It has its flaws with looks and sound but it’s a puzzle game at heart and it is great at its job but perfectly gives it some structure to work off. Give it time and you’ll find puzzling and strategy go hand in hand.

Tomb Raider: Underworld - Beneath The Surface: The Environment

428 - Japanese Disaster TV Spot

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Six Flags Fun Park DS

This past summer, Nick told us that The Bigs developer Blue Castle might be taking over the duties for Capcom on the next Dead Rising game, and that there was evidence that the sequel would be episodic.

About a month after this, Jim caught word of even more evidence. While not true confirmation, Vancouver metal band Cradle To Grave mentions that they worked on songs for a "Zombie Ritual" game for Blue Castle.  

Finally, this new rumor seems less like one. The folks at Eurogamer seem to be pretty stand up guys, so we'll believe them when they say that they received confirmation from a source in Vancouver that the sequel had been handed to Blue Castle. 

The source said: "Everyone's really excited; the team has obviously seen the rumours and it's been hard to keep quiet, but they can't wait to show off the game."

Eurogamer also points to Blue Castle's Web site, which says that they are working on "an unannounced Action title." They're also hiring for this action title, with the job listing stating: "It's getting around - there is something amazing being built here at Blue Castle behind locked doors."   

In Cradle of Rome, Ancient Rome will rise again as players re-create the city of old using a unique variation on the Match-3 puzzle mechanic to build more than 20 masterpieces of Ancient Roman architecture.  Players will gather resources by matching rows of 3 or more on the puzzle board to obtain as many as possible before time runs out.  The more resources players gather, the faster they can build the city from a lowly saw mill and progress to such historical monuments such as the Temple of Venus and eventually the mighty Coliseum.  Multiple game play modes offer various degrees of difficulty and a vast array of bonus tools adds even more incentive to continue playing and achieve your goals faster.

Multiple game play Modes offer various degrees of challenges, as Players will solve puzzles to build the Roman Empire in Play mode and replay their favorite puzzles in Relax mode.

Short- or Long-term Play Sessions– Play in long or short doses since the depth of the game does not waver according to the length of a gameplay session; each puzzle ranges from 5-15 minutes.

As you progress and build and supply more to your city you will unlock more complex puzzles to play with. As well as progressing your city into the next level of prosperity by supplying all the supplies, meat, and gold you need to build up your city.

Build Your Own Empire – Build an empire as you gather resources such as wood, tools, gold and more—the more you gather, the faster you can build the city from a lowly saw mill and progress to gain access to 20 historical monuments from five eras such as the Arch of Titus, The Temples of Venus and Saturn and eventually the mighty Coliseum.

The game is an interesting puzzle game that is rather addictive, but then again I always love those simple puzzle games.

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My Secret World by Imagine

Making films is much different than making games, because there's a lot more money involved, and a lot more people involved. What often happens is people get involved who do not fully understand the property and therefore try to take it in the wrong direction. At that point, the producers, the writer, and the IP creators have very little influence and just have to hope for the best. Only a few people like Spielberg have cradle-to-grave authority over a project.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Cradle Of Rome. The title alone had me quivering with anticipation, even though I'd never heard of it before.

Amassing resources, constructing buildings -- turn-based strategy games are almost always a good thing, especially on the Nintendo DS. And one based on ancient Rome? Hell, I love Civilization, so this should be good.

So it turns out that the game has absolutely nothing to do with showing the ancient world who's boss. It's actually a match-three puzzle game, in which players build the ancient city of Rome by matching tiles over the course of 100 difference puzzles.

Once a PC game, the casual title is seeking a new audience on DS -- and it's actually pretty fun.

The match-three genre isn't exactly praised for its depth: Find three objects, and set them in a row -- bright explosions are occasionally involved. Nevertheless, they're usually fairly enjoyable, and Cradle of Rome is no exception.

It's your standard Bejewled-style affair, with a few caveats. There are several types of tiles (you'll see bits of meat, stone, and gold), some of which are dark blue. To complete each level, you'll need to break  all of dark blue tiles by matching them with similar objects, before running out of time. But to actually make progress in the game, you'll also have to amass resources by matching the various extraneous tiles.

The very first stage presents you with a relatively simple number of blue-tiles to clear. Match the other tiles, and you'll add to your  resource count. Once you've gathered enough gold, you'll acquire the first building of your Roman empire -- the sawmill. From then on, levels will include a new resource-tile, lumber. Gather enough lumber (in addition to the other resources) while completing levels, and more buildings and resources will become available to you.

Special tiles are tossed in on the later levels, to add an extra bit of challenge to the game play. For example, chains on a particular object mean it's attached to it's spot on the board -- to clear a chained tile, you'll have to maneuver similar tiles towards them. And those  blue tiles will eventually come in lighter shades -- to eliminate them, you'll have to match them several times. Since a tile's color is independent of the particular resource that's on the tile, that means making a different set every time.

While you're off amassing goods and constructing buildings, you'll also occasionally run into equipment that can be unlocked, to help you as you play. The hammer, for example, will allow you to break an individual tile. These tools can only be used once per level -- to recharge your hammer, you'll have to collect more hammer tiles. While your tools will carry over from one level to the next, each level only contains one set of tiles for a particular tool, chosen at random. Use a tool you like, and there's no guarantee you'll see it again soon.

There isn't exactly a lack of casual games on the DS, but with 100 puzzles to sift through, Cradle of Rome should provide an entertaining diversion, especially if it's priced right. The game will be released on November 18th.

