| The following is a review of the Top 5 video games | | | | character, Carl "CJ" Johnson returning home from |
| searched for on the Internet. | | | | Liberty City to Los Santos after learning of his |
| Looking for a game? Looking for a gift for a gamer? | | | | mother's murder. CJ finds his family and his old gang, |
| Just curious? | | | | the Grove Street Families, in disarray. Over the course |
| Rank 1 Grand Theft Auto IV: | | | | of the game, CJ gradually unravels the plot behind his |
| Grand Theft Auto IV is an upcoming sandbox-style | | | | mother's murder while reestablishing his gang and |
| action adventure video game. It will be the ninth title | | | | exploring his own business ventures. |
| (and the first in the fourth generation) in the Grand | | | | Grand Theft Auto series is rich with controversy, the |
| Theft Auto video game franchise. It will be released | | | | most notable for San Andreas was over the "Hot |
| worldwide on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 for both | | | | Coffee" minigame, which was disabled but left in the |
| PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game will be set in a | | | | code, which caused San Andreas to be re-rated |
| redesigned Liberty City, based heavily on New York | | | | briefly as an adult game and pulled from shelves. Since |
| City and New Jersey. | | | | its re-release the game is rated as follows; |
| Niko Bellic is Eastern European, between 28 and 32 | | | | Price: Approx. $19.99 |
| years of age and has come to Liberty City to pursue | | | | Game Rating: M (Mature) |
| the "American Dream". Niko was persuaded to move | | | | Rank 4 Guitar Hero II: |
| to Liberty City by his cousin Roman, who claimed in | | | | Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by |
| multiple e-mails to Niko that he was living a fabulous life, | | | | Harmonix Music Systems and published by |
| with a mansion, women, hot tubs and sports cars. | | | | RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar |
| Roman's claims turn out to be lies to hide his own | | | | Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero. It was |
| failures, however, and in reality he only owns a small | | | | first released for the PlayStation 2 in November 2006 |
| taxi business, which he wants Niko to work for. | | | | and then for the Xbox 360 in April 2007, with additional |
| Roman is the only person Niko knows in Liberty City to | | | | content. |
| begin with, and is one of his major connections in the | | | | Like the original Guitar Hero, the player uses a |
| first part of the game. Niko is a tough character, | | | | guitar-shaped peripheral to simulate the playing of rock |
| whereas Roman is friendly. Roman is heavily in debt | | | | music as notes scroll towards the player. Most of the |
| and a lot of people are after him. He desperately | | | | gameplay from the original game remains intact, with |
| needs Niko's support, hence the reason he deceived | | | | new modes and note combinations being the major |
| Niko into travelling to Liberty City. They are constantly | | | | additions. The game features more than 40 popular |
| bickering. It is later revealed that Niko has also been | | | | licensed songs, many of them cover versions |
| avoiding other, as yet undisclosed, problems at home. | | | | recorded for the game, spanning five decades (from |
| Both characters are new and there are virtually no | | | | the 1960s to the 2000s). |
| returning players. | | | | Since its release, Guitar Hero II has been met with both |
| Price: Approx. $59.99 | | | | critical and commercial success, helping the Guitar |
| Game Rating: M (Mature) | | | | Hero series become a cultural phenomenon. |
| Blood | | | | Price: Approx. |
| Intense Violence | | | | Bundle with Guitar $79.99 |
| Partial Nudity | | | | PS2 $39.99 |
| Strong Language | | | | Xbox $49.99 |
| Strong Sexual Content | | | | Game Rating: Teen |
| Use of Drugs and Alcohol | | | | Rank 5 Mortal Kombat: |
| Rank 2 Saints Row: | | | | Mortal Kombat (commonly abbreviated as MK) is a |
| Saints Row is an action-adventure video game | | | | popular series of fighting games made originally by |
| published for the Xbox 360 console. It was developed | | | | Midway Manufacturing Company. Mortal Kombat |
| by Volition and published by THQ. The game arrived in | | | | began as a series of arcade games, which were |
| stores in wide release on August 29, 2006 in North | | | | picked up by Acclaim Entertainment for the home |
| America, and on September 1, 2006 in Europe and | | | | console versions. Now Midway exclusively creates |
| Australia. | | | | home versions of Mortal Kombat. It is especially noted |
| The game has been described as being in the same | | | | for its high levels of blood and gore, including, most |
| vein as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in terms of | | | | notably, its graphic fatalities - Finishing Moves, requiring |
| story and gameplay, with the developers referring to it | | | | a sequence of buttons to perform. These were so |
| as an emerging genre called "open world"; both games | | | | extreme that they, in part, led to the founding of the |
| focus on urban gang activity, with the main character | | | | Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) 1 Mortal |
| attempting to strengthen his gang's standing amongst | | | | Kombat is available in PS2, Xbox, Mobile and PC. |
| three other rival gangs. Saints Row makes additions to | | | | The original Mortal Kombat was developed as a |
| the genre, adding an extensive character | | | | reaction to the popular fighting game Street Fighter II, |
| customization feature and online multiplayer modes. | | | | with digitized graphics of real game actors as opposed |
| Price: Approx. $29.99 | | | | to animated cartoon graphics. Critics said the game's |
| Game Rating: M (Mature) | | | | graphic violence was only included in order to generate |
| Rank 3 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: | | | | a public outcry and controversy that would gain |
| Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a sandbox-style | | | | publicity for the game. Although highly controversial, the |
| action-adventure computer and video game | | | | mix of realism and violence propelled Mortal Kombat to |
| developed by Rockstar North. It is the third 3D game in | | | | widespread and historic renown. |
| the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and fifth | | | | Price: Approx. $19.99 - $39.99 |
| original game overall. Originally released for the | | | | Game Rating: M (Mature) |
| PlayStation 2 in October 2004, the game has since | | | | 1. Descriptions in large part by Wikipedia. |
| been ported to the Xbox and Microsoft Windows, and | | | | Wikipedia - The biggest multilingual free-content |
| has received wide acclaim and high sales figures on all | | | | encyclopedia on the Internet. Over 7 million articles in |
| three platforms. | | | | over 200 languages, and still growing. |
| Set in late 1992, the game revolves around the main | | | | Please visit us at The Software Spot! |