Modern Warfare 3 is now less than a month away. For the 30 million or so people that Activision claims are playing a Call of Duty game, that’s big news. But despite the numerous trailers, previews, and screens that are now out in the open, we’re still in the dark about many of the game’s single-player missions. Thankfully, Sledgehammer recently visited London to show off a new campaign level, this time set in Paris.

The level in question was called Iron Lady, in reference to the Eiffel Tower that sits at the heart of Paris. Washington is burning, New York is occupied, and we picked up the action about halfway through the single-player campaign. You’re playing as Delta Force, and it’s your job to find out some critical information from a high-value target, after a previous mission goes bad.

In typical Call of Duty fashion, the perspective changed dramatically between on-the-ground and in-the-air action. The level opens with a helicopter getting shot down–a huge explosion followed by menacing screeching as the rotor blades make their way towards you. After they stop just in front of you, the camera jumps into the now-familiar AC-130 gunship, allowing you to lay down gunfire and rockets while trying not to destroy Paris’ historic buildings.

The AC-130 soon comes under attack from a group of Russian jets, so the action snaps back into first-person view. You and the rest of Delta Squad make your way through a building, out through greenhouses and into a courtyard. The level offered a good mix of weaponry, from assault rifles and sniper rifles to a mounted machine gun. After this, the demo ended with another AC-130 section, with the gunner choosing to bring down an entire building in dramatic fashion, despite the earlier warning.

It was a short demo, but just enough to show off how bombastic this Call of Duty is going to be. There were some nice touches to take away too, including the destructible balcony that enemy soldiers were using for cover. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long for more Modern Warfare 3–the game launches worldwide on 8 November.

To say that long-time Kirby fans have been clamouring for Nintendo to release a good old-fashioned Kirby title would be a gross understatement. While Nintendo has released several instalments in the series over the past few years, the majority of them, such as Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Kirby Mass Atta..

Metroid: Other M is a single player shooter for Wii that takes the beloved Metroid franchise into uncharted and exciting new territory. Set between the events of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, the game features unprecedented access to the backstory, thoughts and in-game interactions of the usually closed off heroine of the series, Samus Aran. Developed jointly by Nintendo and the celebrated Japanese development studio, Team Ninja, the game also features exciting play options, including the ability to switch between first-person and third-person perspectives, pointer and sideways Wii Remote controller orientation, stunning in-game cinematics and a classic blend of Metroid action and puzzle-solving gameplay.

Metroid: Other M — Download it Free Today!

Metroid: Other M is a perfect two button blaster. I highly recommend it for anyone who misses getting callouses on their thumbs. If they made them all like this, then my wife would probably divorce me for lack of attention.
– Michael Needham, So-Cal

Thumbs Up for Metroid Other M!!!
– Renato M. Herrera, Daly City, CA, USA

Nintendo’s collaboration with Team Ninja has made a heart-pounding 3rd person action/adventure that fleshes out Samus’ story and character, all the while reminding you that yes, she kicks ass lol.
– Derek Vazquez, Springfield, MA

Would you like a few predictions of what games will be popular with the kids this year? Here’s what my sources are predicting:

1. Wii Fit
   Yes, last year’s hit is still going strong. Wii Fit manages to combine fitness with fun, and is enjoyed by almost everyone, no matter what age. Work toward your personal fitness goals by blocking soccer balls, hula-hooping, skiing, doing yoga, and more. If you want, you can check your daily progress and even log your non-Wii exercise time.
2. Wii Sports Resort
   This new version of Wii Sports offers gamers a day at the beach. During your visit to the Wii tropical island resort, you can play with swords, race a water scooter, play Frisbee with your Mii-dog, and more.
3. Guitar Hero 5
   Yet another of last year’s hits that is still outrageously popular, this latest version of Guitar Hero features today’s biggest rock stars combined with classic rock anthems. And for the first time, you can now customize your musical experience to play alone, as a full band, or with any combination of multiple guitarists, bass players, drummers, or vocalists. And Guitar Hero 5′s brand new Party Play Mode puts you straight into the action with the press of a button: jump in or out, or change your difficulty level at any time, without interrupting the jam session!
4. Mario Kart Wii
   Drivers, start your engines! Mario Kart is better than ever in this version specially created for the Wii. Play using your old Nintendo favorites Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi®, Donkey Kong, Wario, Bowser and Toad, plus a host of new faces-including your own! Get into the game and put your Miiâ„¢ character behind the wheel!
5. The Beatles: Rock Band
   Music is where it’s at this year, and The Beatles: Rock Band is absolutely a winner! This is the first game to offer 3-part harmonies as a part of the gameplay, so grab your friends and re-create the Beatles’ unique vocal blends. This game supports all Rock Band instruments as well as most of those for Guitar Hero, so there’s no need to invest in separate guitars, microphones, or drums. 2-6 player online support will let you jam with your friends even after they go home!

