ToC Gaming News Blog : All The Latest PC Gaming News

Microsoft's Arc Touch Mouse revealed?

Stoney — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:45:12 GMT

It's not official until Microsoft says it is, but the image above of the rumored Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse was just snagged off a German online store. Amazingly, the mouse arches its back for comfortable mousing before packing flat for easy transport.

The mouse features touch-scrolling, a battery indicator, the ability to track on most any surface, and a 2.4GHz nano transceiver that no doubt plugs into your laptop's USB port. Yours soon for €69.99 ($69.95 rumored)... right, €0.99 more than Apple's Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad sells for in Germany. Ships in 5 to 10 business days according to notebooksbilliger so expect this to get official real quick.

Source: Engadget

Xbox Live launch titles for Windows Phone 7 finally revealed, we've got the full preview.......

Stoney — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:53:06 GMT

We've known that proper Xbox Live gaming (powered by XNA) was coming to Windows Phone 7 devices, but we'd yet to see any of that thumb-spraining goodness in action besides a brief demo and a few developer videos. Well, Microsoft has finally come clean with details about its launch strategy for the platform, and from where we sit, it's definitely looking pretty promising. First off, the company has announced a full list of launch titles for WP7 handsets, including some familiar names and franchises like Castlevania, Halo: Waypoint, Star Wars, Crackdown, and Guitar Hero, alongside a handful of newer properties like the ultra-cute ilomilo, produced in-house by Microsoft Game Studios. In total, the company will launch with over 60 game titles, with new offerings appearing every week in the Xbox Live Marketplace, just like its big brother console version. We've got all the details, a full list of the launch titles, and our hands-on preview after the break -- so read on to get the scoop!

Besides just announcing some games today, Microsoft has also shown off the full feature set of Xbox Live integration in Windows Phone 7, and users of the service should be pleased to discover that there's not much missing from the version they know and love. Live on WP7 will allow for full avatar integration (we're talking fully rendered, interactive avatars) along with customization (clothes, accessories, and more). The company has even crafted an avatar-centric version of familiar phone utilities like flashlight apps and levels, adding some whimsy to what would normally be pretty staid affairs. Additionally, messaging, friend lists / status, achievements, and leaderboards (with friend comparisons) are all here as well, making for a pretty complete mobile Xbox Live experience. And also just like the console, every game will have a try-before-you buy demo to check out before spending your hard-earned cash.

We had a chance to sit down and play some of the new games (Rocket Riot, Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst, The Harvest, ilomilo, Bejeweled, Max and the Magic Marker, and Uno) as well as check out the Live feature-set, and here are our first impressions:

We'll preface this by saying that both the hardware and software we demoed was still unfinished (the latter being the Samsung Taylor dev phone and the LG QWERTY model we broke news of on the Engadget Show). Regardless, the gameplay for the arcade titles seemed excellent, with frame rates holding fast even during graphically intensive 3D sequences (such as the chaotic, scattered-pixel play of Rocket Riot). The Harvest, while a bit familiar to our eyes, still showed the graphic promise of the platform. Gameplay was definitely well suited to a touchscreen device, though Microsoft's Kevin Unangst told us that developers could target controls for both touch and QWERTY-equipped phones (provided that a touch version was always present). The screen response seemed accurate and sensitive, reacting quickly to our input. Particularly in the Crackdown title -- a tower defense game "set in the Crackdown universe" -- pinch zooming, rotation, and finger tracking was excellent.

Besides just standard gaming, it looks like Microsoft will try and leverage some other components of the platform. In the aforementioned Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst, the game utilizes Bing maps to create levels (not unlike the PSN title The Last Guy), and logic in the software is able to recognize things like roads for enemies to make their way down. A unique concept for sure, and the kind of thinking we hope we'll see more of on this platform. Though we didn't get to see a lot of titles (we particularly would have liked to see something like Castlevania), the polish and speed of the games we played was definitely competitive with iPhone or Palm Pre gaming.

We didn't get a chance to peruse the Live Marketplace because the phones were offline, but we did get to play around with cached elements, and we felt right at home. Updating and tweaking your avatar was fast and straightforward, as was finding friends and checking up on achievements or messages. Unfortunately, for the launch of Windows Phone 7 there won't be any true multiplayer options besides turn-based games, though Kevin seemed to indicate that head-to-head gaming (whether over a local or wide network) was in the roadmap. It only makes sense considering this is Xbox Live we're talking about, and it seems like something that would have been baked in from the beginning. We may be a little spoiled from the variety of multiplayer titles on the iOS platform, but that was one knock against Microsoft here. One other small issue we noticed was that game load times seemed long -- a little too long. Again, Microsoft says things are still unfinished, so we're hoping this is a side effect of debugging and non-optimized builds.

