New "Meet the Team" video now available

As promised, Valve has released a "Meet the Team" video with their Heavy Update.

In addition to new weapons and play modes, the development team has posted "Meet the Sandvich."  It does seem like a filler but will make you chuckle, even if you were expecting a video about an actual class.  Personally, I was banking on the Medic, considering the relationship between Heavy and Medic.

If you've been seeing sandwiches all over the new update and haven't got a clue, take a look at "Meet the Scout," the video that debuted with the Pyro Update.

Aside from learning that the Scout is a self-absorbed dullard, we get to see the Heavy's relationship with this complex snack:

Min-mobo has CrossFire support

Taiwan's Diamond Flower Incorporated -- much more commonly known as DFI -- will be releasing a micro-ATX motherboard with gamers in mind. As you are probably aware, micro-ATX boards are smaller-than-normal size motherboards that are most often used in home theater PC's, or PC's with more specialized purposes than a general PC.

While there have been a number of micro-ATX motherboards that are well-suited for gaming, not many can boast support for CrossFire. The LAN Party Jr. P45-T2RS has dual PCIe x16 slots, and is capable of sustaining a high FSB. Taiwan's infamous over-clocking website/brand/person named Coolaler recently overclocked one of these motherboards to 600 FSB with some exceptional cooling.

This board is currently on sale in China for about $190 USD. Seems like there is a good chance this board will make its way States-side, but no telling when.

A good idea for our contemporary transition from dual to quad cores

Some German technology enthusiasts at www.hardware-infos.com are reporting on a new feature that will be coming in the next series of CPUs coming from Intel, the recently named Core i7 series (or Nehalem.)

This new speedy processors will have a 'Turbo' feature. Long long ago, in this galaxy, PC computers used to have a 'turbo' mode which was this physical switch you could flick when you wanted to kick things into high gear with some extra processing power. This turbo feature was removed, (with the introduction of the first Pentium if I recall correctly), probably because most users just left there computer in turbo mode all the time, so having two separate modes was unnecessary. 

But this new Turbo mode is a bit different. Basically it is much like the on-the-fly overclocking you can do with the AMD Spider platform, and some other setups. With this new turbo mode, if only one or two of the four cores of your i7 are being used, the frequency of the active cores with be raised, as needed. This is a great idea because at this point in time, relatively few applications are actually capable of of supplying four threads to the four cores of your CPU. For example, the vast majority of games do not support quad-cores, so in this turbo mode, raising the speed of the two active cores running your game will grant you a performance increase, without subjecting the unwilling to fiddle with, and tweak, their BIOS settings.

As the Google translator says, adapting from the original German on Hardware-Infos: "This is done by the function of the heavily congested cores with more supplies and the clock Nichtstuenden goes to sleep banished. How high the bar syringe fails, will depend on the performance of the host processor."

Exactly how high the bar syringe fails is unknown at this point.

PC Gaming Alliance sheds light with Horizons Report

How PC gaming is doing these days is something of a touchy subject today for people. Some say it's doing crap, some say it's great. Some say, who cares if half the money made comes from World of Warcraft? Others (i.e. myself), say one or two games can't be responsible for half (or more) of the industry. That's a pretty limited scope. If WoW was the only game making great profits on the PS3, 360 or Wii, in theory, would gamers say the same? I doubt it. Pretty sure they'd be whining, "Where's my [insert totally awesome console killer app here]?" (and rightfully so, there are a good many).

Anyhow, the PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) is here to tell you how things are going with its first "Horizons" Report, an exclusive research study of the PC industry, with a global perspective. Speaking at the Games Convention Developer's Conference (GCDC), PCGA prez Randy Stude revealed some interesting numbers: $10.7 billion was what came of computer gaming last year, with retail sales accounting for 30 percent of total revenues. This proved an increase over years previous, and was driven mostly by online revenues from Asia, the world's largest market, which evidently is responsible for nearly half of total global sales at this point.

Online PC gaming, now, generated $4.8 billion in revenues, about double the worldwide retail sales for PC titles. Digital distribution is on the rise, too, with those sales getting up to $2 billion. Advertising via websites, portals, and the games themselves made $800 million.

"Our analysis clearly shows incredible growth in online PC gaming, proof that this industry is far stronger than anyone has reported," said Stude. "Today's consumers shop where they live - online."

David Cole of DFC Intelligence - a "strategic market research and consulting firm" - says there's yet more room for growth as broadband gets bigger and better:

"By pioneering new business models, the PC has quietly remained the single leading platform for games, not only in terms of consumer usage, but revenue generation. The most fascinating thing about PC gaming is its ability to attract such a diverse audience, both demographically and geographically. The real key has been the rapid growth in penetration of broadband-connected PCs in all markets around the world. Broadband-connected PCs are the key driver of growth for PC gaming. DFC Intelligence estimated that by the end of 2007 less than one-third of households in the top 20 markets for games had a high-speed Internet connection. That clearly indicates that there is still plenty of growth to come. The initiatives of the PCGA will be a key enabler of growth as they will help the industry identify key trends and opportunities in this rapidly emerging market."

Things appear to be looking up for PC gaming in any case, though it could certainly stand to regain some of its previous success in North America and Europe. Will upcoming titles like Diablo III, Starcraft II, and Street Fighter IV help it become comparably as popular in its own right as consoles are these days?

2008 shows bright future

Media Control GfK -- the "single, most comprehensive, accurate, multi-format, entertainment data source for Europe and Asia" -- has let loose some statistics on European video game sales, and the results are pretty spectacular. Note that these cover the first six months of 2008 as contrasted with the same period the year previous:

The firm attributed the increases to the "growing range of attractive games" for the current generation of consoles, which have now "heavily penetrated the European marketplace", as well as the continent-wide success of the Nintendo DS (its brain training games have dominated the software charts over there this year).

Ulrike Altig, Media Control GfK’s managing director said, “The game console has left the children’s room and made its way in the living-room."

Last month sales monitor Chart-Track reported similar findings: software sales during the same time periods saw an increase of 42 percent (to 31.1 million units), generating £738 million.