So there you have it… my predictions of what’s going to be hot for the Wii this Christmas. And if you join a Wii download membership site, you can get all of these games and more for one low membership fee! Check out New Gaming Experience for the absolute best selection of downloadable Wii games, step-by-step instructions, and customer support of any Wii game download site. And have a great holiday season!

You may already be used to competing against other players online, but you aren’t going up against the best of the best. One way to do this is to enter various Nintendo Wii competitions.

Some of these competitions require you to have achieved a certain level on a given game before you can register for the competition. You may find some of them offered locally at retail stores and gaming stores. They will likely have a limited amount of slots for each age group so make sure you sign up early. There will also be specific rules that apply for each competition so make sure you are well aware of them. You don’t want to end up being disqualified due to not following the rules that were posted.

Most of these Nintendo Wii competitions are designed to promote the gaming system or to promote new games that may not be taking off as well as Nintendo has anticipated. It is very likely that the winners of these competitions will be rewarded with Nintendo Wii games, accessories, and even gaming consoles for their efforts.

You will also find there are many online Nintendo Wii competitions that you can participate in. You may need to do some research in order to find those for the particular games you are the most interested in. This can be your time to really show off your stuff. There are fabulous prizes including trips and cash for the winners as well.

Children will also need written permission from their parents in order to participate in these activities. It can be a great way for your entire family to cheer them on at such an event. You will need to take a look around online to find out when such competitions are taking place. The rules can vary for each one so make sure you pay attention to that as well.

It seems like this concept is becoming more popular than ever before. In fact, you can expect to see some big events sponsored by Nintendo in the next couple of years. Most of them will want to promote their newer games and to ensure strong interest in the Nintendo Wii. They have to do all they can to stay ahead of the competition.

The Wii Remote was first announced in 2005 at the Tokyo Game Show.  The Wii-mote, as it is sometimes known, is the primary controller for Nintendo’s Wii console. A main feature of the Wii-mote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with games and manipulate items via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and optical sensor technology. Another Wii-mote feature is its expandability through the use of attachments.

One attachment, the Nunchuk, complements the Wii-mote with its analog stick control and trigger buttons which provide functions similar to those in gamepad controllers.

Nintendo has also developed a Classic Controller, which plugs into the Wii-mote in a similar fashion as the Nunchuck. However, this Classic Controller can not be used to play backward-compatible GameCube games, but only games that are available for the Nintendo Virtual Console. If you want to play GameCube games on your Wii, it is possible to use a regular GameCube controller, which will also work for most Virtual Console games.

The Wii Zapper is a gun-style attachment for the Wii-mote. This peripheral works well with games like Legend of Zelda, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, and Resident Evil.

A Wii Wheel peripheral is available for driving games such as Mario Kart, and makes these types of games much more fun and easy to operate.

Overall opinions of the Wii Remote have changed over time. While the controller was initially met with praise, complaints have also been noted regarding the Wii-mote and it’s game control. Regardless of its potential shortcomings, the Wii Remote and Nunchuck combined have sold over 8.5 milllion units in the United States.

Wii Game Download Site Review

Research has shown that a small percentage of the population can experience seizures when playing various types of video games. This can be attributed to a particular flashing pattern in the screen graphics that can be unique for each individual. This can occur very suddenly for people of any age, regardless of whether or not they have previously experienced any type of seizure activity.

Headaches and vision problems are another health concern that you should be aware of when playing video games. Severe headaches, twitching eyes, and blurred vision should be taken very seriously. Also, people who may be prone to motion sickness may sometimes experience similar symptoms when playing certain games on the Nintendo Wii because of the rapid movements on the screen.

Repetitive strain injuries are another risk for gamers who spend long hours playing on their Wii. While your favorite games can become quite addictive, you need to be aware that motions that are repeated again and again can result in pain in the fingers, hands, arms, and wrists. These problems can be avoided if you limit your playing time each day, especially if you experience early warning signs such as numbness or burning sensations in frequently used areas of your hands, fingers, or arms.

Also, since many of the games for the Nintendo Wii are interactive, you should be careful to survey your area playing area before beginning each session. Make sure that you have adequate room to complete the required movements, and that you won’t injure yourself by bumping into objects or other people.

Individuals who participate in interactive Wii games such as Wii Sports or Wii Fit should make sure they are physically fit enough to do so. Stretching before and after participating in these games will also help reduce the risk of injuries. Anyone with a history of heart problems needs to check with their doctor before engaging in these types of games.

