Mom's Minute

StarCraft II:  Wings of Liberty

Source of News:  Fox News, September 9, 2011

Article Name:  Locked-Out Jazz star turns Video Game Pro

What would you do if you were locked out of an NBA pro game and you admittedly have a competitive spirt?  How about turning into a  video game pro and making money on the side -- To the tune of a shared  $100,000, no less!

If you did the above, you would be joining the ranks of Utah Jazz basketball  star, Gordon Hayward, who is  competing for a share of a $100,000 prize jack pot  from a tournament put on by IGN Entertainment.  The tournament will be  held at Caesars, Atlantic City on October 6-9, 2011.

Hayward will be one of approximately 256 video game players to compete for a share of the $100,000 pool.

The tournament game being played is StarCraft II Wings of Liberty (pictured above).

Here is a picture of  one of the  game play screens.

Hayward mentions that he has been playing video games for as long as he can remember.  To further explain why he is participating in the tournament, Hayward compares playing video games to sports. 

 His words: 

  "Pro gamers are really sports stars themselves. The mental strategy that goes into planning your next move and what your opponent is going to do are skills you need to be successful playing basketball — and playing StarCraft II. If you want to be good, you have to put a lot of time and effort into it, just like with other sports. I've got the best of both worlds."

 Ms. H's take:  I think that video game tournaments are another fun dimension of video games, and add to the social aspect of game playing.  In this case, Gordon Hayward will be playing in the tournament in the same room as his opponents, while  a lot of  other tournaments are played on line, where you may never see the actual person you are playing against--unless, of course you are using technology that allows visuals of players. 

I had the opportunity to watch the previous version of StarCraft  being played recently.  I enjoyed seeing the different strategies that were used during the game play.  I recall it was always important to have some idea what the enemy or opponent was doing while at the same time, you were builiding up  and preparing for the attack. 

Even though you may not be playing in a tournament where the goal is to win money, you can still enjoy the game and get a lot out of it,  strictly based on the game play.

Sometimes, just a good natured GG, or Good Game from the opponent at the end of a game tournament is enough, and brings a sense of satisfaction just as much, and sometimes even more so, than a big jackpot of money..

My minute is up!  Thanks for visiting my website.  I look forward to sharing more video game news with you! Come back soon!.

Remember to follow me on Twitter.  My user name is MsHequalswin!

Bye now,

Ms. H

"Ms. H equals Win!"

Counter-Strike Global Offense ( CS GO) -Scheduled release:  First Quarter of 2012

Source of News:  Mashable, Charlie White, August 26, 2011

Article:  New Counter-Strike 2012 Trailers Revealed [Video]

This news was just released at about 1:55 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, so it is fresh off the press as of the publish time for this article!  Video game players have been waiting for a glimpse of what the newest version of Counter-Strike Global Offense will look like.  The trailer is now out  and available for you to peruse at your leisure.

Counter-Strike Global Offense is  a classic, team based video game which has been around for about 11 years.  It  is a modification of the game "Half-Life", which has sold more than 25 million units.  

So what is the news? The news here is that this game will now be available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for the first time.

The game is scheduled to debut during the first quarter of 2012, with new weapons and maps.  Also new will be the option for cross-platform play.

Here is a picture of what may be the front cover of the game -- which could change before launch date.

Ms. H's take.  This looks to be a shooter type game.  Unfortunately, I have not played any of the earlier versions of Counter-Strike Global Offense.  Initially, I thought it may be a war type game -- similar to Battlefield Bad Company or Call of Duty.  However, the author of the article states it had its start as "Half-life," which I believed to be a role-playiing game? For those of you who do play the older version of this game, just wanted to let you know what you can expect when the new game comes out in 2012.

My minute is up!  Thanks for visiting my website, and I hope you visit again very soon!

Bye now and take care!

Ms. H.

"Ms. H equals Win!"

Madden NFL 12

Source of News:  HoshKosh, Rob Ebert, September 1, 2011

Article:  Video Games:  Madden gains ground, loses ground with 12. 

As you probably know, Madden NFL 12 made its debut a few weeks back.  So by now, if you have purchased the game and played it, you may have already come to a conclusion whether or not Madden NFL 12 is a good game, a "so-so" game, or a game that is not even worth buying in the first place.

If you recall, I played the Madden NFL 10 video game awhile back, and gave you my review.  My impression of this game, at that time  was that it seemed to be playing itself, and there was not much I could do (it seemed), to control the players. Not sure if this was an "operator error" on my part, but sometimes I would not push any buttons on the controller, and the players would be moving around the football field. Could be that this is in the design of the game.

 On the flip side, I was impressed with  the realistic graphics.  I recall a scene in the game where the camera panned to the sports announcers, who were realistically making facial  gestures, and moving around.

Unfortunately, I have not played Madden NFL 12 yet, so I'm unable to give you my personal views on this game.  As soon as I play this game, I will let you know what I think about it.

 However, the author of this article, Rob Ebert,  did play Madden NFL 12, and came away from the game unimpressed. He states that with every new part that EA adds, another part becomes defective and needs to be fixed.

