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Video of a Nintendo Wii Controlled ‘Smart home’. This is really cool, I wish I could control my house like this…

How cool was that!

I recently caught an interesting clip on Youtube of Forbes talking to Johnathan “Fatality” Wendel who is a professional video gamer and discussing what it takes to get into the business. Its not all its cracked up to be, and much more harder of a job than people realize.

You can see more video clips of Johnathan Wendel at Youtube. This guy is really something.

The Sudoku craze just seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Everyday I’m sitting on the train to and from classes at uni and I’m always seeing people working on Sudoku puzzles in newspapers, puzzle books, magazines, etc. Now you can scrap the boring paper based game and get your hands on Zendoku for the Nintendo DS.

Zendoku is essentially a classic Sudoku game, but with a huge action-packed twist.

“In Zendoku, players must use the controls to attack or defend against a challenger, or race against the clock, while completing one of the game’s puzzle permutations.” source: ign.com - Zendoku comes to PSP and DS

Publisher Eidos Interactive (Hitman, Tomb Raider series’) and developer Zoonami Ltd have announced that the game will be scheduled to launch on the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS/lite handheld consoles with a sole focus on fun and innovation. The game idea reminds me a lot of Tetris DS’ Mission mode where you race against your slowly depleting health meter to complete as many missions as possible.

This game really sounds like a lot of fun, taking a classic pen and paper game to a whole new level adding an action element to the game to not only challenge your brain, but also your attacking skill also.

This game sounds really interesting and will be excited to see what the final product looks like and how it plays.

Release Date: No official release date for Zendoku has been announced. (estimate: Q2 2007)
 

The hugely popular MMORPG title World of Warcraft came out in 2004 and since then has started a huge pop-culture fascination with the genre and online gaming in general. More and more people are being lured into the game when they have not necessarily been hugely into games in the first place. There’s something about this game that even non-geeks get attracted to and after almost 3 years of staying clear of the sensation, I caved and went out last weekend and bought World of Warcraft.

Its not like I haven’t liked the idea of the game since it came out, I just knew that if I started playing this game, that I would never want to finish playing it, and my entire life as I knew it would be lost, lost to the world of Azeroth. I would no longer call myself an average 20-something year old guy WITH A LIFE; no, all I’d be interested in would be when the next time I would gain an extra level, and where the hell I could find a way to increase my mana lol.

So as I said, I went out last weekend and picked up a copy of the game. I have installed it on my PC but have yet to set up my account and start playing. I only have three weeks to go until my semester is over for uni, then I have all of November of exams which I should be studying for I suppose, and not playing WOW all of that time. So, I think I’m being quite good and holding off of my huge temptation to start playing right now.

I haven’t started playing yet, end of November I think I’ll start. I want to start playing with all the time I have in the world, I don’t wanna have any huge school committments in the way when I start, but since I bought it, I have been thinking about what character im going to start playing as when I do start playing.

I’ve been thinking of either:

• Human Paladin
• Night-Elf Druid
• Tauren Warrior

If any of you guys play World of Warcraft and have any good suggestions on which race and class to start playing as, I’d love to hear your comments, you know where to leave them :).

Wii Price & Release Date Details:

 Nintendo fans worldwide finally have something to hang on the millions of playstation fanboys…Nintendo fans beloved next gen console will be hitting stores in North & South America Novemeber 19th with the rest of the world (including Australia & New Zealand) getting the Wii in stores BEFORE the christmas holidays. The console will retail for USD$250 and will (apparently) be shipping with the following items in 1 pack (no basic and platinum packs here xbox fans):

• Nintendo Wii Console
• 1x Wii remote
• 1x Wii nunchuck attachement
• AC Adapter
• A/V cables
• 1x sensor bar (what this is exactly im still not sure, Roberto…help me out with that one!)
• 1 x sensor bar stand
• Wii console stand
• 2x batteries

The US package of the Nintendo Wii will also include a copy of Wii Sports which is a compilation of sports games designed specifically with the wii in mind such as basketball, baseball and tennis all controllable with the new wii remote.

