Very positive impressions of Kinect Sports: Season 2

Eurogamer has some new impressions of Kinect Sports: Season 2 up, and they're very positive. From their preview it really seems like Microsoft's Rare Studios understand how to use Kinect's motion controls to create an intuitive & fun game. In their summary that say

"Each event, quite simply, works as you'd expect it to without your brain having to enter "video game mode". This is a much more eclectic line-up of events, each with its own unique feel; that so many of them feel "right" the moment you step in front of the sensor is quite an achievement, the sort of invisible design work that is easily taken for granted."

 I've posted some of Eurogamer's impressions on each sport after the jump.

And now, something that looks like it came out of the House of Wax

Having trouble staying up late? Try thinking about this while you lay in bed:


If you really must know what this is, hit the jump.

XBOX ESPN App updated today

I only had a short time to play around with the ESPN App for XBOX 360 today, but the video above shows the features I was able to try out. It was pretty cool, and it makes this app alot more useful. Hit the jump to read the full list of updates made.

New Aliens Colonial Marines Trailer with gameplay

Sega and Gearbox have released a new trailer for Aliens: Colonial Marines which includes some gameplay footage. This trailer really does its job of getting me, as a fan of the Aliens film, excited and ready to pick this one up, day one.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is expected to ship in Spring 2012 for Wii U, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

99 Cent Video Rentals come to PSN/PS3 in U.S. & Canada

Sony announced discounted video rentals are now going to be available on the Playstation Network service today. The discount only applies to certain titles, which changes every Tuesday. There are 12 titles available now, at $0.99 for standard definition and $1.99 for high definition. Regular rental prices are $2.99 for SD and $4.50 for HD.

PSN users have 14 days after download to begin a rented video, and can watch that video as much as they want for the following 24 hours. This is also how video rentals are handled on XBOX LIVE.

While this is good news I would have been much more excited if this was a new pricing scheme for all of their videos. If it was, I think Redbox and maybe even Netflix would be in trouble. I can only hope that this forces Microsoft to go the extra mile with new lower prices for all videos on their Zune marketplace.

New trailer for Kinect only Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor

Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor is set in 2082, in "a world devoid of semiconductors, where war is waged with rudimentary weapons as new superpowers for dominance. In a twist of fate, the U.S. army has been forced to begin major landing operations on what was once its own soil."

The trailer seems like a mix of Saving Private Ryan, and giant mechs. Steel Battalion for the original XBOX used a pretty kick ass controller and foot pedals. It used this setup, along with a great presentation, in order to create one of the most realistic mech games.

Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor for Kinect, according to new reports, uses a combination of XBOX 360 controller for "VT movement, aiming and firing of the main guns" & Kinect for things like "from starting the engine to operating the scope or manning the turret-mounted machine gun". If the trailer is any indication, we're in for a treat sometime in 2012.

Batman Arkham City - The Mr Freeze Trailer

The upcoming Batman: Arkham City game has got all of the great villains you'd expect. It has Two Face, Joker, and in this new trailer, we see Mr. Freeze.



Batman: Arkham City is scheduled to be released worldwide the week of October 18, 2011 for PC, XBOX 360, PS3, & WII U.

Trails Evolution Preview

Eurogamer.net has a new hands on impressions & videos of RedLynx's Trials Evolution. If you're unfamiliar with the previous game, Trials HD, please check out the gameplay trailer after the jump in order to get an idea of what this hard core, physics based, motorcycle platformer is all about.

A few things of note: The outdoor enviroments are definitely a nice change from the previous games enviroment. The excellent controls have been preserved. Courses are now segregated into Events so you must aquire the skills needed in order to tackle upcoming challenges before you can proceed. Local multiplayer has been added, so you can race against up to three friends, side by side with them in game, and on the couch. And lastly User-created tracks will be shared through the Track Central Hub, with categories for new tracks, top-rated, most-downloaded, and favourites picked by RedLynx.

Trials Evolution is due to be released Autumn 2011 on Xbox 360.

Experienced Wilbur's Revenge at Famous Dave's

I'm a big fan of Man Vs Food, and of Hot Wings. So recently I decided to see what type of food challenge I might be able to take. I've never been one to eat a large amount of food so I decided on spicey. So then I had to decide what type of spicey food should I try? I've never tried eating curry, so that was out. I like eating peppers with my food, but I don't usually eat them alone so that was out. Hot wings? Well I have to say that they're the beloved food of fire eating enthusiast. So I decided to see how hot I can go with them.

While planning on picking up som BBQ at Famout Dave's restaraunt last month, I noticed they added two new levels of heat to their original three Hot Wing sauces. I was already familiar with their level three sauce Devil's Spit, so I tried their level four sauce, Pineapple Rage. I was a bit dissapointed with the heat on this one. Now it could be because my order only a little bit of sauce on them but I figured if this was level four, five should be easy.

