The tastes of American sports fans are changing, and sports journalists are in danger of being left behind.
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Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Friday, June 25, 2010
Red Faction: Armageddon impressions
Red Faction: Armageddon impressions: "
THQ had a brief demonstration of the next iteration in the Red Faction series, subtitled Armageddon, at E3 last week and I made sure to take the opportunity to see it. Set two generations after the events of Guerrilla, the Martian colony has moved back from the ruined surface of the planet and rebuilt underground. Now they find themselves under attack by a previously unknown race of creatures which has overrun and infected the colony in a short 72-hour span.
Players take on the role of Darius Mason, grandson of Red Faction: Guerrilla protagonists Alec Mason and Samanya, who is somehow being held responsible for the events which threaten the colony. Thankfully, Darius' family passed down the Nano Forge, which has seen some changes since the last time we saw its use.
Where the Nano Forge used to function as a rifle that would disintegrate anything its fire came in contact with, the new version performs the exact opposite function. By using it on destroyed environmental objects, you can use the Nano Forge to rebuild, the objects knitting themselves back together. This enables the player to create cover on the fly, repair broken equipment and more that Volition promises to reveal as time goes on.
The second and likely more important tool demonstrated was the Magnet Gun. This nasty device works in two stages. First, you target something you would like to move somewhere else and pull the trigger. This could be enemies, vehicles, debris or even the bare walls of the colony. Next, aim where you would like the target object to move to and fire again. The first target is then rapidly drawn to the second.
The Magnet Gun looks pretty exciting and is a great way to see the destructibility of the environment, which looks as impressive as ever. While the mechanic is simple, the chaos that this weapon causes on the battlefield is massive in scale. Seeing what are essentially boulders being torn from the very walls and slammed into an enemy on the other side of the room with the pull of a trigger is amazing. It's also especially funny to watch one enemy be flung into another at a high rate of speed.
A final toy shown off in the demonstration is the Exo, a heavily armored robotic suit. This thing is a monster, as evidenced by the way it plows through enemies like they were made of dry, unpacked sand. Buildings are no match for it either, as this trundling monstrosity seems capable of walking over pretty much anything in its path.
On the whole, Red Faction: Armageddon seems to be heading in the right direction. I'm not particularly thrilled with the seeming shift in story towards something a little more in the monster movie department than the themes of revolution and resistance the series has tackled before now. But the mechanics shown to me are impressive and look to be a lot of fun to play so I'll continue to be cautiously optimistic for the time being.
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THQ had a brief demonstration of the next iteration in the Red Faction series, subtitled Armageddon, at E3 last week and I made sure to take the opportunity to see it. Set two generations after the events of Guerrilla, the Martian colony has moved back from the ruined surface of the planet and rebuilt underground. Now they find themselves under attack by a previously unknown race of creatures which has overrun and infected the colony in a short 72-hour span.
Players take on the role of Darius Mason, grandson of Red Faction: Guerrilla protagonists Alec Mason and Samanya, who is somehow being held responsible for the events which threaten the colony. Thankfully, Darius' family passed down the Nano Forge, which has seen some changes since the last time we saw its use.
Where the Nano Forge used to function as a rifle that would disintegrate anything its fire came in contact with, the new version performs the exact opposite function. By using it on destroyed environmental objects, you can use the Nano Forge to rebuild, the objects knitting themselves back together. This enables the player to create cover on the fly, repair broken equipment and more that Volition promises to reveal as time goes on.
The second and likely more important tool demonstrated was the Magnet Gun. This nasty device works in two stages. First, you target something you would like to move somewhere else and pull the trigger. This could be enemies, vehicles, debris or even the bare walls of the colony. Next, aim where you would like the target object to move to and fire again. The first target is then rapidly drawn to the second.
The Magnet Gun looks pretty exciting and is a great way to see the destructibility of the environment, which looks as impressive as ever. While the mechanic is simple, the chaos that this weapon causes on the battlefield is massive in scale. Seeing what are essentially boulders being torn from the very walls and slammed into an enemy on the other side of the room with the pull of a trigger is amazing. It's also especially funny to watch one enemy be flung into another at a high rate of speed.
