a bunch of video games and grow those structures in your brain — you’re stuck with the equipment you’re given from birth.

Arriving on September 15 is WET, a third-person shooter from Bethesda Softworks for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Even though few details about the game have been revealed, we know that in WET players take the role of Rubi Malone, a woman who is on a mission to hunt down the man that left her for dead.

“We are extremely excited to bring WET to gamers on September 18th,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “A2M has created an explosive gaming experience and the action is non-stop from start to finish.”

“We’ve worked really hard to make WET different from any other action game available”, said Patrick Fortier, Creative Director at A2M. “When players experience the game’s unique blend of gunplay, sword combat and acrobatics, they won’t want to put the controller down.”

Today, EA Montreal announced the return of the weapon design contest for Army of Two: The 40th day. From June 23, 2009 to July 12 2009, participants can submit their ultimate weapon at the game’s official website for a chance to have it included in a future EA Game.

To enter the contest, gamers will need to submit an image of their weapon and a brief 200-word description. Please click on the game’s official website to view the contest rules. Once gamers submit their designs, the images will be posted to the site for the community to vote on. Starting on July 20, 2009 the top weapons will be reviewed by the development team who will then pick the two best designs.

During all this antisapation we forgot one of the most important things about Prototype and that was its release date, but now that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Today, we recieved news from Activision that their high antisapated title, Prototype, will be releasing June 5 in the UK and June 9 in North America. The game will pit gamers as Alex Mercer as he trys to figure out what has happened to him, and whats happening around him.

Along with this very important announcement, they also revealed the openning cimatic for the game.

Though the original Army of Two happened to sell over two million copies, it didn’t go without catching some heat. Gamers found things to complain about, whether it was from the “bromance” exhibited through corny exchanges between Salem and Rios, wonky co-operative gameplay, or various other unsavory facets. However, EA hopes to turn all those notions on their head with the release of the upcoming Army of Two: The 40th Day, the sequel to the original game.

Salem and Rios make an explosive return, though now the focus of the game has shifted to the simple goal of getting out of Shanghai with their limbs – and lives – intact. Information that has surfaced about the upcoming sequel has set the stage for the game to lie in a sort of moral limbo. While little details are currently known about the definite storyline, it’s fact that there will be both obvious baddies and obvious civilians that you can protect or leave to fend for themselves – your choice.

The disaster plaguing Shanghai has something to do with the “40th Day Initiative” (now you know what the title is for!), though devs are currently mum about the entire ordeal . Interviews with 40th Day bigwigs indicate that the storyline will revolve solely around Salem and Rios getting out alive, with major plot points unraveling throughout the game, not just during the obligatory cut scenes.

While the core co-operative gameplay remains the same,  change is most certainly coming. A bevy of differences will be introduced in this installment. Sources such as Joystiq and Destructoid confirm the implementation of a new mechanic allowing players to negotiate prices for assassinations. For instance, a fee could be charged, which enters into a dialogue with certain NPCs. These small scenes are said to play a major part in the the flow of the gameplay, adding a truly organic feel to the action rather than faceless carnage. Controlling your partner will allow for some creative use of war tactics.

Salem and Rios can now perform such feats as faking surrenders, taking hostages, or as always, blowing straight through any opposition. The introduction of a tactial overlay will be something to take in as well, giving gamers the ability to label enemies and friendlies with a certain color to distinguish who to harm from who to keep safe. This seems like an extremely handy addition, as after a while enemies begin to look way too similar.

In addition, The 40th Day promises to buck the stereotype of placing gamers in lame, typical locations like docks, warehouses, or urban locations as we saw in Gears of War. Instead, combat is said to take place in everywhere a “real” city has, such as malls and other locations dotting the landscape.

Since the sequel was so recently announced, there is scant information currently available. Until more details are leaked, we’ll have to wait patiently to see how much Army of Two: The 40th Day can improve over the original. Hopefully quite vastly, as good co-op games have been difficult to come by lately. Here’s hoping for the best!

Yes, Killzone 2 really is landmark for Sony in this ‘nex-gen war’, but, as you know, the war isn’t over until the fat lady sings and it looks Microsoft has a truly long list of songs for her to go through before she’s finished.

When being asked about Killzone 2 and the future of Microsoft, a Microsoft spokesmen told GameGuru that ‘unannounced Xbox 360 exclusives far surpasses what gamers have seen in any game so far’ in the technology aspect of things, which can mean anything – not only graphically.

“We congratulate Sony and Guerilla Games for their efforts with Killzone 2, however this is only the beginning of a new wave. The current technology employed for certain unannounced Xbox 360 exclusives far surpasses what gamers have seen in any game so far. Gears of War was the beginning of this technological benchmark when released on the 360 and this lineage will be carried forward in the following months with exclusives that shall stand for a new definition of gaming experience and provide stiff competition for the opposition.”

In collaboration of the return of Matt Hazard, D3Publisher has revealed Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard to us in the form of a video game media bomb-shell. Revealing some new gameplay videos, new screenshots (which are linked), and the official box-art for the game.

“Eat Lead parodies some of our fondest memories in classic gaming and pop culture, so gamers will have a laugh out loud experience every time they pick-up the controller,” said, Pete Andrew, vice president, product development, North America, D3P. “With an original storyline, Eat Lead perfectly blends action and humour with rock solid gameplay for an experience like no other.”

As you may already know, most of the games on the PlayStation 3 have an installation time that cuts most of the loading and it helps you complete the game easier. But, just like other PlayStation 3 games, inFamous will have an installation time, but it’s going to be a bit different.

