Now that the New Xbox Experience is here, and has blown our minds with its transplendent introduction film (I hear there are also some new features), the software side of the Xbox 360 has never looked better. But this free upgrade also presents a question of whether to boost the box itself.

As it happened, I was the last to learn that I needed a new Xbox 360 hard drive. I mean, my current hard drive works fine. Sure, it's only a measly 20GB in size, but that's enough for some Police DLC, and a few episodes of the Batman Animated Series. What more does a gamer really need?

Turns out he needs a lot more, according to my colleagues, who all seem to have migrated to bankrupt electronics retailer Circuit City today like a flock of consumerist birds, in search of a $100 deal on a 120GB drive. And now they're flocking this way, attacking my easily-swayed videogame libido.

I need that 120GB. I need to spend that $100+. Why? To install games, of course.

PC gamers are chortling away right now. ... Read more

Like many, I was utterly bewildered by Nintendo's E3 2008 press conference. The missing "core" game announcement was disappointing, but not quite as unsettling as the unshakable notion that I was ultimately wrong about Nintendo's intentions towards gamers who've stuck with it since the beginning.

And as I walked out, I had the concentrated sense that as a longtime Nintendo fan, I was being forgotten, or at best, misunderstood.

With an hour to burn at its E3 conference, Nintendo offered up Wii Sports Resort, Wii Music, Animal Crossing: City Folk and just a few others, plus a swift mention of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on DS to get those pesky 18-24 year-old males out of the way. See? We've got something for everyone.

What's troubling isn't that the title for hardcore gamers never materialized--it's that Nintendo thought it had... Read more

With summer in full swing and the 4th of July holiday rapidly approaching, it's likely that many Shackers are gearing up for getaways to the world's most exotic destinations. But you can't risk third-degree burns on hot vinyl car seats without a little insurance--namely, a ready supply of excellent games to play on the road.

As such, your Shack Staff has prepared a rundown of our favorite on-the-go gaming experiences to better prepare our readers for that long-awaited dream vacation to Scranton, New Jersey, or wherever your travels may take you.

As any veteran worldskipper will tell you, solid preparation is your best defense against speaking to your family... Read more

Having finally invested in a PS3 a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity last weekend to play and complete Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, touted as one of the highlight's of the system's software library.

Though my experiences with the game were largely positive, Uncharted led me to a very sudden and unsettling realization concerning my take on the current direction of game development: I absolutely abhor cover systems.

Last year, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA, announced it would from 2006 onward consider video games of equal importance to both film and television. In prior years, BAFTA had hosted fairly minor video game awards of some form, alongside their flagship British Academy Film Awards and British Academy Television Awards. As stated in the auspicious announcement, this would make the British Academy Video Games Awards "the most independent and valued awards in this arena."

It was an encouraging move from one of the most well-known recognizers of the world's art, lending legitimacy to the artistic merits of video games, merits long-deserved by an industry filled with terrifically imaginative world-builders and artisans of the highest degree.

This makes it all the more disappointing that in only their second year of supposed platform parity, the Video Games Awards have become a joke.

Things looked up after the 2006 awards, as the increased significance they gave the game industry's works with a televised... Read more