Talk About Games

Setting Up Controller for Blazblue Continuum Shift With Xpadder

2010-05-11T20:37:00.003+07:00

I try to explain how to configure controller to play Blazblue Continuum Shift (BBCS) emulated version using Xpadder. In this post I use Logitech Cordless Rumblepad for an instance.
First thing first, you need to install Xpadder, if you don't have it yet you can download here.
From now on I assumed you installed the game and downloaded Xpadder. Thus, follow the steps :
1. Open your game directory and find the file 'typex_config.exe' then run it. I marked the file name in the figure below.

2. 'typex_config.exe' is used to configure your keybord as a controller to the game (BBCS). Once you run the program you'll find the window like this

3. Just type 'n' for the first-three dialogue and for the forth just press 'enter'.

4. Next, configure your keyboard, press any key you wish for each joystick and button. Remember your configuration or make a note just in case you forget. Don't use the same keyboard button for each joystick or button.

P1 means 'player 1', U means 'up' (move upward), for D,L,and R I believe you can figure it out yourself. Button 1,2,3,4 corespond to A,B,C,D button on the game (you'll figure out those buttons (A,B,C,D), once you launch the game).For button 5 and 6 I don't know what it's worth for, yet. Coin means this button is used to insert coin/s in the game. Service button is used toconfigure the game setting. Exit button is used to close the game. If you finished the setting for player 1, next you need to configure the button setting for player 2 or you can skip it, if you play the alone. to skip the configuration, don't press any keyboard key until the program closed itself. (Note : the exit button appears at the very last of the configuration (after the P2 configuration), so keep eyes on, just in case you miss it. Make sure you bound it before the program closed). If you didn't press any button during the P1 or P2 during the given time it'll be marked as 'not bound'.

5. All right, we finished the typex thing now, so lets move on to Xpadder thing. You don't need to install the program, just run it, it's a portable program. Once you run it you'll see the window like this (Note : you have to plug your controller in before or during the program is running to allow the program to detect the controller)

Start means it's where you should start from just press it, image means you can attach an image to identify your controller (you don't need to attach image, and I don't explain it. It's not really essential, but, yes it may be usefull). Sticks, well, I don't know what it is (I apologize for my ignorance).
DPad, well, its the movement button.Enable it by checking the 'Enabled' box, it will automatically detect your controller movement button (d-pad button).

Then press all the d-pad button on your controller and the program will automatically assign it and give you a d-pad picture like this

6. All right, we have the movement button now, lets assign another button then. To do so, press 'Buttons'. Then, press all available buttons on your controller except d-pad, analog trigger, and vibration trigger button.

Your Xpadder window should look like the picture above, now. For 'Triggers' I don't explain it, it's not essential and it doesn't work either (according to my experience). But if you are curious, find out what it will give you. We finished setting up buttons now, so press 'Finish' and 'Close'.

7. It's time to assign your keyboard key to your controller button. Once you press 'Close' the Xpadder window will appear like the picture below.

Lets say it's your virtual controller now, to assign a button click it, and then a new window will pop up, it's, lets say, a virtual keyboard.

Now choose a keyboard key, according to your configuration in typeg you made previously. For an instance, I assign 'Up' button (on the controller) to 'Up arrow' on the keyboard. Once you selected a keyboard key, the virtual keyboard window will disappear and the button on your virtual controller is marked with the keyboard key you selected.

8. Once you done assigning the buttons, it's a good idea to save your configuration, because, I belive you don't want to do all these boring steps over again, everytime you want to play the game. There are two things to save, one is your controller profile and two is your game profile. I marked controller profile with number '1' and game profile with number '2'.

Well we're done now, thanks for reading and happy gaming.

WoW Headset from Creative

2009-08-21T00:35:00.005+07:00

Creative teamed up with Blizzard crating gaming headset for World of Warcraft fans.Lets take a look this new stuff.

Design

The overall design boasts some edgy surfaces that look a lot like one of the previously released WoW gaming mice (the 15-button one); nevertheless, the other rounded sides make this headset look almost great, especially if we think about the programmable RGB LEDs for the glyphs.

Features

These headphones come in both wired and wireless versions, they also sport a detachable microphone and Creative's proprietary VoiceFX technology. Looking closer to the mic, its only way to hook up with the headset is the 3.5 jack, which makes is rather prone to breaking and utter destruction if dropped or handled not so carefully. On the other hand, we're not sure that the voice-altering FX will be that much of a win...