It's hefty, alright

Gamers who wondered how much that beast of a game Crysis cost to make: wonder no more.

At the Games Convention Developer Conference (GCDC) in Leipzig, Germany, it was revealed by CEO and President of the game's developer Crytek, Cevat Yerli, it cost €15m ($22m) to create. In spite of this, the game made more than what they put in, he said, stating "if it wasn't profitable I wouldn't be able to stand here."

Yerli has said in the past the developer has "learned their lesson" with Crysis, citing it to be the most pirated game in the company's history:

"I believe that’s the core problem of PC Gaming, piracy. To the degree PC Gamers that pirate games inherently destroy the platform. Similar games on consoles sell factors of 4-5 more. It was a big lesson for us and I believe we wont have PC exclusives as we did with Crysis in future. We are going to support PC, but not exclusive anymore."

If they're making profits on such an expensive game, can piracy really be the "core problem" of PC gaming? Gamers are not as simple folk as some developers would like to believe -- surely there is more than one reason console games sell better, a big one being standardized configurations, and uh, you know, generally less expensive machines (in the long run, anyway).

Two new maps, three old favorites

Along with the highly anticipated Heavy Weapons Guy update, Valve is adding an Arena Mode to Team Fortress 2.  According to the developers, Arena matches are designed to be shorter, ending whenever one team wipes out the other or the central point is captured by either RED or BLU.  It's the closest TF2 has ever come to having a "team deathmatch" map.

Speaking of maps, Arena Mode will come in five explosive flavors.  Two of these maps, Lumberyard and Ravine, are completely new while familiar settings Well, Granary, and Badlands have been extensively revamped to suit the new mode of play.  The (or "A") Heavy Update site provides excellent descriptions for each new map, detailed as a tourist's sightseeing guide:

Lumberyard has an unbalanced structure, with one half of the map climbing up towards a large mountain peak, while the other dips down into a valley. A series of rooftops at the map’s center serves as the key battleground area, with lateral flanking being the key maneuver at ground level. When the capture point becomes active after 60 seconds, multiple entrances open up into the central control point, which becomes the focus of the fighting as the match nears its end. Lumberyard is one of the few Arena maps without water, and contains only a single health kit. The kit sits on a log above a deadly pit, making it a great ambush spot for Pyros, Demomen, and Soldiers to send unwary enemies to their deaths.

In contrast to Lumberyard, Ravine has a far more open ground level with emphasis on control of four key choke points. A series of canals in Ravine’s lower level provide an excellent opportunity for stealth kills and flanking maneuvers. Like all arena maps, the capture point in the middle becomes active after 60 seconds.

It may be worth noting that Health pick-ups are limited in TF2 Arena, and some maps won't have any Health packs at all.  This makes the game more challenging, and the Medic may become an even more valuable asset alongside Engineers, who can construct Health dispensers.  Water is also scarce in Arena, so Pyros might get to have a little more fun than usual. 

That being said, the maps are also designed to give each class an area to dominate, ensuring that no one is left out or forced to play a class they dislike simply for the sake of victory.

Playable demo shows off early level in the game

LucasArts has announced a playable demo for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed to be released this Thursday, August 21 on LIVE and PSN.

According to Team Xbox, the demo will allow gamers to explore an early level from TFU -- the TIE Fighter Construction Facility while it's under siege by Jedi forces and the Jedi general Rahm Kota.  This will also double as a tutorial designed to teach players how to use the Force Grip ability.

For those unaware, TFU fits chronologically between Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the classic Episode IV: A New Hope, following the adventures of Darth Vader's secret apprentice as he aids the Sith Lord in his quest to purge the galaxy of Jedi.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is scheduled to hit shelves September 16, 2008 for multiple platforms.

Media speaks against the Public Health Ministry's actions

Ever since the terrible murder in which 19-year-old Polwat Chinno stabbed taxi driver Kuan Pohkang with a knife, the Thai government and various media outlets have been pointing fingers at Grand Theft Auto and other violent games.

A recent editorial in the Bangkok Post is saying otherwise, however, criticizing the officials who've banned video games at the word of a confessed killer.  They're calling Polwat's claims a poor excuse, more of a "novel legal defense than a credible motive," and say the government's hasty decision to pull GTA IV from retail shelves and arcades only confirms their lack of knowledge in the matter:

Tens of millions of people around the world play that game - tens of thousands in Bangkok.

Early evening on any given day, the top floors of the city's many shopping malls are filled with youths playing a myriad of computer games - many of them violent.

An earlier ban on this particular violent game would not have saved the murdered driver. More to the point, there is no evidence or reason to believe the ban will save any lives in the future.

The Public Health Ministry quickly assembled a list of Top 10 Violent Games - not by research or reason, but by a quick Googling in which bureaucrats accepted the first hit, an obscure list from a local US politician trying successfully to get his name in the newspapers and his face on the TV news in an election cycle...

The problem is most parents and few politicians have a clue about such things. Many are technologically illiterate. Mr Polwat's mother gave him 100 baht a day to play video games, but had no idea what he was doing - or what was happening to his mind in the process.

Instead, the editorial suggests that officials should be finding more constructive methods of dealing with the alleged threat of violent video games on their society.  A ban will only hurt their economy because pirates and other people involved in underground distribution now have another hot game for their inventory. 

As an alternative, the Bangkok Post proposes a government funded "think tank" that would help educate adults and the older generations in such matters, which would build public awareness and prevent such crimes in the future:

The first is to discover whether computer games and similar technology really can drive a disturbed person to murder, and what to do about that.

Even more important is to better inform the "old" generation about the technology revolution, of which video games are such a tiny part.

... Weaker people, [Nectec director Pansak Siriruchatapong] said, can become so immersed in games they lose track of reality. Like many, Dr Pansak opposes outright censorship. That does not rule out regulation, however. Many countries have a ratings system of games. For example, Grand Theft Auto boxes and wrappers all carry a large, black M-for-mature.

While outright censorship is ineffective, careful regulation may be a more helpful measure.

