Backgammon does not need a complex graphics and advanced weapons to set a real war zone atmosphere. Download backgammon software and play for money; your 15 checkers and dice together with the stake, will be more than enough to fill you with energy, motivation and competitiveness.

I got my PS3 on Halloween to be exact. A couple posts ago, I let everyone know about my prospect of selling 5 PS1 RPGs to a friend for $300 so I could buy my PS3. The thing is, my friend still has a couple of personal payments to make (repairing his car, buying a new TV since his old one broke), so it will be a couple of months until he’ll buy those games from me (keep in mind that he’s been my friend for almost 10 years, and I have 100% trust in him, as he’s never let me down even once before. He’s promised me that he will buy those games, as he’s always been very interested in owning them). I figured that since I’m going to sell those games eventually anyways, why should I have to wait to get that PS3? Either way, that money will be coming back into my own pocket, so with that in mind, my friend and I went to his workplace last night (Wal-Mart) and he used his discount and my cash to pick up a PS3 Slim and a copy of Uncharted 2 for me (I got the money for Uncharted 2 by selling some other older RPGs and a couple of other titles that were just “okay”, that I’ll never play again). I still have almost $40 left over, so I think I’ll save it, and buy another title when I come across another $20 or so at some point. The PS3 Slim looks really slick on my TV unit, although it didn’t come with HD cables of course, but I’ll be waiting until I actually own a large HDTV before I pick those cables up. I’m really digging the console’s controller, since you can just hook it up to your PS3 and charge it, unlike the other two consoles that need batteries for their controllers. Those new L2 and R2 triggers also feel really nice.

So what about Uncharted 2? I’ve just made it to Chapter 6 last night, and so far, I’m having an absolute blast with it. I know that last month was basically Uncharted 2-mania on the blogs last month, so you may be a little sick of hearing about it by this point. I know that I’ve showed up a little late to the party, but I’ll still give a couple of quick impressions on it. For one, it really makes it worth owning a PS3 for me. I’ve never seen this kind of cinematic presentation in a game before (for both the cutscenes, as well as in actual gameplay, as well as transitioning between both), and Uncharted 2 has really set the bar for how far technology has gone to create these presentation values in a game. I love being able to buy a new console to be completely floored by a high-tech, extremely well designed game that sets new standards. The whole thing is reminiscent of watching a blockbuster movie (the whole thing really reminds me of National Treasure), and the best part about it is that it’s extremely fun to play as well.

The first games that I thought Uncharted 2 resembled were the climbing elements of Prince of Persia and Shadow of the Collosus, and the shooting segments/movie-like atmosphere/hording enemies of Gears of War 2. So far, I find Uncharted 2 to be better than the Prince of Persia games and even Gears of War 2 (the latter of which placed pretty damn high on my Top 100 list), which is saying something. I know that you can’t directly compare Uncharted 2 to games like those, but regardless, for being a game that takes elements from others, it really stands out on it’s own and becomes a worthwhile experience. I love the platforming. I love trying to survive when hordes of bad guys rush into an area to kill you as you fight for your life. I even liked the stealth segments, which is really saying something since I normally hate stealth-based gameplay (the stealth melee takedowns are jaw-dropping). I love coming to a new vista and just staring at the detail of everything. I like blowing things up, taking down bad guys with melee attacks when they have firearms, or choosing to make a dramatic on-foot escape instead of engaging the enemy if I’m given the choice. I love the pre-scripted events like the train on the mountainside at the start of the game (what an opener to a game!), or running down the streets of Italy (is that where it is? Where they have to locate the right temple?) as a jeep is chasing you right from behind and riding on your ankles at points as you barely escape. The voice work is top notch, and I really enjoy the in-game banter too. The game is simply incredible, and will most likely easily make it into the top portion of my Top 100 list.

I haven’t even made it to the multiplayer components yet, whether they be co-op or deathmatch. A quick question though. Can you play co-op locally with someone right beside you, or is it only online co-op? I’m guessing it’s the latter.

