RogueSynapse is building a fully functional arcade game/cabinet after the one seen in The Last Starfighter. It seems as though Atari was actually creating such a cabinet during the time of the movie’s release but it was never finished. With some ingenuity, however, the team at RogueSynapse has completed the game and even is allowing it to be downloaded from their site so you to can use it in your arcade cabinets.
Author - Jerry Paxton
1up is reporting that Majesco will release ‘Mega Brain Boost’ for the Nintendo DS this January which will combine three Bran Boost games in one cartridge! That means that Brain Boost: Beta Wave, Brain Boost: Gamma Wave, and a third installment not-yet revealed will be packaged at a reasonable price.
From the article:
‘By packaging three distinct games within one game cartridge and pricing the total package at $19.99, we’re offering a great deal of value to consumers looking for quality entertainment,’ said Ken Gold, VP of marketing at Majesco. ‘Each game within Mega Brain Boost offers a completely different set of fun, yet challenging, brain training problems designed to enhance mental acuity.’
Recently, Razer released their latest gaming mouse, the Lachesis. Unlike their Death Adder (a great mouse to be sure), the Lachesis is an ambidextrous-designed mouse. It features a much lower profile than the Death Adder, opting instead for what seems to be a nod to the design of it’s ancestor, the Boomslang. It’s flared head definitely points to this being the case as does the placement of the sensor. The Lachesis’ sensor is set much farther back than on the Death Adder, and on the Boomslang of old it was the same way, albeit a ball instead of a laser. The buttons of the Lachesis are very ‘crisp’, with a heavier tension than usually needed on Razer mice to click them. One of the biggest problems on the Boomslang was what we affectionately called ‘razer error’, which ocurred when picking up the mouse to place back on the pad after moving too far. When doing so it was not uncommon to brush the buttons with your forefinger, causing them to depress…causing the giving away of many a position to the enemy…With these higher-tension buttons, brushing over them will not be enough to set them off.
A problem does exist with picking the Lachesis up, however, and that is the side buttons are exactly where your thumb goes to pick the unit up. This can cause them to depress as they are not as high-tension as the primary and secondary buttons. I suggest not assigning anything important to them.
The Lachesis features a 4000dpi 3G laser sensor with a 1000Hz polling rate. When turned up full it will traverse a 1920×1200 display in no time flat and will do so not only quickly, but smoothly too! Performance in Bioshock was excellent, but when used in simple desktop applications we felt the need to turn down it’s sensitivity a bit. During gaming, the mouse consistently provided great performance, and even with the v1.00 drivers, we found it to be a joy to use.
All things being considered, the Lachesis is the best gaming mouse brought out by Razer to date, and that is high praise considering the popularity and capabilities of the Death Adder. It is a lesson in remembering the past, as it’s callbacks to previous mice make this the Boomslang for the next generation.
Joystiq has reported that Famitsu has reviewed Assasin’s Creed, giving it a high 37 out of 40 score! That is one point lower than they gave to Halo 3 and Super Paper Mario.
From Wikipedia:
The environment is completely interactive, from the people to the historically accurate cities. These cities are populated by many people, and the way the player controls Altaïr affects how the bystanders around him react to his presence. For example, when going through a crowd, if the player lightly moves someone out of the way, it will not have a significant effect. However, if the player throws someone to the ground and kills them, the crowd may unite against him and he will then have to find a way out. Similarly, if the player shoves a person aside, they may shove him back. If he climbs walls, civilians will gather around, attracting unwanted attention from guards.
Joystiq is reporting that the next-gen Turok game is coming to PCs next year as well! The PC version will release next spring and is being converted by Aspyr Media, complete with multiplayer mode supporting 16 players.
From Wikipedia:
Turok will be the latest installment in the first-person shooter series of video games based on Acclaim Entertainment’s comic series under the same name. The game is currently scheduled to be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on February 5, 2008. It is being developed by Propaganda Games and published by Disney Interactive Studios under the Touchstone banner. A game demo has been confirmed by Propaganda and is expected to be made available for both consoles sometime before the games release.
Joystiq is reporting that EA is predicting shortages of the Rock Band bundle through the end of this year. Quoted in the article, EA president John Riccitiello said that Rock Band
bundles may be tough to come by for a while. ‘We won’t be able to put
up enough inventory to meet the demand of this fiscal or calendar
year,’ Riccitiello told the investors, adding that those who don’t buy
at launch ‘won’t be getting one for Christmas, unless you know someone
at one of our retailers.’
Engadget is reporting that sources close to them are saying Sony is readying a $99 dollar ultra-compact version of the PS2 for early next year. They have already shrunk the unit down twice before but this time it is rumored to contain it’s own power supply unlike it’s brethen. Should be a much more convenient system to have in the already overgrown gaming console shelf of your entertainment center!
Yahoo reports that researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have created a working, tuneable radio out of a carbon nanotube which is 10,000x thinner than a human hair.
Researchers already used the new device to broadcast two songs, Layla by Derek and the Dominos, and the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations.
Good thing no one turned a fan on during the test or all that research would have been lost forever…
Gamespot is reporting that Warhammer Online, the much anticipated MMO from EA Mythic has missed an important milestone and as such, pushed back to mid next year, missing it’s previously scheduled March 2008 release.
From the article(Quote from EA CEO John Riccitello):
‘Frankly, this is a pretty straightforward situation,’ Riccitiello told analysts during a postreport conference call. ‘I want to emphasize to the team at Mythic that, no, we are not having you be part of our restructuring. That’s not in the plan. We are investing in the growth of that studio, and the Warhammer slip is a simple one. They missed part of a milestone. [EA Mythic general manager] Mark [Jacobs] came forward and said it would affect quality if he held the March date. So we made the decision that, with the big investment we’ve got behind it and the talent and inspiration of the team, to invest behind quality. We’re going to give it a little bit more time, a little bit more work, and we think we’ll have a little bit more of a hit on our hands.’
PSPFanBoy has a nice interview with Rebellion’s Tim Jones, Head of Design for Aliens Vs Predator. The PSP title is set to go retail on November 13th and is the official game of the movie and is being created by Rebellion which developed the PC titles AVP and AVP 2.
Things about the movie to note:
*The film will be rated ‘R’ unlike AVP1.
*The Aliens will be in the design of the ridged-headed soldier variant from Aliens (my personal fav).
*Bryce Dallas Howard stars.