Tech

On the tech side, this headset comes with a closed, circumaural design, which means the ear pieces will cover your entire ear, while at the same enhancing the acoustic presence and cutting off a lot of ambient noise. Creative also claims that these headphones come with one of the world’s best virtual 3D audio technologies, courtesy of the THX TruStudio PC Surround system.

Price

The price is about $100 to $150, which could make a lot of gamers (not the WoW die-hard fans, most likely) ponder between these and some really fancy semi-pro headsets.

SOURCE : Softpedia

'Emotion Detecting' PS3 Technology

2009-08-18T04:30:00.006+07:00

Sony has filed a patent for a new technology that uses a camera and microphone to detect a player's emotions, including laughter, sadness, anger, joy, and even boredom. This new technology will read metadata derived from a camera and microphone to know your emotional response to what you're seeing, such as potentially laughing at a humorous portion of a game.

According to the patent filing, this technology identifies emotions by reading facial expressions, as well as group behavior such as two players high-fiving each other. Boredom, for instance, could be detecting depending on whether someone is "looking away from the presentation, yawning, or talking over the presentation."

Exactly what applications Sony has planned for use with this technology in videogames isn't included in the patent.

SOURCE : 1Up

Six Perfect Games on Gamespot

2009-08-16T12:27:00.018+07:00

I browsed some game reviews at Gamespot.com. I found that just few number of game that got 10, the highest score from Gamespot.com, the actual number is only six. Here the list

Metal Gear Solid 4

The Good

A brilliant mixture of storytelling and gameplayMind-blowing audiovisual presentation. Tight and compelling shooting mechanics. Gratifying stealth

mechanicsLots of cool gadgets and weapons that you can tailor to your own style of play

Developer : Kojima Production

Publisher : Konami

Genre : Action Adventure

ESRB : Mature

Release Date : June 12, 2008

Platform : PS3

Grand Theft Auto IV

The Good

Superb character-driven story. Liberty City really does feel alive. Multiplayer modes that let 16 players go wild a

cross the entire city. Genuinely funny radio and TV shows, comedy acts, and character dialogue. Controls are much improved over previous games

Developer : Rockstar North

Publisher : Rockstar Games

Genre : Action Adventure

ESRB : Mature

Release Date : April 29, 2008

Platform : PS3, XBOX 360

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

The Good

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 strikes a perfect balance between new and old and renders the two previous entries in the series almost completely obsolete in the process

Developer : Neve

rsoft Entertainment

Publisher : Activision

Genre : Sport Skateboarding

ESRB : Teen

Release Date : October 28, 2001

Platform : PS2

Chrono Cross

The Good

Square's Chrono Trigger got everything right. The self-proclaimed "dream team" of scenarist Yuji Hori (Dragon Quest), producer Hironobu Sak

aguchi (Final Fantasy), and character designer Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball Z) created a quirky, enjoyable romp through time with a cast of endearing characters, memorable environments, solid RPG gameplay, and unparalleled presentation. Needless to say, fans

have clamored for a sequel ever since.

Developer : Square Soft
Publisher : Square EAGenre : RPG
ESRB : Teen
Release Date : August 15, 2000
Platform : PS2

Soul Calibur

The Good

Soul Calibur is the best 3D fighting game ever released in the arcades. Better than Virtua Fighter 3. Better than Tekken 3. If that weren't enough, the Dreamcast version one-ups the original arcade release in just about every way imaginable. Now that we've established that, let's explore why, and what it is about the Dreamcast version that raises the bar on fighting games in general.

Developer : Namco
Publisher : Namco
Genre : Fighting
ESRB : Teen
Release Date : September 8, 1999
Platform : SEGA Dreamcast

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Good

Graphically, Ocarina of Time is simply unmatched. This is a sequel at its finest, expanding on previous themes and bringing plenty of new stuff to the table.The control really holds the game together. Ocarina of Time definitely follows in the footsteps of the previous games, and the result is a game that can't be called anything other than flawless.