First trailer and new screens come out for Tomb Raider fans.

It's been a fair bit of time since we last saw a full fledged update to the Tomb Raider series, Underworld makes the leap this time with next-generation focuses on graphic potential while trying to bring back some fans to the series while maintaining a decent success to fractured skull and spine ratio. The game demonstrates a vareity of new spaces and environment changes, the screens derail any pessimism about the resolution given that they're around 5120x2880 and really pushing the PC crowd around at that point for screen space.

The game takes on the jungle environments, tomb levels and of course some twists into more modern facilities, the game from the trailer and screens seems to look great but that tends to always be the problem with the series, the game may look quite nice but the execution becomes problematic when you're trying to actually pass through the game. One can only hope that as the game progresses we'll see more active gameplay demonstrations instead of tailored bits connected together to make it all seem like a cakewalk.

Prequel gets approval to gold status, ship date still on schedule

Those who have followed the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series know that Clear Sky has been a bit of a ride to this point, the game has taken up challenges in becoming more graphically complex in delivery and also in attempting to put together the pieces prior to the original game, often is it that companies rush onto sequels or alternate realities but GSC has kept to their original developments and it seems like it should pan out well.

Players will step into the year 2011 and be faced with the events prior to the third campaign of Strelok to the Zone center, allowing players to have an alternative look at the original title through this early take on the situation and even play out their own fate by letting players become a mercenary in the field to find which avenue really offers the best reward for them in this zone war of factions.

For those new to the game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. allows people to fight and live out their game through each day, time cycles constantly and overall there is a strong RPGFPS element that is rarely found in gaming these days unless you go back to older titles (Fallout series, System Shock, etc) the visual system compliments this and the AI system also helps support this with NPC's working on independent thought cycles that have been given an updated since the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. hit the streets, any battle can change in the moment so going back later hoping to maybe side with another group might not work out since the outcome is not pre-determined. The company does admit for returning players, there is a direction later in the game that can be found where the game starts to force a singular path to stay in line with the original title though. It makes sense for a prequel trying to force a specific timeline though, I just hope that this time the game is capable of picking up a larger audience.

Here's a quick gameplay clip from Clear Sky for those interested.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky hits the Streets on September 5th 2008.

"Don't like the game? Bring it back."

There are advantages to capitalism: giants like GameStop can afford to defy the traditions of economics once in awhile. Example: it seems a deal has been struck between LucasArts and the retail outlet's Canadian arm whereby if you pre-purchase the title and don't like it upon playing, you can return it inside a week for in-store credit, no questions asked. Pretty cool.

I guess the idea is to get writers like me writing articles like this and boost gamers' confidence in how good the title will be. Well, you got me, LucasArts, GameStop, you got me.

My only thought now is why they decided to put it on any system but the Wii/DS; it just seems absurd to buy it on any other platform given the gameplay, graphics be damned.

Details on the deal are below.

Any chump with a plastic guitar can rock

It's a bit different from my usual Sunday Specials, but a month-old news tidbit has piqued my interest, and I feel it is worth mentioning in place of the typical Sunday free-for-all.

A boy in Raleigh, North Carolina has recently dropped out of school to pursue his love of Guitar Hero, as no doubt most of you have already heard from one source or another.

So this kid, Blake Peebles, is making gaming news everywhere because of his parents' decision to let him leave school and focus on his Guitar Hero III hobby.  Apparently, Peebles is pretty good and holds top 10 scores for about 20 songs.  He thinks he may be one of the top 15 or 20 players in the nation. 

Uh, yay?

Now before anyone freaks out too much, Peebles is still getting an education (whatever good that'll do him) through some tutoring arrangement.  It's an agreement between the boy and his parents, who agreed to let their middle child leave North Raleigh Christian Academy.  According to his mother, he's a lot happier now:

Inside his upstairs bedroom, Blake's environment is set up specifically to make him a better gamer. There is a PlayStation 2, a Nintendo Wii and an Xbox 360. He also has a stack of plastic guitars, but no real ones. Blake doesn't play an actual guitar, a skill that doesn't really transfer to playing the virtual kind, anyway.

The frame for his bed is on the back porch, with the box springs and mattress on the bedroom floor. That puts his bed at a more comfortable level for sitting to play "Guitar Hero III" for extended periods. At the moment, he plays just a few hours a day, but that number will increase as the California competition nears.

That "California competition" should be taking place right about now, in mid-August, and Peebles is hoping to get the name "Dreminem" out there to advertisers and sponsors.  I'm sorry, but that Gamertag isn't much more impressive than his real name, and he might have been better off calling himself "Peebles" on LIVE.

Blake's parents don't believe in "one-size-fits-all parenting," which may be why they beat the crap out of their consciences and parental instincts to let him drop out.  Got too tired of his whining, or something.  Then again, he has an 18 year old brother who's an honor student and football player at the academy, and a 13 year old sister with a development disability; perhaps the Peebles believe in experimenting with creative methods of upbringing.

Not surprisingly, Blake Peebles story has sparked much criticism from the gaming community, and his parents faced much of the same from within their own.

Every gamer dreams of being a professional, fragging and dpsing for real money.  But anyone who has tried (and even succeeded) will tell you how hard competitive gaming is.  Enjoyable?  Yes, but there's a reason not every joker out there can get in on it.  So can a 16 year old boy from a nowhere-town do what so many of us have attempted?  I'm genuinely curious.

What's the big deal, really?  The boy is getting an education through alternative means while trying to push his his hobby in a productive direction  Why does this whole thing smell so terribly wrong?  If he succeeds in making the Major League Gaming, then he could be earning up to $80,000 a year, or average out between $20-30,000.  Maybe there's just too many of that "if" flying around, and his parents are getting a little too creative.

He's won up to $1,000 in prizes, including gift certificates, gaming equipment and chicken sandwiches courtesy of Chick-fil-A (oh joy), but the self-proclaimed Guitar Hero champion isn't banking on just one game.  "The next big game that comes out, I'm just going to focus on that one," he says.

I'm secretly hoping (shh, don't tell anyone) reality will hit him in the face hard enough to knock that smirk right off.

