DIGITAL L.A. : MAKING GAMER'S SEASON BRIGHT.Byline: David Bloom David Bloom (May 22, 1963 – April 6, 2003) was an NBC journalist (co-anchor of Weekend Today and reporter) until his sudden death in 2003 at the age of 39. Early life OK, time's getting tight. You have to pick up the last few things for the family, and a game or two sounds great. For you last-minute types, here's the absolute best of what I've seen this season, plus a few suggestions for game-related purchases. If you want to make all of a computer gamer's experiences better, consider buying them hardware instead of games. That means additional RAM; a joystick or driving wheel; or a 3-D video card. All these purchases will cost more, say from $80 to $300, depending on what you purchase. Space limitations prevent me from making many suggestions, but consider a few things: RAM, for a computer's memory, is cheap, and more always helps a computer's performance in just about every area, not just games. Video accelerator A hardware component on a display adapter that speeds up full-motion video. The primary video accelerator functions are color space conversion, which converts YUV to RGB, hardware scaling, which is used to enlarge the image to full screen and double buffering which moves the frames into cards are proliferating in dizzying fashion. Stick with cards based on the Voodoo and Voodoo II chip sets for now, because more games are written to take advantage of their power, and they provide excellent performance for the price. Microsoft's new Sidewinder sidewinder, common name for a rattlesnake, Crotalus cerastes, found in the deserts of the SW United States. This 2-ft (60-cm), pale yellow and pink snake is named for its curious method of locomotion. Pro Freestyle game controller and driving wheel make for handy PC gaming peripherals, and Advanced Gravis offers terrific game pads as well as joysticks and related flying-game peripherals. Among the new PC games of note: Trespasser; Tomb Raider III; Railroad Tycoon II; the Age of Empires expansion Rise of Rome The rise of Rome to dominate the overt politics of Europe, North Africa and the Near East completely from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD, is the subject of a great deal of analysis by historians, military strategists, political scientists and increasingly also some ; Heavy Gear II; Heretic II Heretic II is a fantasy third-person shooter computer game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision in 1998 continuing the story of Corvus, the main character from its predecessor, Heretic. ; James Cameron's Titanic Explorer and SimCity 3000. Total Annihilation Commander Pack is a repackaging of a great real-time strategy war game with additional scenarios and a strategy guide for a terrific price. Disney Interactive's three computer titles related to the just-released ``A Bug's Life'' are all well done and would make a well-timed gift for younger children in particular. Hasbro Interactive also has come out with two really cool hybrid computer toys for younger children. They attach either a Tonka toy workbench or the cockpit of Han Solo's Millennium Falcon from Star Wars to a computer keyboard. That toy/keyboard combination in turn controls a CD-ROM's worth of computer activities. This is a wonderful idea because it connects the sometimes opaque computer experience into a real-world toy that a child can use more easily and enjoyably than a conventional keyboard. The Star Wars Millennium Falcon is for ages 5 and up, the Tonka Workshop for ages 3 and up. And if you've just gotten a new computer that has a DVD-ROM DVD-ROM: see digital versatile disc. A read-only DVD disc used to permanently store data files. DVD-ROM discs are widely used to distribute large software applications that exceed the capacity of a CD-ROM disc. drive, check out the latest iteration of the never-ending Zork adventure saga, Zork Grand Inquisitor Zork Grand Inquisitor is a graphical adventure game, developed by Activision and released in 1997 for the IBM compatible PC and Apple Macintosh (by MacPlay). It builds upon the Zork and Enchanter series of interactive fiction computer games originally released by Infocom. . Zork has evolved from a simple text-based game to this lushly illustrated interactive tale, and remains an enjoyable experience. And as a bonus, the DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. disk includes Zork Nemesis (which came out on CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). ) and a full set of hints and solutions. For $30, you can beef up your Nintendo 64 with an Expansion Pak, which doubles the machine's memory to 8 megabytes. For great new games designed for it - such as Star Wars Rogue Squadron, NFL Quarterback Club NFL Quarterback Club is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System game to feature quarterbacks from the NFL. Troy Aikman and Warren Moon are two examples of what players can use during the game. 99 and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - the extra memory means better graphics, more and better enemies and more sophisticated game play. Among the best N64 titles for more mature gamers this year are Legend of Zelda: Ocarina ocarina (ŏkərē`nə), musical wind instrument with eight finger holes and two thumb holes, rather egg-shaped, and made of metal, terra-cotta or plastic. Unlike other wind instuments, it produces pure tones that lack overtones. of Time (dubbed game of the century by one publication); Star Wars Rogue Squadron (which I also just love); and Turok 2. Among the best of the many N64 games appropriate for younger gamers are Buck Bumble and Bomberman Hero. Nintendo also just released a well-done color version of its huge-selling Game Boy pocket gaming machine. Only a few titles are out just yet to take advantage of the beefier new machine's capabilities, but it adds color to even the oldest black-and-white Game Boy titles. And if your child is Game Boy freak, definitely pick up one of the two versions of Pokemon (to force kids to trade and interact, the company put