Mom's Minute

NBA 2K12

With the onslaught of a slew of excellent video games released in November, 2011,  which games won the Video Games Awards?

For sports games, NBA 2K12 came out ahead of the pack. Interesting enough, the NBA lockout did not hurt NBA 2K12's sales or popularity.

Noted were NBA 2K12 "NBA's Greatest" mode filled with nostalgic victories as well as a revamped "My Player" mode.  With a large dose of realism in graphics as well as voice acting, it is little wonder that this game won. 

Even better news is you can get the first roster update for this game which went live this week.

Want to know how Madden 12 fared during the awards?  Not too well, it seems.

In fact the game was described as  bringing you just a roster update.  A plus for Madden 12 is the tracking animations and it is an overall fantastic-looking game.  Other than that, it looks as if the newest release did not deliver as well as it could have.

Here is a graphic from Madden 12.

Madden 12

There were other games that did not fare as well during the awards such as Supremacy MMA, which was voted the worst game, and Need for Speed: The Run which won in the category of being the most overrated game.

Fortza Motorsport 4 won an honorable mention and is by far one of the most beautiful racing games that you may ever play.

The good news is the developers are hard at work, getting ready to give us even more exciting video games for 2012.

The Razer Blade has been dubbed the world's first true gaming laptop. It is meant to replace the desktop, and has styling influences from the 17" Macbook Pro.

According to Razer's CEO, Min-Liang Tag as told to Kotaku -- The Razer Blade gaming laptop will be available for preorders  with deliveries expected before Christmas.  Preorders can be done at the Razer Zone website.

Since its first announcement, the storage of the Razer Blade laptop was downgraded some, and the performance was upgraded from a mechanical hard drive to a solid date.

Here is a picture of the front of the laptop followed by the specifications.

          Intel Core i7 2640M processor

• GeForce GT 555M graphics
• 8GB DDR3-1333 memory
• 17.3-inch display (1920x1080 resolution)
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• HD webcam
• Backlit keyboard with integrated LCD panel

The Razer Blade gaming laptop also comes with a built in webcam with 320GB.

What stands out about this laptop is the integrated LCD touch screen located to the right of the keyboard that doubles as a display as well as a trackpad with 10 customizable shortcut keys that have their own displays.

The price?  Razer Blade gaming laptop retails for a hefty, and not too cheap $2,800.

Any competitors?  On maybe a lesser scale -- Alienware M14X and Alienware M18X

Ms. H's upcoming video game news:  Look for news on Razer Switchblade -- coming soon.

Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare 3

Game Publisher Activision announced that during its first sixteen days of release, Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare 3 broke the $1 Billion sales threshhold.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is playable on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, WII and the DS.  The video game retails for $59.99  and was released on November 8, 2011 in the U.S., and  will be released  in Japan on December 22, 2011.

Here is a scene from Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare 3.

In addition to the high sales of Call of Duty:  Warfare 3 in just sixteen days, Activision also announced that there are now more than 30 million video game players who are part of its video game community. 

How does Activision explain the phenomenal success of Call of Duty:  Warfare 3?  According to Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Call of Duty:  Warfare 3 has transcended it own genre, and every year draws new people into the game.

Eric Hirshberg also mentioned the records set for another video game -- Call of Duty  Elite, which as of this printing has attracted more than 6 million players.  He explains that the high number of fans of this game stems from the video game players wanting more in game play. 

Ms. H video games news preview:  Coming soon -- Video Games Awards for 2011:  The Results 

Link in action from The Legend of Zelda:  Skyward Sword

by Ms. H

Link from the Nintendo Zelda series was reported by the Guiness Book of World Records to be the 2nd top video game character of all time, behind Mario.  This article will discuss Link as he evolved through the years and conclude why Link, of all the thousands of video game characters, won this coveted recognition.

Here are graphics from The Legend of Zelda:  Skyward Sword.

Link evolved from the works of Donkey Kong creator, Shigeru Miyamota.  The first game in the series had a simple premise in which you controlled a little elf boy, Link, whose mission was to assemble the Triforce.  With no arrows or specific directions for play, the game proved to be fruitless to play initially.  However, due to the community of the video game players -- players would get together and discuss how the game was played.

Through the years, the game play changed as well as Link, who grew from a small elf boy to an adolescent.  Link miraculously survived through the 5 year hiatus when nothing was happening or transpiring with the game. Link was introduced to a new life in 3D after a long break.

In 3D, Link once again was transformed. He became less colorful and had a touch of realism to his look. During the 1998 phase of Link and the Zelda adventure, Miyamoto's protege, Eiji Aonuma, took over the project and brought Link to a quest to save the world.  Eventually the project moved to the hands of Capcom's Yoshiki Okamoto and his team.

In 2001, Link returned to the colorful character he was previously.

However he took on another change in later 2010 with one of the major changes in the game play arriving November 2011.  Skyward Sword is designed to use Nintendo WII's MotionPlus accessory that improves the motion sensor capability.

The most current Link has you feeling as if you are really Link.  You, the video game player, hold the WII remote and control the swords when playing the game.

With Link's longevity and ability to "reinvent" himself to the whims of the video game players as well as being able to adapt to the ever-changing video game industry itself, it is little wonder that Link earned a spot as one of the most revered video game characters of all time.

Ms. H's  Upcoming Video Game News:  Coming soon look for news on a laptop you can use to strictly play video games.

Razer Switchblade

A small PC gaming device, Razer Switchblade is due to launch first in China with no specific dates provided for either China or the U.S. as of this printing.

The Razer Switchblade is about 7" and features Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. The mouse is replaced with a super-sensitive touch pad, dynamic tactile keyboard and an intelligent user interface adjustable to user's requirements.

The company is working to have products designed specifically for the gaming device.  In the meantime, the Razer Switchblade that will launch in China will come with pre-installed games.

Here is a another view of the Razer Switchblade along with its specifications.

      7-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels

• HDMI output, AC input and full-size USB 2.0 port
• Front-facing webcam
• Bluetooth, 3G connectivity and Wi-Fi
• Powered by latest Intel processor

 Price: Unknown as of print date

Competitors:  Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita

Ms. H Video Game News Preview:  Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, coming soon.