This isn’t just a DS version of GTA; this is a fantastic game that advances the series by introducing a number of great new features.

The Good

* Doesn’t feel like a compromise compared to other GTA games
* Improves upon previous games with new features
* The massive Liberty City from GTAIV is instantly recognizable
* Intuitive controls make great use of touch screen
* Lengthy story, loads of optional activities, and fun multiplayer modes.

The Bad

* Multiplayer supports only two people
* Camera doesn’t always afford you a clear view of action.

Score: 9.5/10

At first glance, Chinatown Wars could be mistaken for a return to the Grand Theft Auto series’ humble 2D beginnings. The action is viewed from a more or less top-down perspective, and of course you still spend much of your time driving stolen cars and causing trouble with firearms. But the similarities between this superb Nintendo DS game and its ’90s progenitors pretty much end there. Chinatown Wars actually has more in common with GTAs III and IV than it does with earlier games, and, remarkably, it even adds to and improves on the formula that made those games so successful. That’s a bold statement for sure, but Chinatown Wars really is that good.

Liberty City is almost as impressive on the DS as it is in GTAIV.

Set in the same instantly recognizable Liberty City as GTAIV (minus one island), Chinatown Wars tells the story of a power struggle within the Triad gangs from the perspective of Huang Lee, whose crime-boss father has recently been murdered. Huang flies to Liberty from Hong Kong to avenge his father, and predictably becomes embroiled in the war between those hoping to step into the dead man’s shoes. As Huang, you advance the story–which should take you about nine hours to play through–by undertaking missions for a number of different characters within the Triad organization, as well as for one or two people outside of it. Many of these missions involve the usual mix of driving fast, killing people, and not getting caught by the cops, but there are plenty of varied and memorable missions as well, a number of which put the touch screen to great use.

For the most part, Chinatown Wars plays just like any other GTA game, which is an achievement in itself. Basic controls for movement and car-jacking are mapped to the same button positions that they are on other platforms. The uncomplicated on-foot and vehicle controls are largely the same (sprint becomes accelerate, shoot is still shoot), so even those of you with no prior GTA experience should have no trouble picking them up quickly. There are some great options to make the game even more user-friendly as well, such as autotargeting for drive-by shootings and a subtle steering assist that automatically straightens up your vehicle so that it’s parallel with the road that you’re on. There’s even an option to superimpose GPS directions directly onto the street, which works a lot better than having to look down at the map on the bottom screen.

One downside to Chinatown Wars being so uncompromising in its attempt to replicate the GTA experience is that, because the DS has fewer buttons than other systems, you’re occasionally required to use the touch screen at inopportune times. It’s not a big problem, but despite the fact that it’s implemented well, having to use the touch screen to both switch between weapons and to throw projectile weapons such as grenades, Molotov cocktails, and flashbangs is a little unwieldy. It’s unfortunate, because elsewhere in the game the touch screen really adds to the experience, with minigames that let you take a more hands-on approach to tasks that otherwise wouldn’t be interactive at all. For example, when you attempt to steal a parked car, there’s a good chance that you’ll have to complete one of three minigames to get it started: rotating a screwdriver in the ignition, entering an immobilizer PIN, or unscrewing a panel on the steering column and hot-wiring. More imaginative touch-screen minigames include making your own Molotov cocktails at the gas station, tattooing gang recruits, searching Dumpsters for weapons and discarded food, and using a salvage boat’s sonar to search for drug shipments lost at sea, to name but a few. What all of these minigames have in common is that they’re quick, fun, rarely challenging enough to halt your progress, and are mandatory only once.

Story missions are also mandatory only once, but Chinatown Wars is the first game in the series to let you replay any mission that you’ve beaten previously in an attempt to achieve a higher score or a faster time. Another great addition for missions is the “trip skip” option that, if you choose to retry an eligible mission immediately after failing it, lets you bypass the road trip at the start of the mission and get right back into the action that killed you on your last attempt. None of the missions are so difficult that you should fail them more than once or twice, but this is a welcome feature nonetheless, and one that will hopefully be implemented in other GTA games down the road.

There are dozens of different vehicles and they all handle differently.