A final toy shown off in the demonstration is the Exo, a heavily armored robotic suit. This thing is a monster, as evidenced by the way it plows through enemies like they were made of dry, unpacked sand. Buildings are no match for it either, as this trundling monstrosity seems capable of walking over pretty much anything in its path.
On the whole, Red Faction: Armageddon seems to be heading in the right direction. I'm not particularly thrilled with the seeming shift in story towards something a little more in the monster movie department than the themes of revolution and resistance the series has tackled before now. But the mechanics shown to me are impressive and look to be a lot of fun to play so I'll continue to be cautiously optimistic for the time being.
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Gmail Can Now Open All Word Documents in Your Browser [Gmail]
Gmail Can Now Open All Word Documents in Your Browser [Gmail]: "
Gmail can now open all Microsoft Word files (both DOC and DOCX formats) in Google Docs Viewer with the click of a link—a new feature accompanied by an equally simple route to editing the file in Google Docs. More »
Gmail - Word Processors - Word - Google Docs - Microsoft Word
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Gmail can now open all Microsoft Word files (both DOC and DOCX formats) in Google Docs Viewer with the click of a link—a new feature accompanied by an equally simple route to editing the file in Google Docs. More »
Gmail - Word Processors - Word - Google Docs - Microsoft Word
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Street Fighter 4 Tournament FightStick priced $99 on Amazon today
Street Fighter 4 Tournament FightStick priced $99 on Amazon today: "
In case you missed out in February, the original Mad Catz Street Fighter IV Tournament FightSticks for Xbox 360 and PS3 are Amazon's deal of the day for $99 (regularly $150). The 'standard' SF4 sticks are also 30 percent off on both consoles, priced around $50.
Street Fighter 4 Tournament FightStick priced $99 on Amazon today originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments"
In case you missed out in February, the original Mad Catz Street Fighter IV Tournament FightSticks for Xbox 360 and PS3 are Amazon's deal of the day for $99 (regularly $150). The 'standard' SF4 sticks are also 30 percent off on both consoles, priced around $50.
Street Fighter 4 Tournament FightStick priced $99 on Amazon today originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Warren Spector: 3DS "Changed My Life"
Warren Spector: 3DS "Changed My Life": "
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Do you want to know who is excited for Nintendo's much-lauded new handheld? Legendary game designer Warren Spector, for one.
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Molyneux: Wii and PlayStation Move seem the same
Molyneux: Wii and PlayStation Move seem the same: "
Peter Molyneux is a perceptive sort of chap. The Fable developer has noticed something that's completely passed the rest of us by, noting that the PlayStation Wiimote seems to be a lot like Nintendo's Wii. Now that he mentions it, they do look kind of similar! Who knew?
“They seem very similar in their scope,” he said. “I know Sony and Nintendo would argue that they are different, but they kind of seem the same. They enable certain sorts of experiences, and they are analogous to Kinect.”
"I have to take my hat off to Microsoft, because they really did go one step beyond what they needed to do. It would be very easy for them to have created something like the Wii, but instead they did go that extra mile and they said, ‘No, we’re going to make that huge step."
Molyneux is absolutely right of course. Microsoft took a huge leap into a different realm with Kinect. While Sony was busy copying Nintendo with PlayStation Move, Microsoft did something nobody has ever done before... it copied Sony's EyeToy and then used Cirque de Soleil to make us think it was something different.
Genius!
Peter Molyneux: Wii and PlayStation Move Are 'Kind of the Same' [UGO]
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Peter Molyneux is a perceptive sort of chap. The Fable developer has noticed something that's completely passed the rest of us by, noting that the PlayStation Wiimote seems to be a lot like Nintendo's Wii. Now that he mentions it, they do look kind of similar! Who knew?
“They seem very similar in their scope,” he said. “I know Sony and Nintendo would argue that they are different, but they kind of seem the same. They enable certain sorts of experiences, and they are analogous to Kinect.”
"I have to take my hat off to Microsoft, because they really did go one step beyond what they needed to do. It would be very easy for them to have created something like the Wii, but instead they did go that extra mile and they said, ‘No, we’re going to make that huge step."