All in all, it's a promising picture for Microsoft. The company has the clout, the community, and most importantly the cash to pull this off, but as with all modern smartphone platforms, success can't be judged on one aspect alone. To make Windows Phone 7 really work, the folks in Redmond will have to hit the right note on not just gaming, but the basic user experience, hardware, applications, and carrier partnerships. Based on what we've seen of Xbox Live on these devices, we think the company can check at least one of those boxes off

Source:Engadget

Missing Star Wars Scene Shows Luke Making His Green Lightsaber........

Stoney — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:46:02 GMT

At the same Star Wars Celebration V event in Florida where George Lucas announced theBlu-ray box-set arrival, he also showed off a missing scene from Return of the Jedi, which shows Luke making his lightsaber in a Tatooine cave.

The short clip was cut from the film, so we missed seeing Darth Vader cajoling Luke to join him on the Dark Side, as he tinkers in a dirty cave on Tatooine, constructing his new green lightsaber, after he lost his first one when dueling with Darth Vader.

In other important Star Wars matters, the producer of the first two Star Wars movies, Gary Kurtz, revealed that the original ending for Return of the Jedi was not included in the film you and I grew up watching—according to Kurtz, "we had an outline and George changed everything in it."

He stated that Han Solo was actually supposed to die, but "by that time there were really big toy sales and that was a reason," as "the toy business began to drive the [Lucasfilm] empire."

Source:Gizmodo

Glass-Bottomed Hot Air Balloon Is a Terrifying Experience.........

Stoney — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:11:19 GMT

I definitely want to try this glass-bottomed hot air balloon, even while its pilot and inventor says it's a "terrifying experience." I don't know why no other sadist think about this before, but flying in it must be truly blood-curdling.

The glass-bottomed hot air balloon is the creation of Christian Brown, the pilot who travelled around the world in a balloon with Sir Richard Branson. Brown, who has been hot air balloon pilot for 18 years and holds the tethered altitude world record at 10,000 feet, says the experience of flying this new airship was terrifying. Knowing his previous experience, I believe him:

We've done tethered trials before, which usually end with passengers shrieking and screaming in fear, but this is the first time we've actually taken to the skies unaided. Ordinarily, you would look over the edge of the basket to peer at the ground below but there is something very disconcerting about seeing it right beneath your feet.

He tried it for it first maiden flight during the 2010 Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. Brown added the experience "certainly isn't for the feint-hearted." The balloon has been designed to fly over the Alps, where "it would give incredible views of the scenery below."

Having flown in a non-glass-bottom hot air balloon myself, I know I would gasp and probably cry for my mom on this one. But I really, really, really can't wait for next year, where it will be available to the public. The experience must be truly terrifying and surreal. [Daily Mail andMetro UK]

Source: Gizmodo

Chrome to Phone now available in Android Market........

Stoney — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:39:55 GMT

Chrome to Phone isn't a new product -- we've been using it since May, in fact -- but Google's second mobile announcement today (behind Voice Actions) is that its continuous client app is now "official" and available to all users (with Android 2.2 Froyo) via Android Market. As it was before, websites can be pushed from the Chrome browser to your Android device, with certain apps (Maps, YouTube) taking over for the browser when contextually appropriate. Additionally, the code is open, which we're hoping means this Chrome extension will find its way to other browsers. The team is "looking into" bringing the capabilities to other mobile OSs (the iPhone was specifically asked), but don't get your hopes up: nothing's been submitted, and we didn't get the feeling it was an active push. Incredibly useful? Yes, yes indeed.

Downloads:http://code.google.com/p/chrometophone/

Source:Engadget

Call of Duty Black Ops Hardened and Prestige Editions

Maddog — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:57:43 GMT

Today, we unveil the Hardened and Prestige editions of Call of Duty: Black Ops! Embedded below is a video introducing the RC-XD kill streak reward, which features in the Prestige Edition of the game:

Hardened Edition:

- Call of Duty: Black Ops full game
- Premium, special-edition SteelBook™ case
- Limited edition Black Ops collector’s medal w/display case
- 4 additional co-op maps not included in the standard edition of the game
- Special Black Ops Xbox Live or PlayStation Home avatar outfit

Prestige Edition:

The Prestige Edition is what every hardcore Call of Duty fan needs. It includes everything in the Hardened Edition, along with a real remote-control vehicle modelled after the in-game RC-XD kill streak reward! The RC-XD’s features include:

- Video & audio sent wirelessly to remote transmitter (200 ft. range)
- 2” backlit TFT 220 x176 colour screen built into RC controller
- Digital proportional steering and throttle
- Independent suspension
- High and low speed settings
- Custom pistol grip style RC controller
- Display stand

The RC-XD included in the Prestige Edition is a fully functioning surveillance device that is remotely controlled and transmits wireless video and audio back to the RC controller in real time. Every detail is modelled after the in-game RC-XD kill streak vehicle.

