Stuff Geeks Want

FIFA ’09 was good, but there’s little argument that FIFA 10 – available today – crams in even more soccer goodness than ever before.

It feels and looks more natural with the addition of a new 360-degree dribbling control that lets you blast past your opponent without the need for trick moves. The ‘Be a Pro’ mode lets you to create your own player (even upload your own face pics if you want) and play entire seasons with your favorite team, working your way up to International stardom.

The game is also more responsive: off-the-ball players are more involved in the ball movement, goalkeepers are more savvy and aggressive, and defenders are more aware of on-coming pressure.

It might not look like a major update, but like any good game developer the key to an upgrade is in the ability to make it more natural and real. FIFA 10 does just that.

Buy PlayStation 3 version for $58 from Amazon

Buy XBox version for $58 from Amazon

Buy Nintendo Wii version for $47 from Amazon

Buy PlayStation 2 version for $29 from Amazon

Buy Sony PSP version for $39 from Amazon

Buy Nintendo DS version for $29 from Amazon

James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi movie, Avatar, is one of the most anticipated films of the year. Fourteen years in the making, what is bound to be a blockbuster of a movie creates an entire world, with fantastic creatures, a whole ecosystem and, of course, a terrible conflict.

While the movie sounds great, video games based on movies are notorious for being lazy, slapped-together programs will little that mimics the screen play. Early indications are Avatar: The Game will be different in more ways than one. While set in the same universe as James Cameron’s flick, the game is actually a prequel, featuring a totally different hero and storyline.

First off, you’ll be able to play in full stereoscopic 3D (that is if you got a plasma or DLP set that fits the bill). This is one of the first games to use the 3D effect and from all indications this is the future of gaming.

There’ll be a multiplayer mode where you’ll pick from the human military – with their big guns and bigger mechs – or the Na’vi. The Na’vi don’t have access to powerful weaponry, but wield bows and swords with great skill.

The movie hits theater’s around Christmas. The game hits the streets December 1st, but you can pre-order now.

Buy PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 version for $57 from Amazon

Buy Windows PC version for $50 from Amazon

Buy Nintendo Wii version for $50 from Amazon

Buy Nintendo DS version for $30 from Amazon

Buy Sony PSP version for $40 from Amazon

Not long after Sony took the wraps off its new PS3 Slim does Microsoft fire back with the Xbox 360 Elite 250GB Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition.

Granted, the name is about as inspiring as the new Elite console, which is the same as before but painted black with some Call of Duty-themed decals all over it. You also get the first console with a 250GB hard drive and two specially colored wireless controllers.

All told, a solid value for the $100 premium the console commands over the standard Elite 120GB, which only has one controller.

Buy for $400 from Amazon

John, Paul, George and Ringo are back together. Well, sort of. Today they debuted
The Beatles Remasters digital music collections and The Beatles: Rock Band video game.

First there’s The Beatles Remasters Mono Box Set. It’s probably the most prized of the two sets. It contains 10 albums – from Please Please Me to Let It Be – as well as the original 1965 stereo mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul, previously unreleased until now.

The Beatles Remasters Stereo Box Set comprises 14 discs that have been cleaned up with more clarity and sharpness. Early reviews say the stereo separation is clean and not artificial. The whole package comes in a beautifully crafted box (see above) with each one in a digipack reproducing the original artwork.

Then there’s ‘The Beatles: Rock Band’ video game. Available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii, it includes 45 different songs, historic Beatles performance venues, and 3D representations of the band members, along with the standard ‘Rock Band’ gameplay. The object is to match the on-screen notes: If you see a green guitar note, you have to hold down the green fret and hit the strum bar. Drummers need to pound colored drumheads, while singers need to match pitch and phrasing. The premium bundle ($250) includes all the gear you need, but you can use instruments from previous ‘Rock Band’ or ‘Guitar Hero’ games.

Buy The Beatles Mono Box Set for $230 from Amazon

Buy The Beatles Stereo Box Set for $180 from Amazon

Buy The Beatles: Rock Band for Xbox 360 for $54 from Amazon

Buy The Beatles: Rock Band for Nintendo Wii for $54 from Amazon

Buy The Beatles: Rock Band for Playstation 3 for $54 from Amazon

Timing is everything and everything is Christmas. Or at least that’s the way Sony looks at it after Tuesday’s rollout of the PlayStation 3 Slim with it’s beefier storage capacity and trimmed design.

The new model offers a number of things that are different: 32 percent smaller footprint, 34 percent less power, a 120GB hard drive that’s hot swappable with any 2.5-inch SATA drive (hooray!), and a Blu-ray player. Online multiplayer is included along with a faster, one gigabyte Ethernet port (a big jump from 100Mb on previous models). It keeps its HDMI and optical digital audio output, built-in Wi-Fi and dual USB ports.

It’ll be available in September, but Amazon is taking pre-orders as we speak. Merry Christmas.

Buy for $300 from Amazon