ToC Gaming News Blog : All The Latest PC Gaming News

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Dear FileFront User:

We regret to inform you that we are forced to indefinitely suspend the FileFront site operations on March 30, 2009. If you have uploaded files, images or posted blogs, or if you would like to download some of your favorite files, please take this opportunity to download them before March 30th when the site will be suspended.

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Video Game Downloads on FileFront

Rumour: Rare Whipping Up Two AAA Games This Year

Microsoft seems to be placing its cards on the resurgence of Rare this year, word has it that the company that has assisted several internal projects from Microsoft will show the projects it has been working on for a couple of years. There are strong indications of one being a first person shooter(read Perfect dark) and the other an online brawler(Killer Instinct 3), both games are expected to be announced by E3 2009.

Source: Rare Whipping Up Two AAA Games This Year | V4VG.com

ATI fights NVIDIA's rebranding with better pricing
DailyTech has learned from industry sources that ATI, the graphics division of AMD, is working with its board partners and several major e-tailers to lower prices on some key products.
The ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB will drop $50 in price, from the $199 segment down to $149. It will compete in this price point primarily against NVIDIA's GTS 250 1GB rebrand using the old G92 chip, variants of which were used in the 8800GT, 9800GT, 9800GTX, 9800GTX+, etc. However, the HD 4870 has been shown to surpass the performance of NVIDIA's GTX 260 line, and value seekers may choose to leave NVIDIA for a better price/performance point.
The Radeon 4870 uses GDDR5 to provide more video memory bandwidth than the GTX260, even though it has more RAM, a wider memory bus, and higher clocked memory.
The ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB will drop to $129, and is designed to compete at the same price point as NVIDIA's GTS 250 512MB version. The Radeon HD 4830 will be replaced by another part soon at a lower price point.
ATI's price cuts are anticipated to take effect early this week. One of our sources indicates that NVIDIA and its partners will unveil GTS250 parts at the CeBit tradeshow in Hannover, Germany on Tuesday

As the patch has fixed the http redirect some maps are starting to surface.
Installation instructions if you wish to test a map:
XP users, place the map files in: Documents and Settings\your_pc_name\Local Settings\Application Data\Activision\CoDWaW\usermaps\mp_mapname
The iwd goes in: Documents and Settings\your_pc_name\Local Settings\Application Data\Activision\CoDWaW\mods\your_mods\
If those folders don't exist, just create them.
Vista users, place the map files in: \Users\your_pc_name\AppData\Local\Activision\CoDWaW\usermaps\mp_mapname
The iwd goes in: Users\your_pc_name\AppData\Local\Activision\CoDWaW\mods\mp_usermaps\
If those folders don't exist, just create them.

 

Stalemate ( CoD5 )
Map size: Large
Game type: DM, TDM, CTF, DOM, SAB, SD, WAR, KOTH, TWAR

Download
Ripac ( CoD5 ) June 1944 northern France.
The German Wehrmacht walked thru the small town of Ripac without resistance.
Till suddenly a small group of brave US solders was shut down by the German AA Gun. few lived to face a impossible battle in the small town of Ripac....
Map size: Small
Game type: DM, TDM, SD, HQ, DOM, SAB, CTF, WAR

Download

Call of Duty World at War map releases - T.O.C. Clan Forums

Installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 sends some PCs into an endless series of reboots, according to posts to a Microsoft support forum.

Jesper Johansson, a former program manager for security policy at Microsoft Corp. and a prominent Windows blogger, has worked with users to tentatively identify the problem as involving only machines using processors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Messages from frustrated users began accumulating on the XP SP3 support newsgroup Wednesday, just a day after Microsoft released the update to the general public.

"I just installed Windows XP SP3 and after completing the processes and when the system reboots, the system cannot proceed to load the Windows," said a user identified as "Olin" in a message that kicked off a long thread. "It just displays the flash screen of Windows then after it reboots again."

Most users who left messages on the forum said that they were unable to boot into Windows Safe mode — a last-ditch way to sidestep the normal boot process for troubleshooting purposes — or revert to a previously saved System Restore point.

Some were understandably upset. "Way to go, Microsoft, releasing the pile of dung called SP3 that hoses your system so bad even Safe Mode isn't working!" said a user identified as Mike Voss. "Props to your QA guys, they certainly have done their job."

Johansson, who watched one of his PCs repeatedly reboot after installing XP SP3, traded accounts with several other users on the newsgroup and summarized the results on his blog.

According to Johansson, there appears to be two separate issues. One affects only AMD-equipped PCs sold by Hewlett-Packard Co. "The problem is that HP, apparently along with other OEMs, deploys the same image to Intel-based computers that they do to AMD-based computers," said Johansson. "Because the image for both Intel and AMD is the same, all have the intelppm.sys driver installed and running. That driver provides power management on Intel-based computers. On an AMD-based computer, amdk8.sys provides the same functionality."

Running the intelppm.sys driver on an AMD-powered PC isn't normally an issue, but on the first reboot after a service pack installation, it causes "a big problem," Johansson said. The machine either fails to boot or crashes and immediately reboots.

The other problem, according to Johansson, also seems to affect only AMD machines, and involves an error message indicating trouble with the PC's BIOS. Johansson said that the ensuing recommendation to update the BIOS is "most likely not your problem," but said that the problem may be isolated to a specific motherboard. "Possibly, it is related to computers with the Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard in them," he said.

Johansson also spelled out workarounds for both problems on his blog. The HP issue can be solved by disabling the intelppm.sys driver, while the second fix requires the user to plug in a USB flash drive before booting.

A Microsoft spokeswoman on Friday said the company was aware of the problems and was looking into them. Earlier, someone identified as a Microsoft employee on the support forum had asked users to e-mail him information about the PC's system configuration and whether they were able to enter Safe mode, and to submit event viewer logs. But the company declined to offer any fixes for the time being. "Until Microsoft completes our investigation into this reported issue, we can't confirm the validity of any proposed solution or work-around," the spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

This isn't the first endless reboot problem Microsoft's faced in relation to a service pack recently. In February, the company pulled a Windows Vista SP1 prerequisite update from automatic delivery because it was crippling some machines.

BioWare technical producer Derek French has said that the PC versions of both Mass Effect and Spore will make use of copy protection that will require online validation every ten days in order for the games to continue working.

"After the first activation, SecuROM requires that [Mass Effect PC] re-check with the server within ten days (in case the CD Key has become public/warez'd and gets banned)," said French in a post on the BioWare forums.

If customers do not come online after ten days, the game will cease to function.

"After 10 days a re-check is required before the game can run," added French. "..An internet connection is not required to install, just to activate the first time, and every 10 days after."

The check is run when users activate the game's executable file, with the first re-check coming within "5 days remaining in the 10 day window."

According to French, Maxis' Spore will also make use of the same scheme: "[Electronic Arts] is ready for us and getting ready for Spore, which will use the same system."

French also noted that the online requirement will be clearly labelled on the games' packaging.

Source:ShackNews

COD4 DE_DUST
Version: Beta
Map size: Medium
Game type: DM, TDM, SD, DOM, SAB

Download:http://www.codutility.com/index.php?...ion&dl_id=2898

COD 4 New Maps and Feedback - Page 3 - T.O.C. Clan Forums

Download:Here

COD 4 New Maps and Feedback - Page 3 - T.O.C. Clan Forums

MP_FACTORY
This is a very nice urban map.
Version: Beta
Map size: Large
Game type: DM, TDM, SD, HQ, CTF, DOM, SAB
Author: OSZ.LoSt.BoY

Installation Instructions:
Place all your files in the "C:\Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare\usermaps\mp_factory" directory.
If the folder does not exist, create it
Download

COD 4 New Maps and Feedback - Page 3 - T.O.C. Clan Forums

Call of Duty 4 DLC Map Pack Hands-On

If you're tired of Middle Eastern villages and Russian forests, take heart: Infinity Ward has some shiny new battlefields on the way soon.