The vast majority of people will find Nintendo Wii games to be great fun and not at all risky. However, as the girl in this photo discovered, accidents can definitely happen. Please be safe when using your Nintendo Wii, and seek medical attention promptly if necessary. Have fun!

Free Downloads for All Your Favorite Gaming Consoles

Guitar Hero is by far, without a doubt, my favorite Wii game. I can play it all night, and a particularly like the way the online game play lets me compete against other people, all over the world.

The one thing I don’t like about Guitar Hero is the fact that there are now about a bagillion versions of it out there, and to have the most fun with it, you need to cough up the extra coin for all of them. I mean really… there’s Aerosmith, Word Tour, Legends of Rock. 80s, Metallica, Smash Hits, Modern Hits, Decades, and I’m sure more to come.

So, what’s a Guitar Hero Rocker to do? Well, you could get a second job just to support your GH habit… or you could join New Gaming Experience and get all the Wii games you ever could want for just one low membership fee… lower than the cost of just one game!

New Gaming Experience is really the best game download site out there for the Wii, and believe me, I’ve tested lots of them. Do you know that every single other site will require you to install a modchip inside your Wii in order for their game download to work? Are you really ready to peform major surgery on your precious Wii gaming console? I didn’t think so.

So, if you’re a Guitar Hero fanatic like I am, get yourself a membership at New Gaming Experience. You will save yourself a lot of frustration, time, and money.

This year, Madden NFL 11 will redefine the way you experience the game of football on your Nintendo Wii.

• It’s simpler: the all-new GameFlow system puts you in the helmet of an NFL quarterback, with the ability to execute an authentic, situational game plan, one play at a time.
• It’s quicker: with 60 minute game times reduced to 30, you spend more time on the field and less in the playbook. You get the same drama, in half the time.
• It’s deeper: Madden NFL 11 is feature-rich, with improved animations and control options, enhanced online functionality, and new broadcast and audio presentation that delivers the NFL experience fans have come to expect.

Scheduled for release on August 10, 2010, register to receive your FREE copy of Madden NFL 11 for the Nintendo Wii, and go directly to the head of the line. Be ready for the football season this year, get your Free Madden 11 today!

With the current version of the Wii holding the top spot in today’s generation of gaming consoles, industry experts expect Nintendo to unveil its successor to the Wii next month at the E3 trade show in Los Angeles.

As of this writing, there are no confirmed facts, but much speculation concerning the features of the new system and exactly when it will be released. However, a follow-up system to the Wii — the first motion-controlled gaming system, which became a breakaway hit with such nontraditional gamers as women and seniors — would seem to be a slam dunk.

Nevertheless, despite having sold 86 million units since its November 2006 launch, Wii sales fell 25% in 2010. Nintendo has also suffered some recent financial troubles, as its most recent profit and sales figures have both slid by double digits, while Sony and Microsoft, both with their own enhanced motion-control systems, sold a combined total of 18 million units. Has Nintendo been too slow to react to the intense competition in the console gaming industry?

Perhaps more important to hard-core gamers, the PS3 and Xbox 360 both offer dazzling HD graphics, streaming multimedia, and online multiplayer environments, while the Wii has been plodding along with increasingly archaic-looking, standard-definition visuals and limited Internet functionality.

When it comes down to brass tacks, buning a Wii, gets you a family-friendly system known for its everyday accessibility, software-emulated gaming classics and library of familiar Nintendo hits including “Super Mario All-Stars” and “Donkey Kong Country Returns.”

Springing for one of the competing devices earns you not only an HD showpiece readily capable of powering sprawling, grandiose 3-D worlds and stunning 1080p visuals, but also a home entertainment center and Internet gaming hub with online storefronts bursting with downloadable movies, music and games… not to mention smash hits, like the “Halo” series, that aren’t even available on the Wii gaming platform.

For now, we can but speculate about the Wii 2′s possible features, which are said to include high-definition 1080p graphics, more computing power than the PlayStation 3 and a controller with a touchscreen built into it. But with any new generation of console hardware, such technical advancements are expected. To come out on top with a new Wii console, Nintendo will have to reach out to talented external software developers, who can push the platform harder and further than even its creators could originally have intended.

Then there’s also the persistent gossip about a possible $350 to $400 price tag, which would position it well out of the reach of many households — especially given the current economy. For that kind of money, the system wouldn’t just need to offer backwards compatibility with existing Wii titles, it would also need to include major hardware or software innovations.

With literally thousands of free games available to play in your Web browser, and smartphone apps now measured at half of gaming downloads, it’s obvious that Nintendo’s once-loyal audience of casual players is quickly fragmenting across platforms and devices.

So will there be a place for the Wii 2, and Nintendo, at the top of the gaming pile next year? We’ll have to wait for an answer, but the initial signs suggest the company has a big challenge on its hands.