When you’re not carrying out missions handed to you by central characters and by random pedestrians that you encounter, there are an impressive number of other things to do in Liberty City, some old, some new. For example, stealing a cop car, an ambulance, a cab (you can hail these by whistling into the mic if you really want to), a fire truck, or a noodle delivery van will give you the option to make some money impersonating those vehicles’ rightful owners. And if you successfully steal a delivery van that’s being used to transport drugs or weapons and get it back to one of your secluded safe houses, you get to keep its contents. Weapons can be tricky to obtain this way because the Ammu-Nation drivers are invariably well armed. But stealing drugs is far less challenging, and if you get them for free then making a profit is inevitable when you meet with any of the 80 dealers who, once you find them, can be traded with to make relatively easy money. That’s provided that there are no police in the immediate vicinity, because they’ll either spook the dealer before you can make the deal or wait for you to close it and then move in to make arrests. Interacting with a dealer in any way adds him to your GPS system’s database for future reference, so anytime you see a telltale blue dot on your map, it’s well worth a quick detour to check it out.

Other things to look out for in Liberty City include parked vehicles that initiate checkpoint races and delivery missions when you climb into them, unique stunt jumps that are set up so that you can crash through billboards, a go-kart race track, and 100 security cameras that can be destroyed using grenades or Molotovs. Chinatown Wars also sees the welcome return of Rampage missions, which are against-the-clock killing sprees that challenge you to kill a certain number of enemies using a specific weapon, sometimes with an AI-controlled henchman or two at your side.

Incidentally, weapons are in plentiful supply, and can be ordered from Ammu-Nation’s Web site using your in-game PDA. There are more than 20 different weapons to play with in Chinatown Wars, including everything from fists, flashbangs, and flamethrowers to swords, shotguns, and sniper rifles. Most weapons fall into either the ranged (lock on and hit A), melee (lock on and hit A), or thrown (determine range and direction with touch screen) classes as far as controls go, and all perform their jobs admirably. The sniper rifle is unique in that it comes into play only in specific missions, must be assembled via a touch-screen minigame before use, and turns the entire top screen into a crosshair. Proximity mines that you drop at your feet are also a fun addition to the GTA arsenal, though they remain armed for only a few seconds before they explode without provocation. The most powerful weapons become readily available only toward the end of the game, which is just as well because as soon as you get your hands on a flamethrower or an armful of flashbangs, they make subsequent missions much easier.

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Over at the GameSpot forums they have what appear to be actual BioShock 2 details from the new issue of GameInformer. The sequel has players assuming control of “the first ever” Big Daddy, according to creative director Jordan Thomas.

Players will be armed with a drill, and will also be able to upgrade their weapons and various plasmids. As you liberate Little Sisters from other Big Daddies, you’ll be able to either Harvest or Adopt them. Adoption apparently lets players escort a Little Sister around levels, fighting off splicers as the Little Sister harvests the all-powerful Adam from corpses. (thanks ShackNews)

It’s 10 years since the first game. The Big Sister returns to rapture, bringing back the Little Sisters with her. You play as the original Big Daddy. You can use the drill, the rivet gun, and you can still use plasmids. Little Sisters have been given a new look to be less creepy, as you’re seeing them from the eyes of their protectors. You don’t get your own Little Sister from the start, as you’re a renegade Big Daddy. So you fight other Big Daddies to get your own sister. You can still harvest them, but the other option has been changed to “adopt” instead of rescue. If you adopt the sister, she’ll ride on your shoulders, and you can go around Rapture looking for corpses for her to collect ADAM from. When your sister goes to harvest ADAM, a wave of Splicers will come and start attacking to try and harvest her. You have to hold them off until she finishes harvesting. You gain some ADAM from this, but not enough to tide you through the game. You can permanently rescue them, but the article doesn’t say how. The Big Sister is one of the surviving little sisters from the last game. She’s the new ruler of Rapture, and is the main antagonist of the game. With each Big Daddy you kill, the game lets you know how close you are to incurring the wrath of the Big Sister. When you do, the little sister you’re with will sing a song about how the Big Sister doesn’t want you playing with her, then you get jumped.

Doesn’t seem terribly inspired.. same setting, same enemies (with a few new ones), same plasmids with small upgrades. The novelty has kind of worn off, I wonder how well this will sell? I’m a strong believer that some stories should be left as they are, but this is the gaming industry and money talks.

Resident Evil 5 is a fun and frantic evolution of RE4′s breakthrough gameplay and the series’ horror themes.

