Tech Blog

 

I like rhythm games even before the term was ever coined. I remember dropping countless loonies into the Bemani series of Japanese music games at the UBC Arcade, rocking out on Guitar Freaks and Drum Mania, even though I wasn't any good at either one. And then the experience got "Westernized" with the arrival of Guitar Hero and, later on, Rock Band.

 

These games are a lot of fun, but it seems that they're starting to run out of ideas as to how to innovate the genre. This fall, we'll be treated to new iterations from both major series. There's Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and then there is Rock Band 3. And I'd argue that the latter has far more promise than the former.

 

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With a legacy like Halo CE, Halo 2 and Halo 3, how could Bungie ever keep up with their own standards? Well, I finally got the answer to my question and the professional Halo scene should be buzzing about this one. Halo Reach's Forge World Vidoc has all gamers adding their own flavor to Halo Reach, the fourth installment of the epic series. Read more...

I think I've said before I'm not much of a Halo guy, but I think the upcoming Halo: Reach limited edition Xbox 360--pictured above--is pretty incredible looking. And it's limited edition, so if you're interested, you'd better start planning.

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If you’ve got a few spare dollars you can help for a good cause this week on 7/7. Mike “Fyrewulff” Kidder, noted Halo fanatic, Bungie community fixture, and owner/operator of Fire Team Zulu, is running a two day BUNGIEDAYATHONto help support the Brian Morden Foundation in the search for the cure for Ewing’s Sarcoma.

 

 

What is Ewing’s Sarcoma?

Ewing sarcoma is a malignant round-cell tumor. It is a rare disease in which cancer cells are found in the bone or in soft tissue. The most common areas in which it occurs are the pelvis, the femur, the humerus, and the ribs.

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I was already working on this review when Matthew posted his up... and I kept writing. Matt, I love you, but I don’t think you and I are going to see eye to eye on this one.

 

Transformers: War for Cybertron absolutely must be bought if - and that’s a big if - you were born between 1975 and 1980. For everyone else, it’s still pretty awesome, but for we happy few this is just like Ghostbusters: The Video Game was last year - the sweetest trip down memory lane you can imagine.

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Timed to hit with the launch of Microsoft's foray into controller-less motion control gaming, Kinect for Xbox 360, the company has announced a new Xbox LIVE Gold Family Subscription Plan that brings added value for households with two or more players.

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Fans of the venerated Need for Speed series are about to get another adrenalin boost, this time with sirens attached. With Hot Pursuit it’s all about the thrill of the chase and the desperate drive to escape. Read more...

 

Long in development, the creators of Alan Wake have made a lot of grandiose promises over the years. We were told that the game is an "intense psychological thriller" with a "deeply engaging and suspenseful story line" that "immerses the gamer in the intense emotion and suspense of Alan Wake’s thrilling adventure". I couldn't help but think going into the experience that it couldn't possibly live up to the artificially high expectations all this over-the-top hyperbole mustered up, and yet, the game surprised me. A lot. Read more...

Today EA Sports made public the star athlete that will be gracing the cover of the next entry of their best selling hockey franchise, naming Canadian-born Jonathan Toews as the face of NHL 11. Read more...

If you’ve picked up a Future Shop flyer this week you’ll notice that fans of the Halo universe can get a massive break on titles they don’t already own. Both Halo Wars and Halo 3 ODST are on for $19.99.

 

If you haven’t played Halo 3 yet you’ll find that it, too, is $19.99. So why is Halo 3 ODST the best value in gaming? In short you’re getting a brand new Halo 3 campaign (which is, in my opinion, an excellent campaign) as well as $30 worth of Halo 3 Multiplayer DLC on top of access to Halo 3 Multiplayer for free.

 

What’s that, you say? How can it be worth that much?

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Crackdown was a sleeper hit. Bundled with the Halo 3 beta, many gamers assumed that it wouldn’t be very good and passed it by. If you’re one of those gamers, go dig it out and get back to me in a week when you’re finally able to put it down for a few minutes. The premise of both Crackdown and Crackdown 2 is that you’re a super-powered Agent of (predictably) The Agency. In the second game you’re up against two major forces: The Cell, a terrorist group bent on anarchy, and The Freaks, mutated zombie-like things that are out to convert or kill anything that isn’t like them. Crackdown 2 has an exclusive invite-only window on the demo for this weekend, so I got a first look at what the new game has in-store. The demo has a 30-minute time limit that we ran down several times in succession. You’ll have to start again after each clock reset, but it’s worth it just to get a look at the world of Crackdown 2. Read more...

Microsoft unleashed a whole new era of gaming during their E3 press conference earlier this week, showcasing a new way to play video games using Kinect for Xbox 360, where the controller is you. Simply step in front of the sensor and Kinect will instantly recognize you and respond to your body movements and gestures. Absolutely no controller is required to use Kinect, it's intuitive and feels natural, it's as easy as moving as you do in real life. Read more...

With the tail end of UFC 115 on the way out of Vancouver, it’s a great time to dig into the action with UFC 2010 Undisputed. This was an incredibly easy game to review: if you like UFC you can stop reading now and go buy it. For the rest of you: if you buy UFC 2010 Undisputed, be prepared for a steep learning curve, an insane amount of customization, and more depth than you ever thought could possibly be applied to a game where to men kick the crap out of each other. Read more...

In a surprise move that shocked those who watched Sony's E3 2010 press conference today, Valve's President Gabe Newell came on stage and announced that the company is changing its position on developing for the PlayStation 3. The first Valve-developed game to land on the PS3 will be Portal 2, a follow-up title to 2007's unexpected smash hit action/puzzler included in the Orange Box compilation. Portal 2 for the PS3 will drop day-and-date with the Xbox 360 and PC versions, sometime in 2011. Read more...

There were rumours circulating last month that the Canadian Hockey League and EA were preparing to make an announcement of the inclusion of Q-league teams and players in their next hockey game, NHL 11. The rumour came to light when a CBC reporter published an article stating that all Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) teams were asked to submit photos of their ice rinks and jerseys to EA. Not long thereafter EA confirmed the rumours. Read more...