With those first impressions out of the way, I’m going to ask which games that you would really recommend to me on the PS3, whether it may be old, new released, or a very promising future title. I’ll give a list of the games that I have been interested in trying, but there are a few very important factors that lie in my next game purchase. For one, if possible, I would prefer it to be a newly released or soon to be released game, so I could join in discussion, and possibly play with others online. Secondly, no sports or generic racing games for me (probably not RPGs either, as I already have so many of them). Thirdly, since I have no idea when I’ll ever be able to purchase a PS3 game next, I would prefer for a game to have a lot of staying power (a very solid single player mode and strong, addictive multiplayer mode that could last years would be very tempting). Here’s a list of the games that I’ve eyed on the PS3 as being interesting, in no particular order. Quite a bit of these games are older, so I’m not sure if I’ll want the older ones right at the moment. If you can even think of a soon to be released or newly released title that’s already out that I haven’t mentioned, let me know. Just keep in mind that I’m really not a fan of God of War, Gran Turisimo, Tekken or Grand Theft Auto.

NOTE: I’m just as interested in the multi-platform games as I am with exclusives. As stupid as it may sound, I only really like my 360 for a couple of exclusives and my XBLA games. I’d prefer to buy multi-platform games on the PS3 to prevent unreasonable wear and tear to my 360 console (which is the reason I only play exclusives on my 360). The PS3 is a better built console, so I would prefer to play all of my multi-platform games on it, regardless of how superior XBOX Live is to PSN.

Anyways, I guess I’ll start out with the games that I’m the most interested in:

Borderlands – Looks interesting and like a great multiplayer title, but something tells me that once you beat the main game, there may not be much more to go back to. I do really like the look of 4 player local split screen play, along with being online compatible. However, does it get repetitive over time and only seems like a game that you’re planning on just playing until the end and then shelving for years after? You tell me.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – I’m not normally interested in military-based games since their premises are incredibly unoriginal, but everyone always raves on about how the multiplayer is bliss. Is the multiplayer in these games local as well, or are you only in it for the online run? How did the single player of the original game hold up too? To note too, I’ve always been a console gamer, and my favorite FPS games have been Goldeneye, Halo and Doom. Half-Life 2 was pretty good too from what I got to play of it. Think I might like this game?

Super Street Fighter 4 – I’ve never been much into Street Fighter, but this may be the time to give it a try. I might grow to really get into it if it’s one of my only PS3 games that I’ll be playing. Fighting games seem to have infinite potential for lasting value, but on the other hand, they only get lots of play time when you have someone to play. I’m not sure if my fiancee would be much into Street Fighter, but there’s always online, I guess (However, I’m not that skilled at fighters, so I may only get my ass handed to me online. I’m not sure yet).

Assassin’s Creed 2 – I never got into the first, but I hear that this one looks like an improvement on it in every way. The settings look beautiful and fun to roam in, but the original was said to be repetitive after some time. I haven’t kept up much with the news on this game, but I hope the sequel isn’t as linear. I thought I heard that in the first, you only had one way to go about assassinating enemies, so I hope there’s some variety in this one.

MAG – this upcoming title looks like it may be a really fun FPS. One of the things I’m most interested in is getting a current, great, addictive FPS that I can really get hooked on with the multiplayer. Still, I heard that the frame rate is kind of low (which could affect gameplay), there may be too many people on the field, and I don’t know if there’s any single player or local multiplayer. If it’s purely online multiplayer, I might pass on it.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 – I loved the first Ninja Gaiden, and this one returns with some co-op elements.

LittleBigPlanet – A bit of an older title, but this one always appealed to me, with it’s classic platforming style, and level editing system.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune – I could play it safe and buy the first Uncharted for only $30, but I wouldn’t have much variety on my new PS3. Will still pick it up someday though.