 

Last year was exceptionally strong for first-person shooters. Yet despite being one of the latest genre releases in the year, Call of Duty 4 towered over its competition. There are so many shooters released these days that it's hard to stick with an online community for more than a few weeks, but even months later, we're still obsessively playing COD4's addictive online mode with no end in sight. So we counted ourselves among the incredibly fortunate when we headed down to developer Infinity Ward's Southern California offices recently to check out the game's first downloadable map pack, which is coming later this spring.

Broadcast is taken from and expanded upon the Iraqi TV station mission in COD4's single-player campaign.

We got a chance to chat with IW community relations manager Robert Bowling--better known to COD4 diehards by his online handle, "fourzerotwo"--about the pending downloadable maps. The first thing he told us was the first thing we wanted to hear about this pack: The Middle Eastern and Russian environments will no longer comprise the entirety of the retail game's lineup. Now that the team has moved on from the single-player campaign (and has time to work up some new art assets), we can expect to see new Call of Duty 4 maps set in entirely new locations separate from the original game.

Well, except one of the maps in this pack. It's called Broadcast and is lifted from the Iraqi campaign "Charlie Don't Surf," in which you assault a television station where the enemy is holed up. Don't think the team just copied and pasted the campaign map into this multiplayer pack, though. It does contain the iconic, cavernous main room with its dozens of computer monitors and TV screens, as well as a big map of the world on the wall. We can tell you from experience that that's a great place for multiplayer firefights, with all those cubicles to duck down behind and all that equipment just waiting to get shot up by you or your opponents. A large-scale multiplayer match concentrated in that room is going to be serious calamity.

But Broadcast has been expanded significantly throughout its incarnation in the campaign. There are multiple routes into and out of that main room. Some routes lead up to the building's second floor, replete with smaller rooms and hallways. The map is mostly indoors, so air strikes and helicopters will be largely ineffectual--except up on the roof, which you can access from the second floor, as well as in the expanded parking lot area outside the main building. On the other side of that parking lot is another new, smaller building that you can hide out in as well.

The second map we played is entirely new, and it's named Creek. But there's a lot more to it than a simple babbling brook. This is a very large-scale outdoor map with a small cluster of houses on one side of it. In the middle, there's a huge ravine circling the perimeter with multiple levels of pathways up its side. Down below, the trail leads along the eponymous creek bed to a waterfall. Elsewhere along the base of the ravine, there's a lengthy and winding cave that cuts underneath the hill then out to the other side. As big as it is, there are a lot of places to go on this map; from prone sniping atop the cliff face to hiding out behind a rock in the tunnel, you never know where an opponent will be attacking you.

Creek is a massive original map with a high ravine, cliffside pathways, and a tunnel through the base of the hill.

Broadcast naturally looks exactly like COD4's campaign, but Infinity Ward's artists have done a nice pass on Creek to give it a distinctive look, with rocky terrain and various sorts of foliage that are more verdant than what you've seen in the previous Russian maps. It all feels a little sunnier and more pleasant than the game's other forested maps, too--at least until you catch a slug between your teeth. Because there's so much underbrush and shrubbery on top of the cliffs here, Bowling pointed out that it's a great map for you to use the sniper's ghillie suit for blending in while going for some sneaky kills.

There will actually be four maps in the final pack, though we can only really tell you about these two. The other two will be Chinatown, which is pretty self-explanatory, and Killhouse, which is a "bonus" map that we didn't get any hard details on (though we were told to think of the single-player campaign's initial training level as a reference). The map pack will be available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the coming months for an unspecified price. But interestingly, Infinity Ward hasn't decided how the maps will be distributed on the PC, where players are much more expectant of postrelease bonus content being released for free. Realistically, Call of Duty 4's multiplayer is so absurdly good that would have gladly handed over cash for whatever maps the designers could have phoned in--so we're especially glad to see them putting so much time and care into this first release.

Call of Duty 4 DLC Map Pack Hands-On - PC News at GameSpot

Release The Breakout,looks very nice

Download links
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AS43LO9V
http://files.totalgamingnetwork.com/...+The+Breakout/
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AS43LO9V

COD 4 New Maps and Feedback - Page 2 - T.O.C. Clan Forums

There’s been a lot of buzz about a story The Times a few days ago under the headline “Internet users could be banned over illegal downloads,” which also appeared on the BBC website under the even more alarming headline “Illegal downloaders ‘face UK ban.” Time to get a couple of things straight.

The Times says “people who illegally download films and music will be cut off from the internet under new legislative proposals to be unveiled next week.” Actually, this story is complete balderdash. But the fact that this nutty proposal is getting anywhere at all illustrates how ignorant the powers that be are about downloading.

Let’s get a couple of things straight –

1. This proposal was a draft consultation green paper, defined as “a proposal without any commitment to action.” The government receives many of these on a daily basis. They are like junk mail at Number 10 Downing Street. The Prime Minister’s toilet paper is more important than most green papers, and both are usually filed in the same place.

2. This proposal is totally and completely unworkable in the real world. ISPs will not accept liability for the contents of packets (nor should they), and it would be impossible for them to open and check if every single download and upload was legal or not without the entire Internet grinding to halt. This isn’t in the best interests of the government, the ISPs or the voters. Banning customers and exposing yourself to billions in liability isn’t a good business strategy. Criminalizing six million citizens and inconveniencing the rest is not a vote winner.

3. It would be impossible to tell the difference between illegal downloading and legal activities such as downloading software patches, using torrents to share stuff legally, playing online video games, using VoIP, photo sharing, telecommuting, and many others. The resistance from the private sector would be as strong as it would from the general public.

4. The very idea of this goes against the ruling of the European Court, which says EU member states are not obligated to disclose personal information about suspected file sharers. It would also fly in the face of Article 10 of the European freedom of expression laws, which gives every European the “freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.”

5. WiFi piggybacking and encrypted packets make it impossible to tell who is downloading what in the first place. These techniques are only getting more sophisticated, while for the most part, the content industries collectively remain as dumb as a box of hair.

So in summary:

Insert Toilet Flushing Sound FX Here

This idea makes as much sense as trying to ban people from singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to each other over the telephone network, or burning down libraries to protect the publishing industry. But what’s frightening about such ideas is that they are still taken seriously all over the world by powerful decision makers in government and industry who have absolutely no clue about how the Internet actually works, or the damage such laws could do to democracy.

Before there is any more discussion about this, the music and film companies need to definitively prove illegal downloads cost them millions of dollars in lost revenues. CD sales are falling because nobody uses them anymore, and Hollywood is in rude health despite the pirates. There should be no more talk about changing laws and spending tax payer’s money on this ‘problem’ until someone proves there really is one.

Furthermore, if there is a problem, tax payers shouldn’t have to pony up in the first place. The content industries need to stop braying at governments to protect inefficient business models and look at the real solution that’s been staring them in the face for ten years.

The companies behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft are merging in a deal which could shake up the global video games industry.

Activision and Blizzard have said they will form "the world's most profitable games business" in a deal worth $18.8bn (£9.15bn).

US-based Activision also makes hit console games such as the Tony Hawk series and Guitar Hero.

Nine million people pay a monthly subscription to play World of Warcraft.

'High-growth industry'

Blizzard is the biggest player in online gaming and Warcraft is the global market leader of what are known as massively multi-player online role-playing games, or MMORPGs.

