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No Signal Input
Tom Mulrooney documents those life sucking things we call 'video games', the increasing influence of virtual worlds, and the wonders of technology, all wrapped up in one sweet little cultural package.
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Chinese MMO Bans Males From Playing Female Characters.
2007-09-25 22:04:48
Shanda (Nasdaq: SNDA) subsidiary Aurora Technology has frozen game accounts of male players who chose to play female in-game characters in its in-house developed MMORPG King of the World, reports 17173. Aurora stipulates that only female gamers can play female characters in the game, and it requires gamers who chose female characters to prove their biological sex with a webcam, according to the report. - Pacific Epoch.What? Talk about discrimination!Since there's no word on females being banned from playing male characters then this ban is extremely one-sided. Not only is it discriminatory against males but it also limits males in choosing their very own alter ego - something that I thought was a big attraction in the MMO world. Also, with the massive amount of MMO's on the market today (not forgetting one that's taken over most of the known world) isn't Shanda effectively laying a death sentence on one of their games?However, Shanda does have a pretty legitimate case for employing su ...
Female
Males
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Resident Evil Accused of Being 'Racist'.
2007-09-24 23:11:28
Unsurprisingly the issue of racism in the next Resident Evil installment has reared it's ugly head once again. A writer over at AlterNet has gone so far as to label the entire series racist rather than just the upcoming Resident Evil 5. The fact that the author only covers Resident Evil 4 and a game that is yet to be released is only the first sign that the article you're about to read is dripping in absurdity.If the author had actually done his research he would have realised that every single game in the series (so far) has white zombies. Not only that but the majority of the games are set in the USA. Resident Evil 4 made the jump to Europe and included 'zombies' with Spanish (not Mexican, as the author points out) accents. Now I don't know about you but I'd find it strange to set the game in an obscure European village and have the zombies sound like Americans. It's all about 'location location!'. Resident Evil 5 includes black zombies because it's set in Haiti/an African country ...
Evil
Racist
Resident Evil
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Metaplace - The Next Big Thing?
2007-09-22 16:03:20
The gaming world (and Internet/social networking in general) is currently buzzing with hype about an upcoming service called Metaplace - the first 'game' from Areae - so I figured it was about time I added my two cents on the subject. Firstly, what is it all about?Metaplace is a next-generation virtual worlds platform designed to work the way the Web does. Instead of giant custom clients and huge downloads, Metaplace lets you play the same game on any platform that reads our open client standard. We supply a suite of tools so you can make worlds, and we host servers for you so that anyone can connect and play. And the client could be anywhere on the Web. - Metaplace.comBasically it allows you to create your own MMO's that you can share on your own webpage/blog/cell phone/MySpace/Facebook etc. 'So what? There's plenty of MMO's I can play at the moment without the hard work of creating my own.' I hear you cry! However, it's not easy to get your friends to join in; their system might not ...
Big Thing
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Game of the Week: Team Fortress 2
2007-09-19 23:55:28
To be honest I was hesitant about making Team Fortress 2 my game of the week. Firstly it's only a beta (although all levels from the final release are included) that you get access to by paying for a pre-order. Secondly, well, this is the killer. The game has been crashing on me so many times that the stress of having to restart my computer everytime it freezes has taken all the fun out of the game (a problem that's pretty widespread, it seems). With that said the game is, when it works, incredibly fun.I didn't play the original Team Fortress so I can't really compare the two but, from what I've heard, it's nothing like the original. The cartoon style presentation is instantly appealing and breathes far more life and humor into the game then a more realistic looking game would. Also, the varied classes means there's someone for everyone and the lack of grenades helps new players avoid the 'nade spam' thats present in many online FPS games.At the moment my favourite classes are heavy, s ...
Game
Team
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The Apocalyptic Game About Penguins.
2007-09-05 20:53:30
What's better than penguins?Penguins with guns of course!Ok, so the games nothing more than your generic side-scrolling shooter complete with power-ups, bosses, and more enemies on-screen than you can shake a stick at (which, in this situation, probably wouldn't help).It's still fun though (maybe it's the penguins) and, hey, it's free!Get it here!Got a game you want me to take a look at? Email me or comment in the comments section! ...
Game
Penguins
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Pack-ing Heat and Bad Jokes.
