It’s the little things that count.

In a year when we’ve been “BioShock”-ed, heard the “Call of Duty,” unpacked “The Orange Box” and gone round and round with “Halo,” the Nintendo DS has quietly remained a bastion of unusual diversions. When you’re in the mood for something completely different, the DS always seems to have what you need.

Where else can you pretend to own a John Deere tractor, learn and perform magic tricks, take a crack at cooking or win a trial as a defense attorney?... Read more

It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it.

In a world filled with political unrest and tragic violence, it almost seems too much to glorify war. Then again, as the “Call of Duty” series has always argued, sometimes the road to peace is littered with shell casings.... Read more

You win some, you lose some.
Looking back, 2007 was a good year for games.
“BioShock” electrified gamers, while “Halo 3” almost lived up to the hype. We saw a new “Super Mario” title and watched as the Wii grew from a 2006 holiday novelty into a respected gaming machine.

What were the year’s big wins and avoidable disappointments? Here’s a list of some of 2007’s biggest hits and misses.... Read more

Listen to this.

Like the warm hum of an old Fender amp, "Rock Band" has generated its own buzz.

With its pitch-perfect combi-nation of karaoke, air guitar and real drumming, "Rock Band" headlines the music-gaming hysteria opened by "Guitar Hero."... Read more

Ready to play the shopping game?

Finding the perfect gift for the gamer on your holiday list this year won’t take any more effort than going to the local video-game outlet, closing your eyes, spinning around and pointing. Chances are, you’ll end up with something worth wrapping up. This holiday, the only problem with finding good games remains choosing among the many options. Here are some ideas:

“Mass Effect”, Xbox 360, $59.99, M for Mature... Read more

Something’s not right here.

Gamers weaned on the rudimentary 3-D of the “Myst” worlds and raised to expect the sophisticated realism of “Far Cry” may wonder about the new games “Super Mario Galaxy” and “Portal.”

After years of pretending to race cars, toss pro balls and kill aliens, game developers have started to get weird. Both “Galaxy” and “Portal” get back to an older gaming tradition by providing whacked-out fun that treads lightly where the rules of physics should apply.... Read more

Video games want out of the basement and teenage boys’ bedrooms.

New games for the Wii, Play-Station 2 and Xbox 360 lead the way up the stairs and right onto the flat screen in the family room. After years of serving a niche market of hardcore players cloistered in hidden corners of the home, game producers have launched a massive attack on the mainstream, with family-oriented, interactive quiz shows leading the way.... Read more

Blame the guitar.

If not for the invention of this six-string device, countless garages would never have faced re-models into jam zones, millions of high-school dropouts would never have nursed dreams of rock ’n’ roll fame, and countless babies would never have been born to parents who swear that the KISS classic “Rock and Roll All Nite” is the most romantic ballad ever written.

Then again, without the guitar, the world would be just that much less interesting.... Read more

Take a look at this.

Once again demonstrating its seemingly inexhaustible supply of oddball concepts, innovative efforts and games with peculiar premises that appeal to the mainstream as much as they do to Joe Gamer, Nintendo has something new to show.... Read more

Remember Tony Hawk?

Of course you do. Not only does Hawk have almost supernatural skills on a skateboard, but he’s arguably the first person who turned super-celebrity largely because of a video game.... Read more