It is currently owned by the French media group Vivendi.

As part of the merger plan, Blizzard will invest $2bn in the new company, while Activision is putting up $1bn.

The merged business will be called Activision Blizzard and its chief executive will be Activision's current CEO Bobby Kotick. Vivendi will be the biggest shareholder in the group.

Jean-Bernard Levy, Vivendi chief executive, said: "This alliance is a major strategic step for Vivendi and is another illustration of our drive to extend our presence in the entertainment sector.

"By combining Vivendi's games business with Activision, we are creating a worldwide leader in a high-growth industry."

Different strengths

The two firms are hoping that their different strengths will combine to form a business which is powerful on every gaming platform and in every territory.

Blizzard is strong in Asia, where its Starcraft series has proved hugely popular.

Starcraft, a strategy game first released in 1998, is played by millions of South Koreans in gaming cyber-cafes, and by professional gamers on television.

Activision has developed a presence on all three new generation game consoles - Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii - with franchises such as Spider-Man and X-Men.

The games software industry has been through turbulent years, with companies changing ownership and going in and out of business in rapid succession.

Activision was formed in 1979 and went through bankruptcy and a series of alliances and mergers before becoming successful.

Blizzard had been through a number of owners before ending up in the hands of Vivendi in 1998

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Blizzard,		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

Hardcore server now live IP 85.236.103.10:28960

How to skip the EA intro video.

Open My Computer and head to the directory where you installed Airborne.

Rename this file to MOH_Shell_EAID.vp6.bak

Right click the MOHA.exe Shortcut

Put -enableconsole after your location in the target box of your shortcut

When ingame pull down the console using the tilde key then type quit and it will take you back to desktop.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Medal of honor airborne		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

Codemasters has released the PC demo of Clive Barker's Jericho. This demo includes an introductory Jericho video and lets you play as three of the Jericho squad members through the sewers of Al Khali. 

Download from:

* 3D Downloads

* Computer Games.ro

* Gamershell

* Worthplaying

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Jericho		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

According to a digital download store, Stranglehold for the PC requires 50GB of free hard drive disk space during installation, however once the game is installed the setup files can be moved elsewhere. If you are installing the game on a secondary drive, then your primary drive will need 20GB of free hard disk space regardless.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Stranglehold		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

5 new screenshots have emerged on the Infinity Ward forums. The menu interface in these supposed PC screenshots is almost exactly like its console counterpart except there is one more notable feature that cannot be found in the console version -- there is a "Mods" button right under options in screenshot 2.

Could be one of the features that fourtwozero claimed would be exclusive to the PC?
Could this mean extensive support for third party modders on the PC?

If these screenshots are legitimate this is great news for the modding community and it will certainly spark more interest in the game

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Call of duty 4		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

It looks like AMD's trying to make some friends in the open source community, with it today announcing some new drivers for Linux along with some details on its plans to open up its drivers to the community at large. Set to be released later this month, the new Catalyst 7.9 software will add Linux support for the ATI Radeon HT 2000 series of graphics processors, along with other "major performance improvements across the board," which it says should result in a "90 per cent improvement in such popular titles as Doom 3 and Quake 4." What's more, AMD also reportedly took advantage of this week's Kernel Summit to announce a fairly major push to go open source with its drivers. As part of that initiative, AMD will apparently work with the open source community develop a 2D and 3D driver that supports all the latest Radeon chipsets, and it'll even release documentation to let anyone (with the necessary skills) build some drivers from scratch. According to blogger Christopher Blizzard, however, that will apparently be a rather slow process, with the documentation for the 2D drivers coming first, and the 3D docs coming some time after that. Still, we're guessing that there's quite a few folks that now know what they'll be doing with their free time for the foreseeable future.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: AMD, ATI, Radeon		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

So Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is done and off to manufacturing! Here at the Splash Damage World Headquarters we started working on the Demo right after the game went gold - we really wanted to get the Demo out there before release to give all of you the chance to see what ETQW is all about. The best part is that the Demo is wrapped up and ready to go; it's set to hit the internet this coming Monday - September 10, 2007 - just a few days from now! Read on to find out the system requirements, what the Demo will contain, and all the cool stuff we've got planned to celebrate the Demo launch.

What You'll Get

The Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars PC Demo comes with the final version of Valley, one of the larger battlegrounds in the game. Set in Yosemite, California, Valley has the Global Defense Force on the attack, as they attempt to foil a Strogg contamination plot centering on a water treatment facility. Valley features a great blend of close quarters infantry action, vehicle battles and aircraft dogfights, and the varied terrain combining mountains, waterways, tunnels and industrial structures allows for many different playing styles. To top it all off, there's a multitude of optional side missions and plenty of opportunities to try out the various defense turrets, artillery and radar deployables - Valley is a prime example of the frantic and diverse action you'll find in Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars.

For those who already played Valley in the Public Beta, the map has undergone further balance improvements based on your feedback. Most notably, the GDF can now capture the Contaminator Forward Spawn before the Shield Generator is hacked, which really cranks up the action around that objective. On top of that, the Demo contains the final XP and weapon balance, player movement, and vehicle handling.

The Demo also features ETQW's bots, so you can explore the map and gameplay in single player mode with computer-controlled opponents, or use the bots to fill up empty slots on multiplayer servers. We are also including the standalone server as well as the server launcher tool, so you can host your own online and LAN games.

Where You'll Get It

We're working with a large number of file hosting websites in order to make the Demo available to as many people as possible. These include Yahoo, Nvidia, FilePlanet, and Fileshack among many others - we'll be keeping an up-to-date list of mirrors right here on the Community Site, so you can pick the one that's best for you.

What You'll Need

With Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars finished, we've got the system requirements locked down and finalized. Here's what you need in order to run the Demo:

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
• Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP/Vista (Windows 95/98/ME/2000 are unsupported)
• Microsoft DirectX(R) 9.0c (included)

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
• CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 2.8 GHz or AMD(R) Athlon(TM) XP 2800+
  processor (Pentium 4 3.0GHz or equivalent for Windows Vista)
• RAM: 512MB RAM (768MB for Windows Vista)
• Video Card: 128MB NVIDIA(R) Geforce(TM) 5700 or ATI(TM) Radeon(TM) 9700 (full list of supported chipsets below)
• Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
• HDD Space: 750MB of free hard drive space, plus 200MB for Windows swap file
• Internet: Broadband connection and service required for full gameplay and downloads. Features may change without notice.

SUPPORTED VIDEO CHIPSETS
• NVIDIA GeforceFX Series (5700 or higher, not including 5700LE and 5700VE)
• NVIDIA Geforce 6 Series (6200 or higher)
• NVIDIA Geforce 7 Series (7300 or higher)
• NVIDIA Geforce 8 Series
• ATI Radeon 9700 or higher
• ATI Radeon X700 or higher
• ATI Radeon X1650 or higher

What Else You Can Look Forward To

To celebrate the launch of the ETQW Demo, we've got a number of cool activities planned. On September 10, we'll be having an IRC Demo launch party in the official Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars IRC channel. This is your chance to chat with members of Splash Damage, id Software, and Activision and play a few rounds of the ETQW Demo with them afterwards.

We've also teamed up with a number of partners to bring you several Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Demo tournaments, so you can try out the game, put your skills to the test and win Cool Stuff. Our partners here include Total Gaming League, Xfire, Eurogamer, and IGUK. Look for more information on these and other Demo events in the coming days!