2007-09-05 20:53:16
Remember the deers? Well, if you're going to have a game about deers then why not make a game about being a wolf? As far as I'm aware there's not many games out there that allow you to live the life of a wolf so this one is finally plugging that gap. When you think about, however, maybe these games didn't exist in the first place because they didn't have much of an audience in the first place. Anyway, this is where WolfQuest enters the picture.What better way to describe a game about wolves than showing one urinating? In fact, establishing your own territory through 'raised-leg urination marking' something I'm pretty sure makes this game unique already. Other features include finding a mate, following scent trails, taking part in a hunt and, erm, eating stuff. The game actually has missions but the website doesn't really say anything about them. However, since the game is a role-playing game and you actually do earn experience then the missions must be something more than lying around ...
Jokes
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Tribal Wars - Another Free MMO!
2007-09-05 02:38:27
Tribal Wars is a free browser-based online game in which each player owns a village and attempts to exert their influence on the other player villages around them. This is done through force or diplomacy.It's pretty simple to pick-up. Each building can be leveled up, which means they can produce more resources, troops etc. Building construction and resource gathering takes a certain amount of time. For example, a building may take around 30 minutes to be constructed/leveled-up (providing you have the resources available) upon which an email will be sent to you informing you that construction has been complete. This means you can comfortably leave the game alone and do other stuff while construction is underway.Key to the game is diplomacy. It's important to contact nearby villages early on to determine their intentions towards you (or to inform them that you wish to burn down their village, of course!). Friendships may result in a tribe forming, or being invited to join their's. Joinin ...
Tribal
Wars
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Mario Love - Super Mario Pac.
2007-09-05 02:38:27
I've seen a lot of Mario mods in the past but, usually, they're new levels that are so hard to beat you feel like blowing your own brains out. So, we need someone to do something different, something that can actually be called fun. Enter Super Mario Pac!The basic premise (which is pretty much the entire game) is to build a pipe so you can escape from the non-scrollable levels. Mario is equipped with a FLUDD (basically a jet pack powered by water) pac which allows him to fly around the level. He's also sporting a FLUDD water cannon to defend himself from those pesky flying enemies that populate the levels. However, the player must not forget to refill his FLUDD pac (in the little pool) or Mario will drop like a stone (try not to run out on the right-side of the pipe because you're stuck for good then).Upon completing the pipe you have to poison the pesky little flower that pops up out of the pipe by dropping purple propellant blocks on it.Sounds easy huh? Well, no, not really. On my fi ...
Love
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New Spore Information.
2007-09-05 02:38:27
Whatever happened to Spore? I hear you cry! Well, the game was notably absent from last weeks E3 and the throngs of journalists hoping to play the game were denied. In comes IGN with the reason.IGN has a new video, screenshots and an interview with Maxis VP of Marketing Patrick Buechner. If you don't want to bother reading it (although if, like me, you're so interested in this game that you devour every last piece of information then you will) I'll summarise it here:The game is in the Alpha stage of development, meaning most of the games main features are done and it's coming down to tweaking and polishing.The team are getting extremely positive feedback from play testers (to be fair wouldn't a guy who's job is marketing say this anyway?)There are so many genres mixed into the game that the player has to adapt their play style and gaming experience of each genre to fit each one.Since the team are already committed to making the game playable at the Leipzig Games Convention in August th ...
Information
Spore
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Real Lives.
2007-09-05 02:38:27
It's not often a game makes me really think about how lucky I really am. In a world full of misery, poverty, and war to live in a warm house full of food, access to a TV and the Internet, and stacks of commercial products I have it good. When you're confronted with the plight of the majority of the rest of the world (remember if you're reading this you're most likely amongst the top 10% richest people in the world) you find it hard to complain when you can't find a McDonalds near you. Real Lives succeeds in showing you just how harsh life is for most of the worlds population and, in the end, it's all a tad bit depressing.The basic premise of Real Lives sees you being born at a random location around the world into a completely randomised family. Since the game uses real-world statistics you'll most likely be born into a third-world country or a family that doesn't exactly have it great. This makes sense as the games aim is to educate you about the world's plight without just handing yo ...
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The Endless Forest.
