New Wolfenstein Features Otherworld

What's this? A new Wolfenstein game? Yeah, apparently I didn't get the memo. Activision brought the game, simply titled Wolfenstein, along to their press event in NYC last night and showed off the latest build.

I was a bit disappointed to find out this was not a hands-on preview. An Activision rep played through the first couple levels of the game for a group of us, showing off some of the new abilities and weapons.

The story is a bit convoluted. It takes place in a fictional German city called Isenstadt. Even the rep on hand had some trouble explaining it to me, but it involves ancient amulets and crystals. But I know you don't care about that stuff. You just want to shoot Nazis, right?

One of the biggest included abilities is the "Veil" feature, which enables you to enter into this "otherworld." When using it, the entire environment turns a darkish blue and grants you new, special powers. The ability opens up new hidden passageways, bullet time, and even highlights weak points found on the stronger enemies. It's not unlike the feral ability found in Far Cry Instincts. Basically, it makes the game way easier than it should.

Also, NPC's play a big part of this version. They're there mainly to add more storytelling elements, like something found in Half-Life. The demo was mainly focused on combat, so I was unable to find out how similar this was.

Graphically the game looks pretty good. Although, after seeing the war zone atmosphere found in Killzone 2, this doesn't come close. There was a surprising amount of destructible environments; mostly the cover (such as tables and wooden structures) so it seems you may have difficulty hiding.

I didn't see too many new weapons, but I did see one called the Particle Cannon, which zaps enemies to ashes immediately. You can bring down groups of Nazis in the blink of an eye.

We were shown one mid-boss sequence where this super Nazi soldier wearing steel armor that shoots laser beams chases you. Using the "veil" power revealed his two weak points and he was brought down rather easily.

I honestly had no idea this game was being made two days ago. I must have missed the E3 announcement last year.

The game has no official release yet, but I would look out for it this year for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

How to Fix Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death

 

Trying to fix Xbox 360 red ring of death can be difficult and frustrating. Especially when you’re not sure what caused the red rings to come on. So, what I’m going to do is share with you some tips on how to fix Xbox 360 red ring of death.

That way, you’ll be able to get back to playing your games without having to worry about the rings showing up again.

The tips on fixing the red ring of death are:

1. The first way to fix the red lights on your game system is to send it back to Microsoft. They will repair it for free if your Xbox is still under warranty. If your console isn’t under warranty anymore, Microsoft will charge you over $100 to fix it.

2. The next tip on how to fix Xbox 360 red ring of death is to deal with the over heating of your game system. This happens because your Xbox doesn’t have an effective cooling system. It’s one of the reasons why the RROD happened. Xbox 360 cooling System

3. The best way to fix the problem is to repair the red lights yourself. It’s easy and simple to do. You will need the Xbox 360 repair guide, some household tools, and less than an hour.

These are some of the tips on how to fix Xbox 360 red ring of death. If you are going to repair the problem yourself.

Tools:
Xbox 360 cooling System

Xbox 360 repair guide

How to Put Music on a PSP

If you would like to put music or images on a PSP, you must first connect your PSP to your computer through a USB connection, Most camera USB’s work well with the PSP, you just have to find one that fits.

Once you connect the PSP to your computer, turn on your PSP, and go to the far left on your PSP, and look for “USB Connection” hit x, your psp should say “USB MODE” now your computer should manually pick up the new hardware and give you a list of program to run with it, just hit “Cancel”

Now, i am assuming you have Windows XP, so, this part may vary a little, now go to the “Start” button at the bottem left, then open up “My Computer” There should be a couple diferent things in here, so look for something that says something like “Removable Disc” and open it up, when you open it up, there should be a folder called “PSP” if you dont see it, its the wrong thing and try another.

Once in the folder called “PSP” inside that, there should be a folder called “SAVEDATA” dont click inside “SAVEDATA” just stay in the PSP folder, now right click, and hit “NEW” then “NEW FOLDER” , once you have made a new folder, name it “PHOTO” or “MUSIC” , depending on what you would like to put on your psp, or you can just make both.

Now, get the photos you want on your psp, and click and drag them on your “PHOTO” folder, Same applies to music,

Now once everything is put in those folders, you can just exit that box, and look at the bottem right, where te time is listed, there should be a little thing with a green arrow, double click that, and then click “stop” and now it should say you can safely remove the new hardware.

Now on your psp, hit circle, and go to the Music/Photo thing, and check if you see what you installed on it is there.

If not, it is most likely because the format of the music or image are not correct.

The most common form of music you should put on your PSP, is MP3 Format, which you can transfer CD’s, to MP3′s using MusicMatch JukeBox using the recorder tool. And I beileve the only form of Pictures you can have are JPEGS, which you can to change, just google it.

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix Review

D3’s Dorks, Dealers and Double-Ds event made much of Galactrix, even if they did designate it as the “dork” portion of the evening.

Two PCs and four DS stations were set up for gamers to go head-to-head in multiplayer or take a stab at story mode.

