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Latest News
Best Days Ahead For PC Gaming
Mark these words, computer graphics processors in the not too distant horizon are poised to make a big leap in technology, much more than we’ve grown used to seeing over the last several years. Oh yes, good days are ahead for PC gamers. Perhaps the leap will be enough to put some distance between PC and console games so that it’ll actually worthwhile again to purchase the PC version instead for those who own both.
Over the last month, tensions between NVIDIA and Intel have been steadily escalating as verbal mortal shells have been lobbed back and forth between the two camps. Judging by some of the press statements being made, the two sides have all but unofficially declared war upon one another in the graphics processing arena.
In the process of Intel’s hype machine going into overdrive in an attempt to promote their upcoming integrated processor-graphics chip, Larrabee, the company seemingly opened Pandora’s Box with some statements regarding the demise of the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) during the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. The most interesting statement came from Intel senior vice president Pat Gelsinger that read, in part, graphics that we have all come to know and love today, I have news for you. It’s coming to an end.
If you haven’t been keeping up with this news, this is your cue to start paying attention because this is the beginning and things are only going to get a lot more heated. Regardless of who will “win” this tech war, one thing is for sure — we the consumers are going to reap the benefits as the two struggle to outdo one another.
Perhaps Intel has decided to pursue this “sideways” approach to further developing their processor technology because they feel there’s not much more room to go “up” for now. This is if one considers that their quad core chips are still impractical (offering little benefit over dual core) for most users and practical cooling remains a barrier to breaking 4.0 GHz OEM processor speeds. On the other side of the coin, NVIDIA’s recent unveiling of their generation 9 GPUs left some enthusiasts feeling a bit under whelmed; perhaps NVIDIA has been purposely holding off for something big.
Intel’s Larrabee is a wildcard at this point, but it has a big gap to fill given a comparison of both Intel and NVIDIA’s discreet graphics offerings over the last ten plus years until now. What is almost entirely certain is to expect NVIDIA to pull off the gloves and unveil a monster the likes of which we have never seen with either their generation 10 or 11 cards. Also of interesting note is that both companies seem to be ignoring little AMD, which is developing its own processor with integrated graphics named Fusion, no doubt making use of its acquisition of ATI. Maybe AMD will come out of nowhere with a sucker punch?
Yes, fellow PC gamers, things are about to get real interesting.
Frontlines: Fuel of War
Not too far in the future, the global natural resources are on the brink of depletion. As our economies and our way of life tumble into chaos, the superpowers clash to gain control. Set in a fictional future based upon the headlines of today, F.O.W. brings players into the world's next great war. As society succumbs to a worldwide energy crisis, a new global depression takes hold. Amidst this desperate backdrop, two superpower alliances emerge. Join the battle on the frontlines of tomorrow as the Western Coalition (U.S./E.U.) or the Red Star Alliance (Russia/China). Tomorrow's weapons, today: As depicted in F.O.W., the U.S./E.U. and Russia/China have combined their military research and budgets, and the result is over 60 next-gen vehicles and weapons inspired by military designs for the near future. This includes remote controlled drones, gun cams, and next-generation counter-measures systems, all of which are player-controllable. Use high-tech combat systems to collect and relay recon, targeting, and threat information between team mates. The customization system allows players to grow their soldier to fit their play style by choosing a weapons loadout, as well as a technical specialization (role). As the game progresses each role will upgrade, providing advanced equipment and abilities. The system is a mix of RPG-like depth but with the accessibility of a fast-paced FPS. Frontline combat system: The main game mechanic featured in F.O.W. in both in single player and multiplayer, is the ability to join the forces on the front line. This front expands across large portions of a mission and will require a strategy to achieve the contextual objectives in order to move this front forward. Not only does this system keep the battle centric and players in the midst of the action, it gives a unique sense of advancement as your Division is rewarded with territory for their victories. Choose your path to victory: Within the front, players can take advantage of a sandbox of destructible elements and various weapons of war to create their own unique paths and strategies.
- Publisher: THQ
- Developer: Kaos Studios
- Genre: FPS
- Rating: T
This game is great fun definitely a must have...
Burnout Paradise
Burnout’s mythical city is the game’s heart and soul, a sprawling coastal metropolis that stretches from beachfronts through shopping districts and up to the surrounding mountains. The size is impressive, Travel time takes 8 minutes from one side of the city to the other, and every bit is packed with events, jumps and shortcuts, its great fun and looks even better.
And all are available from the very first time you turn the key in the ignition. Six junkyards, 50 super-jumps, 65 streets, 350 challenges, 600 shortcuts. For events, just pull up to any of the game’s 120 junctions and tap the left and right triggers to enter an event. These range from Burnout favourites Race and Road Rage to the soon-to-be-legendary Marked Man.
But what really made my jaw hit the floor was that, aside from the initial leap from title screen to game, there are no loading screens anywhere; no menus to navigate. A technical nightmare perhaps, but the results were worth it. Even at the high-octane speeds of F1, even with more traffic on the road than previous Burnouts, the game never dipped below a silky-smooth 70 FPS, never once judders or produced any bad screen tearing.