Phew, that was quite a lot of stuff. We hope to see you on the Demo servers next week

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Enemy Territory Quake Wars, ID		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

The COD series is renowned for its FPS genre and style so when a glitch popped up in the recent COD4 Beta that enabled you to play in 3rd person it was quite surprising. Although not being able to recreate it again this surely opens the doors to PC modders enabling to play the game fully in 3rd Person.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Call of duty 4, Infinity Ward		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

Scottish developer Outerlight has confirmed that they had been signed by a "major publisher" to develop The Ship 2 for the Xbox 360 and PC.
For people who are unfamiliar with the little known first game: The Ship is primarily an online multiplayer murder-mystery title with a unique set of game rules. (It also has a short two-to-four-hour single-player campaign.) It was originally released in 2004 as a Half-Life mod, and then upgraded to Valve's Source engine and re-released in 2006 as a commercial product.
The Ship is set on a 1920s cruise liner, where each player is given a series of mystery targets whom he or she must correctly identify and secretly eliminate. At the same time, the player must also stay alive from other would-be killers. The game combines elements from Cluedo, The Sims, and Quake, into a unique concept but is presented with low-budget, generally underwhelming graphics.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: The Ship, Outerlight		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

As of today, any player currently in the service with an active billed account will not be billed again. If players have previously purchased time via multi-month billing or time cards that extends their service past July 31, NCsoft will reconcile these accounts appropriately. There will be more announcements coming soon regarding the shut down of Auto Assault and its impact on current accounts.

Auto Assault combines vehicular combat with RPG elements, putting players against each other in race vs. race wars for control of the regions in a post-apocalyptic devastated Earth in customizable cars, motorcycles, semis and even tanks. As we mentioned back in July, as of last night NCsoft has closed down service for Auto Assault. It was fun while it lasted.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: NCsoft		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

See how to rewind and stop time to your advantage, even steal enemy guns from their frozen bodies.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Timeshift		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

Download mirror #1 - fangaming.com |

Download mirror #2 - fileshack.com |

Download mirror #3 - worthdownloading.com |

Download mirror #4 - computergames.ro |

Download mirror #5 - gamershell.com |

Download mirror #6 - 3ddownloads.com |

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Fifa08, Electronic Arts		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) announced today that Acer Inc. will become the newest member of the BDA, joining more than 170 of the world’s leading consumer electronic, computer companies and content providers. Acer is one of the three largest personal-computer brands in the world and the number one notebook brand in Europe.
“The addition of Acer provides one more sign of the growing momentum behind Blu-ray Disc and, more importantly, is a significant advantage for consumers, as it further expands the already broad options available to consumers in the personal computer space.” said Victor Matsuda, chairman of the BDA’s Global Promotions Committee.
“With increasing demand and expectation for richer media content, Acer is adding Blu-ray Disc technology into our notebooks and enabling users to experience high-definition content, playback and storage,” said Campbell Kan, Vice President, Mobile Computing Business Unit, Acer Inc. “Acer is pleased to be joining the Blu-ray Disc Association and to continue empowering our users to benefit from the freshest technologies available.”

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Blu-ray, Acer		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

At the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Activision first revealed Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, showing a minute-and-a-half-long teaser trailer with a 2006 release date. The game missed that date, as well as two other release windows given by Activision, but now it appears the Quake Wars are finally ready to ignite.

Activision and id Software today announced that Enemy Territory: Quake Wars for the PC has gone gold, and will be released October 2 in North America, and September 28 in Europe and Australia. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game will ship at a later, as-yet unannounced date.

Set before the events of Quake II, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars drops players in the middle of the beastly Strogg's initial invasion, when they went head-to-head with the Global Defense Force. Players can join either side as one of five character classes and play online or offline with the help of computer-controlled teammates and opponents. The game also lets players grow their characters over time and offers submissions to help new players contribute to the battle without needing to understand the big picture.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is a rare entry in the Quake series, as it carries a rating of T for Teen. The only other installment to avoid an M for Mature rating was the Sega Saturn version of the original Quake, which was also bestowed a T rating.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Enemy Territory Quake Wars, ID		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

Call Of Duty 4 Challenges and Weaponry Interview

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Call of duty 4, Infinity Ward		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

Ubisoft revealed the first trailer to Lost: The Video Game at Comic-Con this year and it left many fans scratching their heads. Thankfully, the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (October 2007, issue number 220) has attempted to clear up some of the details with a new preview.

First, the game will not star Jack or any of the other Lost regulars. The faceless hero of the trailer (who looks an awful lot like Jack) is actually Elliott, a photojournalist with amnesia. Throughout the course of the game (which takes place over the course of the show's first three seasons), players will attempt to restore Elliott's memory and find out why he is on the island.
We also now know that the game's story (and Elliott's) were plotted by the show's executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. This story will be broken up into seven episodes of "roughly an hour-and-a-half each" of gameplay.
Gameplay is based around Resident Evil-style fetch quests and puzzle solving, island exploration, taking pictures, talking with the show's stars (Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Kate, Locke and Sayid for sure) and several action setpieces including hiding from The Others, running from the Smoke Monster and raiding the Black Rock. The gameplay moments will all be interspersed with character flashbacks that reveal Elliott's past.
Ubisoft has also promised a conclusion that "lives up to the finales of the show's first three seasons." After the season three finale, that is big talk indeed.
Lost: The Video Game is scheduled to ship early next year (alongside the start of season four) for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Lost, Ubisoft		Buy
posted by Eggchaser

Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, X360) assaults retailers worldwide on November 5, publisher Activision has announced. The first in the Call of Duty series to shed the World War II trappings of it predecessors, Modern Warfare brings the franchise into the current day with updated weapons and combat scenarios torn from the headlines.

As if 2K wasn't taking enough flak from yesterday's widescreen debacle, now gamers who have spent their hard-earned cash on the PC version of BioShock are finding that they can only install the game twice, ever. The game uses SecuROM copy protection, which verifies the install of the game remotely, disabling further installs once the game has been installed twice. This means if you are the type of person like me who formats your computer frequently to to get rid of generic crap buildup, you are screwed. If you frequently shift around games to free up space, you are screwed. If you are a pirate...well, you'll probably come up with a work around, so at least the criminals are safe, right? . Seems 2K's forums are getting slammed for some odd reason.

Source: http://www.n4g.com/

At the GDC, Microsoft has announced their SideWinder mouse, built from the ground up specifically with gamers in mind. Featuring just about everything you could ever want (and things you'll never ever need), it's the "ultimate" in gaming mice. The mouse features a new "Quick Turn" feature, adjustable weight, adjustable glide, an LCD, a Vista Quick Launch button and more. The best news? It will only cost $79!

Here's the full press release:

Microsoft Hardware's Got Game: SideWinder Line Is Back With a Mouse That Defines Customized Gaming Control

SideWinder Mouse is group's first gaming mouse built in-house from the ground up.

LEIPZIG, Germany - Aug. 22, 2007 - Today at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, Microsoft Hardware debuts the revival of its SideWinder^TM line with its first gaming mouse built from the ground up -- a product that transcends the mouse category to become a customizable gaming system.

The Microsoft® SideWinder Mouse was created to meets gamers' individual needs, providing custom tuning tools and a design for ultimate handling. The first mouse to wear the coveted SideWinder name, this top-of-the-line gaming machine sets itself apart from the competition with never-before-seen features that gamers want, uncovered during worldwide research. Features include one-touch access to Windows Vista® Games Explorer, Quick Turn -- a performance-enhancing macro that lets users check their perimeter from wherever they are in-game -- the first-ever LCD on a gaming mouse, and a cable anchor that doubles as an accessories storage box.