2007-09-05 02:38:27
Like most gamers I love video games due to the ability to disconnect from reality and enter worlds that we can only dream of. Whether it's defending Earth against evil aliens or becoming the world's greatest Formula 1 driver there's something for everyone. Now, if you would have told me that there was a game that involved you playing the part of a deer and doing nothing more entertaining than running around a forest a few years ago then I might have been surprised. These days I've been on the Internet long enough to have grown accustomed to seeing things a little out of the ordinary. Did I know about furry culture before the Internet? Nope! Do I understand furry culture? Not in the slightest! However, I know there are a large number of people (If games like Furcadia and Second Life are anything to go by) who enjoy playing the part of animals. Outside of dressing up as one I guess this is the closest a furry can get to becoming an actual animal.I'm not going to rant on about how odd I f ...
Forest
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Urban Dead & The Meta-Game.
2007-09-05 02:38:27
Bill Radcheck was once a regular Joe working the 9-5 shift that commonly drives people to the brink of insanity. When his home in Malton city became overrun with zombies you could be forgiven for saying that now was the time to go insane but - for Bill - this was the turning point in his life. Now he travels around the stricken city offering help wherever he can. Primarily a scout his job is often dangerous but extremely rewarding as the survivors of the outbreak come to rely on whatever information they can get about the state of the city. To be happy in such times may end in you becoming labeled as insane but, for Bill, he's happy because he's finally found his purpose in life.I touched upon Urban Dead a few months back in my look at browser-based zombie games but I don't think I gave it any of the attention that it deserves. Ever since I was introduced to the game by Gnome over in his post at Siliconera I've been having incredible fun with it. Many of you may question why this is t ...
Game
Urban
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Game of the Week - 'Ya'll Be Mining In Space'.
2007-09-05 02:38:27
In the midst of a gaming slump - and since there's still another month left before I return to the long hard slog of university - I decided it was time to put things right and get my gaming ass back into gear. However, to become a gamer again there's always the question of just what should I play? Pretty much every new game was out of the question due to lack of funds, an aging PC and the fact that I have no 'next-gen' consoles in my possession. I wanted something that I could really get into and occupy my ridiculous amounts of free time. So, in light of this, it was back to MMO territory!I didn't actually think I'd be going back to MMO's anytime soon (discount the free browser-based game Urban Dead) because I'd got terribly bored of the grind and, in my experience, 95% of current MMO's are one big gigantic enormous *insert other words for massive here* grind! However, I know that there are fun parts to MMO's like World of Warcraft and most of this comes through interacting with othe ...
Game
Mining
Space
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Gridblaster.
2007-09-05 02:38:27
Looking at the description and screenshots I was looking forward to giving Gridblaster a go, that is until I realised it was extremely hard.The aim of the game is to navigate your way around the maze avoiding traps and the lasers fired at you by your enemies. You have your own laser to shoot those pesky things including, much to my delight, the lasers themselves. Once you shoot an enemy they respawn outside the map as a different colour and you have to repeat your task of killing each and every one of them three more times on the same level. Sounds easy right? Well, it's not.The main problem I have is that the first level is just too damn hard. Three lives seems ok but it really isn't when the slightest movement sees you dead. You can only shoot the way your traveling so you have to be extremely quick to get that enemy that's just come up behind you yet, at the same time, its hard to avoid crashing into it. Everything just moves too damn fast on the first level. You can pick up bonuses ...
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Hyrule Isn't Getting a New Hero Anytime Soon.
2007-08-16 03:36:51
Probably the most useless and uncool Wii attachment ever created. If you buy this (and you're over ten-years-old) then you probably need to re-think your entire approach to life. ...
Hero
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Sony Pays Its Bills? Not Quite!
2007-08-14 23:04:26
To kick off my return to video game blogging (I've still been blogging elsewhere) shall we having something odd? Here we go then!Just when you thought Sony had gone far enough with it's various marketing campaigns they go and do something you just never expected. This time around Sony has gone and put a PS3 kiosk inside a bank. Yup, you heard me right (or rather read), a bank!Located in Shinhan Bank, Seoul, Sony Computer Entertainment Korea (SCEK) set-up something called 'The Bank Zone' intended for bank customers to take part in the PS3 experience (which is about two decent games).Ok, so banks can be busy and extremely boring places but you go to pay your bills, and deposit bills - amongst other boring things - then you get out of their as fast as possible. I suppose it makes sense in a way as the Koreans are gaming mad but I know I don't go to the bank to try out a PS3 - I do it in a video game store.I don't think we'll ever see this type of thing in the UK (or the USA) simply becaus ...
Sony
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Quick Announcement.
