The Future of Fitness

Still using Wii Fit to stay in shape? That's all well and good, but the future of video game fitness is leaps and bounds beyond Nintendo's breakthrough exergame. Led by this week's release of UFC Personal Trainer, a new batch of motion-sensing muscleheads is headed your way. Start stretching.

The kids are out of school. Gas prices are dropping. The sun is shining (perhaps). In short, it's summer. And where there's summer, there's travel -- and where there's travel, there's cars and planes full of bored people wondering if they're there yet, and nobody wants that. Turn your journey from chore to cheer with a selection of travel-friendly board game classics.

Settlers of CatanSettlers of Catan: Travel Edition
Breakout smash Settlers of Catan has introduced millions to the so-called "German-style" board game: simple rules, short play sessions, and a pronounced emphasis on strategy rather than luck. This travel edition streamlines Catan's rules still further, and transforms the board from an

The Legend of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time 3D (Nintendo 3DS)

Link, play me a tune. Ask ten gamers what the best video game ever made is, and you'll probably get at least twelve answers. And more than a few arguments, and
perhaps a fistfight or two.

Ask a group of critics, though -- a task made much easier by sites like Metacritic.com -- and you'll get a much clearer answer: it's The
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which, with a critical aggregate score of an incredible 99%, is the top-rated game of all time.

And this week, it's being re-released on Nintendo's 3DS with a graphical update that does much to hide the wrinkles of its fourteen-year
vintage. Can Ocarina of Time 3DS recapture the magic of the original?

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D - Capcom Like to try before you buy? Hope to save a few bucks by purchasing your games used? Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D may not be the game for you.

Saved games in the Nintendo 3DS title, which hits shelves Tuesday, can't be erased. In other words, when your progress is saved, it's there forever -- even if you loan it to a friend or sell it to someone else. If you manage to beat the game, there is no way to get rid of your save file and play it again from scratch.

And that's prompting game rental giant GameFly to remove it from its inventory -- and has GameStop, the leader in used game sales, doing some serious soul searching.

Since the game is so new, there are mixed reports about whether

BioShock Infinite - 2K Games You've seen which games wowed us at the recent E3 expo, but the big show isn't technically over until the Game Critics have announced their picks. Representing over 40 publications (including Yahoo! Games), the video game journalist illuminati have officially chosen their fave: it's BioShock: Infinite. The first-person game swept all four categories in which it was nominated, taking home wins as Best PC Game, Best Action/Adventure, Best Original and the coveted Best Overall spot.

Other multiple winners include Battlefield 3 (Best Action, Best Online Multiplayer), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Best RPG, Best Console Game), and Sound Shapes (Best Social/Casual, Best Handheld Game.) Full list

The Dark Side has won. It was never as popular as World of Warcraft, but Star Wars Galaxies had something that the king of MMORPGs didn't: The Force.

Galaxies used the power of the Star Wars brand for eight years, an eternity in the games space. Unfortunately, those days are almost at an end. In December, the game will suffer the same fate as Princess Leia's home planet of Alderaan. It will be terminated.

Now before you start writing an angry letter to George Lucas, remember that this sort of thing happens all the time. Eventually, even the most beloved online games go to that great arcade in the sky. Such is the fate of Galaxies. The game, which launched in 2003, has seen its share of success and problems (many

California Supreme Court Justices - Getty Images In a landmark ruling, the U. S. Supreme Court Monday declared video games are protected forms of free speech, striking down a controversial California law that that attempted to restrict the sale of some titles to minors.

The state argued that violent games are harmful to children and, as such, their sale should be restricted. California took a slightly different approach than other states who have attempted to pass similiar laws, though, by including violent games in the same category as cigarettes and adult magazines.

The Court strongly rejected the argument.

"Video games qualify for First Amendment protection," the Court said in its ruling, written by Justice Scalia. "Like protected

The Black Eyed Peas Experience - Ubisoft Having conquered the world of pop, the Black Eyed Peas are after your living room.

The hip-hop behemoth is teaming up with game maker Ubisoft to release "The Black Eyed Peas Experience," a dance game that will allow fans to control avatars of Peas members will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie, strutting their
stuff with motion-controlled moves on the Xbox 360 Kinect and the Nintendo Wii. The game is being billed as a follow-up to Michael Jackson: The Experience, released by Ubisoft last year.

As thousands of Parisians filed into the capacious Stade de France Saturday evening to attend the last of three performances there by the Peas, the band took a moment backstage with Ubisoft CEO Yves