Developer : Nintendo
Publisher : Nintendo
Genre : Action Adventure
ESRB : Everyone
Release Date : November 23, 1998
Platform : Nintentdo 64

SOURCE : Gamespot

List of Good Game and Low in System Requirement

2009-08-09T21:11:00.004+07:00

Now days, many game are really highly demanding on PC resource. Fast CPU, large RAM capacity, and high-end graphic card are needed to play most game now. But there are still many games that's really worth-playing with low requirement. Here is the list :

Plants vs Zombies

A tower defense strategy game, graphically nice, and the gameplay is also really fun. I must warn you about addiction, this game is really addictive. You can play this game for hours, lots of game mode to play including adventure mode, mini game mode, survival mode, puzzle mode, and a stress-free zen garden mode.

Also there are tons number of plants to use during the game, and lots of zombie to fight. Each plant has it's own unique abilities, and so does the zombie.

World of Goo

It is a puzzle game game. Your goal is to build such web to connect one place to another, you use the Goo to build your web.

It has an adorable physic engine, that will be your constraint to complete the game objective. The Goos are like some jelly bubble that is really unstable, and the gravity really make it more unstable, so you need to be careful when you build a high or long web, since it may collapse anytime. Sometime you need some unique Goo to complete your objective, or use some additional item like balloon to make a higher building.

This game is really fun.I believe you will spend much time on it.

Braid

Braid is a platforming-puzzle game.

Braid takes a simple idea and makes a very complex game from it. The puzzles scale nicely, and while the urge to look up a walk-through is tempting on later levels, if you stop and consider all the options the answer is usually right in front of you. Add in beautiful audio - the music is so fitting, and sounds great both forward and in reverse - and visuals, and the option to delve deeper into the story and collect the "stars", and you have a really unique, creative, and all round enjoyable experience. If only there were more levels... While the story isn't exactly clear, it still hints at a broader tale underlying the game, and it's the ambiguity that adds a certain mystique.

My only complaint is that collecting the stars can become very frustrating after a while - but if you're patient it can be done.

Crayon Physic Deluxe

It is a very unique puzzle game. What make it unique is, you need to draw something to solve the puzzle rather than moving an object or character. It's really up to you on how to solve the puzzle. Sometime you need to draw a very simple circle or robe, another time you need to draw a hammer to smash an object.

The gameplay is repetitive, but it is still fun to play, since each level give a different challenge and lots of level to complete.

And Yet It Moves

It's platforming-puzzle game. It's a bit different to common platforming game, beside moving your character along the path with backward or forward move, you also can move you character by rotating it to get to some place. Anything else, it's just like another platforming game complete your objective by moving to the end of a path, solve some puzzle, and passing obstacle like fire and some creature.

Logitech Cordless RumblePad 2 Setting for Street Fighter IV Tips

2009-08-09T20:01:00.012+07:00

The Basic

If you have no idea where to set your gampad (controller), first time you start the game you will find this window

Then you choose "Controller Setting" , I marked above, next you will be directed to another window

Next from the drop-down menu I marked above choose "Logitech Cordless RumblePad 2".

Configure Your Button Setting

To configure the button setting simply by clicking each corresponding button and then you press the button you want to assign from your controller, or you can choose from the drop-down menu. I suggest to press the button from your controller, it's easier that way.

The Tips

The tips I describe here is only to make you easier to access some move, like ultra combo, throw, and focus attack. For addition, also easier access to start button (usually to pause the game). Here the tips, set your button configuration like the picture shown bellow

The idea of the configuration is to

1. Make Light Punch button adjacent to Light Kick button , so you can gain easier access to Throw move

2.Make Medium Punch button adjacent to Medium Kick button, so you can gain easier access to Focus Attack move

3. Set the Triple Punch button and Triple Kick button to the right shoulder button of your controller, so you can gain easier access to Ultra Combo move and Special Combo-Ex move. For most of character Triple Punch/Kick button also can be used as High Punch/Kick button.

That's the tips, anyway you can improve it for better configuration.

18 Karat Gold Game Boy

2009-08-09T09:12:00.000+07:00

Say hello to the stunning 18 Karat Gold Game Boy. Hot, isn’t she? Just in time for the holiday season, London’s Asprey has built up a Game Boy with enough bling to last you until well into next year. Weighing in at 27 ounces, this bad girl is going for $ 14,000. So you had better start saving up now!

Dell Launches Special Edition X-Men XPS Gaming PC

2009-08-09T09:10:00.000+07:00

Dell has recently unveiled a special edition X-Men XPS gaming PC. Unfortunately, like the XPS 600 Renegade announced earlier this year, the X-Men PC will sell for $10,000. So, I guess you need to decide- next year’s tuition or that pesky mortgage payment- or the collector’s edition X-Men XPS Dell gaming PC? Well, duh! The gaming PC.

