The DS game card includes a variety of books appropriate for all different ages, including seven separate works by Charles Dickens. There are novels that people can enjoy on the beach, such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; adventure and mystery novels that can be devoured during summer travels, such as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle or Bram Stoker’s Dracula; and books that kids can read at home, such as The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

You’ll hold your Nintendo DS systems sideways like a book. To turn the page, just swipe the touch screen with the stylus or your finger; the settings can also be flipped for left-handed users. A virtual bookmark lets you return to where you left off. Up to three bookmarks can be used to mark your place in three different books, and large and small fonts are available. Each book includes a biography of the author and a synopsis of the plot and characters.

If you aren’t sure which book you want to read you can answer a series of questions about your preferences, and the software will recommend some books you might like. Once a book is finished, you can rate it in different categories and upload the results wirelessly to a central database using Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection. Then other readers can see which books have been rated “funniest” or “most exciting.” You can also share demos of select books with other Nintendo DS owners who want to sample some literature for themselves.

100 Classic Books will be available on June 13. The suggested retail price is $19.95

The Xbox 360 has console exclusivity on their new title Splinter Cell: Conviction putting you in control of super-agent Sam Fisher. Sam’s looking worse for wear; his daughter is dead, his government has abandoned him, and his quest for answers has been dirty, bloody, and nearly fatal. You start the game in a café, getting a phone call you didn’t expect, and leading you on a chase that could change the political structure of the planet. There’s no downtime, no contemplative moments: you’re on the move, both hunter and hunted, in every minute of this game.

Graphics

Visually, Splinter Cell: Conviction is stunning. Ubisoft has put both their engine and their art teams to work, producing a game with smooth frame rates and gorgeous textures. While I was able to produce some tearing, it was extremely rare and didn’t distract from the action. The game’s graphical affectations are brilliant; desaturating colours to black and white when you’re under the cover of darkness is a subtle way to use the interface to give you information without resorting to a HUD. Likewise, the use of the environment as a projection surface for mission details is smart–it’s not intrusive, letting you focus on the action without having to resort to a PDA or some other interface element. Ubisoft’s commitment to keeping you in the action is both impressive and admirable.

Audio

Sound plays an important factor in the game. I’d recommend boosting your centre channel (if you have a surround speaker set) as the vocals can be drowned out by the intense action if you get caught in a fire fight. The positional audio is incredibly useful; you can, with the use of a surround speaker setup or with surround headphones) pick out the location of patrols through the noise they make on your soundstage. I can’t stress how sweet it is to know exactly when someone has rounded a corner without having to peek. Weapon sounds and environmental sounds are solid. Each of your gadgets has a tell-tale audio signature, and you can differentiate between enemy weapons by sound alone (don’t rush the guy with the shotgun. Seriously.) Overall, the sound is excellent.

Single Player

Gameplay is a huge subject to tackle, beause Conviction isn’t one game: it’s three. The first is the single player game. You’ll join Michael Ironside as Sam Fisher as he tries to track down those responsible for his daughter’s death, all while uncovering… well, you’ll have to play it, won’t you? Unlike previous Splinter Cell games, Conviction seems much more comfortable with you taking on your foes head-on, all while offering you many more ways to go undetected. Getting back into Sam’s shoes was a process for me, my first few hours were all fat thumbs and failed stealth attempts, so I saw a lot of gunplay. As you begin to prune your errors back you’ll see more opportunities to sneak, surveil, and snap some necks. You can’t go wild with the Rambo action, but you can remain confident that Sam can get out of a pickle if you miss that slide into darkness or put a bullet hole in the wall beside a foe instead of in him.

Sam’s gadgets are mack (mostly), some in creative new ways. The guerilla war that Sam has been waging is echoed by his gear. The snake cam gets replaced by a shard of broken mirror, and he has to acquire replacements for the tools of his trade. It’s a great way to gradually introduce gameplay elements, so even if you’ve never played a Splinter Cell game before you’ll feel right at home.

The ability to interrogate characters in-game is an interesting one; it’s more of an interactive cutscene, showing Sam violently extracting answers from his quarry, usually by using their body parts to vandalize whatever locale they’re frequenting at the time. They’re cool to watch, but they’re slow-time events. Just wait for the prompt to pop and hit the button to see more action. This element could have been improved to give the character more control. I’d also like the option to influence how Sam behaves; seeing him beat the tar out of people is interesting, but it’s not the only thing he could be doing.

I have to admit I love the new Mark and Execute feature. You earn execute “tags” by performing hand-to-hand take down kills; you can then tag your foes and pull off a guaranteed kill with the execute button–on up to four targets. It’s a great (and very classy) way to clear a room. Last Known Position is also a cool new feature; if you’re seen your enemies will flock to the position where they saw you last. You can use this to your advantage by setting up an ambush and taking them out when they coming looking for you. I’ve had some sweet incapacitations that way.

The challenge of the single player game can be adjusted, but you’ll find that the normal mode should be bang on for most gamers. Average folks will spend over 10 hours with the single player; take your time and enjoy it, it’s worth it!

Co-op

The second game is co-operative multiplayer. Set in the weeks leading up to the events of Conviction, this two-player story-driven piece is an awesome way to delve even deeper into the world of Third Echelon. You’ll really appreciate the speed of Xbox LIVE’s invitation system here, as getting a buddy into the action is quick and easy. Voice communication is crucial, so make sure your headset is plugged in (or your wireless set is connected). Running through co-op has been fantastic fun, I wish there were even more of this mode as it might be my favourite part of the game.

