Now it has made the jump to consoles through Xbox Live, offering players a cheap and simple but addictive experience for only $5.

The game play is like a combination of “Scrabble” and “RISK.” The landscape is divided into different territories at the beginning of the match, then each player attempts to take over opposing territories until they are the last one standing.

The individual battles are where the game becomes more like “Scrabble.” During a confrontation, each player will get a line of letters, and players must try to find a word that is worth more points than the word their opponent uses. Each letter has different point values, so the longest word is not always the one that will win. If the attacking player wins, they take over the opponent’s territory.

What makes things a little more difficult is players need a higher number of soldiers in a territory to use more letters. If a player only has three soldiers in a territory, they can only make a word that is three letters long.

The general game play is easy to grasp, but there is also enough strategy involved to keep the game interesting.

Playing with real people is always ideal for a game like “Quarrel.” Unfortunately, there do not seem to be many people playing online at the moment. It took a while just to get a game started between three players; hopefully more will start playing soon.

Luckily, there are enough single player options to make the game fun to play offline.

Domination mode has players trying to conquer 12 progressively harder stages. Showdown has a ladder of opponents to fight through, just like many fighting games. These matches are one-on-one and get pretty challenging as the player moves up the ladder. Challenge mode has players trying to complete certain objectives, like winning five battles in a row.

Finally, there is a Quick Match mode for people who want to jump right in.

“Quarrel” isn’t graphically impressive, but it uses a charming and colorful art style that makes up for the lack of raw graphical power, and this style of game doesn’t really need good graphics anyway.

“Quarrel” is a great deal at $5. It has plenty of options to keep players busy and is a great way to pass the time while players wait for retail games to start hitting shelves again.

Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Puzzle, Strategy
ESRB Rating: E10+
Score: 4 out of 5

Instead of doing more of the same, “Assault Horizon” makes some pretty big deviations from past games in the series.

The changes made to the combat are some of the best things about the game.

For a long time, many of these games suffered from combat that grew stale quickly.

Players would  just fly in big circles and shoot at far away enemies, hoping their missiles connected with the target, then repeat the process over and over again; “Assault Horizon” has created a solution to this problem.

A new dog fighting system allows for more intense and fast-paced one-on-one combat. Once in range of a target, players can trigger the dog fight, which turns into a game of cat and mouse. The player chases their target, trying to keep them in a circle on the screen that allows missiles to lock on.

Counter moves can also be performed at certain times that allow the player being chased to quickly turn the tables on their opponent and become the one doing the chasing.

Once an enemy is eliminated, the player gets to see a very satisfying slow motion view of the enemy plane exploding into pieces and spiraling out of control. The whole system makes the combat feel exhilarating and fresh, something that cannot be said about the combat for most flight-combat games.

Helicopter, turret gunner and AC-130 missions have also been added to the game. These missions aren’t always the most exciting, but they help inject some variation into what the player is doing.

The setting is also different. As opposed to some of the outlandish stories and aircraft in past games, “Assault Horizon” is more grounded in reality, featuring real locations and real countries.

The story is pretty bland though. It isn’t aggressively bad, but there isn’t much reason to care about any of the characters or events taking place.

The multiplayer is decent, but there aren’t many players online right now. There seems to be a small dedicated community of people that are really good at the game, which may make it difficult for new players to be competitive. It can be fun when it works, but more often than not, there just aren’t enough people playing or technical issues get in the way.

Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3

Genre: Shooter, Flight-Combat

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Nintendo is hoping to capture lightning in a bottle once again with a new console called the Wii U, which will be released in 2012.

On June 7, Nintendo revealed the console to the public for the first time during their press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

Since the press conference, new details about the Wii U have been scarce, but Nintendo did not leave the show without talking about the new system’s capabilities, and more importantly, the new control scheme.

While Nintendo has talked about the new hardware inside the console, the majority of the information has been about the new controller coming with the system.

According to Nintendo.com, the new controller will have traditional button controls along with two analog sticks similar to other controllers on different systems, but the similarities end there. The controller will also have a 6.2-inch touch screen in the middle, a built-in accelerometer, a camera, a microphone, a sensor strip, a gyroscope and stereo speakers.

According to a press release from Nintendo, “adding a second screen to the living room creates a multitude of new video game experiences while offering families a variety of options to customize their entertainment.”

The touch screen on the controller will have many different uses. One of those uses will be the ability to play a game while watching something else on TV. Players can switch between using the TV and the screen on their controller to play a game, making it easier to keep playing when someone else wants to watch TV.

