Fortunately, Bayonetta is not one of them. This is one action game you may either intensely like or deeply despise, but despite of all the hype it stands out from the pack because of one thing; Witch Time.

Witch Time to Bayonetta is what Issen is to Onismusha and Tate is to Shinobi/Kunoichi of the PlayStation 2. The only game which has an almost similar move is God Hand for the PlayStation 2 by Capcom but that is no surprise.

The guys who made God Hand have joined forces to make Platinum Games which just to happens to be the bastion of Bayonetta’s creator, Hideki Kamiya.

The Royal Guard move of Devil May Cry seems to be similar to a certain move which will be discussed later on, but then again Hideki Kamiya was the creator of Devil May Cry.

No more discussions about Bayonetta vs. Devil May Cry, please. Let’s leave it to the diehard fan boys to spam/troll war each other to death about that over-discussed topic.

Witch time, simply put, is when Bayonetta evades or dodges an attack before getting hit and thereby temporarily slows down time and become invincible. During this stage, dish out a string of Wicked Weave attacks and as much hell and mayhem as you wish without taking any damage.

It is the heart and soul of the game, the meat and potatoes of the whole thing. Take away Witch Time and Bayonetta is perhaps no better than any of the dime a dozen hack and slash titles cluttering the gaming scene. Notice that Witch Time involves dodging, not outright blocking. It can even be executed while countering an attack, but more on that later.

Blocking has been done many times before, and as game creator Hideki Kamiya puts it, dodging instead of blocking means you already have one over your opponent. Getting Witch Time right involves precise timing.

Press R2 a split second before getting whacked with the Angelic Weapons your enemies intend to smash Bayonetta with. Voila! Witch Time. This actually takes a degree of skill to pull off and takes some practice before you can do it automatically without even consciously thinking about it. Master it, and you own half the game.

Even if you do manage to unlock through sheer brilliance and unparalleled perfection (or through good old fashioned cheating by using a cheat code like almost every one does) all the accessories or weapons like the Climax Bracelet, Bracelet of Time, Bazillions or Pillow Talk, you are still and will forever be a noob if you cannot pull off a decent Witch Time ten times out of ten.

Later on, you will be able to buy the ability “The Bat Within” from Rodin at the 7-11 of the game, The Gates of Hell. This ability will allow you to transform into a swarm of bats ( which look more like a flock of crows ) and take no damage if you messed up a split second in performing Witch Time. Be sure to buy this ability, you will need it.

Finally, there is what is referred to as “countered” Witch Time. This is what will separate the men from the boys, the elite from the unwashed masses. It requires that you have the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa ( MK ), which you can buy from Rodin at the Gates of Hell. How does it work?

The exact moment that you get hit, you will see a rose pop up atop of Bayonetta’s head ( No, I am not making this up ). Immediately and very quickly press the directional stick towards the direction of the attack. You get to stop an enemy’s combo attack, trigger a much longer Witch Time, sometimes even perform an instant Wicked Weave hair attack, deflect projectiles, and execute Witch Time with some enemies with whom you almost cannot execute it, like Jeanne and Beavis and Butthead, aka Gracious and Glorious.

Take note that if you attempt to counter a second too early, you merely block an attack. That would be lame, but it is still useful when getting pummeled in a combo string by Gracious and Glorious or Jeanne. The bottom line is to equip MK ALL THE TIME, unless you are doing a few tricks at the Alfheim Portals or are Halo farming. This where other accessories will come in handy.

If you do have trouble triggering Witch Time or are Halo farming ,buy Selene’s Light. Instant Witch time whenever you get hit, but it will turn you into a scrub and dumb down your ability to perform Witch Time. Or unlock (either through a cheat or pure blood and sweat) the Bracelet of Time, where you can execute Witch Time ANYTIME simply by pressing L1 but you do get to consume magic orbs when doing so.

