This Father’s Day, show the gaming Dad you truly care about him with a gift he’ll truly love.

Top of the list would have to be for the big budget:

Xbox 360

Playstation PSP

Nintendo DS

Going with a nextgen gaming system would be a sweet gift for Dad.

For the smaller budgets there are always video games. From new releases to maybe an older title Dad wanted but never bought, there is probably a few out there he would love to get his hands on.

Game accessories are nice as well. A new wireless controller is a thoughtful gift. Be sure to do a little research into the brands because some are just better than others. Memory cards, rumble packs, and console skins would be good choices for the gaming Dad.

Chances are you spent a lot of time preparing for Mom on her day. Now give Dad the attention he deserves and give him something he will surely love.

A big problem I had with the DS was the size. It was light enough but just felt cumbersome especially after being use to the compact GBA.

Now Nintendo is coming out with the DS Lite which will be much smaller and brighter. The screen will have four brightness settings. I get the name DS Lite but makes me think of light on substance. Nintendo does have a strange naming system like changing the Revolution to Wii. DS Lite will retail for $129.99 and will be out in polar white June 11th.

I’m looking through the recently given Webby Awards when I come across Stackopolis which won the Webby this year for games.

Each level is a challenge to build a part of a city. You have as reference a picture of what the structure will look like as well as a blueprint that shows have many blocks and where to place the blocks. Good luck, you are being timed.

There are several things to keep an eye on from your blueprint to orientation of the structure to actually arranging the blocks. It’s multi-tasking for sure. It’s fun, frustrating, and somewhat addicting.

From E3, Sony announes the PlayStation 3 (PS3) will be available November 17, 2006. From the announcement:

Having Giga-bit Ethernet and a pre-installed hard disk drive (HDD) as standard in PS3, users will be able to download
a variety of contents as well as access on-line games and services over the network.

Start saving your money now because the no frills PS3 will be $500 with a bells and whistles version running $600.

While the next generation of consoles are impressive, the price tag will most likely leave many fans with sticker shock. I’m just hoping this finally drops the price of PS2 to under $100.

A huge plus for The Sims 2 PC version is the versatility that players can have with their Sims. Programs like The Sims 2 Body Shop give users a chance to add personal touches to their Sims by making their own clothes and genetics. This feature is one of the reasons that The Sims has kept its popularity and hasn’t fallen by the wayside. It can be so easy to create custom content for your Sims that I?m going to show you how to create custom hair color.

To use The Sims 2 Body Shop is straightforward. Simply open the program and choose where to build or Sims or create parts. For customization, click create parts. Next click start new project. You will have three choices: create genetics, create facial hair, makeup and glasses, and create clothing. A good easy start is to create genetics. From here click on the hair icon, and choose a color. Click on a Sim and then click export selected textures. Name your project, and click accept project name (checkmark). At the top of the screen will be the path to where the Sims 2 Body shop saved all of the texture files associated with that hair. The next step to customize will be to open your graphics program, open each file and change the hair color to whatever you would like.

I use Paint Shop Pro. The quick and easiest way to change hair color is to create a mask layer with the color you want change the hair color to and change the opacity of the mask layer. Then copy the mask to paste on the other texture files. Then merge all layers, and click save. Do not rename the file as the Sims 2 Body Shop has already created the names of the files. There are several files that will be associated with one hair style so make sure to change all of the appropriate texture files.

You can reopen your saved project in the Sims 2 body shop to check out how it looks before importing it into the game. If you are satisfied, click import to game.

You can also share your Sims with the world by packaging your creations. To do this, close Sim bin to go to first screen of the Sims 2 Body Shop. Select build Sim and package Sims. You can either select package Sim to file or package Sim to the Sims2.com to directly send your Sim to thesims2.com website. Once a package is created you can double click to have the Sim installed into your game.

The Sims 2 Body Shop is a great free program that gives you freedom to really personalize your game playing experience. If you have problems, the program comes with both a tutorial and a manual. Have fun exploring the possibilities for your Sims with The Sims 2 Body Shop.

I have added a more in-depth tutorial on How to make blue hair for your Sims if you would like further information.

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School is in session for the Sims. Now your Sims can experience the ups and downs of higher learning with The Sims 2 University expansion pack. The original Sims 2 is required to play the expansion pack.

There are three campuses that come with the Sims 2 University. You choose which campus will be associated with which Sims neighborhood. Once that is done, you can either import teenage Sims from neighborhoods to attend college or create new Sims. There are some preexisting Sim students on each campus. Sims can stay in the dorms, join a fraternity or sorority, or live off campus. As with the Sims 2, you can create your own custom university to attach to a neighborhood.

While your Sim is at college, they choose a major, take classes, and do assignments. You start the game as a freshman, and then once your semester hours are over, you advance in your college career, that is if you do well in school. Once graduation day finally arrives, your Sim will have three days to throw a graduation party before they return to their Sim community.

Game play in The Sims 2 University is pretty close to the same as the original Sims 2. There are some differences though as now your Sims influence will affect his social standing. Just like on any college campus, it?s not who you are but who you know. This influence comes into play into the game and can help Sims achieve their aspirations and so forth.

Having your Sim reside in a dorm is a great way to get a good feel for the game. You get first pick of bedrooms, meals are provided, and social opportunities abound. Phones are conveniently located to call a taxi and explore some of community lots around campus. While you are exploring the campus, your game is saved at the dorm, but the clock on the semester is still ticking so use be cautious of spending too much time away from home.

For those wanting more of The Sims can always reap the rewards to registering the game. The Sims 2 University downloads can be found on the official Sims website www.thesims2.com. Simply register your game to unlock new items, download neighborhoods and homes, and even create your own My Sim page.

The Sims 2 University keeps up the standard of fun game play we have come to expect from this long standing franchise. University life is a fun time and The Sims 2 University does a good job in capturing the atmosphere of college life.

So you are playing your video game but crave it to be more realistic? Well a Silicon Valley startup may have the processor for you.

Ageia Technologies with is PhysX processor may soon change gaming forever. The processor simulates the physical properties of everything from smoke to rocks. Windows will shatter and boards will splinter, just like they do in the “real world.”

Soon your video game may not be so unrealistic after all.

Update: The PhysX video graphics card has come down in price. On New Egg, it can be bought for around $150. Not all games support the card. For more information visit the Ageia PhysX website.