The touch screen will also be able to display things that won’t appear on the TV screen, meaning players may have to do something like scan the TV with their controller to find something that they wouldn’t be able to see just by looking at the TV.

The new console will support up to 1080p HD resolution and will be backwards compatible with all Wii games and Wii accessories. On top of having the new controller, up to four Wii Remotes can also be connected to the system.

The Wii U press release from Nintendo states, “The Wii console has sold more than 86 million units globally and greatly expanded the overall audience for video games. Wii U aims to expand that audience even further.”

Between the press release and the backwards compatibility of the Wii U, it is quite clear Nintendo hopes the massive number of current Wii owners will switch to the new system once it releases.

Nintendo will have to satisfy people like Elizabeth Thompson if the Wii U is going to reach the same levels of success as the Wii.

Thompson, a Flint senior, said she received her Wii as a Christmas present in 2010. Thompson’s initial interest in the Wii was sparked by seeing games that had an active component to them, as opposed to traditional Nintendo titles like “Super Mario Bros.” or “The Legend of Zelda.”

“I saw ads for ‘Just Dance 2′ and I also wanted to get ‘Wii Fit,’” Thompson said.

However, Thompson said she rarely uses her Wii to play video games anymore, even for games like “Just Dance 2.”

“I use it for Netflix almost every day,” Thompson said.

Thompson also said the available features would play a huge part in her decision to buy a Wii U or not. She said being able to use Facebook from her console would be a feature that would interest her.

“It would have to be something that could be used for everything,” Thompson said.

Not only will Nintendo have to satisfy “casual gamers” like Thompson, but they will have to satisfy “hardcore gamers” like JD Drain.

Drain, a Southfield junior, has owned a Wii for three years, and much like Thompson, he doesn’t get much use out of it.

“It appealed more to my sister than me,” he said.

Drain, who is more of a traditional gamer, said he hasn’t touched the Wii in at least a year.

When he was playing the Wii on a regular basis, he was playing games like “Mario Kart Wii” or “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” Drain also owns an Xbox 360, which he said gets used much more.

“It felt like the 360 games were geared more towards me,” Drain said. “The Wii is something that is more for the whole family.”

Drain said he would not completely rule out the possibility of eventually buying the Wii U, but said it would have to appeal more toward the main demographic of gamers, as opposed to focusing so much on the mainstream consumer.

The main things Drain said he would be looking for in the Wii U are better games with better graphics, but is not sure if that would even be enough to keep him from just waiting for the next Xbox.

The Nintendo Wii U will be released at an unknown price sometime after April 2012.

One of the first things players will notice is how good this game looks, it’s impossible to ignore. There are very few console games that can compete with the graphical power and atmosphere on display here. From the smallest outpost in the wasteland, to a huge abandoned city, all of the places in “RAGE” feel like they have been lived in and have a nice sense of grittiness.

The characters one will encounter look and animate just as good as the world around them; it’s just too bad that most of the time their personalities do not live up to their colorful design.

The one big problems with the graphics is textures in the world can take a while to load, so if a player walks into a room, it may take a couple seconds to see all of the details.

The game is also a lot of fun to play. “RAGE” has a pretty standard arsenal with guns like the assault rifle, shotgun, rocket-launcher and pistol, but luckily they are still fun to shoot. The sound design really helps make the guns feel powerful, and different ammo types help mix things up.

Different enemies also contribute to a fun shooter experience. There are three basic enemy types to fight, but they don’t just look different, they also have very different tactics.

Going from fighting mutants, which storm the player with sheer numbers and agility, to authority soldiers, who will take cover and fight more strategically, really helps to keep the game feeling fresh.

There are also things the player can do to take a break from the shooting levels. Dune buggy racing is a big part of the game, but doesn’t usually pose much of a challenge. There is also a card game, gambling and several other mini-games one can play.

There is cooperative play available and a multiplayer component that consists of buggy racing. The racing works well enough, but probably won’t have a strong following for very long.

“RAGE” is not for anyone who is tired of shooters, but if someone is looking for a solid game that is all about shooting things, “RAGE” will not disappoint.

Platforms: Xbox360, Playstation 3, PC

Genre: First-Person-Shooter

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Score: 4 out of 5

Fans of “Demon’s Souls” can rest assured that the difficulty has not changed in “Dark Souls.” If that is the good news, then the bad news is the difficultly is not the only thing left unaltered. “Dark Souls” is “Demon’s Souls” in almost every way.