It would be a moot point in the latter option since by then you would have mastered Witch Time and can execute it even in your sleep. Selene’s Light and Bracelet of Time may be looked down upon by purists, but you will find it very useful in some situations.

It will take a few tries to get Witch Time right and a lot more practice and patience to perfect a “countered” Witch Time, but it will spell the difference between a Platinum Trophy and a Stone award. Also, what’s a cheeseburger without a beef patty inside? What good is it to play Bayonetta and not be able to execute an excellent Witch Time on the fly? Start practicing and enjoy.

But you can’t use Witch Time in Non-Stop Pure Climax Mode, you may say. Well, we will get to that on another topic.

Granted, the game is a very loose adaptation of a chapter in Dante Aligheri’s classical masterpiece The Divine Comedy.

But then again, not very often will one come across something with a trace of something even remotely close to a 16^th century classic, with all the hordes of tasteless and cerebrally bankrupt first person shooters gunning it out in all the next generation consoles.

Hardly are there any really original games in the market being released these days. The 80’s and 90’s are long dead with the coin-op arcades, and along with it the demise of very original games in terms of concept and style.

Nowadays, big name gaming companies play it safe by sticking with tried and tested formulas. In other words, if a game formula makes a bucket load of money, why change it and risk losing a lot of money developing a game based on an entirely new concept?

Alien Vs. Predator is the millionth rendition of the first person shooter since Doom was born almost two decades ago. This now brings us to Dante’s Inferno.

The very first thing jaded gamers will notice is that Dante’s Inferno bears a very striking resemblance to the God’s of War series. That may be both a good thing and a bad thing. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery , Kratos of Gods of War may now be blushing pink all over.

So here we have a game that has Dante going to Hell in search of his beloved Beatrice, but he moves, kills demons and perhaps even smells like Kratos. Can that be such a bad thing?

If you loved God of War, then think of Dante’s Inferno as a good excuse to try the same thing out in a different setting.

The setting of the game is the Nine Circles of Hell. Yes, Hell and with it visually spectacular sceneries of gruesome debauchery and adult themed nakedness that hits you squarely in the face as you plough through the first few chapters.

Children and people with sensitive tastes and sensibilities should not play this game, period.

The people who made this game are definitely pushing the M rating to the extreme. However, after a few hours things start to seem drab and repetitive. It’s like everything ran out of steam and Hell itself starts to simmer down.

Cynics will assume that either the development team was rushing to catch a deadline release date and had to finish everything really quick or the superb images in the first few hours of the game was put there just to grab your attention and make you want to buy the game.

To say that Dante’s Inferno is a good game is like saying Michaelangelo’s paintings on the Sistine Chapel are neat drawings. God of War fans will either love or hate this, but casual gamers may want to give this a try if they are in the market for something out of the ordinary.

Order your copy now, and see you in Hell.

Although the game play has evolved along with the graphics as the years drifted by, the core of the game remains the same; stay alive while being confronted with hordes of “zombies” and use as little ammunition as possible and lay great waste and ruin later on as you unlock or level up all the good weapons .

This landmark game franchise has graced all next gen platforms and has provided gamers with an intense gut-wrenching game play involving guns with limited ammunition, wall-hugging moves, zombie dogs, mixing green and red herbs, rocket launchers, and the some most memorable campy dialogues ever to assault your gaming ears. Master lock pickers everywhere, rejoice.

Now comes Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition for the PlayStation 3. Yes, down loadable content ( DLC ) is available online for those who already have a copy of Resident Evil 5. But for rabid fans of the series who number in the millions , nothing less than a brand new copy of the game with everything new in it will do.

Included in the package are some added bonuses not included in the “original” RE5. Some memorable characters in the Resident Evil pantheon such as Rebecca Chambers and Barry Burton can be played in the Mercenaries Reunion Mode. Also included are a host of expected items such as new outfits and new playable scenes or more aptly, Resident Evil 5 expansion episodes.