Denied Ops

Finally, there’s Denied Ops, the up-to-four-player multiplayer extravaganza, where you and your squad can go head to head against AI in modes like Hunter, Infiltration, and Last Stand. Hunter sees you taking out a target, Infiltration requires you to invade a destination, with Last Stand as a stand-in for a horde mode. Denied Ops also includes Face Off – the only competitive mode. Sadly Face Off is not the Spies Vs Mercs mode of Double Agent, truly the only miss for this game.

Conclusion

Ubisoft has delivered on the promise of the Splinter Cell series with Conviction. It’s a great game that matures and refines the premise of previous games, giving you more flexibility to fit your own play style, and allowing those new to the series to get into the action without punishing them. Experts can ratchet up the difficulty to keep the challenge right where they need it.

The blend of single player, co-op, and Denied Ops makes Conviction a great value. You don’t just get one great game, you get three very distinct, very fun experiences. On top of the Achievements you get in the game, you’ll find challenges from Ubisoft as well as their Uplay points system. Unlock themes, skins, and one of the Denied Ops modes by achieving goals in the single player game.

Ubisoft’s commitment to Splinter Cell is clear, with new content for Denied Ops rolling out on May 27th. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, you should. Stealth action doesn’t get any better than this.

I’ve just spent a few hours throwing down with some randoms in Uncharted 2 co-op. There’s only one level, but even on easy it’s intense. The game throws out the notion of attacking from safety – everywhere is vulnerable, so you’ve got to stay on the move. You need your teammates as well – get caught in a choke hold and the only reliable way out is to have someone shoot the bad guy off you.

Visually the game is mint. The controls are spot on, and the co-operative bits aren’t a pain. I can say without hesitation that I’m going to be logging a good chunk of time with this in both single and multiplayer. It’s a great time to own a PS3.

It’s pure Tim Schafer, of course. The writing is just dynamite – and the delivery (by Jack Black) is mint. The hellish world of Rock is entirely believable. I found myself overly jubilant and even a little giggly as I played through.

The worst part of the demo was that it ended. Rocktober is going to be freaking fantastic – it’s a cruel world that sees both this and Uncharted 2 released on the same day.

Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica panned the game based on length of content and price. For once I think I can agree with Ben without reservation; ODST should have dropped (heh) at $39. Batman: Arkham Asylum was priced at $40 here in Canada (thank you Future Shop by way of a Wal-mart price beat) and it made the game a no questions asked day one purchase for me.

As it stands, I’ve got plenty of other games to play. I was browsing through my achievements list on my 360 yesterday and realized I’ve only full cleared 2 games. Needless to say, I’ve got enough gameplay to keep my going until ODST hits $19.99.

Besides, I’ve got to save my pennies for Uncharted 2 and Brutal Legend. Priorities, people.

The 21 day trial of EVE seems to make more sense than a 14 day trial; just getting used to the interface is going to take some time. I managed to get started with the tutorial missions yesterday. After the first few I wandered off to find the offices of a Penny Arcade Forums corporation. I ended up doing some tutorial missions for a race/bloodline that I’m not – meaning I couldn’t use some of the rewards yet. Curses.

I wandered back to my section of space and got through about half of the missions for my race and bloodline; I’m not sure if I’m just supposed to do one of these task lines or all of them – I’ve always been a bit of a completionist (within reason) so I’ve been doing all of them.

The new ships I’ve acquired are quite nice. I made the mistake of going out with a rail gun without loading ammo no less than three times (it’s not terribly intuitive – I’m not sure how to make that happen reliably).

I wish there were a way to increase the size of the interface the text is very small. I’m playing on both a 15″ laptop and a 30″ LCD on my gaming rig and everything feels like it could be sized up a tad.

I haven’t received an invite from the Deepcrows yet – I’ve read the threads a few times and I’m already comfortable with the idea that they’re going to call me a spy. Political intrigue is fun!

The EVE threads on the Penny Arcade G&T forum make it clear: EVE isn’t easy and it can be flat out cruel. That said, it looks like there’s a strong community there. Shortly after my trip to the EVE booth I found myself in line, waiting for a Guild Wars art book; the chap behind me in line noticed the EVE magazine I was reading and commented that he played. He spun a tale of a game thick with political action that was a masticatory machine, spitting out those who couldn’t hack it.

He got my attention.

Steam has a 21-day trial, so I’ve downloaded it on both my MacBook Pro and my gaming rig. It’s time to see what this is all about.

That’s going to change next month. I had a chance to play New Super Mario Bros. Wii at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle at the beginning of September and I can say with certainty that it’s going to be a hit. The classic 2D sidescrolling Mario gameplay that everyone grew up on (and that sold 14 million copies of New Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo DS) is back with a crucial addition: local multiplayer.

The blend of competitive and co-operative multiplayer in New Super Mario Bros. Wii is irresistible fun. Play as one of the Mario brothers or as a stout Toad of the Mushroom kingdom and seek the holy grail of the gaming world of yore: a high score. While the objective to to get to the end of the level, you’ll do so with one to three friends, each trying to out-do the other in a quest for a higher score.

It’s a purity of gaming that isn’t incredibly common. I can say without hesitation it’ll get people playing with the Nintendo Wii again.