The Good

* Beautifully detailed graphics and character animations
* Having a partner enhances the fun and excitement while adding tension
* Real-time menu system keeps you immersed
* Plenty to do once you’ve beaten it.

The Bad

* Frustrating hurdles to leap when joining an online game
* Slow, deliberate movement and gunplay may not appeal to everyone
* Can’t swap weapons with a human teammate online.

Score: 8.5/10

Thirteen years ago, Capcom helped revolutionized the action-adventure world with Resident Evil, a game that would define an entirely new genre dubbed “survival horror.” In the years that followed, the series continued to build upon the standards set by the first game, until 2005, when Resident Evil 4 radically departed from its predecessors and broke new ground as a more action-oriented game. Resident Evil 5, the latest offering in the long-running series, expands on the action-heavy formula of its forerunner and is built from the ground up to support cooperative gameplay. Though it can no longer be considered a survival horror game, Resident Evil 5 manages to retain and effectively translate the most important aspect of that genre–tension–into its new mechanics, crafting a fun, collaborative experience that will keep you on your toes the entire time.

Hey Sheva, is there a vet around here? 'Cause these pythons are sick!

Ten years after the destruction of Raccoon City, former S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team member Chris Redfield is an agent of the B.S.A.A. This paramilitary anti-bio-organic weapon organization travels the globe to seek out and destroy Umbrella’s creations, which have fallen into the hands of terrorists following the collapse of the multinational pharmaceutical company. When Chris gets a tip that a known weapons dealer will be making a big deal in the remote African nation of Kijuju, he heads there to put a stop to it and learn what he can about the mysterious doomsday project known only as Uroboros. Chris is joined by Sheva Alomar, a local B.S.A.A. agent, and together they battle wave after wave of infected villagers, horribly mutated monsters, and even series archnemesis Albert Wesker.

The core combat mechanics haven’t fundamentally changed since Resident Evil 4–the action still unfolds from an over-the-shoulder perspective, certain battles or cutscenes are accompanied by brief quick time events, and you still have to stop moving to fire your weapon (though you gain a bit more mobility thanks to your newfound ability to walk sideways). Resident Evil 5′s slow movement and gunplay take some time to get used to, and folks expecting a run-and-gun game may find the action too sluggish for their tastes. Fortunately, this slowness isn’t really an issue within the game, because enemies are deliberate with their attacks and are better handled with a cool head and steady aim.

Regardless of how similar the combat in Resident Evil 5 is to its predecessor, the addition of a second character makes encounters feel quite different. Teamwork is necessary to take down more-powerful enemies and bosses, and having someone there to watch your back goes a long way toward keeping you alive. Furthermore, there have been radical changes to the inventory management system. The immersion-breaking briefcase from the previous game is gone, and enemies no longer politely wait for you to rummage through your things because bringing up your armory doesn’t pause the action. At any given time, you can store up to nine items per character, four of which are bound to the directions of the D pad for easy access. This new system works extremely well and successfully conveys a sense of urgency whenever you go through your gear. It’s often necessary to trade items with your partner, and keeping track of who has what at all times is crucial, because rummaging through your things while a boss beats on you is painful.

It's tough to stay frosty in the sweltering heat, but Chris always manages to keep a cool head.

Sheva’s artificial intelligence makes her a competent companion, though her degree of skill seems to rely more on her armaments than anything else–she is extremely good at using burst fire with a machine gun, for example, but tends to waste ammo when equipped with a handgun. That said, at no point does she feel like extra baggage that needs babysitting (unlike some of the series’ previous companions), and she can hold her own in a fight. Sheva really shines when there’s someone else controlling her. Resident Evil 5 supports both split-screen and online co-op play through Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, and exploring Kijuju with a friend greatly enhances both the experience and the fun factor. Every game has the potential to go multiplayer, since split-screen is as simple to initiate as hitting Start on a second controller, and other online players can join in on a free-for-all or invite-only basis if your game session is set up to allow this from the get-go.

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First gameplay footage of Wolverine in Activision’s action game X-Men Origins: Wolverine for DS, PC, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360.

Available now as a direct download from EA’s online store, Electronic Arts released Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Uprising in seven different languages, today. To get your hands on a physical copy of Uprising though, you will have to be a little bit more patient and wait until April.

Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Uprising directly continues where Red Alert 3 ended.