Desperate Escape is one of the expansion episodes and ( drum roll, please ) the Mansion ( yes, RE fans THE MANSION! ) or what looks exactly like it is one of those added bonuses included in the Gold Edition. How can you say no to that?

Elvis and Graceland, Resident Evil and The Mansion. Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield back to back like it was in the beginning in the place where it all began, and this time they don’t look like blocky-pixelated Lego men with very bad texture mapping and polygon tearing. Resident Evil fans everywhere, rejoice.

You may download bits and pieces of the upgrades or buy the whole package. Will it be worth buying another copy of the game? For Resident Evil aficionados, the answer to that is beyond the obvious.

If you are new to the series because you have been hiding under a rock for last 10 years or you were too young to play or even remember the first time this game came out , then you MUST buy this game. There are a billion and one shooters out there, but there is only one Resident Evil and Resident Evil 5 is by far the best the series has to offer.

Third person shooters are the bread and butter games of the industry. They are what Xevious and Galaxians were to the gaming world in the much milder 80’s.

Army of Two: The 40th Day may seem like just another run of the mill shooter, but this sleeper hit of January 2010 actually outsold critically acclaimed games which barely made it to the top 10.

Having a storyline in a game is a no-brainer, and Army of Two is no different. For some unknown reason, 2 mercenaries are caught up in the action while Shanghai is being bombed and aerially strafed and all hell is breaking lose.

The very thin plot is mercifully compensated by nonstop shooting and blasting things up as the 2 mercs decide to team up and get their behinds out of Shanghai as quickly as possible.

Who needs a complicated story line with deep, thought provoking dialogues when there is so much to shoot and blow up as Shanghai burns to the ground? Also, all that enemy gunfire will kill anyone in less than one second before he gets to say anything other than a cheesy one-liner anyway.

Along with the standard solo/co-op mode, death match and the usual stuff, Army of Two offers something new to the mix; The “agrro” meter.

This meter sits on the top middle portion of the screen, and may either fill up to the left or to the right. What it does or indicates is that the enemies are either on to you or your partner and want to drop you dead flat on your tracks.

You could trigger this by painting your guns and armor in ridiculous colors (ever seen a fuchsia pink KRISS .45 SMG ?). Tactically, you can use this to draw gun fire to your partner and leave all the head shot precision shooting to you. With an AI (Artificial Intelligence) buddy or a friend in split–screen coop mode, this is a lot of fun.

On some occasions, you will be prompted onscreen to choose an action which may be deemed as moral or immoral, like shooting a caged tiger in the zoo or a civilian. Then, you will be shown in a quick series of animations the consequences of your decision.

However, this game is not all about good or bad and does not lay out a morality tale or sermon. This game is all about shooting things up, plain and simple.

Army of Two: The 40th Day is perfect for those who want a spanking new shooter for 2010, and will definitely be loads of fun when played with a friend or played online.

What Are PlayStation 3 Accessories and Why Would I Even Want any?

Let’s face it, owning a PlayStation 3 without any Accessories is like owning a TV without a remote. Yes you can get up and change the channels, but to have a better user experience, you really should have a remote control.

What the heck are PlayStation 3 Accessories?

The term PlayStation 3 Accessories covers everything from an extra $15 controller to a $600 gaming chair, and everything in between.

Are All Accessories Must Have Accessories or Extra Junk?

There are some Accessories that are almost required, like a second controller.

The only way two people can play most 2-player games, is if they each have a controller. Many game play 2-players on what is called a split-screen. The system divides the screen into 2 sections and shows each player in their own section.

Having two controllers makes the gaming experience more fun. It makes it possible to then share with your family and friends. And with newer gamers, having the right Accessories allows someone to help them through that tough areas.

Where to Start with PlayStation 3 Accessories?

The absolute best place to start getting Accessories is by getting a second controller. If you already own the system this is the best investment you can make.

Some Accessories Can Save Your System?