The PC demo had already dropped earlier that day, so I went straight to the DS and loaded up story mode. I’m not sure how I feel about the “two-faced bad guy calling himself a god” plot, but the cut scenes were at least rendered decently on the DS – and I didn’t even have to strain to read the text.

The way Galactrix works is like an adventure game where you go around the galaxy completing quests for different factions. Of course each “quest” is really a game of Bejeweled, just like Challenge of the Warlords. What’s different here is that the board is a funky hexagon shape and pieces fall in the direction you move a gem. It’s not like Hexic – where you can score by connecting a cluster of gems from any side – because you’re still trying to make linear strings of gems.

This adds a whole degree of difficulty to the game because the board is bigger and the gems don’t fall straight down. Among other things, this means four of a kind doesn’t cut it for a free turn anymore – you need five of a kind – and it’s way harder to get crazy XP-earning chains called Novas or Supernovas. It also means things can go way wrong or incredibly well very quickly.

For example, I won one battle with two moves. The first was to connect four mines together to deliver a blow to the opponent (like connecting skulls in Warlords, having four of a kind awards an additional damage bonus to to the base multiplier). As it happened, the mines had all gained multipliers by sitting on the board for a turn – jumping from one damage point to three. So I did a much larger amount of damage than I expected, taking out the enemy’s shield in just that first move.



Shields are a big deal in Galactrix. The shield is a separate health bar that can be replenished by connecting blue games. Having a shield up even when you’re down to single-digit hit points can save you from some of the worst attacks in the game – up to and including cheap shots from the computer where five of a kind mines drop randomly.

Which is exactly what happened on my next turn. The AI tried to shore up its shields by using a Shield Matrix “item” (read: spell) to generate a few points worth of protection and then connected some blue gems for a little more. Then it was my go and I swapped a red gem leftwards for a three of a kind that turned into first a Nova chain – where you generate a x2 multiplier for all the gems you collected – and then into a Supernova chain which actually got me an extra turn and an x3 multiplier.*

*If you look at that screen, the Nova seems to say “extra turn awarded” – but I’m pretty sure that’s just for the five of a kind and not for the Nova. Every time I scored Nova I was not awarded an extra turn.

This long chain spawned like several three of a kind mine connections and dropped a five of a kind, which totally destroyed my opponent’s remaining shields and his hit points. I left the battle with some acquired cargo (used in crafting), a minus 10 faction score for the guys I’d just pwned and the sincere hope that the game is still being tweaked for balance. I can't imagine how high my blood pressure would be if that kind of thing kept happening to me instead of the AI.

I messed around a little more on the DS, noting how hard it is to catch up with some of those ships using the stylus. I’m to understand that plenty of battles come from just clicking on planets and selecting the “Fight the pirates” option, but if you actually want to run down a ship cruising the galaxy, you need to build yourself a fast engine or figure out how to intercept them on their flight pattern.



At last I was ready for the PC multiplayer. I’d been avoiding it because Carolyn Gudmundson over at GamesRadar was dominating the table and she eats Puzzle Quest for breakfast. But, lucky me, she decided she’d be on my side and coach me through two battles against another games journalist. I won the first one in a pretty evenly matched battle. That second one was going well until the other guy figured out how to use the Dark Laser – a.k.a. cheapest item in the game.

I don’t have much else to say for the multiplayer besides I think it’s strange that I can see what gem my opponent has selected before he’s moved it. Doesn’t that take some of the fun away, if I have an idea of what he’s going to do before he does it?

The DS version of Puzzle Quest: Galactrix ships February 24. The PC demo is out now and – like all the other platform releases – is slated for a “Spring 2009” ship date.

Hundreds Of Players Banned In Final Fantasy XI

From the folks who brought you the 18 hour boss fight, comes this: mass bannings! Square Enix has nixed a large number of players from online game Final Fantasy XI.

According to Square Enix, the company "discovered an issue that allowed players to create multiple items for certain treasures and rewards in areas such as Salvage and Assault by exploiting the game system."

This "issue" was apparently a bug — and a bug that many players had long known about before Square Enix handled.

During an emergency maintenance on November 26, 2008, Square Enix fixed this "issue" and discovered that players had already taken advantage of it before, in Square Enix's words, "it was addressed."

The company investigated a year's worth of logs throughout all areas of the games and then put the game's terms of use to, err, use.

"As a result of the investigation, approximately 400 players were temporarily suspended based on evidence gathered," Square Enix stated. "Approximately 550 players who committed more serious misconduct had their accounts banned."

Word has it that many of the damned and banned were long time FFXI players — perma banned, apparently.

IM-17 [BLUEGARTRLS Thanks, Josh!]

Skate 2 Review

The first time I popped open my copy of Skate 2, I knew I was in for a different kind of skating game. Not only are you able to get a crash course in boarding trickery at the local skate park, but you can also roam free around the city of New San Vanelona - jumping curbs, popping ollies, accepting challenges and running from the police Burnout Paradise style. I later found that Skate 2 kept me entertained, but at times it would make me oh-so-frustrated.

