Wii

CHICAGO – It must have taken a lot of guts to suggest radically altering one of the most successful video gaming franchises of all time. The “Madden NFL” series of video games are as influential and wildly popular as any on the market. With loyal fans lining up at midnight tonight to buy their new copy, the developers at EA Tiburon merely had to update the rosters and spit out last year’s edition before they counted their money.

Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Just as every gamer thinks of John Madden when it comes to football, Tiger Woods has long been synonymous with the pinnacle of golf gaming. Electronic Arts hopes that buyers can overlook his drama off the green and continue to think of Tiger Woods every time they want to play a round of golf without an actual 5 iron.

CHICAGO – Harmonix and MTV Games took something of a surprising turn after the massive success of last year’s best music game, “The Beatles: Rock Band,” by choosing the follow-up band from a very different arena of radio rock and announcing “Green Day: Rock Band.” With dozens of bands on player’s wish lists of who they would love to get the “Beatles Treatment,” many were surprised that Green Day was chosen as the follow-up group.

CHICAGO – Most big summer movies come with a video game tie-in and Sega sent over the trailer for next week’s “Iron Man 2,” available for PS3, Xbox 360, PSP, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo Wii and we just had to share. Check it out and come back for regular “Iron Man 2” coverage including 10 days of giveaways, two slideshows, and reviews of both the film and game. HollywoodChicago.com is your Tony Stark headquarters.

CHICAGO – Last year’s baseball game courtesy of 2K Sports, “MLB 2K9,” was so glitch-heavy and poorly constructed that I assumed all of the wrinkles would be ironed out in the newest edition, “MLB 2K10”. To the credit of 2K Games and Visual Concepts, a lot of the problems have been streamlined but the game is still unacceptably glitch-heavy, resulting in an experience that is only intermittently rewarding. It’s kind of like being a Cubs fan.

CHICAGO – A movie as gigantic as James Cameron’s “Avatar” is bound to have a video game tie-in to go with it and one would assume that such a detailed and complex fantasy world as that created in the film threatening to be the highest grossing of all time would make for a wonderful virtual playground. One would be mostly correct in that “James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game” is one of the most beautiful in recent months. The gameplay is another story.

CHICAGO – What better way to begin the decade than with full albums from The Beatles now available for the best music-based title of the year? Fans of the great “The Beatles: Rock Band” can now download “Abbey Road,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” and “Rubber Soul,” and make this amazing game even more fulfilling.

CHICAGO – Reviewing games based on kids movies that are as clearly aimed at children as are the DS and Nintendo Wii tie-ins for “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” can be a tough assignment. What approach is appropriate? I generally think that I can only be honest about my personal experience with a game, but what if that game isn’t designed with my demographic in mind? Personally, I struggled with getting enjoyment out of either console version but I think some of my eight and nine-year-old relatives would love both.

CHICAGO – Fans of the “Resident Evil” franchise and rail shooters in general (two parties of which I would definitely claim membership) should not let the excellent “The Darkside Chronicles” pass them by and I believe even newcomers to either zombie games or Wii shooting titles will find something to like in this expertly conceived title with only one significant flaw.

CHICAGO – No one can accuse Activision and Neversoft of allowing their music game franchise to get stale. In fact, some might argue that they have flooded the market with too many similar products including “Guitar Hero: Metallica,” “Guitar Hero: Smash Hits,” “Guitar Hero 5,” “DJ Hero,” and, now, “Band Hero” in just this year alone (with “Guitar Hero: Van Halen” dropping before Christmas as well).