When it comes to a second controller, I would recommend a wireless controller. It make it much easier to enjoy gaming if you’re not untangling cords. And the first time a cord gets caught on someone’s foot, and the system hits the floor…., well you get the idea.

Also don’t forget that there are PlayStation 3 Accessories available to protect your gaming system from power surges. If you live in an area with with lightening storms, these can be a lifesaver.

PlayStation 3 Accessories for First Class Seating.

The other end of the spectrum of  PlayStation 3 Accessories is a top-notch gaming chair.

Local super-stores carry some PlayStation 3 Accessories. For example sometimes you can pick-up a very cheap gaming chair at your local super-store. They normally carry them around Christmas time. Sometimes they also have discount PlayStation 3 Accessories shortly after Christmas.

To get a top-notch gaming chair however requires going to different sources, and spending more money.

PlayStation 3 Accessories to the extreme.

Take the Playseats Flight Seat as an example of taking PlayStation 3 Accessories to the extreme. Playseats has not only brought in flight simulator enthusiasts, they also consulted with professional pilots when designing this seat.  This allows for the most accurate, and realistic, flying experience on the market.

The Playseats Flight Seat turns a PlayStation 3 into a flight trainer. The only way to have a better experience if either is a multi-million dollar flight simulator or in a real plane.

PlayStation 3 Accessories For Race Cars.

There are also Accessories for especially racing games. Take the Playseats World Rally Championship Gaming Seat. You can get all the familiar controls of a real car. This makes for a true driving experience and it’s much easier on the furniture than bringing your real car into the house.

There are some Accessories for the PlayStation 3 that are important. And there are some that you can live without.

For a complete selection of PlayStation 3 Accessories I recommend shopping online. You will find a larger selection inline than in any store.

And you can’t beat the prices. With Free Shipping and fast delivery times it would be hard to try and match the online deals at a local store.

Check out the great selection and prices of Accessories available online. You won’t be sorry that you did, and neither will the gamer in your family. And now, about that little TV………..

If there is one thing that is commonly and unkindly said about video games to the point that it is almost cliché , it must definitely be the total lack of any coherent or sensible storyline.

More often than not, a story line in games is often a very thin thread which conveniently and awkwardly strings all the elements together and then it all boils down to shooting something or someone, hacking and slashing something or someone, so on and so forth.

Fortunately, this is not the case with Quantic Dream’s PlayStation 3 exclusive, Heavy Rain. This is a heavily plot driven game, and will at first seem like a series of Quick Time Events ( QTE’s) strewn and woven together to make one whole game.

To say that is like saying Bayonetta is just another hack and slash game and that Bayonetta ( the lady ) is just a sexy witch with four guns who slays angels. That would not do the game any justice and is very much over simplifying things in both cases.

Heavy Rain has a unique control system, wherein you move a character and in a particular situation you are prompted to execute a certain action. This will vary from mundane things like changing a baby’s clothes to more complex actions like chasing a criminal.

If you fail to hit the button at the right moment, the story goes on and branches out to another possible scenario leading to a different ending. No abrupt or sudden endings, no “Game Over” flashing on the screen.

Yes, it’s different. No, you won’t be doing precision head shots on a horde of zombies or shot gun blasting the unholy undead on this one, nor will you be racking up mega point combo shots in this game. However, this game will demand your sole and undivided attention as you watch the scenes unfold right before your eyes.

Miss a QTE ( for the lack of a better word ) and you cannot go back. There are many ways to skin a cat as well as there are ways in keeping you on the edge of your gaming seat, and this can be as engrossing as unloading tons of lead at the creepy undead. More so, since this time you actually have a storyline to keep track of.

Heavy Rain is hot off the grill has just been released. Gamers who are desperately growing tired, sick or bored with the slew of ubiquitous shooters and hack and slash games must pick this one up and give it a try.

Like seeing a blue moon in a cold dark night , games like this aren’t seen or made very often. If you watch a movie once, and it will always end the same way.