For anyone not familiar with the games, “Dark Souls” is an action RPG that focuses on combat rather than characters or plot.

To be fair, its combat is fantastic and complex. Playing with a shield and spear feels vastly different than using a two-handed sword. Bows can provide much needed range but are inefficient up close, while magic is powerful, but casting leaves you vulnerable.

While “Dark Souls” does have classes to pick from, the only real impact this has on gameplay is starting status and equipment, meaning you can build your character in any way you want. You do this by collecting souls from enemies, which act as the game’s experience points and currency. Souls pay for literally everything, which means it’s not always an easy decision between raising your strength and upgrading your sword.

The catch is that this game is hard. Even basic enemies are honest threats and dying means you lose all your souls. You get one chance to make it back to the spot you died, but enemies respawn and if you fail, you lose them for good.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that boss fights are daunting tasks. The bosses in “Dark Souls” are both wonderfully designed and frustrating. Often times these battles are long and require patience, precision and even a bit of luck. Still, the feeling of killing a dragon three stories tall with just a one-handed sword is extremely rewarding.

“Dark Souls” is rare in that its difficulty does not ruin the experience. Everything your character encounters is about as strong as you are, if not stronger. Most enemies can kill you in five or six attacks and it’s not uncommon for bosses to kill you in one, but they never break the combat system.

It’s worth noting that despite being challenging, the enemies in “Dark Souls” are not smart. Often times they can be tricked into walking off a cliff or become stuck on a post. While in this game every advantage helps, it is bad game design to be able to kill a boss just because you caught them in a glitch, or found a location where they couldn’t reach you. This is easier than it should be.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer is where “Dark Souls” gets interesting. Players can leave notes for each other to find in the world that act as hints. “Trap ahead” or “The enemy’s weakness is fire” are examples of messages that can save your life.

Because all these messages are left by other players they need to be taken with a grain of salt. If a message promises treasure ahead and points you off a cliff, it may be a leap of faith to a secret area, or it could be a devious gamer trying to trick you into falling to your doom.

If you want to have more direct interactions with players, you can leave a note allowing them to summon you to their world.

If you help them kill a boss, you are both rewarded. Voice support would have been a nice addition, but there is still a strong sense of teamwork in conquering a particularly difficult section with a partner. On the other side, if you’re not feeling cooperative, you can also invade another player’s world, taking the form of a red phantom.

Killing a player in their world grants you souls and items, while ruining their day. It’s an interesting concept that works well and the intricacies of combat hold up beautifully in player-versus-player combat. The advantages and disadvantages of different play styles really stand out when pitted against skilled players instead of the AI. In addition, invading a player’s world does not spawn you right on top of them, it provides you with a chance to lie in wait and plan your attack.

In the end, “Dark Souls” is every bit as deep, challenging and engaging as “Demon’s Souls,” but this is mostly because it is more of the same.

The steep difficulty may turn some off, but if you have the patience to endure the many trials of “Dark Souls,” you will be rewarded with a deep, combat-focused RPG with some of the coolest online elements in the genre.

PS3/Xbox 360

ESRB: M (Mature)

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Players get to choose a brand new mutant created just for the game, with their own back story and motivations. The player then gets to customize the powers they will use throughout the game, along with the suits their mutant will wear. The player also gets to choose if they will align themselves with the X-Men or Magneto’s Brotherhood.

However, a strong concept does not directly translate into a fun game, and “X-Men: Destiny” is evidence of that.

The entire game is basically a series of arenas. The player will go into an area alone or with other mutants and have anywhere from 10 to around 100 enemies thrown at them. After all the enemies have been defeated, the player runs until they reach the next arena, then the process repeats.

This gets to be boring after the first couple hours. It doesn’t help that there isn’t much variety in the enemy types. Smaller enemies can be taken out quickly, while bigger enemies take a little longer. Neither type really present any kind of challenge to the player.

The combat is mostly just hitting one button for a normal attack and then hitting another button for a heavy attack to form basic combos. There are also stronger powers that can be used when the “M-meter” fills up, but they were never really necessary on the normal difficulty.

The combat can actually be fun during the rare times everything works properly. The powers created just for the new characters can look cool, but more often than not, the bland graphics take away from the experience.

The environments are pretty boring as well, with few interesting things to see. The frame rate is also pretty awful, especially when the fighting picks up. Some of the bigger fights during the second half of the game will slow down to an almost comical crawl.