Inside your redesigned XPS casing you will find an Intel Pentium 965 Extreme Edition processor with Dual Core Tech, scores & scores of RAM & a Quad NVIDIA SLItm graphics card featuring four GeForce 7900 GPUs, if you know what the heck that is.

The aluminum XPS case has state-of-the-art thermal management to keep things cool inside & out. You have a total of six choices when it comes to your $10,000 machine. I’ll go with pink or maybe black to emulate the darkness & emptiness of my wallet after such a costly purchase.

Game History

2009-08-09T09:09:00.002+07:00

Video Game

Video game was invented only in the recent years, around 1952. In the beginning, the game was played on round monitors and the images displayed were composed of several distinguishable round dots of same color, lines and letters.

“Tennis for Two” was the first video game displayed in public, in the year 1985. This game was also played on a round monitor, but the graphics was much better than the previously developed video games. “Space war” is another video game that was developed in the year 1962. This game is designed be used in more than one computer. Though advanced graphics was used in this video game it, did not catch on.

The first arcade game was developed in the year 1971; the game was called the “Computer Space”. In this game the two flying saucers has to be defeated by hitting them with missiles. The machine looked cool, and started coming in different colors.

In 1972, the first console Odyssey was created. The Odyssey was simple in design; it could be connected on to the television and played. Video game consoles essentially evolved from this.

The video game industry has been making record-breaking sales. A large percentage of those who play games do so with friends and family. The choice of games determines whether the family can play together or not. These games may improve hand-eye coordination, cognitive thinking skills and play skills if used in the right way. Adventure games and role playing games stimulate imagination.

Sometimes, video games may take the place of spending quality time with children. This is a detrimental trend. Being hooked on video games makes children spend more time indoors and thus they do not get enough exercise. Some children tend to neglect their schoolwork and chores. Some games may be too mature or violent and are just not appropriate for children.

Parents must read the reviews, rent the games before they buy it and if possible, play with their children to find exactly what it contains and whether it is appropriate for their children. Video arcade was introduced to the world by the legendary game Pong. The most popular types of video games are action/adventure, arcade, role-playing, strategy/puzzle, simulation, and driving/racing games.

PC Game

Computer research scientists created games as a hobby. At the onset of the PC revolution, computer games were the most widely written programs. PC gaming emerged as an industry in the 90s. The first ‘real’ computer game was Spacewar!, created at MIT in 1961 by Steve Russell and a few colleagues on a PDP-I. Steve was a fellow at MIT’s Hingham Institute. The game was a duel between two spaceships and included a scoring system. Later games used a text-based interface.

War games, adventure games and role-playing games (RPGs) were popular in the late 70s and early 80s. Companies re-created favorite games on the computer and thus introduced people to the world of computer gaming. Adventure games were also story-based like RPGs, and focused more on solving puzzles. Virtual machines (VMs) were created so that the games could be written for different types of computers. VMs also enabled the large text-based games to run on PCs with limited resources. By the mid-80s and later, computers possessed increased graphics processing capabilities. This led to the end of the text-based games market.

With the development of technology in the 90s, companies could no longer dominate the PC game industry. More and more people were now involved in creating a game when compared to the early era, where gaming was the domain of hobbyists and a few game developers. Hardware and software complexity increased and developers faced many problems. High-quality gaming grew expensive and there were only a few trendsetters. Simulation games and 3D graphics were the highlights of this era. Technological innovations led to the rise of the gaming industry. These days, more of hype is used to sell games as the quality of gaming is becoming shoddy.

Skype on Your PSP

2009-08-09T08:13:00.001+07:00

The Sony PSP, the Swiss Army Knife of mobile entertainment devices, received yet another feature in a recent firmware update with the addition of Skype VoIP support. The Skype software allows the PSP to make calls over the Internet. Skype users can call other PSP or PC Skype users as well as cell phones and regular phone lines. Skype-to-Skype calls are free, but calling out to a real phone will cost real money starting from 2.1 cents a minute depending on location. A Skype-enabled PSP can also accept calls, but you’ll need to deposit money into your Skype account to cover for incoming calls coming from a cell phone or landline.

Sony PSP Skype Essentials

Sony PSP-2000

The Skype update only works with the Sony PSP-2000 series released in October 2007. According to Sony, the original PSP doesn’t have enough onboard memory to support Skype. Note that the last digit of the PSP model number may differ depending on the geographical region but all 2000 series PSPs should work with Skype.

