2K Sports has released a first-look screenshot from their upcoming NBA 2K12, which is due out later this year. This first screenshot features the Miami Heat’s Lebron James and Chris Bosh attempting to block Dirk Nowitzki, of the Dallas Mavericks, from making a dunk.
After much fanfare and anticipation, Disneyland has opened up its re-vamped Star Tours attraction. We finally got our chance to hit the park in Anaheim, CA and spent the day riding attractions and generally having a blast. We would like to thank Disneyland PR for making this possible, as they waived us in to check everything out.
The queue for Star Tours 2 takes the same path that the original’s did. In fact, very little has been done to the physical structure of the queue area. C-3PO and R2-D2 still verbally spar back and forth, with updated humor and dialogue that fully entertained us as we winded our way through the line. It was really nice to hear Anthony Daniels doing the voice of “Threepio” again. At this point, he just is that character. The queue’s large information screen has been greatly updated in terms of visual quality, now showing HD pictures and video of various Star Tours destinations as well as flight information. A hint on the videos shown throughout the queue – pay attention to the female voice you hear. Sound familiar? That’s Allison Janney! The conveyor belt of luggage and parts that used to speed overhead is now gone (kind of a bummer as it just feels empty above the audience now) and instead one of the web-footed droids is doing x-ray luggage checks below you. This provides a lot of humor and entertainment, mainly by what contents are found in the various luggage bags whizzing by. Stormtrooper helmets, droid parts, the uniform of Mr. Incredible… Lots of little nods to other IPs. In a strange anachronism, the “Rex” pilot droids from the original ride are found below the queue area in boxes marked “defective”. The new ride is set many, many years prior to the old one, however, so this doesn’t make sense as they were supposedly a new droid model at that point.
The ride visuals are outstanding, and the 3D effect works seamlessly with the physical pilot in front of you as well as the smaller screen on the forward-right side of the cabin. The CGI is crisp and believable – especially when in space and interactive with starships, etc. The CGI has come a long way since the new trilogy of Star Wars films and even the planetary sequences are a sight to behold. The ride itself is actually made up of 54 permutations of possible events/locations. There are several possible opening sequences and destinations that riders might experience, making the ride (hopefully) different each time you ride it. This was originally one of the ideas for the first Star Tours, but due to expense and logistical issues, it was unable to come to fruition. Riders may find themselves on Naboo, Tattooing, Hoth, the Forest Moon of Endor – and a lot more. Additionally, there are several characters from the Star Wars universe who also interact with the riders and other on-screen elements. From Boba Fett to Princess Leia – even Yoda! In one memorable ride-through, Darth Vader used the force to shake the ride cabin about without breaking a sweat. Now, before fans call “lamesauce!”, it is all done within the bounds of the Star Wars universe. Darth Vader does not force-jump onto the cabin in space-flight or anything like that – the cabin is in a space station awaiting takeoff.
The one negative part of the Star Tours 2 experience is in the cabin’s motion. The motion of the cabin itself was far too “squishy” and “soft” – actually taking away from the amazing visuals we witnessed. It felt more like we were watching a 3D movie with some minor movements rather than being inside a simulator experience. When the cabin was struck by an on-screen element in the ride’s previous incarnation, there would be a violent jolt and it made a sound similar to what you would hear inside an airplane when experiencing heavy turbulence. The hit effects in Star Tours 2 just don’t feel violent enough and you rarely feel as though you have to hold onto the arm rests throughout the experience. In fact, several people I spoke to in line claimed that they got motion sickness on the original Star Tours but had no issues now. While Disneyland and Lucas may be catering to a wider audience here – they are doing it at the expense of the ride experience.
Overall, the new Star Tours attraction is a wonderful ride that brings new life to the IP as well as to the ride itself thanks to its multiple twists and possible paths. I seriously doubt that the new Star Tours will age as quickly as the original did. The only thing that would make the new ride perfect would be tweaking the ride motions to be slightly more violent and simulation-like. Rating: A-
T3 Entertainment has announced that their upcoming online shooter, Hellgate (formerly known as Hellgate: London), has entered a state of open beta testing. T3 is celebrating the open beta launch with four special events.
Hellgate will celebrate the Open Beta launch with four special events to reward and entertain the growing Hellgate community – the Guild Reservoir event, the Daily Supplies event, the To Level in Hell event and the Level and Be Rewarded event, each awarding top players with valuable prizes. Additionally, the Open Beta will feature two new game modes – the PvP Duel Area and the zombie-infested Cow Room. Finally, there is a special prize waiting for everyone upon entering the Hellgate Open Beta today.
