Xbox

Scott Anderson originally opened his Gamenet party and game center in Bel Air for kids to have fun. But since opening two years ago, something unexpected happened. “The adults have taken over,” says Anderson of Fallston. And why not? Where else can you find a 300-square-foot dance floor, a 92-inch high-definition projector, gaming TVs and consoles, pool tables and cushy leather furniture to relax in with friends, and not have to clean up afterward?  The room is called The Garage, and it's been getting booked most weekends by adults who want to watch the Ravens, hang with their corporate colleagues or just have a grownup birthday or Halloween party.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry once reportedly said, "Who among us does not love NASCAR?" Well, if you take Electronic Arts' new NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup for a spin, there's a good chance you'll develop at least a mild crush on auto racing. NASCAR 2005 ($50; suitable for all ages) is hitting Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube; I revved up the Xbox version. There are a lot of changes from EA's previous NASCAR titles, the biggest being the Fight to the Top mode, in which you start as a rookie driver in a minor-league circuit and work your way up to NASCAR champion.

2K Games [PC] Rated M Jade Empire was first released on the Xbox a few years ago. Now it has a new lease on life as a gussied-up Windows version. The player guides a young warrior through an epic quest, making allies and enemies, fighting monsters and affecting those around him or her with frequent moral choices that skew toward a good or evil path. Combat is more action-oriented and simplistic than other BioWare RPGs, though the game offers a wide variety of fighting styles to choose from and combine.

The Ravens tight end and the Army specialist made a good team, trouncing their opponents as they navigated the Dolphins' field in Miami and throwing in some trash talk for good measure. And when yesterday's game was over, Todd Heap shook Spc. Keith Perry's hand and watched the City College graduate walk away from the Xbox game console, toward the door of the USO International Gateway Lounge at Baltimore-Washington International Airport and onto a plane bound for Iraq. Yesterday was the kickoff for Operation Live Connections, a joint venture between Microsoft's Xbox Live and USO service centers around the country to connect soldiers with their families and friends overseas.

Tiny devices assess body fat of user and provide wake-ups When the Oregon Scientific Alarm Clock/Body Fat Meter (Model PFA112) rings, it's either time to get out of bed, or time to lay down that chili dog. From the company that excels in innovative applications such as home weather monitors, sport watches and radio-controlled clocks (we especially like their clock that projects the time in giant digits on a ceiling), this $100 device is full of little chrome buttons. Hold the Clock/Meter with the two finger-holds on the top corners, and the meter zaps you with a small electric charge that measures your body-fat percentage, in increments, from 5 percent to 60 percent.

Downloaded singles 1.Hips Don't Lie, Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean 2.Promiscuous (radio edit), Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland 3.Bad Day, Daniel Powter 4.SOS (edited), Rihanna 5.Dani California, Red Hot Chili Peppers [Courtesy iTunes] Downloaded albums 1.Taking the Long Way, Dixie Chicks 2.We Don't Need to Whisper, Angels & Airwaves 3.Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers 4.American Idol: Season 5 Encores, Various artists 5.Stand Still, Look Pretty, The Wreckers [Courtesy iTunes]

Here's a starter's list of a dozen promising games being released by the end of the year. Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand (this week for Game Boy Advance). A candidate for game of the year. A solar sensor in the game cartridge makes players better vampire hunters when using their GBAs in good sunlight. The vampires are stronger at night. It's an inspired innovation from Konami game designer Hideo Kojima. Age rating: Everyone. Jak II (Oct. 14, PlayStation2). This is an ambitious sequel to 2001's Jak and Daxter, with terrific graphics and clever humor.

'Game of Thrones' Xbox 360/PS3/PC Cyanide Rating: 2 stars out of 4 It's never easy to adapt popular source material to a video game, even when the starting points are the best-selling books of George R.R. Martin and their successful HBO television version. While “Game of Thrones” the role-playing game makes an earnest attempt at interactive fan-fiction, it lacks the technical prowess of a good RPG and most of Martin's unforgettable characters to set it apart.

News Roundup •••• "Tomb Raider," a reboot of the classic series, has been delayed until Q1 of 2013. Darrell Gallagher, head of Crystal Dynamics (who is developing the game), announced the news via a post on the Eidos forums. [ Gamespot ] •••• Investors are trying to recoup their losses on a failed "Stargate" MMORPG that was due to launch in 2010. Things have gone to court, with the game's developer alleged to have mislead investors to the tune of $50 million.

As traffic continues to flow to coverage of Super Bowl preparations, the Roe vs. Wade anniversary and post-inaugural activities, a few newer topics have also bubbled to the surface in our collective consciousness. Instagram is posting impressive numbers, and in an only-slightly-less blatant PR move, likely specs for the next generation of XBox have "leaked. " Also debuting this week: The Following , a show about crazy, violent people that is linked to Baltimore in a different way than other recent shows about crazy, violent people.