2007-08-10 18:28:21
We're all allowed to take short breaks (it's hot outside and I'm not about to sit inside on my computer) but I really should have announced it. So, sorry about that and I'll get back to my regular blogging and dive right back into the community shortly.Also, I've been experiencing a severe lack of creativity and horrible writers block lately.Summer is a dry time for games anyway! ...
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No Signal Input Has Never Looked Better!
2007-07-27 15:21:42
Being the awesome guy that he is the amazing artist Deitrix created this beautiful header for my blogs name. I'm extremely grateful that he put the time in to do this so, thanks again!He's also done the same trick with some other wonderful blogs that also happen to be (I hope!) regular readers of mine. To see these and the rest of his amazing artwork then just pop over to his blog. ...
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Review: SimCity DS.
2007-07-19 01:59:53
Before we go any further I’m just going to come right out and say it; SimCity DS is a highly addictive game. If a game keeps you up to the wee small hours playing it (in this case, around 6am) then you’d be hard pressed to argue that the game has no redeeming qualities. Redeeming? You ask? Well, as addictive as this game may be it, like many other games, suffers from a number of problems that annoyingly snatch a ‘must own’ title out of it’s cowering hands.For those of you who have never played a SimCity game before - which, if this is the case, you deserve to be shot – the game is all about building a city. Of course, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out but it’s not as simple as it may sound. Your city planning will be split into three different zones; commercial, industrial, and residential – and it’s up to you to come up with a plan that will hopefully present you with a working city and a nice amount of profit coming back in return. Sti ...
Review
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E307: My Thoughts on the Three Press Conferences.
2007-07-13 19:50:03
E3 may not be as big as it used to be - or as flashy - but it's still an important date in the game industries calendar. Although the extravagant booths and the scantly clad booth babes may not be a part of E3 anymore the press conferences held by Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are still very much a highlight. After watching all three conferences I've come to the conclusion that each console has something unique and amazing to offer us all. At last I'm genuinely excited about this new generation of gaming.If I had the money I'd own all three consoles but, for now, I think it'll have to be the 360 (mostly because I can hook it up to my monitor to get HD visuals without having to splash out on a new TV).Microsoft.Every year I'm baffled by Microsoft's press conference. Not by what's on offer but by their insistence to hire people who'll sit in the audience whooping and hollering after every soundbite, video and new piece of information. If a company is offering genuinely exciting products ...
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Graaaagh: Browser-Based Zombie Fun!
2007-07-06 22:10:32
Show me a zombie and I'll gleefully hug it before getting my arm bitten off and promptly being turned into one myself. Of course, every morning for us pesky little humans is a lesson in zombification, but looking like we've just crawled out of a grave doesn't quench my thirst for zombie goodness. Neither does the pretty lack luster effort made by zombie films as of late (28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later put in a pretty good show but there's some debate by zombie lovers whether or not they can actually be classed as zombie films). So, I turn to games to get my fill.Resident Evil? Been there done that. Though there's also the excellent Dead Rising. The upcoming Left 4 Dead looks set to combine my two great loves, zombies and online multiplayer games, but it's still some way off. For now, then, I have to be content with browser-based zombie games to get my fill; but what a lovely bunch of decaying, diseased, scum ridden games they are.Probably the best known zombie browser-based gam ...
Browser
Fun
Zombie
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All Hail Comrade Mario!
2007-07-05 21:14:53
Mario? A Communist? What do you think he wore that red hat for? Plus, the mustache? A perfect replica of good old Stalins, obviously.In true Soviet propaganda style here's Mario taking on those nasty Goombas. For the people, of course!The People's Mario - 88by31.com ...
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Edge #178, August Issue.
2007-07-05 19:45:01
I just received my copy of the August issue of Edge through the post today. Edge always has great looking covers but I thought this months was superbly designed!The cover feature game, Mirror's Edge, is looking like a Matrix-esque FPS with wall-jumping and the like. I'm not about to provide scans so you'll either have to buy the magazine yourself or wait for more news at the upcoming E3.Also in the issue is an article questioning if gaming can prepare you for real-life warfare which looks like it's going to be a pretty interesting read.Edge Online. ...
Issue
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Quick! We Must Contact The Boys At Nintendo!