If you play Heavy Rain, not only will it be like watching a movie and playing a game at the same time but you can also unlock 20 or so possible endings. So give yourself a break and try out something different for a change.

Give your itchy trigger finger a break and play Heavy Rain, a game with a REAL story line.

Project Natal is an add-on coming to the Xbox 360 by the end of 2010.

It is a unique way of gaming in which there is no physical controller but you use your body to play the game. There is a camera in the system which maps you and your location and when you move it can sense it.
Through this method you can play games in a unique way, for example gripping an imaginary steering wheel to steer the car in a racing game.

Project Natal adds a whole new dimension to the game play. Multiple people can play a game at once because of Natal’s ability to track several players simultaneously.

This is a very good option for friends when they get together to have a party as no one is forced to miss out on the fun. Microsoft will also be releasing several innovative games in the near future so that players have a choice of games to play from when Natal is launched. Rumors are already circulating that Microsoft is also planning to release a game console with the technology built-in besides offering the additional unit for existing Xbox 360 users.

The technology has already been demonstrated to the media several times with a few existing games as well as some newly developed games that take full advantage of Natal. These include Ricochet, a game in which a person has to physically try to stop balls from getting past him or her on the screen and Burnout Paradise, a racer in which the person uses his hands to control the steering wheel and his legs to press the virtual brake and accelerator.

These innovations really set Project Natal apart from the competitors like the Nintendo Wii in which the person has to hold a physical controller at all times for motion game play.

The other competitor to the Xbox 360, the Sony PlayStation 3, also has a motion controller in development but little has been revealed about it at this time. Thus it can be safely said that currently there are no PlayStation 3 Accessories that can rival Project Natal.

Project Natal is targeted at casual gamers who really like a little bit of innovation in gaming and really do not care about the “hardcore” gaming that the Xbox 360 has provided to date.

Thus it can be summed up that Project Natal will surely be a major boost to the sales of the Xbox 360 and only time will tell if the competitors can bring a better solution to the market.

Blu-ray disks are a new type of storage medium that can hold High Definition (HD) content in them, unlike DVDs which can only store lower resolution Standard Definition (SD) videos. The PlayStation 3 was the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market when it was released and this caused many people to buy the system even if they were never interested in playing a single game.

A Blu-ray disk has currently got a maximum capacity of 50GB, so even the largest games will have no problem fitting in it. However the DVD drive of the Xbox 360 maxes out at 8.7GB. This adds several problems to the developers of games for the Xbox 360. Not only do they have to make games look very good in terms of graphics, they also have to keep their minds focused on keeping the size of the game down. Newer games, such as Forza Motorsport 3 have had no other alternative but to move to dual disks to store the game. During a certain point in a game the player will have to get up and change the disk to continue playing the game. Even if this is acceptable for a linear game like Forza, imagine that when Grand Theft Auto 5 comes out, if its map does not fit on a single DVD, the player will always be required to keep changing disks whenever he goes into a certain part of the map. Multiple disk swaps are also required in the 2010 game Mass Effect 2.

Another advantage of the PlayStation 3’s Blu-ray drive is the ability of it to read 3D disks. This effectively makes the PS3 a device which can easily handle 3D games and movies in the near future through an updated firmware. PlayStation 3 Accessories for 3D films like 3D glasses are also under development. If 3D does take off then the PS3 will be the only console thanks to its Blu-ray drive that can playback HD movie disks in 3D.

Developers of games for the PS3 system have got no constraints of size due to the Blu-ray drive. This is proven by the fact that the upcoming game Gran Turismo 5 has got full 1080p video and 7.1 channel sound and boasts over 1000 cars. All of these are fit easily on a single disk. Such a game is just out of question for a system like the Xbox 360 and its DVD drive.

Colin McRae: DiRT 2 is a racing game developed and published by Codemasters. It builds upon the Colin McRae franchise by including better visuals as well as enhanced gameplay. When the game is first launched we have to create a profile for the game and select a commentary name. After that we can select the difficulty setting and other options before starting a race.