Others that I’m too lazy to go into detail with but am still interested in:

- Infamous
- Prototype
- Blazblue (I think I heard that there’s a new version coming out, or was that Street Fighter 4?)
- Valkyria Chronicles
- Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
- Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
- Resistance 1 & 2
- Far Cry 2
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Brutal Legend
- Fallout 3
- MGS4
- Demon’s Souls
- Killzone 2
- Half Life 2: The Orange Box
- Assassin’s Creed
- Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm

So that’s what I’m currently interested in, aside from a couple of PSN titles like Suikoden or Fat Princess perhaps. What would everyone here recommend? Also, are there any titles that people have been playing from a month or two back that have still been really standing the test of time? I know that Uncharted 2 will be eating up a lot of my time for a couple of weeks, but after that, I may be able to scrounge up a little bit of cash to just be able to afford my next game (That’s also why I really want a game that will stand the test of time. I see people on the blogs buying every new game under the sun, but this is the only one that I’ll be able to buy for quite some time. I really need to make it last).

All in all, owning a PS3 is sweet. I finally have all three current-gen consoles (and I even have the current-gen handhelds too!), and it feels really good. The only title that I know will be an absolute buy will be The Last Guardian (by the makers of Shadow of the Colossus), but that won’t be released for quite some time. Anyways, time to get back to some Uncharted 2 action right now. I’m also aware that I interrupted the flow of my last post, but this is a freaking PS3 for cripes sake! My next post will be part II of the games that I’ve completed in 2009, so stay tuned.

TOKYO — The new motion-controlled version of Resident Evil 5 works well, although it’s not without its issues.

With the release of the PlayStation Move controller in the United States coinciding with the Tokyo Game Show, Sony’s booth is chock full of titles that rely on the company’s new motion peripheral. In fact, the Sony booth is dominated by a two-floor structure (described to me by the staff as an “apartment building”) with over a dozen individual rooms to showcase Move games.

These rooms face the show floor and are open on one end, so that everyone passing the Sony installation gets a good look at guests swinging their Moves around. Had someone been looking in on my session of Resident Evil 5 they would have seen me killing lots of zombies with a puzzled look on my face.

Since its original release in 2009, I have played through Resident Evil 5 many times over, all of it on a standard PlayStation 3 controller. Playing it with the Move was disorienting: Even though I knew what lay in waiting around every corner, I found myself bumping into walls a lot as I walked around.

The key difference and biggest problem with Resident Evil 5 on Move is the fusing of camera and movement commands to a single stick. On a normal controller, I would use the twin analog sticks to control my character and rotate the field of view separately.

With Move, there is only one thumbstick. My character always faced straight ahead because pushing left or right meant turning my whole view. Such a limitation in an action game is a serious handicap, even one with slow-moving enemies like zombies.

Those zombies didn’t stand a chance, however, because Move offers a significant advantage over traditional controls. The ability to point and shoot directly at my targets sent my accuracy rate sky high. I also enjoyed the new knife control, where a shake of the Move wand would trigger a quick knife strike.

Taking a game like Resident Evil 5 and adding a new motion-based control scheme isn’t as radical as it sounds. The original game was always one of careful shot selection and ammo conservation – Move just makes that easier at the cost of some character dexterity.

I can’t say Move makes me more excited about a game I’ve already played, or vice versa. Likewise, if you weren’t already a fan of the game’s stop-and-shoot combat, having motion controls won’t do a thing to change your mind.

However, as an owner of the Japanese “Alternative Edition” of the game, I will have the option to use Move via a free software update before Tokyo Game Show is over. Owners of the American “Gold Edition” will have to wait until November.

“Killzone 2″ is a first-person shooter, exclusive to the PS3, that wowed the assembled video game press when Sony showed a brief clip from the game at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in 2005. Los Angeles Times game reviewer Pete Metzger described the debut in his K2 review today: “The short video, presented without explanation, was an amazing futuristic war game with visuals that exceeded anything that could be done at the time. Quite simply, we couldn’t believe our eyes; there was no way a game could look that good.”

Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America, said “that infamous trailer got a lot of people talking about not only ‘Killzone,’ but the power of the PS3. Since that time, ‘Killzone’ has gone through kind of a roller-coaster ride from a public perception perspective … Would it really deliver on that promise?”

He pointed to the game’s Metacritic score — 92 out of 100 after 54 reviews — as evidence that the game is meeting or exceeding the high expectations set for it.

“We think this is going to be a nice hardware mover for us and really get the year off to a nice start,” Dille said in an interview this morning, adding that the company expects the 2009 games line up to “generate new found momentum behind the PlayStation 3.”

Hardware sales

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 launched a year ahead of the PlayStation 3. But the follow-up to the record-selling PlayStation 2 has been unable to close the gap in console sales thus far. The Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3 in the U.S. in 13 of the last 18 months. (Although the Nintendo Wii has outsold both of them combined in 11 of the last 18 months.) And in the 2008 holiday season — a critical period for the video games industry — Sony saw PS3 sales in the U.S. decline compared with 2007, according to the NPD Group.

Dille pointed out that the PlayStation brand, including the last-generation PS2 and the PlayStation Portable, was, in aggregate, No. 2 at retail in 2008. The PS3 is on track with Sony’s goals, he added.

“We were tracking real well against the 360 until they made their price drop down to $199, stripped out the hard-drive, and offered that [Arcade] unit,” Dille said. “And obviously in this economy, that offering resonated with people.”

He said the industry, in 2008, was driven by the Nintendo Wii — “appealing to a different segment of the market” — and Microsoft’s price cut.

“We’ll play those cards at the right time for us,” he said.

Anticipated titles

Microsoft has several highly anticipated and exclusive titles coming for the Xbox 360 this year, too. “Halo Wars,” a strategy based riff on the space combat series that made the Xbox, is due out March 3 from Microsoft’s Ensemble Studios. Another “Halo” title, “Halo 3 ODST,” (for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper — a class of soldier in the game), is coming in Fall from Kirkland-based Bungie Studios.

Excitement over both “Killzone 2″ and “Halo Wars” has peaked in recent weeks, according to Gamefly, a game rental service that tracks titles in its customers’ rental queues as a proxy for the most-anticipated titles. “Killzone 2″ was the first PS3 exclusive to hit the top of the list, for the week ended Feb. 9, but “Halo Wars” took the top spot for the week ended Feb. 16. Sony, meanwhile, has seen the strongest pre-sales for “Killzone 2″ of any first-party game for PS3.

‘Horsepower under the hood’

Dille said “Killzone” does things with the PS3 that other titles haven’t yet done.

The game is huge — 40 gigabytes — something possible because of the PS3′s Blu-ray Disc drive. That allowed developer Guerrilla Games to pack more graphical detail into the game. And the graphics aren’t diminished during multi-player gaming, Dille said. The artificial intelligence of the enemies is better and more sophisticated and there are more levels of difficulty.

But Dille still sees much more for game developers to do on the console.

“There’s no way ['Killzone'] is taking it to its full potential. … The PS3 is a very deep ocean and folks are really still only scratching the surface,” he said.

“The PlayStation 3 just had its second birthday,” Dille continued. “[Microsoft] is further into their cycle. But, we’re two years into what we always talked about as a 10-year cycle and PlayStation has always had a bit of a deeper learning curve because there’s more horsepower under the hood — I think that was true of PS2, it’s certainly true of PS3 — so this is not the end of what you’ll see from PS3 by any means.”