"We're taking gaming mice to a new level with a mouse created in direct response to gamer feedback from all over the world; it offers superior customization and performance handling," said Bill Jukes, product marketing manager for Microsoft Hardware. "We found that gamers are a lot like performance car enthusiasts. They like to tweak and tune their mouse to get it just right, and today we are giving them the tools to create a personalized experience that lets them focus on what's important: being at the top of their game."

The SideWinder Mouse marks the return of the popular SideWinder line of gaming peripherals, established in 1995 and known for its top-notch PC gaming peripherals, including game pads, joysticks and steering wheels. The SideWinder Mouse adds to the line of PC gaming products and reinforces Microsoft Corp.'s continued commitment to PC gamers.

Nearly 5,000 Mice in One

The SideWinder Mouse lets gamers create an individual gaming system with tuning options that allow them to personalize their SideWinder Mouse, including an adjustable weight tray, changeable mice feet with three materials for glide preference, DPI control and new software features. The SideWinder Mouse lets gamers record their own macros by tying a sequence of actions into one press of a button. With all the features in this new mouse, gamers can transform their mouse into nearly 5,000 different mice from a single system.

These new features allow gamers to do the following:

o Turn on a dime. The new Quick Turn feature -- a performance-enhancing macro -- is built right into the software and lets users check their perimeter at any angle from wherever they are in the game with the click of a button.
o Choose the perfect weight. The SideWinder Mouse has a weight cartridge system and comes with four weights (up to 30 grams) so gamers can customize the weight of the mouse to their preference.
o Choose from three sets of feet to match gameplay preference. The SideWinder Mouse ships with three sets of feet, offering varied levels of glide depending on personal preference and the surface used.
o Instantly switch between DPI settings. A 2,000-DPI laser engine delivers super-fast response time, and three DPI switches behind the scroll wheel allow gamers to toggle between low-, medium- and high-sensitivity settings -- in-game, at any time.

The First Gaming Mouse System

The SideWinder Mouse is more than a gaming mouse -- it's a gaming system. To complement the customizable options, this mouse has the following three innovative features to make it the ultimate gaming package:

* LCD. With the first LCD on a gaming mouse, gamers can easily keep track of key gaming actions -- including their DPI and steps for recording macros -- without being distracted from the game.
* Cable management system. The unique cable management system offers the feel of a wireless mouse with the connection speed of a wired mouse by holding the extra cable and preventing it from getting caught on other items on the desk. The cable management system doubles as a storage compartment for extra weights and feet.
* Quick-Launch. The new Quick-Launch button demonstrates the exceptional way in which Microsoft ties hardware and software together. When the Quick-Launch button is pressed from within Windows Vista, it will bring up the Windows Vista Games Explorer so gamers can instantly see the games available in their PC's game library.

"Great games on Windows® deserve great controllers, and the new Sidewinder Mouse delivers," said Kevin Unangst, director of Games for Windows at Microsoft. "The SideWinder Mouse is an ideal companion for every game, from your favorite PC classics to the upcoming releases 'Crysis,' 'Hellgate: London,' 'World in Conflict' and more."

Designed for Performance Handling

The SideWinder Mouse also features a unique design with key ergonomic elements designed to allow gamers hours of comfortable play. Features include the following:

* Two vertical side buttons. This side placement allows gamers to feel exactly which button they're pressing, thereby reducing the risk of executing the wrong command midgame.
* A wide, detented metal scroll wheel. The wheel design helps gamers feel each movement as they scroll, and the wide metal finish adds elegance and control to the mouse.
* Balanced weight. Designed for quick, balanced, comfortable precision gaming action and painted black with a crimson-red stripe, the SideWinder Mouse has gamers in mind from top to bottom.

Pricing and Availability

Microsoft SideWinder Mouse will be widely available in October 2007 for an estimated retail price of $79.95 (U.S.).* The SideWinder Mouse is now available for special pre-sale on Amazon.com and will ship in October when the product is widely released.

Source: http://gamernode.com/

People are keen for the PC version of BioShock. They're gagging for it. This being the internet, some were bound to try and bend the rules to get hold of it early. That's what happened on IGN's Direct2Drive, where a bunch of people found a way to pre-purchase the game AND start playing it, without waiting for the game's official release date. Some may have pulled it off, but most had their downloads cut off when IGN detected the loophole. End of story, right? These were all paying customers, this is the internet, Direct2Drive improve their security and we move on. Right? Nope! IGN have tried to bring the hammer down, sending the following email to all users they detected jumping the queue and trying to get the game early.

Dear ******:

I am legal counsel for IGN Entertainment, Inc. ("IGN"), a subsidiary of Fox Interactive Media, Inc. and owner of the Direct2Drive.com digital store. We understand that on or about August 19, 2007, you accessed IGN's private database and servers (the "Servers") to obtain an unauthorized copy of the videogame BioShock (the "Title") without IGN's permission. As you know, the Title is a copyrighted work that is protected by the laws of the United States, including 17 U.S.C. §101, et seq., and your unauthorized copying of the Title is a clear violation of copyright law and may subject you to civil and criminal penalties, including possible monetary damages .

Notwithstanding any payment you may have made to IGN, you did not obtain any right to receive or copy the Title other than as specifically authorized by IGN, and your copying of the Title from an unauthorized location prior to the time of distribution was clearly beyond the scope of rights that you may have received. The limited license to use the Direct2Drive.com service and to receive a copy of the Title was subject to limitations, and you have violated your license. Moreover, the Servers are not intended for public access, and your accessing and copying of material from them violates the Direct2Drive Terms of Service 1. Either of these actions may subject you to legal action for breach of contract, including possible monetary damages to IGN and/or its licensors.

IGN views your conduct as a serious violation of our and our licensor's rights. In order to avoid further, and even more egregious and willful infringement, IGN hereby demands that you refrain from any reproduction, distribution, or transmission of the Title, or any components of the Title, such as screen shots, images or videos of or from the Title, to any third parties, including to any forum, discussion board, web sites or peer-to-peer networks. In addition, you must delete any copies of the Title already in your possession. You are on notice to retain any and all documents (including electronic documents, e-mails, and any correspondence) that are or may be related to this matter, and w e trust that you will advise others involved of our position on this matter and their document retention obligations.

Please confirm in writing by August 21, 2007 that you have, and will, comply with the above. This letter is not a complete statement of the relevant facts or of IGN's civil or criminal claims with respect to this matter, all of which are reserved.

Sincerely,

Todd Murtha
Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs
IGN Entertainment, Inc.

In other words, even though they paid for it, IGN are now threatening these users with legal action if they don't delete the game. Their defence? That using Direct2Drive subjects you to certain conditions, of which jumping the queue violates. Which may be legally sound, I don't know, I'm not a lawyer. But as an exercise in customer relations? Yeah, not so hot.

Source: http://kotaku.com/gaming/

Get ready to get airborne! On August 23, parachute into combat with EA’s demo release of Medal of Honor Airborne™ for the PC and Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system. The Xbox 360 demo will be available on Xbox LIVE™* Marketplace and the PC version will be available on the official Medal of Honor™ website.

Demo Mission: Operation Husky

A joint allied operation into the island of Sicily, Operation Husky follows Boyd Travers and the 82^nd Airborne on their first combat jump on July 11, 1943. After securing and sabotaging four anti-aircraft guns, Boyd is sent to rendezvous with a group of Airborne paratroopers at the edge of the village. Here, they run into the German Heer army, who is attempting to recapture the village from the Airborne. Boyd must push to the end of this small hamlet, eliminating Germans along the way, then find a sniper rifle and eliminate the German commander. He’s successful, but not before the commander has successfully called in reinforcements.