Good news: you do not need Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 in order to play Uprising. Be careful though! At 5,9 GB in size, it will take some time until the download will be finsihed. This add-on focuses on single-player action and there is no multiplayer modus included. Available for $19.95, these are some of its new features:

* Four new campaigns – Battle your way through all-new campaigns featuring classic fast, furious, and fun C&C action. New stories and missions feature all three factions, plus experience a new twist with the first-ever C&C dungeon-crawler campaign!

* Eleven deadly new over-the-top units – Conquer the world and crush your enemies with 11 new units from the Soviets, Allies, and Empire of the Rising Sun, such as the Cryo Legionnaire, the Steel Ronin, and the Desolator!

* The biggest cast ever in a C&C expansion — Command & Conquer’s trademark live-action videos return with new Hollywood stars in 30 more minutes of high-definition video. The most star-studded cast in videogame history just got even bigger!

* Challenge the Commanders, conquer the world – Fight for world domination in the all-new Commander’s Challenge mode! Do you have what it takes to withstand the brutal onslaught and relentless taunting of the world’s toughest commanders? Find out as you attempt to conquer the world in 50 challenges featuring up to 30 hours of additional gameplay!

Alright here we go. These are the best selling PC games in the USA for the entire month February according to NPD. Have a peek:

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $36.55
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $19
3. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II / Relic / $38.99
4. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $37
5. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin / Monolith / $44.99
6. Spore / EA Maxis / $45
7. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $18
8. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Exp. Pack / EA Maxis / $20
9. Fallout 3 / Bethesda / $41.70
10. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack / Blizzard / $28
11. Call Of Duty: World At War / Treyarch / $42.95
12. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 / EA LA / $27.99
13. Left 4 Dead / Valve / $43.64
14. The Sims 2 Deluxe / EA Maxis / $3 (Averge)
15. Civilization IV / Firaxis / $21
16. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff Exp. / EA Maxis / $18
17. StarCraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $20
18. Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack / EA Maxis / $18
19. Diablo Battle Chest / Blizzard / $34
20. The Sims 2 Pets Exp. / EA Maxis / $19

This strategy sequel is incredibly deep, broad, addictive–and a bit rough around the edges.

The Good

* Impressive and ambitious historical scope
* A huge amount of content, online and off
* Both land and naval battles are fun to play and fun to watch
* Addictive gameplay will keep you glued to the monitor.

The Bad

* An array of artificial intelligence issues
* Numerous bugs and performance hitches.

Like diving into a murky lake from the rocky cliffs looming above, plunging into Empire: Total War is an intimidating prospect but an exhilarating experience. As with previous games in this strategy franchise, there’s an overwhelming amount of content to unearth, though now the clock has been spun forward hundreds of years. Technological advances have made bows and arrows weapons obsolete, the British colonies strive for independence, and major empires approach their inevitable collapse. These historical waters are deep, but also a bit turbulent. Empire is the biggest and broadest Total War yet, and like an aging historical parchment, it’s brilliantly ambitious in scope but somewhat tattered at the edges. Nevertheless, the game’s historical breadth, turn-based tugs-of-war, and enjoyable real-time battles (both on land and at sea) will transfix series fans and newcomers alike.

You'll put a lot into Empire: Total War, but it gives a lot in return.

The grand campaign is the meat of Empire: Total War, and it’s there where you’re likely to spend the most amount of time. The game stretches across the 18th century and lets you choose from a number of world powers, from Great Britain and Russia to fallen domains such as the Maratha Confederacy and the Ottoman Empire. Once you choose an empire, you can select from a few different campaign types that determine victory conditions and campaign length. Whichever you decide, be prepared: Even a short, 50-year campaign can take a good amount of time to complete, given that each turn requires strategic thinking on multiple fronts. Battles usually determine how regions are won and lost, but diplomatic relations, economic strangleholds, assassinations, and many other subtleties must be tweaked and considered at each turn, and they have noticeable impact as the years progress. If this sounds overwhelming, or if you’re an American history buff, you’ll want to check out the Road to Independence campaign before jumping into the grand one. This is essentially a long American tutorial that slowly introduces you to the basics and culminates in a grand campaign of its own.