According to Brian Flemming from Sucker Punch, in an interview with Destructoid, the 15-minute mandatory install for Infamous will not be immersion at the start of the game.

Flemming had spoke a bit about mandatory installs, saying that the developer believes the first 15 minutes of a game are the most crucial minutes for pulling gamers into the game.

“[The first 15 minutes] is where people will transition From The world that they have into your universe. And you have this chance to get them and move them into your space, and capture their attention. And if you F*** that up, whatever you did in that last boss battle just doesn’t matter.”

Flemming continued, explaining that while they are still toying with when, where, and how to place mandatory install, “that 15-minute install is an absolute non-starter for us”.

Some of us already knew that it was coming, but it is never good to jump the gun, even if many of us are hasty to babble, “I knew it”. “But, with time, comes great reward.” A great man once told us, and it’s about time that we gain our reward.

In a recent interview with GameTrailers, CEO and president of Level 5, Akihiro Hino, revealed that White Knight Chronicles will indeed be headed to North America. But, he wasn’t quick to give out a release date, or target.

He also said that American gamers may get the chance to play with Japanese gamers online. “We haven’t decided,” he said samply when asked about the possibility of it being region free.

But, one the other hand, if news of the games low scores in Japan spread like wild fire, they may have a problem with selling the title in the North America.

What comes to mind when you think Music based video games? Is it Rock Band or is it Guitar Hero? Or is it Singstar? Well, probably one of the most over looked downfalls in this gaming generation has to be the fixation on the casual gaming market, and sadly this game doesn’t divert from that manner. But, none the less, Lips is a party game that has one of the greatest bonding powers of getting friends and family to play with on another. However, one can only wonder if Lips is going to be just another video game face plant or an instant sensation?

After previous failed attempts by Microsoft at trying to recreate the fun derived from group gaming, with such examples as Scene It! and You’re In the Movies, Lips is another offspring of the guys over at iNiS in Japan, which is known for games like Elite Beat Agents – another party-driven game – and many others. Opinion-wise, I really do not think that it was a great idea to name the game Lips, which brings up the games first downfall. We really don’t think we need to go into detail about that.

However, with the game having a somewhat bad name, it does differ from its predecessors. The game has a start up track of about 40 songs, all of which are master tracks including music videos and select previews. They also have different videos other than the original video made for the song that the gamer can pick from. The game has a multiplayer feature that pits you against another player, or against the computer. As for mics, Lips has two beautifully designed wireless microphones that light up as you sing.

When singing, the upcoming lyrics will be highlighted in gray, and the current lyrics will be highlighted in white. However, in two player mode, where player one is on the top and player two is on the bottom, you sometimes fix your eyes on the gray lyrics if you are player two and end up singing the wrong words, which becomes a problem. Also, when singing in the right pitch and balance, the word bars will be colored in the the color of your mic (ex. player one red, player two blue).

Luckyly, the guys over at iNiS knew that you may not be able to hit all the notes so, unlike other music games, you are unable to fail any songs, which is both its strength and weakness. It’s just like the problem that many people had with Elika from Prince of Persia in his newest adventure. It really takes away from the challenge, I mean would you really want to play a game that does nothing to challenge the gamer? I think not.

If you add all those things together it really does make for a weak single-player experience, but this game is really strong when you play it was a buddy. Which brings me to the co-op and mutliplayer part of the game. When in this mode, you can take on a song with a friend (ex. Umbrella by Rihanna). This song has a better co-op standard then other songs in the game, for example Another One Bits The Dust by Queen. But, lucky the mutliplayer works great for this game.

Closing Statements:

I really had alot of fun playing this game. It is really strong in most aspects of it and will surely keep you playing for hours on hand. The interface is remarkably easy to use, the initial track list is solid, and the microphones are outstanding. But, there is one problem, it does not push itself as being a game that a hardcore gamer would want to pick up and play. The game also has the ability for you to transfer music from your iPod, but what really makes me mad is that you can’t upload music from an iPhone or iTouch. That is one reason we couldn’t put that in our review. Also the quality of the videos are mostly in SD, which doesn’t fit this game at all.

Score: B-

After six months on the market, Wii’s Boom Blox is still selling well and pleasing gamers. Boom Blox came onto the market in early May 2008. Even today sales continue to grow and this Steven Spielberg inspired game shows no sign of slowing down as word spreads about this fun, interactive, group-friendly game.

Based on principles of physics, there is a seemingly unending variety of outcomes, especially in the multi-player mode. The game itself is a result of director Steven Spielberg’s desire to create a game that he would be able to play with his children. Not only was this goal met, but the game attracts players of all ages to join in the fun.

Boom Blox has many options for players, including game play between 1 & 4 players, depending on which gaming mode is selected. One player mode includes practice and adventure mode, with up to 300 levels of game play for individual players. Multi-player options are either competitive or cooperative, and 100 levels of game play can be explored. Players who are really serious about the game can create their own levels in editor mode and can open up many possibilities when playing in adventure mode.

The game itself plays  very well and fluidly, and the ability to accommodate multiple players simultaneously is one of its many attributes. A great family or party game, Wii Boom Blox can surely satisfy the needs of any gamer for fun times all around.

By Line: This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of the top online colleges. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com.

Okay. It’s not really ready yet, but it will be making its way onto a console near you very soon, Nov. 19. As of right now, the update is sitting in a sever farm at Microsoft Headquarters just waiting to make its way down your Ethernet cable straight into your 360, but from this video, after the update is complete, you’ll be truly into a the New Xbox Experience. That’s geared to any genre that makes you a gamer. The update is set to bring a profound change that will bring a new ever lasting appeal to a bigger audience.