Source:  http://www.n4g.com/

A Spectral Tiger from the World of Warcraft: Trading Card Game recently sold on eBay for $2000. If we'd have known that the Spectral Tiger that WoW Insider gave away last month would sell for $2000, we would have said. "Contest be damned! We're going to Vegas baby!" The reason the card is so special is because it also gives you a rare mount inside of WoW once you input a code.
Another reason the card sold for so much is that the card set it comes form, Fires of Outland, won't even be out until August 22nd. Beyond that, it's still apparently a rare card. As WoW Insider points out, $2000 is 11 years of game time -- and yes, that's the way they think about these things. Of course, like all things WoW, people go nuts and spend all this money and time on something to only have to be made completely uncool and pointless by something else a month later. But, you know, you're still World of Warcraft cool for a whole month.

Source: http://www.n4g.com/

As producer Mark Rubin mentions, the events of World War II have been set in stone for decades now; there's only so much room for game creators to maneuver fictitiously within that established timeline. But Modern Warfare has gone modern-day, naturally, and Infinity Ward has thus been able to create a cohesive, original narrative that will see you traveling to far-flung locations around the globe, and bearing witness to military conflict and political intrigue that's just a little bit larger than life. Call of Duty 4 is sticking to its heritage in some key areas that returning players will find familiar, though. As in previous games, you'll take up multiple roles as members of multiple international special forces. In Modern Warfare, you'll play a character in the US Marine Corps' elite Force Recon unit, and on the British side, you'll be in the Special Air Service, or SAS, with whom Call of Duty fans should already be quite familiar.

Modern Warfare's campaign mode will take you to turbulent hot spots in Russia and the Middle East.

Don't think of these two groups as representing two distinctive campaigns. The American and British special forces may operate in different geographical regions in the game, but they'll be embroiled in and fighting against the same high-pressure plot against world security. Understandably, Infinity Ward is playing the game's story close to the vest, but so far we know you'll be fighting against a nefarious group led by a couple of shady characters called Al-Asad and Zakhaev, who are stirring up international unrest to further their own aims. We know that Al-Asad is masterminding a political coup somewhere in the Middle East--but that coup is primarily a diversion from Zakhaev's real plan to topple the Russian government, possibly through nuclear means. The Americans will operate primarily in the Middle East, while the SAS will take up arms mostly in Russia. As we saw during our time with the game, you'll switch between the two factions from mission to mission as the story dictates.

To present all this international intrigue, Infinity Ward is employing a number of narrative devices not seen in past Call of Duty games. The game will use a number of semi-interactive cutscenes to convey some key story points, wherein you'll be able to look around and observe events but not necessarily interact with them. We saw one cutscene in which a government official was violently thrown into the backseat of a car--after receiving a rifle's butt to the face--and then whisked through the streets, where bands of insurgents were firing their weapons into the air and executing prisoners at various points along the route. Did we mention you're in the shoes of this unfortunate official and seeing these events (and taking these blows) from his perspective? Yeah, that made things a little more brutal and immediate. This scene culminated in our character being tied to a post as Zakhaev and Al-Asad deliberated over a pistol. That pistol was eventually pointed directly at our perspective, and the scene ended with the distinctive crack of a gunshot.

In addition to switching between the Marines and SAS as the plot necessitates, the campaign will sometimes divert from present-day events to tell more of Modern Warfare's backstory. One mission will actually occur in flashback, taking place in the quarantined Chernobyl zone some 15 years before the game begins. We're told that upon completing this mission, players will gain greater insight into Zakhaev's far-reaching plans, his quest to obtain nuclear materials, and why he only has one arm in the present day. For those interested, a segment of this level can be seen deep within our video from Microsoft's E3 press conference, though we didn't get to see an updated version ourselves.

You need to see the game in motion, firsthand to really appreciate its visuals.

Enough about the big-picture stuff; we did actually play two of Modern Warfare's missions from start to finish. The first was called "The Bog," which we got to take a look at during our E3 stage demo of the game back in July. This mission tasked us, as Force Recon, with fighting our way through a Middle Eastern town in order to secure an embattled tank trapped in a bog (where else?). That involved a lot of house-to-house fighting, popping up from below windowsills, and easing around corners. The gameplay here felt like pure Call of Duty, except we got to replace the old M1911s and M1 Garands with M4A1s equipped with under-mounted grenade launchers, as well as big, mean SAW machine guns. We were frankly stunned at the speed and smoothness of the gameplay, given the game's overwhelming visuals, but we'll elaborate on that later.

Though we'd seen this level before, our hands-on opportunity gave studio head Vince Zampella a chance to illuminate some of the more subtle gameplay features as we played. Enemy forces fired at us unseen as we fought our way through the streets, and we were nevertheless able to suppress them by simply firing at the windows they were attacking from. In fact, this will work against all enemies in the game; we had a real Rambo moment where we leapt into the open and sprayed down a bunch of enemies with a SAW, just so we could get across to find new cover. Occasionally an enemy flare would go up into the sky, bathing our surroundings in a harsh red glow. Zampella said this will actually allow nearby enemies to see us better, which in turn will make it easier for them to take aim on our position.

Lastly, we have to point out our favorite part of this level, which you can see in the video demo. You'll get the chance to use a Javelin antitank weapon to zoom in and lock onto enemy armor, and then launch a rocket directly upward a couple hundred feet into the air. The satisfaction of seeing the projectile plummet straight down and obliterate the tank that's threatening you a few yards away must be enjoyed firsthand.

We then got to jump into "Hunted," the next sequential mission in the campaign, and one in which you'll play as the SAS. Though the between-mission cinematic wasn't in the game yet, we gathered that our team had been conducting a nighttime VIP escort via helicopter in Russia--before our chopper was shot down, that is. So we carefully picked up next to the wreckage and set off quietly with our compatriots across the Russian countryside, ducking and crawling our way through fields of crops and around farmhouses to avoid the sentries patrolling the area. Upon reaching the perimeter of the small village nearby, we saw a couple of paramilitary dudes harassing a local resident, and we had a chance to attack them by surprise and save the guy's life. Zampella mentioned not-so-cryptically that achievements in the Xbox 360 version may be tied to optional heroic moments like this.

We pushed through the village in the dead of night, but we pretty much had to abandon any pretense of stealth after we'd engaged our first round of bad guys; there were plenty more where that came from, naturally. Some of our most dramatic firefights happened within a couple of greenhouses, which Zampella pointed out aren't the best place to take cover. Glass exploded all around us as we tried to fight to the center of town without getting mowed down by the helicopter circling overhead. The mission culminated when we reached a barn where the baddies had stashed some Stinger missiles. We had a jolly time launching those heat-seekers at the chopper, but of course it wasn't ready to go down without a fight. It dropped some chaff to confuse a couple of our missiles before we finally brought it down.

Don't let the free world down, soldier.

Clearly, Call of Duty 4 is the sort of game for which mere words do an injustice. You need to play it on a big screen with roaring surround sound to get the full impact, but we can say this is easily one of the most intense military-themed shooters we've had the pleasure of getting our hands on. Absolutely integral to that experience, from our perspective, is the game's performance level, which Infinity Ward has committed to keeping at 60 frames per second throughout both single- and multiplayer modes. So few developers have prioritized a high frame rate this generation that we'd almost forgotten how much it can impact gameplay. The incredibly smooth performance in our demo really gave the controls a precision and the action an intensity that we couldn't help getting excited about.

What arcane rites Infinity Ward has performed to get this game running so smoothly and looking so good are anybody's guess. Zampella attributes the game's high visual bar less to technical improvements and more to experienced artists and programmers simply making better use of the tools they have at their disposal. However, he did concede that developers are having to fake fewer effects than they did on previous hardware; games are using more generalized lighting models, characters are self-shadowing properly, and so on. These cumulative elements have all added up to an extremely impressive-looking game that even those jaded with modern-day military shooters will want to keep an eye out for when it ships toward the end of the year. We'll do our best to bring you more on Call of Duty 4 before that time.

