Video Games

How to apply for Sony's PlayStation Home closed beta test

By Tim Hanlon

19:09 August 7, 2008 PDT

August 8, 2008 Sony is expanding their PlayStation Home beta test at the end of the month, and they're looking for testers in the U.S. that meet "a variety of criteria" including their level of activity on the PlayStation Network. Read More

AiLive demonstrate LiveMove 2 and the MotionPlus add-on for the Wii

By Tim Hanlon

20:35 July 30, 2008 PDT

July 31, 2008 AiLive, the company who helped Nintendo build the MotionPlus add-on for the Wii remote, has released a video showing off their LiveMove 2 toolset for Wii developers who wish to implement MotionPlus functionality in their games. Even if you don't play video games, you will want to see what this thing can do. Read More

Dell shipping their 24-inch, HDMI-equipped S2409W LCD monitor

By Tim Hanlon

01:10 July 30, 2008 PDT

July 30, 2008 Dell's new 24-inch LCD monitor has an HDMI input and a native resolution of 1920 x 1080, making it a perfect fit for Blu-ray and video game consoles. Read More

PlayStation 3 Greatest Hits launch today for $29.99

By Tim Hanlon

01:03 July 30, 2008 PDT

July 30, 2008 Sony has launched the first ten PS3 games in their Greatest Hits range, including Warhawk, Assassin's Creed and Resistance: Fall of Man. Click through for the full list, and our recommendations. Read More

Race Driver: GRID Review (Xbox 360)

By Tim Hanlon

21:08 July 21, 2008 PDT

July 22, 2008 Codemasters returned to their prior reputable standing as racing game developers with the release of Colin McRae DIRT last June. This year, Race Driver: GRID resurrects another last-gen favorite for the current generation of consoles - here's our full review. Read More

Logitech's new Driving Force wireless force feedback racing wheel for the PS3

By Darren Quick

02:06 July 21, 2008 PDT

July 21, 2008 Following the release of the Driving Force GT, the official wheel of Gran Turismo for the PS3 just a couple of months ago, Logitech have followed up with the one-piece Driving Force Wireless force feedback racing wheel for the PS3. Read More

Rock Band 2 set list officially announced

By Tim Hanlon

23:35 July 20, 2008 PDT

Harmonix, EA and MTV Games have announced the 84 tracks that make up the set list of the upcoming Rock Band 2 - and this time around, every single track on the disc will utilize the original master recordings. Read More

The week in games at The Gamer Gene

By Tim Hanlon

02:08 June 6, 2008 PDT

First ever footage of Duke Nukem Forever hits the internet, Disturbed and Jimmy Buffet arrive in Rock Band, Tecmo stock drops 10 percent on news of lawsuit from ex-designer Tomonobu Itagaki, iamchris4life conquers Dragonforce in Guitar Hero III once and for all, and they ask: what are you playing this weekend? Read More

Sony announce Qore - an interactive HD gaming program for the PS3

By Tim Hanlon

06:10 June 3, 2008 PDT

Sony has announced Qore, a monthly, interactive gaming program shot in HD and distributed via the PlayStation Network. Qore will feature exclusive news, interviews and previews along with bonuses like exclusive access to beta tests, demos, and downloadable content. Read More

Today's headlines at The Gamer Gene

By Tim Hanlon

08:14 June 2, 2008 PDT

LucasArts considers resurrecting the point-and-click graphic adventure genre, Intel sponsors a free release of Havok Physics, Animation and Content Tools, a hacker turns his Roomba into Pac-man, Zombies take over Africa, and people who want to dress up like Gears of War characters rejoice. Read More

eMagin's OLED Z800 3DVisor

By Kyle Sherer

19:50 May 25, 2008 PDT

eMagin's Z800 3DVisor uses two OLED microdisplays to provide wearers with the 3D equivalent of a 105-inch display viewed at 12 feet’s distance. Drawing its power entirely from a USB connection, the Z800 3DVisor integrates the SVGA 3D OLED microdisplays with stereo audio, a noise canceling microphone, and a high-speed headtracker that enables full 360-degree virtual-surround viewing. Read More

Wii Fit Reviewed

By Tim Hanlon

22:11 May 20, 2008 PDT

Making exercise fun is something that Nintendo has tried before. In 1986, they licensed Bandai's Family Trainer peripheral for the NES and launched it worldwide as the Power Pad. In the 90's, they created the Exertainment system - essentially an exercise bike with a SNES inside. Both products were capable of raising your heart rate, but offered little else in the way of improving your health or building good habits. Wii Fit sees Nintendo's honed skill in software and peripheral development come together for another crack at the holy grail of software - making exercise fun. Read More

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Review (PlayStation 3)

By Tim Hanlon

20:11 May 7, 2008 PDT

With the full Gran Turismo 5 not due until 2009, and the free downloadable Gran Turismo HD Concept now no longer available from the PlayStation Store, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is the only PS3-based option for simulation-style racing fans. Read More

Review: Logitech's Driving Force GT force-feedback wheel for the PS3

By Tim Hanlon

18:43 May 5, 2008 PDT

The Gamer Gene recently got their hands on a Logitech Driving Force GT, the official wheel of Gran Turismo for the PlayStation 3, and are reporting significant improvements in fun factor and immersion, and a decline in the brutal learning curve of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Read More

Assassin's Creed Review (PlayStation 3)

By Tim Hanlon

07:15 April 21, 2008 PDT

Ubisoft’s massively hyped action-adventure game Assassin’s Creed sure is an interesting one - an ambitious mix of a history and science-fiction story with action and stealth gameplay. Can a game with this scope still be accomplished within the deadline-driven game development business? Our friends over at The Gamer Gene recently had a look at the PlayStation 3 version - check out their review here.

Assassin's Creed (PS3) Review [The Gamer Gene] Read More

Mindwire's shocking V-5 sensory feedback kit

By Kyle Sherer

00:57 March 14, 2008 PDT

March 14, 2008 Mindwire has designed an electrical muscle simulation kit that integrates with second generation consoles to give sensory feedback to gamers - in other words, when you shoot a friend in Tekken he gets an electric shock. Some may shake their heads, we say "yes please!" Read More

Logitech's Driving Force GT Wheel for the PS3

By Tim Hanlon

20:41 February 20, 2008 PST

Logitech has unveiled their Driving Force GT Wheel - the official force-feedback wheel of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for the PlayStation 3. Designed in collaboration with Gran Turismo developers Polyphony Digital, the wheel features a realtime adjustment dial, allowing you to adjust brake bias, traction control and damper settings on the fly. Read More

Why PAL PS3 owners should import Rock Band

By Tim Hanlon

04:45 February 6, 2008 PST

The geeks at The Gamer Gene really love Rock Band, and their latest feature is designed to convince PAL PlayStation 3 owners that they should stop waiting for EA to release the game in their territory, and simply import the game. They've done so, twice, and can't fault the process - especially when the other option is sitting around waiting for a vague Q2-Q3 release date. Read on for what to and what not to worry about when importing Rock Band. Read More

Vuzix immersive video eyewear - the wearable 62-inch screen

By Emily Clark

18:38 January 16, 2008 PST

January 17, 2008 The iWear VR920 video visor from Vuzix (formerly Icuiti) promises an "as if you were there" virtual world experience, incorporating 3D technology, head tracking, microphone and audio in a wearable display equivalent to a 62-inch screen viewed at a distance of 9 feet. The company has also announced an upcoming gaming version (the AV920-C) will be added to the iWear range that connects to Xbox360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii and others for single and multiplayer video games, allowing users to select their half or quadrant and view it on their personal big-screen instead of splitting a single TV video screen 2, 3 or 4 ways. Read More

NVIDIA's hybrid technology balances PC performance and power consumption

By Darren Quick

16:51 January 11, 2008 PST

January 12, 2008 NVIDIA has announced the industry’s first hybrid technology for PC platforms that increases graphics performance and reduces power consumption. NVIDIA Hybrid SLI technology is based on the Company’s GeForce graphics processor units (GPUs) and SLI multi-GPU technology and enables NVIDIA motherboard GPUs (mGPUs) to work cooperatively with discrete NVIDIA GPUs (dGPUs) when paired in the same PC platform. Hybrid SLI provides two new technologies - GeForce Boost and HybridPower - that allow the PC to deliver graphics performance for today’s applications and games when 3D graphics horsepower is required, or transition to a lower-powered operating state when not. For lower energy consumption and quieter PC operation, HybridPower allows the PC to switch processing from a single GPU or multiple GPUs in SLI configuration to the onboard motherboard GPU. Read More

PS3 gets DivX/XviD playback - we put it to the test

By Tim Hanlon

17:29 December 19, 2007 PST

The PlayStation 3 firmware update 2.10 arrived yesterday, adding Blu-ray Disc Profile 1.1 support, and more importantly, XviD and DivX playback. We recently brought you the low down on XviD/DivX playback on the Xbox 360, and now we've spent another strenuous morning watching videos - here's our report on Sony's implementation. Read More

NVIDIA 3-way SLI taps the power of three GeForce cards

By Tim Hanlon

09:55 December 13, 2007 PST

NVIDIA have announced their new 3-way SLI (Series Link Interface) system, designed to eat system-melting games like Crysis for breakfast by allowing three GeForce cards to be used in one PC. This delivers up to 2.8 times the performance of systems with one GPU, and gives PC gamers ability to run the latest graphically-intensive games in the highest resolution at 60 frames per second - with anti-aliasing and all the bells and whistles. Read More

Xbox 360 gets DivX/XviD playback, we put it to the test

By Tim Hanlon

17:08 December 4, 2007 PST

The Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update arrived overnight, and added a long list of new functionality - although the one thing most people are interested in is the relatively unexpected arrival of DivX/XviD playback. We've spent the morning messing about with it to bring you the lowdown... because we figured your boss wouldn't call watching videos "work." Read More

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Review (Xbox 360)

By Tim Hanlon

21:59 November 27, 2007 PST

It's official - World War II games are dead. Infinity Ward has brought the iconic Call of Duty series into the 21st Century with a flash-bang, giving Tom Clancy a run for his money with an epic depiction of modern war. Read on for a full review of what the guys at our video game blog, The Gamer Gene are calling a hot contender for Game of the Year. Read More

Xbox 360 Arcade console announced

By Tim Hanlon

23:57 October 23, 2007 PDT

Microsoft has officially announced another of their worst kept secrets - the Xbox 360 Arcade unit - some time after the units first appeared in stores across North America. The new entry-level bundle will replace the aging Xbox 360 Core bundle, and while it remains hard drive-less, it includes a much smaller Memory Unit - which isn't big enough for downloading high-definition TV episodes from the Xbox Live Video Marketplace, but will suffice to save your progress in games, and download new titles from the Xbox Live Arcade. Read More