If reality doesn't do it, I just might have to.

Expansions/DLC, a demo (lack thereof), copy protection and heaps more

Spore's executive producer Lucy Bradshaw (pictured above) had a live chat on Eurogamer yesterday with gamers about Will Wright's shortly coming (September 7) project, and it didn't dissapoint.

Firstly, though the game is quite large at present, there will be additional content:

"When we started Spore, we were thinking about how we'd make an engine that had the possibility of expansion, so yes, we'll add to the experience. I think, however, we have a very cool opportunity to take Spore in a few different directions too. The editors are so cool and fun, that we want to advance those as well as the gameplay that we put into the core game."

The "flora editor" looks to be one of these additons in the future, so there's that to look forward to!

On a demo, in short: no. They're not planning one; the Creature Creator (and some videos) is all you get, though really, that's plenty, ain't it?

Copy protection - this will be implemented, and is something they feel is required:

"We do have copy protection, it is a necessary part of our biz, but we've worked to make it something that does not punish the legit owners. You need to authenticate once at the first install. This happens online. You can install on three separate computers and you do need to register for the online features."

I'm going to have to disagree with Bradshaw on this one (with it being necessary and with this not punishing owners), but with a face like that, it's hard to stay mad. In either case, I like that they're being open and speaking directly to the gamers about it.

Tons more details, mainly focusing on the features of the game are available for your perusal via the source: easter eggs, cheats, aesthetics, Spore the Musical, day/night cycles, etc. For anyone pumped for Spore, it's essential Saturday reading.

And her name is "Natascha"

In addition to the Heavy's new boxing gloves, cleverly dubbed "Killing Gloves of Boxing" or K.G.B., Valve has announced the Heavy's second unlockable weapon.

Her name is "Natascha," and anyone struck by her bullets will be slowed for an instant, thus severely limiting the target's options when faced with an approaching Heavy Weapons Guy. 

Valve recommends Heavy players use Natascha against fleeing enemies, or as a useful tool when coming around corners to surprise other players, which is about as welcome a surprise as turning the corner to find a Level 3 Sentry pointed at you.

A word of caution, though: check for enemy Heavies wielding Sasha first because Natascha deals less damage than her predecessor:

The Heavy's second unlockable, Natascha, slows enemies with her bullets. Anyone damaged by her will move slower for an instant, encouraging them to find cover or turn and face the Heavy, mano-a-tiny-itty-bitty-mano. Unfortunately, Natascha is slightly weaker than Sasha, so she takes longer to finish off a victim. As a result, Natascha's great against fleeing cowards, such as Scouts & Medics, and less great against anyone actively trying to kill her master. Heavies that like to jump around corners and surprise groups of startled enemy crybabies will also find her very useful, although they should look for a Sasha-wielding enemy Heavy before they leap.

For those who don't remember Sasha, Valve's "Meet the Heavy" video provides a humorous refresher while reminding us exactly why no one likes going one on one with this deceptively friendly individual:

Court cases just aren't going the recording industry's way

You often hear in the news that the RIAA is suing this person or that person for sharing music online. But have you read many news stories where the RIAA won any of these court cases?

The latest battle lost by the RIAA has been in the Atlantic Versus Anderson case. It has been dragging on for 3 years now. The court has ruled in favor of Anderson here, and now the RIAA has to pay Tanya Anderson, a disabled single mother, $107,834 for his legal expenses incurred in the courtroom wranglings.

The legal crux in the matter of the Atlantic Versus Anderson case was that the courts have ruled that making songs available on P2P networks does not constituent copyright violation.

Generally the RIAA sends out warnings to filesharers, saying that they will be sued unless they pay a fine for any suspicion of P2P music-sharing. Many people, fearing the sizable legal entities supporting the RIAA, will pay these fines. However, if someone refuses, and the battle goes to court, more often than not (at least so far) the court has ruled in favor of the defendants.

But how many people actually fight these cases? You'd probably be surprised at the numbers: the RIAA has pursued legal action towards about 40,000 people since 2003, and only about 5% of these people have fought back. Most opted to pay fines -- usually ranging between $3000 and $4000 -- while many others ignored the notices, hoping that they would go away, only to find out later that the court made default judgments against them. 

Unfortunately, most people do not have the assets available to challenge the RIAA's charges in the courtroom. Likewise, probably many people targeted by the RIAA do not realize that they would have a very good chance of winning these court cases, if they were brought to court.

All recent updates to be included

EA and Criterion have announced Burnout Paradise as an upcoming addition to the PlayStation Network. 

Originally released in January 2008, the sixth Burnout title has been retail-only thus far, but will soon be available for download on PSN for $29.99 with all updates released thus far by Criterion already incorporated.  This decision falls in line with the "Year of Paradise," an initiative to evolve gaming with the regular release of DLC that pushes games beyond their original retail form.

Gamesutra quotes Criterion studio manager Fiona Sperry on what the developer hopes to accomplish:

"Our mission at Criterion is to provide the most entertaining gaming service possible. In order to do that, it's key that we have the ability to deliver content to players in ways that work for them - through quick and easy download or via traditional bricks and mortar."

The first update was free and made available through XBL and PSN earlier this month.  The download pack included three new modes, vehicles, and 70 challenges, and Criterion will soon be adding motorcycles and Trophy support in their upcoming update.

Hey guys, we could lay down some copper pipe here, I'm just saying -- said some engineer

Sometimes the stuff that appears fairly obvious afterwards, is the last thing people notice when trying to solve a problem.

These days, labs upon labs' worth of scientists and engineers are trying to figure out new methods of power production. Most people seem to be coming to grips with that fact that the days of all the handy oil-stuff just oozing out of the ground for our enjoyment are coming to an end.

One particular person at the Worchester Polytechnic Institute (a place so far known only for numerous breakthroughs in sauce technology) had an interesting idea. The scientist engineer guy realized that the human race has put a massive amount of time and energy and money into building highways and roads that stretch this way and that. Roads are terrific for getting around, and parking on -- but perhaps there is more we could do with them, he wondered. Like maybe help solve a energy crisis or some such, he hypothesized. 