Memory Stick Duo

You already need the memory stick for game saves, system updates, and multimedia playback. Add Skype to the memory-stick-required list.

Skype-compatible microphone

The system requires the PSP headset and PSP headphone with remote accessory to function with Skype. The actual headphone portion isn’t used--you plug the headset into the remote portion of the headphone kit. We tried using only the headset without the headphone accessory, but people we called told us that the sound was practically inaudible from our side. The tethered remote unit comes bundled with a pair of headphones at the moment, but future retail packs will have them bundled with a headset and microphone.

Wireless Internet access

You’ll need an Internet-enabled Wi-Fi connection to get your PSP online to make those Skype calls.

PSP Skype Installation

The first step in the process involves configuring the Internet connection, which you should have already done if you've ever taken the PSP online to play games or browse the web. If you’re making a call from a public Wi-Fi hotspot, you might have to fire up the PSP Internet browser to accept the hotspot’s terms of service before getting online.

You’ll need to update your PSP’s firmware to enable Skype functionality if you bought your PSP-2000 close to launch. You can find the update on Sony’s PSP support page and full instructions on how to properly update the device. After installing the system update, you’ll find a new Skype selection under the Network in the XMB menu, nestled between the LocationFree Player and Remote Play.

The Skype program will give you the option of using an existing Skype account, or creating a new account directly from the PSP. Making a Skype account couldn’t be easier. Enter your email address and the desired login and password, and you’re on your way. Once the account is created, you can use either your PSP or a PC to hop over to the Skype site to purchase Skype credits using either PayPal or a credit card. You need Skype credits if you want to call cell phones or regular land lines using your Skype account.

The Skype menu has five main sections: My Profile, Contacts, History, Dial, and Tools. The Profile section lets you adjust personal information. From here, you can change your status, icon, and mood message. Other profile settings let you set your location, email address, and contact numbers.

The Contacts page, as the name suggests, displays your contact list. From here you can choose contacts to call, but you'll be limited to audio chats only. You won't have the ability to launch video chats—Skype didn’t recognize the PSP camera attachment we imported from Japan. Voice quality will vary with your internet connection, but even with spotty service the connection is more than usable. Our PC friends did have to update their Skype program to the latest version to stop numerous error screens from popping up during our calls.

The History icon keeps track of all incoming and outgoing calls and records how long you were in the chat for. It's also a quick way to go back and redial recent calls.

The Dial feature lets you call outside phone numbers with the PSP. You will of course have to pay real money for this feature to work. We made a few calls using the service and it functioned as advertised, and voice clarity on both ends was more than passable. We did notice some lag, but nothing severe enough to disrupt the conversation.

The Tools menu lets you jump to the Skype page to purchase more air time, change default sounds, troubleshoot network related port settings, manage blocked users, and tweak a few other minor settings.

Overall, we found Skype on the PSP to be easy to use and great for voice chats. We don't miss the text chat interface, as the PSP's text input mechanism doesn’t make for fast messaging. We’re not really sure how often you’ll actually use Skype on the PSP, but you’ll be glad to have it if you ever find yourself without a landline and a cell phone, but happen to be near an open Wi-Fi connection.

Keychain Atari Plug-N-Play Games

2009-08-09T07:56:00.000+07:00

In the days of yore, we busied ourselves with Atari. Now that Sony & Microsoft have the large standing on the market, we can only dream of the old days.

But it looks like we can now relive the past with a Keychain Atari Plug-N-Play. These pocket-sized Atari systems just need to be hooked up to the closest TV with the included 6-foot cable & you’re ready to get your old school game on.

Choose from oldies but goodies games: Asteroids, Millipede, Centipede, Yar’s Revenge, Pong, Breakout, & Warlords. Cost, $15.

Gaming and Health Issue

2009-08-09T07:55:00.001+07:00

Gaming is one of the most popular pastimes amongst the young and old alike. Millions of gamers spend time and money fulfilling quests, shooting monsters, and having online multiplayer fun. Health is one of many aspects of gaming, and it is the one most people are most concerned about. Health concerns can be broadly split up into two categories: physical and psychological (mental).
　
Physical

Physical health (or the lack of it) due to computer gaming is quite recognizable. Too much late-night gaming can cause eye-bags, fatigue and even obesity. Other symptoms include:

Dry eyes – from prolonged periods of looking at the computer screen
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – a condition which arises due to the pressing or squeezing of the median nerve, which runs from the forearm to the hand
Aches in head, back and neck – due to prolonged periods of staying in a certain position (eg sitting on a chair)

Research has also shown that gaming, when in limited and controlled amounts, can help boost physical health. Playing first-person shooter (FPS) games like Quake and Doom can sharpen physical reactions. Other benefits include better listening skills and social skills.