Right as of this moment, im not 100% sure if all us in here in Australia will be getting the same (or similar) deal with Wii Sports, but its looking pretty promising I would imagine.

Wii Virtual Console Download Service:

When the Nintendo Wii launches, it is expected that there will be 30 games from a range of consoles avaliable for download off this service online including games from the Zelda, Mario & Donkey Kong franchises, along with a wide assortment of games from the NES, SNES & N64 consoles which shall be fun. The only downside that i’ve seen is that the cost of each download of a game from this service seems pretty hefty. Virtual console games will cost anywhere between $5 and $10 dollars to download…obvioulsy being cheaper to download games from the NES console than the Nintendo 64.

I so can’t wait until the Nintendo Wii arrives on Australian shores by the year’s end. I will definately be picking 1 up before the year is through and a copy of Zelda: Twighlight Princess for starters amongst many others. Just the whole idea of their new controller is so interesting and different, plus the awesome price point will no doubt lure otherwise uninterested non-nintendo fans to perhaps go out and grab one, cant wait!

“Some news slipped out during the Leipzig convention in Germany that Crytek senior game designer Bernd Diemer said their upcoming first-person shooter Crysis was too über for the next-generation consoles — the 360 and PlayStation 3 specifically.” He cited lack of DX10 as a primary reason.

I’ve seen heaps of footage from this year’s E3 Expo when Crytek were showing off Crysis on PC’s and even then, it didn’t run the best. Granted, computer technology will most likely be more up to date when the game releases and shoud run better on the PC platform, It would be interesting to see if this game will EVER run on the PS3 or 360.

read more | digg story

Microsoft released the XBOX 360 console in the US and Japan for the christmas holidays of 2005, later releasing the consol here in Australia 3 months later on March 2nd, 2006. With the entry of Microsoft’s next-gen console into the the marketplace and in the hands of cunning gamers, the video game industry has switched gears from the previous generation (Playstation 2, Gamecube, XBOX) into a whole new domain, both technically and as far as marketing is concerned.

The XBOX 360 has been out for around 6 months (give or take) now and has firmly set itself up for a great haul this gen, beating arch rivals Nintendo and Sony out of the gate. This huge jump on the competition can only be good for Microsoft, who did wow audiences last generation with their very first console the XBOX to hit stores. I believe microsoft have learned a great deal from the past with Sony (their biggest competitor) getting their console out first, and inveitably winning the generation based on console popularity.

When Sony’s Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii release closer to the end of this year (november & october respectively), the XBOX 360 will have had just about an entire year head start. We will see if this head start really makes a difference when popularity comes into the equation.

Out of the 3 next generation contenders, the Sony Playstation 3 will be the most expensive with its base version expected to retail for around AUD$800~ (i think) and the ‘platinum’ pack for just over AUD$1,000~. The Nintendo Wii is expected to blow its rivals out of the water as far as pricepoint is concerned expected to retail for around AUD$350~. Why is the Wii so much cheaper than the PS3 or 360 you ask?

Well, there have been many people asking whether the Wii is a true next-gen console. While it is releasing with the PS3 under the guise of ‘next-gen’, the hardware specs don’t even come close to matching the raw power of the PS3 or 360. The counter argument then is well, there is no HD support on the Wii, and the CPU is roughly 3x slower than its competition but Nintendo have always been known for their innovation and creativity and they have definately delieverd on that. If you have seen the new Nintendo Wii controller, it is really something. I have watched countless E3 tech demos of various titles for the Wii and it really looks like the idea of the controller works. I’ll just have to see it in person when it launches in October.

I remember last generation when the Playstation 2 was the first console to release (sorry Sega, the dreamcast doesn’t cut it) for the new generation and there definately was some hype, but definately nowhere near as much as there is right now.

Whenever a new console comes out in any generation, marketing of that console and getting it out there and known amonst the public has always been a challenge, but something that really needs to be done. Last gen Sega failed to do this and look what happened to them. Right now, 6 months before either Nintendo’s or Sony’s new consoles release, there are already advertisements on television, print media and of course the internet.