The idea is that asphalt roads soak up a great deal of sunlight, and get warm -- especially, obviously, in the summer months. If copper pipes were laid underneath the asphalt, you could flow some water through the pipes, and the heat of this water evaporating could be used to propel turbines which in turn could be used to generate electricity! Or, for new buildings, they could maybe use the under-road pipes just to make hot water, instead of using gas furnaces to heat it up. Because, as everybody knows, hot showers are important.

The research project looking into this idea is being directed by a guy named Rajib Mallick. He is really excited about this idea. Here is what he said on the matter: “Blacktop [asphalt] stays hot and could continue to generate energy after the sun goes down, unlike traditional solar-electric cells. In addition, there is already a massive acreage of installed roads and parking lots that could be retrofitted for energy generation, so there is no need to find additional land for solar farms. Roads and lots are typically resurfaced every 10 to 12 years and the retrofit could be built into that cycle. Extracting heat from asphalt could cool it, reducing the urban ‘heat island’ effect. Finally, unlike roof-top solar arrays, which some find unattractive, the solar collectors in roads and parking lots would be invisible.”

One possible problem with this might be thievery, however. Already troublesome poor folk all over the place are stealing stuff like manhole covers, and wiring from foreclosed homes to sell as scrap. (Actually, here in Vancouver a crack-abusing person stole a bronze statue last week, and tried to sell it as scrap, unsuccessfully.) Miles of copper pipe out in the middle of nowhere might be an easy target for criminals. Pipe on busier roads and highways would probably be safe though. 

Anyways -- this Dr. Mallick character is optimistic: “Our preliminary results provide a promising proof of concept for what could be a very important future source of renewable, pollution-free energy for our nation. And it has been there all along, right under our feet.”

Way to go roads!

Wii 'flooded with crap', EA 'needs to do something about hardcore gamers'

Sega of America's president Simon Jeffery ain't shy. Speaking with VentureBeat, aside from the usual discussions (i.e. Sega is doing pretty good now!), he had some advice for the industry, and specifically, Electronic Arts and Nintendo.

Speaking about EA, he disagrees with its CEO John Riccitiello in that publishers/developers don't need licensed content as part of one's portfolio, saying "I think part of the reason they have left it behind is they are not good at it." In talking about EA's shift into more mature titles like DeadSpace, Jeffery says the company has its struggles in that realm:

"EA has always struggled with the hardcore gamer. I think they look at “Gears of War” and “Halo” and wonder why they can’t do that. EA has to do something about that. They have tried on and off over the years. It’s just like Activision had to come out from doing hardcore games and do more for the masses."

Moving on to the Wii, he says it's a very "cost effective platform to experiment with", but the state of things isn't too pretty:

"There is a lot of crap coming out for the Wii in general. But if it’s not a good game, it doesn’t sell. That flood of crap will die down as publishers become more coherent. The Wii is a great opportunity for hitting hardcore gamers. No one is doing that. With “Mad World” from Platinum Games, we are trying to show that millions of Wii games want to move on to mature games. They don’t have to have an Xbox 360 to do that."

Of course, to some extent the company is responsible for some of that crap (in this writer's opinion, anyway), but hey, times are hard and they've put out enough gaming gold over the years, so I'll give Sega a break.

Earlier in the interview, VB asks Jeffery his thoughts on the trends among big publishers and layoffs. Contrary to what I'd figured was happening, he says "the rich are getting richer, [...] but the poor are getting richer too":

"That makes sense. We are doing well at No. 6. We’re very profitable and doing what we want to do without being forced to fight with Bobby Kotick of Activision Blizzard all of the time. What Bobby is doing is extraordinary in overtaking EA. And staying so profitable. EA has the size and magnitude, but their profits are gone. They have big overhead too. Activision Blizzard is raining money now. The big hits will be bigger, just like in the movie industry. But the movie industry’s independent hits are still thriving and it will be the same in the game industry."

I guess it ain't all hopeless!

New action IP announced by People Can Fly studio in Poland

In the world of gaming things always take wild turns, Epic today announces that they'll be publishing their latest IP not with Midway but through the marketing power of EA on their latest title for the PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Little is really known at this point about the game, given the timing they'll still be using Unreal Engine 3 as a base though and primary development control will be handled through Epic given that the engine is quite versatile in how the original code can be ported to the major platforms with ease. For older FPS gamers one of the biggest things to get hyped around is the idea that People Can Fly are behind the game, the same people that brought the absurdly active killing fields in Painkiller where all you did was make bodies explode or fly through the air with a handful of weapons and it was great fun. Since then the company has been a bit dormant, the last work they did was a partial update for Epic with Gears of War on the PC, apparently it was enough to get Epic on board though to pick up the team.

For gamers this means Epic will currently be under the EA Partners label, they're not selling the company over entirely of course, most of the focus is just on the marketing power and distribution range of EA in the world scope while being able to retain their quality of development and production without heavy pressures to meet ship dates.

Given this is the preliminary announcement I'm sure we'll see more from Epic and People Can Fly in the future on the mystery title. I'm a bit giddy to find out what it is since they spent quite a large amount of time making Painkiller the frag fest that it was.

Plenty of Civ to look forward to

PC gamers who prefer to download their titles are likely familiar with GamersGate. In case not, it's a "leading digital distribution platform", in the vein of other popular services like Steam.

Well, the company has scored a pretty big name for their service: 2K Games, the dudes behind (as publisher and/or developer) the BioShock series, the 2K Sports franchise, Civilization Revolution, and tons more.

As of now, this effectively releases just Sid Meier's Civilization III: Complete and Shattered Union for digital distribution, but others are planned of course, including Sid Meier’s Railroads!, CivCity Rome and Sid Meier’s Pirates! Presumably, BioShock will be made available promptly (it's been on Steam for awhile), as well as the rest of the series in the future. Some 2K Sports titles would be great, too, no?