Recently, the Nintendo Wii console was released, and it promised greater interactivity between the game and the gamer. Gamers now have to weld the controller around, and not just mash the buttons. There have been reports online about people who lose weight while playing games on the Wii. Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is a similar game that can be found in arcades where gamers can actually work up a sweat while playing it. Other games of such category include ParaParaParadise(dancing) and Nihon Cops(1st person shooter) which utilize motion sensors to detect human motion and move or react the game accordingly.Such activities are definitely beneficial, especially to gamers who are used to sitting down and passively staring at the screen for hours on end.

Strategy/Puzzle games such as Command & Conquer,Tetris and Bejewelled encourage and develope our thinking and planning ability, while Shooters/Action games like Silent Scope are used to train the dexterity of surgeons.

Psychological (Mental)

Unlike physical health effects of gaming, mental health cannot be easily seen or detected. It is agreed that playing games ‘exercises‘ the mind, whether the game is a fast-paced FPS, or a puzzle-based one like Sudoku. and the ability to forge strong trust relationships and communities online. It is even possible for games to distract the player from the sensation of pain, giving games its place in therapeutic use.

Brain Age, available on the Nintendo DS, is regarded as one of the pioneer thinking games of its kind. It aims to boost psychological health by training to brain in games which are progressively difficult to master. Along the way, it has become one of the best-selling games for the Nintendo DS, proving that gamers are no slouch when it comes to mental health.

However, too much gaming is definitely detrimental on the mental health. Gamers might become too obsessed with blood, gore and violence, and act out their gameplay in real life. Lack of concentration in school or work is also commonly seen among gamers who stay up all night to play. Lack of appetite and loss of sleep are other afflictions of hardcore gamers.

In some cases, cyberbullying has led to online victims developing aggressiveness, anti-social behaviour, and some even go on to act out their in-game fantasies. One of the most notable case involved the Columbine High School shooting, which was attributed to the gunmen being addicted to the FPS Doom. Other games such as Grand Theft Auto (GTA), Manhunt 2, Mortal Kombat and Carmeggedon have similar courted controversy over their extremely violent themes in their game play.

Some Banned Games

2009-08-09T07:46:00.006+07:00

Command and Conquer: Generals
Banned in: China

Why? This strategy game got the backs of the Chinese government up, with the Ministry Of Culture proclaiming it "smeared the image of China and the Chinese army." It also took offense that the game required players to destroy various national monuments like the Three Gorges dam.

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Banned in: Mexico

Why? Seriously pissed off one Chihuahua Governor Jose Reyes Baeza Terraces, who discovered that Ubisoft's game featured a fictional storyline in which citizens of Chihuahua fled their town and were replaced by armed insurgents. Unfortunately, Terraces exposed his painful lack of video game knowledge when he was quoted as saying, "Violent video games ... attempt to divide the good will of the residents of American and Mexican cities."

Reservoir Dogs
Banned in: New Zealand

Why? No great surprises here, as anything associated with Quentin Tarantino seems to attract a fair degree of controversy - not that he had anything to do with this woeful adaptation of his 1992 film debut. Amazingly, given the film's cult classic status today, the BBFC (which is responsible for the banning of Manhunt 2) initially refused to give it a video classification, and it wasn't until 1995 that UK film fans could see it outside of a movie theater. The New Zealand Office of Film and Literature Classification banned it on much the same grounds as the BBFC did, saying "the film tends to promote and support the infliction of extreme violence and extreme cruelty… for the purpose of entertainment."

Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
Banned in: Australia

Why? Although style guru Marc Ecko's graffiti game was initially granted a 15 rating by the Australian OFLC, it was later banned after an appeal ruled that the game promoted an illegal act (graffiti), gave hints and tips on how to do it and rewarded the player for scribbling "I love Tracey" on public buildings and infrastructure. Clearly the Aussies don't do hip-hop.