Skate 2 starts with you getting released from prison. Your friend Al picks you up and immediately takes you to Slappy's skate park to reclaim your place at the top of the skateboarding food chain. If you played the first installment of Skate (I didn't), you'll find that your city has been taken over and "rebuilt" by a mega-corporation and all your old favorite skating spots have been deemed useless. Plus, the police take skateboarding seriously and if you're caught skating on public property, you might get pinched if you aren't quick.

There are many things I liked about Skate 2, and some things that had me cursing the skating gods. To see what I mean, read more.

In Skate 2's career mode, you are climbing your way back to being the best skater in San Vanelona and reclaiming the city for your comrades. Doing so involves taking on different challenges from other skaters, racking up high scoring tricks, and participating in magazine photo shoots. All of this is easy peasy if you get the moves down. And that's a big if.



So when I tell you that learning the tricks in the game can be frustrating, it's only because I was sloppy at my timing or my control combos. It's funny cause I've seen kids around my old neighborhood doing these exact tricks, so I feel like it should be easy, but it's not. Just like in real life, if you aren't popping your board at the right second, you fail. You either land (hard) on your rear, or you just simply jump off your deck. But once you get it, it's really, really fun. Plus, there's a cool feature in Skate 2 that allows you to mark the beginning of your trick so that if you fail (which will probably be often), you can go back to that spot and try, try again.



Exploring the city is awesome since almost anything you see is "skateable", and you can engage in different challenges along the way to increase your score. You are also super strong (must have been all those gym hours in the Big House) and can move almost any object with ease to make your own little skating heaven anywhere you find a spot. But watch out for the police - those dudes are everywhere. Overall, Skate 2 is entertaining, engaging, and addictive. Even at my most frustrated times, I just wanted to keep going so that I could learn just one more trick. Although I could do without the citizens of San Vanelona getting in my way when I'm trying to race (Hello? I'm trying to race here), but I suppose that is how it would be if I were a real life skating bad ass, which will probably never happen.

Skate 2 is available today on your XBox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles.

Source

Nintendo sets US sales records in 2008

While 2008 saw investments wiped out, institutions falter, and record job losses, the house that Mario built chugged its way back into the record books. According to NPD Group statistics, Nintendo sold a record 10.17 million Wii consoles to US Americans in 2008. That trumps Nintendo's own record of 9.95 million consoles sold in the relatively healthy 2007 economic climate. Nintendo added to its money pile by hawking 9.95 million DS handhelds for the year compared to the 8.52 million sold in 2007. Those tallies represent 55% of all consoles and 72% of all handheld consoles sold in the US. Daaaamn.

P.S. Want to see what Nintendo's 2008 dominance looks like in the form of a pie chart? Check the amazing graphic after the break.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

Sony refuses PlayStation brand for PSP Phone?

We've been following PSP Phone rumors since 2006, forever on a tech timeline. A plausible device given the natural evolution of mobile gaming and Sony's proven desire to cross-license its Bravia and Cyber-shot brands for use on other Sony Ericsson phones. Not so fast buster. Mobile Today (citing "several sources close to the matter") is reporting that Sony Ericsson has been refused the use of the PlayStation brand by Sony Corp. after pitching the business case in December. A spokesperson for Sony Ericsson wouldn't comment directly on the matter but did say, "In the past, we have been keen that our product proposition lives up to brand promise, and we feel at the moment the technical specs are not high enough to put such a prestigious brand on a phone." With Sony Ericsson posting a massive $346 million dollar loss today compared to the $95 million expected, well, maybe Sony's wisdom shouldn't be questioned. Then again, Sony's not doing much better.

[Thanks, Matthew A.]

Read -- Sony refuses to license PlayStation brand Read -- Sony Ericsson slips into the red

Space Invaders piggy bank

Savings is always a good thing, especially when its done Space Invaders style and that too with the help of the Japanese. Takara Tomy is responsible for this retro version of the classic tabletop Space Invaders game. It's the best type of piggy bank ever. One of its best feature is that it is very similar to the original in looks and has an LCD screen that acts as coin counter. It takes only about 100 yens ($1) to light up the screen and add an invader to the tally. You have to empty out the machine after 80 coins and start over. Can you think of a better way to save some loose change in these crunch times? I certainly can't!



Source

Game Addict Swallows Saw Blades to Commit Suicide

A 23-year-old Beijing game addict was rushed to a hospital after swallowing five pieces of saw blades in an attempt to commit suicide, the Beijing Legal Times reports.

The man "kept talking incoherently about how to win his favorite computer games, even after being sent to a Beijing hospital ICU" on Sunday.

According to the report the man has been addicted to computer games since early in junior high school, but his condition worsened recently.

I wonder if there is something about the culture or politics of China that seems to make people more pre-disposed to game addiction there, or at least makes the results more extreme.

It could be an issue of the media in China writing more about the issue because it's become very high profile recently, but even if that were the case, I still think it's worse there than in other parts of the world.

Computer Game Addict Swallows Saw Blades [China Daily]

« Previous Page — Next Page »