Jorgensen Brooks Group Counselor Administrative & Professional Tucson Urban League CEO/President Finance and Accounting Charles E. Gillman Company Accounting Specialist Health Care Dependable Health Services Physical Therapists Mechanical Komatsu Equipment Co Resident Field Mechanic Trades/Construction RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION Sales and Marketing Everready Glass Sales Reps Caliente'Spore' among slate of video game releasesTucson, Arizona | Published: 09.18.2008
Castle Crashers (360, $15, Teen) — Another in a string of incredibly strong, recent downloadable titles for the Xbox 360, "Castle Crashers" is a winning side-scrolling brawler. Along with up to three other players, you guide sword-swinging, magic-wielding knights through bloody battlefields.
The game simulates old quarter-popping arcade games involving the X-Men, the Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
On the fly, you can buy items at stores you find along the way and upgrade your abilities after you earn experience points to raise your level. The action is kinetic and much more fun with friends at your side. "Castle Crashers" is another impressive outing from developer the Behemoth, which produced the similar-in-tone but much more difficult "Alien Hominid."
Rock Band 2 (360, $60, Teen) — More a refinement of concepts established in last year's groundbreaking music game than true innovation, "Rock Band 2" smooths out rough edges from the past and provides an engrossing rock-out experience.
The game lets you play songs along with up to three partners, online or in the same room, with two players handling guitar, a singer on the microphone and a drummer. The original "Rock Band" constricted you to sticking with a particular band-leader profile as you toured the virtual world, but the sequel lets rockers drop in or out of play as they please.
Owners of the original "Rock Band" can use their instruments for the new game and, even better, can rip nearly all of the songs from the original game onto the hard drive — you pay a $5 licensing fee, and the tunes will be playable on "Rock Band 2," along with any songs you've downloaded.
Those who have the first "Rock Band" may just want to buy the game, but newbies should wait for the $180 special edition, which will come out in October and includes wireless drums and a revised guitar.
The game comes out on PlayStation 3 in October and PlayStation 2 and Wii in November.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, PSP, $35-$60, Teen) — As Darth Vader's secret apprentice, you fly across the galaxy in search of the few remaining Jedi, slaying them under Vader's command.
You can toy around with Dark Side Force powers, including lightning blasts, a force field that knocks everyone around you down and many others. Role-playing game elements let you choose new powers and upgrade your abilities as you gain more experience. It's a whole lot of evil fun to chase down and slaughter Wookies and Droids, as well as the uppity Jedi.
In between missions you watch dazzling cut scenes that play out a twist-filled story that acts as a bridge between the "Star Wars" prequels and the original trilogy. Occasionally, graphics glitches and repetitive gameplay somewhat dampen the fun, but the game is a must for "Star Wars" geeks.
Spore ($50, Computers, Everyone 10+) — An evolution simulator from mastermind Will Wright ("The Sims," "Sim City"), "Spore" lets you guide a species of your own design from primordial soup to interstellar domination.
As you struggle for survival, you add body parts and character traits suited to make your creature (and eventually an entire society of your creations) thrive.
Cutesy graphics and a dumbed-down menu system make the game a breeze even on the hardest difficulty level, but the game's online play may prove to be its strongest point. You can check out and interact with the work of others and show off your own beasts, to which you grow surprisingly attached.
PlayStation 3 Expansion Pack: Pain: Amusement Park ($6, Teen) — The new add-on delivers online play as well as five new modes to this simplistic, addictive game in which you fling characters from a catapult and rack up points depending on how much harm and destruction you cause.
The setting shifts to a zany amusement park, and if you have something against clowns you can get them back in "Clown Toss."The multiplayer challenges are free-for-alls with an emphasis on quick triggers and on-the-fly strategizing.
— Phil Villarreal
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