Tag Archives: Video games

Boy Scouts can now earn video games badges

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The Boy Scouts of America recently announced the addition of two new badges scouts can earn, and they both involve video gaming!  The belt loop is awarded by “explain[ing] why it is important to have a rating system for video games”;  “creat[ing] a schedule for you to do things that includes your chores, homework, and video gaming”; and “learn[ing] to play a new video game that is approved by your parent, guardian, or teacher.”  Earning the academics pin is a bit more involved.  Scouts must “create a plan to buy a video game that is right for [their] age group”; compare and contrast two game consoles; play a video game with a family member and friend; teach an adult how to play a video game; come up with tips on how to play a game; play a game that practices a skill that helps with schoolwork; decide the best place to purchase a game; and install a game console.  Man, if they had these badges back in the day I would have been inaugurated as the first scout to pick them up.

[Via Scouting]

Bungie announces 10-year “exclusive partnership” with Activision

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Today Halo developer Bungie announced a partnership with Call of Duty publisher Activision.  To be more specific, it’s a “10-year exclusive [worldwide] partnership to bring Bungie’s next big action game universe to market.”  This means that for the foreseeable future, Activision will retain exclusive rights to publish all the games related to whatever Bungie has in store for us (a new Halo trilogy, perhaps?).  Also noteworthy, the announcement states that Activision also has the rights to distribute these games “on multiple platforms and devices”, meaning Bungie might finally cut its exclusive ties with Microsoft.  The partnership keeps Bungie an independent company and Bungie devs will continue to own their intellectual property.  Over at Bungie.net the devs share their excitement: “We are still Bungie, still independent, and now we are free to bring our stories to an ever bigger audience.”  With powerhouse titles under their belts, hopefully this unexpected partnership will result in some exciting new games for all major platforms.  Call of Halo?  Halo Duty?  Guitar Halo?  Sorry, I had to do it.

Look after the break for the official PR statement and a word from Bungie.

[Via Joystiq; Bungie] Continue reading Bungie announces 10-year “exclusive partnership” with Activision →

Trailer: Gears of War 3

Technology, Television, Video, , , , ,

Last night Epic lead designer Cliff Bleszinski unveiled the first trailer for the next installment in the Gears of War series.  Using Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as a platform, Bleszinski debuted a trailer called “Ashes to Ashes” which “outlines the world you’re going to see in Gears of War 3.”  Protagonist Marc Fenix makes an appearence, along with Dom, a female soldier, and of course tons of Locust baddies.  Bleszinski confirms that double barrel shotguns and playable female soldiers will be featured in the game.  Gears of War 3 is slated to release on April 8, 2011.  Starting the hype a bit early there, aren’t you Cliffy B?  Look after the break to watch the full interview.

[Via IGN]

Continue reading Trailer: Gears of War 3 →

Pixels take over NYC in visually spectacular fashion

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PIXELS, produced by Patrick Jean at OneMoreProd.

This video is really making the rounds all over the Internet.  And deservedly so.  In PIXELS, New York City gets taken over by 8-bit pixels that come in the form of classic retro video games like Pacman, Space Invaders, and Donkey Kong.  The amazing visual effects combined with Naïve New Beaters “L.A. trumpets” music makes PIXELS one of the coolest animated videos I’ve seen in a while.

[Via Walyou]

Green Day: Rock Band tracklist revealed

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green-day-rock-band

EW’s Music Mix blog’s got the scoop on the latest band-specific Rock Band game, Green Day: Rock Band.  Developer Harmonix had a fun time choosing the venues and songs for the game.  You journey through three venues throughout the course of the game: the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, England; the Fox Theater in the band’s home of Oakland, California; and The Warehouse, a fictional location that’s based on where they used to play before they hit the big leagues.  The game includes 47 songs from three Green Day albums, and they each correspond to the three venues.  Dookie (1994) and American Idiot (2004) are loaded on the disc in their entirety and they’ve included 12 tracks from 21st Century Breakdown (2009).  The remaining six will be made available as downloadable content.  Note that these 6 missing tracks were previously made available for download for Rock Band and Rock Band 2, so if you already own them you can import them into Green Day: Rock Band at no charge.  There’s also a handful of popular singles from Warning (2000), Nimrod (1997), and Insomniac (1995) included.  Look after the break for the full tracklist.

Besides venue and tracklist information, EW reports that the visuals are quite good, and the avatars of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool look great thanks to advanced motion-capture technology.  Harmonix spent a lot of time researching the band to make sure everything is historically accurate, even the types and number of tatoos the band members added over the years.  And since MTV Games is part of the project, rare performances and interviews will be included on-disc as unlockabled achievements.  If this game is anything like Harmonix’s last band-specific game, The Beatles, I have no doubt it’s going to ROCK.  Green Day: Rock Band lands in stores June 8.

[Via EW-Music Mix]

Continue reading Green Day: Rock Band tracklist revealed →

Meet pCubee, a personal, interactive cubic display

Design, Technology, Video, , , ,

pCubee is a research project designed at the University of British Columbia.

We have designed a personal cubic display that offers novel interaction techniques for static and dynamic 3D content. We arrange five small LCD panels into a box shape that is light and compact enough to be handheld. The display uses head-coupled perspective rendering and a real-time physics simulation engine to establish an interaction metaphor of having real objects inside a physical box that a user can hold and manipulate. We have demonstrated four types of interaction techniques with pCubee: viewing a static scene, navigating through a large landscape, playing with colliding objects inside a box, and stylus-based manipulation of objects.

I think the Nintendo 3DS has met its competition in pCubee.  If they’d just make a slot for game cartridges, I can totally see something like this becoming a viable portable gaming device.  Can’t you?

[Via University of British Columbia]

Next PS3 firmware update will remove “Install Other OS” option

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Linux fans face another defeat.  This time not to the overarching power of software giants Windows and Mac OS but instead Sony and the PlayStation 3.  All PS3 consoles will be stripped of the “Install Other OS” option found in the system settings, disabling users to install Linux onto their PS3s.  Sure, the removal of this feature won’t be affecting the majority of PS3 users, but it is still a mightly blow to Linux fans and console tinkerers.  Why the sudden change in heart?  Sony says it’s “due to security concerns” and that “disabling the “Other OS” feature will help ensure that PS3 owners will continue to have access to the broad range of gaming and entertainment content from SCE and its content partners on a more secure system.”  If you are adament about keeping this option, you’re sorta outta luck; if you do not download firmware update (v3.21) you will lose access to PlayStation Network and playing games online, among other things.  The update hits all PS3s April 1.  It should be noted that all new Slim PS3s were manufactured without the “Other OS” option, so this really only applies to all fat PS3 owners out there.

[Via PSBlog; Engadget]

Trailer: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Technology, Video, , , ,

Believe it or not, this is a trailer for a video game, not a movie.  It’s a cinematic look into the fifth installment of the Ghost Recon series called Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.  Invisibility, check.  Mini combat drones, check.  Shoulder-mounted rocket launchers, check.  I’m hooked.  It releases later this year on all major platforms.