Rating:


Price: $59.99

The Skinny: Seth, the CEO of the S.I.N. Corporation who moonlights as a top-flight MMA fighter, arranges a tournament pitting the toughest tusslers around in a test of might. Choose from a roster full of long-time favorites and new arrivals (except for, Dhalsim because he sucks) and solidify your place as world champion.

The Good: We hate to get all artsy-fartsy with video games, but Capcom literally went back to the drawing board and thoroughly revamped the visuals, creating some of the most impressive artwork and character renderings we've seen. There is a healthy amount of characters to master (25 in all) and while some may be easier to use than others—e.g., Ken's maneuvers seemingly happen on their own—the game offers a thorough "Challenge" mode that allows both newcomers (shame on you!) and seasoned veterans to practice soul-shattering combinations. Sure, there are a lot of intricacies involved, like focus attacks and advanced combos, which will only make sense to those that put in the time and effort to learn them, but anyone worth their salt in Hadouken lore should be able to hold their own, both in the single-player and online multi-player.

 

The Bad: All fighting games seem to suffer from an epidemic we like to call the "Eat Your Quarters" virus. It's what happens when you go to the arcade, throw in a few quarters and easily take down the first few opponents, only to have the difficulty kick up four notches, subsequently handing your ass to you. SF4 spares you the suffering until the final fight against Seth. We managed to dispose of every previous opponent on the medium setting quite easily, but after defeating el jefe in the first round, he becomes nearly unstoppable, utilizing moves from every other fighter on the roster. Also, while the in-game art style is amazing, there are anime-inspired cutscenes that are piss-poor, made especially jarring when the 3-D fighting action is interrupted by grade F Dragonball Z-esque nonsense. Lastly—and we only add this because everyone who has played it here has made the same comment—the intro music is absolutely ridiculous. It sounds like techno trash throwing up on your speakers.

Maxim Tip: You start off with your choice of 16 characters, but can easily unlock the other nine fighters by beating Arcade mode with the original selection. This is best done on the Easiest setting, which turns opponents into walking piles of bricks.

Buy, Rent, or Disembowel: While there are some missteps, suckers for 1991 arcade nostalgia have no reason not to pick this one up.

See More Here >>

As a hardcore New York Yankees fan, I've had to swallow my pride the past few years as I watched the Boston Red Sox take the crown a couple of times. But, even I can appreciate greatness, even if it happens to be wearing the scarlet red-lined uniform of the most hated sports team in New York. The guys and gals at Sony were nice enough to scrape together some footage from their MLB 09 The Show motion capture session with 2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia. The Boston Red Sox second baseman shared his thoughts on being named the cover athlete of the franchise's newest iteration and explained the tingling sensation of watching his real arm movements translate into virtual groundball double plays. Pull up a chair and watch, homes!

See More Here >>

MSRP: $49.99
Best Price: $44.99 (Amazon)

What It Promises
Add keyboard and mouse capabilities to your existing PlayStation 3 controller via a compact, rechargeable add-on powered by Bluetooth technology.

The Good
We were a bit blown away by the overall design: The peripheral is both slim and sturdy and feels like you're getting a quality product. The keypad is ready to go (assuming that the lithium battery has a charge in it) out of the box, with installation being as simple as setting the holding claw over your DualShock controller and pairing the device with the PS3. The keys are well-placed and any user of a Blackberry should have no problem getting accustomed to the design and layout of the keyboard. Bluetooth allows you to be up to 33 feet away from your console, but we started to have connectivity issues around 30 feet. (Moral of the story: Don't try to type while on the shitter in the other room.) Lastly, the touch pad (run your fingers over the buttons as you would the trackpad on a laptop) is, at the very least, functional and a great alternative to using a separate mouse device for Web surfing.

The Bad
Adding on an additional 60 grams isn't exactly a dealbreaker, but when you have a DualShock/SIXAXIS controller, you're already lugging around a hefty unit. Also, while Blackberry users will love the device, those with Lilliputian-sized thumbs will need to pull off some smooth moves to access the number and function keys near the top. Lastly, the price point is a bit high: 50 bucks. With that kind of money, you can actually go outside of your apartment and talk with real people.

The Bottom Line
With Sony recently debuting its Home service and upping the PS3's capabilities, there's an increasing need for a keyboard and mouse to keep in touch with other gamers. For the money, you are getting a pretty sweet setup that usually costs around the same amount, or more, separately. With its compact design and multiple abilities, the PS3 wireless keypad is the best thing available to streamline the pestering of your online friends.

 

See More Here >>

Last year, we gave you a sweet soundboard with the voice of Mortal Kombat saying some ridiculous things. It's a new year, so we thought we'd give all of our readers a reward for staying alive this long: even more soundbites from Mr. MK, Hernan Sanchez. Hit the link below for the download, which includes 16 total soundbites in full-quality mp3s. We're already prepping our inauguration festivities by playing "Obama Wins... Flawless Victory" 75 times a day until our managing editor starts crying. Finally, you can receive phone calls the right way: with a grizzly voice indicating an "Epic Fail"!

Download: Extra Mortal Kombat Soundbites (4.61 MB)

Want to check out what's happening on Maxim.com? Subscribe to our Twitter!

See More Here >>

See More Here >>