This last Sunday I tried their level five sauce Wilbur's Revenge, and it was great. It had just the right amount of heat and taste. It was hot, but not too hot, and for a regular type of meal heat, I'd say it's just the right amount for me. I plan to continue my search for other local hot sauces and I'll let you guys know when I find a hotter wing. Also, if anyone knows the Scoville rating for the Wilbur's Revenge hotwing sauce or those of other chains, please let me know.

First picture of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman

Today thanks to the official The Dark Knight Rises website, we finally get a glimpse of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. It looks like her mask allows for extra attachments, which could explain why she'd wear a mask in this more realistic version of the Batman world. Now we just have to wonder why she's stolen Batman's ride. Check out the full size version after the jump.

PSN PLAY - It's like XBLA's Summer of Arcade but on PS3

Today Sony announced Play for Playstation Network (PSN). It's an annual promotion, where specific downloadable games are made available for sale. It's kinda like Microsoft's XBOX LIVE Summer of Arcade, but Sony provides discounts for PS+ members, themes if you pre-order, and DLC for each game you buy during the promotional period. Like XBLA's SoA it also gives you a bonus game if you buy all of the games in the promotion.

Sony's announcement, and PLAY details after the jump.

First image of Henry Cavill as "Man of Steel"

Here we have a the first image of Henry Cavill as Superman in Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" movie. I like the look overall. The suit is able to show off some of Henry's muscle definition, the neck line seems right, and the cape also looks better than I think it ever has.

The new suit isn't perfect though. Even though his cape looks great, it also looks like it would easily get snagged on something or get in the way. It reminds me of what Edna from Disney's the Incredibles had to say about capes.

Another criticism I have is with the material used for his costume. I can understand wanting to give Supe's costume an alien or high tech look to it. Giving his costume a carbon fiber type of appearance would explain why it's able to withstand the type of punishment Superman goes through, and why he isn't naked at the end of every epic battle, but it's still a bit distracting. It looks rubbery, scaley, and (maybe only to my eyes) a little glittery. Superman should look heroic, not fabulous. Check out Warner Brothers press release and a larger version of the picture after the jump.

Get a peek at Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's campaign mode

In this video Dan Ayoub from 343 Studios provides a look at the Silent Cartographer level in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. One feature he demonstrates is the ability to switch between the classic visuals (updated to support widescreen), and the new updated HD graphics.

The Gunstringer for $40, but wait there's more!

Twisted Pixel Games & Microsoft really want to make sure you pick up their upcoming Kinect game "The Gunstringer" when it hits shelves on September 13 in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Asia, and everywhere else on September 16. They want to sell the game so bad, that they're doing everything they can, which includes coming in at $10 under what other Kinect games sell for. But that's not all.

Deus Ex: Live Action Trailer - Purity

In this live action video for the upcoming 360, PC, & PS3 game, Dues Ex: Human Revolution, an unknown underground group (Purity First?) warns us about the dangers of human augmentation, and Sarif Industries. This video also vividly paints the future world of Deus Ex, where biomechanical augmentations are as common as plastic surgery is today, and some of the struggles it's citizens face.

Limited Edition XBOX 360 Star Wars Console

Today, during a panel presentation at the 41st annual Comic-Con International, Xbox and LucasArts unveiled the first custom Xbox 360 console with Kinect featuring a limited edition Star Wars theme inspired by the beloved duo, R2-D2 and C-3PO, as well as the brand-new Podracing mode featured in the upcoming title Kinect Star Wars.

Part of me thinks that it'd be better if R2-D2 was the controller, and C-3PO the 360 console (considering their relative heights) but I can understand how R2 makes a better choice when you consider the 360's design.

30 Rock meets the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

I'm a big fan of 30 Rock & Alex Ross, so you can imagine how excited I was when I saw this take on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. If you know the names of each LoEG character, please feel free to point them out.

30 Rock meets League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

LIMBO on PSN now

UPDATE (price information) Playdead's LIMBO is now available on the PSN marketplace for $15 (or $12 if you're a PS Plus member). Limbo is a 2D sidescroller, which incorporates physics into the dangerous environments and traps you as an unknown boy must overcome in a search for his sister.

Released as an XBOX Arcade last year, Limbo received much praise from the gaming community for it's artistic take on the videogame puzzle/platforming genre. The game is presented primarily in monochromatic black-and-white tones, using lighting, film grain effects and minimal ambient sounds to create an eerie atmosphere often associated with the horror genre.