“X-Men: Destiny” has brief glimpses where its potential shines through and when the player gets to fight alongside other mutants to execute large combos that take down a bunch of enemies at once without any dips in the frame rate. Unfortunately, those moments are quickly buried in technical issues and boring missions.

Overall, “X-Men: Destiny” just feels like an unfinished product, and those brief glimpses of a great game just makes it all the more disappointing thinking about what could’ve been.

Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii
Genre: Action RPG
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Fortunately, there is an abundant amount of content to play through.

The campaign overall is fast-paced and extremely fun. While the general objective of the campaign is to shoot all of the locust monsters that cross your path, the game provides a variety of gorgeous settings to do it in, along with interesting weapons to shoot locusts with.

The story is surprisingly engaging as well, answering some questions that have been raised throughout the series, while also leaving some things a mystery to keep it interesting.

For those unfamiliar with the story of the past games, there is a “Previously on Gears” video giving some context for the campaign.

Outside of the campaign there are a huge number of multiplayer options in the game, both cooperative and competitive.

The campaign has cooperative play through split-screen or on Xbox Live, and there is also an arcade mode for the campaign as well, which is all about getting the highest score in each level.

Horde mode returns in “Gears 3,” but with a few tweaks. Players can now build and upgrade defenses like barriers and turrets between each wave of enemies. Guns and ammo now cost money to pick up as well, taking some inspiration from the zombie mode in “Call of Duty: Black Ops.”

A brand new mode for “Gears 3” is “Beast mode,” which gives the option to play as a locust while trying to destroy waves of human soldiers in the shortest time possible.

Finally, there is the competitive multiplayer. There are six different game types to choose from. The multiplayer is fun and there is little downtime between matches, so there are no long waits after a match. The learning curve can be a little steep with the skill of some players online being so high, but it is still a very enjoyable experience overall.

There is a huge amount of fun content packed into “Gears of War 3,” with more on the way in the form of downloadable content.

Fans of earlier “Gears” games or those who enjoy a great shooter won’t regret picking up “Gears of War 3.”

“Space Marine” takes the standard shooter style and injects a heavy emphasis on melee combat, while also leaving out any kind of cover mechanic. Not being able to take cover and more focus on melee combat means “Space Marine” plays at a faster pace than most popular third-person shooters, like “Gears of War.”

Building on the story lines behind the table-top games and other components of the Warhammer 40K universe, the game puts you in the massive boots of an Ultramarine named Captain Titus, who is tasked with protecting a Forge World from an invading army of Orks.

To illustrate how important melee combat is throughout the game, there is only one way to replenish your health. You must stun an enemy and then perform a vicious up-close finishing move on them, which often covers Titus in the blood of his enemy.

One quick note, if you do not care for blood in video games, avoid “Space Marine.” There is a copious amount of bloodshed during the fighting, and some pretty brutal finishing moves.

The fundamental game play of both the campaign and multiplayer is really fun. The shooting works well and even the weakest guns still feel powerful. The same includes melee weapons like the chainsword.

The majority of the campaign will have you facing off against hordes of Orks; some of them will use melee weapons while others can shoot guns. The combat begins to feel almost rhythmic as you seamlessly alternate between shooting to slashing, trying to find the best balance between melee and ranged combat for a given situation.

The multiplayer is pretty bare bones when compared to other games, but it is still fun to play.

There are only two modes to choose from, team deathmatch and a king-of-the-hill-style game where each team is trying to capture locations on the map. The two modes are enjoyable, but a little more variety would have been nice.

According to the game’s website, a cooperative survival mode will be released as downloadable content sometime in October, though it’s a little strange that the mode wasn’t included at launch.

The environments aren’t great to look at. You will see a lot of factory and stone settings, but most of the time you won’t be looking at the environment anyway; you’ll be too focused on the simplistic fun of slashing and shooting your way through crowds of enemies.

Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC

Genre: Third-Person Shooter

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A line stretched from the entrance of GameStop, 4110 E. Blue Grass Road, and past the entrance to Deb, 4208 E. Blue Grass Road, for the midnight release of “Call of Duty: Black Ops” Monday night.

Taylor, a Jerome junior, was one of more than 300 people who shared a passion for gaming and a desire to wait in line for hours to get their hands on the game.

“I’ve been waiting for this game since ‘Modern Warfare 2,’ it was a disappointment,” he said.

“Black Ops” is the latest iteration in the popular “Call of Duty” video game series, putting players in the boots of a Vietnam and Cold War-era covert soldier.