"2K Games publishes some of the best PC games in the world and we are happy to welcome them to GamersGate,” said Theodore Bergquist, CEO on GamersGate. "This further confirms the position of GamersGate as the leading download portal in the world.”

Overclocking industry wastes no time cranking up the potential.

The HD4870X2 and 4850X2 have made their debut now, and everyone is already pleased to see how far these things are going in the realm of performance, but for those who are struggling to accept the figures presented, CoolIT has gone ahead and launched their new liquid cooling system for the 4870X2 with a current report of a 13.5% increase in clock and a healthy 11% jump in the memory speed.

Right now the current figures report a stable 880MHz GPU and 1GHz GDDR5 report from their samples, of course enthusiasts have their ways of using alternative cooling solutions through these outside of basic water treatment and given that AMD helped co-develop the system it seems like they should have quite a nice starting point for where the sensitive spots are with the X2.

For 3DMark fans they upped their lab score from X7125 at stock to X8148 which is quite a nice leap by them. Personally I can't wait to see what people in the field start doing with these coolers since the initial reports are usually a decent baseline for what to expect without a huge investment into mixtures. As usual with many CoolIT systems, we don't have a pricing figure to give out but their website will have it available to the masses come September. Those looking to invest in it should keep in mind that the cooler is a dual drive bay solution though so some space will need to be available for it.

Multi-platform game in the works involving legendary developers

Video game publishing giant Electronic Arts has announced at its annual summer showcase that through its EA Partners arm that it has agreed to a publishing deal that will involve iconic Japanese developers Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil) and Goichi Suda (Killer7, No More Heroes) in a brand-new horror action game that will hit the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, and Sony PlayStation 3 consoles, along with a version on the PC platform.

Shinji Mikami will be the producer the new title, with Goichi Suda acting as director. Suda's development studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, will be the primary developer. It is also noted in the press release that Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment (Lumines, Meteos) will also be working with Grasshopper on this project.

No title, release date, or media for the game is available at this time.

Guild is asking, "How long is too long?"

Chances are, when a Final Fantasy XI guild situated in Seraph decided to take on a new boss in their MMO of choice, they had no idea their hellish experience would be reported across countless gaming sites.  When Beyond the Limitation, a name that now seems a bit ironic, attempted to tackle Pandemonium Warden earlier this month, they realized they had bitten off more than they could chew.

Forget your six hour Karazhan horror stories because the Square-Enix has created a boss of such epic proportions that it may require an entire day to kill.  In this case, Beyond Limitations spent up to 18 hours (without breaks) chipping away at this boss until they decided to call it quits, later estimating that just another five to six hours would have been enough time to complete the task.

Sylphet of BtL posted complaints in the BG Forums, claiming that members were vomiting by the end of their 18 hour MMO ordeal:

"People were passing out and getting physically ill. We decided to end it before we risked turning into a horrible new story about how video games ruin people’s lives...

We are one of very few LS who have killed AV (not using the wall trick) so we know quite well what is futile and what is not.  None of us doubt that PW can be killed.  We just call into question exactly what the development team thinks is reasonable from human beings."

Another player posted on the forums that the Pandemonium Warden is beatable, perhaps within 10 hours given enough firepower and effort.  Of course, that number is still a few hours too many for most gamers who still require oxygen to live.

With BtL's documented incident in mind, MMO players might start to wonder if game companies really have our welfare their minds when they post warnings like this:

Perhaps Square-Enix gets a kick out of charging money for inducing self-destructive behavior, but anyone who plays regularly MMOs knows that in light of all the publicity surrounding game addiction, companies are tacking disclaimers and warnings on login and loading screens.  Nevermind whether or not gamers heed the advice -- what of the developers themselves?

PC strategy game coming this February

The first gameplay footage for Creative Assembly's Empire: Total War came out today, showing naval combat. The video looks really promising -- there has not been many games featuring naval combat from this era ( Pirates! comes to mind) in this much detail. Your A.I crew will board enemy vessels, get blasted out of crows' nests, and fire many the barrage of grape shot at enemy ships.

Besides naval warfare, this fifth game in the turned based and real-time combat themed historical strategy series Total War gains a number of new features, including a series-first 'tech-tree' and gains made in the regular departments, like graphics and AI. The diplomacy model for the game is also seeing an enhancement. Creative Assembly promises that your enemies will be a bit craftier this time around.

Empire: Total War takes place in the 18th century. Back then, revolution, international trade and colonizing foreign countries was all the rage in Europe, while the rebellious Founding Fathers were just getting the ball rolling on the whole United States of America thing here in North America. Like all centuries, there was a bunch of wars going on -- definitely enough to base a strategy game on. 

Previous entries in the Total War series include Shogun: Total War, Medieval: Total War, Rome: Total War, and Medieval II: Total War.

Empire: Total War is coming in the first week of February.

Now your 360 really can look like a PC; manufacturer claims aftermarket 360 case will improve cooling and reduce noise during operation

In the world of PC hardware, a PC case chosen with your desired hardware components in mind actually goes a long way thanks to improved convenience, cooling, and possibly noise reduction. Lian Li, one of the better known computer cases manufacturers, looks to bring these considerations to the world of console hardware with its first "chassis replacement" for Microsoft's Xbox 360. The newly launched PC-XB01 case supports the Xbox 360's internal hardware components, and is designed to address "heating issues from hot components", and dampens vibrations from the 360's optical drives (including the hard drive and DVD-ROM) for quieter performance.  Lian Li previously revealed the PC-XB01 at CeBIT 2008 in this past March.

At first glance, the PC-XB01 looks more like a PC case than a "chassis replacement" for the Xbox 360. Like many of its top-of-the-line PC cases, Lian Li's PC-XB01 is made from brushed, light-weight aluminum with rounded corners. The third-party 360 case measures 160 x 250 x 415 mm (W x D x H), and features a silent 120 mm exhaust fan for cooling. By comparison the current 360 console measures 309 x 83 x 258 mm depending on orientation and has two 60 mm cooling fans. Lian Li must have researched the 360 well, as the PC-XB01 will support the different hardware configurations of the console, including the "Elite" model featuring the HDMI output. It even supports water cooling installations if you really want to keep the components cool.  It doesn't feature a built-in proprietary power supply, so it will still rely on the 360's external power adapter.

