Game
"FORE!! Three - Two - One - Fire!" called Doug Frost, inventor of Rocketry Golf and Manager of the Rocketry Golf Organization. Then he launched his ball (on the nosecone of a model rocket) from the tee of the par-five 433-yard first hole at the Ridge Golf Club in Auburn, California. Not fazed by the uphill approach shot to the green, he placed his tee shot...err...launch... only 23 feet from the hole. Unfortunately, Doug isn't much of a regular golfer, and two-putted in for a birdie. Frost's rocketry golf replaces your golf clubs with a selection of rockets and a putter. The rockets are used to launch the ball onto the green, where the traditional putter comes back into play. Read More
Let's start with the punchline: Dishonored is a great game. Despite the occasional misstep, Arkane Studio's latest is an atmospheric, entertaining and well-crafted assassination sim that does something that's becoming increasingly rare in video games: it's completely original. Read More
The first Borderlands game was released on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC in 2009 and its cel-shaded visuals and heady mix of RPG and shooter elements resulted in a positive critical reception. A sequel, unsurprisingly titled Borderlands 2, is due to be released on Sept. 18 and the developer, Gearbox Software, is putting the publicity drive in gear. The latest push to gain attention is the release of a 16-bit version of Borderlands playable in a (Flash enabled) web browser. Titled The Border Lands, (like Facebook, it dropped the "the"), it offers some simple "old-skool" fun for gamers while they wait for the main event. Read More
It's hard to believe how many classic children's toys are getting modern makeovers these days - from the Etch A Sketch to toy helicopters to footballs - and now it looks like even the playground swing set is getting a slight upgrade with the Son-X Octavia. When attached to any swing, the Son-X will play different sound bites depending on how high or long a child swings, encouraging them to go higher. Read More
Nintendo has finally announced a release date and price for its much anticipated 3DS. Those hoping to add the 3D portable games console to their Christmas list will be disappointed as it is not set to hit stores until February 26, 2011 – and that’s only in Japan. Other markets will have to wait a bit longer with North America and Europe reportedly seeing a release sometime in March, 2011. It also looks like the extra dimension won’t come cheap with an asking price of 25,000 yen (approx. US$299) in Japan. Read More
If you’re a fan of the military strategy game Risk, then you definitely might be interested in this: on October 13th, Bonhams Auction House in London will be selling off an “extremely rare” copy of The Game of War, a complex military board game dating from 1890. Unlike Risk, which is played for amusement and to shed excess friends, The Game of War was designed to be played by real military officers, to train them for the upcoming First World War. It was based on Kriegsspiel, a war game invented by Lieutenant Georg von Reiswitz in the early 19th century for training officers in the Prussian army. If you’re interested, however, be sure to stop by the bank machine on your way there – the game is expected to fetch between £1,500 to £2000, or US$2,330 to $3,100. Read More
Google's front page today pays tribute to the iconic video game, Pacman. It's just 30 years ago today since Pacman was first released in Japan, indicating the warp speed at which gaming has become part of the global social fabric. Fittingly for such a landmark date for a landmark game, Google's front page is more than just an idle tribute – it is actually a fully playable game of Pacman and will be seen around 3 billion times during this 24 hour period. Read More
Microsoft’s SideWinder X4 Keyboard ain’t afraid of no ghosting
While it might not be ideal for fighting apparitions of the dearly departed, Microsoft claims its latest keyboard boasts the most advanced anti-ghosting technology ever to grace a keyboard. The ghosting being referred to is when multiple keys are pressed on a keyboard simultaneously result in the incorrect key signal being sent to the PC, or some of the key presses being ignored altogether. To combat this Microsoft’s SideWinder X4 Keyboard can detect up to 26 key presses at once, which is sure to appeal to hard-core gamers and 26 fingered typists alike. Read More
Wii has a knack for turning everyday activities into stimulating interactive games. We’ve seen cooking and yoga work their way into people’s consoles and Nintendo hasn’t stopped there. The company's latest creation - Baby and Me - allows anyone to play mom and raise a baby through their Wii console. Read More
Finally, video-gamers whose parents told them that playing games would never help them get a job can point to research that proves them wrong – well, sort of, anyway. A new study by a University of Warwick researcher has demonstrated that scientists trying to model a range of processes could ‘borrow’ an Xbox chip to get all the power and capabilities they need, saving thousands of dollars on parallel processing hardware and/or countless man-hours. Read More