Voltron game coming to PSN & XBLA

Why oh why do my old favorite shows keep turning up? Transformers, Gi-Joe, and now Voltron have come back from the dead. Now I have yet to see the recent G.I. Joe movie, but after watching Transformers 2 (nope, I haven't seen 3, and I don't want to), and this trailer for the XBOX LIVE Arcade/Playstation Network Voltron game, I have to say it's not going to end well.

The game is supposed to support multiplayer, with each player taking up the role of one of the five cats, but it isn't clear who takes control once they form Voltron.

Next XBOX capable of Avatar quality graphics?

Would an Avatar game look like this on the next XBOX?

File this one under "God I hope it's true", according to the examiner, the August issue of the Official Xbox Magazine has news from AMD regarding the graphics we can expect from the next XBOX.

Technology company AMD, who supplied the graphics hardware for the Xbox 360, claims that the next Xbox will be capable of the level of graphical detail seen in James Cameron's movie Avatar.

While AMD would not confirm they were actually working on the 360's successor, director of ISV relationships at AMD, Neal Robison, stated that gamers have a lot to excited about.

INCEPTIONAUTS

If you don't know, I'm a big fan of Psychonauts. If you are too, and you're also a fan of Inception, you should definitely check this out.

Season Five of Felicia Day’s The Guild Debuts July 26

The Guildies

From their press release:

Season five of The Guild will return to Xbox LIVE on the Zune video Marketplace and MSN Video on Tuesday, July 26, sponsored by Microsoft and Sprint. Picking up where season four left off, season five takes the Guild members out from behind their computers and throws them into the real world like the show has never seen before, with new locations, guest stars, celebrity cameos and more!

The madness of Alice, too much for one psychonaut.

I've been playing  Alice: Madness Returns lately, and last night I found a cool easter egg. Hit the jump if your a fan of Psychonauts, and you don't mind having this spoiled for you.

Tim Schafer Pitches a New Video Game

Tim Schafer of DoubleFine Productions writes: "Some of you have asked what it's like to pitch a game to publishers, so we recorded an actual pitch for you to see!". You can view that video below, and be sure to check out a related video after the jump.

Kinect - Robotics & Shrinking

 Eetimes is reporting that Microsoft Robotics is updated their services to allow users to plug the Kinect hands-free hardware, intended for gesture control of its Xbox gaming console, directly into any robot. This would add Kinect's gesture recognition software, depth cameras, and microphone arrays to robots running on an embedded Windows based computer.


Kinect mounted to iRobot

In addition, Eetimes also reports that with the acquisition Canesta Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.), last year, Microsoft will be able to downsize the foot-long Kinect to about a square centimeter. This would enable tiny robots and other mobile devices, such as the Windows Phone, to perform sophisticated gesture recognition for natural user interfaces, autonomous navigation and many other tasks.

They Bleed Pixels - If Super Meat Boy and Ninja Gaiden had a baby

They Bleed Pixels is a new XBOX LIVE Indie Game by Spooky Squid Games, and it really does seem like a mix of Super Meat Boy's challenging platforming, plus the gory kind of action you'd see in Ninja Gaiden. According to the official site:

Featuring a distinct visual style that blends pixel art with paper and ink textures, They Bleed Pixels is a singular mix of intense platforming and fierce beat-em-up action. It tells the story of a young girl haunted by a mysterious book and her violent Lovecraftian nightmares.
They Bleed Pixels uses a simple one-button combat scheme with surprising depth at its core. Button mashing is discouraged while kicking shadowy monsters into saws, pits and spikes is rewarded thanks to a unique checkpoint earning system: instead of being evenly distributed at set locations, players must earn and place checkpoints through stylish kills. The more and better you kill, the faster you fill your checkpoint meter. Avoid combat or button mash mindlessly and you’ll find checkpoints uncomfortably far apart.

Check out the trailer, after the jump.

NetFlix introduces new plans - probably not going to work in your favor.

I've been a big fan of NetFlix, but it seems as though prices keep going up. Today NetFlix announced new plans and pricing. What they've done is split the streaming and DVD plans so that if you only want one it'll be cheaper, ofcourse, but if you want both it's going to cost more. In their announcement, they make two arguments for the change, first they say that it is unfair to charge clients that only want streaming more because of the streaming + DVD plan, and secondly they state that offering DVD on top of streaming for only $2 more doesn't make financial sense. Both of these arguments aren't really true however.

Slow or Move Over for Workers, It’s the Law

As I drove in to work today, traveling on Highway 41, I noticed an interesting road sign "Slow or Move Over for Workers, It’s the Law". I ofcourse thought someone hacked the sign, furious at drivers that drive slowly (usually the speed limit) on the highway, which anger those running late. But no, it's actually part of a statewide campaign called "Move Over" which hopes to increase safety for motorists, highway workers and law enforcement.

Read more about it here: http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/Caltrans-Kicks-Off--125382613.html