If we had to describe Ghostbusters: The Video Game in one word, that word would be ‘authentic’. If given the liberty of a couple more, the next one would be ‘hilarious’, and we’d follow that up with a ‘fangasm’ chaser. Ghostbusters is great. It’s not great in a ‘holy hell these mechanics are so inventive and this gameplay is so perfectly balanced’ kind of way, as truth be told, the moment to moment gameplay is the weakest thing about the game. No, it’s great in a ‘I can’t believed they nailed the feel of rolling with the Ghostbusters. I’m hanging with Bill Murray!’ kind of way. Simply put, this game will change the way you think about licensed titles.

The team at Terminal Reality really has gone to great lengths to make this a proper Ghostbusters game. Importantly, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis were involved from very early on, and wrote the script and dialogue, treating this as a third Ghostbusters film (never mind that a third one is now underway). Thus, the events in the game are significant, and take place in 1991, a year or so after Vigo is defeated at the end of Ghostbusters 2, and the whole thing just feels… right. You join the Ghostbusters as a new recruit, and your whole job is basically to kick butt while listening to hilarious banter between the rest of the team. This is all about being part of the Ghostbusters, so you’ll rarely be on your own. Not only is the dialogue great, but there’s nothing quite like three or four Ghostbusters all firing up their Proton Packs; streams pulsing, sparks flying, collateral damage mounting, all to wrangle an ectoplasmic entity.

Speaking of collateral damage, Terminal Reality built an excellent engine for this title, and its focus is squarely on physics. This isn’t the prettiest game ever (although it does run at 1080p which is nice), but the powerful physics engine is crucial to the action feeling authentic. It just wouldn’t be Ghostbusters without the ability to absolutely level the ballroom of the Sedgewick Hotel, for instance. What fun would it be if you didn’t leave scorched trails all over the walls as you tried to track Slimer? What fun would it be if the tablecloths didn’t burn up in an instant? What fun would it be if you couldn’t smash the chandelier and the grand piano, or pick up a table with your Proton Pack and wrench it across the room, shattering it into splinters? Huge numbers of objects in this world are destructible, and it really adds to the chaos and fun.

Of course, the physics aren’t just about collateral damage – it has also allowed the team to build the mood, with objects floating in the air, or books arranging themselves into stacks. It means that as you watch Stay Puft stomp past you from inside a Manhattan office block, the windows dynamically shatter from the thud of every step. On top of that, many of the enemies are golems – comprised of dozens of smaller objects, such as a lumbering beast with a body of swirling books and a lamp bulb head. Each blast from your Proton Pack dislodges books until you’ve worn it down enough to target and rip off its head with your capture stream, showering the floor with (now) inanimate tomes.

Ghostbusters fans are no doubt curious to know what it’s like to suit up with a Proton Pack. The answer is – obviously – ‘awesome’, and as you play Egon adds more and more functionality to the pack. You start out with the standard stream and the capture stream – the former for wearing enemies down, the latter to wrangle them into traps. Captured enemies or objects can also be ‘slammed’ – smashed into the ground, ceiling or walls, which can stun the former, making them easier to get into a trap. It’s not long until you have the Boson Dart ability either, which fires a concentrated ball of energy – great for taking off chunks of health.

That’s all basic functionality, however, and as you play you’ll unlock the ability to use three other types of ammo, each with their own attacks and functionality. Two are pretty standard – the blue ammo can slow enemies down and fire buckshot, while the yellow one fires out chunky pulse attacks. The most interesting variant, however, is the slime weapon. This can be used to purify black slime, to exorcise spirits that have taken control of humans and other things. Slime can also be used to tether things – fire at a table, then at the ceiling and the tether draws the table up to the roof. It’s fun to play around with, but isn’t as core to the gameplay as it could be.

Now with all the talk of how great the Playstation 3 is, gamers should be expecting equally exceptional games to play. Here are several titles that gamers should be looking to buy:

Resistance: Fall of Man:
Resistance: Fall of Man, sometimes referred to as Fall of Man, Resistance and even RFOM in the video gaming community, was released by Insomniac Games as a PlayStation 3 launch title in Japan and the United States on November, 2006 and in Europe on March, 2007.

