The End of Video Game Manuals
Gasp*. I know right? How could Game Manuals be coming to an end? Well if you’d like a few hints, look at games such as Modern Warfare 2, with 5 whole pages in it’s manual. I can’t tell you how excited I was to finally get Modern Warfare 2 and open the game and read the manual, to delve the depths of the story and the game itself. I was extremely disappointed. I found very little information. I found what the buttons do and a quickie on xbox live. That was about it.
Now games of the past have been quite different. One of my favorite games of all time, Warcract III, had the most amazing manual. It included pictures of important characters, their bios, maps, lists of units and their bios, etc. It was excellent, and I must have read it over 100 times completely.
Visiting IGN, I found an article about the Ending of Game Manuals. Apparently, Ubisoft is going to completely stop game manuals in their future games. IGN had 4 editors give their opinions on the situation. My opinion is that there should always be a decent manual in a game. A game manual increases the worth of the game. I just truly enjoy opening the game and reading the manual first before I ever play the game. That’s how I am, I like to read all about it and know what is going on before I step foot into the game itself. It’s the experience that’s being cut. I don’t like it.
After reading my short opinion and the editors at IGN, what are your opinions? What do you think about game manuals and their importance to the game? Do they enhance the experience, or do you cast them aside and never touch them? What do you think of the financial savings vs. end user desires?
I’m anticipating some great responses!
Halo: The Movie
Well everyone it looks like the Halo movie we’ve all been waiting for is in production! Yes I know! I’ve been waiting a long time too. To see this trailer makes my heart want to explode! This just released trailer depicts the most epic of epic games in a feature film. Our favorite Spartan is going to be a movie star. Yes, I have tears in my eyes too. My heart is almost complete, all I’m waiting for is the final movie.
Watch this grand slam!
Need For Speed World — Another EA Free-To-Play
EA is coming out with another NFS. The beauty of this one is that it’s free. That’s right. Absolutely free. EA has is experimenting with free-to-play games. Before this one, it released Battlefield: Heroes. It got Best of 2009 from IGN. I’ve played a few of these free-to-play games, and I loved them. Combat Arms was my first one, and it was brilliant. Battlefield Heroes was a great game as well. For those of you who don’t know how these free-to-play games work, here’s how it goes:
Usually you have to register on the site
download the game
install
Play.
Yep, that’s it. However, there is a catch. Usually you can’t get special weapons or you can’t customize your character quite as much if you put a few bucks in the game. Meaning, if you charge your account, you can buy special weapons or equipment that could aid you in your game. EA hasn’t released information on how they are going to profit off NFSW, but I imagine that you won’t be able to get certain cars, gadgets, or little add-ons without throwing in a few greenbacks.
Photo from IGN. Game in early testing stages.
One of the few cars obtainable in this game. Porche
As you can see for yourself, the game looks great. And remember, it’s a free game. Free games don’t look this good, until now. EA is planning to include ~250 cars with around 50-100 when the game launches. The maps are from previous games including: Carbon, Most Wanted, and EA also plans to include maps from the other NFS games.
Onto gameplay. It’s fairly straightforward. It has a minimalistic hud and simple controls. It’s more arcadey than a real simulation. You can have nitro boosts and power-ups. EA also said that they would include other modes like in Pursuit, where you had cops. Yes, you will be able to play as a cop. Customization options are adequate, paint jobs, wheels, etc. When you launch the game, you are landed into a massive world. Just a press of the button has you matched up with 7 other players. Now all that’s left is to pick a game mode and your set. The racing is seamless.
Oh and one more thing, it’s PC only.
The game still has a ways to go, but so far it’s looking promising. What are your thoughts? Put them in the comments. Do you think this will be a hit or miss? Leave it in the comments.
-TJ
New Xbox 360 Bundle Coming Our Way!
This morning Microsoft announced a new Xbox 360 bundle. The bundle includes an Xbox Elite, Halo 3: ODST, and Forza Motorsport 3. This all comes down to $299. Not too bad considering ODST disc gives access to the Halo Reach Multiplayer Beta starting on May 3. It’s not for sale as of now, but I will keep you informed. With the great price plus the Halo Reach Multiplayer Beta, this could potentially be hottest 360 bundle to date.
