Inconceivable! Princess Bride Game a Treat

Wired picks the year's best

(NEWSER) - This has been a vintage year for pop culture, say Wired writers listing their year's best in fields from film to video games to microsculpture.

• Stephen Colbert's "hyper-real genius" made the year for Scott Thill, who believes "Earth’s most relevant living cultural critic" is long overdue for an Emmy for The Colbert Report.

Game is good, clean cross-generational fun

(NEWSER) - The Beatles: Rock Band successfully brings the winning music-game formula to one of rock’s biggest names, writes Elizabeth Landau for CNN. Designed to be played by as many as six, the game "does make for a great time and will probably be a hit at parties." Meanwhile, spectators "can watch animated re-creations of the Beatles rocking out on the TV screen, and enjoy the colorful graphics, while your friends try to hit the notes." More»

MotionPlus yields more accurate control, heralds things to come

(NEWSER) - With sales slowing, the Wii needs a shot in the arm, and Nintendo thinks it’s found one with Wii MotionPlus, a little accessory that plugs into the bottom of the controller, giving it a gyroscope that can detect more subtle motions. The results are nice, writes Katherine Boehret for the Wall Street Journal: “You don’t feel like you accidentally made a good—or bad—shot.” More»

Critics slam video game-based action flick

(NEWSER) - Max Payne, a sci-fi shooter video game-turned-movie, is “undiluted junk,” writes Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News. “No amount of generosity could excuse the levels of ineptitude on display here,” she says of the Mark Wahlberg vehicle. “The story has more holes than a shot-up metal door, the acting feels bored at best, and the intermittent action, while passable, hardly makes up for the downtime.” More»

Fast pace will attract new converts for Civilization Revolution , reviewer says

(NEWSER) - Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution could be the first winner among console versions of PC strategy games, Dylan Fawcett writes in USA Today. While it’s too simple for established fans, newcomers will like its fast pace. Negatives, including a confusing help menu and the strangely even matching of ancient and modern militaries, don’t make the game any less worth buying, Fawcett says. More»