In DiRT 2, we have got a caravan that we take around the world to take part in several different rallying tournaments. As we win races and reach higher levels, more cars as well as tournaments get unlocked for us to compete in. There are several types of races in the game. These include Rallycross, Rally, Trailblazer, and Domination among others. Vehicles can either be rally cars, SUVs or ATVs. A novel addition in DiRT 2 is the flashback feature. Through it you can rewind the game ten seconds during a race and then continue from the previous point. This is very useful if you suffer a crash and your car gets damaged you can rewind the game and then avoid the crash on the second try.

The graphics of the game are superb. Effects such as sunlight and foliage are very realistic and the trail that cars leave behind is also very realistic. The most amazing view in the game is the cockpit view. It is highly realistic with all the onboard dials working perfectly. Whenever a crash or bump occurs, the camera also moves ahead or backward mimicking the g-forces that the driver faces. It also realistically shows you the view through the windshield and if it gets cracked your visibility is affected.

The car physics of the game are unparalleled. Cars slide around very realistically in a muddy environment but as soon as tarmac approaches the grip improves tremendously. Also, when you go into a puddle the car realistically starts aquaplaning until the water leaves the tires. Driving in gravel causes the ride to become very hard and this effect is best noticed in the cockpit view. The only things that I felt missing in the game were track and weather deteriorations. Besides that the game is nothing short of spectacular. The damage is also highly realistic and can even be turned off. The game is available for Xbox 360, PSP, Wii, Windows and PlayStation 3. The game is compatible with several PlayStation 3 Accessories like racing wheels as well as accessories for other consoles as well.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (MGS4) is one game which stands out above all other games in the PS3. Technically brilliant in all aspects and highly critically acclaimed by gaming critics, this PS3 exclusive is one of the reasons why you MUST own a PS3. To date, 4.75 million copies of the game have been sold.

In a nutshell, MGS4 is an action adventure game. What sets it apart from the hack and slash and button mashing crowd is the way the game is played. It takes tactical skills and a certain degree of patience to pull off some of the moves, like stealth skills and sniping. The game is set in an alternate world of political intrigue, espionage and utilizes several real-world historical events which blend in seamlessly with the story line. Add the tactical game play with the engrossing story-line back drop and you are in for one very interesting gaming experience.

With regard to graphics and audio, very few games can even be considered at par with MG. Some newly release games of the same genre pale in comparison not just to the visual eye-candy and mind-boggling audio MGS4 has to offer but also to the controls and game interface. MGS4 was considered by many as THE Game of the Year when it came out as the flag-bearer of the next gen consoles, particularly that for the Playstation 3. Game critics and gamer reviewers just don’t hand out “game of the year” awards out of a whim, so this is a solid testament that this game is not just about flashy graphics, but almost everything about it is just as good.

The Metal Gear Solid series have been around for ages now, but the game still retains the flavor fans have come to love and identify with this game. Solid Snake is still the main man, although this may perhaps be his last and final assignment (that is until Metal Gear Solid Rising came out…). Even if Snake may seem to have aged quite a bit, make no mistake that he has mellowed down when it comes to getting the job done. The trademark stealth kills, Close Quarter Combat and sophisticated spy gadgets and weapons are very much still a part of Snake’s arsenal and bag of tricks, and newer weapons and gadgets have been added for MGS4.

Action adventure games are a dime a dozen and often have hare-brained story lines with a plot that could be neatly written on the head of a pin. MGS4 is not one of them. For those sick and tired of cheesy dialogues and game story lines which could have been written by a 10-year old kid, MGS4 is the perfect antidote for your gaming woes.

Notice that not much was mentioned in detail about the characters, the settings of the story and all the other unique stuff this game has to offer. That would be giving it away and would spoil the game. If you have a brand new PS3 slim or already have a PS3 and you missed out on this terrific title, then experience the game firsthand.