PC

CHICAGO – It’s the same story every year. 2K Sports and Electronic Arts release their basketball video games at the same time and it’s impossible not to contrast and compare. This critic was looking forward to writing something like a scorecard, choosing which title wins in different fields like graphics, gameplay, presentation, etc.

CHICAGO – The highly anticipated “Wolfenstein,” a modern reboot of one of the most legendary shooter franchises of all time, hits stores tomorrow, August 18th, 2009, and Activision has released a launch trailer to give fans a sample of the title before they pick it up for themselves. Check back here soon for a review and don’t miss the video below.

CHICAGO – Just as John Madden has become synonymous with video game football, when a gamer thinks of playing a round of golf without a 5 iron, he thinks of EA Sports’ beloved “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” franchise.

CHICAGO – It turns out the revolution will be televised and you’ll be able to blow a lot of stuff up during it. THQ’s clever and incredibly deep “Red Faction Guerilla” is one of the most intense and exhaustive experiences of the season.

Video Game Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Vin Diesel should stick to making video games. After headlining last month’s “Wheelman” and this month’s “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena,” I have to admit that I like the actor more as a video game hero than I do as a movie star. “Athena” gives fans the most bang for their buck of anything the actor has been involved with in years.

Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Even part-time game players have a movie tie-in horror story to share. Show me one blockbuster that produced a quality video game companion and I’ll show you ten that failed to do so. So no one’s more surprised than this writer at how enjoyable Activision’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” is from start and nearly to finish.

CHICAGO – All good summer movies come with video game tie-ins and Activision sent over a new vignette from their summer offering, “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” which will ship to retail stores in June for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, and PC.

CHICAGO – Midway’s “Wheelman” is my guilty pleasure game of the season. I know the game has some serious design flaws, but like an action movie you watch over and over again, the flaws are easier to forgive in the name of old-fashioned fun.

Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Some games are easy to pick up and put down when you’ve got a small window of time. “The Godfather II” is not one of those games. Like being willing to watch Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather Trilogy” in one sitting, the game loosely based on the second film will take not just minutes or hours but days of your life.

CHICAGO – Get your calendars out and mark the date for arguably the most anticipated game of the year, “Modern Warfare 2,” Activision’s follow-up to the award-winning “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare”.