Both the Hardened and Prestige editions are in limited supply, so pre-order your copy today!

Source: http://www.callofduty.com

Technorati Tags: Call of Duty black ops,Call of Duty 7,RCV,Prestige Edition,RC-XD

Sony Ericsson to introduce Android 3.0 gaming platform and PSP Go-like smartphone.....

Stoney — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:49:02 GMT

Sony Ericsson to introduce Android 3.0 gaming platform and PSP Go-like smartphone

There's no question that gaming on the Android platform has heretofore been relatively underwhelming, but that looks like it's all about to change. It seems that Sony Ericsson -- a company that has yet to even introduce an Android 2.0 device -- is at work on a project to redefine gaming on Google's mobile platform. We now know (via a trusted source) that the company is actively and heavily developing a brand new gaming platform, ecosystem, and device (possibly alongside Google) which are already in the late stages of planning. And we've got the goods on it.

Here's what we can tell you about the hardware: if you're a gaming fan, this is exactly the kind of phone you've been waiting for. The device is described as cross between the Samsung Captivate and the PSP Go-- in other words, it's a landscape slider with game controls in place of the typical QWERTY keyboard. The D-pad is here, but instead of the small joystick, the device will have what was described as a "long touch pad" for analog controls, along with standard PSP buttons and shoulder buttons. The phone has a large display, described as being between 3.7 and 4.1 inches with WVGA or better resolution, a 5 megapixel camera that we're told might not be final, and it'll likely have a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU on board. The phone is mostly black with some silver highlights, and the gamepad area is white / silver in color. Apparently it's currently branded as a Xperia device, but it looks like it will carry PlayStationbranding as well. Those who've seen the phone say it looks "pretty damn sexy." The mockup above probably doesn't do the actual hardware justice, but it should give you an idea of what you'll be dealing with.

On the software side, it looks like the device will be running Gingerbread (Android 3.0) with a phone-specific skin, and there will be a new area of the Android Market specifically for the games. That content will be initially accessible only by the halo device, but from the sounds of things, these titles might be made available to other Android phones if their specs and button layouts meet requirements. Games will be graphically in the range of PSX or PSP games, meaning true 3D gaming is headed to Android. Titles currently being shown off seem to be focused around some older PSX as well as new PSP offerings, withGod of War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and LittleBigPlanet possibly on tap, and future plans for titles which incorporate augmented reality features.

In terms of release, it's possible that the phone and ecosystem could be introduced as early as October of this year, but we have yet to confirm.

Right now we're working on getting even more detail about the phone and partnership, but we can tell you now that this is not a random rumor -- we have reason to believe that what we've heard and seen is real and coming to market. It makes perfect sense in a way -- Google gets a much-needed push into the gaming and entertainment space for Android, while Sony (via its partnership with Ericsson) finally delivers the PlayStation phone users have been wanting. We see it as a major win for both companies and the consumer... and we always need another distraction. Stay tuned to this space for updates as we get them, and in the meantime, start socking away the pennies.

Source: Engadget

COD Black Ops Multiplayer in detail

Maddog — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:10:15 GMT

So we have seen the new in game play from the new Call of Duty Black Ops. Now lets take a closer look at what's on offer.

1. You get a remote controlled vehicle for a three kill streak as seen later in the video

2. Here we see the payback kill, for killing someone who has already taken you out.

3. A 4 kill streak gets you a care package, which i assume contains some random perk

4. Buzz Kill means you end another players kill streak

5. Here it looks like a 5 kill streak gets you a guided missile, which you will see later ;)

6. Skewer, we see the player here uses a Ballistic Knife that can be fired from close range.

7. The knife is then recovered and used as a traditional knife…

8. The knife is then put together to be used again, and the player is awarded a back stabber award

9. Here we see a twin rotor helicopter at the top of the screen and on the radar…

10. You will see the helicopter is delivering a care package in this shot

11. Finally remember i mentioned about the guided missile earlier? That a look at centre of the picture, above right of the tele lens, you will see the missile appear from behind the building on the right…

12. Now the missile has rounded the building and is homing in on the player. You can see it just below the One Shot One Kill splash

13. OK so now you can see it, say goodnight Mr. sniper!…

14. So there’s nowhere to hide :)

15. Finally something very different for COD, it looks like there’s a Built in video recorder/editor with screenshot capabilities. This video editor appears to offer video clips saved into different segments with customisable names for each clip

Technorati Tags: Call of duty,Call of duty black ops

So there you have it, there looks to be plenty of new features and fun options in the new Call of Duty. Don’t forget there is to be a full multiplayer reveal on September 1.