The factors you must consider run the gamut, starting with an important new feature: the technology tree. Three areas of research and multiple subtrees let you improve your military, industry, and philosophy; in turn, your choices may benefit your economy or your success in battle. The benefits may seem minor at first, but as the campaign wears on, their effects are more noticeable, and your choices within these trees must be informed by the strengths and weaknesses of your particular empire. Do you concentrate on industry and use sheer numbers of troops to overwhelm your enemies, or do you focus on naval improvements and reap the ensuing benefits of successful trade-route blockades? As your campaign wears on, your needs may shift, whether because enemy blockades require a stronger navy, because you are spreading quickly across land, or because your economy is unable to sustain your growing army. Technology is also a limited diplomatic option, given that it’s a commodity that you can not only trade during negotiations but also steal from foes. Additionally, it’s not easy to convince a friendly nation to offer technology. Even when offered multiple technologies or monetary compensation, your closest allies rarely accept a request to share even a single technology, which makes it a limited political tool. In Empire: Total War, knowledge is more easily stolen than shared.

In fact, your more successful political dealings are the underhanded ones. Your agents may differ between nations (for example, gentlemen and rakes for the British, scholars and hashishin for the Ottomans), but the tasks are similar: covertly disrupt the affairs of your enemies and potential enemies. Religious agents such as missionaries will slowly but surely convert the populace, staving off potential rebellion in newly captured regions. On the other hand, the impact of religion is not as deep or impactful as in the Europa Universalis series, in which social and diplomatic events are more fully explored. Regardless, it’s great fun to cripple whole economies, especially when your strategies work in tandem with each other. Sending in a naval fleet to seize enemy trade supplies, sending another directly into an enemy’s port (and therefore obstructing incoming goods), and dispatching an agent to sabotage commercial ports can have profound effects. In cases like these, an angry, resource-deprived public and cash-strapped armies then ease the way for a quick triumph.

The puny Austrians are no match for the might of the Ottomans.

Nevertheless, this is Total War, and though assassinations and sabotage lighten your wartime load, there are no diplomatic, religious, or technological victories. Might is right, and as such, your armies and navies drive the quick spread of your domain–and if you want to meet the campaign’s success requirements, you’ll want to be aggressive, right from the start. The artificial intelligence doesn’t always take sensible steps; smaller countries may declare war, only to be quickly steamrolled, whereas major foes can seem almost oblivious to your spread across their regions. However, campaign AI is good enough to keep you occupied across multiple theaters, and minor nations and rebels can often keep your hands full, leaving room for major foes to invade. You will review every fleet and army at every turn, and now that army recruitment, resource production, and other aspects of play are spread across multiple locales within a region, mobility (and therefore, roads) is an important strategic asset.

Unlike with most turn-based historical games, battles can be played out in real time, and though the autoresolve option may look tempting, you should, at least on land, manage any battle in which you have a reasonable chance of winning. The most obvious reason is that they’re enjoyable to command and enjoyable to watch. Thousands of units clash in a dizzying mass of artillery and bullets, camels and swordsmen, and as in prior Total War games, it’s more about position, formation, and geography than about unit micromanagement. Garrisoning musketeers, and taking heat off of cavalry by keeping enemy gunmen occupied with melee infantry, are just a few of many possibilities to consider. Once armies clash, these prebattle decisions generally have far more impact than any midskirmish choice, and it’s as enjoyable as ever to zoom in close to your troops and watch them engage. The landscapes are on the bland side, but soldier animations and the general amount of model detail make for a wonderful visual treat.

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The Official Global Launch trailer of Empire: Total War.

Click here to view the embedded video.

GSC Game World has released a version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl, dated October 18th, 2004. The old build contains everything that had been built to that date, which includes levels cut from the retail release, and also game features that THQ cut to help make the game more palatable to the mass market.

Word is: “The build uses a completely different physics engine than the one used in the final retail version.

This build is fully playable and contains all of the original levels as well as those that were cut such as Dead City, Swamp and Generators.”

We have a new chart to show you, these are the best selling PC games in the USA for the week ending February 21. That week saw the debut of Dawn of War II, along with the surprise return of Crysis Warhead.

1. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II – THQ – $49
2. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King – Vivendi – Activision Blizzard – $35
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe – Electronic Arts – $19
4. The Sims 2 Deluxe – Electronic Arts – $3
5. Spore – Electronic Arts – $41
6. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest – Activision Blizzard – $34
7. World Of Warcraft – Activision Blizzard – $16
8. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin – Warner Interactive – $49
9. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack – Electronic Arts – $19
10. Crysis: Warhead – Electronic Arts – $19