Molyneux is absolutely right of course. Microsoft took a huge leap into a different realm with Kinect. While Sony was busy copying Nintendo with PlayStation Move, Microsoft did something nobody has ever done before... it copied Sony's EyeToy and then used Cirque de Soleil to make us think it was something different.
Genius!
Peter Molyneux: Wii and PlayStation Move Are 'Kind of the Same' [UGO]
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Interview: Xbox's Penello On Kinect's Biggest Challenges
Interview: Xbox's Penello On Kinect's Biggest Challenges: "
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Review: Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype
Review: Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype: "
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Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype is the epitome of 2D scrolling shoot ‘em up gaming, cloning the classic R-Type and improving on it in every respect. If you played Soldner-X: Himmelsturmer last year, you may be nervous about this purchase. I was too, but don’t be: Eastasiasoft have taken everything that was good about the first game and fixed everything that was bad. The result is a slick, polished and highly playable 2D shooter.
Set across seven luscious levels (of which only five are accessible at the start), the aim is of course simple: shoot everything, avoid bullets and collect power-ups. Each level takes about ten minutes to complete including the final boss, and if that was all there was to it, it would become quickly boring. Fortunately, Soldner-X 2 is a dream for those who like challenge stages and unlockables.
Let’s start with the gameplay first. Your ship has two weapons to start with, plus one extra which can be unlocked, or swapped out for weapons collected by power-ups. By taking out the baddies you collect chain rings which boost your chain bar. If you can manage to fill this within a certain time, a power-up is released in addition to those which spawn when you kill enemies. Conserving bullets and taking down opponents quickly extends the time you are allowed to fill this bar.
There are, as you might imagine, tons of different types of power-ups to collect. Chasers add mini-ships which follow you and shoot at the enemies; regular power-ups increase the firepower of your currently selected weapon, and to a lesser extent those of your other weapons. Shockwaves and so-called limit attacks can be acquired which do massive damage to everything on the screen, plus plenty of other goodies.
Dotted around the stages are various secret keys. Collect 4 out of 5 on each level to unlock additional stages. Collect all 35 for a silver trophy.
Difficulty-wise, Soldner-X 2 strikes gold. The game can be as easy or as difficult as you like, which is in stark contrast to the rather tricky affair that was the original game. Two difficulty levels are unlocked at first: Beginner is dead easy, you will be able to complete the whole game without losing a ship, and Normal is not that challenging either. Later difficulty levels up the ante considerably once you’ve unlocked them. The real masterstroke though is that the game features dynamic difficulty, relative to the base difficulty level you’ve selected. You have a rank, either S (the best) or A-G, which goes up and down and is indicated in the corner of the screen along with your trending as you play. The more efficient you are, the more enemies and bullets are thrown at you. Perform poorly and the difficulty will be cranked down.
This may sound like a recipe for disaster, but it is perfectly balanced – never making the game too easy or too hard, again, relative to the difficulty you originally selected. You can also start the game from any stage, and the game thoughtfully provides you with a bunch of power-ups at the start commensurate to how far into the stages you have selected. This also makes hunting down those secret keys less of a chore.
Allow your health to drop below a certain amount and Beserker Mode is activated; much like in the original game this reduces the damage you take but increases your damage output. Survive long enough to pick up some health and normal gameplay will resume.
A tutorial system has been added which is less intrusive than the original game – but a little too unintrusive in fact. The top-left of the screen blinks to tell you to press triangle when a new tutorial is available, but if you don’t press it within a few seconds you’ll miss it altogether. Some of the tutorials are somewhat important to understanding the finer points of the gameplay mechanics, required to get the most out of the game. Fortunately, they are all available for re-reading in the options menu, which is also accessible during the game’s pause screen.
Soldner-X 2 includes two-player offline co-op which works seamlessly, with all power-ups shared except chasers. This does however mean that if your buddy picks up a naff weapon, your tertiary weapon slot acquires it too at the expense of what you previously had equipped.
The graphics are crisp and smooth, with excellent use of colour making this the most beautiful-looking 2D shooter on the PS3 to date. Boss designs are adequate but not breathtaking, and the music is the typical kind of mellow background dance noise you’d expect from any self-respecting 2D shooter. There is plenty of variety in enemies, however many of the backgrounds are quite dark so some of the levels can feel slightly samey – though there are many differences between them.