2007-07-04 23:29:48
I think I'm about to die...Why?A man cannot exist without his Nintendo DS!The good thing is that I actually have my Nintendo DS but the bad thing is I have lost the valuable contraption that supplies it with it's life force.Yes, my friends, my DS charger has been taken by the little people.I think I'll go and cry in a corner until I suddenly realise I should get around to ordering a new one. ...
Nintendo
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Spinach Powered House.
2007-06-22 17:39:51
As global warming takes effect, and we have to think of more environmentally friendly ways to live our hectic lives, people are increasingly thinking of new ways to accomplish this effort. So, how about a house that's powered from Spinach?Ok, maybe it's not powered solely by Spinach (it actually uses solar energy) but I'll let someone else explain why I'm talking about spinach:To do this however, their design called for a house to be cladded with a solid-state photosynthetic solar cell based skin, whose main component for generating electricity from the sun is a protein called Photosystem I, which is derived from spinach. - InhabitatWill we all be living in houses like this? Probably not anytime soon but as long as my house isn't underwater in the near future I think I'll be fine.Spinach Powered House - Inhabitat. ...
House
Spinach
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Star Wars AT-AT Stroller Mod.
2007-06-21 22:54:01
This stroller modded to look like an AT-AT from Star Wars shows that you're never too young to be a Star Wars geek!In case you're wondering, yes, it was spotted at the Star Wars Celebration IV convention back on May 26th (this blog post shows how it originated on the Internet).DIY AT-AT Stroller: Who's Luke's Father? - Daddytypes.com (Via Neatorama) ...
Star
Star Wars
Wars
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Off The Book Shelf #1
2007-06-14 03:09:02
Book: The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin.Blurb: Once upon a time Jack set out to seek his fortune in the big city - but when Jack finally gets there, it is Toy City, formerly known as Toy Town. And there is a serial killer loose upon the streets.One by one, the old, rich nursery rhyme characters are being brutally slaughtered. The Toy City police are getting nowhere; Bill Winkie, Private Eye, has also mysteriously vanished, leaving only his sidekick, Eddie Bear, to take care of business.But Eddie's ready, and when he teams up with Jack, the two set out on an epic adventure. Not to mention a lot of heavy drinking, bad behaviour, fast car chases, gratuitous sex and violence, bizarre toy fetishism and all-round grossness. Of a type not normally associated with Toy Town.My Comments: Although he's no Terry Pratchett or Douglass Adams Robert Rankin's story-telling is hilarious. There are parts where you do wonder if he's taking a leaf out of the Douglass Adams to ...
Book
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Bear Robot To Rescue Wounded Troops
2007-06-07 19:51:51
What's one thing missing from the battlefield? One thing that would really look out of place in all those explosions and that dying thing people tend to do? A teddy bear of course!Introducing the latest weapon of mass destruction from your friends at the US military! Ok, it's not going to be taking out any terrorists anytime soon but it has it's very own purpose on the battlefield;The Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot (BEAR) can scoop up even the heaviest of casualties and transport them over long distances over rough terrain. - BBC NewsSee what they did there, with the BEAR thing? New Scientist magazine says that the 'friendly appearance' of the robot is designed to put the wounded at ease. Right, so if I was lying in the middle of a battlefield in extreme pain and a teddy bear hopped along and said 'Come with me if you want to live!' I'd probably freak out and believe I was going crazy due to the pain.There is one problem I have with it though. What's going to stop the ene ...
Bear
Robot
Troops
Wounded
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Those Germans Do Some Crazy Things!
2007-06-07 00:31:05
No LOLcats here! Instead we have a German guy who's attached a camera to his cat - whom is named Mr.Lee - to catch first-person perspectives of it's daily life.I love cats, I'm not afraid to admit it, and there's an essence of voyeurism in wanting to see what cats get up to during their lazy days. If I attached a camera to my own cat it wouldn't be all that interesting as all she seems to do is sleep these days.Check out the website, if you're really that interested, for the images.Mr. Leee CatCam - (Via Boing Boing) ...
Germans
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Man Sues Over Permanent Erection.
2007-06-07 00:19:50
I think this qualifies for the most obscure piece of news today (although, to be fair, I haven't been over to Fark yet).A NEW York man has sued the makers of a health drink, saying it has given him a permanent erection for the last two years. - NEWS.com.auI often provide commentary on links I provide here but I don't think I can do this one much justice.Man sues over permanent erection - NEWS.com.au ...
Permanent
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