Taylor, who purchased the Xbox 360 version, was the first in line for the game and arrived outside of GameStop at 12:30 in the afternoon.

Despite his excitement, Taylor said he would resist the urge to skip his 8 a.m. class.

“I plan on beating the campaign tonight and playing the zombie mode until I have to go to class,” he said. “I’m a student who gets out of college in four years.”

Taylor’s friend, Clayton Ulrich, a West Broomfield freshman, arrived at GameStop at 2:30 p.m. and was second in line.

“It was much better when the sun was out,” Ulrich said.

Taylor, Ulrich and their friends sat in a circle of camping chairs, each equipped with bottles of soda and plastic guns.

“I brought two iPods, a computer and tried to dress up themed as Black Ops,” Taylor said. “I’ve had this planned out for awhile. I returned $45 worth of pop bottles to get this game. The last $15 came from my grandma – I love my grandma.”

In addition to a line of gamers, Big Shot Gaming with the Central Michigan University ROTC set up four large screens and projectors, each equipped with an Xbox 360 and a copy of “Black Ops” for the crowd to play while they waited for GameStop to open its doors.

Music was provided by 91.5 WMHW for those braving the cold.

According to a Tuesday article from USA Today , “Black Ops’” pre-order numbers outpaced those of last year’s “Modern Warfare 2,” which sold 4.7 million copies during its first day on the shelves, grossing $401 million in sales.

Nathan Lehman, a Hope junior, and his friend, Tom Spagnuolo, were excited for the game’s release and waited for more than an hour in line.

“It’s been hyped up for so long, it’s supposed to be the ‘game of games,’” Lehman said.  “There’s not many good games out there for the (Xbox) 360 right now, it’s supposed to be the ‘savior.’”

Spagnuolo, a Wixom senior, said the “Call of Duty” franchise has been disappointing following the release of “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.”

“I hated ‘World at War,’” Sphenuolo said. “The big thing that me and my friends would play was zombie mode. I feel like they’re taking all the (Call of Duty) games, combining all the good things and making one good game.”

If you don’t mind looking in the bargain bin, here is a brief list of games worth checking out that may have slipped by you.

“Lost Odyssey” (X360)

A throwback to PlayStation-era role-playing games, “Lost Odyssey” offers memorable, dynamic characters and a unique and powerful plot.

With common RPG elements such as the traditional leveling system and a turn-based battle system, “Lost Odyssey” really shines through its writing and touching story.

It is a refreshing RPG experience that will not only entertain but interest you until the very end. It is the best Japanese RPG of this console generation.

“Valkyria Chronicles” (PS3)

Set in a fictional world based on World War II-era Europe, “Valkyria Chronicles” offers players a unique take on the tactical RPG genre in a beautifully animated world.

The game manages to bring a sense of freedom to its players, removing the traditional grid map associated with previous tactical RPGs. Players select which units to utilize in an overhead view, and once a unit is selected, the view shifts to a third-person angle. A unit can move and perform various actions, but each command depletes that unit’s action gauge.

The game moves at an exciting pace and has a solid plot to boot. There’s a lot to love about this title, which can be found for less than $20.

“Killing Floor” (PC)

If you think you’ve got what it takes to survive a mutant apocalypse, Tripwire Interactive’s “Killing Floor” will test your mettle and your shooter prowess.

You must team up with other players online and survive against waves of monsters determined to eat your face off — which they frequently will.

Teams of up to six players must survive through 10 waves of mutants, with each wave containing hundreds of monsters. By killing monsters and surviving, players accumulate money which can be used to purchase weapons, grenades, ammo and body armor between each round.

“Killing Floor” doesn’t have the best graphics around and it doesn’t offer a single player campaign, but it’s an easy bet for its $20 price tag.

Brütal Legend (PS3, X360)

What do you get when you take the razor edged wit of Tim Schafer, one of the masterminds of “Monkey Island” and creator of “Grim Fandango,” several different play styles, a ridiculously packed vocal talent cast and a soundtrack full of more than a hundred metal masterpieces? You get “Brütal Legend,” a game seemingly brought to life from golden-era metal album art with swinging axes, studded armlets, hideous demons and ferocious Amazons, just to name a few.

Though the game turned off some players with an unexpected real-time strategy mechanic added to its climactic battles, if you go into the metal mayhem with an open mind and a willingness to thrust your lighter in the air you’ll be hard pressed to not have a good time.