Onto the unlockables then. Soldner-X 2 features a challenge mode with a large number of tasks to complete, ranging from collecting 999 chain rings on a stage, to maxing out a weapon’s power in a certain time, to finishing a level without missing more than 3 enemies, or without killing any enemies except the boss. Some of these challenges are fairly simple and can be attempted on any difficulty level; others are punishingly difficult. Trophies are awarded for some of the challenges and you will be able to rack up more than in the original game because they are better balanced. It is really in the challenge mode where most of the fun and replayability of this game lies.
Since many people looking for classic shooter action will have already purchased the first game, I’d like to touch on some of the differences. First of all, the ill-thought out gameplay mechanic which causes your chain bar to be reset when you switch weapon has been scrapped. Your health slowly regenerates if you perform certain tasks, which it doesn’t in the first game. Issues with the backgrounds being too bright and easy to confuse with enemies have been resolved, with a much better contrast between foreground and background in the new game. The cheesy cut scenes between levels have been removed, and the difficulty can now be made much more forgiving if you are just in it to see what comes next. I also like the radio chatter during boss fights where your ground controller lets you know which parts you’re supposed to be attacking. Finally, the vast amount of unlockables: ships, stages, weapons, ’specials’, challenges and difficulty levels, plus trophy collecting, give Soldner-X 2 far more replayability than its predecessor.
Online leaderboards are present and correct, but a pain to scroll through; there is no online play.
Pros:
- Addictive, massive replayability due to tons of unlockables
- Difficulty can be made as hard or easy as you want
- Good variety, good graphics
- Seamless offline co-op
Cons:
- Only 7 stages, so you’ll be replaying the same areas over and over
There are quite a few single-stick shooters on the PSN store now. In my opinion, this is the best of the bunch. It has been well-designed, balanced and tuned to perfection, and is a big improvement on the original. If you have been thinking of buying the bundle, I would recommend you save a few pounds and just go for this game as it will hold your attention much longer than Himmelsturmer.
Score: 8/10
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No FFXIV for Xbox 360
No FFXIV for Xbox 360: "
There has been some news going back and forth on this, but it’s looking more final now. Final Fantasy XIV Online director Hiromichi Tanaka has gone on record saying that the “closed” nature of Xbox Live is keeping the game from making an Xbox 360 appearance.
But don’t put all of your hate on Tanaka just yet. He was quoted saying, “Microsoft has a different point of view: they want to have a closed environment for Xbox Live. We’re still talking to… We couldn’t come to an agreement on Xbox Live.” Looks to me like he’s not against having Final Fantasy XIV on the Xbox 360, but rather Microsoft is against opening up it’s structure.
Of course, this could all change in the near future, as Final Fantasy XI is still alive and well on Xbox Live. Maybe we can read between the lines here and see some sort of timed exclusivity deal with Sony. Time will tell.
Source: Eurogamer
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There has been some news going back and forth on this, but it’s looking more final now. Final Fantasy XIV Online director Hiromichi Tanaka has gone on record saying that the “closed” nature of Xbox Live is keeping the game from making an Xbox 360 appearance.But don’t put all of your hate on Tanaka just yet. He was quoted saying, “Microsoft has a different point of view: they want to have a closed environment for Xbox Live. We’re still talking to… We couldn’t come to an agreement on Xbox Live.” Looks to me like he’s not against having Final Fantasy XIV on the Xbox 360, but rather Microsoft is against opening up it’s structure.
Of course, this could all change in the near future, as Final Fantasy XI is still alive and well on Xbox Live. Maybe we can read between the lines here and see some sort of timed exclusivity deal with Sony. Time will tell.
Source: Eurogamer
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Last.FM Is A Timed Exclusive
Last.FM Is A Timed Exclusive: "
Is there anything Microsoft won’t buy as a timed exclusive? It appears not, with the news that Last.FM is indeed a timed arrangement for XBox 360, the exclusivity deal expiring this November.