No loading, no waiting… and you can have up to 8 players in your city simultaneously. Offline modes are disabled, and a whole set of new co-operative challenges appear. Even in Free Burn mode, performing drifts, flying across streets and successfully nailing barrel rolls sees you enter the Today’s Best ranking, which flags up on screen in real time. The idea is that even if you can’t physically race your friends due to time zones, you will still be able too.
Paradise has 76 cars in total, split into three bands: Aggression, Stunt and Race. Each is named after its key trait. Racers offer best top speed but can be taken out easily, while Stunt cars can pull more barrel rolls per leap. Every time you go up a Class, new cars are unlocked into Paradise City. But to drive them you have to find them and take them down. This game will be released on PS3 & XBox 360 only too bad for PC gamers that the gaming industry is moving in this direction simply to fulfil the needs of the cheap console systems owners (of course sales are important too) check it out your going to love this game...More
Game Tech News
Video games are no longer the geeky stepchild of popular entertainment. Last year, US sales of what is now called "interactive entertainment" topped $12 billion, closing in on the $14 billion film industry. Gaming is not just the fastest growing media segment anymore. It is also about to become the key driver for innovation and expansion in numerous high technology markets.
I try to stay abreast of what’s going on in the video game industry since I really believe that their cutting edge technology will change the future. The devices and mechanisms used in the United States military were developed by video games and I’m confident that this industry will continue to bring new and innovative technologies to the mass market into the future. Did you know that some doctors are studying actual online role-playing games to watch public reactions to new diseases?.
Nearly half of all US homes own one game-playing machine, and 36 percent own more than three, according to Nielsen Entertainment. The technical requirements for video games are pushing the most popular technologies - including cellphones, Palm Pilots, computers, and TV - to become more versatile and powerful. College grads are now more likely to head into interactive software than moviemaking, and most big films such as "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars" are created simultaneously with interactive games that are released at the same time.
This relatively young industry - only three decades old - is now so pervasive that each person has a stake in how it evolves.
"We have a whole new generation of game players who are going to be the prime engine of our economy and society, says Robert Andersen of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. These are the people who will be writing our books, interpreting history, becoming scholars and doctors. It's too late to marginalize the gamer now; the industry is imbedded in the fabric of our society. Others point to the online communities as a hot spot for innovation, in particular "mod" games. Short for modification, mod games are variations made by fans on existing games. These underline the spontaneous creativity in the vast online communities.
Many observers agree that the online game community represents the most important social and cultural components of electronic software's future. "Online gamers have the potential to transform entertainment into a global-community exercise, breaking down borders, cultural and language barriers, and even political prejudices," says ESA's Lowenstein. "I doubt any other form of entertainment holds out that promise," he says. "We have only scratched the surface of what [interactive entertainment] can be." After playing computer games for some time, there is evidence suggesting our (gamers) cognitive skills and general sense of well-being were significantly improved. Also Riding the recent wave of video-games-are-good-for-you comes a new study that says there is a strong relationship between gaming skills and a surgeon's ability to perform laparoscopic surgery. As CNN explains, laparoscopy involves manipulating instruments through a small incision. The surgeon's movements are then followed on a computer screen. The study stated that doctors who game at least three hours per week made 37 percent fewer errors, performed 27 percent faster and scored 42 percent better in a surgical test than doctors who never game. Says the study's author Dr. James Rosser:(my kind of doctor).
Featured Video - Blacksite Area 51
PC Game of the Year
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare New setting, same result: to the surprise of exactly no one here at ÜberForces, Infinity Ward's latest shooter is another amazing blockbuster, beating out some pretty stiff competition to take honors as the best PC game of 2007. As the name implies, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare leaves the familiar locale of WWII behind in favor of a more recent setting. Beginning in a fictional Middle East, where a Russian ultranationalist is set on kicking off WW3. The multiplayer contains literally hundreds of little challenges which offer various rewards, so it's near-impossible to play a few maps and not feel like you've accomplished something. All of us here at ÜberForces really love the Call of Duty series, and with their new graphics engine that provides tight gameplay and jaw-dropping graphics its everything anyone could love about videogames and this is a must own.
BioShock 2 revealed
Along with better-than-expected-but-still-unprofitable earnings, Take-Two Interactive had both bad and good news to deliver to gamers today. First, the good: As had been rumored for months, 2K Marin is now officially developing a sequel to BioShock, the award-winning action adventure title from the studios formerly collectively known as Irrational Games.
Inventively titled BioShock 2, the game will be released during the fourth quarter of Take-Two's 2009 financial year. That means the game would arrive sometime between August 1 and October 31, 2009, on unspecified platforms. The first BioShock was released on August 25, 2007 for the Xbox 360 and PC, and has gone on to sell over 2 million copies worldwide.