For us smartphone users, aside from cell connection, the thing that matters most is our precious battery life. As phones draw more juice with faster processors and bigger screens, power is at a premium. Tennrich International Corp and XPal Power have released the PowerSkin line of smartphone battery cases. We managed to get a hold of their iPhone 4 version, which fits both AT&T as well as Verizon iPhone 4’s.
The PowerSkin case is pretty thick, making your iPhone 4 increase girth to 0.77 inches. The width and length of the units also increase, making the iPhone 4 5.1 inches long and 2.5 inches wide – so it definitely makes your iPhone 4 larger than you are used to. It could be an issue for those people who keep their iPhones in cargo and carpenter pockets, so be sure to take note prior to purchase. The case itself is an attractive black silicone with a nice rubberized feel.
Inserting your iPhone 4 into the case is exceptionally easy – in fact, far easier than most cases I have seen. The phone simply slides into the case, bottom-first, then the top part of the silicone case snaps over the top of the phone. Along the bottom side of the case are four blue LEDs which display the battery cases current charge level. By pressing and holding the button on the bottom-side of the case, you can power on and off the PowerSkin. Once plugged in, I got about a day and a half out of the case with a standard amount of usage. Taking the phone to Disneyland today, I got about a full day’s worth (in the amusement park, I took hundreds of images and video for an upcoming segment).
PowerSkin was taking photographers into account with this case as well as the camera port is tapered to allow for a full field of view. Also, the material is a matte finish so you will not get any strange reflections from it onto your lens. In fact, it has enough depth to actually shield the lens from the sun in outdoor conditions while still allowing for photos to be taken.
The PowerSkin uses a mini-USB cable to charge and dock it to your PC. Thankfully, the cable allows for full iPhone 4 sync and charge functionality so you won’t be missing your standard iPhone 4 cable anytime soon.
Overall, I am very impressed with the iPhone 4 PowerSkin battery case. It features a smooth, sexy design with outstanding battery life. Plus, at $79.99 (right now on sale for $69.99) the unit is very reasonably-priced!
Hothead Games has released the official announcement trailer for their upcoming Summer title, The Baconing. The game sees the return of the heroic DeathSpank as he battles the AntiSpank to save SpankTopia.
id Software and Bethesda Softworks have released their first behind-the-scenes dev diary for their upcoming shooter, RAGE. RAGE is due out on October 4, 2011 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC platforms. It is the first game to utilize id Software’s id Tech 5 game engine.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released the full achievement/trophy list for their new horror-shooter, FEAR 3, which is out now on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC platforms.
Campaign Specific Achievements/Trophies
Almost Halfway – Attain Rank 10 – 10 Pts / Bronze
You’ve Got the Touch! – Attain Rank 21 – 25 Pts / Silver
Prison Impossible – Complete Prison – 10 Pts / Bronze
Get To The Chopper – Complete Slums – 10 Pts / Bronze
Pain, In Bulk – Complete Store – 15 Pts / Bronze
Town Hall Beating – Complete Village – 15 Pts / Bronze
Through The Haystack – Complete Tower – 20 Pts / Bronze
Trouble Cross – Complete Bridge – 20 Pts / Bronze
Terminal Victory – Complete Port – 25 Pts / Bronze
Homecoming King – Complete Ward – 25 Pts / Bronze
Mission… Accomplished? – Finish the Campaign on any difficulty (all levels complete) – 50 Pts / Gold
Man Mode – Finish the Campaign on INSANE Difficulty – 100 Pts / Gold
General Achievements/Trophies
Art Collector – Pin 100 total enemies with the Penetrator or Leaper knives – 15 Pts / Bronze
A Precursor – In the Poker Room of Prison, kill all 3 enemies with headshots before Slow-Mo ends – 5 Pts / Bronze
State-of-the-Art. Bang Bang! – Kill 10 enemies in a row with Sniper Rifle headshots – 20 Pts / Bronze
Yo, Adrian! – Find something worth punching! – 15 Pts / Bronze
No can Defense! – Kill 100 enemies with Jump Kick or Slide Tackle – 20 Pts / Bronze