Over 2 million XBox 360 owners signed up for Last.FM on launch and speculation is rife that the company would like to gather another couple of million listeners via the PSN. Talking to Official XBox Magazine Last.FM VP, Orlena Yeung, hinted at new features for Last.FM on the console.
“There is a nice parallel between the community-driven experience at Last.FM and the gamer community on Xbox Live. I think we can create more experience where users are socialising their music taste across gaming and music. We will see…”
Source: OXM via CVG
"Activision thinks GoldenEye Wii exclusivity's a good deal
Activision thinks GoldenEye Wii exclusivity's a good deal: "
So, GoldenEye is coming exclusively to the Wii. For some of us, that's great news, while some of us believe the game should have come to a more 'hardcore' console. Analyst Michael Pachter, for instance, has argued that GoldenEye would have been better served on the Xbox 360. Activision has fired back at the critics, instead claiming that there is a "huge opportunity" on the Wii.
'It's a great opportunity,' says senior producer Brian Pass. 'This game was originally on the N64, so there's the nostalgia factor for people that are Nintendo fans. So we wanted to partner with Nintendo for this.
"The opportunity on the Nintendo Wii platform is huge. There's roughly 12 million Wiis in North America. But it's not really a console that a lot of shooter fans are playing on. So we wanted to offer them their own first-person shooter, that's unique and exclusive to that console."
Pass did acknowledge that shooters on the Wii aren't that popular, but added: 'Maybe it's because people don't like using the Wii Remote and the Nunchuck. They don't like using the pointing device. Now they've got the Classic Pro Controller. This is dual analogue stick. It's got the exact same layout you find on PS3 or 360.'
What do you reckon? Is GoldenEye on Wii a good idea, or should Activision have tried other consoles? It's very weird to see Activision do anything on one lone console, as it usually hits every machine at once. Still, this is the most successful (if evil) publisher in the industry, so if it sniffs money on the Wii, we might not want to question its judgment.
Activision explains GoldenEye Wii Exclusivity [Videogamer via CVG]
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So, GoldenEye is coming exclusively to the Wii. For some of us, that's great news, while some of us believe the game should have come to a more 'hardcore' console. Analyst Michael Pachter, for instance, has argued that GoldenEye would have been better served on the Xbox 360. Activision has fired back at the critics, instead claiming that there is a "huge opportunity" on the Wii.
'It's a great opportunity,' says senior producer Brian Pass. 'This game was originally on the N64, so there's the nostalgia factor for people that are Nintendo fans. So we wanted to partner with Nintendo for this.
"The opportunity on the Nintendo Wii platform is huge. There's roughly 12 million Wiis in North America. But it's not really a console that a lot of shooter fans are playing on. So we wanted to offer them their own first-person shooter, that's unique and exclusive to that console."
Pass did acknowledge that shooters on the Wii aren't that popular, but added: 'Maybe it's because people don't like using the Wii Remote and the Nunchuck. They don't like using the pointing device. Now they've got the Classic Pro Controller. This is dual analogue stick. It's got the exact same layout you find on PS3 or 360.'
What do you reckon? Is GoldenEye on Wii a good idea, or should Activision have tried other consoles? It's very weird to see Activision do anything on one lone console, as it usually hits every machine at once. Still, this is the most successful (if evil) publisher in the industry, so if it sniffs money on the Wii, we might not want to question its judgment.
Activision explains GoldenEye Wii Exclusivity [Videogamer via CVG]
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Analyst: Used Game Market 'Significant' Drain On Software Sales
Analyst: Used Game Market 'Significant' Drain On Software Sales: "
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Google Chrome Updates, Adds Integrated Flash Player [Updates]
Google Chrome Updates, Adds Integrated Flash Player [Updates]: "
Windows/Mac/Linux: A new stable channel release of Google Chrome just came out and it brings integrated Flash to the browser—Chrome will now update and manage Flash for you. More »
Google Chrome - Browsers - Clients - WWW - Web browser
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Windows/Mac/Linux: A new stable channel release of Google Chrome just came out and it brings integrated Flash to the browser—Chrome will now update and manage Flash for you. More »
Google Chrome - Browsers - Clients - WWW - Web browser
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