Happy Veterans’ Day
Hope everyone is having a good peaceful Veteran’s Day. Veteran’s Day is viewed differently by all. Here are some of the answers I received when I asked some members of the Coalition community what Veterans’ Day meant to them:
Çry:
“Veterans’ Day to me is a day where Americans who live and breath daily on the carcasses of these dead souls can appreciate and give thanks to the tribulations soldiers have had to undertake. Some paid with their life, and in turn, preserved many. The extent of the holiday’s charisma has descended, though. Some people are even unaware of today’s significance. Regardless, for those who do recognize its value, they can homage the many who gave their life and sacrificed much to maintain the often forgotten quality of being free.”
Major Dave:
“Over here in England it is known as Rememberance Day. To me it is to celebrate that such brave men lay down their lives to protect others. We must not be sad that these people died we should be thankful that such great people lived. This year for us the focus was on the troops in Iraq and Afganistan such as my Dad’s Cousin Lance Corporal Matt Croucher who jumped on a grenade to save the lives of his squad. Luckily he survived coming out of it with only a nosebleed.”
*More to be edited in*
Veterans’ Day is celebrated world wide. I give my thanks and prayers to all veterans of all nations who fight against tyranny and for their self sacrifice.
Here are what a few other people think of Veterans’ Day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCNtuQkek7g
And here is one more clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt4aGiwdKho
God Bless veterans, God Bless Freedom, and God Bless America.
Microsoft Appeal on Patent Infringement
Microsoft was sued by i4i on March 2007 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas — a court considered a haven for small businesses that sue technology companies for patent infringement. Microsoft had apparently violated a patent regarding custom XML, which separates markup tags from content. The two Office suits that contain the custom XML is Office 2003 and Office 2007. On August 12, Judge Leonard Davis ruled that Microsoft pay an excess of $290 million and issued a permanent injunction for the “449 patent”. Judge Davis also ruled that Microsoft pull Office 2003 and Office 2007 from store shelves.
As expected, Microsoft is appealing the ruling. The software giant filed a motion with the Court of Appeals on Tuesday for an expedited review of its appeal and to stay the permanent injunction while the appeal is pending, according to Kevin Kutz, a Microsoft spokesperson.
“These filings are not unusual in patent cases,” Kutz said. “As we’ve maintained throughout this process, we believe the evidence clearly demonstrates that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid. We look forward to filing our appeal and to Court of Appeals review.”
“The appeal was fully expected, given the signifcance of the case and the flagship status of Microsoft Word to the defendant,” said Loudon Owen, chairman of i4i. “I4i will continue to vigourously enforce its patent. We firmly believe the jury verdict and judgment were both fair and correct and we have been vindicated through the process.”
There are only two options:
1. Microsoft and i4i settle the issue out of court.
2. Microsoft and i4i continue to fight for years to come.
Customers will have no choice but to sit back and wait.
Cashing in on the King of Pop
Michael Jackson is dead. Newsflash for those of you who don’t watch the news or read a newspaper now and then. With the King’s death follows the disheartening desire to make a buck off of his legacy.
Battlefield Heroes has made two costumes, one for the bad guy, and one for the good guy. The good guy gets the “Smooth Suit” from the song Smooth Criminal, and the bad guy gets the “Thuggin Outfit”, or the Bad suit. Smooth Criminal and Bad were some of Michael Jackson’s hit songs.
In order to get these suits, you must dish out real money to use in-game. This is only one place where people are trying to make a buck off of the King of Pop. Amazon.com is one other participant.
A Glimpse at Snow Leopard
As many of you know, Snow Leopard will be the new OS for upcoming Macs. It is currently in beta for anyone who wants to test it.
AppleInsider reader inewton1974 pointed us to an annotated Flickr albumof nearly four dozen Snow Leopard screenshots he published a bit earlier in the week. He begins by noting that the software’s setup assistant will now warn users if they don’t supply a password hint and claims that QuickLook capabilities have been built into universal Open and Save dialog windows.
inewton1974 has been kind enough to supply the world with glimpses of Snow Leopard. There seem to be a ton of improvements to the OS already. A first big change is the apparent loss of Quicktime. There are many options for it that are completely missing. Apple may be doing away with Quicktime. Everything is becoming smoother. The Finder slides icons into place instead of shifting abruptly.