out slightly different Red and Blue versions of the game; either works fine). For a totally silly little stocking stuffer, Nintendo has come up with a cross between a virtual pet and a pedometer pe·dom·e·ter n. An instrument that gauges the approximate distance traveled on foot by registering the number of steps taken. pedometer Noun based on its star Pokemon creature, Pikachu. Shower it with gifts of ``watts,'' or Pikachu will turn its back on you. Over on the PlayStation side, Doc's Quake & Shake Rumbler is a great analog dual-stick controller that's better than what Sony includes with all new machines. It features a better directional, or ``D,'' pad than the Sony controller, and adds ``turbo'' and ``slow'' buttons that are great in driving games. If you want to spruce up an older PlayStation, or play head-to-head, here's a good place to start. Among the many PlayStation games of note: For younger children: Spyro the Dragon This article is about the first game in the Spyro series. For information about the character, see Spyro the Dragon (character). For other contexts, see Spiro (disambiguation). Spyro the Dragon is a platform game developed by Insomniac Games for the PlayStation. ; A Bug's Life; Crash Bandicoot: Warped Tiny Toon Adventures Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures (also known as Tiny Toon Adventures or Tiny Toons) is an American animated television series created and produced as a collaborative effort between Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Animation. The Great Beanstalk. For adventure and role-playing gamers: Parasite Eve; Xenogears; Brave Fencer Musashi Brave Fencer Musashi (ブレイヴフェンサー武蔵伝 ; Apocalypse. For shoot-'em-ups: Nitrous Oxide nitrous oxide or nitrogen (I) oxide, chemical compound, N2O, a colorless gas with a sweetish taste and odor. Its density is 1.977 grams per liter at STP. It is soluble in water, alcohol, ether, and other solvents. ; Asteroids This is a list of numbered minor planets, nearly all of them asteroids, in sequential order. As of late September 2007 there are 164,612 numbered minor planets, and many more not yet numbered. Most asteroids are ordinary and not particularly noteworthy. . For racing games: SCARS (also on N64); Gran Turismo; Need for Speed III. For cheap stocking-stuffer games, both Nintendo and Sony have cut prices to about $20 on a group of big-selling older titles. These are a great way to inexpensively beef up your collection with excellent titles such as N64's GoldenEye goldeneye or whistler Either of two species of small, yellow-eyed diving ducks that produce a whistling sound with their rapidly beating wings. The common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) breeds throughout the Northern Hemisphere; Barrow's goldeneye (B. 007 and the PlayStation's first two Crash Bandicoot games. On a site, out of mind And if it's really last-minute shopping for you, there's always the Internet, where plenty of shopping Web sites will deliver the next day, even if it is Christmas. Plus, you don't have to brave the mall crowds. Ah, techno-bliss. Here's a list of worthwhile Web sites for people trying to find ways to do their shopping without doing any walking: Gamedealer.com (www.gamedealer.com) is an aggressive newcomer specializing in all things gaming-oriented, with 8,500 games available. Also has a gift registry, gift guide and gift certificates to make things easier for doting dote intr.v. dot·ed, dot·ing, dotes To show excessive fondness or love: parents who dote on their only child. [Middle English doten. relatives who don't quite know what Junior might want stuffed in his stocking. Computer Gear (www.computergear.com) sells ``random bytes of fun,'' funny computer-oriented T-shirts, jewelry, mouse pads and more. The oddities include stick-on keyboard ``panic buttons,'' beanbag bean·bag n. 1. A small bag filled with dried beans and used for throwing in games. 2. A small folded bag filled with lead pellets, used as ammunition in a stun gun. 3. Intel bunny suit dolls and a really cool watch that includes a working mini Etch-a-Sketch. They also have a catalog. ActionAce.com (www.actionace.com) sells action figures, toys, music, anime and video games for the more mayhem minded among us. Hasbro collectibles such as G.I. Joe action figures can be purchased at www.hasbrocollectors.com. The E! cable TV channel has started a wide-ranging shopping site (www.shop.eonline.com) that sells a delightful array of entertainment-oriented gifts, from clothing to puzzles to posters to videos to curios and collectibles. Buycomp.com (www.buycomp.com) bills itself as the Internet computer superstore with a broad array of computer-related gear. Crutchfield's (www.crutchfield.com/av) has been selling electronics gear for a long time by catalog. Now it's online, selling video, audio, home theater and car stereo equipment. Holt Educational Outlet (www.holtoutlet.com) has been selling toys and educational products for years. This is its extensive online site. The Gap and its various demographic offshoots (www.gap.com, www.babygap.com and www.gapkids.com) offer sturdy clothes and styles in a nifty set of sites. 911Gifts.com (www.911gifts.com) offers a broad range of gifts and breaks them down not only by types but by occasion, by gender, even for clients - a great concept for the business-giving season. For the rest of the year, it includes an event-reminder service and seasonal suggestions. Shopping.com (www.shopping.com) includes among its offerings three chocolate lovers' clubs and two wine lovers' clubs - perfect for your own connoisseur. CAPTION(S): 4 photos PHOTO (1) Last-minute-shopping types, take heart. New PC games of note include Age of Empires new Rise of Rome, with battling Roman soldiers, top right. (2) James Cameron's Titanic Explorer includes data on the sinking of the ocean liner. (3) For younger children, there's Spyro the Dragon on PlayStation. (4) On the PlayStation side, try Doc's Quake & Shake Rumbler analog dual-stick controller |
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