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AAFES sells PC version of 'Black Ops' that doesn’t work overseas

By Warren Peace
Published: November 19, 2010

An oversight by AAFES has service members stationed overseas who purchased a Windows versions of “Call of Duty: Black Ops” confused and disgruntled.

Apparently the PC version of the game purchased at Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores will not register properly during the installation process outside military bases overseas.

Tetris blocks PTSD symptoms

By Sam Laney
Published: November 16, 2010
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Tetris apparently relieves more stress than it creates. Who knew?
mecredis/ flickr.com

Forget everything your mother told you about video games rotting your brain. A follow-up study on the effects of Tetris re-enforces the findings of a 2009 study which found that fitting oddly-shaped blocks can help people suffering from PTSD symptoms.

Researchers with Oxford University devised three control groups for a set of healthy volunteers and had them watch tramatic film footage. One group played a trivia game called ‘Pub Quiz’, one did nothing, and the last played the classic puzzle game “Tetris.”

Activision gives away 'Black Ops' to help vets

By Warren Peace
Published: November 11, 2010

The Call of Duty Endowment kicked of its "Service Ops" campaign on Veterans’ Day to raise awareness of veterans' unemployment rates. It will give away two copies of Activision’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops” every day until Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7.

Call of Duty Endowment is a nonprofit organization created by game producer Activision Blizzard Inc. in 2009. The organization provides scholarships to veterans and grants to organizations focused on training and helping veterans find employment.

Game's Castro mission irritates Cuba

By Brian Bowers
Published: November 10, 2010

“Call of Duty: Black Ops” has made Cuba cranky.

The Associated Press reports that the Communist nation is upset because gamers can gun down former Cuban leader Fidel Castro – sort of – in an early mission of “Black Ops.”

First impressions on Kinect

By Brian Bowers
Published: November 6, 2010

My life has been full of motion the last few weeks and I love it.

On Thursday, the Kinect motion-control system for the Xbox 360 arrived on store shelves – following the PlayStation Move by only a few weeks. It will take a few days to generate a good comparison of the two systems – and Nintendo’s Wii – but I thought I should offer a few quick reactions.

'Michael Jackson: The Experience': Feel the glove

By Brian Bowers
Published: November 6, 2010

If you were thrilled by "Thriller," you'll love this glove.

Ubisoft plans to release a special edition glove to go with "Michael Jackson: The Experience" for the Wii.

Disabled vets may want to wait to Kinect

By Sam Laney
Published: November 5, 2010
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The new Microsoft Kinect controller for the Xbox 360 console sells for $150 by itself or gamers can pick it up in $300 or $400 bundles with the system. The controller comes with one game.
Microsoft

Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 controller, the Kinect, launched yesterday, but veterans with disabilities may want to hold off on a trip to the local GameStop.

While the gamers at Stars and Stripes were at first pretty excited about the possibilities for a controllerless, camera-based system as a way for disabled vets get in on the game, several reviews allude to many launch titles requiring full range of motion in order to play. In addition, some of the motion and voice recognition to browse menus - another way the accessory might appeal to disabled vets - are still a little buggy, kind of a bummer for anyone looking to take advantage of the 360’s Netflix, music playback and other features.

 
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About the Authors

Brian Bowers is Stars and Stripes’ Assitant Managing Editor for Europe and Mideast and one of its video game reviewers. He joined the newspaper in 1992 in Germany, where he worked on the news desk and the city desk. He has a wife and three children, who are always eager to help him test games.

Sam Laney joined Stars and Stripes’ in 2007 as a copy/layout editor, and slowly convinced upper management to support his video game habit. Since then, he’s added game reviews and previews to his list of duties and moved on to the iPad. When he’s not rocking newbies in “Left4Dead2,” he covers PC and Nintendo systems.