Codemasters announced today that multiple award-winning videogame composer Cris Velasco (God of War, God of War II) has scored an original soundtrack exclusively for Clive Barker's Jericho™, the eagerly anticipated squad-based horror FPS.

Gamers can witness the phantasmagoria that lies ahead in the introductory gameplay trailer video by following the link below.

Clive Barker's Jericho will unleash its supernatural assault in late October, just in time for Halloween, for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and Games for Windows®.

Click link for video http://www.codemasters.co.uk/

The world's fastest silicon-based microchip has been demonstrated by scientists in the US.

The prototype operates at speeds up to 500 gigahertz (GHz), more than 100 times faster than desktop PC chips.

To break the world record, the researchers from IBM and the Georgia Institute of Technology had to super-cool the chip with liquid helium.

The team believes the device could eventually speed up wireless networks and develop cheaper mobile phones.

"Faster and faster chips open up new applications and reduce costs for existing products," said Professor David Ahlgren of IBM.

Exotic chips

At the moment, most microchips are made from silicon.

But in recent years, there has been a realisation that silicon cannot match other materials in terms of processing speed.

The record breaking chips could be used in mobile phones

For applications that require huge amounts of calculations every second, like collision-warning systems in cars and trucks, companies use exotic materials to produce the necessary power.

Materials like gallium arsenide are commonly used, but are expensive and difficult to fabricate.

However, the chip industry would like to continue to use proven silicon manufacturing technology because it is reliable and cheap.

The new experiments were part of a project to explore the speed limits of devices made of silicon and germanium.

Super cooled

Germanium is already added to the silicon chips used in mobile phones to make them operate more efficiently.

A decade ago we couldn't even envisage being able to run at these speeds             Professor David Ahlgren, IBM

Adding the element allows chips to run faster and use less power. Importantly, they can also be fabricated using existing silicon techniques.

These chips are already known to operate at faster and faster speeds as they are cooled.

To break the speed record, the researchers super-cooled an IBM prototype of a new "high frequency" device to -268.5C, using liquid helium.

This temperature is just above absolute zero, the theoretical minimum temperature possible. When cooled, the chips were able to perform half a trillion calculations every second, a speed of 500 GHz.

By comparison, a powerful desktop PC is capable of about five billion calculations per second.

"A decade ago we couldn't even envisage being able to run at these speeds," said Professor Ahlgren.

Next generation

At room temperature the experimental chips still managed to outperform standard silicon chips, running at about 350 billion calculations per second.

However, the researchers say they can push them even further.

"We observe effects in these devices at cryogenic temperatures which potentially make them faster than simple theory would suggest," said Professor John Cressler of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The team believes it is possible to make chips run at 1,000 Ghz, or one Terahertz, at room temperature.

"Understanding the basic physics of these advanced transistors arms us with knowledge that could make the next generation of silicon-based integrated circuits even better," said Professor Cressler.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

posted by Eggchaser

Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was one of E3 2007's darlings, generating some of the loudest buzz among the gathered press and scoring the "Best Action Game" Game Critics Award post show. The Activision published shooter made waves not only for its gorgeous graphics but for its fresh, modern setting, finally sounding the duty call in the present day.

If you watched Microsoft's E3 press conference, you were treated to a few minutes of the game's co-op experience, courtesy of Infinity Ward lead developer Jason West. While that demo focused on more covert, tactical gameplay and the E3 demo was strictly single player, Call of Duty 4 also features a robust online multiplayer experience, now in beta form.

Recently, I had a chance to finally go hands-on with Call of Duty 4's multiplayer portion, shooting and shanking dozens of gamers via Xbox Live in team deathmatch. At this point, most online multiplayer efforts feel like a been there, done that obligatory inclusion, but Infinity Ward has added plenty to the feature set to make the game stand out among a sea of realistic shooters.

Unfortunately, the hands-on event, held at Hollywood hotspot Cinespace, was marred by technical difficulties. After waiting hours for multiplayer matches to be set up, then consistently being dropped from games and kicked off Xbox 360s for the next 45 minutes, we were collectively grumbly. There was pissing, there was moaning, there was last minute rescheduling. A handful of expletives may have been uttered.

Most of that bitching can be chalked up to simply wanting to get our damn hands on the thing and alternately kill infidels, terrorists, rebels... whatever. I just wanted to put a virtual bullet in something.

Thankfully, the game did not disappoint.

Yes, CoD4 is a gorgeous title. You've most likely seen the screenshots and witnessed the game in motion, so the game's visual merits don't require much fawning over here. The only hands-on impression I can add to that discussion is that the game runs at a near-perfect clip, meaning no stuttering or inconsistencies in presentation soured my experience. (Nor did they give me a scapegoat for getting stabbed in the back multiple times.)

Where the game shines, play-wise, is in its additions to run of the mill head-to-head action. The game's class system starts you off simply, giving you access to player types like Heavy Gunner or Sniper, each with its own load out and weapon types. If you grow tired of your current rifle or sidearm, you can always switch to a dropped weapon from a fallen foe or teammate.

Unlockable class types are available, but only after you've earned enough experience. Experience is earned from actions that you'd expect, from regular kills, knife-only takedowns and even assists, but you'll also earn points for other, less obvious actions, like various self inflicted deaths.

Gaining experience will also unlock aspects outside of classes, including new weapons, grenades, challenges, and promotions. The most intriguing aspects of these unlocked items is combining them in Call of Duty 4's "create a class" system. These custom classes, which you can tweak with your weapons of choice are made deeper by the game's "perks."

These perks, three of which you can apply at one time—one of which is strictly dedicated to adding items to your arsenal—include effects like increased splash damage, better stamina, the ability to shoot through walls, extra health, and even a skill that will allow you eavesdrop on your opponent's voice chat, if they're nearby.

Far more interesting than those rather mundane perks are more unique attributes like the ability to squeeze off one last shot when your health has expired or the option to pull the pin on your last grenade at time of death.

With some twenty perks planned for the final release of the game, I expect that custom classes will be wildly varied—and hopefully well balanced.

While Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare may be one of the breakout shooters of 2007, it's still sure to get somewhat lost in the noise. Anyone who doesn't currently have the game on their personal radar would be well served to give it a second look. Based solely on the multiplayer aspect alone, it's shaping up to be a return to FPS glory for Infinity Ward and Activision.

 Source: http://kotaku.com/gaming/

posted by Eggchaser

Even more exclusive gameplay proving that the hand is indeed mightier than the sword.

Electronic Arts has announced that both PC and Xbox 360 demos for their upcoming WWII shooter Medal of Honor Airborne will be released on Thursday, August 23. Here is a snip:

     Demo Mission: Operation Husky

    A joint allied operation into the island of Sicily, Operation Husky follows Boyd Travers and the 82nd Airborne on their first combat jump on July 11, 1943. After securing and   sabotaging four anti-aircraft guns, Boyd is sent to rendezvous with a group of Airborne paratroopers at the edge of the village. Here, they run into the German Heer army, who is attempting to recapture the village from the Airborne. Boyd must push to the end of this small hamlet, eliminating Germans along the way, then find a sniper rifle and eliminate the German commander. He’s successful, but not before the commander has successfully called in reinforcements.

Source: http://www.firingsquad.com/

Microsoft's DirectX lead program manager has set the record straight on reports that DX10.1 will render the current crop of DX10-compatible hardware "obsolete."