Considering that early hardware iterations of the Xbox 360 were unfortunately notable for their overheating issues and failure rates leading to what is largely known as the "Red Ring of Death" (RROD), the PC-XB01 appears sound in execution. However, cracking open the existing hardware to move internal components to the aftermarket chassis voids the warranty on the console. With the chance of RROD still possible on various models of 360 hardware, the prospect of voiding your console's warranty for potentially better thermal performance is a rather risky one at this point in the game.  Remember that the manufacturer's warranty is your ticket to product service and replacement.

The Lian Li PC-XB01 is the perfect complement to the Xbox 360 to alleviate heating issues. The stylish exterior gives your product a sense of class and will fit in with almost any living room environment. Microsoft Inc is very strict on warranties, so it should be noted that you will not be able to return your product if you use the Lian Li PC-XB01 alternative. With that being said, you are less likely to have overheating.

The PC-XB01 is currently priced at $149 USD.  Make no mistake, the PC-XB01 appears to be geared to a select portion of the 360 userbase who have no fear in taking apart consoles for the sheer heck of it.  Unlike other forms of console... modding, you won't need a solder iron for installation, but you'll still need to have some Torx series screwdrivers which PC buffs will be more familiar with.  No tool-free installation?!?

Will Microsoft have something official to say in response to this aftermarket case?

Growth attributed to video game industry's success

Future Publishing has released details on the ABC audit of its print magazines, which show a strong increase in its video game publications. 

9 out of 17 magazines in the audit were from its game magazine porfolio, with the official Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation magazines being of notable mention.  The Official Nintendo Magazine saw a year-on-year rise of 27.6 percent, coming up to 61,159 sales per month.  The Official XBOX Magazine, also known as OXM, went up up 2.2 percent and hit 67,097 copies a month.  Lastly, the Official PlayStation Magazine went up 12 percent, to 51,533 per month.

On a year-on-year basis, Future's own PSM3 and PSW magazines were up 29.5 percent and 33.7 percent, respectively.  Nintendo magazine N-Gamer saw an increase of 19 percent, selling 20,290 per month.

Along with print publication statistics, the audit also mentioned a growth of 35 percent for GamesRadar.com (the folks who never run out of Top 10 lists to write about) in the GamesRadar Network of websites, with 7.3 million unique users.  There were no specifics on how these numbers break down by region or website, so they're mostly general figures.

Games publishing director James Binns told GamesIndustry.biz that the increasing popularity of gaming magazines, which goes against current trend of a decline of printed publications like other magazines and newspapers, is based on reader interest in more specific subjects.  Binn goes on to further explain the reasoning behind the usual success of video game publications:

"If you look in the men's market, pretty much all the men's lifestyle titles are down.  The men's mags that have done well are the ones that are very, very focused on an individual audience, like Men's Health, which is one of the only ones that has gone up.  So in the same way that specialist media targeting other males has done fine, videogame mags have done fine as well. What people don't want is general interest stuff... 

We're a dynamic market... we're meant to be able to go up, we're meant to be able to grow our numbers right now. What's nice is that we actually are, because there's nothing automatic about it because our audience is dead web savvy as well."

He also attributes increased sales to the overall growth of the gaming industry.  While most printed media might worry over making a transition to the internet in order to keep up, Binn doesn't seem at all worried by competition from gaming websites:

"Websites are so good at first access content. You've really got to play to the strengths of the media... If you want to know about a great game first, probably, the web's the best place to go... [but] our readers have always said in surveys that the main reason they buy us for is for reviews - reading a review in print is still quite nice and print has such a legacy of respect which is one of the reasons we keep coming back."

More cpu goodness...

Digitimes reports on some upcoming Intel moves:

New CPU's:

• $244 Q8200, 45nm quad core, 2.33GHz
• $84 E5200, 2.5GHz
• $53 Celeron 450, 2.2GHz (Conroe-L based)

October price cuts:

• Q8200 drops from $224 to $203
• Q6600 drops from $193 to $183
• E7300 drops from $133 to $113
• E2220 drops from $84 to $74
• E2200 drops from $74 to $64

Nehalem (Core i7) launches:

• 3.2GHz @ $999
• 2.93GHz @ $562
• 2.66GHz @ $284

All prices are said to be in 1000 piece tray quantities.

Details on the "original twisted fantasy action adventure" sequel and "extensions"

Triumph Studios released Overlord for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 last year, and they haven't been wasting any time: a sequel is already planned for 2009. The PC edition fared especially well in reviews, with journalists citing its refreshing qualities and approach (i.e morbid sense of humour) as high points. Judging by the promo screenshots shown here, we'll have plenty more of that to look forward to.

Overlord II is planned for the Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, and will also have "extensions" for the Wii (Overlord Dark Legend) and DS (Overlord Minions).

Publisher Codemasters says the original (well, sort of, there was another title for the NES) did well enough that they can put these games out, and excitedly:

“As a million-plus seller Overlord is now a significant brand in the ever-growing Codemasters portfolio,” says Barry Jafrato, Senior Vice President of Brand, Codemasters. “With specific titles published across major formats and download content available, Overlord has established a huge cult following and won widespread critical acclaim. We’re delighted to have the despot back for this three-game, five-format product line. With Triumph’s hugely impressive vision for Overlord II and bespoke titles for Wii and Nintendo DS, Overlord is set to dominate in 2009.”

Triumph, meanwhile, spoke about all the wonderful new features planned:

“Epic battles, all new Minion play mechanics, a stunningly detailed new visuals and a fresh theme – Overlord II’s really packing a punch,” says Lennart Sas, director and Overlord lead at Triumph Studios. “We’re really excited about shifting the world to a new era where a Roman-inspired Empire rises as the arch-enemy of the Overlord, which leads to an epic clash between the regimented forces of a sprawling state and the faster, harder, more manic minion horde. It’s also great to see the series reaching new formats. The creativity being packed into the design for Overlord Dark Legend on Wii and Overlord Minions on Nintendo DS make great use of the platforms’ unique features and are perfect extensions to the Overlord series.”

