I realize that most people go “ga ga” for Madden NFL every year, but to be honest I’ve always found college football far more exciting. Each year I look forward to EA’s incremental updates to their NCAA Football series just like the slavering Madden junkies do. Growing up in Columbus, Ohio and working at Ohio State has left me a bit numb to my hometown college team – The Ohio State Buckeyes because here college football is the second biggest thing next to God, but regardless there is something about playing college ball, racing for the Heisman that I just find more interesting. Maybe its the lack of professional polish, maybe its just the presentation and the crowd elements of the game that don’t exist in the NFL. This year EA is adding a number of needed defensive improvements as well as a TeamBuilder feature so players can completely create their own virtual college to compete against the best.

Its interesting to see how Madden and NCAA change and this years tweaks are bit different. You can find all the new features after the jump.

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The specter of a world with no physical games available at retail is one that is raised often, especially by executives of traditional brick & mortar stores. In an article at Reuters, author John Gaudiosi raises the question yet again. He makes an effort to simply present the facts about the growing role digital distribution plays in how we purchase games today, and the facts are there. However, I believe that entire premise of the article is flawed.

Digital distribution really offers gamers only two highly positive benefits: First, it’s easy. You can purchase a game without ever leaving your house. Heck, you don’t even have to leave your chair. Second, it’s extraordinarily simple to keep games purchased over a platform like Steam updated. Since the Steam client must be running to launch the game, you simply download the update before you start the game. What could be easier?

The Reuters piece even quotes that great bastion of gaming knowledge, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter (seriously, who died and made this guy king? Am I the only one who thinks he talks out his ass most of the time?), who says, “Downloads will become 20 percent of the market within five years, and probably peak at around 50 percent of the overall market in 10 years.”

I’m sorry, but this is not only purest speculation, it’s not even good speculation. Why? Hit the jump, and we’ll examine it.

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The Sony press conference for E3 2009 is set to prepare gamers for the return of a juggernaut. Sony’s had a tough year for its PS3 console, but things are looking up. This is Sony’s year to make the most expensive console on the market profitable. With God of War III, Heavy Rain, Batman Arkham Asylum, Modern Warfare 2 and MAG on the horizon, this year’s E3 press conference promises to give gamers a reason to pick up a PS3. I’ll be blogging live as Sony wows gamers with 364 new PS3, PSP and PS2 titles. Check out the running commentary after the break.

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More of your favorite classic boardgames are going virtual with Hasbro Family Game Night 2. EA’s second collection for the Wii packs Jenga, Connect 4×4, Pictureka, Bop It, and Operation together for nights of family fun. Jenga and Operation both require some hand-eye coordination and should make good use of the Wiimote. The best part is not having to worry about losing all those little bits and pieces. There’s also a new party game element MCed by everyones’ favorite spud, Mr. Potato Head. Just dress him up and he’ll kick off the gameshow style fun.

Hasbro Family Game Night 2 is also headed for the DS bringing Battleship, SORRY! Sliders, Operation, Connect 4, and Bop It to your fingertips. The title features Wi-fi support for multiplayer gaming.

Hasbro Family Game Night 2 for the Wii and DS are set to launch this fall. Further details follow the break.

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Well it looks like it’s official. Three brand new titles based off the Guitar Hero franchise are heading our way: DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 5, and Band Hero. Activision gives us the straight poop:

“DJ Hero expands Guitar Hero’s signature social gaming to all-new consumers with the addition of diverse music genres including hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronica and dance”. Of course, what would a virtual DJ be without touting an all-new turntable controller? (Editor’s note: eX not included) “DJ Hero transforms players into DJs who rule the club scene by creating original mixes of popular songs and music from the world’s most exciting artists and DJs”.

Guitar Hero 5 will feature both old and new artists, as well as giving “players an unprecedented level of control over the way they play the game with the ability to drop in and out of songs and change band members, instruments and difficulty levels on the fly.”