This new generation is proving to be the biggest yet and will be interesting to see exactly how good each of these new consoles will be. I myself was really into getting a PS3, but not exactly sure right now with the huge pricepoint it is expected to sell for. You could pick up an XBOX 360 and a Wii for the same price as a PS3. It will be hard to justify forking out $1,000 for a PS3 when all the titles for at least the first year will be cross-platform titles anyway, with the bulk of the really good exclusives (Gran Turismo & Metal Gear Solid 4 just to name a few) at least another year after that.

Besides, XBOX 360 right now has a few games im interested in such as Fight Night Round 3 and soon to come Gears of War which looks amazing. Knowing me, i’ll be getting a 360 and quite possibly a Wii.

As a loyal Sony fan for many years, it is my time to say goodbye to the Playstation. It appears they are trying to aim for something and develop a console the masses just won’t be looking for. For quick fun and awesome gameplay, go get yourself a Wii and for the nice pretty graphics and im sure some AAA games, go for a 360. You won’t be sorry.

Just my opinion anyway on this next gen, figured i’d do something different for a change and write an opinion piece, that’s what blogging is all about right!

“Video games have often been portrayed as violence-ridden vehicles for teen angst. But after 10 people in South Korea died last year from game-addiction causes, including one man who collapsed in an Internet cafe after playing an online game for 50 hours with few breaks, some began to see a new technological threat.”

This article written in the Washington Post takes a very detailed and interesting look at some highly popular video games which ’seem’ to be stealing people’s lives away from them. One of the most popular MMORPG’s on the PC ‘World of Warcraft’ is a huge culprit draining countless hours of otherwise productive time from the millions of otherwise sociable gamers.

Take a look at the article “Lost in an Online Fantasy World” by Olga Khazan on the Washington post website. It is a very interesting read.

Personally, I have known so many people who just loves games such as World of Warcraft, Dungeon’s and Dragons Online, StarWars Galaxies, EverQuest, etc which just seem to steal people away from their friends and family.

I’d love to start playing a few of these games, but I know that if I ever do, I’ll be totally sucked in just like so many others have been and totally loose my very fulfilling social life.

Take a look, read through the article and enjoy.

Sierra Entertainment has made the multiplayer component from the award winning PC title F.E.A.R (First Encounter Assault Recon), has been renamed F.E.A.R Combat, and is available for download Today, Thursday August 17th.

F.E.A.R Comat is the latest release of the Fear multiplayer game which can be downloaded for free via the link below ‘Read More’. This game has been highly popular amongst a huge gaming population throughout the world.

I’m not exactly 100% sure if you can play F.E.A.R combat online but definately sure about local network (LAN) support. Visiting the link, you will need to register to obtain your unique registration key, but once you’re all done you can download a multiplayer release of F.E.A.R absolutely free.

read more | digg story

No need for 360 fanboys to waste energy mocking the “revolutionary” PS3 controller for being sadly inferior to a 7 year-old product that worked with Warhawk on the PS1 when Playstation Magazine is producing humiliating videos like this.

For those who are unaware, The original Playstation and then the Playstation 2 used ‘Dual-Shock’ controllers which not only provided the player with analog control sticks, but also include force feedback vibration which was a huge hit and I personally think this new ‘revolution’ in its time made the Playstation as popular as it is today.

But, this proven controller has been ‘redesigned’ and ‘revolutionized’ some more by the genius creative team at Sony. The Playstation 3 controller will still provide analog control sticks but no more force feedback. Instead sony has opted for motion sensing functionality in place of force feedback which has proven to be a very unpopular move.

This article (follow the ‘Read More’ link below) at XBOX 360 fanboy talk about in great depth why this move was such a crummy move and includes a hilliarous video of what sony apparently released as a gamer playing warhawk (or something) with the new (motion sensing) controller.

This guy looks like he just found video games for the first time and moving the control with his character. The thing is, it is this behaviour when playing ‘motion sensitive’ games that sony have encouraged? eh? Take a look for yourselves, what are you doing sony?

read more | digg story