Extremist – Complete any campaign level on INSANE without reloading checkpoints or going into Last Stand – 20 Pts / Bronze
Earl of Pain – Kill 1,000 enemies by any method in any game mode – 10 Pts / Bronze
Character Specific Achievements/Trophies
God Among Men – Kill 250 total enemies during Slow-Mo – 25 Pts / Silver
Footy Foul – Kill 2 enemies with 1 slide-tackle during Slow-Mo – 10 Pts / Bronze
Insider Trading – Possess every type of possessable enemy! – 15 Pts / Bronze
Head Crab Removal – 20 kills with a crowbar – 10 Pts / Bronze
Online and Multiplayer Achievements/Trophies
Little Brother’s Helper – As Point Man, Kill 100 enemies Suspended by Fettel – 15 Pts / Bronze
Big Brother’s Helper – As Fettel, Suspend 100 enemies that Point Man kills – 15 Pts / Bronze
I’m not a Doctor, I’m a Medic! – Perform 50 Revives in any Game Mode – 10 Pts / Bronze
Dead Blind – Spend an entire round of Contractions in deep fog without going into Last Stand – 10 Pts / Bronze
I F.E.A.R. Nothing! – Finish a wave of Contractions on INSANE without anyone entering Last Stand – 15 Pts / Bronze
We’ll Try Again Tomorrow! – Survive 3 round in Contractions in a row without anyone bringing back a crate – 15 Pts / Bronze
Hanging 20 – Complete wave 20 in Contractions – 20 Pts / Bronze
Handle with Care – Return 30 Crates in one game of Contractions – 20 Pts / Bronze
Indecisive – Possess 10 different enemies in one round of Soul King – 10 Pts / Bronze
Unstoppable! – Win all 5 rounds of a 5-round Soul King match – 15 Pts / Bronze
Soul Gatherer – Attain a total of 6,000 Souls in one round of Soul King – 15 Pts / Bronze
Soul Hoarder – Attain a total of 25,000 Souls across all round of a Soul King match – 20 Pts / Bronze
Monarch – Win 20 round of Soul King – 20 Pts / Bronze
Rank, Score and Exploration Based Achievements/Trophies
Doll Collector – Find the Alma Doll on every level – 20 Pts / Bronze
Spiritually Attuned – Make 100 Psychic Links (Share or Steal) – 20 Pts / Bronze
Score Monger – Complete 30 challenges in one chapter – 30 Pts / Bronze
Supreme Challenger – Complete 500 total challenges between all categories – 25 Pts / Bronze
Completionist – Complete every challenge at least once – 50 Pts / Bronze
That’s a lot of Zeros – Attain a total of 95,000 score on Prison – 15 Pts / Silver
Magna Slum Laude – Attain a total of 85,000 score on Slums – 15 Pts / Silver
Cannibal Run – Attain a total of 95,000 score on Store – 15 Pts / Silver
House Arrest – Attain a total of 105,000 score on Village – 15 Pts / Silver
Point Taken – Attain a total of 110,000 score on Tower – 15 Pts / Silver
Crossing Over – Attain a total of 70,000 score on Bridge – 15 Pts / Silver
Point Authority – Attain a total of 110,000 score on Port – 15 Pts / Silver
Dream Score – Attain a total of 50,000 score on Ward – 10 Pts / Silver
Flying Wild Hog, a developer hailing from the land of fellow Polish developer, cd Projeckt RED, has released a teaser image from an as-of-yet unannounced PC shooter. According to Evolve PR, the developer’s North American press agency, the game will be announced very soon, in mere weeks.
It looks as though you can get a better look of the creature seen in the distance of the screenshot over at Flying Wild Hog’s official website.
Microsoft Games Studio has released the fourth webisode for their upcoming MS Flight – simply titled “Explore”.
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Insomniac Games has revealed that veteran composer Boris Salchow will score their upcoming shooter, Resistance 3. Resistance 3 is due out on September 6, 2011 for the PlayStation 3 platform and picks up four years after the events of Resistance 2.
Paul Mudra, Audio Director, Insomniac Games: “For RESISTANCE 3 we required a composer who would be able to interpret the nuance of mankind’s struggle for survival in a brutal world and create an engaging and emotive score. Boris spent many hours at our studio becoming familiar with the story, meeting with several key members of the development team and immersing himself in our process and culture. The soundtrack that Boris composed is compelling and a perfect fit for the game. We consider it to be a key part of the overall RESISTANCE 3 experience.”
Salchow is a veteran composer, with credits including games like Resistance 2, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2, and films such as Prom Night.
