News from the virtual world:
Top five: With 2006 halfway over — and with a few months to go until the usual onslaught of new fall games — it's time to take a look back at the best of the year, so far. Without a doubt, the No. 1 game is "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion." I've already spent more than 100 hours in Bethesda Softworks' vast medieval world, and could happily explore it for another 100 if I didn't have other games to review. If you don't own an Xbox 360 yet, "Oblivion" alone makes it worth the purchase. My No. 2 title is another role-playing adventure, Square Enix's stirring "Grandia III," for the PlayStation 2. After that, I got the biggest kick out of three games featuring three very different mascots. "New Super Mario Bros.," for the Nintendo DS, is the first fresh adventure in years for the beloved plumber, taking him back to his 2D roots in style. "Daxter," for Sony's PlayStation Portable, gives center stage to the wisecracking rodent from the "Jak & Daxter" series, mixing smart gameplay with inspired comedy. And the GameCube title "Chibi-Robo," about a miniature robot's efforts to heal a fractured family (seriously), is one of those bizarre games only Nintendo could pull off.Rock bottom: There have been quite a few disappointments this year — much-ballyhooed games that didn't live up to the hype. Electronic Arts' "The Godfather" tops that list, followed by EA's "Black" and Atari's "Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure" (which also wins the prize for stupidest title). They're not bad games, just not the mind-blowing experiences their creators had promised. For a truly, unspeakably awful game, look no further than 2K Sports' "Torino 2006," a Winter Olympics fiasco eclipsed only by Bode Miller's crash-and-burn on the slopes of Italy.Cruel summer: Summer is typically the worst time of year for new games. Video-game publishers, for some reason, have bought into the idea that people would rather be outside when it's hot, and new releases slow to a trickle. This summer has been even worse than usual, as software companies are gearing up for the release later this year of two new consoles, Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3. Still, there is one next-generation console on the market, and you'd think Microsoft and its partners would be leaping into this void to expand the Xbox 360's audience before the competition arrives. Not the case, though. The summer lull is one sign of an immature industry; you don't see movie theaters or record stores closing their doors, and even TV networks put some new shows on during the dog days. Wake up, game companies — we can only stand so much sun.White noise: A new ad for Sony's PlayStation Portable has appeared only in the Netherlands, but it has caused an uproar here in the United States. The ad, promoting Sony's new white PSP, shows a scowling white woman grabbing a black woman's jaw in a clearly threatening manner. "The latest Sony ad conjures up bad memories of when stereotypical and offensive images of people of color were accepted means of selling a product," said Rick Callender, president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley chapter of the NAACP. A Sony spokesperson told the GameSpot Web site, "All of the images created for the campaign have been designed to show this contrast in colors of the PSPs, and have no other message or purpose." Given the fuss, however, it's highly unlikely the ad will be appearing anywhere but the Netherlands.More than a pretty face: According to The New York Times, "Madden NFL 07" cover model Shaun Alexander has some ideas for future editions of the game. "Like if you have 10 friends, you could all play different positions and be in 10 different houses and play together over the Internet," the Seattle Seahawks running back said. "Or maybe you just have like five people, and you control the skill positions and the program controls the other guys." Think EA Sports is listening?By Lou Kesten