History's Greatest Racers

Boasting new titles
in the Forza, Mario Kart, and Need for Speed series -- to name just a few --
2011 is lining up to be a great year for racing fans. But the impressive
features of today's top-tier titles wouldn't be possible without the decades of
superb racers that preceded them. Here's a look back over some the real
stand-out gamers that made the genre what it is today.

Crysis 2

Platforms: X360, PS3, PC

Crysis 2 Sci-fi shooter Crysis was a PC exclusive back in 2007, famed for stretching the platform to
its limits with its class-leading graphics. Indeed, running it with its visual fidelity
maxed out is a challenge for even today's top-of-the-line hardware.

Its sequel releases this week, but this time it's not just for those with pricey PC rigs: both Xbox 360 owners and PS3 fans can now enjoy what's been hailed as one of the most graphically-advanced
video games ever made. If you believe the hype, Crysis 2's optimized engine
will deliver all the bells and whistles of the original game, plus a few
extras, all somehow shoehorned onto a five-year-old, $200 game

3DS Nintendo has spent decades honing its reputation as a
company safe for kids of all ages. But concerns about the effects of 3D visuals
on the still-developing eyes of young children have added an air of uncertainty
to the impending release of their new 3DS handheld.

Launching in North America on March 27, the system boasts 3D technology without requiring the use of cumbersome glasses. It's the next iteration of the wildly successful DS line, which trails only the Playstation 2 as the best-selling game system ever. It's already proven to be a big hit in Japan -- and with pre-orders through the roof in both Europe and
the U.S., it seems destined for (at least initial) greatness in other

Homefront

Platforms: X360, PS3, PC

THQ's Homefront Genuinely original settings are rare in video games. But THQ's Homefront -- a seemimgly generic, near-future first-person shooter -- boasts a storyline that's had many jaded gamers pricking up their ears. Set in 2027, it tells the story of an invading North Korean army sweeping its way across a greatly weakened United States, and casts the player as a
soldier in the home-grown resistance movement. Pretty compelling stuff.

So it's something of a letdown that Homefront's story -- penned by
celebrated screenwriter John Milius (Apocalypse Now, Conan the
Barbarian, and the superficially similar Red Dawn) -- looks to be one of
the most disappointing aspects of

Wii Fit - Nintendo It's not hard to find stories that blame video games for all of society's problems. From ill-attentive children to violent, anti-social behavior, they're often the first place politicians and self-appointed morality guides point as they search for something to blame.

What makes the evening news much less frequently, though, are scientific studies that show the benefits of electronic entertainment. As gaming becomes a larger force in the pop-culture world, more and more academics are taking the time to study the effects of gameplay on the people holding the controllers.

The findings are sometimes surprising. Here are five positive effects today's video games can have on players:

They can