The author refers to the football players in the game, I think rather harshly, as floating robots, who just seem to move around aimlessly when given signals.

These are not what I would consider rave,  positive reviews.  EA may have to go back to the drawing board for some "do overs"?

But as I mentioned previously, you may have your own views about this game, and may completely agree, or disagree with the author.

Here are pictures of the PS3 and Xbox 360 Madden NFL  12 video game covers:

That's it for my video game news for you! 

 My minute is up!  Thanks for visiting my website.  I appreciate you stopping by! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter under MsHequalswin!

Until next time, take care!

Bye now,

Ms. H

"Ms. H=Win!"

Forza Motorsport 4, Release Date October 14, 2011

Source of News:  VideoGamer.Com, James Orry,  August 24, 2011

Author's title of article:  Forza 4 to Pave the Way for Better Looking Games

With Fortza Motorsport 4, it appears to be all about the graphics, specifically since  the company is using an impressive image-based lighting  (IBL) system.  So taken aback by the lighting in this game, there are plans for other video games to follow in Forza  Motorsport 4's foot steps.

Just what is IBL?  IBL is described as using Hollywood techniques to bring a strong sense of realism to the game.  For example, one of the race tracks used in this game eminated from a  trip to the Alps in Switzerland, where some of the most amazing scenes were shot and then transported to the video game world.  According to the author, magnificent views of  the race scenes were shown at the 2011 E3 convention in California.

Dan Greenawait compares the new lighting engine with previous ones.  He  explains  that before Fortza Motorsport 4, there were separate lighting engines for the car and for the environment.  In Fortza Motorsport 4, the lightings are all one, which makes for a more vivid, realistic  background scenery during game play.

This game has lots of realistic terrains,  which include snow, ice and architecture. Without the current technology, this could not be possible.

Here are pictures  of  Forza Motorsport 4  for the Xbox 360.

Ms H's take:  I am impressed that the  developers and programmers found ways  to enhance the video game playing experience  by showing  vivid,  realistic  backgrounds using IBL.   Enhancing the background graphics, including the actual design of the race track, can only add to and be a postive influence on the  overall game play. These changes have my vote!  I would like to challenge developers of other similar type games to try to surpass what was done here, with the Forza Motorsport 4 game.

I'm lookiing forward to playing this game!  I will give you a review of Forza Motorsport 4 when it comes out! 

That's it!  My minute is up!  Thanks for visiting my website and come back soon!  I want to  keep you up-to-date with video game news!

By the way, you may have noticed I made a minor change to the content of my article. I added the title of the news source article beneath the picture above.  Previously I  included  the  title of the  article in the body of the text.  By separating the title from the text, you may be  better able to easily find the title of the news article,   follow-up and read the complete article if you like.

And as always, you can post questions or comments here , on my website.

If you have any recommendations for moms-minute.com website, I would like to hear from you!  Please send me a message on Twitter, at my account MsHEqualswin, and don't forget to follow me!

Ive enjoyed sharing video game news with you!

Bye now,

Ms. H

"Ms. H = Win"

Call of Duty Black Ops

Source of News:  ABC News, Technology, Ron Harris, August 31, 2011

Article:  Video Game System Lets You Play On The Go

Just as the title indicates, you can now play your console video games while on the go.  GAEMS, short for Gaming and Entertainment Mobile Systems is a heavy duty briefcase that comes complete with a high definition display that connects to your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.  The WII is excluded since it does not have HDMI cables.

The briefcase has belts that strap the game system to the case.  There are also pouches for your controller and other peripherals.

The purpose of the briefcase is to allow you to travel, or be mobile, and still be able to continue to play video games, whereever you may be.  You may even play Call of Duty Black Ops (pictured above).

The author tested the soundness of the brief case by enclosing his PlayStation 3 in the case and walking around with it.  According to the author, the PlayStation 3 stayed in place and did not bulge or move.

Here are pictures of the video game briefcase open and closed:

 The briefcase also has a wireless feature at a cost of $20.00, above the cost of the briefcase -- which costs $299.00.

Here is a picture showing video game players using the briefcase outside.

Ms. H. Take:  The author states that this briefcase may be overkill, but video game players will view it as a nice addition when on the road.  His reasoning was you never know when you may need one, especially if you are traveling.  However, I think this briefcase, in my opinion is overkill.  Wouldn't hotels or other places  have TVs, where you can connect your game system and play video games if you wanted to?   The feature that may be noteworthy is the built-in display screen inside the case  which is the same to me as a TV screen.  So I'm not seeing the need or the draw for this briefcase.

If I rated this technology on Mom's Minute, I would have to say that I would not buy it.  I would find better uses for $299.00.

On a positive note:  As always, I applaud the video game industry for coming up with new and innovative technology, and I look forward to seeing what new ideas  will evolve or be unveiled next!

My minute is up!  Thanks for visiting my website!  Come back soon!

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter!  My Twitter name is MsHequalswin.

Bye now,

Ms. H

"Ms. H=Win!"