Call Of Duty Black Ops Multiplayer Teaser

Maddog — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:38:11 GMT

> > >

Call of Duty: Black Ops will be getting dedicated servers, according to some sources. This will be a big thumbs up from all PC Call of Duty fans. The question of whether there will be mod tools has yet to surface, but its looking good.

As for the trailer, on first inspection it looks very nice indeed, so fingers crossed from all PC gamers.

Keep up to date on all the latest Call of Duty Black Ops news on our Forum
WARNING our forums and servers are over 18s only

Technorati Tags: Call of duty,Black ops,Treyarch,ToC,PC gaming

posted by Mad Dog

Call Of Duty Black Ops Wallpaper

Maddog — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:29:54 GMT

Here are some stunning new wallpapers for the eagerly awaited Call of Duty Black Ops

At the beginning of each project, the team at Treyarch digs in and goes to work on engine enhancements with a focus on supporting the demands of the new environments and game play for our next title. For Black Ops, it was important to the team to have incredible photo-realistic lighting, huge draw distances, explosive destruction and effects, and mind-blowing character details.

We completely re-tooled the lighting system from soup to nuts, integrated texture streaming which makes levels like “Payback” possible, and provided our artists the tools and platform they needed to create stunning characters with detail down to their pores! We also went big overhauling the physics, jungle, water, and fire tech – the list goes on and on. You can see what we’re talking about from our gallery, but no screenshot even comes close to what you’ll be experiencing November 9th 2010!

All 14 can be downloaded at HERE

posted by Mad Dog

Technorati Tags: Call of duty,black ops,wallpaper

Are Microsoft quietly opening up a Kinect beta program?

Stoney — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:34:24 GMT

Well what do we have here?

It appears our friends over at Joystiq have received word from diligent tipsters that Microsoft's Connect customer feedback service is sending out Kinect beta program invites. Details are predictably sparse, but naming ironies aside, the note does specify that chat will be limited only to those involved in the preview program.

While this isn't really surprising given the context,Joystiq surmises that this choice clarification could hint invitees will have the chance to sample the video chat app available through the Kinect's new dashboard, which was shown off at E3. Unfortunately, Ballmer and crew have yet to lend any official credence to these murmurs, though apparently the email address behind these notes is valid.

It's also not that outrageous to imagine Microsoft wanting to spin Kinect's wheels in the wild before releasing it to the unwashed gaming masses on its official November 4th launch date. Considering the program would have to put hardware in the hands of testers though to pull something like this off, we're counting on more than a few overly excited gamers shining additional light on the situation should things get serious.

Source: Joystiq

Too many girlfriends? .....

Stoney — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:04:13 GMT

An iPhone App to schedule

and rate sex with all your girlfriends..........

I once knew a guy who kept an actual database of all the women he dated so that he could always remember the relevant details about them and prevent awkward mixups. The DateMate iPhone app would've been ideal for him.

The basic idea of DateMate is that it allows you to enter details about your partners—birthdays, contact information, silly things that you should recall—and track your encounters with them. The app offers a calendar so that you can keep track of whose bed you were in on which night and a way to rank the dates and create notes about them. Once you've got a bunch of dates under your belt, you can even generate graphs of your activities and compare frequency, quality, and progress.

DateMate may seem a bit sleazy to those of us who prefer monogamy, but it appears to be a well-designed app that might make life easier for those who have somewhat open arrangements with their partners.

Naturally......this App is of no use to Irmo:P

Source:Gizmodo

KP's 50MB Broadband

Gunny — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:53:41 GMT

> > > > > >

KP's 50MB Broadband

Away with the Waffles !

Gunny — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:23:49 GMT

:finger:

Irish Narcoleptic’s Anonymous !

Gunny — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:35:42 GMT

I see that Paddy Twat has bloody fallen asleep on his cunting keyboard again !

When will he learn eh ? lol. Cunt aint I moonz. :finger: