Video Games

The local pub might not seem like the most obvious location to try and improve the health of middle-aged men but that’s just the task researchers in the U.K. have set themselves. In a novel approach to get unfit men active, the researchers have devised an ‘exergaming’ system targeted at sedentary middle-aged men on Teesside in the North East of England. The plan is to put the system into workingmen’s clubs and get the men to take part in virtual boxing matches with a computer-generated opponent. Read More

For some time now, it’s been one of those “well-known facts” that playing video games increases one’s hand-eye coordination... much to the consternation of parents and spouses trying to convince family members that their obsessive gaming has no redeeming value. Now, research conducted at the University of Rochester indicates that playing action video games also increases peoples’ ability to make right decisions faster. Ironically, an activity that involves sitting on the couch helps people to think on their feet. Read More

Sony's motion controlled gaming setup, PlayStation Move, has arrived in stores, and if you believe the hype, it's everything we wanted the Wii to be...and more. Is this the future of gaming or just another expensive set of peripherals that will be buried in the back of a cupboard by the end of the year? Read on for our review. Read More

The controller is probably the gamers’ most important tool. The controller that was first released for the original PlayStation back in December 1994 has remained largely unchanged in design through the release of the PS2 and the current PS3 to become a classic and instantly recognizable to gamers the world over. Despite its iconic status, some PS3 gamers prefer the feel of the the Xbox controller in their hands and, while there are plenty of third-party controllers floating around, there are few that cater to this market as well as the Raven from Nyko. Read More

Since October, 2000 the Folding@home project has been used to understand protein folding. Scientists know the pieces that make up a protein but cannot predict how those parts fit together into a 3-D structure. So the Folding@home project harnesses the power of Internet-connected PC’s and consoles, such as the PS3, to form the most powerful distributed computing cluster in the world. But no computer in the world is big enough, and computers may not take the smartest approach. So a team from the University of Washington (UW) made a Tetris-like game that asks players to fold a protein rather than stack colored blocks and discovered that people can compete with supercomputers in this arena. Read More

Video games and beer – together at last! Actually, a visit to just about any college dorm or rec room will show you that video games and beer can regularly be found together, but now they’re available from the same machine. It’s called the Gamerator, and it combines a classic 80s-style video arcade machine with a mini fridge capable of holding a pony keg of beer and a five-pound aluminum CO2 tank. Bring on the blue ghosts! Read More

Some people might see it as a natural progression in the digital age, while others might see it as kind of blasphemous, but LEGO is set to launch an online video game based on its popular building blocks. Using over 2,000 types of pieces in 26 colors, players of LEGO Universe will virtually create their own avatars and other props, joining fellow subscribers worldwide on interactive adventures in the Land of Imagination. Picture a kid-friendly version of something like World of Warcraft, but one in which players have to build all the structures, vehicles, animals and whatnot that surround them, and you get the idea. Read More

The new era in gaming which began when Wii remotes started showing up in living rooms just four years ago is about to be taken to the next level. That’s because Microsoft has premiered its Kinect for Xbox 360 – a motion control system that allows players to take part in full-body physically-interactive games without the use of any remote. First coming to light a year ago under the code name Project Natal, it utilizes a CMOS camera, infrared projector and multi-array microphone to track the movements and voices of players. Kinect is set for release later this year. Read More

It might not exactly be a revolutionary idea, but we think Ubisoft should be commended for announcing it is doing its bit for the environment by eliminating paper game manuals for its PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 video games. The paper numbers will be replaced with in-game digital manuals for all games that will also make it easier for gamers to access game information, as well as providing gamers with a manual that won’t get lost or ripped to shreds by the family pet. Read More