Image Courtesy cerasus.media

Ultima

Garriott broadcast a video to gamers showing a message in the coded glyph language of Tabula Rasa. Fans on the PlanetTR forumsdecoded the message, revealing a quote from Soviet scientist Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky.

It reads:

Earth is the cradle of humanity but mankind will not be in the cradle forever.

Videos and news updates from Garriott's voyage can be found on the website of Space Adventures, a company created to facilitate space tourism.

Image courtesy NCsoft, Richard Garriott

Garriott Sends Secret Message to Gamers From Space[GameCulture]

See Also:

• Why Richard Garriott Can't Play Tabula Rasain Space
• Game Creator Richard Garriott and Crew Reach International Space Station
• Richard Garriott's Tabula RasaReinvents the MMO to Court Casual Gamers

One of the grandchildren is browsing my achievement points. It's a record filled with tens of thousands of entries, an indelible, almost embarrassing testimony to a life spent in games.

She looks round. “Grandpa, what’s your favourite videogame of all time?”

It’s always been an awkward question but these days it’s near impossible to answer truthfully. She might as well have asked about my favourite meal. Who can possibly remember every plate of food they ever sat down to? You know that you ate most days and you know that you must have been nourished to some extent or other, but the details of what was on the menu, how it felt in the mouth, what it smelled and looked like are all lost to time.

After a while games lose their definition in memory too. You know that you played most days and that you must have been nourished to some extent or other, but the details... A few stand out, for sure, but most slip forgotten.

It's been six weeks since I was told that I'm dying.

The problem with death, for the lifelong gamer, is its supreme familiarity. There aren’t hairs on my head to measure the virtual lives I’ve lost over a lifetime of play. So when you’re told you’ve three months at best, it’s easy to be flippant.

In my time I’ve fallen foul of countless mis-timed jumps, stray bullets, car crashes and drug deals gone wrong; I’ve flown fighter jets into solid ground at 300 miles per hour, fallen under the heavy tread of a London bus and watched incredulous as my space ship dissolved in the mute explosion of a sun. The blocks reached the top of the screen time after time.

Playing a videogame is to enter into a state of inescapable impending doom: they are the moments between leaping from the clifftop and hitting the rocks below. Games only become games when you’ve a Game Over screen to avoid. Lives, profoundly perhaps, only gain value when they can be lost.

In a way then, videogames are the ultimate preparation for life’s ultimate event: through them you’ve died a million times.

Yes. Death should be easy: it’s virtually all I’ve ever known.

Except no, of course. There’s no such thing as one life left in videogames. If you’ve got another quarter, you’ve got another chance. There’s always another go, another opportunity to perfect your technique and claw closer to the final prize. There’s always another chance.

Not so for this world, for this body, for these cells. Not so for this man.

I think I’m one of the first generation to have lived their whole life with videogames. From cradle to deathbed, my life breaks down into legion roles, ghost lives led in pixel dimensions. You could write ten thousand obituaries of my life and every one of them would be as true as it is distinct.

A crack sniper who served his country with skill and determination through the Second World War; six times winner of the Le Mans 24 hour; he scored the winning goal in no less than twenty World Cup finals. This giant yellow vegan was relentlessly chased through life by his ghosts. Simon was the finest plumber in all the Mushroom kingdom. A loving father.

But while the lines of identity between virtual and real world experiences have blurred, there’s only one obituary for me that could really be written: gamer till the end. I never served in Dresden; I can’t drive, or kick a football where I want it to go. I’ve never eaten a ghost and I couldn’t fix a dripping tap, let alone rescue a flirtatious princess.

No. I sat and precision twitched in front of screens. I moved light from A to B and back again and played make believe forever.

They say our actions in this life echo through eternity. But what of those actions outplayed in videogame lives? Or does the very fact we acted in virtual worlds and neglected this one echo through the years; save game files a history of mis-spent time, energy and resources. How did my virtual choices shape tomorrow’s reality? Did I simply deplete our resources all the faster, escapism that fueled Armageddon’s engines?

It’s something we rarely speak of: gamer’s guilt. The generations that came before us feared our hobby, its intrusion into our lives, the distraction it brought. Indeed, their damnations made us all experts in defending any and every accusation aimed at gaming.

Now those older generations are all dead their mistrust is gone with them. Everybody plays games and, with nobody left to justify our hobby to, the protestations we learned rote echo as loud as they do pointless.

Did I waste my time? It’s a question you can only truly ask when you’ve no time left to give, no time left to justify. Play is the first step to knowledge and development, for sure, but as you streak into adulthood haven’t all the lessons game mechanics could teach been learned a thousand times over?

Aren’t games, as we defended against time after time after time, simply a colossal waste of time, a leisure pursuit as meaningless as a stack of blank Sudoku? Aren't they little more than a comfortable distraction of consciousness from the grim realities of this world, realities we would have been better off running toward, not from.

And if all videogames could ever aspire to was being big, dumb, blockbusting escapism, does that even matter? Hasn’t every generation that ever lived created make-believe worlds to climb into and take refuge?

I don’t know. I don’t know. I just wish we’d asked each other the questions a bit more fifty years ago.

Back to her question, the one being asked now. I look deep into young eyes, the eyes of a life with all of its cards left to deal.

‘Tetris,’ I murmer. ‘It was my first’.

[Simon Parkin does not, in fact, have any grandchildren and, while he rarely feels it, he’s still in his twenties. Just.]