Postal
Banned in: 13 countries

Why? The fact it's advertised as banned in 13 countries works in the same way that Ruggero Deodato's exploitation-film classic Cannibal Holocaust was supposedly banned in 50 countries - it's a great selling point. Unsurprisingly, it's not available in Germany and Australia, and someone tried to get it banned in the US. It's got a lot to do with the fact the minimal plot involves the lead character going on a killing spree, shooting people, innocent or not, simply because he's angry about being evicted from his house.

Graphic Setting

2009-08-09T07:44:00.002+07:00

Games have several graphics settings that you can tweak to get better performance. Most games don't have the exact same menu settings, but several graphics options appear time and time again. Knowing how these game settings affect performance is crucial to helping you set a game to its proper level. Crank the settings too high, and your frame rates will plummet into the single digits. Go too low, and you might end up sacrificing too much image quality for nominal performance gains.

Roll your mouse cursor over the image to see the comparison shot. The first shot has the game running with 4x antialiasing and 4x anisotropic filtering. The second shot has both of those settings cranked to 16x. Both settings look great, but the 4xAA, 4xAF settings will give you a much higher frame rate for a smoother game. Knowing how far to push the settings will help you get the most out of your hardware.

We’ll cover six settings you're likely to encounter in games. You can find the first three settings in just about all games or in the driver settings for your video card. The latter three settings are common but you probably won’t find them in all types of games. In the following pages, we'll examine the performance costs associated with each setting and show you the image quality benefits each setting offers.

Antialiasing

If you look at the edge of building or even along a character model, you'll often see a jagged stair-step pattern that doesn’t look quite natural. Antialiasing smooths out the lines and reduces the amount of crawling, but the process uses a significant amount of graphics power. Even the most powerful video cards can have trouble if the antialiasing is set too high. Depending on the game you're playing, you might see frame rates fall into the single digits if you crank antialiasing all the way up.

Anisotropic Filtering

Anisotropic filtering helps preserve texture detail on angled surfaces. It's also used to clean up mip-maps. Games swap in low quality textures called mipmaps when rendering objects in the distance, and high quality textures for items closer to the player. Anisotropic filtering helps to clean up the picture by bridging the area where these sets of textures meet. Most modern video cards handle this setting without a problem.

Resolution

Increasing the resolution is the easiest way to make a game look better. Higher resolutions add more detail through extra pixels. Processing more pixels also makes the workload for your video card that much harder.

Draw Distance

Increasing the draw distance setting lets you see farther into the game's field of view. Of course, the farther into the distance the card has to render, the more work the video card needs to do. You'll typically find this setting in 3rd person games such as Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights 2.

Shadows

Good lighting and the shadows (that are created with good lighting) save us from boring rooms full of uniform colors and drab, lifeless objects. Try playing Doom 3 without shadows and you’ll notice that much of the suspense disappears. Enabling shadows usually has a performance cost, but the amount can vary greatly from game to game.

Textures

The detail of a game appears in its textures. Large textures can turn a simple black street with yellow lines into a gritty stretch of asphalt full of cracks and gravel. Some games will automatically use high-resolution textures if it detects a powerful video card with lots of fast memory.

Starcraft II

2009-08-09T01:49:00.003+07:00

For somebody who loves gaming, mainly RTS game, and the big fan of Starcraft, Starcraft II will be an upcoming game that is worth to wait.

The first impression that I catch from the game is the graphic is really nice, but it will not require a high-end machine to run. According to the Blizzard mission statement, Starcraft isn't as big on graphical complexity as some other recent strategy games. For that reason, it's already running as smoothly as butter in high resolution, likely 1680x1050 on widescreen monitors on the demo machines here. (Admittedly, those machines have beefy, two-slot video cards--likely GeForce 8800s--and a massive amount of memory because all four DIMM slots are visibly filled.) However, don't take that as a negative; this is a beautiful game. The units and terrain were already showing off as much detail as you would want out of a strategy game like this one. Signature Blizzard touches, such as a highly polished interface and animated unit portraits--now in full 3D, also rounded out the impressive presentation.

Starcraft II's combat follows the same dynamic you're used to in its predecessor and will see you building ground and air units to defend your base--in our case Zerglings and Hydralisks--before you kick out an Overlord or two if you wish and fortify your immediate surroundings against incoming attacks. Ironically, while we played as the usually aggressive Zerg faction, we were more interested in getting reacquainted with researching, scoping out the new tech tree, and pumping up our resource reserves to notice the other player moving in for the kill. That player sent waves of Protoss Zealots to our doorstep straight off the bat. The battle was bloody (and surprisingly long given our mediocre preparation), and although we held out as long as possible, it resulted in a situation of attrition with us being pushed back to just outside our starting zone after suffering heavy unit casualties.

