Mario Kart Wii!

Mario Kart Wii Welcome to the land of the famous plumber Mario! Either you are a fan of Mario games (from the past ages of Donkey Kong as I am) or not you are going to experience the ultimate fun! Pick up a character from various funny options; pick up a vehicle among cars, motorcycles even strollers, choose a course among fascinating, fantastic sceneries and gear up! A one of a kind racing game by Nintendo Wii playing console with a lot of pleasant surprises and traps… Race against your friends and family while gathering at home.

Ratings:

Fun factor: High. A very enjoyable game, pleasant music, fast with explosions and traps everywhere

Cost:  Normal. Standard cost for a Nintendo Wii game.

Complexity: Medium. The player has to learn all of the weapons and tricks that he/she must use in order to win and I assure you they are not few!

Duration: Until you are bored!!

Replayability: Medium. There are a lot of courses to play, a lot of characters to choose but as soon as you pick them all you are starting to loose interest.

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Introduction to Pen and Paper Role Playing Games

Pen and paper role playing games (RPGs) is a very popular category of fantasy games where players assume the role of a character and describe their actions through speech and/or using miniatures. In each pen and paper RPG, there is a comprehensive systems rule that describes the traits and abilities of each character and what actions they can perform. These games are typically turn-based, which means that each character may perform actions when their turn comes in a pre-determined, often randomized, cycle.

Pen and paper RPGs are played in small social gatherings, most often at home but occasionally on coffee shops and sometimes even at specially designed venues where big gatherings take place and even tournaments.

In a pen and paper RPG, the players create their characters (usually before the actual gaming session takes place) according to the specific rules of each game. The game rules dictate possible backgrounds and qualitative characteristics but also some numerical statistics. Many players usually go beyond the game rules to include sketches of how their character looks like and fine tune the whole role playing process.

After the characters have been created, the game procedure is being initiated by the Game Master (GM). The Game Master is usually a person well - versed in the rules of the specific game whose responsibility is to narrate a story and create the background for the players to act. Among the GM's responsibilities are to prepare the setting and the context where the game takes place, to play the role of all miscellaneous characters appearing in the plot interacting with the players, to describe events that take place, to  and even adjudicate disputes when they arise.


Most of these games rely on using various types of dice to introduce an element of randomization to the game and actually make it feel more alive. Several of the most popular pen and paper games have been implemented as PC games in the past, becoming blockbusters. The blooming category of massive multiplayer online RPGs that have conquered the PC gaming world have their roots in  these pen and paper games.

In subsequent posts we will explore several of the most popular pen & paper RPGs in more depth.

Buzz

Buzz is a Playstation 3 quiz game that has been a part of Sony's previous console versions portfolio. It plays out like a TV show game based on knowledge about various topics. It's innovative characteristic is the "buzzer", a special controller designed specifically for this game series:

Each "buzzer" supports up to four players which makes the game suitable for a home gathering of few people. The players select a unique avatar among many options, add their names and start the game. A typical game has several stages (depending on a duration - based option that is configured in the beginning), with increasing difficulty. During the first few stages, the players simply gather points depending on their knowledge while in the final stages knowledge has to be combined with quick reactions to stay in the game.


The game allows a group playing via a PS3 set connected to the internet to search and find other groups of players, which greatly enhances the fun factor of the game. The virtual host is also a star in the game, quickly having fun with players that stay behind in score or fail to answer a question that everyone else has answered. Versions of the game exist for a large amount of languages also.

Ratings:

Fun factor: High. Thousands of questions from a large variety of topics along with quick pace and humorous lines of the host blend in to provide a very nice gaming experience.

Cost: Normal. Standard cost for a PS3 game.

Complexity: Low. The game is very straightforward, everything a player needs to know can be sorted out in one round. From the second game onwards, you can showcase your knowledge and reflexes.

Duration: 25-45 minutes depending on scenario selection.

Replayability: High. Buzz supports addition of user-generated questions which can make the question selection more randomized. Games between two groups of players are clearly the most fun as they also end up as remote team contests.

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