Mom's Minute

Starhawk pre-order bonuses are available from GameStop

Would you like to be challenged, deep in the dark, dangerous Rift Mine known as the Maw of Despair on the planet Dust --a planet inhabited by the oldest outcast tribe dubbed the Shade Warriors? Then Starhawk, playable on the PlayStation 3 is the video game for you.

Starhawk release date is May 8, 2012

The warriors you will be battlling are not your ordinary run of the mill warriors but have a make up of pure energy along with enhanced toughness and combat skill.  

In this 3rd person shooter, you will experience fire-fights and other battles to test your true  skill in the Starhawk video game.

Cover art for Starhawk

To put icing on the cake, there are pre-order bonuses being offered by GameStop if you pre-order Starhawk now.

Order the video game now and you will be automatically upgraded to the exclusive limited edition game.  The limited edition video game includes the bonus Maw of Despair Outcast Pack, Echo Scrap Yard Rifter Pack, Starhawk Concept Art PS 3 Theme, and a digital copy of the original Warhawk game, as well as the official Starhawk soundtrack.

Warhawk video game is part of the pre-order bonus

The Maw of Despair Outcast Pack includes a Co-op map and MP skin warriror skins. 

THe Echo Scrap Yard Rifter Pack includes Scrapyard Homeworld and Huxley Ardin MP Skin.  The Homeworld is known as the best place in the frontier for Rifters to get spare parts for their Razorbacks and Sidewinders.

All told, the bonuses are valued at over $20.00 and come with the Starhawk Limited Edition only.

According to GameStop, the pre-order bonuses for Starhawk are available only while supplies last. 

Call of Duty Modern Warfare

There are different schools of thought as to how one can become a "master" -- if not already, at playing video games.  The old adage, "Practice makes perfect" applies; however, there are some games that may help to lead one to become more expert at playing video games -- actually by simply playing more video games in different genres.

That being said, here are a list of games that are not listed in any order purported to enhance your video game playing skills:

Disclaimer:  This iist is by no means all inclusive.

Ico

1.  Ico (2001) -- A puzzle solving game for the PS 2 and PS 3 released in 2001 where you wander in a castle and try to find your way out.

2. Journey (2012) -- An artistic journey game  on PSN that you can complete in probably a 2 to 3 hour setting.  The draw of this game includes the sense of completing a video game in what can be considered a short time in video gameplay.

3. Portal (2007) -- Unique game play where you have a portal making weapon to shoot your way into openings and exits in a teleportal.

4. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 (2011)  -- War playing games, some of which are first person shooters can turn your thoughts to the ins and outs of war, as well as  why there are wars in the first place.  Of course the battle is part of the fun as well. (Pictured above).

5. Red Dead Redemption (2011) -- Opens you up to a open world environment where characters display a wide range of emotions.

The above is just the tip of the iceberg of the numerous video games available that provide you different experiences that may not only enhance your video game playing skills, but will leave you feeling entertained as well.

Asura's Wrath - Part 1

Asura's Wrath - Part 2

Metal Gears Solid has interactive digital easter eggs

You may be familiar with easter egg hunts in the real world; however, did you know easter eggs also exist digitally in the virtual world?

Digital easter eggs are hidden links, codes, messages, features,  secrets, etc. embedded in some video games and other media.  

Even though it is rumored that programmers prior to 1978 put digital easter eggs in video games, the person credited with coining the term is  game developer, Steve Wright from Atari.  He is said to have used the term in 1981 when he was interviewed in the first issue of Electronic Games magazine in the winter of 1981.

Embeded codes on Atari video game reveal easter egg, "Created by Warren Robinett."

One of the first appearances of a digital easter egg planted was when game developer Warren Robinett planted his name in the Atari video game, Adventure.  He said he was inspired by artists who put their names on paintings.

Digital easter eggs are not limited to video games.  The 1995 version of Microsoft Excel is said to have had a hidden game that resembled "Doom."

Psycho Mantis from Metal Gears Solid

So what is the interactive digital easter egg in Metal Gears Solid? During gameplay, there is a character, Pycho Mantis, who is able to tell you the most recent video games you played by title, even if you played the video games many weeks prior. The way it works is while Psycho Mantis is speaking to you, the system performs a scan and is able to discern the games you have played.  With technology advances, this technique and capability may not be surprising to many.

Regarding occurrences of easter eggs showing credits --  Since the video game industry gives credits to those involved in the making and development of video games, it's unlikely to find hidden names/credits in video games nowadays.  But then again -- who knows?

Who will grace the cover of Madden NFL 13?

If you are a fan of the popular Madden football video game series, you may want to vote to help choose who will appear on the cover of Madden NFL 2013.

The voting process is handled by ESPN SportsNation and is now in its third round of votes.  After the third round of votes, fans have narrowed the choices down to four NFL players.

The choices include Cam Newton, quarterback for the North Carolina Panthers, Patrick Willis, line backer for the San Francisco 49ers, Aaron Rodgers, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, and Calvin Johnson, wide receiver for the Detroit Lions.

Choices down to four NFL players to be on the cover of Madden NFL 13.

Each of the four NFL players merits being featured on the cover, including others who fans swayed from being added due to a purported cover curse.  One such player was LaDainian Tomlinson, running back for the New York Jets.

Madden NFL video game

If you have a favorite NFL player who you would like to appear on the cover, there's still time to vote.  Voting for the Semi Finals runs through April 18, 2012 at the SportsNation website.  The winner of this semi-final match-up will face the winner of players Calvin Johnson vs. Aaron Rodgers in the finals.

The current release date for Madden NFL 2013 video game is August 28, 2012.