Microsoft's Sam Glassenberg told Next-Gen in a phone interview, "DX10.1 fully supports DX10 hardware. No hardware support is being removed....It's strictly a superset. It's basically an update to DX10 that extends the hardware functionality slightly."
He said that the update is similar to what Microsoft did with DX9. "We did make updates to [DX9] that extended the supported feature set.
"All the hardware is still supported, all the games still run, all the features are still there, we've just simply extended the feature set and the lifetime of the API," he said.
At last week's Siggraph graphics conference, Microsoft detailed the Windows Vista-exclusive API (application programming interface) DX10.1.
Reports spread across the web following the DX10.1 announcement, claiming the current array of DX10 graphics cards will become "obsolete" with the introduction of DX10.1.
Glassenberg conceded that "There will be new features [with DX10.1], and those features may be exposed on new hardware, but this is similar to the model that we had with DX9...[except] with DX10.1, we're saying [to developers], 'if you want to support the new features, you have to support all of them [including original DX10 features].'"
Even though DX10.1 will support current DX10 graphics hardware, today's DX10 hardware will not be able to support all of the features of DX10.1, which includes incremental improvements to 3D rendering quality.
But Glassenberg stated, "It's a minor update, so we don't expect any developers to say, 'oh, this game is DX10.1 only.'
"All off the games that are coming out in the next few years will take better and better advantage of current DX10 hardware."
He said Microsoft is simply planning to support upcoming generations of graphics hardware. Glassenberg added that he "has no timeframe" on when this new hardware that supports DX10.1 will be available.
The DX10.1 beta SDK is available to developers despite the fact that there are no DX10.1 cards available yet. The final version of DX10.1 is expected to ship with Vista SP1.
Glassenberg also addressed rumors that DX10--currently exclusive to Vista--would be coming to Microsoft's Windows XP. It seems that DX10's Vista exclusivity is unlikely to change.
"DX10 is built on the new, updated Vista driver model," he said, adding that DX10 takes advantage of the "virtualization and robustness" features of Vista.

posted by Eggchaser

THQ releases four screenshots of their action game Conan. It looks quite fine, and we hope the combat system will be as good. Anyway, the Conan universe seems to be very well transcripted. Kraken and sexy women people !

Source: http://www.gamersyde.com/

Game Trailer posted a new trailer of BioShock for PC and Xbox 360

   posted by Eggchaser

The Bioshock demo starts us off with a slick, yet simple opening cinematic - pretty much a first-person view of you looking at the back of someone's chair. You pull out your wallet, you glance at a photo of your own family waiting for you down at terra firma. Everything's cosy, everything's peaceful on the passenger plane you're on. Nothing unusual.

Then, a curve ball. Your airplane crashes into the sea.

A moment later, we're waterlogged - your character is gasping and coughing as he watches the airplane he's been comfortably sitting in burn in a fiery blaze. Control is given to us at this point, and we can move across the water pretty quickly. It's to note that the graphics, even right at the beginning, pull no punches to astound you - the water looks absolutely beautiful, and the blaze that burns from what's left of the sinking airplane is reflected magnificently off the surface. The airplane itself is sinking, so we swim towards what appears to be a small island.

Gasp, cough, hack, wheeze. Our character's thankful we got out of the water quickly enough. We pull ourselves up onto the island, walk up its stairs, and into an entrance that seems to lead to something else deep underwater. We find a bathysphere, and, being the curious feline about to flirt with death - we activate it with a pull of a lever (done by pressing A, the context-sensitive interact button) and we wait as we're sent deep into the unknown.

10 fathoms. 18 fathoms. Looking out the Bathysphere's porthole, we get a glimpse of Rapture - and it's a gigantic, bustling metropolis flourishing under the sea. Buildings with inviting neon lights stretch out from the ocean floor while a giant whale swims past us, seemingly unperturbed by the encroachment of human civilization upon its habitat.

The graphics wow us more over here - it's really something to see something as massive and as detailed as the exterior of Rapture glowering at you from the Bathysphere. Really awesome.

Just when we're starting to feel comfortable, though, things go downhill the very moment we get to the end of our Bathysphere journey. We witness in real-time a cold-blooded murder of a civilian - the murderer a bloody, mutated creature that was once a man, and with hooks instead of hands. A clever use of lightning and darkness plays here and amplifies the tension, so much that I reflexively looked around for a way to escape. No such luck, we're trapped in a freaking metal ball!

The creature then turns its attention to us, and it tries to get at us. Fortunately, it only manages to give us a scare, and soon gets tired of us. We take a moment to collect ourselves - and change any soiled underwear if need be - and continue on our journey, taking with us a radio that might probably be our only sane companion in this twisted tour of Rapture.

The radio crackles and speaks to us. The bloke on the other end seems to be named Atlas, and from what we could gather he's one of the few people left sane in Rapture. He's pretty much the game's way of giving us tips and mission objectives - the first of which is to get to a location in the city, where he believes his wife and son are trapped. Our character is his last hope on finding them - and as such, he'll be helping us along the way.

That's the first few minutes of the Bioshock demo - and it'd be criminal of me to spoil the entire thing for you, as it really needs to be played. The visuals are breathtaking, and very high-end. Sound and lighting are all used to create one of the most frightening atmospheres ever, and you'll find yourself being all too sensitive from the smallest peep you hear as you trek the halls of Rapture.

The AI here is also ridiculously smart, with your enemies using a number of different tactics every time you try and take them down. They'll flank, use cover, dive out of your range - and most disturbingly, lunge at you in a deadly melee attack, even after you've set them on fire with an Incineration attack. This little quirk of theirs always got me into a panic myself, with me emptying the machine gun I managed to recover into a splicer even though it's already been put down. No, my ammo!

If you've been looking for a demo to play, the Bioshock demo is IT. There's so much to this game than meets the eye, and that's a whole lot. Great visuals, mind-screwing special effects, a dark anti-establishment undertone reminiscent of Fallout, it's all here. The moment you see the game's logo float up into the screen, dripping with the seawater it rose up from - it's going to be one hell of a ride from that point forward, until you're left gasping and shaking from the demo's tension-filled cliffhanger ending.

As for this writer, while I'm certainly glad to get out of Rapture for the time being, I can't help but feel excited for the day when we're not only given a taste of Irrational Games' Bioshock, but we're given full access to the whole smorgasbord. Rapture may not be a very good place to live in right about now, but it sure as hell is fun - the scares and frights included - to visit.

Source: http://xbox360.qj.net/

If you’ve ever wondered just how much damage two pistols and a shotgun can do to a Chinese market stall then you’d need look no further than the video...

Source: http://www.n4g.com

1. Game will be available on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

2. Modern day setting allows for cool post-modern Russian and Middle Eastern storyline combinations.

3. Game physics system allows for bullet penetration on certain types of objects (wooden doors, etc.).

4. Create-a-class character builder that grows as you gain experience.

5. Weapon challenges (e.g. Get 25 kills with an M16, etc.) that award experience and gun-specific awards when completed.

6. Online ranking system & deep multiplayer experience system.

7.Optional unlockable camo designs for weapons.

8.Attachments for weapons (grenade launchers, scopes, silencers, etc.)

9. One-hit-one-kill knife attack.

10. Multiplayer respawns keep you out of harm’s way and spawn you close to an ally, eliminating spawn camping.

11. UAV support (spot enemies on radar), air strikes (call in air support on enemy positions), and helicopter support (a chopper patrols the map for a short duration and fires at enemies within its Line of Sight.)

12. Perk System - Select multiplayer abilities that give you added bonuses.

Source:Gamerscreed.com

TimeShift derives its name from a time-traveling plot, as well as an ability that allows players to rewind, slow, or pause the flow of time during combat.