The game’s plot begins in 1951, with a United States Army Rangers’ 5,000-man task force where the protagonist, Sgt. Nathan Hale, works with the task force to help liberate Britain and to retrieve a secret weapon that the British claim can be used against the Chimera, a fictional race.

Among the awards received, Resistance: Fall of Man was awarded Gamespot’s Best PlayStation 3 game of 2006 and IGN’s PlayStation 3 Game of the Year 2006, Best First-Person Shooter on PlayStation 3 of 2006 and Best Graphics Technology on PlayStation 3 in 2006 among other, which speaks loudly about quality of the quality of the gaming experience.

Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground:
Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground, sometimes referred to as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 9, is a video game developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles by Neversoft and for the PlayStation 2 and Wii by Page 44 Studios. Proving Ground is the ninth game in the Tony Hawk’s video games series.

Because of its appealing to an active game and adventure group and with Tony Hawk’s name behind it, this video game is currently one of the hottest titles the PS3 has to offer.

Final Fantasy XIII:
Without a doubt, Final Fantasy XIII is one of the most anticipated titles set for eventual release for the Sony Playstation 3. So far, only information on two of the characters have been released: a mysterious woman wielding what appears to be a weapon that can seamlessly switch from a sword to a firearm, who goes by the name “Lightning”, and all that is known of the other character is that he is an enormous man who is allied with Lightning.

In a departure from the usual feminine females that populate the worlds of Final Fantasy Lightning there’s said to be a female version of Cloud, the hero of Final Fantasy 7.

Battles will be quite different in Final Fantasy XIII from earlier installments. Real time battles will occur with no arc between the character attacking and the one defending themselves. Summons such as the icy Shiva will be able to be summoned into battle and be made doubly useful by being able to morph into items such as motorcycles.

While the majority of games being released for play on the Playstation 3 are brand new titles, there are some mind-blowing sequels in the works as well. A new version of the already famous Gran Turismo and the finale to the epic God of War are in the works for eventual release for the PS3.

With a video game market hungry for new games and new advances in gaming technology continually in the works, video games titles for the Playstation 3 promise to provide the highest quality gaming experience possible for PS3 fans and a lot of work for reviewers, critics and cheat code enthusiast.

SCEA Associate Product Manager Ken Chan has shared a video today spotlighting God of War: Ghost of Sparta PSP game directors live.

To quote: We are only one day away from the release of God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

For those that pre-ordered, make sure you don’t forget to visit the PlayStation Store to download your DLC bundle, and get an exclusive look at the God of War Game Directors Live video.

Note: You’ll be able to redeem your DLC voucher on PSN starting tomorrow, November 2nd at 5:00pm PST.

Earlier this year, over 150 of our PlayStation.Blog & Spartan Army community members were treated to an unfiltered, non-censored, no-holds-barred interview discussion with the entire cast of God of War Game Directors.

What was the alternate ending that Stig Asmussen and David Jaffe explored for God of War III? How did Cory Barlog go from Lead Animator to Game Director? What about the biggest challenge for Ru Weerasuiya and Dana Jan as the Game Director for the portable experience?

Find this out and more by pre-ordering God of War: Ghost of Sparta!

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look of God of War Game Director’s Live with our Senior Social Media Specialist, Rey Gutierrez.

Stay tuned for more PS3 Hacks news. Also be sure to drop by the PS3 Hacks Forum for updates!

I had wanted to use it for a while to help teach the Tudors unit at AS Level. One of the key teaching points of the unit is how Monarchs governed their states and I was fairly sure that it could help students get a feel for the mindset of the Early Modern Period.

The results were fascinating and made a real impact. However, I don’t want to go into the whole defence of game based learning, or even explain how it can be used to create a real enquiry (that has been done with much greater eloquence than I could muster by the likes of Dawn Hallybone). All I want to set out here is five simple reasons why we should be using games to teach through at post-16:

1. It is great for teaching concepts – so far we have used it to launch the Tudor unit in Year 12 (looking at the concept of kingship), the Crime and Punishment unit at Year 13 (using the CSI game to look at the concept of investigation) and with Year 7 to look at Chronology (using the History extension pack of Little Big Planet). The initial playing generated a lot of excitement, but the discussion that followed was the really amazing part. Students were able to provide concrete (allbeit digitally rendered) examples to back up and explain abstract concepts. It was brilliant to hear three Year 12 students discussing why it was virtually impossible to create a state noted for culture while engaged in a protracted war, or why it was futile to build a banking system when most spare cash was being spent on an invasion army. The game had managed to solidify thinking on a difficult concept in less than two hours – it would have taken weeks for me to feed them enough contextual knowledge to reach the same point. This approach is one that I want to hang on to. I can not see me using the PS3 as a straight tool for learning about a particular time period or skill – that seems to take out the excitement and the thinking. It was the connections that had to be made and the abstract nature of the thinking that made this work.

2. It doubles up as a blu-ray – the advantages of blu-ray are documented widely, but having that technology available in the room is superb. Buying a separate player would cost just as much and the PS3 has more to offer the class. It means that we can show clips that create much more atmosphere. For example, when looking at the changing landscape of crime drama we show two clips from Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’. Seeing this in high definition is fantastic, but it also shows the students that you care about the presentation of the sources of information you use. Carrying the box with reverance and carefully placing it in the player adds to the drama and makes them care more about the content. Honestly, design and presentation matter an awful lot in post-16 teaching.

3. If you have wifi, it is a cheap way to get internet access – the fact that it is almost a pc at a fraction of the cost is superb. For less than £200 you can get access to a host of web resources and use them in lessons. If you want a cheap way to play video clips or show striking images, then the PS3 has got to be a serious consideration. It is another access point to help students look up and clarify those small issues that arise when they are involved with completing an enquiry. The novelty of doing this additional research on the PS3 has proven engaging too.

4. It creates a buzz among students – the amount of comments I have received since the PS3 landed at school is incredible. The students think it is brilliant that the History department has one and the teachers actually know how to play the games. One student (Year 12) wrote on the VLE ‘History + PS3 = Cool’. I have to agree.

5. It is a technology that is constantly evolving – with the recent introduction was motion and visualising technology the PS3 has opened up a new avenue of use for the classroom. I don’t know how well it will work for what we need to teach, but it will be fun to explore this with the students. And the best part is that new games and hardware to connect to the PS3 will emerge every year so that we can keep offering a variety of approaches and remain fresh. We should not abandon the principles of play and exploration at KS3 – keeping the learning active, engaging and different is as vital at post-16 as it is with Year 6 or 7 and using a games console is just one way to bring this into the classroom.

These five points are not an advert for PS3 consoles, although I obviously do like mine, more an attempt explore games based learning and student engagement at KS5.

Hope it helps.

• Advanced weapons customization allows you to change your weapon in the heat of battle and adapt your firepower to the situation.
• Army of Two: The 40th Day has been built from the ground up with a focus on a co-op play and an expanded list of co-op tactics, resulting in a bigger, better, more organic two-man tactical experience.
• An engaging story set in Shanghai, China in which the Army of Two must fight their way through ravaged city districts as they try to beat the odds and uncover the secret of the 40th Day.
• Take your partner online in explosive multiplayer modes, focused on co-op play, or strategize in the four-player co-op Extraction Mode and take on a series of intense enemy waves as you move from point to point through the ruined city.
• 12-player multiplayer support online.

PS3 Game : Army of Two: The 40th Day Description
The Army of TWO is back! A carefully orchestrated series of mysterious catastrophes is dragging Shanghai, China to the brink of ruin, and now the Army of Two must fight their way through ravaged city districts as they try to beat the odds and uncover the secret of the Fortieth Day.