Read below for an overview of each of the titles, courtesy of the respective studios.

 OVERLORD™II
• PLAYSTATION®3 system, Xbox 360, Games For Windows.

Overlord™II is the sequel to the hit warped fantasy action adventure that had players being delightfully despotic. In Overlord II, a new Overlord and a more powerful army of Minions take on an entire empire in a truly epic adventure, inspired by the rise of the Roman Empire. As the Glorious Empire conquers kingdoms and destroys any sign of magic it finds, it’s time to go Minion Maximus and send in the horde.

The Minions return smarter, deadlier (and funnier) and are ready to fight in large scale battles that will see their wild pack mentality squaring up to the organised legions of the Glorious Empire. As ever, they’ll do anything and everything the Overlord commands of them, especially now that they can run ravage and wreck buildings and scenery. They’ve also learn to ride: In Overlord II Minions will be able to mount up and ride wolves and other magical creatures around the landscape and take them into battle, making our band of merry fighters faster and fiercer than ever before. Coming in 2009, Overlord II is now in development at Triumph Studios in Delft, the Netherlands, for the PLAYSTATION®3 system, Xbox 360 and Games For Windows.

OVERLORD™ DARK LEGEND.
• Wii™

Designed and developed exclusively for Wii, Overlord Dark Legend is a brand new action adventure steeped in fairy tale lore with sinister, satirical twists. Set in a time before the original game, players take the role of a new young Overlord. As he revels in command of the Minions, our trainee tyrant will be able to take his growing pains out on the local fairy tale inhabitants as he protects his castle and lands.

Connecting players to the game world in three dimensions, the use of the Wii Remote gives unprecedented control over the minions. For example, individual Minions can be plucked from the horde, held by the neck and then, by vigorously shaking the Wii Remote, throttled to imbue him with some Overlordly power and turn him into a manic minion missile. With a now-explosive body, the insane little critter can be guided into enemies with hilarious, if rather fatal, consequences.

Backed by a rich, tongue-in-cheek story from award-winning games author Rhianna Pratchett, the game features Overlord favourites including Halflings, trolls, elves, and dwarves and introduces wicked witches, gingerbread men and Lil’ Red Riding Hood, the seeming sweet girl with a very personal lupine secret. Coming in 2009, Overlord Dark Legend is now in development at Climax Studios, exclusively for Wii.

Meet Giblet, Blaze, Stench, and Zap – an elite Minion crew who, assisted by minion master Gnarl, get star billing in Overlord Minions, an irresistible and accessible puzzle action game, designed exclusively for Nintendo DS. In Overlord Minions, the Overlord commands the Minion team remotely. The Nintendo DS stylus becomes an extension of his evil will and every precise Touch Screen command is the player-as-Overlord directing, commanding and combining minions in battle, pointing and sweeping them to attack enemies and solving puzzles to execute his dastardly plans.

Controlling the Special Farces team of four, players negotiate fiendish levels and take on a huge range of warped enemies to hunt down the Kindred, a cult dedicated to resurrecting the mighty Dragon Kin, a race of humanoid dragon hybrids, determined to replace the Overlord’s despotism with their own. Extending the Overlord series’ trademark humour, gameplay focuses on the mischievous physical comedy of the minion’s antics and is delivered in a stylised cartoon visual style. Scheduled for release in 2009, Overlord Minions is now in development at Climax Studios exclusively for Nintendo DS.

With a rousing cry of “Veni, Vidi, Vici per Minions”, prepare to face the Glorious Empire in Overlord II and the rather grim fairy tales of Overlord Dark Legend and Overlord Minions when the terrific tyrant returns in 2009.

Bosses arrive locked and loaded

Mega Man 9 has been hitting the news quite a bit lately, from achievements to demo videos to just basic other news about the handling and so on. But today we get to talk about the fun part, the bosses and what cool things you can beat them down for in game this round in MM9. As all teasers go, we're only being given 3 of the bosses info right now to share

Here's the list from Capcom:

Concrete Man:
Created to construct a dam, Concrete man can actually design a dam and supervise its entire construction. He has stubborn a stubborn personality and will tell off any lazy robots.

Weapon: Concrete Shot
Concrete shot creates a temporary foothold as soon as it touches the ground. It can also be used to stop enemies in their tracks.

Tornado Man:
Works for the Weather Manipulation Office to help control and stop the formation of large storms all over the world.

Weapon: Tornado Blow
Tornado Blow launches a huge tornado that covers the entire game area. Heavy enemies will take damage, but lighter ones will be blown entirely off-screen.

Magma Man:
Magma Man serves as the safety control robot at a large geothermal power plant. He is able to work in incredibly hot environments and loves to visit hot spas.

Weapon: Magma Bazooka
Magma Bazooka shoots a cluster of fireballs that spread out after launching. It can also be charged by holding down the shot button.

The game is still progressing on track right now and from past play experience it raises the bar on challenges compared to previous titles especially those on the DS.  For now we'll leave you with some screen shots and I'll be putting the new concept art for the characters into the Mega Man 9 Concept Art section.

Even though the moves seem painfully similar to those we've seen in prior versions it still seems to be worth a play, Tornado Man and Air Man, Heat Man and Magma Man, and Concrete Man reminds me of a character from the original Mega Man.

A bit of good news

The Inq reports that the spat over USB 3.0 specifications is over.

Apparently Intel has decided to release the new "Extensible Host Controller Interface" specifications, something that AMD and other chipset manufacturers were calling for, without waiting for six months to give itself a lead - which would have led to the development of a competing probably incompatible standard.

It is suspected that there were a lot of late night negotiation sessions to bring this about.

xHCI v0.9 is apparently now available from the USB3.0 Promoter Group under a RAND-Z royalty free licensing scheme, with v0.95 of the spec expected to be released in Q4.

With 5Gbps of bandwidth USB3.0 will be faster than eSATA!