Finally, the franchise will be getting its first E10+ rated console game, aptly titled Band Hero. The new title will feature “top-40 hits” geared to “expand the experience to a new genre and appeal to a broad family audience who can play together on the guitar, drums, bass and microphone”. By broadening the spectrum to include the younger crowd, Activision hope to find a medium that brings both novice and expert fans of the game together.

Dan Rosensweig, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Guitar Hero franchise, states “Guitar Hero has made music social again and has become one of the most popular ways to experience music. Today’s fans enjoy a variety of music and are looking for more ways to engage with their favorite songs, artists and fellow fans. These games will let them listen, participate and socialize with music in ways they have never been able to before.”

Gamers, plastic shredders, and wannabe-DJs alike will be able to “wiggy-wiggy-scratch” out on their virtual vinyls this fall. You can also check out a couple of photos of the new turntable controller after the break.

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Is it just me, or are you sick and tired of all these so-called “active” video games? I mean, is exercise really a vital part of of our virtual libraries? I don’t think it is.

First, it was the Wii itself. Packaged with Wii Sports, it was supposed to get gamers ‘off the couch’ and into their games. To be fair, it succeeded for the first couple of weeks. After that, most of the Wii owners I know went back to playing their other consoles, and allowed the Wii to gather dust. Personally, I’ve found that mine makes a fine doorstop.

The next ‘fitness’ release was Wii Fit. Basically a balance board with batteries, Wii Fit allowed players to follow along with an on-screen trainer to get in shape. Unfortunately, it also informed you of exactly how overweight you were when you started, and chided you for not exercising enough. As if I don’t have a wife to do that for me!

Now EA has EA Sports Active coming out May 19. Active was designed with an actual personal trainer to help you lose more weight! Yeah, that’s right. The only reason I haven’t been using my consoles as exercise platforms was the lack of a real personal trainer.

But neither of these are the worst. At least I can avoid these types of games. Today I learned about a much worse offender, one that will likely be purchased by well-meaning spouses and parents everywhere.

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Starting May 1st, Rockstar Games Social Club will be hosting GTA: Chinatown Wars week, and giving owners of the DS title a chance to grab a rare vehicle for in-game use. Obviously, this will only be available for a limited time, with the offer expiring at 11:59 PM May 7th.

What is this new vehicle, you may ask. Well, it’s the coveted ‘Bulletproof Hellenbach.’ Chinatown Wars has been all the rage for DS owners this year, and with the addition of a bulletproof vehicle, I feel certain that the pedestrian populations of those virtual streets are in dire peril.

Rockstar also rolled out a new lineup of downloadable papercraft models exclusively for Social Club members to print and assemble, and they’ve enhanced the popular ‘Rampage Tracker.’ I expect that if this type of promotion pans out, we’ll see a lot more online tie-ins for games, both handheld and console.

So, what do you need to do to grab your very own near-invincible set of wheels? All the detailed instructions can be found after the break.

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SEGA plans to dole out the nostalgia to gamers come early 2009 when they release their upcoming Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection or if you happen to live in the UK, “Sega’s Mega Drive Ultimate Collection” for the PS3 and Xbox 360. This compilation of some of the most popular first-party games from SEGA’s 16-bit Mega Drive years will contain not only classic titles for the SEGA enthusiast, but also some bonus content from its 8-bit Master System and some tubular 1980’s arcade era games.

Currently in development by Backbone Entertainment, the game disc houses over 40 games in one package revamped in HD such as:

• Alien Storm
• Columns
• Ecco the Dolphin
• Phantasy Star
• Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2 and 3
• Space Harrier
• Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3

Each reproduction will run well on HD televisions because they can output in 720p which will be a great change for those of us who played these games back in the day, and a good way to get the newer generations interested in just how far games have come over the years.