For just a quick run down of the small changes made so far to Snow Leopard:
There is a slider in the Finder to change icon size and there are updates to the Date & Time preference pane will let Snow Leopard users display the time and date (or day of the week) side-by-side in the Mac OS X menubar. Time Zone preferences have also seen an overhaul. Each time zone is highlighted as a user moves their mouse cursor across the map. And as previously note, users will have the option to have their time zone updated automatically with help of Snow Leopard’s new Core Location framework.
Users who prefer not to have their Mac’s location identified via Core Location can switch the option off via the general security preferences. The same preference pane also introduce a handy new feature that will let users adjust the time interval between when their Mac goes to sleep (or activates a screen saver) and when their password will be required to regain access.
For instance, you could set your screen to dim after 10 minutes of inactivity but not lock down the system and require a password prompt for 45 minutes. In current versions of the Mac OS, there’s no separation of these features.
Below is a capture of QuickTime X Player’s HUDless movie playback presentation:
The new Player software will also let users upload movie files to Youtube or their Mobile Me accounts.
The same software also provides both basic video and audio editing (trimming):
A handful of changes are also in store for Snow Leopards Preferences, namely a separation of the Keyboard & Mouse preferences, a relocation of Bluetooth preferences from “Hardware” to a new section called “Internet & Wireless,” and a renaming of the “International” preferences to “Language & Text.”
There are many more changes made in Snow Leopard. This new OS already seems appetizing and I can’t wait to get a hold of it.
Apple Updates its white MacBook with faster processor and memory
That’s right everyone! My favorite MacBook is upgraded! With the coming of it’s Back-to-School promo came the upgrade of the white MacBook, which is eligible for the offer as well. It has everything that was in need of upgrading, its processor, memory architecture, and more hard disk space.
The best thing however is the price. It is still $999 USD! What you get is a 2.13GHz processor (up from 2.0GHz), a 160GB Serial ATA Drive at 5400 rpm (up from 120GB), and 2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM (up from 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM). This is much better than the earlier model, and a much better deal. I would not have bought the white Macbook before, now I’m considering it.
Another cool thing is that it’s already shipping across the globe. Check it out!
If I had to recommend anyone on a Mac to buy, it would be this one, the white MacBook. It seems by far the better deal, especially if you get it with the promo. You get a $999 white MacBook along with a $229 8GB iPod Touch. Very nice.
This will be the second update the white MacBook has seen this year.
Apple’s Back-to-School promo offers free 8GB iPod Touch
Apple on Wednesday officially kicked off its 2009 back-to-school promotion, which offers a free 8GB iPod touch to students and educational staffers who purchase a qualifying Mac. –Apple Insider Staff
That’s right folks! Buy any new Mac and you get a FREE 8GB iPod Touch! With no added price! The 8GB iPod Touch is priced at around $229 USD. For example, if you buy a MacBook for $1,000 then you will receive an 8GB iPod Touch. What’s the catch you ask? Only a few.
You are eligible for this offer if you are in a private K-12 school or you are taking higher education (i.e. College, University, Academy, etc). That is the only way you can receive this offer. Any faculty or staff member of the K-12 private schools and any faculty of the higher education schools also qualify for the offer. Also important, parents who are purchasing a Mac for their child are also eligible for the offer. Also note this:
The promotion offers a $229 online rebate that cancels out the price of an 8GB iPod touch. Customers who instead prefer an 8GB iPod nano, 16GB iPod nano, 120GB iPod classic, or 4GB iPod shuffle can elect to receive lesser rebates that will similarly compensate for the costs of those models.
Now, which Macs qualify? The MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, and Mac Pro’s qualify. The Mac mini and refurbished Macs do not qualify.
When, where, and how do you participate?
You must buy your Mac and iPod in the same order on the same day and before September 8. The items must be purchased from the Apple Online Store for Education Individuals, an Apple Retail Store, Apple Telesales, or an Apple Authorized Campus Store located in the 50 United States or the District of Columbia.
“After you receive your Mac and iPod, submit your claim online by October 8, 2009,” Apple says. “Once your claim has been submitted, check your rebate status at any time.”
I was on the Apple site earlier yesterday and I saw this promo. I thought nothing of it. I didn’t know this was new until I read about it on the Apple Insider. I found this to be rather exciting and wished I was in college or in a private school. This is a great deal if you are big into Macs.
For more information please go to The Apple Insider