Starcraft II give three playable races. Here they are :

Zerg

Everything you read about the Zerg in Starcraft II should come with one important caveat: Blizzard is tweaking the Zerg race the most at this point. According to Dustin Browder, "They're the last race to be developed, so it doesn't surprise me too much that they're still playing catch-up." All that is left is to make them more powerful: "Zerg in general are still a little bit weak, especially in Tier 2."

However, the Zerg are hardly pushovers. The Baneling, which morphs from the Zergling, is a new unit that will help defend against the onslaught of other races. The Baneling is one of Blizzard's many examples of putting specific counters in the game, as the Baneling unit is great against low-level rushes of Protoss Zealots and Terran Marines. You can also exploit the newly revamped Queen unit, which is now capable of an ability that lets your hatchery spawn four extra larvae. When you use that ability to amass a huge army and throw in some Roach units to absorb damage, you've got yourself a pretty impressive force.

Protoss

The Protoss race features the warp-in technology, which is an ability that makes your run-of-the-mill gateways much more interesting. Rather than spawning new units right in front of the gateway or at a nearby rally point, you can elect to warp any units that gateway has created to far-off corners of the map as long as you've got a pylon there. Basically, the warp-in ability allows you to use a gateway to create troops in one of your bases and shoot them over to any expansion you've made down the line. Think that gives the Protoss too much of an edge? A lot of Blizzard folks thought so too. "We had a lot of controversial discussion on the team, and now that it's been implemented, people can't live without it," says Browder.

One of the other new boosts to the Protoss race is the ability to build an obelisk at your base. The Protoss have always been more about taking the time to make powerful, durable units rather than quickly putting together a flood of dispensable grunts. With the obelisk, though, you can cast a proton charge spell on your probes to have them gather crystals at a much faster rate. Pulling in more crystals means you can pump out more Zealots to help overwhelm your Zerg enemies with a taste of their own medicine.

Terran

One of the most dramatic unit changes in Starcraft II comes in the form of the Ghost. We asked Browder if there were any units in SCII that have been overhauled so much that players might not even recognize them, to which he replied, "The Ghost is kind of like that. The Ghost was much cheaper in SCI...Right now with his snipe and his cost and his speed, he's so effective." On the other side of the coin are the Terran Siege Tanks, which Browder cited as an example of something the team was reluctant to mess with despite initial ideas of cutting it. "The Siege Tank is probably the biggest albatross; the biggest, scariest one that would have made a huge difference to cut."

Like the other races, the Terran have also been given a few new tricks to boost their production and effectiveness. You can add a modular reactor upgrade to your barracks to create two infantry units at once to really pump out the marines, medivacs, and vikings. You can also upgrade your command center to an orbital command, allowing you to bring in mule units. These little guys are temporary harvesters that let you harvest far more minerals during a short period of time.

The game will be released on Q2 2010, it is still long time to wait, but it will be a good news to the fans.

Game Title : Starcraft II

Publisher : Blizzard Entertaintment

Genre : Sci-Fi RTS

Street Fighter IV PC Review

2009-08-09T01:47:00.002+07:00

The much anticipated game of the year!
Let's get to the quick review:

Graphics: 9.5 / 10.0

I Didn't give it a ten simply because i believe that nothing's perfect, but as for the way it was executed, it was simply magnificent, of course i love the "ink" finish the most.

Game Play: 9.0 / 10.0

The controls are much about the same, developers have to prioritize in making the game as much as the as its predecessors because a lot of gamers are already good with it. (that doesn't include me.)

Yes, I'm not much a fun of the series, i love Tekken and Soul Calibur and Bloody Roar but Street Fighter has a different punch.

Audio: 9.0 / 10.0

Yes a lot of choices for the audio such as the battle sounds etc. you can either choose English or the sound I'm more familiar with the Japanese, there are a whole lot of languages there so there can be no boundaries anyone can play it, and of course digitally speaking the sound output was superb, connect it to a great sub-woofer and the whole neighborhood will be blasted.

Overall: 9.5 / 10.0

Game Title : Street Fighter IV
Publisher : Capcom
Genre : Fighting