This is the largest collection of SEGA first party games ever put on on gaming disc, and while you can get some of the retro goodness mentioned above through Xbox Live or the Wii Virtual Console it will be cheaper in the long run if you just buy the gaming disc when it come out next year. Plus, the games mentioned here are not anywhere near close to 40 titles, and the disc will also include unlockable content in the way of acade games and interviews with the original game developers as you earn Achievements on the Xbox 360 and Trophies on the PS3.

Fans of muliplayer/co-op games will not be left out either because you can play these classics together with a friend from the same console at home.

You can view more screens of the game here on the FileFront game page.

The final episode of Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People debuts of this Monday’s Wii-kly Update. Strong Bad Episode 5: 8-Bit Is Enough is just one of the WiiWare titles Nintendo is offering this week. Confront Trogdor the dragon before he causes more destruction than Strong Bad.

The second title is Big Kahuna Party, a party game for up to four friends. Whether you choose competitive or cooperative play, this game will bring tikis, sea creatures and tropical sun to brighten your winter doldrums.

Weighing in for the Virtual Console offering is Enduro Racer, a classic arcade racing game translated for the SEGA Master System. For the full details on all of these games, follow the break.
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Hopefully all of you out there have gotten your fill of turkey and all the fixings and are ready to sit back and relax now that the family mayhem has subsided. What better way to do that than to play a couple of PC demos or patch some of your current games? If this sounds good to you, FileFront has plenty to offer this week. They may not help you lose the extra pounds you gained, but they will at least get your mind off of the left overs that your mother sent home with you.

Demos

• Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: This single-player demo features the game’s cinematic opening, one full campaign mission from both the Soviet and Allied campaigns, and an interactive tutorial. The full game features 3 full campaigns (all playable solo or co-op online), a skirmish mode pitting you against nine formidable commanders, and competitive online multiplayer.

• StuntMANIA!pro v3.0.0: Fast paced 3D car stunt driving game, where you get to perform the most amazing tricks and stunts in some really cool environments. You can select any of the NINE amazing stunt cars and play either timed games, challenge games or just go crazy and have fun. Are there any limitations in the demo version? Yes.You are limited to playing only one stunt car (Razor), you can only play one environment (Trixter Park) but in both Daytme and Nighttime modes, you cant play AIR SPEED FREAK or BONUS ROUNDUP games, you are unable to save your scores and stunt rankings are not kept for you. (Mac version is can be found here: StuntMANIA!pro v3.0.0 Mac Demo)

• Zombie Shooter 2: In the sequel Sigma Team strives to put all the best features of Zombie Shooter and Alien Shooter series, player’s needs and suggestions have been listened to, as well as improved gfx, larger variety of enemies, more vehicle types, and more than 50 weapons and accessories.

• Professor Heinz Wolff`s Gravity: Deep Silver has released a demo for Professor Heinz Wolff’s Gravity. The demo contains a tutorial, as well as five attractive levels with varied degrees of difficulty and gorgeous, hand-painted backgrounds. Just like in the real game, virtual professor Heinz Wolff will provide you with helpful hints. The aim of Professor Heinz Wolff’s Gravity is to place various building blocks correctly in each level, in order to move a ball to a given target point. To that end, players must take the force of gravity into consideration and cleverly place differently shaped objects, so that their physical connection will trigger forces of leverage and chain reactions. The steadily rising learning curve introduces PC and console puzzlers to the easy-to-learn, entertaining principle of the game, and helps them to familiarize themselves with physical and mechanical effects. Various possible solutions and beautiful hand-illustrated themed backgrounds make for plenty of variety.

• Geneforge 5: Overthrow – Mac: Spiderweb Software brings you Geneforge 5: Overthrow, the final chapter in their fantasy epic. Return to the world of the Shapers one final time. Explore a vast, war-torn world, create and mold your own army of strange, powerful monsters, and choose a side to help lead to final victory.

• Qwak Demo: Experience super-playable coin-op style action, in this cute platformer, available NOW on your PC.

As always, for the full list of demos and patches, click here and here.

Patches are listed after the jump.

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